The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
R: David W. Griffith. K: G.W.Billy Bitzer. D: Mae Marsh, Charles Hill, Blanche Sweet, Walter Miller, Alfred Paget, Elmer Booth, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish Kate Bruce. P: Biograph. USA 1913

“As a western – that is as an early contributor to one of the major genres in American film history – The Battle at Elderbush Gulch is difficult to judge. Its western setting seems more an excuse for filming action rather than an exploration of any of the basic mythic elements of the genre. We have white settlers, we have Indians – and yes, we have violent conflict, ending with the arrival of the U.S. Cavalry. But it is difficult to assign any true perspective upon the myth of conquest from this film. As for the Indians, Griffith depicts them very simply, as savages, sleeping out in the open, eating dogs, and jumping around maniacally – is this supposed to be a ritual war dance? – before attacking the white settlers. But Griffith gives them an undeniably excellent reason for the attack. The Chief’s son has been shot to death by one of the white men. The tribe is naturally enraged, and they come on horseback, guns blazing, to exact revenge. The white settlers, on the other hand, are simply going about their daily business. The ranch upon which most of the action takes place has now become the home for two female ‘waifs’ – orphans, who are now staying with their cowpoke uncle. This good man’s boss won’t allow any dogs in his house, thus setting up the problem that the girls’ little puppies will cause when two young Indians wander back late for a doggy feast.
Soon, it’s all-out war between the two peoples. The Indians invade the ranch and storm the town. The subplot – the ‘town plot’ deals with a mother (Lillian Gish) and her baby, who has disappeared and be-come a potential victim for the marauders. So essentially we have the same situation as in Griffith’s first film, The Adventures of Dollie (1908) – a helpless child is threatened by ethnically different people.

Hollywood’s myopia concerning Native Americans begins early in its history – but that was merely an extension of the prevailing views of the time, as close as they were (in 1914) to actual skirmishes out west and on the plains. It is the same carry over as in Griffith’s ‘southern’ attitude towards Blacks. All Hollywood will do is solidify and codify the myths about savage Indians for another forty years or so, until these assumptions will begin to be challenged in the 1950s and 60s.
The production and acting of Elderbush Gulch is superb. The performances are thoroughly professional throughout: featuring Gish, newcomer Mae Marsh, Alfred Paget, Robert Harron, along with small cameos from Griffith’s other stock players. It is a film that is perhaps more impressive for what it achieves than it is enjoyable to watch, however. At least from my perspective, the near-century of repetition has almost completely worn down any residual power that the film once had. But there is no question that it is a technical triumph and another important giant step forward towards the establishment of cinema as a major art form from its most important early master.”
Pete Gooch
THE WORLD CINEMA CANON

The Massacre
R: David W. Griffith. K: G.W.Billy Bitzer. D: Charles Hill, Robert Harron, Blanche Sweet, Charles H. West, Donald Crisp, Lionel Barrymore. P: Biograph. USA 1912

Further links:

• Griffith-11: Telephone Stories
• Griffith-10: Doublings
• Griffith-09: Narrative Montage
• Griffith-08: Intellectual Montage
• Griffith-07: Outside, Inside – Transitions
• Griffith-06: Figure and Space, Inside
• Griffith-05: Locked In
• Griffith-04: Figure and Space, outside
• Griffith-03: Psychologically Ambivalent
• Griffith 02: Close-up
• Griffith 01: Cross-Cuttings

TRAUM UND EXZESS, S. 290