The Perils of Pauline (1947)

The real life story of actress Pearl White during her rise to fame in silent serials.

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

P.J. Wolfson (screenplay), Frank Butler (screenplay),

Stars:

Betty Hutton, John Lund, Billy De Wolfe

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Betty Hutton	...	Pearl White
John Lund	...	Michael Farrington
Billy De Wolfe	...	Mr. Timmy Timmons
William Demarest	...	George 'Mac' McGuire
Constance Collier	...	Julia Gibbs
Frank Faylen	...	Mr. Joe Gurt
William Farnum	...	Western Saloon Set Hero
Chester Conklin	...	Comic Chef
Paul Panzer	...	Drawing Room Gent
'Snub' Pollard	...	Western Saloon Set Propman (as Snub Pollard)
James Finlayson	...	Comic Chef
Creighton Hale	...	Marcelled Leading Man
Hank Mann	...	Comic Chef
Francis McDonald	...	Western Saloon Set Heavy
Bert Roach	...	Western Saloon Set Bartender

Storyline

Funloving Pearl White, working in a garment sweatshop, gets her big chance when she "opens" for a delayed Shakespeare play...with a comic vaudeville performance. Her brief stage career leads her into those "horrible" moving pictures, where she comes to love the chaotic world of silent movies, becoming queen of the serials. But the consequences of movie stardom may be more than her leading man can take

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Plot Keywords:

sweatshop | silent film star | audition | spinal injury | actor | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 July 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pauline, laß das Küssen sein

Filming Locations:

Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There never was any scene with the heroine tied to railroad tracks in the original The Perils of Pauline. The scene like that in this film is actually a recreation of a scene in a Keystone comedy called Teddy at the Throttle. A similar scene also occurred in an earlier Keystone comedy called Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life.

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Goofs

In real life, after sustaining a back injury as a result of an accident while filming _The Perils of Pauline (1914)_, Pearl White used a stunt-double, although this was never publicized until after he himself died as a result of an accident during the making of Plunder, at which time the truth came out, and Pearl retired from films and moved to Paris, where she died in 1938 as a result of a liver ailment, alcoholism and drugs. In the film, Pearl's accident occurs on the Paris stage after her film career was over, and we are led to believe that now, unable to walk, she lived happily ever after with her fictitious husband.

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Connections

Referenced in Past Perfumance (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Poppa, Don't Preach To Me"
(1947) (uncredited)
Written by Frank Loesser
Sung by Betty Hutton at her Paris nightclub

User Reviews

One of my two favorite Betty Hutton Movies!

What fun!. As usual Betty Hutton is the epitome of energy. This movie is one of Betty's best and a wonderfully funny story to watch. Betty's energy is countered by John Lund's "Cool." Constance Collier is wonderful as Julia, and William Demerest is at is crusty best as the silent film director. Watch it! Highly recommended.