The damsel in distress narrative is quite prevalent in novels, movies, TV series, and works of art, particularly the classics from previous centuries; Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Olive Oyl, Newell Convers Wyeth’s The Wounded Helen, Gustave Doré’s Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica, Oliver Frey’s Colonel Percy Fawcett Saving a Beautiful Indian Maiden from a Ritual Sacrifice are but a few examples.
This trope presents beautiful young women of a certain standing as helpless creatures in the event of a natural disaster, curse, monster, kidnapping, mugging, or any other crime. The only one who can save the lady in question is the male lead and his companions; strong, resourceful, and determined, he goes to great lengths to rescue her, and unless he's a family member, she usually rewards him with both gratitude and love.
Many hit movies capitalized on that archetype. From Princess Andromeda, to Debbie Edwards, to Lois Lane, these are 16 ladies in trouble who needed saving.
16 Lady Marian - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Kevin Reynolds’ version of the famous folk tale about the heroic outlaw Robin Hood, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, may be extremely flawed, but it is an entertaining flick starring Kevin Costner as the titular lead, Morgan Freeman as Azeem, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Lady Marian, and Alan Rickman as the charismatic and villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. While Marian may be a woman of character and great compassion, she is no match to the powerful and greedy Nottingham, who locks her up and marries her by force. Robin bursts into his keep and kills him just before he’s about to consummate the marriage.
15 Princess Jehnna - Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Several people join forces to escort and protect the beautiful, virgin Princess Jehnna (Olivia d’Abo) in Richard Fleischer’s epic sword and sorcery film Conan the Destroyer, the sequel to the cult favorite Conan the Barbarian: Bombaata (Wilt Chamberlain), the captain of the guards, the Cimmerian warrior Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Akiro (Mako), the Wizard of the Mounds, the thief Malak (Tracey Walter), and the bandit warrior Zula (Grace Jones).
Jehnna is to retrieve the jeweled horn of the god Dagoth: not only is she kidnapped by a wizard, but her own aunt, the Queen, plans to sacrifice her to Dagoth. Once all enemies are defeated, the newly crowned Jehnna offers her saviors prominent positions in her court as a token of her gratitude. She even asks Conan to rule by her side as her consort, but he declines, still grief-stricken over the loss of his one true love, Valeria.
14 Yvaine - Stardust (2007)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Stardust is an underrated romantic fantasy adventure movie directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Claire Danes as Yvaine, Charlie Cox as Tristan Thorn, Michelle Pfeiffer as Lamia, and Mark Strong as Prince Septimus. Yvaine is a fallen star chased by the evil witch Lamia and her sisters, who plan to eat her heart in order to gain eternal youth and immortality. Tristan originally wants to impress a girl from his village by bringing her the fallen star, but he ends up protecting Yvaine and falling in love with her. After defeating the witches, he becomes king of Stormhold and marries Yvaine.
13 Princess Elspeth Ulfilas and the Virgins of Urland - Dragonslayer (1981)
Directed by Matthew Robbins, Dragonslayer is a dark fantasy film set in the sixth-century Kingdom of Urland, where the 400-year-old dragon Vermithrax Pejorative terrorizes the locals. Twice a year, virgin girls are selected through a lottery to be sacrificed to him; and so, a handful of volunteers join forces and seek help from a wizard to permanently defeat the monster. When Princess Elspeth Ulfilas (Chloe Salaman) finds out her father has been rigging the draw to keep her and other noble girls safe, she makes sure her name is next in line, and is eventually taken to the dragon’s lair.
“Am I not exposed to the same risk as every other man's daughter?”
One of the heroes, Galen (Peter MacNicol), is then dispatched by the King and uses a magical amulet to enchant a spear strong enough to pierce Vermithrax’s skin. Unfortunately, he doesn’t arrive on time to save poor, selfless Elspeth from being devoured.
12 Wilhelmina Scott - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
“I was happy in Shanghai! I had a little house and a garden! My friends were rich; we went to parties all the time in limousines! I hate being outside!”
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a beloved action-adventure film helmed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford as the brazen archaeologist and Kate Capshaw as the nightclub singer Wilhelmina “Willie” Scott, his romantic interest who is dragged into a dangerous encounter with a violent cult. Throughout the movie, Willie is constantly complaining, screaming, and fainting, and Indy saves her from many a tricky situation. To be fair, she has been leading a comfortable life as a sophisticated and popular artist in Shanghai, so it's only natural she'd prefer diamonds to insects, underground tunnels, snakes, hot pits, and giant vampire bats.
Fans of the franchise don't particularly take kindly to her, though. There is an actual forum thread titled Is Willie Scott the Worst Character Ever?, and answers vary from "What's wrong with a fish-out-of-water character? It's not like she signed up to be part of the insanity," to "She is a large reason why I have trouble watching Temple of Doom. The first 3/4 of the movie, she is the worst stereotype of a damsel in distress, maybe in all movie history."
11 Princess Andromeda - Clash of the Titans (1981)
Greek mythology is filled with stories about the king of the gods, Zeus, impregnating human women and fathering children with superpowers. In Desmond Davis’ fantasy adventure film Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Harry Hamlin) is one of them, and he faces many trials in his quest to win the hand of the cursed Princess Andromeda, daughter of Queen Cassiopeia of Joppa, who is portrayed by Judi Bowker. At the end, the princess is shackled to a sacrificial rock for the Kraken, but Perseus uses Medusa’s head to petrify the sea monster and free her. They get married, produce many children, and live happily after under the protection of Zeus.
