Broncho Billy and the Greaser
R: Gilbert M. Anderson. D: Gilbert M. Anderson, Lee Willard, Marguerite Clayton. P: Essanay Film Manufacturing Company. USA 1914
“The Greaser character rose from early Hollywoods westerns genre and the development of simplistic good guy vs. bad guy story formulas. From 1908 to about 1918, the profitability of westerns and their relative ease of production lead to a slew of films produced quickly and efficiently some filmed in one day. These films included titles such as: The Greasers Gauntlet (1908 & directed by D.W. Griffith), Ah Sing and the Greasers (1910), Tony the Greaser (1911 & 1914!), The Greaser and the Weakling (1912), The Girl and the Greaser (1913), The Greasers Revenge (1914), The Greaser (1915), Licking the Greasers (1915), Broncho Billys Greaser Deputy (1915), and Guns and Greasers (1918). The Greaser role was typically portrayed as a dirty and grubby gunslinger with low morals, a conniving and shiftless soul with a tendency towards violence and of course, a taste for white women. This racially-tinged character proved to be the perfect evil foil for the virtuous and clean-cut cowboy heroes seen in these films. Always, the white cowboy saved the day and in the end the Greaser always got his.”
Stephen Sariñana-Lampson: Silent Images of Latinos in Early Hollywood
>>> Broncho Billy and the School Mistress: Broncho Billy – The American Shot
THE EARLY SILENT ERA 1895-1915