Cirrus@Austlit

1. Shot at F. W. Thring's Efftee Studios, which had been built inside the partly burnt-out Her Majesty's Theatre (Melbourne), Diggers created a good deal of bitterness between Thring and Hanna. The primary issue was the producer's insistence that the three sketches be linked as described in the abstract above. Hanna, whose entertainment philosophy had long been 'leave them laughing,' wanted the order to be changed to the way he had written the screenplay, allowing the hospital scene to close the film. Thring's insistence on ending the film with the slow-paced French scene proved to be a mistake; Diggers did poor business at the box office in all but a number of regional centres. Hanna's disappointment and anger with Thring was such that he vowed never to work for the producer again. Although he used Efftee's facilities for the sequel Diggers in Blighty, that film (along with Waltzing Matilda) was produced by his own company, Pat Hanna Productions.

2. Further reference: Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper. Australian Film 1900-1977, A Guide to Feature Film Production (1980), pp.205-206.