''The Still Alarm'' is a melodramatic play by

Joseph Arthur Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through ...

that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularity. It is best known for its climactic scene where fire wagons are pulled by horses to a blazing fire.Rahill, Frank
The world of melodrama
p. 257 (1967) ("the greatest of all the fireman plays")

Background

The play debuted at the

Fourteenth Street Theatre The Fourteenth Street Theatre was a New York City theatre located at 107 West 14th Street just west of Sixth Avenue.Berg, J.C. (9 January 2011)The Fourteenth Street Theater, ''nycvintageimages.com'' History It was designed by Alexander Sael ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on August 30, 1887.Brown, Thomas Allston
A history of the New York stage
p. 495-96 (1887 original production), p. 498 (March 1888 return)(31 August 1887)

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''Burt, Daniel S. (ed.
The chronology of American literature
p. 271 (2004)(28 August 1887)
Notes of the Week
''

'' Harry Lacy played the lead role of Jack Manley.Advertisement
''The Theatre'' (August 1887) Though it ran only a few weeks in its initial engagement, the play returned in March 1888 and ran for over 100 more performances.Bordman, Gerald Martin
American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1869-1914
p. 259 (1994)(27 March 1888)
Musical and Dramatic Notes
''

''(17 June 1888)
Amusements: Notes of the Week
''

'' Its popularity was then well-secured. In September 1889, it re-appeared at the Grand Opera House.(3 September 1889)
Notes of the Stage
''

'' It ran again at the Fourteenth for two weeks in 1891,(30 August 1891)
The Dancing Girl Is Here
''

'' and returned to the Grand Opera House in 1892.(5 April 1892)
Notes of the Stage
''

'' The play was also successful in England, and ran for 100 nights at the

Princess's Theatre The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1 ...

in London in 1888.(11 September 1895)
The Profit Too Large
''

'' Critics noted its success with guarded bemusement. An August 1888 note on its London success reported that "the critics have come down rather severely on "The Still Alarm", but as this was not unexpected, the management does not worry. Meanwhile,

Bucephalus Bucephalus or Bucephalas (; grc, Βουκεφάλας, ; – June 326 BC) was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity. Ancient historical accounts state that Bucephalus' breed was tha ...

and

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

, the two horses, have made a tremendous hit, and are drawing crowded houses. Next to them in order of merit, according to the critics, comes the dog."(5 August 1888).
Old World News By Cable
''

'' ''The Still Alarm'' was Joseph Arthur's first successful creation, but he enjoyed similar success with more melodramatic fare including

Blue Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

(1890) and '' The Cherry Pickers'' (1896). On opening night of the play, Arthur announced that theatre critic Andrew Carpenter Wheeler, known as "Nym Crinkle," was his collaborator. Wheeler received a writing credit on the 1926 film version.Wheeler, Andrew Carpenter (1835-1903)
The Vault at Pfaff's, Retrieved 28 November 2018

Original New York cast

*Jack Manley by Harry Lacy *John Bird alia Gorman by

Nelson Wheatcroft Nelson Wheatcroft (1852–1897) was an English-born actor and drama teacher. He famously ran a drama school, at the Charles Frohman Empire Theatre, in the late Victorian era, and was a member of The Lambs, The Lambs Club. He was married to Adeline ...

*Willie Manley by Charles Dickson *Franklyn Fordham by Eugene A. Eberle *Doc Wilbur by Jacques Kruger *Jenkins by Thomas W. Ford *Nozzle by Joseph Doane *Elinore Fordham by Blanche Thorne *Cad. Wilbur by Blanche Vaughn *Mrs. Manley by Mrs. Selden Irwin *Pegasus, Bucephalaus .. The Twin Arabian horses

Film adaptations

''The Still Alarm'' has been adapted to silent film three times, in 1911, 1918, and 1926. A 1911 film version was directed by

Francis Boggs Francis Winter Boggs (March 1870 – October 27, 1911) was an American stage actor and pioneer silent film director. He was one of the first to direct a film in Hollywood. Biography He was born in Santa Rosa, California to George W. Boggs and A ...

and starred

Robert Z. Leonard Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two formin ...

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

, and Al Ernest Garcia.

William Selig William Nicholas Selig (March 14, 1864 – July 15, 1948) was a pioneer of the American motion picture industry. In 1896 he created one of the first film production companies, Selig Polyscope Company of Chicago. Selig produced a string of c ...

produced the film, which has been preserved by the

Museum of Modern Art Department of Film The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film, based in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, United States, and founded in 1935, contains works of international cinema, focusing on the art and history of the film medium. The collection comprise ...

