Ramona

If you had not read the original novel or at least read up on the film "Ramona", I don't think you'd have much of a notion of what is transpiring. Though this is only a seventeen minute movie, the whole of a novel is presented to us. If it wasn't for its landmark status as representative of early silent films it wouldn't pass muster.

This is a tale of the inequitable treatment of Southern California Native Americans. Ramona is smitten by a member of the local tribe, and they eventually are wed despite the objections of her sort-of foster mother. The couple are run out of their home by land-grabbing white settlers. All this ends badly.

Consider that the novel "Ramona" was published in 1884 and that it achieved enormous popularity, so D. W. Griffith's film was destined to be a success. But besides its place in film history for the almost overwhelming interest of the story to the public it was one of the many pieces of work D. W. Griffith was churning out, making history just in the doing.

According to Darling Kindersley's "Chronicle of the Cinema", Griffith went on a "working vacation" – one in which he shot 25 films in four months as he and his ensemble toured California. One of the films made was this, "Ramona."

Paul Spehr drives home the importance of "Ramona" and other Griffith efforts around this time:

…it is camera work and editing that make the most startling advances during this period. Griffith "publicly laid claim to the introduction of 'large or close-up figures, distant views as represented first in 'Ramona', the 'switchback' (cross cutting – gc), sustained suspense, the 'fade out', and restraint in expression', raising motion picture acting to the higher plane which has won for it recognition as a genuine art.'

One quite noticeable aspect of this film is the lack of dialogue frames. Instead there are graphic text frames inserted occasionally to detail what is transpiring. But in no sense is the filmed footage tied to the actual dialogue we see. But as mentioned above without prior knowledge of the subject the movie is so abbreviated that it doesn't come close to conveying the whole story.

It has taken me far longer to write this review than to see the movie.

Three stars.

When Native American Allesandro first glimpses Ramona (Mary Pickford) he is completely smitten. After singing and strumming a tune on his guitar Ramona becomes romantically drawn to the benign Allesandro in spite of the the strong societal taboos facing such a relationship. They elope together but wherever they turn they are met with racist fury.

Before and after (Broken Blossoms) Birth of a Nation DW Griffith had no qualms about magnifying white man intolerance towards minorities. In Ramona he does a fine job of creating immense sympathy for the lovers and clear condemnation for the violent loutish behavior of the conquerers.

There are some stunning vistas to behold in this on location shoot in Ventura County CA. as the outcasts retreat to the perceived freedom of the great outdoors. Griffith's compositions are however mostly stilted and poorly blocked but it does not lessen the impact that Ramona is a brave socially conscious film that dares to hold up a mirror to the face of the majority of ticket buyers and take the other side.

Ramona (1910)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Early version of Hellen Hunt Jackson's novel, which tells the story of Ramona (Mary Pickford), a Spanish woman who goes to stay with relatives in California where she is expected to marry a Spanish man. Ramona eventually falls in love with an Indian (Henry B. Walthall), which sets off racism in the white community. Here's another message picture from Griffith who uses the full title to include "The Story of the White Man's Injustice to the Indian". Griffith often stood up and made these type of pictures to protect the rich or minorities and this film fits into that same mode. Walthall is terrific as the Indian and delivers a very strong performance but Pickford comes off pretty bad with some of her over the top acting. Mae Marsh, Mack Sennett and Jack Pickford also have small parts. There's some nice scenery and some strong photography by G.W. Bitzer but in the end the film drags in too many places to be a total success. There's a terrific shot of the white men burning down the Indian village with Griffith filming it from on top of a mountain. This story has been told in countless films with the most popular being the Fox version from 1936, which features Loretta Young and Don Amche.

The first movie to be adapted from a novel that paid an author a fee for rights to use the story was Biograph Studio's "Ramona," released in May 1910. Director D.W. Griffith insisted the studio pay Helen Hunt Jackson $100 to translate her best-selling book to film. The sentiment of Griffith paying an author for the rights may have been because of the pending appeal of the case against Karem Studios working itself through the courts to the Supreme Court. That was the 1907 "Ben Hur" litigation suit on the studio using the Ben Hur story without the author's heirs' permission. Griffith made sure his audience noticed the attribution to the author by stating her name and and the book's publisher in the opening credits--a first in cinema.

"Ramona" stars Mary Pickford as a Spanish orphan who falls in love with a Native American. Griffith uses solitary or small groups of people to symbolize the larger historical scope of the white man civilization's treatment of constantly evicting Native Americans from their lands. Here, the Indians are represented by a ranch worker who falls in love with Ramona, who returns his passion. Once the Spanish Californians realize the mixed race affair, they go about burning the Indian village where her lover resides, causing a dislocation of the natives from the area.

"Ramona" was filmed in Ventura County, CA, during Griffith's winter stay in that state's warmer climate. Taking advantage of its stunning typography, Griffith used the high, rugged mountains as a backdrop to capture the movie's eye-popping visuals as the drama unfolds before his camera.

This film was an adaptation of Helen Hunt Jackson's 'Ramona'. Griffith gravitated towards this project because his previous film, 'The Two Brothers', came to a halt because of three days of rain. He felt like a caged lion being trapped inside his hotel room, and decided to get to work on his next project: this one.