Kidnapping by Indians
About Kidnapping by Indians
Native American attackers set fire to a camp of white travelers and carry off a young girl. Cowboys ride in, a gunfight starts, and the girl is taken back. Mitchell and Kenyon shot the scene in the countryside near Blackburn with local people.
More about Kidnapping by Indians
Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon made the film. Kenyon is credited with the photography. The British Film Institute has suggested it may be a scene taken from a stage show.
Themes
Background
Wild West shows were already touring Britain when Mitchell and Kenyon staged this raid for the camera.
Making
James Kenyon photographed the attack, the fire, and the rescue in open country outside Blackburn.
Look
James Kenyon shot the raid in one outdoor setup near Blackburn.
Preservation
The British Film Institute has examined a surviving print.
Notes
- It is often cited as the first dramatic Western, four years before Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903).
- The kidnapping of a white girl is the same story-shape used in adaptations of The Last of the Mohicans.
- The British Film Institute has questioned how convincing the costumes are.
- Mitchell and Kenyon were filming for fairground and local showmen, not for a Hollywood market that did not yet exist.
Scenes
- The attackers set the camp on fire and ride off with the girl.
- Cowboys arrive and the gunfight starts.
