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Clip description
A delegation of local farmers asks Dad Rudd (Bert Bailey) to stand for the local seat, after the death of the sitting member. Dad is reluctant, until he learns that Henry Webster, a big landowner, wants to limit the size of the dam now under construction. Dad Rudd confronts Webster (Frank Harvey) at the dam site and tells him he’s not going to succeed.
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Curator’s notes
The latter part of the scene appears to have been filmed on location at Woronora Dam outside Sydney, which was undergoing an enlargement in 1940, 13 years after its original construction. The size of the real dam thus became part of the script for Dad Rudd, MP, an example of the way Ken Hall was able to see opportunities in current events, for both publicity and locations. Dad’s speech at the dam sets forth a fairly clear statement of principles – the common good over individual greed, smallholders’ interests before those of big money, self-sacrifice before self-interest. Bailey’s delivery is forceful and heartfelt, contributing a sense that the film is a drama, as well as a comedy.
