Nell Shipman

Films directed by Nell Shipman

• Trail of the Arrow (1920)
• Something New (1920)
• A Bear, a Boy, and a Dog (1921)  (also known as: "Saturday Off")
• The Girl from God's Country (1921)
• The Grub-Stake (1922)  (also known as: "The Golden Yukon", "The Romance of Lost Valley")
• The Trail of the North Wind (1923)
• The Light on Lookout (1923)
• Wolf's Brush (1924)
• White Water (1924)

Quotes about Nell Shipman

"I would argue that with Shipman's work the narrative trajectory culminating in the inevitable heterosexual coupling that closes the story is less compelling or memorable than the scenes of the solitary woman braving the wilderness."
-- Kay Armatage (source)

"In most of her films, Nell Shipman played the leading role, always of the heroic stamp. [...] Her Amazonian beauty, the easeful presence of her body (cross-hatched with equal parts of hysteria, display, strength, and bravery), her great sense of moral justice, and the instinctive connection with animals and nature: these are the signs of her essential femininity, and simultaneously the source of the heroism which allows her to resist conventional narrative inscriptions of the woman protagonist as victimized and rescued."
-- Kay Armatage (source)

"Embedded within Shipman's narrative [The Silent Screen & My Talking Heart] [...] are the movies that created her even as she was scripting and acting in them; she became 'the Girl from God's Country' due to casting and marketing pressures and an internalized identification with her screen image. Embedded within [Sharon] Pollock's play [Moving Pictures] are events and passages from Shipman's autobiography, but the Nell Shipman figure in the play is much more than the woman Shipman herself portrays because Pollock creates a multiple self-portrait of a woman artist looking back on her life to understand its meaning and value."
-- Sherrill Grace (source)

For QUOTES about a specific film by Nell Shipman, please see:   Trail of the Arrow    Something New    A Bear, a Boy, and a Dog    The Girl from God's Country    The Trail of the North Wind   

Notes about Nell Shipman

• Actor, producer, screenwriter, and director of the silent cinema.
• The first Canadian woman film director.
• Born in Victoria, British Columbia; died in Los Angeles.
• As an adolescent, moved to Seattle, Washington with her family.
• Began acting in a touring theatre company when she was 13.
• Married Canadian film producer Ernest Shipman when she was 18.
• Her greatest success was Back to God's Country (1919), directed by David M. Hartford and filmed in Alberta, in which she starred and for which she wrote the screenplay (based on a story by James Oliver Curwood).
• After her divorce from Ernest Shipman, founded Nell Shipman Productions and made films in California, Washington State, and Idaho.

Bibliography for Nell Shipman

Section 1: Publications by Nell Shipman

• Leffingwell, Elmore, and Nell Shipman. Mother Liberty: The Gift They Gave Us. S.l.: s.n., 1939.
• Putnam, George Palmer, and Nell Shipman. Hot Oil. New York: Greenberg, 1935.
• Shipman, Nell. Abandoned Trails. New York: Lincoln Mac Veagh, 1932.
• Shipman, Nell. Get the Woman ('Msieu Sweetheart'). New York: L. MacVeagh, 1930.
• Shipman, Nell. Kurly Kew and the Tree-Princess, a Story of the Forest-People, Told for Other-People. New York: L. MacVeagh, 1930.
• Shipman, Nell. Letters from God's Country: Nell Shipman, Selected Correspondence & Writings, 1912-1970. Edited by Tom Trusky. Hemingway Western Studies Series. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 2003.
• Shipman, Nell. Milestone Zero. Washington, D.C.: Kaufmann, 1952.
• Shipman, Nell. Neeka of the North. London: Collins, 1931.
• Shipman, Nell. Nell Shipman's M'sieu Sweetheart: A Sweeping Love Story of the Silent North. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 2001.
• Shipman, Nell. The Silent Screen & My Talking Heart: An Autobiography, 3rd ed. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 2001.
• Shipman, Nell. Tomorrow for Sale. New York: Appellate Law Printers, 1941.
• Shipman, Nell. Under the Crescent. Illustrated with scenes from the photo play produced and copyrighted by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1915.

