''The Perils of Pauline'' is a 1933 American
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...
film serial
A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...
, and
sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
, of the
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
original
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...
. The 12-chapter "
cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
" was produced by
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
.
Evalyn Knapp
Evalyn Knapp (born Evelyn Pauline Knapp; June 17, 1906 – June 12, 1981) was an American film actress of the late 1920s, 1930s and into the 1940s. She was a leading B-movie serial actress in the 1930s. She was the younger sister of the orche ...
, herself a graduate of
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
silent short subjects, starred as the heroine, Pauline Hargraves. Historic
newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
footage of the 1930 flight of the
Dornier Do X
The Dornier Do X was the largest, heaviest, and most powerful flying boat in the world when it was produced by the Dornier company of Germany in 1929. First conceived by Claude Dornier in 1924, planning started in late 1925 and after over 240 ...
seaplane is featured in chapter eight.
Each episode in the serial is approximately 20 minutes long. The first one to two minutes of each episode are taken up with a
title sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...
and an
intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
describing the action from the previous serial. This is followed by about three minutes of the previous serial's closing moments.
Plot
Pauline Hargraves (Evalyn Knapp) is the intrepid daughter of Professor Hargraves (James Durkin), a noted doctor of chemistry and archeology. She and Willie Dodge (Sonny Ray), her father's cowardly secretary, have accompanied Prof. Hargraves to Asia in search of a legendary ivory disk which may contain the chemical recipe for a deadly gas created by an ancient Egyptian named Confu. Unfortunately, the villainous Asian warlord, Dr. Bashan (John Davidson), is also after the disk, along with his right-hand-man and assassin, Fang (Frank Lackteen).
In "The Guns of Doom," the Hargraves party arrives in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, where the disk is in the Tsai Tsin temple. Civil war has broken out, and the city is under attack. Dr. Hargraves and Dodge go to the temple, followed by Fang and his gang of thugs. Pauline goes to warn her father he's being followed, but is attacked by Fang. She's rescued by Robert Warde (Robert "Tex" Allen), an American railroad
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
. As
shells fall all around, Pauline and Warde go to the temple, where Pauline finds the disk. But only half the disk exists; a map shows where the other half may be found. Dr. Bashan kidnaps Pauline while Warde takes her wounded father to a hotel. Bashan takes the disk, but Pauline escapes. Bashan takes a ship to
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
, where the map shows the rest of the disk is located. The Hargraves party follows Bashan in "The Typhoon of Terror," narrowly escaping a government
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
which fires on them. Bashan's ship is caught in a
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
, allowing the Hargraves' ship to catch up. The disk is retrieved, although Pauline is nearly washed overboard. Dr. Bashan is locked in a cabin. In "The Leopard Leaps," the Hargraves team arrive in Sarawak and travel upriver toward an
ancient Egyptian temple. The ship's captain frees Dr. Bashan (having no reason to imprison him), and Bashan pursues the Hargaves in a faster ship. Bashan catches up to the Hargraves party at night, and Fang attempts to kill Pauline. But a prowling
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
attacks him and he is captured. Fang escapes into
alligator
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
-infested waters and is presumed dead—but again escapes to safety. Pauline and Warde discover the Egyptian temple and retrieve the other half of the disk in "Trapped By the Enemy." On their way back to the professor in "The Flaming Tomb," they run into Tim Sullivan (Pat O'Malley), an old friend of Warde's who was building a railroad nearby some years ago but stayed behind to live with the natives. Dr. Bashan, accompanied by a band of evil natives, captures everyone but Warde (who is in the jungle with Sullivan, helping a wounded native) and seizes both halves of the disk. Pauline escapes, finds Warde, and rouses a tribe of good natives to help attack the village. Dr. Bashan flees. Pauline saves her father and Dodge from a burning native hut. The Hargraves group tries to fly out of the jungle in Sullivan's plane in "Pursued by Savages". The plane has engine trouble, and lands. Pauline goes exploring, and discovers Dr. Bashan (who has been traveling on foot) in the nearby jungle. Pauline steals the disk and tries to take it back to her father. But Prof. Hargraves and Dodge are seized by natives, who also pursue Pauline through the jungle.
