The Grub-Stake

The Grub-Stake
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Directed byBert Van Tuyle
Nell Shipman
Written byNell Shipman
Produced byNell Shipman
Bert Van Tuyle
StarringNell Shipman
Alfred Allen
Walt Whitman
Lillian Leighton
George Berrell
Hugh Thompson
CinematographyJoseph Walker
Robert Newhard
Edited byNell Shipman
Production
company
Nell Shipman Productions
Distributed byAmerican Releasing Corporation
Aywon Film Corporation
Release date
  • February 24, 1923 (1923-02-24)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSilent
English intertitles
Budget$180,000

The Grub-Stake is a 1923 American silent western film co-directed by Bert Van Tuyle and Nell Shipman, who played the lead role. The screenplay was written by Shipman and produced by her company, Nell Shipman Productions.

Nell Shipman Productions was form in October 1920, and its first film, The Girl from God's Country, was a financial failure. $180,000 was raised from investors and filming was done in Spokane, Washington, Ione, Washington, Lake Pend Oreille, and Priest Lake from March to August 1922. Shipman brought her large collection of animals with her for use in the film.

The production suffered from financial difficulties and lawsuits for unpaid wages. A judge initially ordered for Shipman's animals to be auctioned off, but this was reversed and the animals were later acquired by the San Diego Zoo. American Releasing Corporation acquired the distribution rights, but went bankrupt before earning revenue from the film. The only money Shipman earned from the film was for promoting it. Her company went bankrupt and she did not make another feature film.