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Dad Rudd, MP (1940)

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clip The drums of war

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Clip description

In his maiden speech to parliament, Mr Rudd (Bert Bailey) sets out his belief in 'the plain people’ as the backbone of Australian society. He calls for a great common national effort to support the troops now fighting overseas.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

As corny as it may seem now, with the strains of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance swelling under Dad Rudd’s speech, it’s worth trying to imagine how this speech might have played to a packed cinema in Australia in 1940. Australian troops were already fighting in the Middle East. Japan had not yet entered the war but many felt it was only a matter of time, and that this could threaten Australia directly. The imperial bonds that tied Australia to England were still very strong, hence the music. Bailey’s rendering of the speech is impassioned, rather than comedic. This would be the last of many big speeches the actor would give on film, and he may well have known it – given that he had to be coaxed out of semi-retirement to make the film. This finale seems to indicate that both he, and director Ken Hall, felt they were making an important statement for the times.

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