The Hazards of Helen
| The Hazards of Helen | |
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The Hazards of Helen, episode # 44
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| Directed by |
J.P. McGowan J. Gunnis Davis (billed as James Davis) |
| Written by |
W. Scott Darling (screenplay) John Russell Corvell (novel) Denman Thompson (play) |
| Starring | Helen Holmes |
| Distributed by | Kalem Company |
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Release date
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Running time
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23.8 hours (altogether) |
The Hazards of Helen is an American adventure film serial (or possibly a film series) of 119 twelve-minute episodes released over a span of slightly more than two years by the Kalem Company between November 7, 1914 and February 24, 1917.
At 23.8 hours, it is one of the longest non-feature-length motion picture series ever filmed, and is believed to be the longest of the film serial format. Based on a novel by John Russell Corvell and the play by Denman Thompson, the series was adapted to the silent screen by W. Scott Darling.
Episodes 1-48 were directed by J.P. McGowan and the remainder by James Davis. Unlike the cliffhanger serials of the era, The Hazards of Helen is actually a film series made up of near autonomous single reel twelve-minute melodramas.
Starring an independent, quick-thinking and inventive heroine, the series was filmed on location in the city of Glendale and in various parts of Tuolumne County in California. The film offered repeated dramatic situations for "Helen" using such props as a moving train, a runaway boxcar, a heroine in distress tied to the railroad tracks, and other dangers. "Helen" did such things as leap off the roof of a building, roar around a sharp mountain curve behind the wheel of her speeding car, or jump onto a moving train from a car or a galloping horse while chasing the bad guy train robbers. Although the plot occasionally called for Helen to be rescued by a handsome male hero, in most episodes it was the dauntless Helen who found an ingenious way out of her dire predicament and single-handedly collared the bad guys, bringing them to justice.
The film series star, Helen Holmes, who began her career at Keystone Studios, did most of her own stunts. The series used several different stuntmen for the male parts, including Leo D. Maloney and the up-and-coming Harold Lloyd. Along with Pearl White, who starred in Pathé's adventure serial The Perils of Pauline, Helen Holmes became a much talked about national celebrity and major box-office draw.
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Wikipedia