Perils of the Wild (lost adventure film serial; 1925): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:37, 31 August 2024

The poster for Chapter 3 of the serial.

Status: Lost

Perils of the Wild is a 15-chapter serial released in 1925 by Universal Pictures and directed by Francis Ford. The serial was the first film adaption of Johann Wyss's novel The Swiss Family Robinson. Actors/Actresses who performed in the serial were Joe Bonomo, Margaret Quimby, Alfred Allen, and Boris Karloff (of Frankenstein and How the Grinch Stole Christmas fame).^[1]

Synopsis

Perils of the Wild takes the same basic structure as Johann Wyss's novel but adds an entirely new storyline to make it stand out. In the serial, the Robinsons are marooned on an island (based on the island in the novel). Accidentally though, the family stumbles on a hideout of a gang of pirates led by Captain Black John (played by William Dyer). Judging by the surviving stills, the Robinsons try and successfully make off with Black John's treasure chest (the chest is the MacGuffin of the serial), which sets off the action part of the serial. Not much else is known about the plot of Perils of the Wild.

During the filming of the serial, lead actor Joe Bonomo suffered a fractured leg and an injured sacroiliac (joint in the pelvis). He would perform his own stunts, not by using a stunt double like most actors. As a consequence of the injuries he sustained, he was forced to drop out of another serial, Tarzan the Mighty.

Production/Availability

During the filming of the serial, lead actor Joe Bonomo suffered a fractured leg and an injured sacroiliac (joint in the pelvis). He would perform his own stunts, not by using a stunt devil like most actors. As a consequence of the injuries he sustained, he was forced to drop out of another serial, Tarzan of Terror. The serial debuted on August 27th, 1925, though some sources say that the film could have been released as far as August 1st, 1925. Reviews of the serial came out as "fairly good", but audiences may have not been so quick to think about that because of its unconventional setting.^[2] The film was most likely scrapped in 1948, as most of Universal's silent films were getting rid of.

As of January 2019, there is no surviving footage of the serial. However, there are stills and posters of the serial floating online. On January 1st, 1968, the lead actor, strongman Joe Bonomo wrote an autobiography titled Joe Strongman: A True Life Pictorial Autobiography of the Hercules of the Screen. In the book, there are stills from the movie, as well as information behind the scenes.

Serial Episode List

#	Short Title	Status
1	The Hurricane	Lost
2	The Lion's Fangs	Lost
3	The Flaming Jungle	Lost
4	The Treasure Cave	Lost
5	Saved By The Sun	Lost
6	The Jungle Trail	Lost
7	Pirate Peril	Lost
8	Winds of Fate	Lost
9	Rock of Revenge	Lost
10	The Rescue	Lost
11	The Stolen Wedding	Lost
12	Marooned	Lost
13	Prisoners of the Sea	Lost
14	The Leopard's Lair	Lost
15	In the Nick of Time	Lost

Gallery

A full-page ad for the serial.
A page from Joe Bonomo's autobiography, which contains stills from the serial.
A poster advertising episode 5 of the serial.
Some stills from the serial.

External Links

Wikipedia page on Perils of the Wild. Retrieved 08 Feb '19
IMDb page on Perils of the Wild. Retrieved 08 Feb '19

References

↑ A Slientera entry on Perils of the Wild. Retrieved 08 Feb '19
↑ A Children's Media Archive blog post about Perils of the Wild. Retrieved 08 Feb '19

[1] A Slientera entry on Perils of the Wild. Retrieved 08 Feb '19

[2] A Children's Media Archive blog post about Perils of the Wild. Retrieved 08 Feb '19

