The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
The Hazards Of Helen: Episode #26, The Wild Engine (1915)
Run Time: 13:40
Producer: Kalem Company
Director: J.P. McGowan
Key Cast: Helen Holmes
SUMMARY
The spunky Helen (Helen Holmes) is our hero as a telegraph operator at a remote location along a railroad. She dashes to the rescue when a train engine goes out of control.
Part of an American film serial of 119 twelve-minute episodes released between 1914 and 1917 by the Kalem Company.
At 23.8 hours, it is 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 starred Helen Holmes, while the remainder were directed by James Davis and starred in by Helen Gibson. 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.
Both Helen Holmes and Helen Gibson (who changed her first name to suit the role) performed their own stunts, and are recognized as revolutionizing the industry.
RELATED MEDIA
Courtesy Of: Archive.Org. Public Domain. Copied at 18fps from the Republic Collection at the Library of Congress.
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