Australian Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This black-and-white clip shows the extended Rudd family welcoming a guest, Mrs White (Dorothy Dunkley), when the unseemly entrance of Dad Rudd (Bert Bailey) in a nightshirt and suffering a toothache becomes the catalyst for a series of chaotic events. Having scared off Mrs White, Dad has his tooth pulled by Mr Maloney (John McGowan), which leads to Dad’s further slapstick suffering: he falls off a stool, sits on a hot iron and has water thrown over him.

Educational value points

• This scene from On Our Selection is an example of the ‘bush comedy’ genre, which comprises a series of comic skits about rural life connected by a melodramatic narrative. The film genre, which is claimed to have originated with Beaumont Smith’s film Our Friends, The Hayseeds (1917), grew out of a popular form of theatre. It features vulgar folk humour, stereotypical characterisations of the rural poor, farcical scenarios and exaggerated performances.

• As Dad Rudd reels around the room, cutaway shots build comic suspense by informing the viewer of the consequences before the action occurs. Cutaway shots are inserted here to warn the viewer of the dangers to Dad without slowing down the main action – the removal of Dad’s tooth. These cutaway shots, such as the one to the hot iron on the bench, build towards a catharsis and add to the comedy based around Dad’s pain and humiliation.

• The comedy here relies on well-established devices including the lampooning of archetypal characters and slapstick (physical comedy, usually integrating props). The undermining of Dad Rudd’s authority by subjecting him to physical injury and the loss of Mrs White’s dignified bearing at the sight of him in a nightshirt are rich sources of comedy. Additionally, slapstick is used when Dad Rudd sits on the hot iron and is doused with water.

• The theatrical staging of the action reflects that the film is an adaptation of a stage play. The scene in the clip is located on a single set, with several dramatic exits and entrances from both sides of the main action. The film was adapted for the screen by Ken Hall (1901–94) in 1932, and a large portion of the dialogue and events was taken directly from the 1912 play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan. Hall enhanced the narrative by adding outdoor action.

• The cinematography in this scene appears limited to today’s viewer, which may be partly attributed to the primitive technology used and, as it was Hall’s first feature film, his confidence about moving the camera. Hall had to record sound on the set and use a bulky and antiquated camera. Shot mostly with locked-off or stationary medium shots, this scene largely relies on editing to provide momentum and pans when characters move across the room.

• On Our Selection launched director Ken Hall’s distinguished career in the Australian film industry. The film was a major box office success and earned ten times its production cost at a time when Australia was emerging from the Great Depression. The success of the film led to Hall establishing himself as a leading producer, director and executive. He revitalised the local film industry and introduced the latest practices from Hollywood.