Woman Tied To Train Track Question (1 Viewer)

Jon Baker · May 16, 2008

Does anyone know which film the woman tied to a train track originated. I believe it is a silent movie, though the situation's been parodied in numerous films. I'm just curious to know where this scene came from originally. All I can remember is some woman being tied up by a guy with a Snidely Whiplash moustache to overly dramatic piano soundtrack music.

Jason Charlton · May 16, 2008

A quick search on Wikipedia led me to this:
Damsel in distress - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Of the ones mentioned there, "Hazards of Helen" (The Hazards of Helen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) makes specific mention of the situation you describe. Also "Perils of Pauline" was another cliffhanger series that began as early as 1914 in which the character may have appeared in a similar situation (The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

Hope this helps get you started on your search!

Jason

Whoops, read a bit further about "Perils of Pauline" and came across this: "Despite common belief, the film does not feature scenes with Pauline tied to a railroad track and threatened by a buzzsaw, although such scenes were incorporated into later re-makes and were also featured in other films made in the period around 1914."

Jon Baker · May 16, 2008

Thanks for the info. I will check that out.

Jon Baker · May 16, 2008

Funny, I did find some info regarding hazards of Helen stating that she was the original woman tied to the tracks:

Lost Serial Collection

this actually looks like a good DVD collection of the type of stuff I am after

but then in a further search I found that an actress named Mabel Normand made a short in 1913, a year earlier:

Buyout Footage - Woman Tied To Train Tracks Stock Footage ; Public Domain Stock Footage Library.

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