Dad and Dave: On Our Selection | |
---|---|
Directed by | George Whaley |
Written by | Geoffrey Atherden George Whaley |
Based on | On Our Selection by Steele Rudd |
Produced by | Bruce Davey |
Starring | |
Music by |
|
Distributed by | Icon Entertainment International Umbrella Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Dad and Dave: On Our Selection is an Australian comedy film, based on the characters and writings of author Steele Rudd. It is set in late nineteenth century colonial Queensland, but largely filmed in Braidwood, New South Wales. The stories of the Rudds have been previously adapted for radio, television, and film (with this adaptation being a remake of the 1920 version). Geoffrey Atherden contributed to the screenplay with George Whaley, the latter of whom directed. This film featured numerous well-known Australian actors, such as Noah Taylor, Ray Barrett, Essie Davis, Murray Bartlett, Celia Ireland, Barry Otto, Nicholas Eadie, and future Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush (reuniting with co-star Taylor in 1996's Shine ) as the titular endearingly blundering son, Dave.
"Dad" and "Mum" Rudd were played, respectively, by veteran actor Leo McKern and opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland, in her only feature film role. The theme music was sung by Australian country musician John Williamson.
The film portrays the Rudd family of 'Aussie battlers' in late 19th-century colonial Australia; Dad (McKern) and Mother (Sutherland) Rudd, and their hardworking but somewhat daffy son Dave (Rush). They take up a selection of land and attempt to farm it. The difficulties of the early colonial farming life are portrayed, with its ups and downs, humour and frustrations.
Finally tired of local corruption and the harshness of his life, Dad Rudd decides to run for State Parliament.
The movie was made to honour Australia's centenary of film and cinema. Despite a cast of well-known actors and actresses, it was not well received.
Rob Lowing, film critic for The Sydney Morning Herald rated the movie three stars out of four. Lowing described the film as "enormous fun" and praised the production values as "impeccable". [1]
Dad and Dave: On Our Selection grossed $1,222,051 at the box office in Australia,. [2]
Dad and Dave: On Our Selection was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in May 2006. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the original theatrical trailer, unique Umbrella Entertainment trailers, a stills and poster gallery, TV spots, a behind the scenes making-of featurette and on-set footage and interviews with cast and crew. [3]
The original soundtrack has been released twice on CD. First by EMI Records in 1995 with dialogue excerpts, and then reissued in 2002 in a limited Collector's Edition by Australian film music recording archivist, Philip Powers, on the 1M1 Records label. The re-issue was without dialogue and contained a 19-minute medley of the songs. [4]
Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in Help! (1965), Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons (1966), Tom Ryan in Ryan's Daughter (1970), Harry Bundage in Candleshoe (1977), Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon (1980), Dr. Grogan in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Father Imperius in Ladyhawke (1985), and the role that made him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey. He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the first and second instalments of The Omen series and Number Two in the TV series The Prisoner.
The cinema of Australia began with the 1906 production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received international recognition. Many actors and filmmakers with international reputations started their careers in Australian films, and many of these have established lucrative careers in larger film-producing centres such as the United States.
Shine is a 1996 Australian biographical psychological drama film directed by Scott Hicks from a screenplay by Jan Sardi, based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. The film stars Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Googie Withers, Sonia Todd and John Gielgud.
Esther Davis is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and its film adaptation, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears, and as Amelia Vanek in The Babadook. Other major works include a recurring role as Lady Crane in season six of the television series Game of Thrones, Sister Iphigenia in Lambs of God, and the role of Ellen Kelly in Justin Kurzel's True History of the Kelly Gang.
Steele Rudd was the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis an Australian author, best known for his short story collection On Our Selection.
Kenneth George Hall was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. He was the first Australian to win an Academy Award.
Nicholas Eadie is an Australian television, film and theatre actor.
Dad and Dave Come to Town is a 1938 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall, the third in the 'Dad and Dave' comedy series starring Bert Bailey. It was the feature film debut of Peter Finch and is one of the best known Australian films of the 1930s.
Australian comedy refers to the comedy and humour performed in or about Australia or by the people of Australia. Australian humour can be traced to various origins, and today is manifested in a diversity of cultural practices and pursuits. Writers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson helped to establish a tradition of laconic, ironic and irreverent wit in Australian literature, while Australian politicians and cultural stereotypes have each proved rich sources of comedy for artists from poet C. J. Dennis to satirist Barry Humphries to iconic film maker Paul Hogan, each of whom have given wide circulation to Australian slang.
On Our Selection is a 1932 comedy based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd. These had been turned into a popular play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan in 1912, which formed the basis for the screenplay. Bailey repeats his stage role as Dad Rudd. He also wrote the script with director Ken G. Hall.
Grandad Rudd is a 1935 comedy featuring the Dad and Dave characters created by Steele Rudd and based on a play by Rudd. It was a sequel to On Our Selection, and was later followed by Dad and Dave Come to Town and Dad Rudd, MP.
Dad Rudd, M.P. is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and Frank Harvey.
Albert Edward Bailey, 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 the books penned by Steele Rudd.
On Our Selection is a 1912 Australian play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan based on the stories with the same name by Steele Rudd. Bailey played Dad Rudd in the original production.
On Our Selection is a 1920 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd.
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 and introduces a sister, Nell.
Fred MacDonald (1895–1968), was an Australian actor best known for playing Dave Rudd opposite Bert Bailey on stage and screen, starting with the original 1912 production of On Our Selection. He also played a similar role, Jim Hayseed, several times on screen for director Beaumont Smith.
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.
George Whaley was an Australian actor, director and writer, known for his work across theatre and film.
{{cite news}}
: Cite uses generic title (help)