Movie serials were all the rage in the mid-1910's, especially with the popularity of "The Perils of Pauline." Kalem Studios embarked on a serial beginning in November 1914, called "The Hazards of Helen." The series was so attractive to the viewing public that it couldn't soak up enough of the twelve-minute short movies. When the series ran out steam in February 1917, "Harzards" became--and still is--the longest running non-feature length movie series--and serial-- ever in cinematic history. No other movie series comes close to the number of films "Hazards" produced.
The serial is not considered in the "cliffhanger" format such as "Pauline. " Each episode was self-contained and concluded with a happy ending to each adventure. The series premise is a telegraph operator for a railroad confronting situations on the railroad tracks requiring her to perform daring exploits. Kalem selected Helen Holmes, a former Keystone Studio actress recently signed by its Los Angeles office. Her athleticism was an enormous asset since she was required to jump onto moving trains to combat villains or stop runaway railcars.
Holmes implied she shaped the character of Helen by inputting her background into the storylines. Her father was a railroad engineer, so she was very familiar with the transit environment.
In all, Kalem produced 119 episodes over a two-year period, issuing each one on a Saturday morning in theaters so viewers had a chance to see a new adventure over the weekend. Holmes, whose stardom shot up exponentially, and her new husband, the director of the series, J. P. McGowan, decided to depart Kalem to be on their own. But stardom faded soon after leaving the series.
Kalem cast other substitute actresses for the next 25 episodes before selecting a permanent Helen, a former rodeo rider, Helen Gibson. As did Holmes, Gibson performed all her stunts in the 70 episodes, making the duo the first women to be stunt movie daredevils. Her movie career lasted well into the early 1960's, mostly in bit parts, with her last film as a townswoman in John Ford's 1962 "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
A great majority of "The Hazards of Helen" films are lost. The earliest existing one is "The Leap From The Water Tower" starring Holmes. The last surviving film is "The Governor's Special" with Gibson.
The series has been cited as the first movie to be shot in Las Vegas when the producers selected the town for a 1915 episode with Holmes dodging danger in the desert near and in the fledging town of Vegas.
The serial is not considered in the "cliffhanger" format such as "Pauline. " Each episode was self-contained and concluded with a happy ending to each adventure. The series premise is a telegraph operator for a railroad confronting situations on the railroad tracks requiring her to perform daring exploits. Kalem selected Helen Holmes, a former Keystone Studio actress recently signed by its Los Angeles office. Her athleticism was an enormous asset since she was required to jump onto moving trains to combat villains or stop runaway railcars.
Holmes implied she shaped the character of Helen by inputting her background into the storylines. Her father was a railroad engineer, so she was very familiar with the transit environment.
In all, Kalem produced 119 episodes over a two-year period, issuing each one on a Saturday morning in theaters so viewers had a chance to see a new adventure over the weekend. Holmes, whose stardom shot up exponentially, and her new husband, the director of the series, J. P. McGowan, decided to depart Kalem to be on their own. But stardom faded soon after leaving the series.
Kalem cast other substitute actresses for the next 25 episodes before selecting a permanent Helen, a former rodeo rider, Helen Gibson. As did Holmes, Gibson performed all her stunts in the 70 episodes, making the duo the first women to be stunt movie daredevils. Her movie career lasted well into the early 1960's, mostly in bit parts, with her last film as a townswoman in John Ford's 1962 "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
A great majority of "The Hazards of Helen" films are lost. The earliest existing one is "The Leap From The Water Tower" starring Holmes. The last surviving film is "The Governor's Special" with Gibson.
The series has been cited as the first movie to be shot in Las Vegas when the producers selected the town for a 1915 episode with Holmes dodging danger in the desert near and in the fledging town of Vegas.