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This neat little morality tale packs a great deal into a film lasting just over one minute, all shot from a single fixed camera position. A burglar enters a married couple's bedroom and proceeds to rifle through a chest of drawers. The couple wakes, and their very different reactions turn the film from a suspense thriller into a comedy, as the husband (who bears a passing resemblance to R.W. Paul himself) dives under the bed, where he remains cowering as his sturdily-built wife grabs a stick and attempts to remonstrate with the burglar. Though he turns the tables on her by tying her to the bed and threatening her with a pistol before escaping, there is little doubt that she retains the moral high ground, especially when the reaction of the neighbours (presumably) and policeman after they arrive is to point at her hapless husband and laugh. There has been some suggestion that the husband is actually being mistaken for the burglar, but the ending of the copy in the BFI National Archive is too abrupt to make this clear. Michael Brooke *This film is included in the BFI DVD compilation 'R.W. Paul: The Collected Films 1895-1908', with music by Stephen Horne and optional commentary by Ian Christie.
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Complete film (1:21)
