At the Altar
About At the Altar
At an Italian boarding house, Minnie prefers the violinist Giuseppe Cassella to Grigo, a coarse suitor. Grigo sets a trap to kill Minnie and Giuseppe before they can marry, then kills himself and leaves a written confession. The note is found. A policeman runs to the wedding and stops the murder.
Cast & crew
More about At the Altar
D. W. Griffith directed and wrote it for Biograph. G. W. Bitzer and Arthur Marvin photographed it. Shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Marion Leonard plays Minnie. Charles Inslee plays Grigo. Herbert Yost plays Giuseppe. David Miles and Anita Hendrie play her parents. Dorothy West is a friend. Biograph released it on 25 February 1909.
Themes
Background
A Biograph one-reeler of February 1909, shot at Fort Lee, where the company's early East Coast work was based.
Look
Billy Bitzer and Arthur Marvin shot the boarding house and the dash to the church in Fort Lee.
Preservation
A print is in the Library of Congress film archive.
Notes
- Linda Arvidson, Clara T. Bracy, and Kate Bruce are also in the Biograph company on this short.
- The confession, not the wedding guests, is what sends the policeman running.
Scenes
- Grigo's confession is found after his suicide.
- A policeman reaches the altar before the trap kills the couple.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-at-the-altar)
