James Young Deer
Encyclopedia
James Young Deer born J. Younger Johnston and also known as Jim Young Deer, was an early Native American
film
actor
, director
, writer
, and producer
. With his wife and partner, Lillian St. Cyr
, they were an "influential force" in the production of one-reel Westerns during the first part of the silent film
era.
, Young Deer was a member of the Nebraska Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) tribe. He began his entertainment career in the 1890s with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West Show.
On April 9, 1906, he married actress Lillian St. Cyr, known by her stage name of Princess Red Wing. St. Cyr
was also a member of the Nebraska Ho-Chunk tribe.
, Lubin
, Vitagraph
, and Biograph
. He also worked at one of the first independent film companies, the New York Motion Picture Company, under the Bison trademark. He eventually ran the West Coast studio operations for the French-owned film company Pathé Frères
.
In all, Young Deer acted, wrote, or directed dozens of early films.
. During World War I
he created documentaries in France
, and directed crime melodramas for British and Colonial Films
in London
. After returning to the United States in 1919, he worked occasionally as a "second-unit director on independently produced low-budget B movie
s and serials." Young Deer died in New York City
in April 1946.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. With his wife and partner, Lillian St. Cyr
Red Wing (actress)
-External links:...
, they were an "influential force" in the production of one-reel Westerns during the first part of the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era.
Early life
Born J. Younger Johnston in Dakota City, NebraskaDakota City, Nebraska
Dakota City is a city in Dakota County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dakota County...
, Young Deer was a member of the Nebraska Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) tribe. He began his entertainment career in the 1890s with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West Show.
On April 9, 1906, he married actress Lillian St. Cyr, known by her stage name of Princess Red Wing. St. Cyr
Red Wing (actress)
-External links:...
was also a member of the Nebraska Ho-Chunk tribe.
Career
Young Deer began acting and directing in 1908, completing several one-reeler Westerns that year. Among the film companies for which he worked as an actor, director, and writer were KalemKalem Company
The Kalem Company was an American film studio founded in New York City in 1907 by George Kleine, Samuel Long , and Frank J. Marion.The company immediately joined other studios in the Motion Picture Patents Company that held a monopoly on production and distribution...
, Lubin
Lubin Studios
The Lubin Manufacturing Company, was an American motion picture production company that produced silent films from 1902 to 1916. Lubin films were distributed with a Liberty Bell trademark.-History:...
, Vitagraph
Vitagraph Studios
American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
, and Biograph
Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios was a studio facility and film laboratory complex built in 1912 by the Biograph Company, formerly American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, at 807 E. 175th Street, in the Bronx, New York....
. He also worked at one of the first independent film companies, the New York Motion Picture Company, under the Bison trademark. He eventually ran the West Coast studio operations for the French-owned film company Pathé Frères
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
.
In all, Young Deer acted, wrote, or directed dozens of early films.
Impact of work
Young Deer's films were noted for being early Westerns "without the cliches of hostile Indian warriors or wagon train attacks." The ability of Young Deer and St. Cyr to avoid the "inaccuracies and negative stereotypes" of how Native Americans were portrayed on-screen was due to several factors, including the calls for more authenticity in westerns from film trade journals, protests by Native Americans and other moviegoers, and the early flexibility of the film industry. As a result, Young Deer and St. Cyr "rewrote the racial scripts of the western, commenting on racism, assimilation, racial mixture, and cultural contact. Many of their films revisited and revised the wildly popular 'squaw man' plot involving a crossracial romance between an Indian woman and white man. Young Deer and St. Cyr systematically undermined the 'vanishing Indian' trope by giving the plots a new political center of gravity."Later years
After encountering legal troubles in California in 1913, when a seventeen year-old girl alleged he lured her into a room and then assaulted her, Young Deer moved to EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he created documentaries in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and directed crime melodramas for British and Colonial Films
British and Colonial Films
British and Colonial Films was a British company making predominantly silent films, which operated in London between 1908 and 1924. It was also known by the abbreviation B & C....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After returning to the United States in 1919, he worked occasionally as a "second-unit director on independently produced low-budget B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s and serials." Young Deer died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in April 1946.
Director
- Lieutenant Daring RN and the Water Rats (1924)
- The Stranger (1920/I) (as James Youngdeer)
- Who Laughs Last (1920)
- The Savage (1913)
- The Unwilling Bride (1912)
- The Squaw Man's Sweetheart (1912)
- Red Deer's Devotion (1911)
- The Yaqui Girl (1910)
- Cowboy Justice (1910)
- An Indian's Gratitude (1910)
- A Cheyenne Brave (1910)
- The Red Girl and the Child (1910)
- Under Both Flags (1910)
- White Fawn's Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in AmericaWhite Fawn's DevotionWhite Fawn's Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in America is a 1910 American short dramatic silent film. The film, which features Princess Red Wing as "White Fawn", was shot in New Jersey at 24fps....
(1910) (uncredited) - Red Wing's Gratitude (1909)
- For Her Sale; or, Two Sailors and a Girl (1909)
- The Falling Arrow (1909)
Actor
- Man of Courage (1922) .... Aquila
- Under Handicap (1917) (as James Youngdeer) .... Lonesome Pete
- Against Heavy Odds (1914)
- The Unwilling Bride (1912)
- Little Dove's Romance (1911)
- Red Deer's Devotion (1911)
- Young Deer's Return (1910) .... Young Deer
- The Red Girl and the Child (1910)
- The Indian and the Cowgirl (1910)
- The Cowboy and the Schoolmarm (1910)
- Young Deer's Gratitude (1910) .... Young Deer
- The Ten of Spades; or, A Western Raffle (1910)
- Young Deer's Bravery (1909) .... Young Deer
- Red Wing's Gratitude (1909)
- The Mended Lute (1909) .... Indian
- The True Heart of an Indian (1909) ... aka A True Indian's Heart (USA)
Writer
- Lieutenant Daring RN and the Water Rats (1924) (writer)
- Neck and Noose (1919) (story) (as Jim Youngdeer)
- White Fawn's Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in AmericaWhite Fawn's DevotionWhite Fawn's Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in America is a 1910 American short dramatic silent film. The film, which features Princess Red Wing as "White Fawn", was shot in New Jersey at 24fps....
(1910) (uncredited)