The Yaqui is a 1916 American silent Black and white Melodrama directed by Lloyd B. Carleton and starring Hobart Bosworth, Gretchen Lederer and Emory Johnson.

The film depicts Yaqui Indians entrapped by nefarious elements into enslavement for a wealthy plantation owner.

General Martinez is an Indian-hating commander of a Mexican garrison in the northern district of Mexico.

After a history of tribal abuse at the army's hands, this incident becomes the straw that broke the camel's back.

Later on, the subjugated Yaqui tribesmen load trucks for their long trek south to the Flores plantation.

Since we presume Tambor dead, his wife Modesta and his daughter Lucia are part of the Yaqui captives.

After arriving at the plantation, Flores forces the Yaqui to work in the tropical sun for long hours.

Meanwhile, we come to find out both Martinez and Lt. Hernandez, the Generals' second in command, is in love with a wealthy land owners' daughter.

[4] Carleton arrived with impeccable credentials, having directed some 60 films for the likes of Thanhouser, Lubin, Fox, and Selig.

[5] Between March and December 1916, 44-year-old Lloyd Carleton directed 16 movies for Universal, starting with The Yaqui and ending with The Morals of Hilda.

The movie is about a beautiful young Indian maiden who falls in love with a Mexican cavalier.

The production was shot entirely in California and featured a romance between a Native American woman and a white man.

The Yaqui Indian tribes were based both in Mexico and Arizona, with the lion's share located on the border's Mexican side.

In 1913, author Dane Coolidge wrote a novel titled Land of Broken Promises.

In 1915, Coolidge expanded "The land of Broken Promises" into another novel titled - The Desert Trail.

Coolidge's next movie success would be the story Rimrock Jones sold to Famous Players–Lasky and released under that title on January 21, 1918.

The Yaqui, adapted from his novel "The Land of Broken Promises," was purchased by Universal for $400 (equivalent to $9,929 in 2018).

Universal felt shooting major parts in Mexico would lend an air of authenticity to this film.

On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa ordered nearly 100 Mexican members of his extremist group to make a cross-border raid to Columbus, New Mexico.

The raid had, in turn, prompted a US response on March 15 with the expedition into Mexican territory led by General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing.

Max worked for a publishing house in New York City called Carl Fischer Music.

Theater musicians could follow the "Winkler Cue Sheet creating the perfect musical accompaniment for the film.

The criticism's basis was that only a true musician could develop a proper musical ambiance for a movie.

The subject is melodramatic but seldom have we seen melodrama better produced.In the March 16, 1916 issue of the Variety, Jolo opined:[20] Genuine natives were judiciously employed, and there is a wealth of atmospheric detail.

The picture bristles with action and should prove an interesting programic feature.In the March 18, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World, Margaret MacDonald wrote:[21] Especially apropos of the times is the five-reel production which claims to turn the limelight of truth on the condition of the Yaqui Indian, who has been not alone dispossessed of his lands by maltreated by the wealthy Mexican landowner.

The production is a well-constructed one and will be enjoyed for its sincerity and artistic qualities.With every foot of film that is lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other, and to ourselves.Martin Scorsese, filmmaker, director NFPF Board[22]According to the Library of Congress, all known copies of this film are lost.