The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

D.W. Griffith, Anita Loos

Stars:

Elmer Booth, Lillian Gish, Clara T. Bracy

Cast

Credited cast:
Elmer Booth	...	Snapper Kid, Musketeers Gang Leader
Lillian Gish	...	The Little Lady
Clara T. Bracy	...	The Little Lady's Mother
Walter Miller	...	The Musician
Alfred Paget	...	Rival Gang Leader
John T. Dillon	...	Policeman
Madge Kirby	...	The Little Lady's Friend / In Alley
Harry Carey	...	Snapper's Sidekick
Robert Harron	...	Rival Gang Member / In Alley / At Dance
W.C. Robinson	...	Rival Gang Member (as Spike Robinson)
Adolph Lestina	...	The Bartender / On Street
Jack Pickford	...	Rival Gang Member / At Dance
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gertrude Bambrick	...	At Dance
Lionel Barrymore	...	The Musician's Friend
Kid Broad	...	(as 'Kid' Broad)

Storyline

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. Sometime later, an unrelated mob shoot-out ensues. The husband happens upon the melee, recognizing the crook who robbed him. Can the husband retrieve his money?

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Plot Keywords:

musician | gangster | ball | money | wallet | 

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Taglines:

One good turn deserves another.

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Genres:

Short | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1912 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Pig Alley testőrei

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

17 min 17 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a street sequence, a young girl can be seen staring at the camera. This was not a mistake; D.W. Griffith had noticed that, in documentary films, people tended to stare at the camera, and felt that having her do just that would make the scene feel more realistic.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood: Pioneers (1980)

User Reviews

Griffith Gangster

Musketeers of Pig Alley, The (1912)

*** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith film, which is considered to be the first gangster movie ever made. Griffith does a nice job showing off poor people back in the day and seeing NYC in 1912 is another added bonus. The performance by Dorothy Gish is very good and the supporting players are nice as well. The shootout in the alley remains exciting to this day.

Highly entertaining early film.

Also check out Regeneration (1915).

This is available through Kino, Image and Grapevine.