Pocahontas (1910 film)

Hendrik Hudson's ship, Halve Maen, was used for the opening scene to establish the Jamestown landing. Though minor costuming and historical accuracy errors were pointed out, the film was praised as being of the highest quality of any Independent company. The film is presumed lost

King Powhatan, the acknowledged head of all of the red men in Virginia. Powhatan orders his prisoner's execution. Just as the fatal club is about to descend, Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of the King, throws herself before her father. She begs so fervently that the white man's life be spared that Powhatan relents and orders his release. Captain Smith returns in safety to his friends. Later Pocahontas is taken prisoner by the English and held as hostage. While a prisoner, she is converted to Christianity, and falls in love with Rolfe, a handsome young Englishman. They are married in a rude little church at Jamestown, and the Indian princess sails away with her husband to England. There she is received with royal honors by King James I, but the foreign flower cannot stand transplanting. She soon sickens and dies, and in her last hours is visited by visions of the home in the wilderness that she would fly back to if she could."^[1]

John W. Noble, Mrs. George Walters.^[8] According to a reviewer of the film, the cast included real Native Americans.^[9]

The New York Dramatic Mirror reviewer who states, "One scene shows the copy of Henry Hudson's vessel used in the Hudson-Fulton celebration, and it is supposed in the film to represent the ship that brought John Smith and his party to America."^[1] Another reviewer from The Moving Picture World confirms the usage in the production: "We all know the story, but it was left for this enterprising concern to show us John Smith landing from the Half Moon, which was borrowed for the occasion. This occurs at the very beginning and gives the film a stamp of reality that seldom has been obtained in any historical subject."^[9] One flaw in the production was the scene in which Pocahontas appears in the court of King James and the setting draws attention over the action itself. The lack of a throne and unusual shaped windows, likened to those of a conservatory or enclosed veranda by the reviewer, diminishing the effect of the short scene.^[9]

The Moving Picture News stated, "Never did any Licensed manufacturer turn out a better picture, and seldom have they turned out one that's equal. The details, the settings, the staging and the acting, not neglecting the photography, put this picture way above par."^[1] Walton, also of The Moving Picture News affirmed that the quality of the film, but acknowledged some minor historical accuracy points in the production itself. Walton concluded, "Such films as these lift moving picturedom into the higher plane, where its most enduring successes will be won. The presentation, in such a worthy form as this, of the timber from whence our nation has been hewn, cannot but meet with commendation. I feel sure England will welcome this stately production with as hearty a welcome as it has received, and merited, in New York."^[1] The Moving Picture World also confirmed the quality of the production as one which further elevates the reputation of the Thanhouser Company.^[1]

The New York Dramatic Mirror review criticized the production for being "too crowded for pictorial beauty and too stiffly acted for dramatic effect. The picture, therefore, falls short of the mark aimed at, although it is not unworthy of some praise. ... There are a number of flaws in the costuming that should not go unnoticed -- the cloth trousers worn by some of the Indians, the iron hatchets carried by at least two of them, the corsets and tailor-made fancy Indian costume worn by Pocahontas."^[1] The Mirror however was not impartial and was seen as an organ of the Licensed films. Despite this, the reviews were perceptive and were usually favorable to Thanhouser productions.^{[14][note 1]}