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Loved by a Maori Chieftess
(1913) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by [?] Bertram Bracken?
Cast: (unknown)
Méliès Star Films [American] production; distributed by [?] The Vitagraph Company of America through The General Film Company, Incorporated? / Produced by Gaston Méliès. / Released 14 March 1913. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The production was shot on-location in 1912 in New Zealand. Only 50 prints of the film were sold.
Drama: South Seas.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? As she sits and plays with “poi” balls, Wena, daughter of Chief Te Rangi-Ka-Haruru of the Nagatairua tribe of Maoris, is approached by a sorceress who predicts that she, Wena, will marry a white man, tall and handsome, with eyes blue as the sky and a fair beard. A little way distant her father is receiving the young chief Te Heuheu of the Kahungunoa, who has come to win her for his wife. The two chiefs greet each other with the “Te Hongi,” the rubbing of noses, equivalent to our handshake. Chadwick, an English trapper, tramping the woods in search of game, is chanced upon and taken prisoner by several of the Nagatairuas and brought before their chief, who orders that he be burned at the stake. Great rejoicing takes place in the preparation, for “white man meat” is in sight. But Wena recognizes in Chadwick the man of the sorceress’ prediction, and uses her vast influence to save his life. She induces her father to permit him to escape; helps him carry it out, and returns to prevent his being pursued, but not without having sworn eternal love for him and promising to meet him later and elope. That evening, when all her kinsmen sleep, she steals from the village and meets her lover at the appointed trysting place. Chadwick folds Wena to his breast, but to remain so near her village is to invite capture. So, folding his coat over her, he guides the way through the treacherous geyser lands and then takes a boat to his hut up the lake. Once inside his door, Wena is his wife. This is the Maori custom. Chief Te Rangi-Ka-Haruru, learning of Wena’s absence, dispatches the young chief Te Heuheu to trace her, and when the latter brings back word that she is with Chadwick, the old chief orders her brought back even though the white man should be killed in the task. When bodily harm is threatened Chadwick, a few days later, she consents to return, provisionally. Facing the old chief, her father, she demands her husband, but he tells her of her disgrace to the tribe and orders her to be housed and guarded. Five days later the chief finds her in a pitiful condition, overcome by the long separation from her husband. He relents and sends for Chadwick. The Englishman is received into the tribe as a chief and great rejoicing takes place in honor of the event. And Wena once more is made happy and well.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: New Zealand
Listing updated: 18 December 2024.
References: Tarbox-Lost pp. 92, 142, 233; Thompson-Star p. 70 : Website-IMDb.
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