Based on a story by Lucian Hubbard, Irving Thalberg and Chaney himself, "The Trap" was formerly available only on an extremely poor dupe of a dupe. The original tinted Kodascope cutdown has now surfaced on a lined but very watchable Grapevine DVD, which does justice to Virgil Miller's crisp yet moody photography. True, Lon Chaney's "performance" is still rather hammy, but now that we know what he really looked like (thanks to "Tell It to the Marines"), we can appreciate what a magnificent job of make-up it was that enabled Lon to convert his pugnacious features into the expressive simpleton's identity. Alas, Chaney makes the simpleton too expressive in fact (and too slow-moving as well). Nevertheless, now that we can clearly see what's actually happening on screen, the story has much more point and poignancy. Although he obviously could not control Chaney's mugging and camera hogging, Robert Thornby otherwise directs with a sure hand and coaxes effective acting from the rest of the cast, particularly Alan Hale (as the "villain") and young Stanley Goethals (as the unwanted child) who both succeed admirably in bringing their rather difficult roles to believable life. Thornby was an actor/director (mostly of shorts) who seems to have abandoned his multiple movie career in 1930.

This movie has several major strikes against it at the onset. The film is in terrible shape--it's choppy and faded and badly in need of restoration. Also, the intertitle cards are sure hard to read, as Lon Chaney plays a French-Canadian and the cards or written phonetically--and are very hard to read. The story is awfully hard to believe and Chaney overacts occasionally. But, in spite of all this, the film still is worth seeing--particularly for its crazy but exciting ending! The film begins with a scum-bag using legal technicalities to steal a mine away from a decent man (Chaney). Now suddenly poor, Chaney can't afford to marry his sweetheart and is forced into poverty. However, instead of seeking revenge right away, he allows this hatred to seethe within until he has a chance to repay the jerk for stealing his mine. Years later, this new miner owner is attacked and shoots a man in self-defense. The only witness is Chaney--who realizes that if he doesn't corroborate the story, the man will go to jail. So, he keeps his mouth shut and laughs as the guy is sent to prison.

In the meantime, Chaney plans on taking revenge on the man's young son as well, but unexpectedly he grows to love the kid as his own. And, to keep the kid, he plans a complicated trap to kill the father when he is released from prison. I'd say more, but really don't want to spoil this crazy but exciting ending. See the film--just see if you can find a non-public domain version that is in better shape--if that's possible.

In the happy French-Canadian village of Grand-Bellaire, simple-minded miner Lon Chaney (as Gaspard) leads an idyllic life. In the spring, he works his mine and plays with children; Mr. Chaney is "filled and thrilled at the joy of being alive, with trust and love for all mankind in his heart." Chaney's radiant life comes to an abrupt halt, however, when greedy Alan Hale (as Benson) steals both his mine and his girl, Dagmar Godowsky (as Thalie).

For seven years, Chaney is consumed with hate; he is lonely, crushed, and beaten. Meanwhile, Mr. Hale and Ms. Godowsky fall on hard times; he is unable to profit in mining, and she becomes terminally ill. The unhappy couple's only success is their cute five-year-old son Stanley Goethals (as "The Boy"). Obsessed with revenge, Chaney gets his chance when he declines to back-up Hale during a barroom incident; and, Hale is sent to prison. After Godowsky dies, Chaney gets custody of "The Kid" (Goethals), whom he plans to abuse…

This formulaic film combines themes found in Lon Chaney's own "The Penalty" (1920) with Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid" (1921). It is, understandably, not as good as its film cousins; but, Chaney's great performance and its excellent production values, handled by Robert Thornby (director) and Virgil Miller (photographer), make "The Trap" worth getting into.

******* The Trap (5/9/22) Robert Thornby ~ Lon Chaney, Alan Hale, Stanley Goethals