Kidnapping by Indians

1899 film

Kidnapping by Indians

Film screenshot

Directed by| Mitchell and Kenyon
Produced by| Mitchell and Kenyon
Cinematography| James Kenyon

Release date

* 1899 (1899)

Running time

| 1 minute
Country| United Kingdom
Languages| Silent
English intertitles

Kidnapping by Indians is a 1899 British silent short Western film, made by the Mitchell and Kenyon film company,[1] shot in Blackburn, England.[2] It is believed to be the first dramatic film in the Western genre,[3] pre-dating Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery by four years.[4]

## Background

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According to Jamie Holman, a local researcher, James Kenyon of Mitchell & Kenyon met some Americans in Blackburn when he was a boy. This sparked his interest in the "Wild West" and ultimately led to the production of this film.[2] The British Film Institute (BFI) questions the ethnicity of the costumes used[3] but Holman has maintained that they are authentic as tomahawks, head-dress and other Western stereotypes are in evidence.[4] Holman says many cotton workers from Blackburn went to America after the American Civil War and brought back stories of the wild frontier which whetted local interest. He says: "Mitchell and Kenyon would have been aware of the appetite for the Wild West at the time".[4] The film was shot in the countryside near Blackburn and used local actors.[4]

According to Bryony Dixon, a curator at the BFI, Kidnapping By Indians is a significant film in the Western genre. The storyline of a white girl being kidnapped by Indians is in The Last of the Mohicans and many Wild West productions such as The Searchers. Ms Dixon admits the film lacks some of the usual Western elements, but then again, so does The Great Train Robbery.[4]

## Plot

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The plot focuses on an attack by Native Americans on a camp where white people are staying. The attackers set fire to the camp and kidnap a young girl. Some cowboys arrive and a gunfight begins. The captured girl is rescued by the cowboys. The BFI suggests the film may be a scene from a larger stage production.[3]

## See also

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* List of Western films before 1920

## References

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1. ^ "First western was shot in Blackburn, claims researcher". The Times. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
2. ^ a b Barlow, Nigel (31 October 2019). "Could the first Western movie have been filmed in Blackburn?". About Manchester. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
3. ^ a b c "Kidnapping by Indians". BFI. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
4. ^ a b c d e Paterson, Colin (31 October 2019). "World's first Western movie 'filmed in Blackburn'". BBC News. Retrieved 1 November 2019.

## External links

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* Kidnapping by Indians at IMDb
* Kidnapping by Indians on YouTube