Beaumont Smith
Encyclopedia
Frank Beaumont Smith (1885-1950), was an Australia
n film director
, producer and exhibitor, best known for making low-budget comedies. After a career in theatre production, including managing a midget circus, he made his first film in 1917, Our Friends, the Hayseeds
. He went on to become one of the most prolific and popular Australian filmmakers of the silent era. Among his films were adaptations of the works of Banjo Paterson
and Henry Lawson
. His 1933 comedy The Hayseeds
featured the first screen appearance of Cecil Kellaway
.
Smith was famous for making his films quickly - sometimes he would complete shooting and post production within one month. He was sometimes known as "One Shot Beau" or "That'll Do Beau".
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer and exhibitor, best known for making low-budget comedies. After a career in theatre production, including managing a midget circus, he made his first film in 1917, Our Friends, the Hayseeds
Our Friends, the Hayseeds
Our Friends, the Hayseeds is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It centers around the rural family, the Hayseeds, and their rivalry with a neighbouring family, the Duggans.-Synopsis:...
. He went on to become one of the most prolific and popular Australian filmmakers of the silent era. Among his films were adaptations of the works of Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
and Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
. His 1933 comedy The Hayseeds
The Hayseeds
The Hayseeds is a 1933 Australian comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It centres around the rural family, the Hayseeds, about whom Smith had previously made six silent films, starting with Our Friends, the Hayseeds . He retired from directing in 1925 but decided to revive the series in the wake of...
featured the first screen appearance of Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway was a South African-born character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author, and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to...
.
Smith was famous for making his films quickly - sometimes he would complete shooting and post production within one month. He was sometimes known as "One Shot Beau" or "That'll Do Beau".
Selected Filmography
- Our Friends, the HayseedsOur Friends, the HayseedsOur Friends, the Hayseeds is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It centers around the rural family, the Hayseeds, and their rivalry with a neighbouring family, the Duggans.-Synopsis:...
(1917) - The Hayseeds Come to SydneyThe Hayseeds Come to SydneyThe Hayseeds Come to Sydney is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith.-Production:...
(1917) - The Hayseeds' Back-blocks ShowThe Hayseeds' Back-blocks ShowThe Hayseeds' Back-blocks Show is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It was the third in his series about the rural family, the Hayseeds.-Synopsis:...
(1917) - The Hayseeds' Melbourne CupThe Hayseeds' Melbourne CupThe Hayseeds' Melbourne Cup is a 1918 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It was the fourth in his series about the rural family, the Hayseeds, and centers around Dad Hayseed entering his horse in the Melbourne Cup.-Synopsis:...
(1918) - Satan in SydneySatan in SydneySatan in Sydney is a 1918 Australian melodrama from director Beaumont Smith. It was his first film which was not about the rural family, the Hayseeds.-Synopsis:...
(1918) - Desert GoldDesert Gold (1919 film)Desert Gold is a 1919 Australian horse racing melodrama from director Beaumont Smith. -External links:* in the Internet Movie Database...
(1919) - Barry Butts InBarry Butts InBarry Butts In is a 1919 Australian film comedy from director Beaumont Smith about a boy from the country who succeeds in romancing the girl of his dreams. The film was a vehicle for vaudeville star Barry Lupino, uncle of Ida Lupino, who was then touring Australia.-External links:* in the Internet...
(1919) - The Man from Snowy RiverThe Man from Snowy River (1920 film)The Man from Snowy River is a 1920 film made in Australia. The film was silent and filmed in black and white, and was based on the Banjo Paterson poem of the same name....
(1920) - based on the poem by Banjo PatersonBanjo PatersonAndrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood... - The BetrayerThe BetrayerThe Betrayer is a 1921 Australian film from director Beaumont Smith. The plot concerns an inter-racial romance between a white Australian and a part-Māori girl. The film was short partly on location in New Zealand.-External links:...
(1921) - While the Billy BoilsWhile the Billy BoilsWhile the Billy Boils is a 1921 Australian film from director Beaumont Smith which adapts several stories from Henry Lawson. Lawson himself appears in a brief prologue.-External links:* in the Internet Movie Database...
(1921) - based on the stories of Henry LawsonHenry LawsonHenry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"... - The Gentleman BushrangerThe Gentleman BushrangerThe Gentleman Bushranger is a 1921 Australian film melodrama from director Beaumont Smith. Bushranging films were banned at the time but Smith got around this by making the plot about a man falsely accused of being a bushranger.-Cast:*Dot McConville...
(1922) - Townies and HayseedsTownies and HayseedsTownies and Hayseeds is a 1923 Australian film comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It is the fifth in his series about the rural family the Hayseeds.-Synopsis:...
(1923) - Prehistoric HayseedsPrehistoric HayseedsPrehistoric Hayseeds is a 1923 Australian film comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It is the sixth in his series about the rural family the Hayseeds and concerns their discovery of a lost tribe.-Synopsis:...
(1923) - JoeJoe (1924 film)Joe is a 1924 Australian film comedy from director Beaumont Smith based on the stories of Henry Lawson. It was the film debut of Marie Lorraine, one of the famous McDonagh sisters....
(1924) - based on the story by Henry LawsonHenry LawsonHenry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"... - Hullo MarmadukeHullo MarmadukeHullo Marmaduke is a 1924 Australian film comedy drama from director Beaumont Smith about a naive Englishman who comes out to the Australian goldfields. The climax featured the scuttling of the battlecruiser .-External links:...
(1925) - The Adventures of AlgyThe Adventures of AlgyHullo Marmaduke is a 1925 Australian film comedy from director Beaumont Smith about a "silly ass" Englishman who inherits a sheep station in New Zealand. It is an unofficial follow up to Hullo Marmaduke , which also starred Dampier...
(1925) - The HayseedsThe HayseedsThe Hayseeds is a 1933 Australian comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It centres around the rural family, the Hayseeds, about whom Smith had previously made six silent films, starting with Our Friends, the Hayseeds . He retired from directing in 1925 but decided to revive the series in the wake of...
(1933) - Splendid FellowsSplendid FellowsSplendid Fellows is a 1934 Australian film from director Beaumont Smith about an Englishman who comes to Australia. The cast includes Eric Colman, brother of Ronald Colman, and Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, who has a cameo as himself. This was Smith's last film.-Cast:*Frank Leighton as The Hon...
(1934)
External links
- Beaumont Smith biography at Australian Dictionary of BiographyAustralian Dictionary of BiographyThe Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
- Beaumont Smith at Trove
- Beaumont Smith items at the National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...