''Our Friends, the Hayseeds'' is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director

Beaumont Smith Frank Beaumont "Beau" Smith (15 August 1885 – 2 January 1950), was an Australian film director, producer and exhibitor, best known for making low-budget comedies. Smith made his first film in 1917, '' Our Friends, the Hayseeds''. He went on t ...

. It centers on the rural family, the ''Hayseeds'', and their rivalry with a neighbouring family, the ''Duggans''. It was Smith's first movie as a director and was a popular success at the box office, leading to a number of sequels. However no known copy of it exists today and it is considered a lost film.

Synopsis

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. The film was divided into four sections: the first two dealing with a day in the life of the Hayseeds; the last two under the title "Pansy's Wooing" with Joe and Pansy's courtship. A contemporary reviewer said that of the film's 5,000 foot length, 1,000 feet was dedicated to humorous titles."MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC NOTES." ''The West Australian (Perth)'' 10 Mar 1917: 10
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Cast

Roy Redgrave George Ellsworthy "Roy" Redgrave (26 April 1873 – 25 May 1922) was an English stage and silent film actor. Redgrave is considered to be the first member of the Redgrave acting dynasty. Early life Born George Edward Redgrave in 122 Kenningt ...

as Dad Hayseed * Walter Cornock as Joe Hayseed * Pearl Hellmrich as Pansy Duggan * Margaret Gordon as Mrs. Hayseed * J. Plumpton Wilson as Parson * H.H. Wallace as Dan Hayseed * Vera Spaull as Poppy Hayseed * Cecil Haines as Lizzy Hayseed * Jack Radford as Tommy Hayseed * Peter Ward as Peter Hayseed * Tom Cannam as hired hand * Percy Mackay as Mr Duggan * Nan Taylor as Mrs Duggan * Crosbie Ward as Mike Duggan * Fred Carlton as Jack Dugggan * Olga Agnew as Mollie Duggan * Gerald Kay Souper as parliamentarian * Esther Mitchell as his wife

Production

The movie was inspired by the success of

Bert Bailey Albert Edward Bailey (11 June 1868 – 30 March 1953), better known as Bert Bailey, was a New Zealand-born Australian playwright, theatrical manager and stage and screen actor best known for playing Dad Rudd, in both mediums, the character from ...

's stage adaptation of Steele Rudd's ''Dad and Dave'' stories, '' On Our Selection'' and Philip Lytton's play ''

The Waybacks The Waybacks are an American four-piece band based in the San Francisco Bay area of California. Their style has been alternately described as Americana, Progressive bluegrass, rock-n-roll, folk, and acoustic mayhem. They described themselves as ...

''. Smith had worked with Bailey and Edmund Duggan on the initial production of ''Selection''. Shooting took place on location in South Australia in Campbelltown and Norwood. Many of the cast had appeared in

's theatrical productions of ''While the Billy Boils'' (which he filmed in 1921) and '' Seven Little Australians''. While shooting the bushfire scene off the side of a hill at Campbelltown, the fire got out of control and momentarily trapped the actors. According to contemporary press reports, "they came out of that fire black as coal heavers, almost blind with smoke, and singed badly. Their faces were a study of horror and fear, and that heartless photographer turned the handle all the time. But he got a most realistic picture."

Reception

The movie's local appeal was heavily advertised to South Australian audiences in publicity. The ''Adelaide Mail'' said of the film that "the tone was pleasing, and made an undeniably good impression on those who witnessed it... the film is splendidly put together. It contains but little plot, most of the scenes presenting incidents of everyday life. Some of the scenes, however, are a little drawn-out, particularly the fight between the Hayseed and Duggan families." Box office response was strong and there were a number of sequels starting with ''

The Hayseeds Come to Sydney ''The Hayseeds Come to Sydney'' (also known as ''The Hayseeds Come to Town'') is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. The second in the Hayseeds series of movies, is considered a lost film. Synopsis In Stoney Creek, Dad H ...

''. It was the first feature from theatrical entrepreneur

who went on to become one of Australia's most prolific filmmakers of the silent era.

References

External links

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''Our Friends, the Hayseeds''
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...