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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 781

A Trap for Santa Claus

190916 minUnited States
Drama
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs
15:12
Subtitles
English

Languages and subtitles

Subtitles off by default

Wikimedia Commons · D. W. Griffith · Public domain

Subtitles: Wikimedia Commons · Open Classic Cinema

Synopsis

An unemployed father abandons his family, believing they will be better off without him. An unexpected inheritance subsequently gives his wife and children a comfortable new home. On Christmas Eve, the children devise a trap to catch Santa entering through a window, just as their estranged father approaches the house with a very different purpose.

Cast

DirectorsD. W. Griffith

Historical context

Griffith's Biograph Christmas story links a child's holiday fantasy with unemployment, alcohol and family separation. Its reunion depends on the accidental collision of two plans for the same window.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Henry B. Walthall — Tower Magazines, Inc., photographer unknown · Public domain
  • Marion Leonard — Unknown author Unknown author; Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/movinwor14chal/page/n993 . Digitalized version of The Moving Picture World , vol. 14, no. 10, Dezember 7th, 1912, p988 · Public domain
  • Gladys Egan — Unknown author Unknown author; https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0250676/mediaindex?ref_=nm_phs_md_sm at International Movie Database · Public domain

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