Do We Have This?

Before the 70's, women had only one role in horror films: scream loudly, fall down, and force the hero to carry or drag them along like a sack of potatoes. In many aspects, women were a secondary foil for the hero, impeding them from achieving the final goal.

Examples:

• In Jurassic Park (the book,) the granddaughter took the sack of potatoes role, while her brother was The Wesley. However, the roles were reversed in the movie. Examples from the book:
  • The granddaughter was the one who sneezed and alerted the Tyrannosaurus to their position when they were hiding in the tree.
  • She was also the one who got shocked by the electric fence.
• In War Of The Worlds (2005) Dakota Fanning plays this role.
• The Trope Codifiers were probably Mina Murray/Harker or Frankenstein's fiancee, Elizabeth.
• Lot's wife, of Sodom and Gomorrah fame, was one of the earliest examples, making this trope Older Than Dirt.
• In many primitive cultures, part of the wedding ceremony includes a battle (usually ceremonial, but sometimes very real) between the relatives of the bride and the relatives of the groom, where the groom's family's goal is to drag the bride away.
• Subverted in 1976 with female action stars, like Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, and Charlie's Angels, and finally entering films like Halloween and Alien.
• Comic book superheros are especially cursed with this trope:
  • Spiderman is always rescuing Mary Jane, Aunt May, or one of the Gwen Stacy lookalikes. This is lampshaded in the movie when Mary Jane states she has a superhero stalker.
  • In the Batman films, Batman must always rescue his latest girlfriend.
  • Superman rescues Lois Lane so often that it's not even the climatic scene anymore.
• James Bond's only weakness.