The Wild Engine (1915) User Reviews

"Women cannot use their heads in case of emergency"

[boblipton · 6/10 · 21 June 2020]

That's what the big boss tells the guy who hires Helen Holmes. Apparently he had seen none of the 119 episodes of THE HAZARDS OF HELEN, because when the engineer falls out of an excursion train, Helen plants a flag to tell another engineer to sidetrack his train and hops on her motorcycle to warn other trains and to stop the runaway train.

It was the longest of serial movies, and immensely popular, enough to survive the replacement of Miss Holmes when she and her husband, director J.P. McGowan left for better-paying jobs elsewhere. The production company, Kalem, was the home of the Action Girl movie, and this is an exciting one.

Helen's heroics

[JohnSeal · 6/10 · 29 December 2010]

Spunky gal heroines were all the rage in the years prior to and during World War I. In addition to the famous Perils of Pauline, there were also Adventures of Kathlyn, Exploits of Elaine, Ventures of Marguerite, and Hazards of Helen. This final series encompassed a remarkable 119 episodes, of which The Wild Engine was number 26. Helen Holmes starred as the titular character in dozens of these episodes, including this one, in which she is hired as a railroad telegrapher and ends up forestalling a dreadful locomotive accident. Admirers of rail equipment and rolling stock will be in seventh heaven, as there are three separate trains involved, and we also get a close look at line switching and signals operation. As for Helen, she 'borrows' Hoot Gibson's motorcycle and drives it off the edge of a drawbridge! Holmes is a believable hero and the film an impressive 14-minute thrill ride.

Pulse-accelerating action

[deickemeyer · 3 January 2020]

Chasing a runaway engine with a motorcycle and plunging through an open draw into the river is the simple little stunt which Helen Holmes performs in this realistic one-reeler. The same accuracy of detail and pulse-accelerating action that were found in the previous Helen pictures, are given equal attention in the latest film. - The Moving Picture World, May 22, 1915

An action heroine from 1915?!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 23 August 2017]

During the 1910s, Helen Holmes played in a series of films where she was an action hero. One of these is "The Wild Engine". The stories are amazing for their day, as feminism and female action heroes were pretty rare!!

In this story, Helen is fired from her job as a teacher because she is too 'frivilous'. I think this means she didn't act quite like a typical school teacher. However, shortly after the firing, she springs into action and stops a runaway train car filled with dynamite from colliding into a train filled with children going off on a picnic. The fuddy- duddies offer to give her the job back but Helen leaves to take a job as a telegrapher with the railroad. And, once again, nearly the same sort of thing happens on her first day...there is an out of control engine careening towards another train on the track. This time, however, she really does go all out--driving a motorcycle, swimming the river and much more in order to stop that train!!

Not only does this film feature a nice feminist role model, it IS exciting and very well made for the era. If only I knew where to find more of these Helen films...