User Reviews

The soundtrack consists of violins, at times ok, but at other times it's like cats fighting.

There are too many characters with too little to do in this Christmas two-reeler, but it comes down to a story about the intersection between Guido Colucci, a poor man who drives a horse-drawn taxi, and two rivals for the hand of Gladys Gane. The suitors are Raymond McKee and Billy Casey. Colucci has a sick wife, and Christmas does not look to be very merry.

Perhaps this was pitched by writer Alan Crosland as a feature. Edison had never done features, was not doing features, and would not enter feature production until too late, by which time Crosland would direct them. This was directed by Will Louis, who would be out of direction by 1920.

Another effort to get a Christmas theme into a lame little plot. Two men are vying for the same woman and the predictable problems occur. The Santa Clause suit used by Edison seems to be the same one for every movie. Rather a one dimensional setting detracts from any possibilities.

This holiday-themed melodrama has an interesting combination of story elements. To some degree, they reflect ideas that were familiar at the time, and in another respect they provide an example of the ways that the era's film-makers were attempting to move beyond the kinds of simple stories characteristic of one-reel features. In this case, the story is a bit too ambitious for the running time, and it would have worked better at about twice the length. But it's an interesting effort.

The story sets up two parallel story lines: first, a romantic rivalry between two well-to-do young men, and second, the increasing despair of a working man over his wife's illness and his family's poverty. These two situations then intersect in a relatively lengthy party sequence that brings everyone together. To a large degree, the settings and subplots simply combine ideas that are familiar from many other movies of the time. What is different is the attempt to take an earnest but light-hearted romantic plot, and interweave it with a serious piece of social commentary.

There are a lot of characters, and one of the drawbacks of packing so much into a mere fifteen minutes or so is that some of the characters are never clearly distinguished from one another, nor are most of them given enough of an identity to make you feel that you know them. The only character who is well-defined is the desperate chauffeur, and that is accomplished by rather overt means. Through the mid-1910s and early 1920s, film-makers learned a great deal more about ways of better developing their characters before plunging them into the events of a complex story.

Dick Norwood and Edward Beck are roommates and rivals for Helen Bower's attention. The two boys battle for her affections over the Christmas holidays. Binks Mulligan is down-on-his-luck and turns to robbery.

I don't know the opening special effects scene. It looks weird with her floating up and down. This is an Edison film and I am sure he is trying different camera tricks. Instead of putting her in the mirror, they could just put her anywhere in between the two guys as a floating head. They aren't moving much anyways. This story has one too many elements. The rivalry is plenty enough especially for a short.

This collection is a nice assembly of period silent shorts. They are arranged by date of release so they show how the stories and acting progressed through the first two decades of the 20th century.

It becomes SANTA CLAUS VS. CUPID when a rich girl's Christmas party is attended by two love-smitten young men, each costumed as the jolly old elf...

This is an entertaining little film, containing elements of humor (the jolly corpulent cook revels in the kitchen with her boyfriends) and drama (the wretched coachman forced to steal to provide medicine for his ill wife).These plot strands, plus the romantic dual Santas, are woven into a compact storyline.

Al Kryszak provided the score for the video compilation A Christmas Past, in which this film appears.

"Santa Claus vs. Cupid" is a lengthy and complex film by 1915's standards. It's a bit confusing at times, but is also well made and interesting...and worth seeing if you love silents.

The story has two parallel stories going on at the same time. The happy story is about a wealthier family who is having a lovely Christmas....with folks dressing up as Santa and children all happy and full of life. At the same time, a poor family is struggling. The mother is ill and needs medicine and there is nothing for the children for Christmas. What's next? See the film.

The film features some fine sets, good acting for the time and an interesting story. Sadly, it's included with a group of silent Christmas tales in "A Christmas Past". Why? Because although I enjoyed the film, I often had to turn off the music because it was so completely wrong for the tone of the movies....and it was especially true with this one.