Il Giglio Nero (literally, “The Black Lily”) is a typical Italian crime and detective film from the early 1910s, which well reflects rage for the genre, no doubt inspired by the popularity of sensational French crime films such as Fantômas and Zigomar and the detective dime novels of those years, as well as press reports of actual robberies. All the usual ingredients of early 1910s European crime films are here: an aristocratic family; a gang leader disguised as an elderly rich industrialist; a den with a secret entrance (which opens in a most peculiar way); gang members wearing masks; ruses to get rid of the family’s staff; the daughter as a damsel in distress, locked up and fainting while the thief easily robs the safe; a gentleman detective and his assistant coming to the rescue, and also using disguises to fool the gang; pursuits by car; a trapdoor; a last-minute rescue; and a reward. So far so good, but at times this film offers some extras, such as interiors with Liberty [Art Nouveau] furniture; an outdoor setting like a Roman aqueduct; a fancy automobile so shiny you can even see the camera crew’s reflection; and, yes, all those secret buttons and handles which may open the cave’s entrance, or a sewer threatening to drown our detective.
Il Giglio Nero had a wide international release in 1913. It was shown in France from 4 July 1913 as Le Lys noir, in Britain from 21 July 1913 as The Black Lily Gang, and in the U.S. from 2 September 1913 as The Sign of the Black Lily. While the Italian press thought the plot too audacious and too improbable, Moving Picture World (30.08.1913) wrote: “Essentially this is a dramatic story, in two reels, combining a delightful tale of adventure with those wonderful stage settings for which Kleine-Cines are famous.”
The director of the film remains unidentified, but the two main actors are known: Augusto Mastripietri as the gang leader, alias Mr. Forti, and Attilio D’Anversa as Detective Sereni. Mastripietri was a Cines regular from 1910, acting in countless supporting parts (e.g., Chilon in Guazzoni’s Quo vadis?), but he also had leads in a handful of films there, including two opposite D’Anversa: Un segreto di Stato (High Treason) and Il Giglio Nero, both from 1913. – Ivo Blom