''Prehistoric Hayseeds'' is a 1923 Australian film comedy that was written, produced, and directed by

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 is the sixth in his series about the rural family the Hayseeds and concerns their discovery of a

lost tribe Lost tribe(s) may refer to: * Uncontacted peoples, indigenous peoples without a sustained connection to the world community * Ten Lost Tribes, the Lost Tribes of Israel TV and film * ''The Lost Tribes'' (TV series), a 2007 Australian reality seri ...

. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

Synopsis

Mum and Day Hayseed are visited by an archaeologist fresh from university, Owen Osborne, looking for signs of prehistoric people in nearby caves. They go through a cave and discover a secret valley which is home to a

, who have never been in contact with the outside world, wear skins for clothing, and are surrounded by diamonds. Dad Hayseed makes friends with Wup who plays an ancient form of golf and Owen falls in love with the Wup daughter, the beautiful Golden Girl, rescuing her from an unwanted suitor, Beetle Brows. This leads to a rising of an opposing clan, and the Wups flee to civilisation with the Hayseeds. They go to Sydney and have various adventures, including a trip to the Randwick Races. Olive is kidnapped by Beetle Brows but the Hayseeds and Owen save the day.

Cast

*Hector St Clair as Wup *

Lotus Thompson Lotus Thompson (26 August 1904 – 19 May 1963California Death Index 1940–1997, Lotus Thompson, Los Angeles, 19 May 1963.) was an Australian actress of silent and sound films. Her film career began in Australia in 1921 and ended in California ...

as the Golden Girl *

Gordon Collingridge Gordon Collingridge was an Australian actor during the silent film era. He played many matinee idol type roles, most notably for director Beaumont Smith and opposite Louise Lovely in ''Jewelled Nights'' (1925). Lovely called him "the male screen ...

as Owen Osborne *J.P. O'Neill as Dad Hayseed *Kathleen Mack as Mrs Wup *Roy Wilson as Beetle Brown *Pinky Weatherley as Mum Hayseed *Nina Dacre as Tessie Worth *

Dunstan Webb Dunstan Webb was an Australian actor and director, who was a particular favourite of Australasian Films. Filmography *''In the Last Stride'' (1916) – actor *''The Breaking of the Drought'' (1920) – actor *''The Man from Snowy River (1920 film ...

as Terry

Production

Popular stage star Hector St Clair, who had arrived in Australia from England in 1921 and decided to stay, made his feature debut in the lead. The romantic leads from ''

Townies and Hayseeds ''Townies and Hayseeds'' is a 1923 Australian film comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It is the fifth in his series about the rural family the Hayseeds. It is considered a lost film. Synopsis City-dweller Pa Townie goes to the country for a ...

'',

and

, returned here, although playing different roles. Thompson soon left for Hollywood, where she acted in some films and achieved fame for deliberately disfiguring her legs. It is likely that

was inspired by the

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

movie, ''

Three Ages ''Three Ages'' is a 1923 black-and-white American feature-length silent comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery. The first feature Keaton wrote, directed, produced, and starred in (unlike ''The Saphead'', in which he only ...

'' (1923). The movie was shot in October 1923 in Sydney and

Port Hacking Port Hacking Estuary ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: ''Deeban''), an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately south of Sydney central business district. Port ...

, with interiors at the

Rushcutters Bay studio Rushcutters Bay Studio was an Australian film studio built by Charles Cozens Spencer in 1912 at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. For a number of years it was the leading film studio in Sydney, being the base of operations for Australasian Films. In 19 ...

.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 120. During production, actors turned up at Sydney's Central Railway Station in cavemen gear to film a sequence, causing a commotion. Smith experienced a notable lack of co-operation from officials making this film, being barred from shooting at Randwick racecourse and Sydney Town Hall. Censors also requested removal of a title referring to a recent alleged bribe of £25,000 paid to

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

Reception

When the film was released the ''Adelaide Mail'' called it "amusing... Hector St. Clair... is very funny. Lotus Thompson is delightful." It was not a big hit and Smith ceased production of the series. However Smith revived it several years later with '' The Hayseeds'' (1933) to popular success.

References

External links

Hayseeds''
in the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Prehistoric 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 ...

{{Beaumont Smith 1923 films Films directed by Beaumont Smith Lost Australian films Australian black-and-white films Australian silent feature films Australian comedy films 1923 comedy films 1923 lost films Lost comedy films Silent comedy films