By Nick Pollard
Shepperton Studios has been the centre of film making in our area since the 1930s, but filming in the village dates back considerably before this, to the early days of cinema in this country. Cecil Hepworth of Walton-on-Thames established the first purpose-built film studios in Britain at his home in Hurst Grove in 1899, but also used the surrounding district for open air scenes. An early film shot mainly in Shepperton was ‘The Dog Outwits the Kidnapper’ of 1908, directed by Lewin Fitzhamon. This built upon the phenomenal success of ‘Rescued by Rover’ (1905) which starred the Hepworth family collie, Blair, as ‘Rover’, who became the first dog to be a cinema star, many years before the likes of Rin-Tin-Tin or Lassie. The plot was fairly similar to the previous film (why change a winning formula?) and involved ‘Rover’ chasing a kidnapper whom he had witnessed taking a child (Hepworth’s daughter Barbara) from the family home and making off by car. The dog chases the car through roads in Shepper-ton, Russell Road and Chertsey Road being identifiable, before catching up with the villain (played by Hepworth himself) when the latter stops for refreshment at the Anchor in Church Square. No sooner has the miscreant gone into the hotel than the dog jumps into the driving seat and speeds off home, rescuing the child! There were no editing special effects used to show the dog driving – Hepworth himself hid un-der the dashboard and operated the steering wheel while the dog sat behind the wheel – as in the publicity shot above, taken to promote the film. Blair continued to star in films as late as 1912. Hepworth returned to Shepperton several times to shoot other films, most notably an adaption of Dickens’ ‘Barnaby Rudge’ in 1914 which involved a large set built somewhere in Shepperton, consisting of 18th century London streets and the notorious Newgate Gaol which features in the story.
The Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society is holding a 70th Anniversary exhibition of old photos of the area at the Orangery, Squire’s Garden Centre, Upper Halliford, on Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd October, 10am to 4pm. Admission is free. The next monthly meeting is at Halliford School on Tuesday 19th October when the subject will be ‘Tall Tales-Local Historic and Notable Trees’ by Sue Rhodes. Admission is £2 for non-members.