''The Hayseeds'' is a 1933 Australian musical comedy from

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 centres on the rural family, the Hayseeds, about whom Smith had previously made six silent films, starting with '' Our Friends, the Hayseeds'' (1917). He retired from directing in 1925 but decided to revive the series in the wake of the box office success of ''

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 ...

'' (1932). It was the first starring role in a movie for stage actor

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinne ...

. It was also known as ''The Hayseeds Come to Town''.

Plot

Wealthy Mary Townleigh gets lost in the bush and hurts her ankle, but is rescued and stays with the Hayseed family. She starts a romance with their neighbour, Englishman John Manners. When Joe Hayseed and his girlfriend Pansy Regan decide to get married, the Hayseeds and John visit Sydney to stay with the Townleighs. John is accused of being a fugitive of justice but is eventually proved innocent and he and Mary get married.

Cast

as Dad Hayseed *

Kenneth Brampton Kenneth Brampton (died 21 June 1942) was an Australian actor, writer and director. He was an actor in England before coming to Australia. He later ran an acting school. Filmography *''Robbery Under Arms'' (1920) – actor, director *'' The Din ...

as Mr. Townleigh * Arthur Clarke as John Manners * Shirley Dale as Mary Townleigh * Bryan Kellaway as Billy * John Moore as Henry Westcott *

Tal Ordell Talone Ordell (1880–1948), better known as Tal Ordel, was an Australian actor, writer and director. Ordell was probably born in Calcutta, India, seventh child of Victorian-born parents William Odell Raymond Buntine, drover, and his wife Susanna, ...

as Joe Hayseed * Vincent Pantin as Lord Mornington *

Molly Raynor Molly Raynor (June 5, 1905 – 12 March 1976) was a New Zealand and Australian actress. Raynor was born 5 June 1905 in Dunedin, New Zealand. She left New Zealand as a school girl to study music, elocution, and singing at the Sydney Conservator ...

as Pansy Ragen * Phyllis Steadman as Polly * Stan Tolhurst as Sam * Katie Towers as Mum Hayseed * the J.C. Williamson Chorus (singing hikers) * the Richard White Girls * Jimmy Coates and his Orchestra

Production

The movie was shot at

Cinesound Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...

's studios in Rushcutter's Bay in August and September 1933, with location work near Pymble. Many of the cast, including Kellaway, John Moore and Shirley Dale, were appearing in the play ''Music in the Air'' during filming. The movie was a semi musical with a number of songs and dance sequences. The latter were produced by Richard White, who ran a dance academy in Sydney. Cecil Kellaway's son, Brian, made his film debut alongside his father.

Director

There is some debate as to the true director of the film. While some sources say that Beaumont Smith both scripted and directed the picture, Smith himself announced that

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 ...

would direct the picture, and newspapers of the era also gave the credit to Longford.

Reception

Reviews for the film were mixed but it proved popular with audiences on release. By the end of 1934 it was estimated to have earned £16,000 in Australia and an overall profit of £5,900."Counting the Cash in Australian Films"', ''Everyones'' 12 December 1934 p 19-20 The film was still screening in cinemas in 1950.

References

External links

''The 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, ...

''The Hayseeds''
at

Australian Screen Online 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 ...

''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 ...

''The Hayseeds''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayseeds, The 1933 films Films directed by Beaumont Smith Films directed by Raymond Longford Australian black-and-white films Australian musical drama films 1930s musical drama films 1933 drama films