The Vanishing American (1925)

Director:

George B. Seitz

Writers:

Ethel Doherty (writer)
Zane Grey (novel)

Release Date:

15 February 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

History, as portrayed in this film, has been a succession of conquests of stronger races over weaker ones...

Plot Keywords:

Native American | Based On Novel

Cast

Richard Dix	...	Nophaie
Lois Wilson	...	Marion Warner
Noah Beery	...	Booker
Malcolm McGregor	...	Earl Ramsdale
Nocki	...	Indian Boy
Shannon Day	...	Gekin Yashi
Charles Crockett	...	Amos Halliday
Bert Woodruff	...	Bart Wilson
Bernard Siegel	...	Do Etin
Guy Oliver	...	Kit Carson
Joe Ryan	...	Jay Lord
Charles Stevens	...	Shoie
Bruce Gordon	...	Rhur
Richard Howard	...	Glendon
John Webb Dillon	...	Naylor

Also Known As:

The Vanishing Race (Australia)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Utah, USA

Company:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Trivia:

Charles Stevens - an Apache Indian who is the grandson of legendary warrior Geronimo - plays Shoie in this film, and played Quah-Tan in the 1955 version (The Vanishing American (1955)).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood's Magical Island: Catalina (2003)

Thought-Provoking, Resourceful, & Detailed - An Excellent Movie

This excellent movie far transcends its own genre, with a resourceful and detailed production that makes for a worthy treatment of some thought-provoking themes. Adapted from the Zane Grey novel, it easily does justice to the interesting story, but it is much more than just a good melodrama. Ambitous in its scale, in its time-span, and in its themes, it puts the main story into a context that is as interesting to watch as it is challenging to many of the common conceptions about the history of the American West.

The main story features Richard Dix as a Native American on a reservation, who must contend with a wide range of persons from the 'white' races. Dix succeeds in making his character interesting, believable, and sympathetic. In particular, he does well with portraying the inner torment and longings of a perceptive and capable man who is forced by his environment to keep a lot of things inside.

The 'white' characters work well, and they are well-chosen so as to avoid a simplistic portrayal of those who went west. Noah Beery plays the villainous Booker effectively, making his ill intentions clear even when his character is at his most charming, yet at the same making it believable that such a reprehensible character could so often gain the upper hand. Lois Wilson is rather meek, but she works well with Dix in the relationship that is at the center of the story.

All of that would be good enough (and it doesn't even mention the beautiful scenery and photography in Monument Valley), but what makes the movie even better is that it is set in a broader context, which places the lengthy, heart-rending clash of cultures in the American West into a sweeping, far more comprehensive picture of the unending struggle of human cultures and societies as they rise and fall through the centuries. It balances a number of perspectives, and believably shows how complex the interplay between different cultures can be.

The lengthy prologue, often detailed and interesting in itself, paints a convincing and often harrowing picture of the nature of human societies in their struggles and rivalries through the ages. It adds a depth rarely seen to the eventual conflicts between the expanding USA and the Native American nations, and even if it were made today, it would be a bold statement that challenges stereotypes of all kinds. True indeed is the movie's theme that human cultures come and go, and that those standing strong today will someday pass away, with only the earth itself remaining always.

This movie surely deserves to be much better-known, for its top quality production of some often challenging material, its interesting story, and its themes that are worthy of careful and honest consideration. If it were filmed today, some of the details would probably be handled differently, but that is to a large degree a matter of style or fashion. The specific details are far less important than the movie's impressive depth and quality.