'THE VANISHING RACE'

Evening Star, Issue 19410, 19 November 1926, Page 5

'THE VANISHING RACE'

FIRST SHOWING TO-DAY The hitter, courageous, determined, but hopeless stand of the Indian against the white enemies, their retreat from the green fields and wellwatered places they had called their homes for centuries into the barren desert, forms one of the most gripping episodes in ‘The Vanishing Race,’ the Paramount screen version of the story by Zane Grey, now on the screen at the Empire Theatre. The tale is told in the sincere, dii’ect, dramatic manner that characterises all of Grey s works. It Is not a tragedy,, and it does not gloss over the impositions and transgressions of the white man against the red. A brief outline of the story is as follows;—Nophaie, an Indian reared among the white men, joins his tribe as their leader. The tribe is exploited and robbed by Brooker, an Indian agent, and his men. Nophaie’e protests are of no use. Then America enters into the Great War, and the Indians, knowing of the duplicity of Brooker, refuse to believe Captain Ilamsdoll when he tells them they will be fairly treated. Marion Warner,, a school mistress, exerts a strange influence over Nophaie, getting him, along with others of the tribe, to enlist in the army. In France they distinguished themselves for bravery. Upon returning home they find that Brooker is the chief agent at the Indian.post, and had stolen their lands and exiled their people to the desert. He is also responsible for the death of one of the women of the tribe. Shoie, against the council of Nophaie, exhorts his people to war. The Indians descend upon the town of Mesa, and the whites, are forced to take cover in the schoolhouse. Brooker and some of his, gang are killed, and when Nophaie, in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed, comes to the door of the schoolhouse he is mistaken for a white man and shot. Realising their mistake, the Indians bury the hatchet, and the picture ends with the marriage of Marion Warner to Captain Ramsdell. Reviving the days of the most heroic battles of one Indian, tribe against another are the scenes in ‘ The Vanishing Race.’ Ten thousand Indians took part in the filming of the picture. In endless clouds they swept by the cameras, forgetting it was just makebelieve at times, this making it difficult at times to control them. But because of their enthusiasm that almost bordered on real bloodshed, scenes that could not be 'duplicated were obtained. While these scenes form only a part of the thrilling features of the picture they are vitally real. The special music to be played by the Empire Select Orchestra under Mr Chas. Parnell will include the entr’acte, duet for flute and clarinet,, ‘By the Waters of Minnetonka ’ (Lieurance); ‘By the Sundial,’ from the ‘ Cobweb Castle’ suite (Lehmann); patrol, ‘lndian Girl’ (Lowenstein); selection, ‘ Rose Marie ’ (Friml and Stothart); ‘ Indian I,ove Call ’ (Friml); a fantasy From ‘ Bohemian Woods ’ (Friml); ‘From the Land of the Sky-blue Water' (Cadman); ‘Far Off I Hear a Lover’s Flute’ (Cadman); ‘Star of India’ (Bratton); and ‘An Indian Wedding,’ chant and invocation (Trinkaus).