The Adventures of Billy (1911)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

James Carroll (writer)

Release Date:

19 October 1911 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Short

Plot:

Billy witnesses two tramps accidentally kill someone during a robbery. The tramps lock him up and decide that he must be killed, too. |

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Child | Character Name In Title

Cast

Edna Foster	...	Billy
Donald Crisp	...	First Tramp
Joseph Graybill	...	Second Tramp
Dell Henderson	...	Rich Man
Claire McDowell	...	Rich Woman
Kate Bruce	...	The Maid
Frank Evans	...	The Farmer
W. Chrystie Miller	...	Robbery Victim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
D.W. Griffith	...	On Bench
Grace Henderson	...	Woman on Porch
Harry Hyde	...	On Lawn
Charles Hill Mailes	...	Farmhand / Rescuer
Alfred Paget	...	Farmhand / Rescuer

Runtime:

18 min (16 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Biograph Company

Random Adventures

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a lesser example of Griffith's series of shorts concerned with social problems, like WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR OLD? and ONE IS BUSINESS, THE OTHER CRIME. It is, according to its first title, "suggested by Press Comment on the Tramp Evil." Billy, a poor bootblack, played by Edna Foster, decides to try finding a town where business is better. On the road he meets with two tramps, played by Donald Crisp and Joseph Graybill. They force him to beg for him, and then kill and rob an old man.

At this point, Billy protests and they decide to kill him. They lock him in a shack while they decide which of them is to do the evil deed. Billy is rescued when a friendly dog carries a plea to help to a rich family in the neighborhood. They subdue the tramps and adopt Billy.

Some of what I consider to be weakness in the story -- the randomness of the tramps' crimes -- may well be an artifact of the short length of this film and the contemporary view of tramps. It may also be an attempt to tell the story from Billy's point of view, in which adults' actions seem capricious. Also, Griffith offers no clear solution to the problem; but he never did. He always seemed more interested in stating a problem than solving it.

In any case, this particular short, while done well enough, suffers from these, in my opinion, uncertainties. While not bad, it is certainly understandable that this is not one of Griffith's better-known pieces.