Alas and Alack

Alas and Alack is a 1915 American silent drama short film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney and Cleo Madison. An incomplete print of the film survives in the BFI National Archive (one source states the last six minutes of the film are missing).[1][2]

Alas and Alack
Directed byJoe De Grasse
Produced byJoe De Grasse
Written byIda May Park
StarringLon Chaney
Cleo Madison
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 10, 1915 (1915-10-10)
Running time
13 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

Chaney showed off his makeup expertise in this film playing a dual role in the film, as both Jess' fisherman husband and "Hunchback Fate" in the fairy tale portion of the film (see Plot).[3] A still exists showing Chaney as the hunchbacked fisherman.[4]

Plot

Jess is the wife of a poor hunchbacked fisherman (Lon Chaney). She daydreams of being very rich after she sees a beautiful yacht in the harbor. The yacht anchors near the beach while Jess is laboriously mending nets for her husband. The yacht is owned by the wealthy Mr. Charles Holcombe. Despite his wealth, Holcombe is unhappily married to a nagging old wife who spends all her time fussing over her pet dog. Holcombe rows ashore to escape his wife's constant nagging.

Jess' little girl is playing on the beach, and after eagerly listening to the noise in a large sea shell, brings it to her mother and asks her to tell her what makes the noise inside the shell. Jess tells her daughter a fairy tale about a beautiful girl who was imprisoned in a sea shell by an evil fairy because she dared to love a handsome prince, and the noises they hear inside the sea shell is actually the cry of the imprisoned girl. Holcombe comes upon the two women as Jess is relating the fairy tale to her child, holding Holcombe spellbound. The fairy tale then unfolds onscreen, with Arthur Holcombe as the Prince, Jess as a Mermaid, and Jess' fisherman husband as "Hunchback Fate", three characters in her story.

Holcombe talks with the young women and laments that such a beautiful young woman lives such a terrible life. He picks a bouquet of daisies, but having no excuse to linger longer, he returns to his ship where his wife nags him for being away for so long. As the yacht sails off, Holcombe sits dreaming about how wonderful it would be to have a good wife like Jess, while Jess sits on the shore dreaming of the wealthy man she just met and his beautiful yacht. As she daydreams, Jess' fisherman husband suddenly hands her more nets to mend, rudely returning her to the reality of her tedious, impoverished life.

Cast
  • Cleo Madison - dual role as both Jess, the fishermaid and The Mermaid in the fairy tale portion
  • Lon Chaney - dual role as both the fisherman (Jess' husband) and "Hunchback Fate" in the fairy tale portion
  • Arthur Shirley - dual role as both Charles Holcombe (the millionaire) and The Prince in the fairy tale portion
  • Mary Kearnen - dual role as both Jess' daughter and The Fisher Babe in the fairy tale portion
  • Margaret Whistler - Mrs. Holcombe (Charles Holcombe's wealthy wife)

Reception

"Written by Ida May Park, and taking a decidedly pessimistic attitude toward life... This is interesting, with Cleo Madison, Lon Chaney and Arthur Shirley in the principal roles." -- Motion Picture News[5]

"Some of the settings are quite novel, though a little dark in places. The story...has a fair degree of interest" --Moving Picture World[6]

References
  1. "Silent Era: Alas and Alack". silentera. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004870/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
  3. Bennett, Carl. "Alas and Alack". silentera.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  4. Mirsalis, Jon C. "Alas and Alack". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  5. Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 53. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
  6. Mirsalis, Jon C. "Alas and Alack". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
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