Rudd's New Selection is a 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd. It is a sequel to On Our Selection (1920). The plot concerns the marriage of Dave Rudd (Tal Ordell) and introduces a sister, Nell (Lottie Lyell).[3]

Rudd's New Selection
Directed byRaymond Longford
Written byRaymond Longford
Based onstories by Steele Rudd
Produced byE. J. Carroll
StarringJ. P. O'Neill
Tal Ordell
Lottie Lyell
CinematographyArthur Higgins
Edited byArthur Higgins
Production
company
Distributed byE. J. Carroll
Dan Carroll
Release date
28 May 1921
Running time
6,000 feet[2]
CountryAustralia
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

Although popular on release, the movie is now considered lost.[4]

Synopsis edit

The movie is set eight years after the events of On Our Selection. The Rudd family are now more prosperous, but Dad is as autocratic as ever. His children are grown up and the baby twins are up to mischief Dave is married and tries to do as little work as possible, but is forced to do so by his wife and domineering mother.

Dave's sister Nell is pursued by the Regan brothers, the younger of whom, Jim, was a decorated returned soldier, the elder, Jack, a drunkard. The two brothers fight over Nell and Jack commits suicide. Jim is arrested for his murder but the truth comes out at the end and he and Nell are married.

There are other comic subplots, including one where Mr Dandelioon, a prohibitionist candidate for parliament, visits the Rudds and Joe laces his tea with rum.[5][6]

Cast edit

  • J.P. O'Neill as Dad Rudd[7]
  • Ada Clyde as Mum
  • Tal Ordell as Dave Rudd
  • Lottie Lyell as Nell
  • Charlotte Beaumont as Sarah
  • Gilbert Emery as Mr Dandelion
  • Louis Fors as Joe
  • Billy Williams as Jack Regan
  • Ernest T Hearn as Jim Regan
  • Dick Varley as storekeeper
  • Clyde Marsh as Trooper Brady
  • May Renne as Lily
  • William Coulter as Grogan
  • Ada St Claire as Mrs Banks
  • Meadow Peel as Matilda
  • Anne Parsons as Mrs McFluster

Production edit

Shooting began in late 1920 on location in the Megalong Valley, with interiors shot in the Carrolls' Studio at Waverly. The romantic male lead was Ernest Hearne, an ex-soldier from Queensland.[8]

Rudall Hayward worked on the film as an assistant.[9]

Reception edit

Reviews were good.[10]

Box Office edit

Steele Rudd later claimed the film earned £2345 in one cinema alone, from which the producers earned £519. This sort of return helped disillusion him with the film industry.[11]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "SOUTHERN CROSS FEATURE FILM COMPANY, LIMITED". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 23 December 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Raymond Longford", Cinema Papers, January 1974 p51
  3. ^ 'NEW MOVING PICTURE. AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION', The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 26 May 1921 p 10
  4. ^ "Rudd's New Selection". silentera.com. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  5. ^ "EARL'S COURT". The Morning Bulletin. Rockhampton, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 20 December 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  6. ^ ""RUDD'S NEW SELECTION."". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 October 1923. p. 12. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  7. ^ "WORLD OF PICTURES". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 13 August 1921. p. 17. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  8. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 106.
  9. ^ L. R. Shelton. 'Hayward, Rudall Charles Victor – Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10 accessed 22 November 2012
  10. ^ Everyones, Everyones Ltd, 1920, retrieved 4 June 2018
  11. ^ "MOVIE PRODUCTION IN W.A." The Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 25 December 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 18 March 2012.

External links edit