Massacre
Directed by Alan Crosland
Written by Ralph Block and Sheridan Gibney
1934/US
First National Pictures (Warner Bros.)
IMDb page
First viewing/Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 6
Chief Joe Thunderhorse: You used to shoot the Indian down. Now you cheat him and starve him and kill him off by dirt and disease. It’s a massacre, any way you take it!
I enjoyed this social justice film about the plight of Native Americans.
Chief Joe Thunderhorse (Richard Barthelmess) is a Sioux who was sent off the reservation to college. Thereafter he became the headliner in a Wild West Show. He is wealthy and has white girlfriend Norma (Claire Dodd). She appears to be collecting novelty sex partners and has her bedroom filled with Native American artifacts for the moment. Joe has not been back to the reservation in 15 years and Norma is disappointed when he can’t explain the meaning of some objects in her collection.
Joe’s family writes to say that his father is dying. So he sets off in his luxury automobile to the reservation for a couple of weeks. One of the first people he meets is Lydia (Ann Dvorak) and he is immediately attracted to her. Lydia is not impressed and says Joe should go away because he will never understand the oppressive conditions the Sioux suffer.
Ann Dvorak does not appreciate Richard Barthelmess’s get up or citified ways.
Joe does begin to understand when the corrupt Federal overseer of the reservation Elihu P. Quissenberry (Dudley Digges – was there ever a more nasty villain?) and his cronies attempt to milk his father’s estate and his sister gets raped by the tribe’s greedy white undertaker (Sidney Toler). The officials see Joe only as a Sioux and a second class citizen. Joe is then out for revenge. He also becomes a fighter for justice and wins Norma as a friend and ally. Can he overcome the massive odds against him?
I thought this was very good. The acting and pacing are excellent and it tells a story that had been ignored by Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans.
It’s not particularly pre-Code except for the bedroom scene with Claire Dodd and the theme of the sister’s rape.
Most non-PC trailer I’ve seen in a while. Claire Dodd’s description of the plot is a scream!
