The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
In a poor New York tenement neighborhood, a gangster steals a struggling musician's wallet, setting off a rivalry between two gang leaders that erupts into a street shootout, after which the musician's wife shields the wounded gangster who once came to her aid.
Filmed on location with real Lower East Side gang members as extras, The Musketeers of Pig Alley is widely credited as one of the earliest American gangster films and an early showcase for D. W. Griffith’s location-based, socially observant style. It entered the National Film Registry in 2016.
Background
The Musketeers of Pig Alley was directed by D. W. Griffith in 1912 and filmed on location in a New York tenement neighborhood, with real Lower East Side gang members appearing as extras. It is widely cited as one of the earliest American gangster films, and it shows Griffith’s early interest in location shooting and in portraying working-class city life with social observation. Lillian Gish, who was becoming one of Griffith’s leading performers, stars alongside Elmer Booth. The Library of Congress selected the film for the National Film Registry in 2016, and it is in the public domain.
What to watch for
Watch how the film turns a stolen wallet into a rivalry between two gang leaders that erupts into a street shootout. At around seventeen minutes it is brief, and the quick cutting between the tenement street and the gunfire gives it an unusual urgency. The closing turn, in which the musician’s wife shields the wounded gangster who once came to her aid, is the film’s most affecting moment and shows Griffith’s interest in sentiment amid violence. Pay attention to the staging of crowds and street life, which gives the neighborhood a lived-in, specific texture.
