Dad Rudd, M.P.

Bucolic slapstick was never my cup of tea, but it must be admitted that Bert Bailey and Fred MacDonald achieved a world record for longevity with their "Dad and Dave" series. The first film, On Our Selection (1932), was still playing to capacity audiences in cinemas 49 years later. The series was then sold to TV where it achieved top ratings for another 15 years, long after the late-starting Judy Canova, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride were completely forgotten.

I must also admit this entry shows a considerable improvement over the first. There's still the same phony rusticality and Bert Bailey jingoism, but the writing is less corny and the acting more natural—aside from Miss East (in her one and only movie appearance) and Miss Scanlan (in her final of two films—she played "Sarah" in Dad and Dave Come to Town).

As usual, Hall's direction is professionally smooth and production values are generally first-rate (although some of the process work seems too dark in the print under review).