The Perils of Pauline is a 1947 American Technicolor film directed by George Marshall and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is a fictionalized Hollywood account of silent film star Pearl White's rise to fame, starring Betty Hutton as White.
The Perils of Pauline | |
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1947 theatrical poster | |
Directed by | George Marshall |
Produced by | Sol C. Siegel (producer) |
Written by | P.J. Wolfson (story & screenplay) and Frank Butler (screenplay) |
Starring | Betty Hutton John Lund |
Music by | Robert Emmett Dolan |
Cinematography | Ray Rennahan |
Edited by | Arthur P. Schmidt |
Production company | Paramount Pictures |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3.8 million (US rentals) |
A broad satire of silent-film production, the film is a musical-comedy vehicle for Hutton. The original songs by Frank Loesser include the standard "I Wish I Didn't Love You So", which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Paul Panzer, who played the villain in the 1914 film The Perils of Pauline, has a very small part in this film, as do silent-comedy veterans Chester Conklin, Hank Mann, Snub Pollard, and James Finlayson.
The film is in the public domain today; all public-domain video releases are sourced from 16 mm television prints that have faded over the years. Universal Studios (through NBC Universal Television, successor-in-interest to EMKA, Ltd.) owns the original film elements.
Screenplay
Pearl White (Betty Hutton) is a frustrated factory worker who aspires to become a dramatic actress. She joins a touring theatrical troupe managed by handsome but pompous Mike (John Lund), but fame and fortune elude her because she's unable to suppress her natural rambunctiousness. In desperation, White takes a job at a movie studio, where she promptly finds herself in the middle of a slapstick pie fight. With the help of bombastic director Mac (William Demarest), top-hatted villain portrayer Timmy (Billy De Wolfe), and imperious dramatics coach Julia (Constance Collier), Pearl soon becomes world-famous as the star of such cliffhanging, tied-to-the-railroad-tracks serials as The Perils of Pauline.
- Betty Hutton as Pearl White
- John Lund as Michael Farrington
- Billy De Wolfe as Mr. Timmy Timmons
- William Demarest as George "Mac" McGuire
- Constance Collier as Julia Gibbs
- Frank Faylen as Mr. Joe Gurt
- William Farnum as Western Saloon Set Hero
- Chester Conklin as Comic Chef
- Paul Panzer as Drawing Room Gent
- "Snub" Pollard as Western Saloon Set Propman
- James Finlayson as Comic Chef
- Creighton Hale as Marcelled Leading Man (Hale was the male lead in the original serial)
- Hank Mann as Comic Chef
- Francis McDonald as Western Saloon Set Heavy
- Bert Roach as Western Saloon Set Bartender
- Heinie Conklin as Studio Cop
- Ray Walker as Armistice Day Set Technician
- "Poor Pauline" (Written by Charles McCarron and Raymond Walker)
- Betty Hutton - "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" (Written by Frank Loesser)
- Betty Hutton - "The Sewing Machine" (Written by Frank Loesser)
- Betty Hutton - "Rumble, Rumble, Rumble" (Written by Frank Loesser)
- Betty Hutton - "Poppa, Don't Preach To Me" (Written by Frank Loesser)
Frank Loesser was nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Music, Original Song" for "I Wish I Didn't Love You So".
- The Perils of Pauline (1914), starring Pearl White
- The Perils of Pauline (1933), starring Evalyn Knapp and Craig Reynolds
- The Perils of Pauline (1967), starring Pamela Austin and Pat Boone