Diggers in Blighty | |
---|---|
Directed by | Pat Hanna Raymond Longford (associate director) [1] |
Written by | Pat Hanna Wilfred King Edmund Warrington Bert Reid |
Based on | stage show by Pat Hanna |
Produced by | Pat Hanna |
Starring | Pat Hanna Joe Valli |
Cinematography | Arthur Higgins |
Production company | Pat Hanna Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 72 mins |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Box office | £18,000 [2] |
Diggers in Blighty is a 1933 Australian film starring and directed by Pat Hanna. Hanna decided to direct this film himself after being unhappy with how F. W. Thring had handled Diggers (1931). [3]
While serving in the Australian Army in France in 1918, soldiers Chic and Joe steal some rum from the quartermaster's store. They later help British intelligence pass on some false battle plans to a German spy and are rewarded with ten days' leave in England. They go to a country house in Essex and have trouble with their uncouth manners but help some upper class friends have a romance.
The script was based on material Hanna had performed on stage for years. Although Hanna did not make the film under the Efftee umbrella, he hired Efftee Studios facilities and technical staff. [4]
The film was shot over six weeks commencing in October 1932. Many of the cast had appeared on stage, including Hanna, Valli and Moon. They were joined by comedian Alfred Firth in his film debut. [5]
Old Melbourne Gaol stood in for a medieval castle. [6]
The movie was released on a double bill with an Effee film, Harmony Row (1932). Hanna later claimed that the film was a big success at the box office but due to the amounts taken by cinema owners and distributors it took him over a year for his production costs to be recovered. [7] [8]
Contemporary reviews were poor, the critic from the Sydney Morning Herald claiming that:
Everyone in the play seems to be talking at the top of his or her voice; and talking so fast that the listener often grows quite desperate trying to keep up with them. Any microscopic respites from speech are zealously filled up with bursts of lively music... The directors must realise that actors need directing when they are before the camera. Merely to turn the players (however clever) loose in a drove across the studio floor is fatal.... The acting... is often much too violent for the screen; and, in the case of the women, the energetic "registering" of emotion recalls the early days of the silent screen... Mr. Hanna would be wise to consult well-informed opinion concerning his story and his continuity. Both are exceedingly weak. [9]
Variety called it "Useless for anywhere else but Australia" saying it "commences along splendid dramatic lines, but finally becomes poor slapstick" in which "Acting in the early scenes is: very good, but with the introduction of the comedy element picture fades" and "The photography- is a bright spot in otherwise drab production." [10]
The film was released in England. [11]
Diggers in Blighty proved to have a long life and Hanna re-released it regularly over the next 20 years. It was appearing in cinemas as late as 1952. [12] [13] [14]
Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established by F.W. Thring in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. Initially Efftee Films was based in Melbourne and used optical sound equipment imported from the US.
Forty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and romance. The film culminates at the Battle of Beersheba which is reputedly "the last successful cavalry charge in history". The film was clearly a propaganda weapon, to aid in recruitment and lift the pride of Australians at home during World War II. It was one of the most successful Australian movies of its day. It was later remade in 1987 as The Lighthorsemen.
His Royal Highness is a 1932 Australian musical film directed by F. W. Thring, also known as His Loyal Highness, starring George Wallace in his feature film debut. It was the first Australian film musical.
George Patrick "Pat" Hanna was a New Zealand-born film producer, he was a soldier of the First World War who entertained post-war audiences with the stage show Diggers, that was adapted to a film of the same title in 1931.
Raymond Longford 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 cinema. He formed a production team with Lottie Lyell. His contributions to Australian cinema with his ongoing collaborations with Lyell, including The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921), prompted the Australian Film Institute's AFI Raymond Longford Award, inaugurated in 1968, to be named in his honour.
Arthur Embery Higgins was a pioneering Australian cinematographer known for his use of trick photography during the silent era. His ongoing collaborations with director Raymond Longford include The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921). He briefly turned to directing with Odds On (1928) however returned to cinematography in 1931 for the remainder of his career.
Heritage is a 1935 Australian historical film directed by Charles Chauvel.
Harmony Row is a 1933 Australian musical comedy directed by F. W. Thring and Raymond Longford and starring popular stage comedian George Wallace. It marked the film debut of Bill Kerr.
A Ticket in Tatts is a 1934 musical comedy film starring popular stage comedian George Wallace as an accident-prone stablehand. It was the last of three films Wallace made for F. W. Thring.
Francis William Thring III, better known as F. W. Thring, was an Australian film director, producer, and exhibitor. He has been credited with the invention of the clapperboard.
The Hayseeds is a 1933 Australian musical comedy from Beaumont Smith. 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 (1932). It was the first starring role in a movie for stage actor Cecil Kellaway.
Diggers is a 1931 Australian comedy film produced and directed by F. W. Thring starring popular stage comedian Pat Hanna. It was the first feature film from both men.
Waltzing Matilda is a 1933 Australian film directed by and starring Pat Hanna. It features Coral Browne.
Joseph George McParlane, known as Joe Valli, was a Scottish-Australian actor who worked in vaudeville and films. He had a long-running vaudeville partnership with Pat Hanna as "Chic and Joe".
The Streets of London is a 1934 Australian film directed by F. W. Thring. It was a filmed version of a play by Dion Boucicault which Thring had produced on stage the previous year. It was the last film made by Efftee Film Productions – Thring ceased production afterwards with the aim of resuming it later but died in 1936 before he had the chance.
Clara Gibbings is a 1934 Australian film directed by F.W. Thring about the owner of a London pub who discovers she is the daughter of an earl. It was a vehicle for stage star Dorothy Brunton.
The Sentimental Bloke is a 1932 Australian film directed by F. W. Thring and starring Cecil Scott and Ray Fisher. It is an adaptation of the 1915 novel Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis, which had previously been filmed in 1919.
Sheepmates was a proposed Australian film from director F. W. Thring based on a 1931 novel by William Hatfield. It commenced filming in 1933 but was abandoned.
The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole, generally referred to as Margaret Catchpole, is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and starring Lottie Lyell. It is based on the true story of Margaret Catchpole, an adventurer and convict.
The Haunted Barn is a short 1931 Australian comedy film produced by F.W. Thring directed by Gregan McMahon. It was one of the first productions by Thring's Efftee Studios. The film was produced to support of the feature Diggers (1931) and shown on the same bill.