The Perils of Pauline

When I was growing up, we didn't do a lot of things as a family. Not the way other families did, at least. And not the way T and I do with our kids. We didn't do cookouts and they didn't go to our school functions or anything like that. There are only a few times I remember doing stuff as a family, really.

One of the times I do remember was seeing this movie. We went to the drive in with another family. I believe it was my cousins who had come in from Michigan for a visit. The drive in was cool because you got to sit in the back seat with pillows and blankets and eat hot dogs. I think I can remember two times in my life ever going to the drive in, until I got my drivers license and could go with my friends.

Anyway, when I saw this movie was playing on Turner Classic Movie Network, I had to watch it again. It's a pretty good movie, by the way, but it was kind of funny how little I remembered of it. I remember the beginning and then just bits and pieces throughout that make absolutely no sense. Like, I remember Pearl being chased by a lion and jumping on a train. But these were two different scenes, far apart. (And she wasn't actually chased. The lion was just there.) I think I must have fallen asleep right after it started.

I honestly don't know why we didn't do stuff like this more often. It seems like it would have been a good deal for my parents to pay one price for a carload and then have use zonk out almost immediately so they could enjoy the movie. But, you know. We didn't do stuff like that. I think that's why I have always made such an effort to do stuff with my kids.

Anyway, the movie is about the real-life Pearl, who starred in the Perils of Pauline serials. These were fantastical movies in which Pauline might have to ride a horse, fly a plane, or outwit an Arabian prince. The damsel being tied to the railroad tracks while the train is coming? That's Pauline. Great stuff.

You should watch.