With his stout physique and Pickwickian manner, rising comedy superstar John Bunny was a natural to play Santa Claus in this split-reel melodrama from 1912. In greater detail, though, it was more a matter of helping out -- at Vitagraph, you might star in one picture, be an extra in a crowd scene in the next and wield a hammer in building sets in a third, quite possibly all in one day.
This short subject is about Dolores Costello, a little girl -- she was all of nine when this movie was released -- who wants a particular doll for Christmas. Her parents are far too poor to buy it for her, so when she has the opportunity to take five dollars from her mother's employers, she is sorely tempted.
It's a slight tale, but it is handled ably by director Van Dyke Brooke, who also plays a supporting role, and it' short length keeps it from being mawkish. I don't know if Brooke helped out building sets, but it wouldn't surprise me.
