On Our Selection single work   drama   humour   - Four acts
Adaptation of On Our Selection! 'Steele Rudd' , 1899 selected work short story
Issue Details: First known date: 1912... 1912 On Our Selection
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Adaptations

form y separately published work icon On Our Selection Ken G. Hall , Bert Bailey , ( dir. Ken G. Hall ) Sydney : Cinesound Productions , 1932 Z1253929 1932 single work film/TV This cinematic adaptation is based on the stage play On Our Selection by Albert Edmunds (aka Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan), which was itself based on the stories of Steele Rudd. Set in south-west Queensland, it tells of the Rudd family, which has been all but ruined by the drought and is in debt to their villainous neighbour Old Carey. While Carey seizes the Rudds' cattle in an attempt to leverage a hold on their land, his son Jim attempts to get his hands on the eldest daughter Kate. Her long-suffering suitor Sandy Graham warns her. However, Jim is no better than his father. In order to relieve financial pressure on the family, Kate moves to the city, but when the rains eventually come she returns to help the family rebuild their stock. When Sandy finds out that Jim has tried to force his sweetheart into marriage (by threatening to sully her reputation), he knocks him down. Unfortunately, Jim dies, and Sandy is charged with murder. While Kate frets over Sandy's future, eldest son Dave marries his sweetheart Lily White. Dad Rudd's woes continue to escalate when he is forced to repeatedly rebuff Billy Bearup's attempts to woo his other daughter Sarah, while youngest son Joe continues to upset one and all by his mischief. Sandy is eventually cleared of the murder charge when another character, Cranky Jack, admits his part in the death, leaving Sandy and Kate free to finally marry (much to the delight/relief of the Rudd family).

[Source: Australian Screen]

Notes

  • Publications after 1980 only list Albert Bailey and Edmund Duggan as the authors of the work, but a manuscript held in the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland also lists Beaumont Smith as an author of the work.

Production Details

  • 1912: Palace Theatre, Sydney, 4 May 1912. Dir. Bert Bailey; Mngr. Edmund Duggan; Prod. Bert Bailey, Edmund Duggan, Julius Grant. - Cast incl. Bert Bailey (Dad Rudd), Edmund Duggan (Maloney).

    1912: Kings Theatre, Melbourne. - Cast and production mostly as for previous Sydney season.

    • The play was revived regularly up until at least 1929.
    • It was also revived in 1979 with additional material by director George Whaley

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

      1912 .
      (Manuscript) assertion

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Queensland University of Queensland Library Fryer Library
      Location: The Hanger Collection of Australian Playscripts
      Local Id: H1630
First known date: 1912
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Related Works

The Tragedy On Our Selection Roy Redgrave , 1919 single work drama sketch (theatrical) humour

Believed to be a spoof on either or both the Steele Rudd stories about Dad Rudd and his family's life on a small rural selection (property) or the stage version (On Our Selection) which was first staged by Bert Bailey and Albert Edmunds in 1912. They went on to revive the play numerous times over the forthcoming years. Given that Redgrave was closely associated with both men for some period after returning to Australian in 1909 (when he joined William Anderson's Famous Dramatic Company), it would not unreasonable to suspect that he decided to have a little fun at their expense.

VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

Waltzing around the Veranda : Reclaiming the Dandy in Australian Bush Drama Matthew Bapty , 2024 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 84 2024; (p. 310-341)

'It is a poorly kept secret that the queer subject, historically speaking, existed before it was legally permitted to. While queerness - particularly sexual deviancy - May not be made explicit in historical texts as a consequence of their contemporary censorship regulations, queer identifications are encountered as points of recognition. Often, recognised queerness takes the form of an accepted stereotype - the male body carrying feminine coding, or the female body carrying masculine coding, for instance. When combined with physical and dialogic signifiers, the textual body presents an image that can be interpreted as having queer resonance. While I would not suggest that characters be read strictly as 'sexually deviant' based on these signifiers alone, I do propose that analysing the deployment of queer signifiers in archival texts can lead to a deeper understanding of the cultural attitudes at play.'  (Publication abstract)
The Ghost of Dad Rudd, on the Stump Julieanne Lamond , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 6 no. 1 2007; (p. 19-32) 'This paper examines the cultural and political legacies of Dad Rudd, a fictional character who first appeared in short stories by 'Steele Rudd' (A. H. Davis) in the Bulletin in 1895 and has since appeared in popular fiction, theatre, film, television and radio adaptations throughout the twentieth century. It traces a set of national tropes - particularly that of the battler - through stump speeches made by Dad Rudd in On Our Selection! (1899), Dad in Politics (1908), the stage melodrama On Our Selection (1912), and Ken G. Hall's film Dad Rudd, M.P. (1940), and considers how they have continued to be used to create both political and cultural constituencies in Australia.'
Innocent Convicts and Respectable Bushrangers : History and the Nation in Melbourne Melodrama, 1890-1914 Gabrielle Wolf , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 81 2004; (p. 73-81, notes 210-213)
When the Outback Speaks Australia Loves to Listen Mike Daly , 1995 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 21 July 1995; (p. 11)
It's a Brand New Day Out on `the Selection' Helen Musa , 1995 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 June 1995; (p. C8)
Sundry Shows 1913 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 24 April vol. 34 no. 1732 1913; (p. 8)
— Review of On Our Selection Albert Edmunds , Beaumont Smith , 1912 single work drama
The Real Dad and Dave H. G. Kippax , 1979 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 22 June 1979; (p. 8) A Leader of His Craft : Theatre Reviews by H. G. Kippax 2004; (p. 229-230)
— Review of On Our Selection Albert Edmunds , Beaumont Smith , 1912 single work drama
Untitled K. Healey , 1979 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 8 July 1979; (p. 10)
— Review of On Our Selection Albert Edmunds , Beaumont Smith , 1912 single work drama
NIDA Reveals an Aussie Classic B. Hoad , 1979 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 11 December vol. 100 no. 5190 1979; (p. 85)
— Review of On Our Selection Albert Edmunds , Beaumont Smith , 1912 single work drama
Untitled Michael Le Moignan , 1979 single work review
— Appears in: The National Times , 7 July 1979; (p. 48)
— Review of On Our Selection Albert Edmunds , Beaumont Smith , 1912 single work drama
Innocent Convicts and Respectable Bushrangers : History and the Nation in Melbourne Melodrama, 1890-1914 Gabrielle Wolf , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 81 2004; (p. 73-81, notes 210-213)
The Ghost of Dad Rudd, on the Stump Julieanne Lamond , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 6 no. 1 2007; (p. 19-32) 'This paper examines the cultural and political legacies of Dad Rudd, a fictional character who first appeared in short stories by 'Steele Rudd' (A. H. Davis) in the Bulletin in 1895 and has since appeared in popular fiction, theatre, film, television and radio adaptations throughout the twentieth century. It traces a set of national tropes - particularly that of the battler - through stump speeches made by Dad Rudd in On Our Selection! (1899), Dad in Politics (1908), the stage melodrama On Our Selection (1912), and Ken G. Hall's film Dad Rudd, M.P. (1940), and considers how they have continued to be used to create both political and cultural constituencies in Australia.'
y separately published work icon Australian Melodrama : Eighty Years of Popular Theatre Eric Irvin , Sydney : Hale and Iremonger , 1981 Z110191 1981 single work criticism
Misadventures of Dad and Dave Return Peter Cochrane , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4 June 1994; (p. 13A)
It's a Brand New Day Out on `the Selection' Helen Musa , 1995 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 June 1995; (p. C8)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (24)
Last amended 28 Jan 2016 11:05:30
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Queensland,
  • Bush,
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