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The Captive God

  • 19161916
  • 50m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
30
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
William S. Hart and Enid Markey in The Captive God (1916)
  • Adventure
  • History
The picture tells the story of a little Spanish boy who is cast upon the shore of the east coast of Mexico early in the sixteenth century, when Mexico was dominated by the Aztec Indians. Nev... Read allThe picture tells the story of a little Spanish boy who is cast upon the shore of the east coast of Mexico early in the sixteenth century, when Mexico was dominated by the Aztec Indians. Never having seen a white person before, the local natives, a tribe called Tehuans, bring him... Read allThe picture tells the story of a little Spanish boy who is cast upon the shore of the east coast of Mexico early in the sixteenth century, when Mexico was dominated by the Aztec Indians. Never having seen a white person before, the local natives, a tribe called Tehuans, bring him up as a god and call him Chiapa. When he reaches manhood, Chiapa is given authority over ... Read all
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
30
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Charles Swickard
  • Writer
    • Monte M. Katterjohn(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • William S. Hart
    • Enid Markey
    • P. Dempsey Tabler
Top credits
  • Director
    • Charles Swickard
  • Writer
    • Monte M. Katterjohn(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • William S. Hart
    • Enid Markey
    • P. Dempsey Tabler
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    William S. Hart, Enid Markey, and P. Dempsey Tabler in The Captive God (1916)
    William S. Hart in The Captive God (1916)
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    Top cast

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    William S. Hart
    William S. Hart
    • Chiapaas Chiapa
    Enid Markey
    Enid Markey
    • Lolomias Lolomi
    P. Dempsey Tabler
    • Mexitlias Mexitli
    Dorothy Dalton
    Dorothy Dalton
    • Tecoloteas Tecolote
    Robert McKim
    Robert McKim
    • Montezumaas Montezuma
    Dorcas Matthews
    • Mayaas Maya
    Herbert Farjeon
    • Cacamaas Cacama
    Bob Kortman
    Bob Kortman
    • Tuyosas Tuyos
    • (as Robert Kortman)
    William Desmond
    William Desmond
    • Director
      • Charles Swickard
    • Writer
      • Monte M. Katterjohn(screenplay) (story)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    Storyline

    Edit
    The picture tells the story of a little Spanish boy who is cast upon the shore of the east coast of Mexico early in the sixteenth century, when Mexico was dominated by the Aztec Indians. Never having seen a white person before, the local natives, a tribe called Tehuans, bring him up as a god and call him Chiapa. When he reaches manhood, Chiapa is given authority over his entire tribe. He falls in love with the priestess, Tecolote, and she yields to his advances although she is quite unworthy of him, and encourages other suitors. Then the Aztecs hear that under the white god the Tehuans are very prosperous, and start forth to conquer them. The Aztec army is under command of Mexitli, the chief general of Montezuma, the Emperor, and having conquered the Tehuans, he carried off Tecolote as his personal slave. Chiapa follows as a spy. In the garden of Montezuma, he is wounded by a guard, but Lolomi, the beautiful daughter of the Emperor, saves him. They fall in love. Meanwhile Mexitli has tired of Tecolote, and now seeks the hand of the Princess Lolomi, who would rather die than have him. As the Emperor gives Mexitli his consent, he tries to get the princess by force, and in doing so discovers Chiapa. Luiapa is sentenced to die at the end of the year on the sacrificial stone. But Lolomi, finding her pleas to her father of no avail, sends word to the Tehuans that their god is captive. An avenging army sweeps down, and there is brought about a sequence of thrilling scenes with a smashing finish. —Moving Picture World synopsis
    • bare chested male
    • bare chested male fighting
    • mexico
    • aztec indian
    • shipwreck
    • 2 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The greatest five part drama ever produced. A play so wonderful that it makes you think. (Print Ad- Duluth Herald, ((Duluth, Minn.)) 8 August 1916)
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • History
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    A Review Longer Than The Version Of The Movie I Saw
    There's a problem with looking at a 12-minute Pathe baby cutdown of the five-reel movie, which seems to have been projected too slow under the title RIVAL TRIBES. It winds up looking like one of the 1930s shorts in which they made fun of silent movies: not the Pete Smith ones, either. Pete's nonsensical comments are funny. I had to do some research to discover that Enid Markey's character was not originally named "Princess Tacki" to indicate her poor fashion sense, nor wonder whether it is a wise thing for an Aztec to say "I'd rather die than marry P. Dempsey Tabler" -- which is the actor's name, not the character's -- when the Aztecs practice human sacrifice. Apparently the decision was to keep in the beefcake photos of William S. Hart, and to heck with the rest.

    I seem to be babbling, so let's give a brief indication of the set-up: Mr. Tabler (Aztec) has just won a major battle against the Mayans. Montezuma offers him his choice of rewards, and he choose Princess Enid Markey. She says no way, etc. and discovers half-naked William S. Hart (Mayan), who asks her to hide him. She does, they neck, are discovered and are sentenced to "a barbarous ceremony before the sacrifice."

    Because the barbarous ceremony consists of being pelted with flowers, I'd take the ceremony. I was not asked, so when the Mayans swoop in to rescue Hart and Markey from ... well, I'd like to write "a fate worse than death", but to the editors who did the cutdown, that seems to be being hit by flowers and I disagree with that assessment. The Mayan army rescues the good guys. Yay, I suppose.

    There are lots of rags and tags of William S. Hart's movies, and I wish they survived in better shape. Not only was Hart a fine actor (even with his shirt on), but his westerns about the Good Bad Man were seminal. In addition, the camerawork was by Joseph August (and here, Clyde de Vinna) and that's a cameraman whose work was worth looking at. De Vinna's too.
    helpful•2
    1
    • boblipton
    • Sep 23, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 23, 1916 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
      • O Deus Cativo
    • Filming locations
      • Balboa Park - 1549 El Prado, San Diego, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Kay-Bee Pictures
      • New York Motion Picture
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      50 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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    William S. Hart and Enid Markey in The Captive God (1916)
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