Public Domain Movies and Audio: Celluloid Indians (02): The Invaders (1912)

Description from archive.org:

A relatively sensitive story of a broken treaty between Native American tribes and the US by encroaching railroad men.

The film was restored by the Library of Congress,
copied at 18fps from a 35mm print.

Director: Thomas Ince
Sponsor:

New York Motion Picture Co.
Audio/Visual:

silent, black & white

Creative Commons license:

Public Domain

Review (from IMDB):
Interesting, Believable Melodrama,
5 May 2005

Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This interesting and believable melodrama benefits from its even-handed portrayal of its characters and from its realistic settings. It tells a sad, thoughtful story about a typical conflict on the western frontier, and it tells the story well. It depicts the Native American characters in a sensitive yet non-romanticized fashion, dealing honestly both with the offenses committed against them and with their own weaknesses.

The main story starts with a Native American tribe that puts its confidence in a treaty with the US government, only to find out very shortly that they have been deceived. The further developments from this setup are intertwined with some romantic sub-plots involving characters from both groups. These romances are used mostly to drive the action, but at times they are also used to illustrate some worthwhile ideas.

"The Invaders" is very good for its time in telling a fairly involved story with good technique, and in using good, detailed settings that work well. Except for the sometimes plain-vanilla characters, it is well above the average quality of movies made in 1912. It is also worth seeing for the action and the interesting story.