“Who is Really Spanish, of an Old California Family, With Not a Drop of Indian Blood in Her Veins”: The Twilight of the Acting Career of Josephine M. Workman/Princess Mona Darkfeather, 1917-1920, Part Three

by Paul R. Spitzzeri

We continue this post on the waning days of the film career of Josephine M. Workman, who achieved stardom in early Hollywood, specifically in the first half of the 1910s, under the stage name of Princess Mona Darkfeather, as she and her husband and director, Frank E. [Akley] Montgomery, sought to reboot in the latter part of the decade.

They tried running an acting school in Spokane, Washington, where Montgomery lived for a few years at the start of the century when working in stock company theater, as well as align with some new motion picture companies there, while looking for opportunities for filming in Montana—but these efforts ended up for naught. What came next was the launching of a Darkfeather personal appearance tour in Pacific Northwest theaters, starting in the Washington city of Tacoma in early September 1918.

From there, where it looks like she appeared at the Liberty for a week, Darkfeather’s next stop was Portland, Oregon, where she appeared at the briefly lived Strand Theatre (only operating from 1916-1920 before it became the Rivoli) and the Oregon Journal provided the earliest found article, albeit a brief one, of her on this tour, stating the information mentioned in part one of this post that the actor purportedly performed in north of 500 films, almost all shorts, during her eight years in the industry.

Two days later, another Portland sheet, The Oregonian, informed readers “Princess Coming Here” and letting them know that “aspirants to motion picture honors will have an opportunity to talk things over with a real film star next week” and then remarked,

Princess Darkfeather, who is really Spanish, of an old California family, with not a drop of Indian blood in her veins, is to appear at each performance [of “The Eyes of the World”] during the week commencing Sunday, and after her stage talk will meet the public in the theater lobby.

It seems that, with the Montgomery College and film production projects in Washington and Montana having failed, Montgomery and Darkfeather concocted the tour as a way to share their advice about how to break into the movies while also earning some income.

Also on the 6th, the Journal stated that “something new in feminine dress will be offered to Portland people by Princess Mona Darkfeather, noted Indian actress” as “she will wear an Indian buckskin dress, made by herself, and adorned with more than 400 rattlesnake rattlers” with the added information that it took four years to collect these latter.

Moreover, it was averred that the actor “has the finest collection of Indian beadwork and silver jewelry in America, and she wears numerous ornaments of this character given her by very prominent redskin chiefs.” Lastly, it was mentioned that Darkfeather, who had some theater experience before entering the film industry in 1910, “is a musician, is the owner of a splendid contralto voice, and is athletic.” On this last point she was known for being skilled in riding her horse, Comanche.

Other media accounts during her days of stardom discussed her purported honorary tribal memberships, deep relations with Indians, understanding of the cultural practices and more—though how much of this was studio publicity machine production as opposed to authentic and accurate information is the obvious question.

The Portland promotional push continued in the Oregonian of the 8th, the Strand also announcing through ads that other movie stars were to make live appearances during the season, with the paper adding that Darkfeather, debuting that evening,

is a daring horsewoman and has demonstrated her riding skill in many a thrilling picture. She will show a film featuring her in various spectacular stunts, talk on her experiences and advise those contemplating entering studio life.

The following day, the paper, with the headline of “Real Princess Is Here,” provided a brief review of the “dainty photoplay star” and her appearance to “a steady stream of patrons which filled the theater from the first performance yesterday afternoon until the curtain rang down late last night.” Darkfeather, “in a little informal talk,” talked about her movie career including “the ceremony at which she was presented with her title by a Pueblo Indian chief,” though whether this actually occurred or was part of industry myth-making is unknown.

In any case, Darkfeather also dispelled the idea that she was “a full-blooded Indian” as she told the crowds that she was “half Spanish,” or, really, Latino, as well as half-Anglo. The account ended with the observation that “she wore a beautiful beaded costume of white buckskin and [an] Indian headdress,” but also sang “The Red Cross,” a song written as the First World War came to a close, “in a deep contralto voice of unusual beauty.”

As noted in part one of this post, the Oregonian of the 10th alluded to another likely publicity tale about Josephine Workman applying to the Essanay Studio and becoming the first Hollywood (well, Los Angeles, as the earliest films were made in places like modern Silver Lake, then known as Edendale).

A similar bit of mythologizing was included in the piece regarding Darkfeather’s husband, with the paper observing that,

Frank Montgomery, Princess Mona’s husband, is an old-time stock [company stage] actor, as well as a motion picture director, and played in stock in Portland. He directed nearly all his wife’s photoplays, is the first man to make a two-reel picture in Los Angeles, and appears to have been the originator of the close-up.

In its issue of the 12th, the Oregonian merely remarked, as the engagement neared a close, that “Princess Mona Darkfeather is charming and tells the story of how she became a motion picture actress in a pleasing manner.” After the weeklong run ended, there was a break before another appearance was made in Seattle, where Darkfeather and Montgomery recently set up their home, at the Colonial Theatre.

