Crticial response (1912-1915) to D. W. Griffith's "Musketeers of Pig Alley" placed on the National Film Registry, 2016
A fan card designed for Lillian Gish circa late 1960s or eaerly 1970s.
In The Chicago Daily Tribune of October 28, 1915, Flickerings
from Filmland columnist Kitty Kelley, wrote,” Couldn't Get By. The following cutouts were ordered to films
inspected by the municipal censor board at the city hall yesterday: THE MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY (Biograph). Thugs assaulting man and subsequent scene of
robbery; doping wine.”
Apparently,
Griffith’s film, one of eleven films in that edition of the newspaper to have
censored scenes, was too realistic for Chicago audiences. So said city hall film censors. The “doping wine” is a scene where a gangster places a power in Miss Gish’s
drink. Spoiler alert: She is saved from drinking it. These censored scenes survive
in the copy of the film preserved by the Library of Congress on the National
Film Registry.
In the Amusements column of The Rome
(New York) Daily Sentinel of December 21, 1912 had the following summary of “Musketeers
of Pig Alley”:
“At the Casino (Theater) tonight the
program is very well selected having a variety that cannot help
but strike the pleasing point with all.
The Biograph picture, The Musketeers of Pig Alley, is an underworld
story which will remind many who see it
of some recent happenings in New York City. There are gangs and gang
feuds. The whole production is handled
with much care, and is a strong release. Much is printed from time to time in the newspapers of the workings
of gangsters, but the public gains but a vague
idea of the actual facts. Much has been done and is still
being done, to
wipe out this
evil which has long
been a menace
to the respectable
citizen and this
picture shows the
situation as it
is, and the
extreme necessity for
radical action on
the part of the
authorities. While the theme of the story is
decidedly interesting and exciting, it
also serves as a consistent
vehicle to present
the facts.”
Note: “Musketeers of Pug Alley” put
images of gangster life before 1912 audiences thus making “this evil” more
gripping and startling to viewers. It helped in policing and in public
awareness and participation with law enforcement. It also allowed audiences to
see the important role law enforcement officers have and the dangers they face.
The film shows gunfights and brawls between police and gangsters.
An advertisement for “Musketeers of
Pig Alley” in the same paper for December 21, 1912, read: “’MUSKETEERS OF
PIG ALLEY" A depiction of gangster evil. This Biograph picture is
especially good even for them. It’s very exciting and a typical New York story.
Note: As Miss Gish said whenever I congratulated her on having one of her films
placed on the National Film Registry: “It [the film] has stood the test of
time.”
Admission to “Musketeers of Pig Alley,” on a double bill
with “The Supreme Test,” described as an Essanay film, was 5 cents.
In 1970 Miss Gish appeared in Schenectady, New York, with
her one-woman program, “Lillian Gish and the Movies,” at the Proctor Theater
sponsored by the American Theater League. The ATL used a mixed photograph of
Lillian that featured a scene from “The Musketeers of Pig Alley.”
Comments?
-30-
Jim Patterson, Editor
LDGish.blogspot.com
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