.Still Alarm - 1911
, Film-foundation.org (listing for 1911 version of Still Alarm, preserved), Retrieved October 11, 2011 Selig produced a wholly new film version in 1918. This version starred

Tom Santschi Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Fritzi Brunette Fritzi Brunette (born Florence Brunet; May 27, 1890 – September 28, 1943) was an American actress. Early years Fritzi Brunette was born Florence Brunet in Savannah, Georgia, or in Boston although some sources list her birthname as Florence Si ...

, and Bessie Eyton, directed by

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, and distributed by Pioneer Film Corporation.Brownlow, Kevin
Behind the mask of innocence
p. 478 (1990)(31 August 1918)
'The Still Alarm' Great Picture At Orpheum Tomorrow
''

Ogden Standard The ''Standard-Examiner'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Ogden, Utah, United States. With roughly 30,000 subscribers on Sunday and 25,000 daily, it is the third largest daily newspaper in terms of circulation in Utah, after '' The S ...

''(14 December 1918)
Famous "Still Alarm" at Loew's Columbia
''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

''(27 March 1919)
You Can't Pass Up This Show Friday Night
'' Lodi Sentinel''(25 August 1918)
Exciting Well Played Fire Meller; Rather Poorly Assembled
''

Wid's Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'', p. 13-14 The final silent film version of the film, from

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, was released in 1926. It starred

Helene Chadwick Helene Chadwick (November 25, 1897 – September 4, 1940) was an American actress in silent and in early sound films. Early life and career Chadwick was born in the small town of Chadwicks, New York, which was named for her great-grandfathe ...

, William Russell, and

Richard Travers Richard Travers (15 April 1885 – 20 April 1935) was a Canadian film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1912 and 1930. Selected filmography *''Homespun'' (1913) short for Essanay *''The Ambition of the ...

, and was directed by

Edward Laemmle Edward Laemmle (October 25, 1887 – April 2, 1937) was an American film director of the silent era. He directed more than 60 films between 1920 and 1935. Biography Edward Laemmle was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in Los Angeles. He w ...

.The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930
p. 765 (1971)(17 April 1926)
"The Still Alarm" Opens Sunday Night at Poli's
''

Meriden Record The ''Record-Journal'' is an American daily newspaper based in Meriden, Connecticut, that dates back to the years immediately following the American Civil War. It is owned by the Record-Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business entit ...

'' Film archivist

William K. Everson Keith William Everson (8 April 1929 – 14 April 1996) was an English- American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector, and film historian. He also discovered several lost films. Everson's given first names were Keith William, but he r ...

reviewed the film positively in 1956, noting that though it has "no reputation and is little known", it is "one of the very best" of the "fire-fighting thrillers" popular in the 1920s.Everson, William K
Notes to December 18, 1956 film showing
William K. Everson Archive at nyu.edu, Retrieved October 11, 2011

Unrelated "Still Alarm" titles

A 1903 Edison short called ''The Still Alarm'' consists of footage of moving New York fire equipment and is not a film adaptation of the play.Niver, Kemp R
Motion Pictures From The Library of Congress Paper Print Collection 1894-1912
p. 316 (1967). A 1930

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

short of the same title is a comedy skit by George S. Kaufman, where

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

and Harold Moffet debate what to wear before exiting a burning hotel, later joined by similarly blase firemen, who play the violin. The sketch comes from ''

The Little Show ''The Little Show'' was a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It was the first of 11 musicals that featured the songs of Dietz and Schwartz. The revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on April 30, 192 ...

'', a revue that opened on Broadway in 1929.Bordman, Gerald Martin
American musical theatre: a chronicle
p. 501 (3d ed. 2001).

Legacy

Despite its roaring success as a play in New York, London and elsewhere, including repeated revivals and local productions mounted for many years,(18 May 1911)
Theatrical: The Still Alarm
''Flushing Daily Times'' (reporting on 1911 revival) the sensationalistic fame of ''The Still Alarm'' eventually had to ebb. In 1920, a feature in the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' about the phasing out of the use of horses for fire fighting still highlighted ''The Still Alarm'' as the quintessential firefighting example.Prince, Arnold D. (4 January 1920)
The Fire Horse, First Aid to Melodrama, Will Soon Respond to His Last Alarm
''

'', p. 3. But Everson's observation in 1956 that it has "no reputation and is little known" (though he was only referring to the 1926 film version) fairly characterizes its lack of long-term staying power.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Still Alarm, The 1887 plays 1911 films 1918 films 1926 films American silent feature films American films based on plays American plays adapted into films American black-and-white films 1910s American films 1920s American films