''Harvest Gold'' is a 1945

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n industrial film about a farmer who clings to old methods of production.

Synopsis

The film explores various aspects of mechanical farming, from clearing the land to harvesting, and deals with the clash of attitudes between McDougal, a farmer who favours old methods, and Johnson who supports new ways. Matters come to a head when a cyclone threatens McDougal's crop and Johnson comes to his assistance with his machines to help him harvest in time. There is some comic relief and a romantic subplot.

Cast

Joe Valli Joseph George McParlane (also spelled McFarlane and McPharlane; 13 August 1885 – 29 May 1967), known as Joe Valli, was a Scottish-Australian actor who worked in vaudeville and films. He had a long-running vaudeville partnership with Pat Hanna as ...

as McDougal *Harry Abdy as Johnson *

Tal Ordell Talone Ordell (1880–1948), better known as Tal Ordel, was an Australian actor, writer and director. Ordell was probably born in Calcutta, India, seventh child of Victorian-born parents William Odell Raymond Buntine, drover, and his wife Susanna, ...

as Mat *

Leal Douglas Leal Douglas (born Lilly Elizabeth Annie Lamb; 25 March 1881 – 3 February 1970) was a British-Australian actress, mainly of the silent film era. Of Scottish and English parents, Douglas emigrated to Australia as a child and began her sta ...

as Mrs McDougal *Ethel Lang as Mrs Johnson *

Bruce Beeby Bruce Edward Beeby (21 October 1921 – 20 October 2013) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in British films and television. He was probably best known for portraying Stephen "Mitch" Mitchell in the 1950s BBC radio serials '' Journ ...

as Harry Johnson

Production

The film was the only feature directed by Mervyn Murphy who ran Supreme Sound Studios in Sydney for many years. It was produced under the auspices of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture and distributed by the oil company

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously A ...

. Shooting took place around Tamworth and Campbelltown, with interiors at Supreme's studio in North Sydney. The support of the Department of Agriculture enabled the use of film stock, which was rare because of the war.

Reception

The film was given a private screening to

William McKell Sir William John McKell (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947 ...

, then-Premier of New South Wales, and various members of his cabinet. It was distributed along with an educational booklet and screened widely in non-commercial outlets."Oil firm issues a useful booklet "Harvest Gold"." ''Western Mail (Perth)'' 6 Mar 1947: 47
Retrieved 25 December 2011

References

External links

*
''Harvest Gold''
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

''Harvest Gold''
at Oz Movies Australian drama films 1945 films 1945 drama films 1940s Australian films {{1940s-Australia-film-stub