From there, it was a short distance north over the border to Vancouver, Canada, where a week’s engagement was held at the Columbia Theatre and a good deal more publicity utilized in that city’s newspapers than in the Washington metropolis. Several ads featured photos with remarks that she’d appeared as a star in 500 short films and that patrons could see, hear and speak with the actor, while it was also noted that visitors could consult Darkfeather because “her advice is valuable” and on one day she would hand out postcard portraits to all women in attendance.

The Vancouver World of 8 October ran a short feature commenting that “when a ‘movie’ actor or actress appears in person keen interest is always exhibited” and this was certainly said to be the case with Darkfeather’s engagement. The paper added that, “everyone has heard of this star as one of the most noted Indian actresses on the screen and she tells of her experiences in a humorous, realistic manner.” The account continued,

Commencing with the time she entered a studio and ‘fibbed’ to the director about her ability to handle a bucking broncho, she ends by relating how she became manager of the director [Montgomery] himself in a different bridal affair. In short the two became greatly attached to one another and decided to “hit the trail” together. She has made a study of the movies and gives free and wholesome advice to anyone having a desire to go in for movie acting.

After another gap of nearly two months, during which time the world war mercifully came to an end, Darkfeather embarked on another short tour, lasting about two weeks, including stops at Bellingham, north of Seattle and near the Canadian border; Salem, the state capital of Oregon; and then La Grande, a town in the northeastern part of the state.

At the first location, where she appeared at the American Theatre, the Bellingham Herald of 3 December proclaimed that “Miss Darkfeather is considered by critics to be the greatest Indian, if not the most beautiful appearing before the public, besides being a most accomplished musician” with her contralto voice, as well as her athletic ability.

Moving on to Salem and its Bligh Theatre, that city’s Capital Journal of the 9th informed readers that “during the past two weeks she has made a most favorable impression in Portland and Seattle” with her stories of her career in filmdom during the previous eight years. At little La Grande, the venue was the Arcade Theatre, which remains standing as the Liberty and is now undergoing a thorough renovation.

With the onset of 1919, it was another two months before there was any reference to the actor and it was a humorous anecdote in the Oregonian of 6 February as a bellhop at the Hotel Oregon, now the Benson, was said to have exclaimed, “say . . . that’s a princess, honest it is. I took a letter to her today addressed to Princess Mona Darkfeather. It’s straight it is.” It was pointed out that “Her Motion Picture Highness” was registered as “Mrs. F.E. Montgomery” and that the actor “has appeared with many different companies.”

Not quite two weeks later, the next engagement was in Albany, south of Salem, where the city’s Democrat of the 17th announced her appearance at the Globe Theatre and where an advertisement observed that the actor was “The First Screen Star to Greet the Theatre-Going Public” of the town. A special Saturday late morning matinee for children was in the offing, after which a meet-and-greet in the lobby was to include those photo postcards to all in attendance.

The next day’s edition of the paper informed readers that,

Princess Mona Darkfeather, the celebrated Indian photoplay star . . . has done her bit for Uncle Sam as she has appeared on the streets and at different dinners dressed in her wonderful rattlesnake dress, which always attracts attention, selling thrift stamps, and has raised money for the tobacco fund, besides knitting sweaters for the boys [soldiers still in the American Expeditionary Force in the immediate aftermath of the war]. She owns several Liberty Bonds and books of Thrift Stamps, and at every opportunity invests with Uncle Sam, and always advises others to do so. She also states that many of the red race have done likewise, besides giving up their lives [fighting during the conflict].

The first two days of March took the tour to St. Helens, another small town northwest of Portland along the Columbia River, where, at the Liberty Theatre, there was another “Special School Children’s Matinee” on a Saturday afternoon with those free souvenirs.

If readers of this post have noted that, aside from the gaps in between tours, there has also been a notable change from Darkfeather’s personal appearance from larger cities and theaters to smaller ones, it may well be that her appeal and reach, as her career dwindled, was reflected in that fact—not to mention the promotion of her patriotism as perhaps a means to buttress her popularity in the fact of what was likely declining attendance and interest.

Another month went by until another roughly trip on the road was undertaken, starting at Roseburg, in the southwestern part of Oregon below Eugene, in the aptly named Antlers Theatre the first several days of April. This was followed by a visit to Grants Pass, further south, and where, not surprisingly, that town’s Courier noted that Darkfeather was the first movie actor to appear live.

She then returned to Portland, with the Oregonian of 7 April reported that “Mrs. Mona Montgomery,” the name she tended to use when not in her Darkfeather persona, “who is at the [Hotel] Oregon, has furnished many a thrill to the devotee of the motion picture playhouses—for she is none other than the Princes[s] Mona Darkfeather, famous portrayer of Indian heroines in moviedom.”

It was added that she planned to leave the same day or next “for a tour of motion picture theaters along the southern route and will remain for the summer at Los Angeles, where she will star in the production of several new film dramas.” These were grand plans, both for the tour, but, especially, for the prospect of appearing again in movies.

With that, we are going to take a breather here and return tomorrow with part four, so check back with us then!