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On the Friendly Road

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On the Friendly Road
Jean Hamilton and John Mackle
in On the Friendly Road
Directed byRudall Hayward
Based onradio show by Colin Scrimgeour
Release date
  • 1936 (1936)
Running time
7592 feet
84 minutes
CountryNew Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Budget£800 (initial)

On the Friendly Road is a 1936 film from New Zealand which told a story of New Zealand in the Depression.[1][2] It was made in and around Auckland, using local actors and locally-made cameras.[3]

It is one of four films made in 1935 (with The Devil's Pit, Down on the Farm, and Hei Tiki ) which lay claim to be the first "New Zealand talkie". However, the film was not completed until early 1936,[3] and had its premiere in Auckland on 28 August 1936.[4]

Plot

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The plot involves Mac McDermott who is wrongly accused of theft and imprisoned, but is finally vindicated and cleared. The crusading Rev Colin Scrimgeour played himself.

Cast

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  • John Mackle as McDermott
  • Jean Hamilton as Mary
  • Stanley Knight as Bill
  • Colin Scrimgeour as Uncle Scrim
  • James Swan as Stevenson
  • Neville Goodwin as Harry
  • James Martin as Alex
  • Arnold Goodwin as Mike
  • Harold Metcalfe as Snuffy
  • Alan Leonard as the Bobby
  • Wharepaia as Hori
  • Kahu as the Chieftainess[5]

Reception

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After the premiere, the reviewer for the Auckland Star called the film "a minor triumph. The film undoubtedly reaches a good standard and its ingredients of drama and sparkling comedy are mixed in a manner to command the attention of the audience throughout", but added that "the dialogue has its weaknesses and there is an occasional hiatus in the action".[4] The New Zealand film historian Sam Edwards said in 1997 that the film has one-dimensional characters so is melodramatic, and "has not improved with age".[6]

References

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  1. ^ L. R. Shelton. 'Hayward, Rudall Charles Victor - Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10 accessed 22 November 2012
  2. ^ On the Friendly Road at the New Zealand Film Project accessed 22 November 2012
  3. ^ a b "Film Made in Auckland". New Zealand Herald: 14. 24 April 1936.
  4. ^ a b "Film Programmes Reviewed". Auckland Star: 16. 29 August 1936.
  5. ^ "City Provides Cast for New Film". New Zealand Herald: 16. 2 May 1936.
  6. ^ Helen Martin & Sam Edwards, New Zealand Film 1912-1996, Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1997, p. 49.