Rudall Charles Victor Hayward (4 July 1900 – 29 May 1974) was a pioneer New Zealand filmmaker from the 1920s to the 1970s, who directed seven feature films and numerous others.

Biography

Hayward was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, England, and died in Dunedin while promoting his last film. He was the son of Rudall and Adelina Hayward, who came to New Zealand in 1905. With Henry John Hayward (1866–1945) Rudall senior’s brother, his parents were involved with entertainment and silent cinema in New Zealand, in West’s Pictures and The Brescians. Rudall (junior) was educated at

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

from 1916 to 1917 and the Waihi School of Mines. He worked in Australia c1920 under

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...

(who in 1915-16 was filming in New Zealand), on some of Longford's films: ''

The Sentimental Bloke ''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie Ly ...

'', ''

On Our Selection ''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd. The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...

'', and '' Rudd’s New Selection''. He made his first two-reel comedy ''The Bloke from Freeman’s Bay'' in 1920 (which his uncle Henry offered him £50 to burn). He was prosecuted by the Auckland City Council in the Police Court and fined £1 on each of two charges for putting up posters for ''The Bloke from Freeman’s Bay'' in unauthorised places contrary to city by-laws, in October 1921. His first feature was '' My Lady of the Cave'' (1922). In 1923 he married Hilda Moren and she worked with him on his later projects as an editor and producer: '' Rewi’s Last Stand'' (1925), '' The Te Kooti Trail'' (1927), and '' The Bush Cinderella'' (1928). In 1928-30 the couple made 23 two-reel "community comedies" with local settings and actors at various towns, and titles like: ''Tilly of Te Aroha'', ''Hamilton’s Hectic Husbands'', ''A Daughter of Dunedin'', ''Winifred of Wanganui'', ''Natalie of Napier'', and ''Patsy of Palmerston''. Lee Hill worked with Haywood on these, then went into competition with him. His first sound film was '' On the Friendly Road'' (1936) with

Colin Scrimgeour The Reverend Colin Graham Scrimgeour (30 January 1903 – 16 January 1987), also known as Uncle Scrim or Scrim, was a New Zealand Methodist Minister and broadcaster. Biography Life and ministry Born in Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, he entered the Metho ...

, and he remade '' Rewi’s Last Stand'' with sound (1939). In 1943 he married the star of the movie, Ramai Te Miha. His films were made on a shoestring budget, and in an interview from 1961 Hayward explains, “We had a sound camera which I built up with the help of friends who had lathes. Other parts I had made by Auckland companies, and I laboriously paid off the cost because no one was earning very much. We had a sound engineer, Jack Baxendale, a brilliant pioneering ham radio enthusiast, and he built not only the recording side but also the microphones. It was a major task for anyone to build condenser microphones in those days.”''THE LAST STAND'' at ARCHIVING PRACTICE, FILM, NZ HISTORY
accessed 5 Aug 2016 After World War II he worked in England, then made his most successful film ''The Amazing Dolphin of Opononi'' about

Opo the dolphin Opo was a bottlenose dolphin who became famous throughout New Zealand during the summer of 1955/56 for playing with the children of the small town of Opononi on the Hokianga harbour. Opo was a wild dolphin that started following fishing boats aro ...

. He made educational films in New Zealand and overseas, then his final film '' To Love a Maori'' (1972), which was shot on 16 mm. In the 1973 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hayward was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to the community.

References

*Geoffrey Churchman, etc. 1997. ''Celluloid Dreams: a century of film in New Zealand'' Wellington: IPL Books.

External links

*
NZOnScreen entryDictionary of New Zealand Biography entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Rudall 1900 births 1974 deaths 1920s in New Zealand cinema People from Wolverhampton English emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School New Zealand film directors New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire