The Perils of Pauline
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The Perils of Pauline was a silent movie serial which debuted in 1914. A second serial of this name was released in 1934. There is also a 1947 feature movie which makes reference to the earlier serial, and a 1967 feature film.
Contents |
[edit] The 1914 silent serial
| The Perils of Pauline (1914) | |
|---|---|
| Distributed by | General Film Company & Eclectic Film Company |
| Release date(s) | 31 March 1914 |
| Running time | 20 chapters |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The very popular silent Perils of Pauline was a cliffhanger serial shown in weekly installments featuring Pearl White as the title character, a perpetual damsel in distress. She was menaced by assorted villains, including pirates and Native Americans. At the end of each installment she was generally placed in a situation that looked sure to result in her imminent death. The start of the next episode showed how she was rescued or otherwise escaped the danger, only to face fresh peril again.
The serial had 20 episodes, the first being three reels and the rest two reels each. After the original ran, it was reshown in theaters a number of times, sometimes in edited, shortened versions, through the 1920s. Today, The Perils of Pauline is known to exist only in a shortened 9-reel version released in Europe in 1916.
The premise of the story was that Pauline's wealthy guardian Mr. Marvin, upon his death, has left her inheritance in the care of his secretary Mr. Koerner until the time of her marriage. Pauline wants to wait a while before marrying, as her dream is to go out and have adventures to prepare herself for becoming an author. Mr. Koerner, hoping to ultimately keep the money for himself, tries to turn Pauline's various adventures against her and have her "disappear" to his own advantage.
One of the more famous scenes in the serial was filmed on the curved Ingham Run trestle in New Hope, Pennsylvania on the former Reading Company's New Hope Branch, now the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad line. The trestle still stands, just off Ferry Street, and is now referred to as "Pauline's Trestle". The railroad is also a tourist attraction and offers rides from New Hope to Lahaska, Pennsylvania, crossing over the original trestle.
The term cliffhanger originated with the series, owing to a number of episodes filmed on or around the New Jersey Palisades.
It was also the first film appearance of Milton Berle, who plays the character of a young boy.
This was the first major theatrical production by the American branch of Pathé, the France based company that during the first part of the 20th Century, was the largest film equipment and production company in the world.
This successful serial was quickly followed by The Exploits of Elaine, also starring White. Many imitations and parodies followed.
References to Perils appear in 1960s animated cartoon television shows Dudley Do-Right (where the villain often tied Nell to a railroad track), and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
Some famous episodes of this serial were when she was tied to a railroad track and when she was tied to a log heading to the sawmill.
[edit] The 1934 serial
| The Perils of Pauline (1934) | |
|---|---|
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1934 |
| Running time | 12 chapters (231 min) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
A sound film remake of the famous silent serial appeared in 1934, starring Evalyn Knapp as Pauline. It was made by Universal Studios. Historic footage of the 1930 flight of the Dornier Do X seaplane is featured, with episodes set in Indonesia actually filmed in South America.
[edit] Chapter titles
- Guns of Doom
- Typhoon of Terror
- The Leopard Leaps
- Trapped by the Enemy
- Flaming Tomb
- Pursued by Savages
- Tracked by the Enemy
- Dangerous Depths
- The Mummy Walks
- The Night Attack
- Into the Flames
- Confu's Sacred Secret
| Preceded by Gordon of Ghost City (1933) |
Universal Serial The Perils of Pauline (1934) |
Succeeded by Pirate Treasure (1934) |
[edit] The 1947 feature film
| The Perils of Pauline (1947) | |
|---|---|
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 4 July 1947 |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The 1947 feature released by Paramount Pictures is a fictionalized Hollywood account of silent star Pearl White's rise to fame, starring Betty Hutton as White.
The film also stars William Demarest, Frank Faylen, Constance Collier, Billy DeWolfe, and John Lund. It was directed by George Marshall, and featured songs by Frank Loesser.
[edit] The 1967 film
| The Perils of Pauline (1967) | |
|---|---|
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 2 August 1967 |
| Running time | 107 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
A 1967 comedy The Perils of Pauline starring Pat Boone and Pamela Austin enjoyed neither the commercial nor critical success of earlier films of this title. There were also plans for a TV series based on this film, but it was scrapped.
[edit] External links
On the Internet Movie Database site:
