The following list of films directed by Harold Shaw has been compiled from various books and online databases, including Alan Goble’s Complete Index to World Film (http://www.citwf.com), the British Film Institute’s film and television database (http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/ftvdb/), the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com), and Kenneth M. Cameron’s Africa on Film: Beyond Black and White (1994). It is necessarily preliminary and incomplete. Since the vast majority of Shaw’s films have not survived, film titles have been recovered using contemporary notices in the trade press and other archival sources. For films that were evidently re-released under a new title, the alternative title is given in parenthesis following the “original” title (although which came first is not always clear). In some cases, further research is necessary to determine whether two titles actually refer to two different films. Shaw claimed to have made thirty-three films for the London Film Company before leaving for Africa in 1916, but the following list contains thirty-seven. While he may have misremembered, it is more likely that some of the films are mentioned twice. For example, The Heart of Sister Ann [1915] may well refer to the same film as The Heart of A Child [1915], and Two Little Ambitions [1914] is probably identical with Two Little Britons[1914].
Each entry gives the date of production in parenthesis followed by the production company, country of origin, and film length measured in feet or reels. The speed for showing movies during the silent era was 14-18 frames per second (as compared with 24 frames per second today). One reel of film was about 1000 ft. long and lasted approximately 15 minutes. As the list indicates, Shaw directed feature-length films as well as shorter one- and two-reelers, which in the 1910s and 1920s were often shown prior to the main feature. Extant titles are marked with an asterisk (*) and the holding institution’s name given at the end of the entry.
A Fool’s Awakening (1924), Metro, USA, 5760 ft.
Rouged Lips (1923), Metro, USA, 5120 ft.
Held to Answer (1923), Metro, USA, 5601 ft.
Love and a Whirlwind(1922), Alliance, UK, 6 reels.
*The Wheels of Chance (1922), Stoll, UK, 5312 ft. (British Film Institute)
*False Evidence(1922), Stoll, UK, 6050 ft. (BFI and Royal Belgian Film Archive, Brussels)
*General John Regan(1921), Stoll, UK, 6300 ft. (BFI)
*Kipps(1921) aka Kipps. The Story of A Simple Soul, Stoll, UK, 6194 ft (BFI)
The Woman of His Dreams (1921), Stoll, UK, 4320 ft.
A Dear Fool(1921), Stoll, UK, 6454 ft.
The Pursuit of Pamela (1920), London Film Company, UK, 5241 ft.
True Tilda (1920), LFC, UK, 4654 ft.
The Land of Mystery (1920), LFC, UK, 7220 ft.
London Pride (1920), LFC, UK, 5200 ft.
Thoroughbreds All (1918), Harold Shaw Film Productions, South Africa, 5 reels
*The Rose of Rhodesia (1918), Harold Shaw Film Productions, South Africa, 5 reels (Nederlands Filmmuseum)
*De Voortrekkers (1916) aka Winning A Continent, African Films Production, 7 reels (National Film, Video and Sound Archive, Pretoria, South Africa; also available on DVD from Villon Films, Vancouver)
You(1916), LFC, UK, 1330ft.
Me and Me Moke (1916) aka Me and M’Pal, LFC, UK, 4138 ft.
The Last Challenge (1916), LFC, UK, 3200 ft.
The Two Roads (1915), LFC, UK, 4070 ft
The Third Generation (1915), LFC, UK, 4060 ft. alt. 4650 ft.
Mr. Lyndon at Liberty (1915), LFC, UK, 5180 ft.
The Heart of Sister Ann (1915), LFC, UK, 3945 ft.
The Heart of A Child (1915), LFC, UK, 3945 ft. alt 4590 ft,
The Firm of Girdlestone (1915), LFC, UK, 5100 ft.
The Derby Winner (1915), LFC, UK, 4900 ft.
Brother Officers (1915), LFC, UK, 3975 ft.
The Ashes of Revenge (1915), LFC, UK, 3600 ft.
A Garret in Bohemia (1915), LFC, UK, 2795 ft.
V.C. (1914) aka The Victoria Cross, LFC, UK, 2942 ft.
Two Little Ambitions (1914)
Two Little Britons (1914), LFC, UK, 3100 ft.
*The Two Columbines (1914), LFC, UK, 2036 ft. alt 1987 ft. (BFI)
*Trilby (1914), LFC, UK, 3400 ft. (BFI, incomplete print)
*The Ring and the Rajah (1914), LFC, UK, 1170 ft. (BFI, incomplete print)
Lil O’ London (1914), LFC, UK, 2100 ft.
Liberty Hall (1914), LFC, UK, 3600 ft.
Lawyer Quince (1914), LFC, UK, 1078 ft.
The King’s Minister (1914), LFC, UK, 2922 ft.
The Incomparable Bellairs (1914) aka The Incomparable Mistress Bellairs, LFC, UK, 3400 ft.
Her Children (1914), LFC, UK, 1071 ft.
For the Empire (1914) aka For Home and Country, LFC, UK, 2100 ft.
England’s Menace (1914), LFC, UK, 2230 ft.
Duty (1914), LFC, UK, 1150 ft.
Clancarty (1914), LFC, UK, 1760 ft.
A Christmas Carol (1914), LFC, UK, 1340 ft. alt 1356 ft.
Child O’ My Heart (1914), LFC, UK, 1920 ft.
Branscombe’s Pal (1914), LFC, UK, 2042 ft.
Beauty and the Barge (1914), LFC, UK, 1242 ft.
The Bosun’s Mate (1914), LFC, UK, 1130 ft.
Bootle’s Baby (1914), LFC, UK, 3794 ft.
The House of Temperley (1913), LFC, UK, 4500 ft.
The Cub (1913), Universal/IMP, USA, 1 reel
The Old Melody (1913), Universal/IMP, USA, 2 reels
The Wizard of the Jungle (1913), World’s Best Film Co, USA, 2 reels.
The Phantom Ship (1913)
*At Bear Track Gulch (1912), Edison, USA, 14 min. (Available on DVD from Museum of Modern Art, New York)
*The Land Beyond the Sunset (1912) Edison, USA, 14 min. (Available on DVD from the National Film Preservation Foundation)
The Librarian (1912), Edison, USA
Helping John (1912), Edison, USA
The Dam Builder (1912), Edison, USA
The Cub Reporter (1912), Edison, USA
Kid from the Klondyke (1911), Edison, USA
Created on: Tuesday, 18 August 2009