The story of Little Red Riding Hood dates back more than 300 years. And like most olde tyme fairy tales, it’s pretty brutal by today’s standards. Sort of the Looney Tunes of their era, but with fewer wisecracking rabbits and more pain. Over the centuries this and other fairy tales have been scrubbed and sanitized until many of the original story elements are no longer present. The same holds true for these reels, although to be fair, seven frames don’t leave a lot of room for exposition and fulfilling character development.

This reel set is actually made up of three stories — Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Something about the number 3 resonated with story tellers centuries ago, I guess. I’m guessing that the set I have is a reprint from an earlier edition. Although it has the original matrix number (B 310), the copyright dates on the three reels are 1959, 1955, and 1960 respectively.

If you’re ready to thrill at the sight of innocent children in mortal peril, click on!

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