A Trap for Santa Claus
About A Trap for Santa Claus
Arthur Rogers, out of work and drinking, leaves a note that his wife Helen and the children will be better off without him. An aunt's estate is settled and Helen has money enough for a new house, which has no chimney. On Christmas Eve she tells the children Santa will come through the window. They set a tub under it and tie the sash to a foot. Arthur, now burglarizing houses, climbs in without knowing who lives there and falls into the trap. Helen hides him, puts him in the Santa suit she had meant to wear, and the children find Santa caught.
Cast & crew
More about A Trap for Santa Claus
D. W. Griffith directed the one-reel Biograph drama. G. W. Bitzer photographed it. The print runs 989 feet. Biograph released it on December 20, 1909, and copyrighted it on December 23, 1909, as J136186.
Themes
Look
G. W. Bitzer photographed the one-reeler, including the window trap and the Santa suit.
Preservation
A print survives. A circulating copy runs 15 minutes and 13 seconds.
Notes
- Henry B. Walthall plays Arthur Rogers. Marion Leonard plays Helen. Gladys Egan plays the daughter. Mack Sennett is the bartender who refuses Arthur credit.
- A Biograph intertitle reads, "No work for the father, misery and want the family's lot.
- Moving Picture World reviewed it on December 31, 1909. The New York Dramatic Mirror noticed it on December 25, 1909, and January 1, 1910.
Scenes
- The children tie the window sash to a foot and set a tub for Santa.
- Arthur falls into the trap and is sent back out in the Santa suit.
Also available
- Internet Archive (ATrapForSanta)
- Wikimedia Commons
Quotes
Dear Helen, you will be better off without me. I leave for good. May God help you. Arthur
