Down on the Farm

Down on the Farm is a 1935 New Zealand film. It was New Zealand's first sound feature. It is one of four films which lay claim to be the first "New Zealand talkie"; however The Devil's Pit and Hei Tiki had sound added in America, and On the Friendly Road was not released until 1936. Little footage and no script of the film have survived. A comedy of farm life, the film was shot mainly in Otago and Southland, and most of the cast were from Dunedin. The story is about two rival farmers, who have to resolve their differences when their children fall in love. Down on the Farm had its first public screening at midnight on 2 May 1935 in Dunedin. The report in the Otago Daily Times the next day commended the photography, production and acting, but found these achievements were "seriously circumscribed as a result of the dubious quality of the scenario". It described the leading actress, Daphne Murdoch, as "a very engaging star. She has the happy knack of photographing well at all times".