Venere indiana

I saw this a a little kid and only remember the torture scene and the "loosing weight so we can fit between the bars" episode.'' This is a great telling of the Florida Indian Wars and the dreadful outcome.

Fairly accurate telling of the struggle for control of Florida in the 1800s. Film 'dares' to depict the use of Indians as slaves in the South. Unlike most of the genre of the 50s, there are no real good guys here. Something different here.

My father was co-producer of this movie when I was in grade school. I still have still photos of the shoot and a copy of the original script. It was made by Empire Studios, the first motion picture studio in Florida in the early 50s, long before Disney and Universal Studios.

I went on location many times and was on site for the Major Dade massacre and the scenes where the guards are found dead on the settler's porch. I also was at the studios in Winter Park when much post production took place.

This was the second of three movies my father worked with R. John Hughs on in the 50s. As a grade "B" movie it wasn't so bad and was in color, which wasn't usual at that time. I've seen the movie for sell at a video store in the past and wished I had bought it.

The lead actor, James Craig, starred on a 15 minute TV detective series at the time and was a "B" list actor. Of course, Barton MacLane starred in movies as a supporting actor with the big names of the 30s to the 50s (John Wayne, etc.). MacLane also starred later in the 60s as the general on I Dream of Jeanie TV show.

Many of the extras in the movies were students at Boone and Edgewater High Schools in Orlando. I graduated from Edgewater. My father said he always got calls from the school's deans complaining about skipping while the movie was being shot in Orlo Bronson's cow pasture in St. Cloud, Florida. Bronson was a former Fla. State senator.

Several of the other actors were local aspiring actors and Rollins College theatre students. It wasn't Hollywood but it sure was exciting to see the movie being made.

My father was the Art Director for this film. The photo above is him holding the clapperboard while shooting a scene in the Everglades. During a break in filming he married my mother-to-be and went to Jamaica for their honeymoon. She was a British subject (Northern Ireland) and was incorrectly told by the travel agent that she didn't need anything special to return to the U.S. When dad had to return to resume filming, she was stopped and detained for attempting to re- emigrate into the U.S. (Jamaica was still a colony of the British Empire) Dad had to leave her there to straighten things out, because of the huge cost of location filming. Fortunately, dad had connections with the Episcopal archbishop and she was allowed to stay in the Governor's House for the duration of her six week 'holiday'while her emigration status was established and he finished the film. Rough start for a marriage, but the film was completed on time and they spent 55 happy years together.

At the age of 15 I witnessed the making of this movie. Parts were shot near St. Cloud FL. My family owned a ranch near the site that the big pole fort was built. We would all go down to watch the filming. A ranch hand quit working for my father to take a part in the film. His name was Curt Bryant and he played the scout with the long red hair. At the time of the filming in '57 much of Florida looked as it was in the indian times.