Trying to Get Arrested (1909)

Interesting facts

Trying to Get Arrested is a 1909 American comedy short film directed by D. W. Griffith, produced by the Biograph Company of New York City, and starring John R. Cumpson. Filmed in two days in early 1909 at Palisades Park, New Jersey, it was released in April that year and distributed to theaters on a "split reel", which was a single film reel that included more than one motion picture. The other picture that accompanied this comedy was the Biograph "dramedy" The Road to the Heart.

Production

As presented in Biograph's adaptation, O. Henry in his 1904 short story portrays the winter street life of a homeless man named "Soapy" and his repeated efforts to get arrested by committing assorted crimes just so he will be jailed on New York City's "Blackwell's Island". There he could at least have a warm bed, regular meals, and for a few months be "safe from the cold north wind".

For this screen version of O. Henry's work, director D. W. Griffith collaborated with Mack Sennett in writing the film's scenario. Griffith, however, chose to shoot the comedy in Palisades Park, New Jersey, a less congested area than the streets of New York.

Compiling and verifying cast members in early Biograph productions such as Trying to Get Arrested is made more difficult by the fact that Biograph, as a matter of company policy, did not begin publicly crediting its performers and identifying them on screen, in film-industry publications, or in newspapers advertisements until four years after the release of this short.

The star of this short, John Cumpson, was one of many early Biograph players who performed anonymously for the studio. In fact, Cumpson died in March 1913, just the month before Biograph began to identify and actively promote its stars and publicly acknowledge their supporting cast members.

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