Rich Mr. and Mrs. Gilton live next door to a large family that struggles to make ends meet. Despite their desire to be friendly, Mr. Gilton the Scrooge-like miser is frequently irritated by his neighbors, insisting that they stay out of his yard. He blames the family for anything that goes wrong, including the sad death of his dog, who was mysteriously poisoned. However, during the holiday season, the differences between the two families become even clearer. Mrs. Gilton wants to do something to help their neighbors, but Mr. Gilton will take a lot of convincing. She gets her way, by accident. It takes the unintentional gift of giving by Mr. Gilton for him to see and feel the real meaning of Christmas. The ultimate revelation comes to him when a little girl from the needy family offers him her teddy bear because his doggie died. CAST Mr. Gilton: William Wadsworth Mrs. Gilton: Mrs. William Bechtel Mr. Bilton: Augustus Phillips Mrs. Bilton: Mrs. C.J. Williams Cora Cordelia Bilton: Edna Hamel Silent Film by Thomas A. Edison Inc. Story by Annie Eliot Trumbull (1897) From the story by Annie Eliot Trumbull A Christmas Accident (1912) opens on a summery day in front of a duplex, with children playing outside. The father (Augustus Phillips) comes out to check on the kids. A grumpy white-bearded next door neighbor (William Wadsworth) tells the father to keep his children on his side of an invisible barrier he is imagining divides the area in front of the duplex. The geezers wife (Jenny Bechtel) shakes her head apologetically, and the father carries the younger of his two daughters indoors. The next scene shows the bearded sourpuss indoors arguing with his gentle wife. This is shown in contrast to the poor family next door who seem very satisfied with life, the five children especially well treated. The crabby old fellow sets out on a walk and stops by the grocers to order a few things to be delivered to his residence. This gets delivered to the wrong side of the duplex, and that evening the old man demands his roast beef to no avail. When the mistake is sorted out, the family next door is very apologetic, but the young wife (Ida Williams) had thought the delivery had been sent by her own husband, and she went ahead and cooked the roast. The table is already set for the family of seven, but the eldest child, Cora (Edna Hamel), goes to fetch the prepared roast beef to return to its rightful purchaser. The old man refuses to take the food back. He wont even take a token cupcake from young Cora, but slaps her hand away and storms back in his residence. Not long after, the old mans dog is found dead, and he insists the neighbors killed it. When this new round of accusation is over, little Cora sits alone beside the corpse of the neighbors dog and weeps. A few months pass. The family will be experiencing a minimal Christmas, but they are so happy all the time anyway. The children hang up their stockings before bed, but then spy through the curtains as their mom and dad set up a small Christmas tree with small gifts under it, all atop the dining table. Their parents spot them taking their sneak-peak, so its decided to have their Christmas right then and there. All the kids get their little presents and everyones very happy, lamenting only that Santa forgot the Christmas turkey. They all look sad and hungry for a second, then they revert to their happy selves. They all sit around the table with the Christmas display on it, and dad begins reading them a story, with not a thing to eat. They can feast upon their imaginations as their dad reads the story and the children envision Santa standing nearby laughing. Outside is a major snowstorm. The crabby neighbor has been on an errand to the butcher. He comes back in his heavy coat and white-bearded face. The storm is blinding so he enters the wrong door and the five children momentarily mistake him for Santa, and are grateful for the Christmas turkey. He lets them have the turkey, which scarcely seems in his nature, but a spark of pity seems finally to have overcome him. Cora the eldest little girl brings out a present she has secretly set aside for him. Its her own beloved teddy bear. Mrs. Gilton from next door arrives just in time to see them creating a Merry Christmas.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:00:00 +0000