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friends. Profiles of the film also describe how her next target was a jewelry store, where she employed a more subtle means of theft. While inspecting a tray of diamonds with the store's clerk, she slips a large gem out of the tray and embeds it in a wad of chewing gum she took out of her mouth. She then sticks the diamond under the ledge of the sales counter. As she departs the store, the clerk notices the jewel was missing, so he stops her and calls in a police officer, who searches the thief. No gem is found, so the clever thief is allowed to leave. Later, dressed as a man, she returns to the store pretending to be a customer interested in buying a new
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276:, Margaret Leslie was murdered in her room at the Palace Hotel in Chicago. Her fellow actor in the film, Howard Nicholas, and an accomplice robbed the actress of her jewelry. In the process of the crime, Nicholas choked and killed Leslie. The men were soon caught by authorities, tried, and sent to prison, with Nicholas receiving a life sentence. While newspapers reported the crime in 1906 and followed the trial in late March and early April 1907, trade publications at the time do not mention the case at all or even refer to Leslie in any references to or notices about
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the suppression of these institutions, or at least the prevention of minors attending them unless accompanied by their parents." That looks like a rather stern arraignment of a popular amusement, but possibly the judge is speaking inside the facts. At least, one is willing to admit that their effect may be somewhat different from that of the Sunday school, when he reads over the list of the films shown in
Chicago last Saturday... Surely not...the kind of selections the average parent would make for his or her little ones.
163:. It was among some Selig pictures in this early period of the silent era when the studio's actresses performed in men's attire or carried out "roles often associated with masculine behavior." After this production's release, one film distributor in 1908 described it as a portrayal of "The escapades of a young woman who has unfortunately directed her great abilities to a course of criminal theft." The story itself portrayed the female bandit committing four crimes, three of which were done while she was dressed as a man.
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has returned to her apartment. Thinking she has successfully eluded her pursuers and is safe, she proceeds to hide the valuables when suddenly several police officers batter down the door to her room. She shoots one of the men, severely wounding him. A struggle ensues, but the bandit still manages to drink a vial of poison she had hidden. She dies, preferring to end her life rather than languishing for decades in a prison cell.
495:. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, pp. 46-47. According to this reference, a full 1000-foot reel of film in the silent era had a maximum running time of 15 minutes. While silent-film speeds varied, they were generally projected at 16 frames per second, much slower than the 24 frames of later sound films. Most reels, especially the final reels in multiple-reel releases, were not filled to their maximum capacities.
248:
William N. Selig, viewed the 14-minute film as a landmark "feature" for the studio, being its longest screen presentation up to that time. He subsequently referred to it as the company's first "release of 1,000 feet". Technically, though, the film was shy 90 feet from actually setting that landmark. Upon its release in 1906 and throughout its circulation to theaters into 1908,
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Actress
Margaret Leslie and part-time actor and theatrical agent Howard E. Nicholas are documented being in the film, but their roles are not specifically identified. Nevertheless, Leslie by October 1906 was an established stage and screen performer who had already been cast in several Selig productions before being in
420:, presumably rental copies, for the low price of $ 27 ($ 883 USD today). Purchased copies were far more expensive. Both Selig and its licensed distributors were still offering the 14-minute film in 1908 for the same specific price advertised at the time of its release in November 1906: $ 109.20 ($ 3,703 today).
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The production was filmed entirely in
Chicago by Selig Polyscope in the fall of 1906, prior to mid-October. Scenes were shot on location along several streets of the city as well as at the company's studio and backlot, which occupied a large area near 3900 North Claremont Avenue. The company's owner,
339:
Judge McCleland, of
Chicago, is making war on moving picture shows of the nickel variety. Writing to a Chicago paper he says: "These theatres are the cause, directly and indirectly, of more juvenile coming into my court than all other causes combined. I very much hope you will not cease to encourage
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full of valuables. When a policeman approaches during the robbery, she turns her gun on him and holds both men "at bay" while she makes her escape, although in her getaway she drops her male "wig", which the authorities quickly find. The film then transitioned to the final scenes in which the bandit
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According to descriptions of the film's storyline in 1906 and 1907 publications, the Selig release portrayed four crimes of a young woman in a big city. The first scenes depicted her "daring" and "carefully mapped out robbery" of guests at a posh party, including taking jewelry and cash from her own
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was not credited in available 1906 or 1907 trade publication and newspapers, an omission that was not uncommon in the early silent era, when screen celebrity in the United States and performance attributions on screen had not yet become entrenched or customary in the young motion-picture industry.
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was added to a list of films compiled by
Chicago Judge McKenzie Cleland in April 1907, a list of motion pictures presented in the city's "nickel theaters", which he collectively and publicly blamed for corrupting local youth. The film industry took notice of the judge's "war" against Chicago's
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continued to update its readers about reactions to the Selig production in a feature titled "Newspaper
Comments on Film Subjects". In its August 29, 1908 issue, the journal reports a pithy assessment from another recent viewer, stating only "'The Female Highwayman' is an intensely interesting
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Hold-ups and robberies in the mountains of the West, all committed by a woman, were shown in the feature film "The Female
Highwayman," in the series of motion pictures given before a large audience at the Hartford Opera House last evening. The film is new and the scenes shown were
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picture." In 1908, film distributors also continued to promote the film, describing it as "praiseworthy not only for its dramatic interest and intensity, but as well for the wonderful photography and steadiness, which are excellent throughout."
327:"cheap" theaters, as well as the proceedings of a "conference on 5 cent theaters" convened by city leaders that April to discuss the problematic pictures. The Selig Polyscope Company no doubt took particular notice of that conference. The "
331:" was not only the home of its studio operations, but having its recent "lengthy" feature included on Judge Cleland's list was certainly not good for the company's public image, at least locally. The New York trade journal
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On
December 3, 1906, just nine days after the film's release, the local newspaper in Hartford, Connecticut, reports on the town's first screening of the unusual crime drama from out "of the West" in Chicago:
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indicates that Selig's "lengthy" production remained in circulation in United States theaters and was still a motion picture of interest to trade publications. The New York-based journal
658:(Washington, D.C.), October 23, 1906, p. 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Ann Arbor, Michigan); subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.
452:(LAC), or in other major film repositories in the United States, Canada, or Europe. The motion picture is therefore classified as lost or "undetermined" by film historians.
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in its April 27 issue reports on the campaign by "McCleland" and even admits that the films on the judge's list are not really suitable for young audiences:
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was consistently listed in trade publications and offered for sale by film distributors as a picture with a running length of 910 feet.
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offered to rent to the general public and sell to theaters copies of the film. L. Hetz, a business located at 302 East 23rd Street in
555:, sales catalog of unspecified film distributor, printed in the United States, 1908. Internet Archive, 227. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
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600:, number 47, November 1906, 6 pp.; Edison Collection, I-098, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
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In the months and years after the film's release, various licensed distributors and independent motion-picture
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Margaret Leslie's performance in this film obviously predates
October 17, 1906, the day she was murdered.
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234:. Yet again attired in men's clothing, the "highwayman" confronts the courier on a sidewalk and takes a
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709:"Traces Crime to Nickel Theater / Judge Cleland Says Juvenile Offenders Owe Downfall to This Cause",
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215:. While casually inspecting merchandise, she retrieves the diamond from beneath the counter's edge.
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of the female bandit (center figure), dressed as a man and aiming her pistol at a police officer
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533:. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990, p. 478. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
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In the female bandit's next crime, again dressed as a man and brandishing a pistol, she "
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Scene of the police restraining the robber as a wounded officer (right) lies on the floor
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Selig bulletin with female bandit posing in dress and in a man's suit, November 1906
301:"Never shown in the south before"; newspaper advertisement, Austin, Texas, June 1907
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759:"Films For Rent or For Sale" (including "910 The Female Highwayman...27.00")
654:"Slain For Her Jewels/Man Confesses to Murder of Margaret Leslie, Actress",
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Nearly two years after the film's initial distribution, media coverage of
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Margaret Leslie in unverified role (very likely as the title character)
765:, October 19, 1907, p. 975. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
348:, some of the other films included on Judge Cleland's 1907 list were
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749:, April 27, 1907, p. 127. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
230:" a car and robs its occupants. She then uses the gun to rob a bank
700:(New York, N.Y.), August 29, 1908, p. 156. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
625:, May 12, 1917, p. 948. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
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797:, Silent Era Company, Washington State. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
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On
October 17, 1906, shortly after completing production on
551:
Revised List of High Class Original Motion Picture Films
577:
Col. William N. Selig: The Man Who Invented Hollywood
269:, so it is likely she portrayed the title character.
518:, San Francisco, California. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
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Trouble for the film in Chicago's "nickel theaters"
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579:. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012, p. 18.
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192:Uncredited actors as occupants of highjacked car
175:Still of the car highjacked by the female bandit
506:"Cutting Back: Reminiscences of the Early Days"
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201:Uncredited actors as additional police officers
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440:, in the collection of moving images at the
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186:Uncredited actors as party guests and maid
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482:, San Francisco. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
432:is listed among the film holdings of the
416:, offered in October 1907 full copies of
890:Films directed by Broncho Billy Anderson
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530:The Emergence of American Cinema to 1907
478:(New York, N.Y.), March 9, 1907, p. 62.
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189:Uncredited actor as jewelry store clerk
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183:Howard E. Nicholas in unverified role
159:, the motion picture was directed by
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155:crime film. Produced in Chicago by
724:"Would Suppress Vicious Theaters",
684:, December 3, 1906, p. 6. ProQuest.
110:910 feet (approximately 14 minutes)
48:Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson
920:English-language crime drama films
728:, April 28, 1907, p. 10. ProQuest.
619:"Twenty-One Years in the Business"
195:Uncredited actor as police officer
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715:, April 14, 1907, p. 3. ProQuest.
671:, April 10, 1907, p. 1. ProQuest.
514:(Chicago), February 1920, p. 45.
472:"New Films / Selig Polyscope Co."
885:Cross-dressing in American films
667:"Both Convicted And Sentenced",
645:cited in this article's sources.
198:Uncredited actor as bank courier
161:Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson
910:Lost American crime drama films
634:In the April 10, 1907 issue of
870:American black-and-white films
791:"The Female Highwayman" (1906)
404:Prices for the film, 1906-1908
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860:1900s English-language films
818:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
795:Progressive Silent Film List
915:Silent American drama films
880:American silent short films
875:American crime action films
781:. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
450:Library and Archives Canada
90:November 24, 1906
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905:Lost American action films
504:Selig, William N. (1920).
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747:The Moving Picture World
698:The Moving Picture World
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476:The Moving Picture World
424:The film's "lost" status
386:Beware, My Husband Comes
374:College Boy’s First Love
333:The Moving Picture World
311:The Moving Picture World
256:A post-production murder
855:1900s crime drama films
680:"The Moving Pictures",
669:The Cincinnati Enquirer
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594:"The Female Highwayman"
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456:References
329:Windy City
243:Production
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36:Film still
511:Photoplay
228:highjacks
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