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The Mended Lute
(1909) United States of America
B&W : One reel / 996 feet
Directed by D.W. Griffith
Cast: Florence Lawrence [Rising Moon], Frank Powell [Chief Great Elk Horn], Owen Moore [Little Bear], James Kirkwood [Standing Rock], Arthur Johnson [a tribe member], Mack Sennett [a tribe member], Alfred Paget [a tribe member], Henry B. Walthall [a tribe member], Red Wing [a tribe member], James Young Deer [a tribe member], [?] William A. Quirk (Billy Quirk)?
Biograph Company production; distributed by Biograph Company. / Scenario by James Young Deer. Cinematography by G.W. Bitzer. / © 7 August 1909 by Biograph Company [J130411]. Released 5 August 1909. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The production was shot on-location at Cuddebackville, New York, on 28-30 June and 2 July 1909. A total of 1805 feet of raw filmstock was shot during production.
Drama: Historical.
Synopsis: [Biograph Bulletin, number 263, 5 August 1909, page ?] A STIRRING ROMANCE OF THE DAKOTAS / Moving Picture Stories based on the life and customs of the American aboriginals have ever been attractive, and we conscientiously doubt if there has ever been a more intensely interesting subject presented than this Biograph production which, indeed, is a master-piece. Much thought and time were given the many details, and we may claim that as to costumes, manners, and modes of living, it is more than reasonably accurate, these details having been supervised by an expert in the matter. The Dakotas or Sioux Indians, when first visited by Jean Duluth in 1680, who claimed their country for the French, inhabited what is now North Minnesota but were driven during subsequent Indian wars as far south as the present Sioux City, when in the war of 1812 they were allies of Britain. The incidents of our story are laid in the neighborhood of Spirit Lake, Iowa, just previous to the outbreak, the first of which occurred in 1854, when Lieut. Grattan and his force were killed, the failure of the government to meet stipulations in land purchases being the cause. Owing to their roving, migratory nature, they were tent or tepee dwellers, expert horsemen and canoeists. Despite general impression, they are highly emotional and poetic yet with superlative powers of dissembling, and the quaint loves scenes herein depicted are unique in the extreme. Pretty little Rising Moon, the daughter of Chief Great Elk Horn, is wooed by Little Bear, and we meet them first at the foot of Snake Falls where they plight their troth to the music of the rumbling waters. Little Bear’s worldly possessions are slim, and Great Elk Horn rejects his meager offerings in favor of Standing Rock’s rich gifts, and so rising [sic] Moon is taken away by him to his wigwam, where she is left while her husband that is to be, goes hunting. Taking advantage of his absence she steals away to the forlorn heart of her own choice, Little Bear, before it is too late. Standing Rock returning and finding her gone at once surmises the truth, and gathering his companions together, starts in pursuit. Little Bear and Rising Moon hearing their approach endeavor to make their escape. Pushing their way toward the river bank, with Standing Rock and his braves following, they leap into a canoe and are soon dashing along in the swift current of the mountain stream, which is in places the most dangerous of rapids. The feat seems omnious, but is safely occomplished [sic], and was worthy of a better fate than capture, which they were later. Death of both is the reward, and they are bound together to this end. The ire of Standing Rock demanded more than mere death, so he proceeds to taunt and torture his rival. This is received with such stoicism by Little Bear, that standing [sic] Rock is amazed to the point of admiration for the brave’s fortitude, and not only cuts the cords that bind him, but bestows upon him the Eagle Feather, the highest honored gift to the brave, and bids he and Rising Moon to go and may they be happy. The subject as a whole is a combination of poetical romance and dramatic intensity, the canoe chases being the most picturesque and thrilling ever shown. // Synopsis available in Usai-Griffith-3 p. 4.
Survival status: Prints exist in the Museum of Modern Art film archive [35mm nitrate negative]; in the Library of Congress film archive (paper print collection) [35mm paper positive]; and in Det Danske Filminstitut film archive [35mm nitrate positive (Czech language intertitles)].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Canoes - Chases - Death - Native Americans: Sioux tribe - United States: Iowa
Listing updated: 11 May 2018.
References: Barry-Griffith p. 41; Blum-Silent p. 12; Spehr-American p. 3; Usai-Griffith-3 pp. 2, 3-5, 7, 8, 10, 13 : Website-AFI.
Home video: DVD.
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