Warde and Sullivan save Pauline from a tiger, and Pauline, Dr. Hargraves, and Goode from savages in "Tracked by the Enemy." They fly out in the repaired plane, but learn that the second half of the disk doesn't reveal the formula. Instead, it shows the way to the temple of Imu-Anh, where the remaining half of the disk can be found. The Hargraves party takes a steamship to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, but Bashan takes a plane and catches up to them. One of Bashan's female accomplices searches Pauline's room for the disk, but is discovered. A fight breaks out between Bashan's men and Warde, during which Warde and Pauline tumble into a
shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...
-filled lagoon. Pauline and Warde are rescued by courageous hotel staff in "Dangerous Depths," but Bashan has the second half of the disk. The Hargraves party (followed closely by Bashan) heads for
Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
, and travels to the temple by horseback. Another plaque is found directing them to the sarcophagus of Menka-Ra in Egypt. But since that tomb was excavated years ago, the team must head to New York City where the sarcophagus is on display in a museum. Pauline hears a moaning sound, and investigates. She and Warde are seized by Bashan, but escape into a side room and lock the door. Bashan decides to take a plane to New York City to avoid being imprisoned by the local people. Unable to open the door again, Pauline and Warde try another way out—only to have the floor collapse beneath them. They fall into an underground river. In "The Mummy Walks," they are rescued by the temple guards. The two groups unwittingly take the same
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
to New York City. Professor Thompson (William Desmond) meets the Hargrave group, and that night Hargraves, Thompson, Pauline and Warde go to the museum. Bashan has gotten there first, and one of his accomplices masquerades as a guard. Pauline is almost kidnapped. But when Willie Dodge appears (having fallen into a vat of wet plaster), everyone believes he's a mummy. Bashan flees. Prof. Hargraves discovers a vase with the next inscription on it (although he wonders why it was a vase and not the sarcophagus). He gives the vase to Pauline for safekeeping. While Warde struggles with the guard, she attempts to flee the museum with Fang close behind her. But she trips on the stairs, and a powerful ancient explosive in the vase goes off when she drops it.
The audience learns in "The Night Attacks" that Pauline was not injured in the blast, and that another half-disk was in the vase. Everyone flees the museum before the police arrive. Prof. Hargraves writes down the entire formula the next day, and Thompson and Hargraves discuss the formula as Fang listens from outside the house. That night, as Hargraves and Thompson work on recreating the formula in a laboratory, Bashan and Fang sneak into the Thompson home and kidnap Pauline (who has the formula on her person). Hargraves, Warde, and Thompson arrive just in time to save her in "Into the Flames." The next day, Hargraves compounds a large amount of the formula. While Hargraves, Thompson, and Goode are out, Bashan and Fang break into the lab and try to seize the formula. A fire breaks out in the lab, and the secret formula goes off—exploding and spreading more fire. Bashan and Fang flee, leaving Pauline and Warde trapped in the labor (which is on the top floor of a
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
).
The serial ends with "Confu's Sacred Secret." Pauline and Warde leap into the river adjacent to the building to escape the flames. Hargraves tries to recreate the formula at the laboratory in Prof. Thompson's home. Bashan, learning Pauline is alive and the disks safe, breaks into the home with a band of thugs in broad daylight. While Warde, Hargraves, Thompson, and Thompson's guards hold off the men, Bashan and Fang enter the lab. When they are discovered, Bashan tells Fang to shoot anyone who comes through the door. He tosses his pistol to Fang, who drops it. It falls on the floor and goes off—breaking the container holding the secret gas. The gas disintegrates both Bashan and Fang.
Later, Warde tells Pauline he wants to stay with her. But Pauline announces she wants to return with him to China to finish the railroad and have more adventures. They embrace as the film
fades out.
