PERILS OF PAULINE (1933) Evalyn Knapp & Craig Reynolds | Action, Adventure, Comedy | B&W

The Perils of Pauline is a 1933 American Pre-Code film serial, and sound film remake, of the Pathé original. The 12-chapter "cliffhanger" was produced by Universal Studios. Evalyn Knapp, herself a graduate of Pathé silent short subjects, starred as the heroine, Pauline Hargraves. Historic newsreel footage of the 1930 flight of the Dornier Do X 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 and an intertitle describing the action from the previous serial. This is followed by about three minutes of the previous serial's closing moments.

SYNOPSIS
A famous scientist and his beautiful daughter travel to Indochina to find an ivory disc that has the formula for a deadly gas engraved on it. An evil doctor and his gang are also looking for it.

CAST & CREW
Evalyn Knapp 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 as Fang
Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr. as Tim Sullivan (chapters 5 through 7)
Adolph Muller as Captain Drake (chapters 2 through 3)

Directed by Ray Taylor
Written by Basil Dickey, Jack Foley, Ella O'Neill, George H. Plympton, Charles W. Goddard (original story)
Produced by Henry MacRae
Cinematography Richard Fryer
Edited by Saul A. Goodkind
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date October 20, 1933
Running time 12 chapters (231 minutes)
Country United States
Language English

NOTES
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.

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 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. 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 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.

The first episode of the serial was released on November 6, 1933.

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