Children of the Forest (1913) User Reviews

For a 1913 Essanay film about Native Americans trying to warn white man about forest fires, it's better than many of the same era.

[Larry41OnEbay-2 · 7/10 · 6 September 2012]

I just watched this film on a flatbed at the Library Of Congress and even with nitrate decomp towards the end it holds up pretty well. The story starts with native American (Indians) living in harmony with nature, until a snake crosses his path and we are warned this is a sign of pending danger. Some of the shots show great composition, framing the tepees on the edge of the water. The smooth camera work following the lead characters as they get water and walk through the forest is quite good. Then Carl Stockdale, a white man camping in the area leaves his camp fire burning unattended. The Indian man sees the smokes and rushes to put it out. His lovely Indian maid follows him. The pale face returns finding the Indian putting out his fire. There is a brief lecture and the pale face and the maid take second looks at each other as they depart. Later, the white man discovers the maid left behind a patch of cloth that must have torn off on his lean-to post. Early the next morning he hears the maid getting water from the river and goes to return the cloth. Again he leaves his campfire burning. As he tries to get closer to her explaining the business about the cloth he grabs her, she runs away. We see amber tinted shots of the fire growing and spreading. As the maid tries to get back to her tepee she gets cut off by smoke and fire. The Native American sees the smoke and tries to alert the maid, but she is missing. He goes towards the fire to find her but she has passed out in the smoke and he misses seeing her until he sees a snake again crossing his path. He turns around and finds her just in time to take her up and out of the valley to safety. The film ends with the Indians safely on a cliff leaving the fire to destroy their valley paradise.

An artistic production

[deickemeyer · 17 February 2018]

We are shown a forest fire started and quickly spreading, and it certainly justifies itself as part of a picture story; the flames seem animated with an intelligently directed desire to consume the Indian heroine. It was played in a bit of woods as dry as tinder and is truly most effective. There is good material in the story, too, and the whole can be termed an artistic production. A good release. - The Moving Picture World, December 27, 1913