The Musketeers of Pig Alley

Most aspects of this short melodrama were made with skill. The acting is generally quite good, the characters are interesting and believable, and the plot is interesting even though a couple of details strain credibility. It's probably one of the very earliest movies about gangs or gangsters, and it portrays the "Musketeers" and their affairs in a way that is more believable than any of the romanticized portrayals that came into vogue later on.

The cast features some names well-known to silent film fans, with Dorothy Gish and many other familiar names. Even some of the small roles feature talented performers, so perhaps it is no surprise that the movie features a high standard of acting.

The story shows the interactions between the gang of "Musketeers" and some other persons who have the misfortune to live nearby. The story and the production make pretty good use of the possibilities, and aside from one or two overly convenient plot turns, they do so in a worthwhile way.

Quite a bit happens in just over 15 minutes, with constant action that is photographed and edited well enough that you largely forget that it was all done using the limited photographic options of its time. This is a good one to watch for anyone interested in very old films.

This prototypical gangster movie is justly one of the best-known of Griffith's Biograph shorts, and may be his literal best. In it we see the director at his most confident and his most precise, as well an early opportunity to see Lillian Gish in a lead role.

The first half of the Musketeers of Pig Alley shows off some of Griffith's most finely crafted shot compositions. Working with several increasingly complex crowd scenes, he manages to keep each one unique, and continually draws our eyes to the most important part of the action, in spite of the degree of complexity. He daringly puts bits of business at the very edges of the frame – a puff of smoke stylishly announces the arrival of Elmer Booth, and later the barman offers a backhander from off-screen. Griffith even works in a joke on his own sense of formal symmetry when, in one street scene Lillian meets her sister Dorothy coming the way. As the two women pass each other, they pause, throw each other a quick glance, then carry on.

In the second half, we see what is arguably the finest use of parallel editing in all of Griffith's Biograph career. As with shot composition, the action climax here is laced with symmetry. Rather than a nail-biting ride-to-the-rescue, this is a tense clash between two opposing forces. Griffith matches up shots of the two rivals gangs as they seek each other out, gradually building up the tension before releasing it in a lightning-fast gunfight. It looks incredibly simple, yet it's so effective. This is the ancestor of John Ford's Western shoot-outs, and Sergio Leone's Mexican standoffs.

The acting is top-notch throughout, and only a few sparse intertitles are used to help the plot along. Gish proves herself adept at the slow, subtle style that was by now the standard at Biograph. Elmer Booth, who had floated around Biograph for a number of years making little impression, at last hits his stride here with a role that is perfect for him. In one memorable close-up during the build up to the shoot-out, he acts brilliantly with his face, looking menacing but also conveying a hint of fear. He also gives a great comic turn in the final scene. Had he not died a few years later he could have been a kind of James Cagney of the silent era – he has that same mean-faced gangster look.

If there is one weakness in The Musketeers of Pig Alley it is that Griffith sometimes actually seems to expect too much of his audience. There is a lot to take in, and some of the plot points are conveyed extremely subtly. Still, it has a terrific impact even on a first viewing, and remains one of the most ageless of all Griffith's pictures.

I'm not going to go into the story because, in the IMDb plot summary, there is a thorough explanation of this tale provided by "American Mindscope and Biograph Co." It covers everything in this short, silent D.W. Griffth movie. I hadn't a silent film in a while, at least since watching most of Buster Keaton's and Harold Lloyd's comedies, so I had forgotten what a pretty woman Lillian Gish was in her youth. What confuses me, though, is that younger sister Dorothy is listed in the opening credits, not Lillian. What's the deal with that? Since Dorothy would have been about 14 at this time, it had to be Lillian in the lead role, as listed here by IMDb. At any rate, Lillian and the faces of the gangsters are really fun to watch. We get closeups of "The Snapper" and his really wild-looking sidekick, played by Harry Carey. Famous actor Lionel Barrymore also has a short role in year but, frankly, I didn't recognize him. By the way, I think Dorothy was one of the people in the crowd early on her brushes up against her sister, who then gives her a look. It was almost like an inside joke. Overall, this a bit confusing in parts because things happened pretty fast. I enjoyed the faces in here more than the story. A gave it a second look, trying to spot Dorothy and to understand the plot better. Afterward, however, I found this IMDb summary to be most helpful.

The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) : Brief Review -

Griffith sows an Unbelievable idea of Goodwill in One of the First Gangster Film Ever Made in Cinema World. Largely known as The First (or one of the first) Gangster film Ever made, The Musketeers of Pig Alley is still very exciting even without long runtime and heroic/villainous dialogues. I have seen lots of Crime/Gangster dramas till date and have always wondered why there was no film made ever made which could have used goodwill for the sake gangster's character to give him a deserving chance? At last, i found my catch here. The idea i have been looking for was already sown by Genius Griffith way before audience started loving crime dramas i.e post 1930s. A young wife and her musician husband live in poverty in a New York City tenement. The husband's job requires him to go away for for a number of days. On his return, he is robbed by the neighborhood gangster. A highly predictable drama (for today's time i mean) follows the rest of the narrative and the allegorical climax of 'deserving chance' ends this film on a high note. As it states, "One good turn deserves another" and "Links in the System", you can't stop clapping for Griffith here. I couldn't stop gushing over Lillian Gish, as she looked so Cute (in every film she looked cute, damn!). Walter Miller was good at his part but the gangsters leader Elmer Booth literal took my breath away with his ferocious looks and attitude. Overall, The Musketeers of Pig Alley is a great watch to learn many sensible ethics that were never used in any Gangster film. I wish somebody had the same brain as Griffiths to make similar intellectual drama in talkies era. Don't miss this another fantastic film of Griffith.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest

Early crime film directed by D.W. Griffith. Hyped in the subtitle as "Unparallel drama inspired and played on the streets of the American city - Bold - Truthful"! Lillian Gish lives with her musician husband Walter Miller near Pig Alley, an area frequented by gangsters. The head Musketeer is Elmer Booth. Gangster Booth tries to put the make on Ms. Gish, and mugs Mr. Miller as he returns home with his hard-earned pay. Stumbling into a gang shootout, Miller recognizes Musketeer Booth as his mugger. What will he do?

Here, in "The Musketeers of Pig Alley", Gish and Miller are better than when they are threatened by the temptress in "The Mothering Heart" (1913). The acting is more natural, and you really sympathize with the couple. Booth is an endearing "Little Caesar". The shootout is lively, and the thugs creeping along the alley walls into close-ups is quite memorable. The ending is played more for humor; it's not bad, but it breaks the mood of the movie.

****** The Musketeers of Pig Alley (10/31/12) D.W. Griffith ~ Lillian Gish, Walter Miller, Elmer Booth