Cecil Hepworth & Lewin Fitzhamon - Rescued by Rover (1905)

Rescued by Rover (1905)

British/Silent/B&W

Directors: Cecil Hepworth, Lewin Fitzhamon

Screenplay: Margaret Hope McGuffie

Story by: Margaret Hope McGuffie

Cast: 

Cecil Hepworth 

May Clark

Margaret Hope McGuffie 

Sebastian Smith 

Barbara Hepworth

Lindsay Gray 

Blair

Rescued by Rover is a 1905 British short silent drama film, directed by Lewin Fitzhamon, about a dog who leads its master to his kidnapped baby, which was the first to feature the Hepworth's family dog Blair in a starring role; following the release, the dog became a household name and he is considered to be the first dog film star. The film, which according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screen Online, "marks a key stage in the medium's development from an amusing novelty to the seventh art," and, "possibly the only point in film history when British cinema unquestionably led the world," was an advance in filming techniques, editing, production and story telling.

 

400 prints were sold, so many that the negatives wore out twice, requiring the film to be re-shot each time. Two professional actors were paid to appear, and the film is cited as the first film to have used paid actors. The style of shooting and editing would bridge the gap between the styles of directors Edwin Stanton Porter and D. W. Griffith, and prints have been preserved in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

And an annotated version describing the different shots.