Algie, the Miner (1912)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Sadly Over-hyped

Blistering performances.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

During summertime, German aristocrats are lazier than ever, certainly in comparison with the rest of the year, natürlich. Laziness is unfailingly a part of the almost human aristocratic nature so to spare any extra effort during these hot and terrible times is important.Having in mind this important seasonal reason, last night was screened at the Schloss theatre a short film, namely "Algie, The Miner", a perfect film for a small soirée due to its brief running time that can be enjoyed in "petit comité" by any German aristocrat. This allows time to be spent on other trifling things while appreciating this archaeological oeuvre that was recently restored by some hard-working longhaired youngsters beyond the Atlantic sea.This short film was directed by the frenchified woman film pioneer Dame Alice Guy-Blaché in the silent year of 1912, and though it is somewhat primitive, it has interesting aspects as, for example, different settings ( filmed with a static camera, so don't ask the impossible... ) but with a perfect film continuity. It is the story of a mild man who must show he has the right stuff if he wants to gain the favour of his father-in-law and consequently be worthy of the hand of his daughter, showing in this way to the whole silent world his newly gained masculinity. Dame Guy-Blaché accepts the terms of that ancient and conservative era but in an interesting way.Careful bourgeoisie settings, coarse taverns in the wild West, different landscapes and a combination of comedy, adventure and quaint human conduct and it all wraps up in tens minutes, an interesting one-reeler that is perfect to be enjoyed during the lazy summertime.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must lay mines around the Schloss in order to keep out the terrible tourist hordes.Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

Algie, the Miner (1912) ** (out of 4) This comedy short was shown on TCM a several weeks back to highlight gay folks in early Hollywood. The title character in this short (and various other films shown) isn't out and out gay but is shown (in the writer's words) as a "sissy". Algie wants to marry a woman but her father says no because the young man is too much of a sissy but the father tells Algie that he can marry the daughter if he turns himself into a man within one year. The writer of the book and the one who introduced the film makes a lot of examples of why this character is gay but the film itself really isn't anything special as there are no laughs anywhere to be had.

This very brief film is about a man called Algie Allmore played by Billy Quirk who is a young man who appears as a sissy or pansy and his intended father-in-law wants him to prove he is a man in one year if he wants to marry his daughter. So, Algie heads West dressed up like a funny cowboy with a very tiny pistol and a weird looking western hat. Algie meets up with some very rough and tough cowboys who laugh their heads off just looking at poor Algie. However, Algie gets broken in with his surroundings by finding a gold mine, riding a horse and the ability of knowing what to do with a gun and and is able to stand by himself against all the cowboys. Funny film and enjoyable.

DEFINITE SPOILERS!!!! Algie (a VERY effeminate man) must prove his manhood to marry the daughter of a rich man. To prove this he goes out west and (after kissing two men on the cheek) is "taught" by Big Jim on how to be a man. This leads to utterly predictable "comedy". It seems hopeless but then Algie proves himself by saving Jim from being robbed and he goes home to marry his girlfriend.The story is silly, the comedy painful and the acting is WAY over the top even for a silent movie. But, in terms of gay characters, this is important. It's one of the first representations of a gay character on screen and (even though it's negative) it is historically important. Also Algie DOES prove himself to be a man at the end. The extremely effeminate mannerisms that Algie shows may offend some gay viewers, but it really shouldn't. It's just a sign of its time.