Nell Shipman lived life as wildly as her adventure movies. The British Canadian native was one of those legendary figures who had so much talent that her films couldn't contain all the exurberance she wanted to exhibit. She earned her sobriquet 'The First Lady of Canadian Cinema' by shear grit and determination. The story of how she produced her final feature film, February 1923's "The Grub-Stake" is a case study on the adversity Shipman faced, yet still released a heart-throbbing, edge-of-your-seat motion picture.
Shipman was multi-talented in every phase of filmmaking. She acted, scripted, produced, and directed many of her films, especially her later one. She personaaly owned over 200 animals, many of which appear in her movies. 1919 'Back to God's Country' was the actress' most financially successful project, but she was determined to make an even grandeur movie in "The Grub-Stake."
Shipman always exhibited an independent spirit. After stints with several major film studios beginning in 1915, she decided to go on her own, establishing her very own movie studio in 1918 after recovering from the Spanish Flu. Marrying young to film producer Ernest Shipman, she began a six-year love affair with Bert Van Tuyle, who directed "The Grub-Stake." But during its filming, Van Tuyle was literally losing his mind, and Nell left him later in 1923.
Meanwhile, she was determined to make "The Grub-Stake." She sold her California house, their car, and cashed in their life savings to fund the $180,000 budgeted film. Contributions from 300 subscribers also help with the finances. She saved money by using her own script as well as editing the raw prints.
Her script about a shady Alaskan businessman who entices Nell and her father to Alaska to run a laundromat, where he would grubstake, or provide all the equipment and supplies but the pair would have to share their profits with him. When arriving in the nothern state, however, she found her only business opportunity was to work in a dance hall. Fleeing the situation into the wilds gave Shipman the chance to film the stunning scenery in (actually) Idaho and to act with her many pets, including her bear. A cliff-hanging ending is reminiscent of earlier film serials, with Shipman finding herself in physical desparate straights.
Unfortunately for her, American Releasing Corporation, acting as the film's distributor, went bankrupt without paying her an advance. This was also the demise of her film company. She produced, wrote and acted in one more short, but her days in front of the camera were over. She turned to writing books and scripts, with one of her screenplays serving as a 1935 vehicle, 'Wings In The Dark' with Myrna Loy and Cary Grant.