Section 2: Publications about Nell Shipman

Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003.
• Trusky, Tom. Before Sundance: How Nell Shipman Made Her 'Little Dramas of the Big Places'. A lecture/film presentation for the Pacific Northwest Library Association, Post Falls, Idaho, August 8, 2008. Boise, Idaho: Idaho Film Collection, Hemingway Western Studies Center, Boise State University, 2008.

Book Chapters

• Armatage, Kay. "Nell Shipman: A Case of Heroic Femininity." In Feminisms in the Cinema, edited by Laura Pietropaolo and Ada Testaferri, 125-145. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
• Armatage , Kay. "Nell Shipman: A Case of Heroic Femininity." ["Originally published in Feminisms in the Cinema, ed. Ada Testaferri and Laura Pietropaolo (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995).."] In Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women's Cinema, edited by Kay Armatage, Kass Banning, Brenda Longfellow, and Janine Marchessault, 17-38. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999.
• Armatage, Kay. "Sex and Snow: Landscape and Identity in the God's Country Films of Nell Shipman." In American Silent Film: Discovering Marginalized Voices, edited by Gregg Bachman and Thomas J. Slater, 125-47. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
• Armatage, Kay. "Wieland's Far Shore and Shipman's God's Country." In Great Canadian Film Directors, edited by George Melnyk, 3-26. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2007.
• Flom, Eric L. "Laugh, Town, Laugh: The Vaudeville Engagements of Buster Keaton, Charles Chaplin, Harry Langdon, Francis X. Bushman and Nell Shipman." In Silent Film Stars on the Stages of Seattle: A History of Performances by Hollywood Notables, 135-165. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2009.
• Flom, Eric L. "A Matinee Idol: The Promotional Appearances of William S. Hart, Nell Shipman, Rudolph Valentino, and the Screen Ball of 1919." In Silent Film Stars on the Stages of Seattle: A History of Performances by Hollywood Notables, 166-198. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2009.

Brief Sections of Books

• Melnyk, George. One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. (pp 31-33)

Journal Articles

• Booth, Michael. "Book Reviews." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television 24, no. 2 (June 2004): 306-310.
• Brauerhoch, Annette, and Tom Trusky. "Nell Shipman: La belle et la bête." Frauen und Film, no. 47 (September 1989): 36-55. [German]
• Curry, Ramona. "Reviving the History, Revising the Historiography of Female Media Pioneers." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Journal of Women's History 21, no. 3 (Autumn 2009): 188-203.
• Feldman, Seth. "The Girl from God's Country." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. University of Toronto Quarterly 74, no. 1 (Winter 2004/5): 561-63.
• Grace, Sherrill. "Creating the Girl from God's Country: From Nell Shipman to Sharon Pollock." Canadian Literature, no. 172 (Spring 2002): 92-111.
• McCormack, Naomi, and Thelma McCormack. "The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Film." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Atlantis 30, no. 1 (2005): 151.
• Rapf, Joanna E. "Book Reviews." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Film Quarterly 59, no. 2 (Winter 2005-06): 65-67.
• Saul, Joanne. "The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Topia 13 (2005): 140-144.
• Stober, JoAnne. "Book Reviews." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Canadian Journal of Film Studies / Revue canadienne d'études cinématographiques 13, no. 2 (Autumn 2004): 108-111.
• Trusky, Tom. "Animal and other Drives of an Amateur Film Historian." Film History 6, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 128-40.
• Trusky, Tom. "Nell Shipman." Griffithiana 11, no. 32/33 (1988): 65-80.
• Wojcik, Jason. "The Silent Screen & My Talking Heart." Review of The Silent Screen & My Talking Heart, by Nell Shipman. Film & History 32, no. 1 (2002): 108-109.

Newspaper or Magazine Articles

• Armatage, Kay. "The Girl from God's Country." Maclean's, September 1, 2003.
• Blakeman, Chris. "Books." Review of The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema, by Kay Armatage. Take One, December-March 2003-04.
• Butler, Paul. "A nameless heroine: Nell Shipman." The Beaver, vol. 84, no. 1, 2004.
• Everson, William K. "Rediscovery." Films in Review, April 1989.
• Smith, Judith. "Girl wonder from God's country Nell Shipman." Cinema Canada, November-December 1978.
• Tobias, Conan. "Rediscovering 'the Girl from God's Country': Silent Film: The Canadian-born Nell Shipman, an independent producer, screenwriter and actor, was pushed aside when talkies arrived in late 1920s." Globe and Mail, April 11, 1997.
• Walker, Joseph, and Juanita Walker. "Danger in 'God's Country'." American Cinematographer, May 1985.

