Before she was the “Queen of the Serials,” Pearl White (Betty Hutton) was just another girl working in a gritty garment sweatshop with big dreams of the stage. Her path to stardom takes a hilarious and unexpected turn when she fills in for a Shakespearean actor, only to win the crowd over with her natural comedic timing and vaudeville charm.
This accidental success leads her into the fledgling—and often chaotic—world of “moving pictures.” As she embraces the stunts and high-stakes drama of silent film serials, she finds herself becoming a global sensation. However, the dizzying height of her fame creates a rift with her leading man and love interest, who struggles to reconcile his traditional theatre roots with the wild world of movie stardom. Filled with vibrant musical numbers and slapstick fun, The Perils of Pauline is a glowing, Technicolor love letter to the early days of Hollywood.
