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The Debt Repaid
(1910) United States of America
B&W : One reel / [?] 935 or 945? feet
Directed by William F. Haddock
Cast: Henry Stanley [the rancher], Edith Storey [his daughter], [?] William Clifford [Swift Arrow]?, [?] Francis Ford?
Méliès Star-Film [American] production; distributed by Méliès Star-Film [American]. / Produced by Gaston Méliès. Cinematography by William Paley. / Released 5 May 1910. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Western.
Synopsis: [The Moving Picture World, 7 May 1910, page ?] Swift Arrow, a lithe and willowy Indian, leaving the encampment of his fellow braves, is well on his journey when he is thrown from his horse and receives a broken leg and injuries from which he is disabled and lies helpless and alone. He is discovered by a ranchman and his daughter, who bathe his wounds and take him to their home, where he is restored to health and strength. In appreciation of this kindness to him, he refuses to leave them, preferring to serve them and repay them if possible the debt so generously bestowed. The ranchman with the Indian is obliged to go away from his home for a few hours and, leaving his daughter in charge of the shack, he takes his departure. During their absence the home is attacked by a hostile band of Indians, and after putting up a stiff fight, killing some and wounding others, the girl is carried off and kept captive in the Indian camp. Upon the return of the girl’s father, Swift Arrow, and their companions, they discover the scene of carnage and at once suspect the cause of the girl’s disappearance. Swift Arrow assumes the dress of his tribe and declares his intention of finding the girl and restoring her to her father. Arming himself, he goes in search of the girl and her incarcerators. He is permitted to enter into the powwows and affiliates with his brethren until he discovers the girl’s whereabouts. Watching his opportunity, he releases the girl from captivity, places her on his pony, mounts another himself, and makes for freedom. The savages discover the escape of the girl and immediately start in pursuit of her and her deliverer, who is mortally shot and captured while the girl rides frantically to her father’s ranch and notifies him and the ranchmen of Swift Arrow’s plight. They prepare to go to his rescue. Mounting their horses, they ride off, the girl joins them and they reach the Indian encampment just in time to snatch Swift Arrow from the burning log pile and the stake to which he is bound, after a terrific battle in which the Indians are routed and defeated. With a last longing look of gratitude, Swift Arrow, gazing into the faces of his friends, smilingly starts for the “happy hunting grounds.”
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 21 May 1910, page ?] An Indian picture representing so realistically that one shudders involuntarily in watching it. The Indian warfare which raged on the frontiers all the time in this country was in the process of settlement. Without assuming to discuss the abstract question of right or wrong which entered into the struggle, one must admit that it existed and that bloody fights, like the one here represented, and worse, occurred over and over again. The girl was saved in this instance, but the actual cases where this was true were too few to be considered. Perhaps a picture like this will afford some impression of what it really cost to settle this country, of the continuous warfare and the daily struggle which menaced every settler’s home. Well, it is passed, but a graphic glance backward, such as this picture permits, has its uses and a production of this sort is to be commended.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Native Americans
Listing updated: 8 August 2023.
References: Thompson-Star pp. 84-85, 228 : ClasIm-226 p. 54 : Website-AFI.
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