THE VANISHING RACE

Evening Star, Issue 19409, 18 November 1926, Page 5

THE VANISHING RACE

SUPERB INDIAN FILM The coming of the whit© man to the North of America and the gradual development of the native race of the Western Hemisphere are depicted m 4 The Vanishing Race,’ Paramount’s screen version of Zano Grey s story ot the slowly disappearing red man. The prehistoric episodes of the picture briefly review the story of the early days of civilisation and pre-civilisation, and are among the most powerful in the film. To make those scenes 10,000 Indians, almost a third of the population of the Navajo Indian Reservation, were used. Two years of preparation were put into this picture by the company that has given the public such films as ‘ The Ten Commandments ’ and ‘ The Covered Wagon.’ Richard Dix, Lois Wilson, Noah Beery, and Malcolm M‘Gregor are featured in the leading roles. “ The forced retreat into the desert wastes, maraked by a trail of blood, is one of the major transgressions of the white man against the red man.” These were the words of Zane Grey, and they tell the crux of the story. Commenting on ‘The Vanishing Race/ which is due for screening at the Empire Theatre to-morrow, the Sydney 1 Daily Mail ’ said: “ The film is a wonderfully realistic study, and has been superbly photographed. Many of the settings have been artistically chosen, and the groupings lend spectacular effect. The story is one of Nophaio, a Navajo Indian youth, educated artfcng the white people, who is confronted with the barrier of race when he falls in love with a white girl. _ Returning with a detachment of Indian soldiers from the warfront of Europe he finds his tribesmen in a rebellion that threatens disruption—a rebellion against the oppressions to which the red men are subjected. How he averts disaster to his people and works out his own destiny in service to his race is a motif of striking nobility. The scope of the story is wide, harking from the primitive' days up to the present, when the race, segregated to reservations, is dwindling, thwarted aborigines who cannot cope with the might of the mechanical era wrought by white civilisation. Richard Dix plays the principal role, and Lois Wilson is seen as the white girl lover. The cast generally is of a high standard, and the action brisk and convincing.” A special musical programme is promised. Seats may be reserved at The Bristol Piano Company’s or at the theatre (’phono 444). As the demand for seats is already large, the management has decided to screen the _ picture on Saturday morning, commencing at 10.30.