On Our Selection (1920)

Interesting facts

On Our Selection is a 1920 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd.

Production

Producer E. J. Carroll bought the rights to Rudd's stories for £500. He originally wanted American director Wilfred Lucas to make the film, but he refused as he felt the subject matter was too intrinsically Australian.

Carroll did not have the rights to Bert Bailey's play adaptation of the stories, so the script comes directly from Steele Rudd's original works. This means it does not feature additions made by the play, such subplots involving murder and a love triangle.

Longford cast many non professional actors in support roles to give the film more authenticity. The actor who played Cranky Jack was discovered at Circular Quay.

The true art of acting is not to act and that’s what I have dinned into the ears of my characters, and I think it has had its effect in the natural ness of my pictures. If I am producing Australian stuff, I want it to be Australian, and the average Australian is a casual carelessly natural beggar... In my opinion, the stage production sacrificed all that was human and appealing, in attempting to be dramatic.

Longford's regular collaborator Lottie Lyell was ill during the making of the film and thus had little to do with its production. The movie was mostly shot on location in Baulkham Hills near Sydney with outdoor scenes, including the bushfire, shot at Leeton.

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