The Perils of Pauline
New Hope, Pa.
1914
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Back in the early days of cinema, back in the days of silent films, a popular style of film entertainment was the "serial" feature. Every week, the episode would involve the hero, or heroine, getting stuck in a seemingly impossible situation. But by the end of the episode the star would somehow be saved.
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Harry, Mr. Marvin and Pauline Laugh
While Koerner Eavesdrops |
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| Harry Woos Pauline on the Tennis Courts |
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| The Balloon Ascends |
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| Pauline Trapped in the Balloon |
One of the most well-remembered of the serials is "The Perils of Pauline". Pauline was a playful young heiress whose guardian, Mr. Marvin, was in charge of her immense fortune. She was engaged to Mr. Marvin's son, Harry, but before marriage, she wanted to spend a year "chasing excitement in life". Each episode would find Pauline trying something new.
Enter the "dastardly" villain, Koerner, secretary and confidant to Mr. Marvin. It seems if anything happened to Pauline and Harry, the fortune would go to Koerner. In each episode, he and his associate, Hicks, would use any diabolical means to try to gain the family fortune.
In one episode, Pauline wants to ride in a hot-air balloon. When she climbs into the basket by herself, Hicks comes storming through the crowd on horseback, knocking away the pilot who is holding the basket. The balloon drifts off unpiloted with poor Pauline alone and helpless inside.
Pauline saves herself from the runaway balloon, but soon finds herself in another situation being stuck on the side of a cliff, where she is saved by her fiance Harry. She next finds herself stuck in a burning house.
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There were 20 episodes of the Perils of Pauline filmed. Since Hollywood was not the film-making capital it is today, a lot of the filming was done on the East Coast. North New Jersey and Pittsburgh, Pa., were two of the locations of episodes.
But one of the most famous episodes was filmed right here in Bucks Co., Pa. This episode finds Pauline running along the top of a moving train chasing a 5 year old boy. To add to the excitement, the train was crossing a trestle at the time.
In another scene, Pauline would save the boy when he was thrown from the moving train's window. (It was actually a basket of rags that was thrown from the window.)
This episode also included the first film role for someone who would go on to become a famous television personality. The 5-year-old boy was Milton Berle.
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While a few chapters of the series have been preserved, most of the 20 episodes are no longer available. Either through deterioration or loss, many episodes have not lived through the 90 years since they were filmed.
While this episode is one that has not survived, the railroad and the trestle are still there; in the middle of New Hope, just off Ferry St.
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| The Trestle Today |
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Created- Tues, Aug 3, 2004
Revised- Thurs, June 22, 2006
crc1123@voicenet.com
