Obscurity factor: 5
Penelope Pitstop (Janet Waldo) is a fabulously wealthy heiress and race car driver. Her estate is administered by Sylvester Sneekly (Lynde) who, unbeknownst to her is also her arch nemesis The Hooded Claw. Each episode features Penelope being targeted by Sneekly with a series of dastardly traps and torments. Riding to her rescue are the Ant Hill Gang, a septet of pint sized gangster types and their heroic car, Chugaboom.
This animated series, based on the silent film series, The Perils of Pauline, was produced by Hanna/Barbara and lasted one season. There are 17 episodes. Above is part one of Jungle Jeopardy, in which we find Penelope at Sneekly's mercy on a tropical island. It's been uploaded by nayeem03. The complete series is available on DVD and several other episodes are also available on YouTube.
Obscurity factor: 5 (known to H.B. fans and animation buffs, otherwise largely forgotten, on DVD)
I loved watch Penelope Pitstop when I was a kid :)
ReplyDeleteJust like Duane, I LOVED this show when I was a young'un.
ReplyDeleteIt was decidedly campier than most Saturday morning fare...
ReplyDeleteI loved this show when I was a kid. I was surprised to learn there were only 17 episodes. It seemed like it ran much longer than that.
ReplyDeletePenelope did make appearances in another show - The Wacky Races... That could account for your memory of a longer run.
ReplyDeleteYou may be right about that.
ReplyDeleteI remember this, and as an adult delved into its silent-era roots, like "The Perils of Pauline" and "The Exploits of Elaine." There was also a "Mysteries of Myra" but aside from a few minutes of footage is now lost. I love those old silent thrills...
ReplyDeleteI loved watching this show on Saturday TV as a kid. Paul Lynde was hilarious as the Hooded Claw.
ReplyDelete