The Perils of Pauline

There are four movies/serials with this exact title. The present movie (according to Wikipedia also available as a 4-part serial) is the result of an aborted attempt to create an updated Pauline-type series. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that it is the incarnation with the lowest rating on IMDB. But that doesn't mean it's worse than the others. It's just more divisive, with the most common user rating actually being 10 stars (and the second most common 5 stars).

So what's going on? It seems that the 10 star ratings are primarily from those who still fondly remember this movie as one of the most impressive of their childhood. (This also explains the comments about this movie being 'clean' or 'wholesome'.) Whereas the 5 star (and lower) reviews are primarily from those who are a little too adult for their own good. One would expect the same effect for Batman (1966), which strongly inspired the style of this film, and in fact it has the same kind of split. Only in that case there are more people affected by the nostalgia because Batman never stopped being shown.

Personally, I grew up neither with this movie nor with the old Batman series (not shown on German TV in my youth), but despite being middle-aged I love both now that I have found them, and I think that each has certain advantages over the other. Too bad the Pauline series was aborted.

Plotwise, it's all about our heroes Pauline and George, two lovers who were clearly made for each other, but keep being separated by a never-ending series of bizarre accidents. As a result, Pauline and George, but mainly Pauline, are thrown into the most outlandish and extreme adventures. Which they stoically endure, driven onwards by their love. Since this movie was cut together from pilot episodes for a planned series, the pacing isn't optimal. I found it best in the beginning and at the end. In the middle, at some point I almost stopped caring about the protagonists.

Everything starts when George, still a little boy under the care of Mrs. Carruther, finds an abandoned but happy baby girl near the door of his home, the Baskerville Foundling Home. The baby comes with a message saying "Protect me. My name is Pauline". To which George replies: "Yes, Pauline, always. Nobody will get you away from me!" George works hard to prevent Pauline from being adopted, but at some point this goes horribly wrong.

Just like the 1960s Batman series, this movie doesn't take itself seriously. At all. In many ways this feels like the attempt to re-create a silent movie, only better, by making full use of color and sound. This becomes really obvious each time a nostalgic intertitle is shown or a slapstick scene is comically overdone or even sped up. The intentional retro-flair also explains the old-fashioned exoticism, which was dated already in 1967, and is nowadays considered racist by some: It is not just billionaires and male white English soldiers, but also marginal groups such as Arabic heir apparents and white pygmies who are stereotyped in negative ways required for the plot.

If you like the silliness of Monty Python or Y a-t-il un pilote dans l'avion? (1980) even in films you haven't seen before and aren't nostalgic for, then this film is well worth trying out.

This is a movie that is fun to watch as well as being funny. It's also safe to watch with your kids. They will love the comic action, meanwhile you don't have to sit with your finger on the mute button to cut out the dirty words that most producer add in just so not to get the dreaded G rating.

It has been along time since I have seen it, however I'd buy it in a second if someone would release it on DVD !

I absolutely love this movie, I remember seeing it in 1967, I think they only showed it on TV I don't think it was in theaters, but I was 4 or 5 at the time and I remember they showed it on TV alot. This movie is very funny and at times very heartwarming. I love the scene in the begining when George plays a trick on the son of the people who finally take Pauline (Pamela Austin) in after all the efforts to get her adopted fail. George releases the break on the car just as the son is getting Pauline's suitcase and Pauline goes back to the car for her toothbrush. They both end up riding the car in silent movie, comedy like romp (because neither of them can drive), with evryone chasing after them. They finally crash the car into a train, and pieces of the car go flying all over the place and Pauline ends up on a railroad signal pole. The people change their minds about adopting Pauline and when George admits to pulling the prank to the orphange trustee, he's told to pack his bag and leave. The scene when he's leaving is very heartwarming and touching bacause they must part and you get to hear Pat Boone sing the beautiful theme song. All through the movie, they must go through many perils and adventures in their efforts to find each other. I'm not going to tell you the ending though but I will say you will enjoy this movie thoroughly.

i haven't seen this movie since i was a child, my mother told me it was good, and she was right. the only problem, they never ever show it. i would like any info on how to purchase a copy, if any exist. or if there's going to be an airing on a channel sometime in "my" near future. i can still hear my mom, singing with pat Boone! ". where oh' where is my pretty Pauline". i really hope they air it again, my children would love it as well. another scene i can visualize from the movie was , Pat Boone, rowing, a block of ice with Pamela frozen in it. singing something i'm sure. I had purchased the 1947 version of this movie, but, it did little to remind me of the 1967 version.

While not exactly offensive, the 1967 version of "The Perils of Pauline" is certainly moronic. The title might lead you to expect a tribute to Pearl White (the original Pauline in the 1914 silent 20 episode serial) but for that you would be better served by the 1947 version starring Betty Hutton. This 1967 version is like a mix of "Casino Royale" and the weakest of the Elvis movies. Worst of all it is not a blend of these but more like someone scotch-taped together segments from each so that the thing skips back and forth between the two styles.

What unity there is in the production comes from the pairing of Pamela Austin (Pauline) and Pat Boone (George Steadman), a good match because both lack even the most basic of acting skills (imagine Mandy Moore playing opposite Dan Quayle).

Austin would later play opposite John Aston in "Evil Roy Slade", with the talent disparity between them actually painful to watch. In the mid-60's she was the "Dodge Rebellion" girl, as such she was featured in a similar series of perilous situations-imagine Sandra Dee in a dark blue jumpsuit. When the automaker's ad agency replaced her with the "Dodge Fever" girl someone got the bright idea to showcase her in a feature film.

What story there is here begins with Pauline growing up in the Baskerville Foundling Home run by the actress who played Mrs. Chatsworth Osborne Sr. on "Dobie Gillis". George falls in love with her (Pauline-not Mrs Osborne) and sabotages several opportunities she has to be adopted. George leaves to seek his fortune and 19 year old Pauline gets a job tutoring a young oil rich Middle Eastern prince. When he tries to add the attractive blonde to his harem she runs away and goes from peril to peril. These include African pygmies, a 99½ year-old millionaire who wants to freeze her until his one year-old grandson is old enough for marriage, the movie industry, and the Russian space program.

All this is intended to be silly and charming but manages only the silly part. There is some effort to incorporate a silent film look to the action sequences by simulating the under- cranking of a camera (which speeds up the action). Unfortunately everything else (film stock, production design, editing) is depressingly 1960's. Nothing here even approaches the images of Pearl White strapped to a log moving toward a buzz-saw or tied to railway track waiting for the approaching train.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.