The Perils of Pauline

...starring Pearl White as the title damsel in distress. Pauline inherits a fortune when her kindly guardian dies, but as she's not quite old enough to take charge of it, it is left in the stewardship of Koerner (Paul Panzer), her guardian's personal secretary. Koerner desperately wants the money all to himself, so he begins formulating more and more elaborate plans to have Pauline killed so that he can have it all. Pauline's fiance Harry (Crane Wilbur) keeps a close watch over Pauline, often rescuing her in the nick of time.

This was the 9-chapter version, as the original 20-chapter version is believed lost. Nine chapters were enough, though, as the scenarios included cowboys & Indians (chapter 2), pirate treasure (chapter 3), auto racing (chapter 4), gypsies pretending to be firemen (chapter 5), airplanes (chapter 6), spies and a submarine (chapter 7), more gypsies, this time with snakes (chapter 8), and more boats (chapter 9). Needless to say, this is fairly ludicrous, but it's fun in a cartoonish way. The quality of the print I watched was hit-or-miss, but it is over 100 years old. This is one of the 101 Action Movies to See Before You Die. It was quickly followed by The Hazards of Helen, also starring White.