Chapter titles
''The Perils of Pauline'' contained 12 chapters. Their titles are:
# The Guns of Doom
# The Typhoon of Terror
# The Leopard Leaps
# Trapped by the Enemy
# The Flaming Tomb
# Pursued by Savages
# Tracked by the Enemy
# Dangerous Depths
# The Mummy Walks
# The Night Attacks
# Into the Flames
# Confu's Sacred Secret
Cast
*
Evalyn Knapp
Evalyn Knapp (born Evelyn Pauline Knapp; June 17, 1906 – June 12, 1981) was an American film actress of the late 1920s, 1930s and into the 1940s. She was a leading B-movie serial actress in the 1930s. She was the younger sister of the orche ...
as Pauline Hargraves
*
Robert Allen as Robert Warde
*
William Desmond as Professor Thompson (chapters 9 through 12)
*
James Durkin as Professor Hargraves
*
John Davidson as Doctor Bashan
* Sonny Ray as Willie Dodge
*
Frank Lackteen
Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...
as Fang
*
Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr. as Tim Sullivan (chapters 5 through 7)
* Adolph Muller as Captain Drake (chapters 2 through 3)
Production
The storyline of the 1914 ''The Perils of Pauline'' involved a young woman who inherited a million dollars from a distant relative. Her relative's personal secretary was named guardian of the funds, and would inherit if she died before she remarried. Determined to enjoy some adventures before marrying, Pauline sets off around the world—only to have her guardian, Mr. Koerner, attempt to murder her several times. The 1914 serial was so successful that Pathé followed it up with a very similar serial, ''
The Exploits of Elaine
''The Exploits of Elaine'' is a 1914 American film serial in the damsel in distress genre of '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1914).
''The Exploits of Elaine'' tells the story of a young woman named Elaine who, with the help of a detective, tries to ...
''.
In September 1930, Pathé said it would remake ''The Perils of Pauline.'' But no action was taken. Universal announced it would remake the serial in July 1932. It purchased the talking picture rights from Pathé, and the media speculated that
Lucile Browne
Lucile Ruth Browne (March 18, 1907 – May 10, 1976) was an American film actress. She starred opposite John Wayne in the 1935 films '' Texas Terror'' and '' Rainbow Valley''.
Personal life
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harris L. Browne, ...
would take the title role. In March 1933, the studio said production would begin in July. The studio was actively searching for a female lead in May to develop into a star who could appear in a large number of serials.
Filming began on the serial in the middle of August 1933.
["Hollywood in Review." ''New York Times.'' August 20, 1933.] Universal announced that Ray Taylor was directing, and Evalyn Knapp was starring. The original screenplay had each episode set in a different country,
although this clearly changed by the time the film was finished. The young actor Hugh Enfield was originally cast in the role of Robert Warde.
Production costs for the film are not known. However, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said in 1936 that Universal usually paid $3,000 to $17,000 for a good character, gave its stars $1,000 to $5,000 per week, spent six to eight weeks shooting each serial, and spent $165,000 to $250,000 per serial.
["That Hardy Perennial, The Serial." ''New York Times.'' January 26, 1936.]
The first episode of the serial was released on November 6, 1933.
See also
*
List of film serials
A list of film serials by year of release.
1910s
1920s
1930s
Films still exist from this point on unless noted otherwise:
1940s
1950s
See also
* Serial (film)
* List of film serials by studio
References
{{reflist
External linksSerial ...
by year
*
List of film serials by studio
This is a list of film serials by studio, separated into those released by each of the five major studios, and the remaining minor studios.
The five major studios produced the greater number of serials. Of these the main studios are consider ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perils Of Pauline, The
1933 films
1933 adventure films
1930s English-language films
Remakes of American films
American aviation films
American black-and-white films
Sound film remakes of silent films
Films directed by Ray Taylor
American adventure films
Films set in China
Films set in jungles
Films set in Malaysia
Films set in museums
Films set in New York City
Films set in Uttar Pradesh
Universal Pictures film serials
Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton
1930s American films