United Kingdom
format unknown
B&W
Unknown
"the first talking film ever made by amateurs and exhibited publicly. The film is a sincere attempt to make a thriller of the popular kind. Its producers… ask it to be accepted as such, and stress the fact that it has no pretensions to art. They would also have you bear in mind the fact that the film was made by eleven London amateurs, who had never played in a film before, and that they total resources were £20… it is interesting to note that the hero of “Shadows of Limehouse” applied for, and obtained, the part created by Owen Nares in “The Middle Watch”, and that he is now on tour with that production" (M.A.L.B. 1931: 7).
"This amateur society [Apex Motion Pictures], the oldest in London, made and publicly exhibited the first amateur talkie in England (and, it is believed, the world). That was in January 1930 when, before an audience which included Mabel Poulton, John Stuart, and other famous British stars. “Shadows of Limehouse”, a film of thrills introducing the Flying Squad, has since been cut for silent showing by other groups and is still being exhibited. When it was shown recently in aid of Tunbridge Wells Hospital, a local cinema proprietor asked the organisers to take it out of the programme in order to give his show a chance of doing some business!" (Anon 1932: 108).
Anon. Home Movies and Home Talkies. August, 1932.
M.A.L.B. “Pioneering the Amateur Talkie.” The Era. December 9, 1931.
Screening hosted by London Amateur Film Club, London, UK, November, 1933.
Do you know where this film is? Get in touch with us at amdb@ucalgary.ca.
Amateur Cinema