The Gangsters
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
James Kirkwood
Henry B. Walthall
Consuelo Bailey
Jack Dillon
Ralph Lewis
C. Lambert
Film Details
Synopsis
Biff Dugan, the eldest son of a poor family living in a tenement on the squalid East Side of New York, leads a gang of hoodlums, among whose members is his brother Porky. Their sister Jess is a consumptive whose health was ruined in a sweatshop. During a melee in a mission run by reformer Henry Davis, the Dugan gang encounters Billy Drew and his sister Cora, newcomers to the city. Porky saves Cora from the unwelcome attentions of Biff's rival, Spike Golden, and the two fall in love. Later, when Spike is killed in a gang war, Biff is wrongfully convicted of the murder and executed in the electric chair. Porky, who served a short term in prison for his part in the crime, comes back to the city to find that Jess has died and Cora has returned to the country. When his gang delivers the man who betrayed Biff, Porky, whose heart has been softened by Cora and Billy, lets the man go. Finally, Porky retires to the country to lead the quiet life of a farmer with Cora as his wife.
Director
James Kirkwood
Cast
Henry B. Walthall
Consuelo Bailey
Jack Dillon
Ralph Lewis
C. Lambert
R. Riley
Jack Pickford
Alice Horine
Master Ogden Child
F. Herzog
Miss B. Craig
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was also called The Gangsters of New York. Some sources list different character and actor names, as follows: Henry B. Walthall (Biff Hogan), Jack Dillon (Tom Hogan), Alice Horine (Jessie Hogan), Ralph Lewis (Hennessy), P. Riley (Jack Drew), F. Herzog (Spike McGee), O. Child (Jimmie Hogan). Modern sources list James Kirkwood and Anita Loos as scenarists. Because the facility where this film was made was commonly known as the Reliance-Majestic studio, some sources have referred to the production company's name as "Reliance-Majestic." Although D. W. Griffith was listed in ads and reviews as having supervised all films made at this studio, his actual participation in this film is unknown.
