On Our Selection (1932 film)
| On Our Selection | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Ken G. Hall |
| Produced by | Bert Bailey |
| Written by |
Bert Bailey Ken G. Hall |
| Based on |
play by Bert Bailey & Edmund Duggan based on the stories of Steele Rudd |
| Starring |
Bert Bailey Fred MacDonald Dick Fair |
| Cinematography | Walter Sully |
| Edited by | George Malcolm |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
British Empire Films (Australia) Universal (UK) |
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Release date
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22 July 1932 (Brisbane) 12 August 1932 (Sydney) 1933 (UK) |
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Running time
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99 minutes (Australia) |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £8,000 |
| Box office | ₤60,000 (end 1953) ₤2,000 (UK) |
On Our Selection is a 1932 comedy based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd. These had been turned into a popular play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan in 1912, which formed the basis for the screenplay. Bailey repeats his stage role as Dad Rudd. He also wrote the script with director Ken G. Hall.
The movie was one of the most popular Australian films of all time.
It was also known in the UK as Down on the Farm.
The movie opens with the title card "bushland symphony", followed by sounds and vision of the Australian bush. The subsequent action involves a series of various subplots centered around a "selection" in South West Queensland owned by Dad Rudd: he owes some money to his rich neighbour, old Carey, who is determined to break Dad financially; his educated daughter Kate is pursued by two men, the poor but devoted Sandy and Carey's villainous son, Jim; one of his workers, Cranky Jack, has a mysterious background; comic visits from a parson and country dentist who removes Dad's tooth; his dim son Dave proposes to his girlfriend, Lily; his other son, Joe, causes slapstick havoc; Dave gets married and moves out with his wife and tries to borrow money from his father; Dad's daughter Sarah is pursued by the high-voiced Billy, who Dad doesn't like; Dad Rudd runs for parliament opposite Carey; and his horse wins a race.
The main story concerns a murder mystery. Jim Carey attempts to blackmail Kate into being with him by lying about what she did in the city, and Sandy knocks him out. Carey later turns up dead and Sandy is suspected of the murder. The Rudds hold a dance and a police officer turns up to arrest Sandy when Cranky Jack confesses he killed Carey because the dead man stole his wife. The film ends with Dad and Mum happily watching the sun come up.
The film was the first full-length feature from Cinesound Productions. Ken G. Hall was reluctant to make the film as he thought it was old fashioned but the play had been enormously popular and Stuart Doyle thought an adaptation would be well received.
Most of the cast had appeared in the stage version. Although Bert Bailey was clean shaven and generally wore a fake beard for his stage performances, Hall insisted he grow a real beard for the film version; Bailey did and ended up wearing a beard for the rest of his life.
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Wikipedia