Lily of the Alley
Encyclopedia
Lily of the Alley is a 1924
British silent film
drama directed by Henry Edwards
, who also starred in the film with his wife Chrissie White
. Lily of the Alley was filmed in 1922 and given trade showings in early 1923, but its general release to cinemas was delayed until February 1924 due to various problems within the British film industry at the time.
considered that the film was still "an intrinsically absorbing drama, coherently presented".
, by administrators called in to wind up the company's affairs when Hepworth was declared bankrupt later in 1924. The film stock was then melted down to release its marketable silver nitrate
content and it is presumed that most of the Hepworth company's full-length features of the 1910s and early 1920s were irretrievably lost at this time. No print of Lily of the Alley is held in the British Film Institute's National Archive
, although they do possess a number of screenshots from the film on file. A modicum of hope remains that the film may one day surface unexpectedly (as was the case with Hepworth's 1920 feature Helen of Four Gates
, rediscovered in a Canadian archive in 2008 after an absence of almost 90 years) and the film's official status is "missing, believed lost". In view of its historical interest, Lily of the Alley is listed as one of the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
" missing British feature films.
1924 in film
-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
British silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
drama directed by Henry Edwards
Henry Edwards (actor)
Henry Edwards was an English actor and film director. He appeared in 81 films between 1915 and 1952. He also directed 67 films between 1915 and 1937...
, who also starred in the film with his wife Chrissie White
Chrissie White
Chrissie White was a British film actress of the silent era. She appeared in over 180 films between 1908 and 1933. White was married to actor and film director Henry Edwards, and in the 1920s the two were regarded as one of Britain's most famous and newsworthy celebrity couples. She starred in...
. Lily of the Alley was filmed in 1922 and given trade showings in early 1923, but its general release to cinemas was delayed until February 1924 due to various problems within the British film industry at the time.
Background
Lily of the Alley was experimental in form, with Edwards attempting the innovation of producing a coherent screen narrative entirely without the use of intertitles. The film is regarded as significant in cinema history as the earliest documented feature-length dramatic silent film to be made consisting solely of visual sequences without any titling to explain the action to audiences, pre-dating the next-known example (a 1923 German film called Schatten) by several months. The film's release was greeted with great interest, but contemporary reviews seem to suggest the finished product to have been a praiseworthy attempt rather than an unqualified success, with the subject matter of the ups and downs of a husband/wife relationship lending itself less well to the absence of titles than a more visually driven action or comic storyline would have. The Bioscope felt that Edwards' self-imposed restriction "leads to some rather far-fetched ways of conveying simple ideas", although The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
considered that the film was still "an intrinsically absorbing drama, coherently presented".
Plot
Only sketchy details of the film's plot appear to survive. Bill (Edwards) and Lily (White) are newly married. Bert works as a tea salesman and is of a naturally cheery disposition. Over time however, worries about the security of his job and income prey on his mind and he frets over not being able to provide for Lily. With his worries heightened by the fear that he is about to go blind, he falls into a deep depression and becomes a shadow of the happy soul he used to be. Lily becomes desperately anxious about him, and one night has a terrible nightmare in which she dreams that he loses first his sight and then his life (either in a fire, or by being robbed and murdered, depending on the source). However things eventually take a turn for the better and the couple welcome their new baby to the family.Cast
- Henry EdwardsHenry Edwards (actor)Henry Edwards was an English actor and film director. He appeared in 81 films between 1915 and 1952. He also directed 67 films between 1915 and 1937...
as Bill - Chrissie WhiteChrissie WhiteChrissie White was a British film actress of the silent era. She appeared in over 180 films between 1908 and 1933. White was married to actor and film director Henry Edwards, and in the 1920s the two were regarded as one of Britain's most famous and newsworthy celebrity couples. She starred in...
as Lily - Frank StanmoreFrank StanmoreFrank Stanmore was an English film actor. He appeared in 76 films between 1914 and 1938.He was born in London and died in Gravesend, Kent.-Selected filmography:* Love's Boomerang...
as Alf - Mary BroughMary BroughMary Bessie Brough was an English actress in theatre, silent films and early talkies, including several Aldwych farces....
as Widow - Campbell Gullan as Sharkey
- Lionel d'Aragon as Dad
Later history
As a product of Hepworth Picture Plays, it is thought most likely that prints of Lily of the Alley would have been seized, along with all other film material in the possession of Cecil HepworthCecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s....
, by administrators called in to wind up the company's affairs when Hepworth was declared bankrupt later in 1924. The film stock was then melted down to release its marketable silver nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
content and it is presumed that most of the Hepworth company's full-length features of the 1910s and early 1920s were irretrievably lost at this time. No print of Lily of the Alley is held in the British Film Institute's National Archive
BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was originally set up as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955 its name became the National Film Archive, and in 1992, the...
, although they do possess a number of screenshots from the film on file. A modicum of hope remains that the film may one day surface unexpectedly (as was the case with Hepworth's 1920 feature Helen of Four Gates
Helen of Four Gates
Helen of Four Gates is a British silent film melodrama, directed by cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor , James Carew and Gerald Ames.-Production background:...
, rediscovered in a Canadian archive in 2008 after an absence of almost 90 years) and the film's official status is "missing, believed lost". In view of its historical interest, Lily of the Alley is listed as one of the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
BFI 75 Most Wanted
The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled by the British Film Institute of their most sought-after British feature films not currently held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota quickies and B-movies to lavish prestige...
" missing British feature films.