10 Kimberly Mills - Taken (2008)
In contemporary and more realistic films, damsels in distress don’t have to be love interests or even of royal blood. Is there anyone more determined than a father desperate to save his helpless teenage daughter from a sex-trafficking ring? In Pierre Morel’s Taken, Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a former CIA agent whose 17-year-old daughter Kimberly (Marion Grace) and her best friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) are abducted by an Albanian human-trafficking gang. Kim is reserved for a special auction because she is still a virgin. After ruthlessly torturing and eliminating several criminals on his quest, Bryan is finally able to rescue Kim from a sheikh’s yacht.
9 Lou Ann McGuinn - Pink Cadillac (1989)
One of Clint Eastwood’s most iconic movie roles is that of skip racer Tommy Nowak in Buddy Van Horn’s action-comedy Pink Cadillac. The title refers to a vehicle with a stash of laundered money that belongs to Roy McGuinn and his Neo-Nazi gang. Roy's wife, Lou Ann (Bernadette Peters), is on the run both from him and the cops, and Tommy, who is supposed to turn her in for skipping bail, decides to help her out and rescue her kidnapped baby. Naturally, romance soon blossoms on the way.
8 Isabeau - Ladyhawke (1985)
Richard Donner’s atmospheric medieval fantasy Ladyhawke features Matthew Broderick as the thief Phillipe Gaston, Rutger Hauer as Etienne of Navarre, Michelle Pfeiffer as the beautiful maiden Isabeau of Anjou, and John Wood as the Bishop of Aquila. Because he has been lusting after Isabeau, who only has eyes for the noble Etienne, Aquila lays a curse on the couple: by day, she would turn into a hawk, and by night, Etienne would transform into a wolf. Which means that they can never get together in human form. Philippe and Etienne then team up to break the curse, all the while making sure the delicate Isabeau isn’t in harm’s way.
7 Rachel Marron - The Bodyguard (1992)
Is there anyone who needs constant protection more than a megastar with obsessed groupies? This is the case for The Bodyguard’s Rachel Marron (portrayed by the late Whitney Houston), a famous singer and actress who hires a professional bodyguard, Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner), to shield her from a dangerous stalker. He saves her multiple times and at some point, even gives her a panic button during an award ceremony.
6 Gacie Law and Miao Yin - Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, and James Hong, the cult fantasy action comedy Big Trouble in Little China is helmed by John Carpenter and centers on David Lo Pan, an evil sorcerer from Chinatown whose thugs kidnaps unsuspecting women. The reason? The sorcerer has to sacrifice a green-eyed bride in order to break his ancient curse, and he has Miao Yin and Gracie Law in his claws; which is why the ladies’ hot-headed fiancés have to battle against Chinatown’s underground gangs in order to save them.
5 Ann Darrow - King Kong (1933)
In Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s adventure monster classic King Kong, Fay Wray stars as Ann Darrow, a beautiful blonde actress who is kidnapped by a tribe while shooting on Skull Island and is offered to a giant gorilla beast. The monster carries a terrified Ann around, evading attacks from dinosaurs, and the film crew’s attempts at saving her. Kong is eventually captured and taken to New York, where he escapes, wreaks havoc, and manages to grab Ann one last time before succumbing to gunfire.
Per Screen Queens, "Ann remains a damsel in distress by screaming her head off while being held by Kong like a rag doll, the prize that he has won. She does not feel anything for him but terror, even as he protects her from T-Rexes and other creepy-crawly creatures. When Jack Driscoll shows up and rescues her, she doesn’t bat an eye leaving him. (...) Gorillas were viewed as a violent uncultured brute, the perfect villain for a monster movie."
4 Mary Jane Watson - Spider-Man (2002)
The unsuspecting and innocent love interest of a male superhero often finds herself the target of the resourceful villains he fights against. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man features Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. Peter saves MJ from slipping in the high-school cafeteria, then from muggers on a rainy night, and finally from a dangerous hostage situation. MJ grew up with an abusive father, and that alone brands her as a victim in need of rescuing.
3 Debbie Edwards - The Searchers (1956)
Life in the Wild West and on the Frontier was challenging for both men and women. There is a plethora of classic Westerns depicting helpless female characters getting harassed, abused, held at gun point, kidnapped, or even killed. In John Ford’s blockbuster The Searchers, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) and Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) spend years tracking Ethan’s niece, Debbie (Nathalie Wood), who has been taken captive by a Comanche tribe. Her sister Lucy is also abducted by Comanches but is abused and killed almost immediately.
2 Princess Buttercup - The Princess Bride (1987)
Adapted by William Goldman from his own 1973 novel and directed by Rob Reiner, The Princess Bride follows the passionate and determined farmhand Westley (Carey Elwes) on his quest to rescue the beautiful, long-haired Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) from her three kidnappers and stop her marriage to the despicable Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon).
1 Lois Lane - Superman (1978)
Few superheroes are as strong as Superman, and it goes without saying that the journalist whom his alter-ego Clark Kent works with, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), constantly needs his help, despite being portrayed as witty, strong-willed, and capable. Superman (Christopher Reeve) saves her from a helicopter accident, takes her on leisurely flights in his strong arms, and even reverses time to prevent her from suffocating in a trapped car following an earthquake. As far as dependable heroes go, Superman ranks pretty highly on the list.