Frank Mottershaw (1850–1932) (often confused with his second son, Frank Storm Mottershaw) was an early English

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

director based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. His films, ''

A Daring Daylight Burglary ''A Daring Daylight Burglary'' (also known as ''A Daring Daylight Robbery'') is a 1903 British short silent film directed by Frank Mottershaw. The film was produced by the Sheffield Photo Company, and features members from the Sheffield Fire B ...

'' and ''The Robbery of the Mail Coach'' (featuring a protagonist based on

Jack Sheppard Jack Sheppard (4 March 1702 – 16 November 1724), or "Honest Jack", was a notorious English thief and prison escapee of early 18th-century London. Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in ...

, the infamous 18th-century English highwayman), made in April and September 1903, are regarded as highly influential on the development of

Edwin Porter Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 – April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 2 ...

’s paradigmatic "chase film" '' The Great Train Robbery'' of December 1903, and often claimed as the prototype of the

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

. The uniqueness of Mottershaw's ''A Daring Daylight Burglary'' is seen in the way it tracks a single action through changing locations. Henry Jasper Redfern and Mottershaw made the first

motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

filmed outdoors in

. In 1900 Mottershaw formed the Sheffield Photo Company, which by 1905 was one of the leading film companies in the country.Abel, Richard. (2005). Encyclopedia of early cinema. Taylor & Francis. Mottershaw also made documentary films, an early example being ''The Coronation of King Peter I of Serbia in Belgrade'', made in 1904, with

Arnold Muir Wilson Arnold Muir Wilson (1857 – 1 October 1909) was a British solicitor and politician. Born in Sheffield, Wilson studied in Germany before becoming a solicitor based at Clifford's Inn. He built up a large practice in Sheffield, usually representing ...

Filmography

* 1903 ''

'' (1903) * 1903 ''Robbery of the Mail Coach'' (1903) * 1903 ''The Convict's Escape from Prison'' (1903) * 1904 ''A Ride on the Kinver Light Railway'' (1904) * 1904 ''The Coronation of King Peter the First'' (1904) * 1904 ''Attack on a Japanese Convoy'' (1904) * 1904 ''A Dash with the Despatch'' (1904) * 1904 ''The Tramp's Duck Hunt'' (1904) * 1904 ''The Market Woman's Mishap'' (1904) * 1904 ''A Cycle Teacher's Experiences'' (1904) * 1904 ''The Coiners'' (1904) * 1904 ''The Bobby's Downfall'' (1904) * 1904 ''Late for Work'' (1904) * 1904 ''Boys Will Be Boys'' (1904) * 1904 ''Fly Catchers'' (1904) * 1904 ''Bertie's Courtship'' (1904) * 1904 ''The Tramps and the Washerwoman'' (1904) * 1904 ''A Picnic Disturbed'' (1904) * 1904 ''That Awful Donkey'' (1904) * 1905 ''A Soldier's Romance'' (1905) * 1905 ''An Eccentric Burglary'' (1905) * 1905 ''The Masher and the Nursemaid'' (1905) * 1905 ''Lazy Workmen'' (1905) * 1905 ''A Fireman's Story'' (1905) * 1905 ''The Shoplifter'' (1905) * 1905 ''The Demon Motorist'' (1905) * 1905 ''A Man Although a Thief'' (1905) * 1905 ''Mixed Babies'' (1905) * 1905 ''The Life of Charles Peace'' (1905) * 1906 ''Our Boyhood Days'' (1906) * 1906 ''Lost in the Snow'' (1906) * 1906 ''The Eccentric Thief'' (1906) * 1906 ''That Terrible Dog'' (1906) * 1906 ''Our Seaside Holiday'' (1906) * 1906 ''His First Silk Hat'' (1906) * 1906 ''After the Club'' (1906) * 1907 ''The Romany's Revenge'' (1907) * 1907 ''Johnny's Rim'' (1907) * 1907 ''Willie's Dream'' (1907) * 1907 ''The Blackmailer'' (1907) * 1907 ''His Cheap Watch'' (1907) * 1908 ''That Nasty Sticky Stuff'' (1908)

References

External links

*
The First Action Movie
BBC Radio 4
Mottershaw family portrait
* (1903)
Mixed Babies
(1905), Yorkshire Film Archive * (1905), National Film Archive of Serbia {{DEFAULTSORT:Mottershaw, Frank 1850 births 1932 deaths British film directors British filmmakers British cinema pioneers Film people from Sheffield