People abroad viewing these pictures could not be blamed for coming to the conclusion that about one person in every four or five in Australia was sub normal. The Efftee Studios in Australia were deserving of praise for their pioneering work, but surely it was possible to portray humour on the screen without associating it with lunacy. Ironically, "The Broken Melody" would be turned into a film by Ken G. Hall, who also directed "On Our Selection" and "The Squatter's Daughter". The movie was to be the first of five movies made by Cinesound Productions for a total cost of £100,000. American star Lloyd Hughes, who previously appeared in "Lovers and Luggers" for Cinesound, returned to Australia to play the male lead. Regular female Cinesound star Ann Richards was not cast the film as she was exhausted after making three films back to back. Filming started in September 1937, with the elaborate cabaret scene shot first. Future Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was a law student at the time and appeared as an extra in this scene. Shooting wound up in November. Noted Australian composer Alfred Hill was especially commissioned to write an operetta for the movie. The opera scenes were shot using the "play back" method. Reviews praised the movie but criticised the melodramatic plot. Hall gave the movie a sneak preview in the style of Hollywood studios which produced a strong response and box office performance was solid. "Variety" said the film performed better in the "nabes and stix although" it was "a class production". In Britain the movie was released under the title "The Vagabond Violinist" to avoid confusion with the British film, "The Broken Melody" (1934). Despite the film's success, this was Hall's last drama for Cinesound. In 1938 the British government ruled that Australian films no longer counted as British for purposes of the local quota, and therefore could not be guaranteed release over there. Accordingly, Cinesound's next six movies were all comedies even though Hall preferred drama. "It is so much cleaner", he said at the time. "There is no mess of pies and so forth to be swept from the studio, as there is after slapstick." F. J. Thwaites expressed pleasure with the film. In 1935, Thwaites published a sequel, "The Melody Lingers". Dale Jenkins, heir to a rich property, tries to become a writer. The novel was adapted for radio in 1961.