Harold M. Shaw

What Happened to Mary

The forerunner of all serials, What Happened to Mary was a series of twelve monthly one reel episodes, each a complete entity in itself, revolving its immediate dramatic and melodramatic problems within the framework of a single episode and designed more for story and suspense situations than action.

A Question of Seconds

Hardwell, a young engineer, running a new railroad through a tough western section, falls in love with Bonita, daughter of Jim Collins, a wealthy ranchman. Haligo Laderez, a wealthy Mexican, also has his eye on Bonita. When he sees that Bonita is favoring Hardwell, he invites the gang of Mexicans working for Hardwell to strike for more money. They are refused, so Haligo sets about capturing Hardwell, who has escaped and is on his way to the sheriff. As he is making his way through a narrow railway cut, Hardwell is hemmed in at both sides by Haligo's men, so he takes refuge behind a barricade of rocks. Unable to get at Hardwell, Haligo places a can of gun powder in front of the rocks and lights the fuse. Just before the flame reaches the can, Bonita and the sheriff arrive, putting the Mexicans to flight. The next day Bonita's father agrees to let her become the wife of Hardwell.

Thirty Days at Hard Labor

Jack must prove himself before Beatrice's father will allow him to continue seeing his daughter.

The Awakening of John Bond

A slumlord learns just how important it is to maintain clean living quarters when his wife contracts tuberculosis.

A Modern Cinderella

This 20th-century retelling of the classic fairy tale keeps all the familiar elements — a selfish step-sister, a put-upon beauty, a Prince Charming, and, of course, a lost slipper — but shifts the action to a contemporary boarding house. Cinderella, played by Mary Fuller, befriends an elderly resident, who buys a party outfit for her favorite when Cinderella’s elder sister preens for a dance. The new clothes transform the unassuming maiden into the toast of the ball. Finding Cinderella’s missing shoe, a dashing young man follows the clue to his grandmother, Cinderella’s friend at the boarding house, who works her magic to reunite the couple.

The Attack on the Mill

First, the eye is introduced to the old mill itself, with a gay betrothal party in progress, and laughter and merriment on all sides. Suddenly the laughter is hushed by the martial tread of feet, and the smile of joy fades from the two young lovers' faces as the French soldiers march into the courtyard and prepare to defend the mill against the oncoming attack of the German army. The mild summer afternoon has but half way run its course towards its western home when a wounded outpost comes staggering into the courtyard with the news of the advancing German army stamped upon his blood-stained forehead. Suddenly the courtyard is filled with the smoke of battle, and we know that the long-expected attack is on.

Michael Strogoff

A graphic reproduction of Jules Verne's famous story under the above title. It deals with a secret mission in Russia