I enjoyed this excursion into a different time and place in America's history.It was novel to have Indians as the main players in this dusty Western drama, and the characterizations of Slim Girl (the sultry Lupe Velez), Laughing Boy (Ramon Novarro),and several bit players were unusual.The language here is often quite interesting, as if translated from another tongue, i.e., "With you or without you, my life will be the same." Such cruel words...The climactic scene is bizarre, in that Laughing Boy shows none of the anger one might expect -- or did he? Macho man Hartshone (William B. Davidson) shows his true colors and runs. (I had to rewind several times to discern the detail in this sequence.) Adding to the poignancy of this film for me is knowledge of the real-life fates of the two stars. Look them up on Wikipedia and weep.

Singing silversmith Ramon Novarro (as Laughing Boy) attends his first annual "Great Sing Dance." He and other Navajo Natives trade and sell with Caucasian people. At night, Mr. Novarro becomes acquainted with seductive dancer Lupe Velez (as Slim Girl). She's also an American Indian, but was schooled and lived in the White Man's world (as Lily). After initial apprehension, the two become aroused and begin a relationship. Sadly, Ms. Velez is considered tainted by her past association with Whites. She has trouble being accepted as a squaw by Novarro's people, and ventures into town...It's hard to believe this film was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (by Oliver La Farge). The story does have an intriguing conflict between the "Native" and "White" worlds, but it is not artfully brought to the film. Navarro and Velez have good screen chemistry, but do not impersonate their characters convincingly. Both were often given "ethnic" roles. One of Novarro's advantages in the "talkies" was his singing, and he is in fine voice, here. You will notice the "swastika" prominently displayed on Novarro's Indian blanket - of course, this has nothing to do with the Nazi symbol.**** Laughing Boy (4/13/34) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Ramon Novarro, Lupe Velez, William Davidson, Harlan Knight

I finished watching the film last night. It's REALLY interesting. The original novel by Oliver LaFarge won the Pulitzer Prize in 1929. He was a Harvard anthropologist who made several trips to Arizona to study the Navajos and actually learned their language and was one of the ones who created a system of writing it. The film is very interesting -- taking place in the 1910s, it's about a young girl (Slim Girl) who has left the tribe and become the kept woman of a white rancher in town. She fall is in love with Laughing Boy -- a traditional Navajo cattle herder who marries her. She doesn't fit in with Indian tradition and the "white man" treats her like a prostitute -- she's been raised in White-run Indian schools so she's torn between two culture and demeaned by both. The film definitely has a pre-Hays code sensibility because there's some premarital sex, adultery, alcohol abuse, miscegenation, a kept woman -- the film is more a study of Slim Girl than of Laughing Boy. It's really quite amazing that MGM ever made this film! The unfortunate aspect of it is the acting and casting of Ramon Novarro and Lupe Velez. The two Latin spitfires are just all wrong for the characters although Novarro is very sweet in the role.

LAUGHING BOY loves Slim Girl, but she has lived too long among the white man and cannot fit in with her new husband's traditional Navajo family. What will happen when he discovers she has returned to being a prostitute to make them some extra money?Ramon Novarro & Lupe Velez do the best they can with somewhat embarrassing material. Their performances alone elevate the film above the mundane.Director W. S. Van Dyke, known for his vivid on-location films, tries to interject footage shot in the Southwest to lend authenticity to the plot, but the rear projection backgrounds only detract and annoy the viewer.