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Waltzing Matilda

Waltzing Matilda (Pat Hanna, 1933) comedy with the boys from the Diggers films; Hanna's last film, Coral Browne's first film

I contacted NFSA, the National Film and Sound Archive, to see if they would let me buy a copy of Waltzing Matilda (1933). My cousin Coral Browne was in only one Australian movie before heading off to England (and later LA) and fame and fortune. Raymond Longford co-directed the film with Pat Hanna, and it wasn’t all that successful, and Coral only had a small part, but of course it was fascinating to see my cousin (whom I never met) at the age of 20.

Pike & Cooper:
Like Hanna's previous films, Waltzing Matilda was studio-bound and slow, and was little helped by a big 'production number' - a ballroom sequence with 200 extras and a dance band playing an unlikely up-tempo version of the title song. Shot in mid-1933 in the Efftee studio in Melbourne, the film was released by Universal at Hoyts Theatre De Luxe, Melbourne, on 2 December and ran for a meagre two-week season. It had better seasons in some country areas, but Hanna did not return to production. Pike & Cooper: 163.


Garry Gillard | New: 21 October, 2012 | Now: 28 July, 2021