The Flying Scotsman with The Hazards of Helen, Episode 13

The Flying Scotsman is action-packed tale of sabotage and heroics, filmed aboard one of the most famous trains in British history.

Old Bob has had a flawless career as the engineer of the majestic Flying Scotsman. However, the day before he is due to retire, he reports his stoker Crow for drunkenness. The man is fired and threatens to make trouble for Old Bob. When his daughter Joan — played by Pauline Johnson — discovers the plot, she follows the vengeful stoker aboard the Flying Scotsman, intent on protecting her father.

During the run, Old Bob discovers what he believes to be an illicit love between his daughter and the new stoker, whom he knocks off the train. But the real danger lies with his former colleague, who strikes him down setting the train on a runaway path of sure destruction. The last one standing, Joan is faced with the awesome task of bringing the great train safely to a standstill — and her daring stunts to save the train and her father's reputation continue to shock and dazzle today.

The film will be accompanied by the short film The Hazards of Helen, Episode 13: Escape on the Fast Freight (1915). This episodic series centers on Helen Holmes, who finds adventure and excitement while working as a railroad telegraph operator at a remote western depot. A fiercely feminist figure and woman of action, Helen repeatedly proves her abilities to her dubious male colleagues, frequently presented as the only woman in a so-called "man's world". The 22-year-old Holmes also wrote and co-directed many of her films and performed all her own stunts, including the dramatic fight sequences atop a moving train in this short episode.

Featuring:
The Flying Scotsman
(1929, dir. Castleton Knight, 85 min.) 
The Hazards of Helen, Episode 13: "The Escape on the Fast Freight"
(1915, dir. Helen Holmes and Leo Maloney, 13 min)

Cosponsored by the Wharton Studio Museum and Cinemapolis as part of Silent Movie Month in Ithaca.

For more on the making of The Flying Scotsman, please see Marc David Jacobs's programme notes for HippFest 2024. For more on The Hazards of Helen, see the National Film Preservation Foundation. 

Special thanks to Alison Strauss of HippFest and Hannah Prouse and Richard Hilliard at the British Film Institute.