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 }}
-'''''Perils of the Wild'''''  is a 15 chapter serial released in 1925 by Universal Pictures and directed by Francis Ford. The serial was the first film adaption of the Johann Wyss's novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson''. Actors/Actresses that performed in the serial were Joe Bonomo, Margaret Quimby, Alfred Allen, and Boris Karloff (of ''Frankenstein'' and ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' fame).<ref>[http://silentera.com/PSFL/data/P/PerilsOfTheWild1925.html A Slientera entry on ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19</ref>
+'''''Perils of the Wild'''''  is a 15-chapter serial released in 1925 by Universal Pictures and directed by Francis Ford. The serial was the first film adaption of Johann Wyss's novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson''. Actors/Actresses who performed in the serial were Joe Bonomo, Margaret Quimby, Alfred Allen, and Boris Karloff (of ''Frankenstein'' and ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' fame).<ref>[http://silentera.com/PSFL/data/P/PerilsOfTheWild1925.html A Slientera entry on ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19</ref>
 ==Synopsis==
 ''Perils of the Wild'' takes the same basic structure as Johann Wyss's novel but adds an entirely new storyline to make it stand out. In the serial, the Robinsons are marooned on an island (based on the island in the novel). Accidentally though, the family stumbles on a hideout of a gang of pirates led by Captain Black John (played by William Dyer). Judging by the surviving stills, the Robinsons try and successfully make off with Black John's treasure chest (the chest is the MacGuffin of the serial), which sets off the action part of the serial. Not much else is known about the plot of ''Perils of the Wild''.
-During the filming of the serial, lead actor Joe Bonomo suffered a fractured leg and an injured sacroiliac (joint in the pelvis). He would perform his own stunts, not by using a stunt devil like most actors. As a consequence of his injuries he sustained, he was forced to drop out of another serial, ''Tarzan of Terror''.
+During the filming of the serial, lead actor Joe Bonomo suffered a fractured leg and an injured sacroiliac (joint in the pelvis). He would perform his own stunts, not by using a stunt double like most actors. As a consequence of the injuries he sustained, he was forced to drop out of another serial, ''Tarzan the Mighty''.
 ==Production/Availability==
-During the filming of the serial, lead actor Joe Bonomo suffered a fractured leg and an injured sacroiliac (joint in the pelvis). He would perform his own stunts, not by using a stunt devil like most actors. As a consequence of his injuries he sustained, he was forced to drop out of another serial, ''Tarzan of Terror''. The serial was debuted on August 27th, 1925, though some sources say that the film could have been released as far as August 1st, 1925. Reviews of the serial came out as "fairly good", but audiences may have not been so quick to think about that because of its unconventional setting.<ref>[http://childrensmediaarchive.blogspot.com/2016/08/perils-of-wild-1925-silent-version-of.html A Children's Media Archive blog post about ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19</ref> The film was most likely scrapped in 1948, as most of Universal's silent films were getting rid of.
+During the filming of the serial, lead actor Joe Bonomo suffered a fractured leg and an injured sacroiliac (joint in the pelvis). He would perform his own stunts, not by using a stunt devil like most actors. As a consequence of the injuries he sustained, he was forced to drop out of another serial, ''Tarzan of Terror''. The serial debuted on August 27th, 1925, though some sources say that the film could have been released as far as August 1st, 1925. Reviews of the serial came out as "fairly good", but audiences may have not been so quick to think about that because of its unconventional setting.<ref>[http://childrensmediaarchive.blogspot.com/2016/08/perils-of-wild-1925-silent-version-of.html A Children's Media Archive blog post about ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19</ref> The film was most likely scrapped in 1948, as most of Universal's silent films were getting rid of.
 As of January 2019, there is no surviving footage of the serial. However, there are stills and posters of the serial floating online. On January 1st, 1968, the lead actor, strongman Joe Bonomo wrote an autobiography titled ''Joe Strongman: A True Life Pictorial Autobiography of the Hercules of the Screen''. In the book, there are stills from the movie, as well as information behind the scenes.
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 |-
-! style="background-color:orange" | #
+! style="background-color:orange" |#
-! style="background-color:orange" | Short Title
+! style="background-color:orange" |Short Title
-! style="background-color:orange" | Status
+! style="background-color:orange" |Status
 |-
-|1
+|1||''The Hurricane''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Hurricane''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|2
+|2||''The Lion's Fangs''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Lion's Fangs''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|3
+|3||''The Flaming Jungle''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Flaming Jungle''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|4
+|4||''The Treasure Cave''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Treasure Cave''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|5
+|5||''Saved By The Sun''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''Saved By The Sun''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|6
+|6||''The Jungle Trail||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Jungle Trail
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|7
+|7||''Pirate Peril''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''Pirate Peril''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|8
+|8||''Winds of Fate''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''Winds of Fate''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|9
+|9||''Rock of Revenge''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''Rock of Revenge''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|10
+|10||''The Rescue''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Rescue''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|11
+|11||''The Stolen Wedding''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Stolen Wedding''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|12
+|12||''Marooned''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''Marooned''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|13
+|13||''Prisoners of the Sea''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''Prisoners of the Sea''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|14
+|14||''The Leopard's Lair''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''The Leopard's Lair''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |-
-|15
+|15||''In the Nick of Time''||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
-|''In the Nick of Time''
-|<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 |}
 ==Gallery==
 <gallery mode=packed heights=175px>
-File: PTWAd.jpg|A full page ad for the serial.
+PTWAd.jpg|A full-page ad for the serial.
-File: BonomoStills.jpg|A page from Joe Bonomo's autobiography, which contains stills from the serial.
+BonomoStills.jpg|A page from Joe Bonomo's autobiography, which contains stills from the serial.
-File: Screenshot 2019-02-08 at 12.49.57 PM.png|A poster advertising episode 5 of the serial.
+Screenshot 2019-02-08 at 12.49.57 PM.png|A poster advertising episode 5 of the serial.
-File: PTWStill.jpeg|Some stills from the serial.
+PTWStill.jpeg|Some stills from the serial.
 </gallery>
 ==External Links==
 *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perils_of_the_Wild Wikipedia page on ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19
-*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016214/ IMDb page on ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19
+*[https://imdb.com/title/tt0016214/ IMDb page on ''Perils of the Wild''.] Retrieved 08 Feb '19
 ==References==
@@ Line 99: / Line 71: @@
 [[Category:Lost films]]
+[[Category:Completely lost media]]
 [[Category:Historic]]