June 1, 1919. Trouble in Mexico, Films in the U.S.

Inspite of their being no official peace in Europe, yet, where the U.S. was technically at war, still, Mexico had pushed its way back on to the front page of the papers.

Pancho Villa was extremely active in Chihuahua and Juarez, directly across from El Paso, was on everyone's mind.  Things were getting tense. At the same time rumors were reported that Felipe Ángeles had asked to be recognized by the United States as the Mexican head of state.  I don't know if he had actually done that or not.

Felipe Ángeles

Angeles was one of the many quixotic figures of the Mexican revolution and he was in fact serving with Villa at the time.  He'd been a Mexican revolutionary general with socialist, and ironically pacifist, leanings who had taken refuge in the U.S. in 1915 after it had appeared that Villa had been conclusively defeated.  In the U.S. he was a member of the Mexican Liberal Alliance which sought to bring about an end to the war and a coalition government.  He rejoined Villa in the field after Villa started to resume successful military operations following the U.S. withdrawal.

The news was also full of the story that a former Wyoming Treasurer was caught up in a booze scandal. The beginning of the merger of the official and prominent with the evasion of Prohibition had already seemingly begun.

This story, of course, was in regard to Colorado, which had passed "bone dry" Prohibition some months prior.  National Prohibition had not yet gone into effect, and Wyoming's remained a month out, as the paper reported.

Allied leaders, June 1, 1919.

In Paris, the work towards a peace continued, or continued in the form of waiting on the Germans.

In the U.S., this being a Sunday, a lot of new movies were released.

If you subscribed to movie magazines, you could read about some of them in advance.

Or maybe just go.

Major star Lillian Gish was featured in True Heart Susie, which was released on this date in 1919.  Susie loves the dim William Jenkins and sells her possessions so that her dull witted love can attend college. Even her prized pet cow is sold.  Jenkins completes his studies in theology without ever being aware of it.  He does impress upon her that she must dress as plainly as possible.  He goes on to marry another, however, and after much disappointment and the fortunate if tragic death of his first wife, he marries Susie.

A bit  much really.

Also released on this date in 1919 was A Woman There Was.  The film was a South Seas adventure and was a box office flop.  No copies survive.

Also released was All Wrong, a comedy about a young husband who has developed a theory of "perpetual courting" and tries to implement it in his marriage, to disastrous results.

That actually sounds a lot like some current marriage advice. Realistic or not, apparently it was funny in 1919.