[Ads-l] "stag films" antedated (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

My impression is that for much of society a 19th C. "stag party" was just a
gathering of men to drink, play cards, and talk about sports and other
manly activities.  (Contrast "hen party," and cf. "stag dance" and "stag
line.")

A film "suitable for stag parties and saloon work" in 1910 *might* not
suggest anything more salacious than an outdoor melodrama or crime saga of
the sort that would not be likely to appeal to women.

For example, "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) may have been considered a
"stag film."

Of course, so would any, ahem, putative porn flick of the era.  Ingenuity
being what it is, I suppose they could have existed.

JL

On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 2:12 PM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US) <
william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill CIV (US)" <william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: "stag films" antedated (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
>
> I think the argument is that "A Free Ride" is the oldest stag film extant,
> =
> not the first one made.
> >=20
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------=
> ------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Baker, John" <JBAKER at STRADLEY.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: "stag films" antedated (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >=20
> > Note that this would seem to undercut the claim that "A Free Ride" was
> th=
> e =3D first stag film, unless "stag film" has changed in meaning.  Of
> > course, the=3D  fact that this advertisement was placed in a mainstream
> p=
> ublication suppor=3D ts the likelihood of such a shift.
> >=20
> > Do we know why those who assign "A Free Ride" to 1915 choose that date?
> >=20
> >=20
> > John Baker
> >=20
> >=20
> CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
>
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