Dissertations

• Migneault, Alison. "Cultivating the Popular: An Intertextual Study of Nell Shipman." M.A. diss., Carleton University, 2006.

Plays about Nell Shipman

• Pollock, Sharon. Moving Pictures. In Three Plays. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2003.

Web Sites

• Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. "Femmes à l'honneur : leurs réalisations : les femmes dans le cinéma canadien : Nell Shipman." Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/femmes/002026-715-f.html. [French]
• Bishay, Joseph. "Nell Shipman Website." University of Toronto. http://www.utoronto.ca/shipman/.
• "Canadian Film Encyclopedia: Nell Shipman." Film Reference Library (Toronto International Film Festival Group). http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=46&csid1=442&navid=90&fid3=556.
• "Howard Anderson Idaho Film Archive: Nell Shipman." Hemingway Western Studies Center, Boise State University. http://www.boisestate.edu/hemingway/ifc/nell.html.
• "The Internet Movie Database: Nell Shipman." Internet Movie Database, Inc. http://imdb.com/name/nm0794109/.
• Johnson, Katherine. "The Canadian Encyclopedia: Shipman, Nell." Historica Foundation of Canada. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009770.
• Johnson, Katherine. "L'Encyclopédie canadienne : Nell Shipman." Fondation Historica du Canada. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=F1ARTF0009770. [French]
• Library and Archives Canada. "Celebrating Women's Achievements: Canadian Women in Film: Nell Shipman." Library and Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/women/002026-715-e.html.
• "The Nell Shipman Exhibit." City of Glendale, California. http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/nell_shipman1.asp.
• Toronto International Film Festival Group. "Passport to Canadian Cinema at the Toronto International Film Festival / Passeport pour le cinéma canadien au Festival international du film de Toronto: 2003: Canadian Retrospective / Rétrospective canadienne: The Films of Nell Shipman." Toronto International Film Festival Group. http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/images/passport_pages_93_128.pdf. [English / French]
• Virta, Alan. "Nell Shipman: A Biographical Sketch." Albertsons Library, Boise State University. http://library.boisestate.edu/Special/FindingAids/fa81bio.htm.
• Worrell, Joseph. "Silent Era: Nell Shipman." CBX Media. http://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Shipman-Nell.html.
• Zemel, Joel H. "Nell Shipman - Filmmaker." SVP Productions. http://www.svpproductions.com/nellshipman1.html.

Section 3: Publications about the Films of Nell Shipman

Trail of the Arrow (1920)

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 122-26)

Something New (1920)

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 98-100, 136-140, 150-151, 156-160)

Journal Articles

• Parchesky, Jennifer. "Women in the Driver's Seat: The Auto-Erotics of Early Women's Films." Film History 18, no. 2 (2006): 174-84.

Newspaper or Magazine Articles

• Dick, Jeff T. "Back to God's Country / Something New." Library Journal, vol. 125, no. 17, 2000.

A Bear, a Boy, and a Dog (1921)  (also known as: "Saturday Off")

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 265-67)

The Girl from God's Country (1921)

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 161-76, 181-83, 197-99)

The Grub-Stake (1922)  (also known as: "The Golden Yukon", "The Romance of Lost Valley")

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 212-54)

The Trail of the North Wind (1923)

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 268-72)

The Light on Lookout (1923)

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 290-95)

Wolf's Brush (1924)

Newspaper or Magazine Articles

• Gallagher, Dan. "Boise professor tracks down missing film from Panhandle series." Associated Press Newswires, December 18, 2003.

White Water (1924)

Brief Sections of Books

• Armatage, Kay. The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. (pp. 300-301)

Archival Collections

• Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)
• Cinemathèque québécoise (Montréal, Québec)
• Idaho Film Collection, Hemingway Western Studies Center, Boise State University (Boise, Idaho)
• Special Collections and Archives, Albertsons Library, Boise State University (Boise, Idaho)