Development

According to the book - The Universal Story, Carl Laemmle (c. 1867-1939) produced around 91 feature movies in 1916.^[3]
Lloyd B. Carleton (c. 1872–1933) started working for Carl Laemmle in the Fall of 1915.^[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. Emory Johnson acted in all 16 of these films. Of Carleton's total 1916 output, 11 were feature films, and the rest were two-reel shorts.
Hobart Bosworth became afflicted with tuberculosis (TB) early in his career. After a relapse in 1906, he decided to head to the dry climes of the Southwest. He ended up recovering in Tempe, Arizona. A stage actor with a deteriorating voice would find little work on Broadway. Silent movies provided the perfect venue for the next stage of his acting career. By 1916, Bosworth was a well-known actor in silent films. He was cast for the lead in The Yaqui. Bosworth recommended Universal film some of the exteriors in Tempe. After the completion of the film, Tempe began a long connection with Hollywood.^[6]
Two Yaqui-themed photoplays preceded Universal's "The Yaqui." The first film was an American short, The Yaqui Girl. The film was released on December 31, 1910. The film is directed by James Young Deer and starred Virginia Chester. "The Yaqui Girl" was filmed in New Jersey and Santiago Canyon, California. The movie is about a beautiful young Indian maiden who falls in love with a Mexican cavalier.^[7]
The second film was The Yaqui Cur, a 1913 short film directed by D.W. Griffith. The production was shot entirely in California and featured a romance between a Native American woman and a white man. Prints of the film still exist.^[8]

Casting

• Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (1867-1943) was 48 years old when he starred in this movie as Tambor. Bosworth was a well-known Universal actor. After Universal signed a 21-year-old Emory Johnson, Hobart thought he saw a potential mega-career for the 21-year-old. Hobart decided to mentor the young actor.^[9] After finishing The Yaqui released March 1916, they immediately made another feature-length Western - Two Men of Sandy Bar released in April. Later in the year, Emory would make two more films with Bosworth. They would continue collaborating in other films in the coming years. In Bosworth's long cinematic career, he appeared in nearly 300 films.

• Emory Johnson (1894-1960) was 22 years old when he portrayed Flores. In January 1916, Emory inked a contract with Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Universal's Carl Laemmle thought he saw great potential in Johnson, so Laemmle laid plans for Johnson to become one of Universal's leading men. Emory Johnson acted in 26 films for Universal, mostly dramas with a sprinkling of comedies and westerns. Johnson would make 18 movies, the highest output of his career, in 1916, including eight shorts and ten feature-length dramas.

• Gretchen Lederer (1891-1955) was 24 years old when she portrayed Señora Esteban. The German actress got her first start in 1912 with Carl Laemmle of Universal Film Manufacturing Company. At the time of this film, she was still a Universal contract actress. She would unite with Emory Johnson in the 1916 productions of A Yoke of Gold and The Morals of Hilda.

Themes

The film's release was fortunate considering the events of 1916. The Yaqui Indian tribes were based both in Mexico and Arizona, with the lion's share located on the border's Mexican side. The Mexican Yaquis were engaged in a perpetual struggle with the Mexican army and the ruthless plantation owners. In the preceding decades, thousands of Yaquis had died. While these developments provided headlines for the American newspapers, the Yaqui Wars also kept the newspapers stoked. And if this wasn't enough, Pancho Villa continued to generate headlines by battling with the Mexican army and being chased by the American Army.

Screenplay

In 1913, author Dane Coolidge wrote a novel titled Land of Broken Promises. The novel was published in the 1913 November issue of Munsey's Magazine pages 313 - 404.^[10] The magazine paid Coolidge $2,500 (equivalent to $62,056 in 2018) for publishing rights to the novel. 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.^[11]

In addition to writing novels, Coolidge also tried to write movie scenarios. Over time, he would write four scenarios. A movie company accepted only one. The Yaqui, adapted from his novel "The Land of Broken Promises," was purchased by Universal for $400 (equivalent to $9,929 in 2018).^[11] Universal bought the scenario to protect itself, because credit for the screen adaptation is given to well-known scenario writer - Olga Printzlau^[12]

Studios

The theatrical release of this film totaled 5 reels.^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Based on an American Film Institute standard, films with a running time of forty minutes or longer are considered feature films.^[14][15]

Music

M. Winkler is the musical arranger for this film. Max Winkler, often listed as M. Winkler or Moe Winkler, was not a musician or music composer. He was a salesman for band and orchestra music. Max worked for a publishing house in New York City called Carl Fischer Music. While working as a clerk, he amassed tremendous working knowledge of thousands of pieces of music. He could recall almost in an instant. He used this knowledge to create a list of music he believed provided the film's best background music. Once the compiled list was complete, he would publish these suggestions in the form of a "Cue Sheet." Theater musicians could follow the "Winkler Cue Sheet creating the perfect musical accompaniment for the film. There is no known copy of the Cue Sheet for the Yaqui.^[16]

Since Max was not a musician, his musical selections sometimes generated controversies. The criticism's basis was that only a true musician could develop a proper musical ambiance for a movie. There is an alternate musical cue sheet developed by Ernst Luz.^[17]

Critical response

Critical reaction to the film mainly seemed favorable.

In the March 16, 1916 issue of the Motion Picture News, Harvey F. Thew wrote:^[19]

When there is something in a play which makes one angry and fills one with sympathy for the wronged person who lives only for revenge, the play ought to be considered "gripping." This is the case with "The Yaqui. 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.