The popularity in movie serials took a huge leap upon the release of the first episode of December 1913's "The Adventures of Kathlyn." Just the second film serial in the United States, each of Selig Polyscope Company's 13 programs ended in a cliffhanger, the first to do so.
A year earlier, in July 1912, cinematic theaters around the country were introduced by the Edison Studios to the concept of movie serials with "What Happened To Mary." That series, however, was compartmentalized into separate stand alone 15-minute movies with the same characters, with all the loose ends tidied up at the end of each episode. In "Kathlyn," our heroine was left in danger at the conclusion of every the installment, only to worm herself out of the life-threatening predicament at the beginning of the next program.
Selig Polyscope Co. Joined Chicago Tribune in unfolding "The Adventures of Kathlyn" every two weeks. The Tribune's circulation jumped 10%. The serial was so successful it soon spawned others like "Perils of Pauline" as well as a 1916 "Kathlyn" feature film.
William Selig was familiar with the long popular literary format of serials in magazines and newspapers and felt film would be perfect in presenting a regular serial to draw in paying viewers. He proposed to the editor of the Chicago Tribune to coordinate the newspaper and his own film production company to produce a short motion picture serial and written series simultaneously. Selig would release a new two-reel (30 minute) episode every other week while the newspaper would run a descriptive commentary of the plot and its participants' exciting adventures. Other newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, soon picked up the written accounts, causing a nationwide sensation.
The campaign worked: The Tribune's circulation shot up by 10% while movie goers were lined out the theater doors to catch Kathlyn's latest exploits in exotic (usually India) locations. The serial was so popular it not only spawned off copycats like "The Perils of Pauline" but also spotlit Kathlyn in her own 1916 feature film.
Alas, the entire canon of "The Adventures of Kathlyn" is lost, with the exception of a 13-minute fragment of the opening episode.
