1941: "because most of the Indians in Hollywood know less about their tribal customs and traditions than the average Boy Scout."
Redskin Rejects Role in Movie as Drunk Indian
1941, Jan 5. The Courier Journal
Hollywood, Dec 4 - Rather than disillusion millions of youngsters, Chief Thunder Cloud refused to play a drunken Indian in a motion picture.
A studio cast him for Zane Grey's "Western Union," but when he read the script, he insisted that the writers make him a sober red man. Directory Fritz Lang relented when he found that the code of the Indian Actor's Association forbade its members enacting drunken Indians.
Thunder Cloud insister that he was a hero to millions of boys and girls every Saturday afternoon who crowd the country's theaters to see him as Tonto in a serial.
1941, Jan 5. The Courier Journal |
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Redskins are on Hollywood Warpath
by Mary Armitage
1946, April 20 The Main-Adelaide For a start, nine films, all using Red Indian casts, will be released or start production immediately.....
It will be refreshing to see a heap big Injun on the movie warpath once again. He'll probably be a nicer fellow than he was pre-war.
After Pear Harbor, the US Office of War Information - in defense to Indians in the US forces - asked studios not to make movies about murdering treacherous redskins.
Most of the studios promptly stopped making redskin movies, for that was the only kind of Red Indians their scenarist knew. Fox's big, "Sitting Bill," for instance, was one of those shelved.
But RKO recently came to light with a new angle on the Indian problem in "Badman's Territory." It made the redskins heroes, and the white men villains.
With things getting back to normal, a glance over studio schedule shows some of the year's biggest action films with Red Indians in their casts. These include John Farrow's "California," Fox's "My Darling CLementine," DeMille's "The Unconquered," Warner's "Cheyenne," and of course, "Ramona," now being re-made for the third time.
Most of the boys carrying the scalping knives and tomahawks are returned US servicemen, with distinguished war records.
1946, April 20 The Main-Adelaide |
1947 - The Unconquered |
Movie Indians Form New Units
1941, April 6 Arizona Independent Republic
Hollywood, April 5 - A new organization, the Native Redmen of Hollywood, a group of 44 men and women of American Indian blood who make their living in motion pictures, has been formed.
Their object is to preserve and study the inter-tribal sign language face decoration and tepee painting. This information comes from Many Treaties, listed in casting offices as Bill Hazlett. He and Jim Thorpe, the old athletic, got the redmen together "because most of the Indians in Hollywood know less about their tribal customs and traditions than the average Boy Scout."
From among the membership, Many Treaties says technical advisers will be chosen for pictures about Indians. The boys will study up in the meantime, he promised, so they won''t be stumped if a director asked for something like a good face painting job.
1941, April 6 Arizona Independent Republic |