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''The Trap'' is a
Based upon a summary in a film publication, Jean (Tell) teaches school at a settlement in Alaska and is loved by brothers Ned (Austin) and Steve Fallon (Schenck), whom Jean prefers. Ned and Jean's father Henry Carson go gold prospecting, while Steve spends his time gambling. Jean marries Steve in a ceremony witnessed by "Doc" Sloan (La Rocque). After Jean then becomes depressed by her husband's drunken ways, Steve boasts that he has a wife in Seattle, so she leaves. Jean's father returns having had no luck, but Ned returns having found a rich claim. Ned insists on deeding half of the claim to Jean as reward for her support, and professes to love her. She then confesses what happened with Steve. New York broker Bruce Graham (Mason) arrives on business and becomes infatuated with Jean. Word then comes that Jean's sister Helen in New York is ill, so Jean and her father leave, and Bruce accompanies them. Ned hears that his brother Steve was shot during a brawl in a nearby town.
In New York, Jean learns that Steve died in the fight. Jean and Bruce decide to marry, and Bruce refuses to let Jean tell him about her and Steve, saying no man should concern himself of his wife's previous life if he loves her. Years pass, and Jean is happy with two children while Ned has become successful with his mine and opened an office in New York. "Doc" Sloan under an alias has become acquainted with Helen (Bankhead), and at a party at the Graham home recognizes Jean as a woman he saw married in Alaska. He then attempts to blackmail her, saying that not only is Steve alive and that she is committing
lost
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1919 American silent drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by Frank Reicher and starring Olive Tell
Olive Tell (September 27, 1894 – June 8, 1951) was a stage and screen actress from New York City.
Biography
Tell was educated in several cities in Europe. She and her younger actress sister Alma graduated from the American Academy of Dramati ...
. It was released in the United Kingdom under the title ''A Woman's Law''. The film is based upon the 1915 play of the same name by Jules Eckert Goodman
Jules Eckert Goodman (November 2, 1876 – July 10, 1962) was an American playwright and author. He was best known for his plays ''The Man Who Came Back'' (1916), ''The Silent Voice (play), The Silent Voice'' (1914), ''Chains'' (1923), and a se ...
and Richard Harding Davis.
The Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
includes the film among the National Film Preservation Board's list of "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films" produced between 1912 and 1929.
Plot
Based upon a summary in a film publication, Jean (Tell) teaches school at a settlement in Alaska and is loved by brothers Ned (Austin) and Steve Fallon (Schenck), whom Jean prefers. Ned and Jean's father Henry Carson go gold prospecting, while Steve spends his time gambling. Jean marries Steve in a ceremony witnessed by "Doc" Sloan (La Rocque). After Jean then becomes depressed by her husband's drunken ways, Steve boasts that he has a wife in Seattle, so she leaves. Jean's father returns having had no luck, but Ned returns having found a rich claim. Ned insists on deeding half of the claim to Jean as reward for her support, and professes to love her. She then confesses what happened with Steve. New York broker Bruce Graham (Mason) arrives on business and becomes infatuated with Jean. Word then comes that Jean's sister Helen in New York is ill, so Jean and her father leave, and Bruce accompanies them. Ned hears that his brother Steve was shot during a brawl in a nearby town.
In New York, Jean learns that Steve died in the fight. Jean and Bruce decide to marry, and Bruce refuses to let Jean tell him about her and Steve, saying no man should concern himself of his wife's previous life if he loves her. Years pass, and Jean is happy with two children while Ned has become successful with his mine and opened an office in New York. "Doc" Sloan under an alias has become acquainted with Helen (Bankhead), and at a party at the Graham home recognizes Jean as a woman he saw married in Alaska. He then attempts to blackmail her, saying that not only is Steve alive and that she is committing bigamy
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
, but that he plans to tell her husband that the man she had an affair with is Ned. She goes to Ned, who tells her that he personally buried his brother Steve. Ned has a meeting with Sloan designed as a trap to get evidence of the blackmail, but Sloan pulls a gun on Ned. There is a gunshot, Sloan is dead, Ned picks up the gun and fires additional shots, including one into his own arm. Ned is arrested for the murder but says it was self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
. When Bruce becomes suspicious of his wife due to the payments from Ned, Jean tells the whole story, including how it was she who shot Sloan at the meeting. Ned is later acquitted at trial.
Cast
References
External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trap, The 1919 films American silent feature films 1919 drama films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films Universal Pictures films American films based on plays Silent American drama films Films directed by Frank Reicher 1910s American films