''The Trap'' is a 1922 American silent

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Robert Thornby Robert Thornby (March 27, 1888 – March 6, 1953) was an American film director, director and actor of the silent film, silent era. He directed 75 films between 1913 and 1927. He also appeared in 48 films between 1911 and 1930. He was born i ...

and starring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

and Alan Hale. It was released by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. The film was released in the United Kingdom under the title ''Heart of a Wolf''. (Some sources still list the film under that title.) One working title for the film was ''Wolfbreed''. The film was re-released in the U.S. in 1926. The screenplay was written by George C. Hull, based on a story idea that was co-written by Lon Chaney. A lobby card exists from the film, as well as a photo of Chaney as Gaspard. The film was finished in September 1921, but was only released on May 9, 1922 in New York City. The film stars Chaney as the leading character, Alan Hale as his rival, and

Irene Rich Irene Frances Rich ( Luther; October 13, 1891 – April 22, 1988) was an American actress who worked in both silent films, talkies, and radio. Early life Rich was born in Buffalo, New York. At age 17, she wed Elvo Elcourt Deffenbaugh at ...

as the female lead. Chaney had also appeared in an unrelated film of the same name in 1913. The film also features (in a very minor role) Chaney's real-life son Creighton (later known as

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula ...

) in his film debut. Junior plays one of the little children who flock around behind Gaspard in the very first scene of the film. Critic Jon C. Mirsalis commented "Seen today, THE TRAP is a dismal entry in Chaney's career. The dialogue titles are done in a phony French accent (e.g., "An dat leetle papaire tak' w'at was my fathaire's?"), and the overly melodramatic story probably seemed dated even in 1922. Chaney would soon go on to much better productions. This was his last work for Universal until THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME."

Plot

Gaspard (Lon Chaney), a French fur trapper, returns from a trip to find his sweetheart Thalie (Dagmar Godowsky) romantically involved with a newcomer named Benson (Alan Hale). Gaspard then learns that Benson has also acquired ownership of Gaspard's mine through a legal technicality. Broken in health and spirit, Gaspard swears vengeance but bides his time. Benson marries Thalie and, after seven years, she becomes ill and dies, leaving behind a son. Benson loses the mine he stole in a cave-in and becomes an alcoholic. But this is not enough revenge for Gaspard. He urges the town bully to start a fight with Benson, and Benson ends up shooting and injuring the ruffian in self defense. Gaspard testifies against Benson at his trial and causes the unfortunate wretch to be incarcerated. Gaspard takes Benson's son to his cabin and plans an awful revenge, knowing that Benson will come to reclaim the child as soon as he is released from prison. Gaspard arranges a trap in his cabin hoping that Benson will walk into it. He imprisons a hungry wolf in the cabin, intending that the starving animal will eat Benson. The little boy walks into the trap instead, and Gaspard is nearly killed attempting to rescue him from the hungry beast. He physically wrestles the wolf into submission with his bare hands and is gravely wounded. Later when Benson arrives, Gaspard gives him the child and wishes them both Godspeed, having learned his lesson.

Cast

as Gaspard the Good * Alan Hale as Benson *

Dagmar Godowsky Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky (November 24, 1897 – February 13, 1975) was an American silent film actress. Biography Godowsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 24, 1897, the daughter of Polish-Jewish composer Leopold Godowsky and Frederic ...

as Thalie *

Stanley Goethals Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

as The Boy *

as The Teacher *

Dick Sutherland Dick Sutherland (born Archibald Thomas Johnson, December 23, 1881 – February 3, 1934) was an American film actor, active mostly during the silent film era. Born in Benton, Kentucky, in 1881, Sutherland appeared in more than 70 films betw ...

as The Town Bully *

Spottiswoode Aitken Frank Spottiswoode Aitken (16 April 1868 – 26 February 1933) was a Scottish-American actor of the silent era. He played Dr. Cameron in D. W. Griffith's epic drama ''The Birth of a Nation''. Early years Aitken was born 16 April 1868 in Edinb ...

as The Factor *

Herbert Standing Herbert Standing (13 November 1846 – 5 December 1923) was a British stage and screen actor and the patriarch of the Standing family of actors. He was the father of numerous children, many of whom had careers in theatre and cinema. Toward the ...

as The Priest *

Frank Campeau Frank Campeau (December 14, 1864 – November 5, 1943) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1911 and 1940 and made many appearances in films starring Douglas Fairbanks. On Broadway, Campeau appeared in '' The V ...

as The Police Sergeant *

as little boy in crowd scene (uncredited)

Production

''The Trap'' was filmed in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

in California. This was the first Chaney film to use the panchromatic film stock, which became popular in the late 1920s. The film's tagline was "A GREAT dramatic and scenic wonder picturing vividly how a man lost himself when fate played against him, only to find himself again through the love and affection of a little child. A powerful and beautiful picture for every member of your family!"

Survival status

A 4K restoration was done by Universal Pictures from 16mm and 35mm elements in 2023. Several prints of ''The Trap'' still exist, and the film is available on DVD and Blu-ray.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Trap''
at silentera.com

Critical Comments

"''The Trap'' registers 100 percent. Lon Chaney's splendid dramatic talents were never demonstrated to better effect than in his portrayal of the simple-minded, joyous Gaspard, whose all-embracing love of mankind is temporarily turned to hate by the cruel strokes of Fate. His performance is a keen, incisive study in contrasts, which grip one with unfailing power and adds fresh lustre to his already brilliant reputation."--- Exhibitors Trade Review "The plot is a conventional one. The reasons for the film's success are two: first, the splendid direction and secondly, the acting of Lon Chaney. There are a few too many close-ups of him however." ---Film Daily "Mr. Chaney in this film awakens sympathy, although at times he makes the spectator hate him for what he contemplates. It should give excellent satisfaction to those who enjoy strong melodramas." ---Harrison's Reports "Too much of the star in closeups every few feet makes this feature a very draggy affair...The picture gives Chaney a chance to hog footage right along in (too many) close-ups. This becomes rather tiresome, as all the emoting he does not carry the story forward at all." ---Variety "A fair offering, but not what is to be expected from a Universal Jewel. Mr. Chaney does some great acting, however.... Without the masterful performance by Lon Chaney, THE TRAP would hardly be able to lift itself out of the slough of triteness. An excellent picture of French-Canadian life. The scenery is great. Only fault the picture has, if any, is too many lengthy close-ups of Lon Chaney. They overdo Chaney's excellent character work." ---Moving Picture World

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trap (1922 film), The 1922 films 1922 Western (genre) films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language Western (genre) films Films directed by Robert Thornby Silent American Western (genre) films Surviving American silent films Universal Pictures films