THE HUNTRESS (1923) Colleen Moore & Lloyd Hughes Native Americans Silent Film

Description

Vintage original 11x14 in. US lobby card
from the classic 1920's Native American-themed silent film drama,
THE HUNTRESS
, released in 1923 by First National and
directed by John Francis Dillon and Lynn Reynolds
. Based upon the novel by Hulbert Footner, Bela (Colleen Moore), reared by Indians, learns that she is a white orphan and runs away from the Indian village to avoid marrying a brave from the tribe. She determines to marry land prospector Sam Gladding (Lloyd Hughes), who resists her advances but later falls in love with Bela when an Indian sage gives him some advice. The cast includes Russell Simpson, Walter Long, C.E. Anderson, Snitz Edwards, and Chief John Big Tree.
The image features an exterior shot of Bela (
Colleen Moore
), a white orphan raised by
Native Americans and wearing traditional Native American attire, looking
exhausted
as she holds the boots belonging to Sam Gladding (
Lloyd Hughes
) as he glares at her
. It is unrestored in near-fine condition with a dust shadow along the left edge; two pinholes in the top border and one in the bottom border; a 2 in. diagonal crease on the top border near the right corner; a very light 5 in. diagonal crease above Hughes' left shoulder that extends downwards to the right border; small creases on the bottom left corner; and some random smudges in the borders.
The Huntress
was the first film Colleen Moore made after signing a contract with First National in 1923. This film was the first film that Colleen worked under John Francis Dillon and the first film that she and actor Lloyd Hughes appeared in together.
The July 1923 issue of
American Cinematographer
magazine reported that exteriors for
The Huntress
were filmed in Bishop, CA. In a monthly column called "A Letter from Location" in the October 1923
Picture-Play
magazine, Colleen Moore more specifically located the production in the snowy High Sierras at Mammoth Lake, CA, where the cast and crew stayed at a mountaineer camp. At one point, in order to change locations, the production had to dynamite the snow drifts blocking the roads. Other mountain locations included Convict Lake, Twin Lakes, and Silver Lake.