The Exploits of Elaine is a 1914 American film serial in the damsel in distress genre of The Perils of Pauline (1914). The Exploits of Elaine tells the story of a young woman named Elaine who, with the help of a detective, tries to find the man, known only as "The Clutching Hand", who murdered her father. The Clutching Hand was the first mystery villain to appear in a film serial.