The Trap (1922)

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When he made this film, Lon Chaney's fame was already established, but he was only inches away from superstardom -- a few months later he would portray the title character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Trapper Gaspard (Chaney) is a French-Canadian innocent; all this changes, however, when he… More When he made this film, Lon Chaney's fame was already established, but he was only inches away from superstardom -- a few months later he would portray the title character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Trapper Gaspard (Chaney) is a French-Canadian innocent; all this changes, however, when he returns home from a trip to find that both his sweetheart, Thalie (Dagmar Godowsky), and his mine have been stolen by a stranger, Benson (Alan Hale, Sr.). Overnight, the trapper becomes mean and vengeful. Because of Gaspard, Benson -- who has married Thalie -- is unfairly sent to jail on a shooting rap, and then when Thalie dies, Gaspard winds up with her son (Stanley Goethals). He plans to continue his revenge with the boy, but instead he comes to love him dearly. His feelings for the boy's father, however, remain unchanged. When Benson is about to be released from jail, Gaspard sets a trap by placing a vicious wolf in his home, ready to attack the moment he enters. But instead, the boy goes into the house and Gaspard, in a panic, dashes in and kills the wolf. He emerges, torn and disfigured (Chaney never could resist a good make-up job), but with the boy safe. The boy and his father are reunited, while Gaspard finds love -- and romance -- with a newly arrived school marm (Irene Rich). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi