| Our Friends, the Hayseeds | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Beaumont Smith |
| Produced by | Beaumont Smith |
| Written by | Beaumont Smith |
| Starring | Roy Redgrave |
| Cinematography | Harry Krischock |
| Release date(s) | 19 March1917 |
| Running time | 5,000 feet |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Our Friends, the Hayseeds is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It centers around the rural family, the Hayseeds, and their rivalry with a neighbouring family, the Duggans.
Contents |
The Hayseeds and Duggaans live on selections next to each other. Joe Hayseed and Pansy Duggan want to get married but their families quarrel when the Hayseeds' cow gets into the Duggan's corn and they are forbidden to see each other. The two families have a brawl on the bush fence, a fight that only ends in exhaustion. However, a bush fire unites them and Jim and Pansy marry. Pansy falls pregnant and Dad Hayseed and Dad Duggan both hope for a boy which will be named after them. She ends up giving birth to twin girls.[1]
The film was divided into four sections: the first two dealing with a day in the life of the Hayseeds; the last two with Joe and Pansy's courtship.[2] A contemporary reviewer said that of the film's 5,000 foot length, 1,000 feet was dedicated to humorous titles.[3]
The movie was inspired by the success of Bert Bailey's stage adaptation of Steele Rudd's Dad and Dave stories, On Our Selection and Phillip Lytton's play The Waybacks. Smith had worked with Bailey and Edmund Duggan on the initial production of Selection.[4]
Shooting took place on location in South Australia in Campbelltown and Norwood. The movie's local appeal was heavily advertised to South Australian audiences in publicity.
Many of the cast had appeared in Beaumont Smith's theatrical productions of While the Billy Boils (which he filmed in 1921) and Seven Little Australians.[5].
Box office response was strong and there were a number of sequels starting with The Hayseeds Come to Sydney. It was the first feature from theatrical entrepreneur Beaumont Smith who went on to become one of Australia's most prolific filmmakers of the silent era.