William Bowden

(b. **/**/**** - d. **/**/****) Cameraman and occasional co-director. William Bowden worked as a cameraman for African Film Productions, but doesn’t seem to have been credited all that frequently. Secondary sources indicate that he worked on Zulutown Rink (1916) and possibly Zulutown Races (1916), both directed by Dick Cruikshanks, as well as being one of the cameramen on De Voortrekkers (Harold M. Shaw/1916) and on The Adventures of Ranger Focus (Norman H. Lee/1917). However, his major film as cinematographer was H. Lisle Lucoque's King Solomon's Mines (1918). There are also indications that he co-directed The Vulture’s Prey (1922) and The Blue Lagoon (1923), once again with Dick Cruikshanks. In fact, it is quite likely that he photographed a number of other AFP productions, but hard evidence is difficult to come by. He also made at least one acting appearance. In The Vulture's Prey he plays a cryptologist who is strangled by a pet gorilla. (FO)

Sources

le Roux, André I. & Fourie, Lilla - Filmverlede: geskiedenis van die Suid-Afrikaanse speelfilm

S.A. Pictorial, 5 May 1917

S.A. Pictorial, 7 July 1917

S.A. Pictorial, 29 April 1922

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