Our Gang filmography
The following is a complete list of the 220 Our Gang short films produced by Hal Roach Studios and/or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1922 and 1944, numbered by order of release along with production order.[1]
1922 - 1923 - 1924 - 1925 - 1926 - 1927 - 1928 - 1929 - 1930 - 1931
1932 - 1933 - 1934 - 1935 - 1936 - 1937 - 1938 - 1939 - 1940 - 1941 - 1942 - 1943 - 1944
The Roach/Pathé silents (1922–1928)
[edit]These two-reel silent Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Pathé.
Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
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001 | 004 | One Terrible Day | Charles Parrott Robert McGowan Tom McNamara | September 10 |
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002 | 002 | Fire Fighters | Charles Parrott Robert McGowan Tom McNamara | October 8 |
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003 | 001 | Our Gang | Charles Parrott Fred Newmeyer Robert McGowan Tom McNamara | November 5 |
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004 | 003 | Young Sherlocks | Charles Parrott Robert McGowan Tom McNamara | November 26 |
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005 | 006 | Saturday Morning | Tom McNamara Robert McGowan | December 3 |
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006 | 005 | A Quiet Street | Tom McNamara Robert McGowan | December 31 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
007 | 009 | The Champeen | Robert McGowan | January 28 |
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008 | 008 | The Cobbler | Tom McNamara | February 18 |
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009 | 007 | The Big Show | Robert McGowan | February 25 |
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010 | 011 | A Pleasant Journey | Robert McGowan | March 18 |
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011 | 010 | Boys to Board | Tom McNamara | April 8 |
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012 | 012 | Giants vs. Yanks | Robert McGowan | May 13 |
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013 | 013 | Back Stage | Robert McGowan | June 3 |
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014 | 014 | Dogs of War! | Robert McGowan | July 1 |
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015 | 015 | Lodge Night | Robert McGowan | July 29 |
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016 | 018 | July Days | Robert McGowan | August 26 |
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017 | 020 | No Noise | Robert McGowan | September 23 |
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018 | 017 | Stage Fright | Robert McGowan | October 21 |
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019 | 021 | Derby Day | Robert McGowan | November 18 |
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020 | 019 | Sunday Calm | Robert McGowan | December 16 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
021 | 022 | Tire Trouble | Robert McGowan | January 13 | |
022 | 023 | Big Business | Robert McGowan | February 10 |
|
023 | 024 | The Buccaneers | Robert McGowan Mark Goldaine | March 9 | |
024 | 025 | Seein' Things | Robert McGowan | April 6 | |
025 | 026 | Commencement Day | Robert McGowan Mark Goldaine | May 4 | |
026 | 028 | Cradle Robbers | Robert McGowan | June 1 |
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027 | 029 | Jubilo, Jr. | Robert McGowan | June 29 |
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028 | 027 | It's a Bear | Robert McGowan | July 24 |
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029 | 030 | High Society | Robert McGowan | August 24 | |
030 | 031 | The Sun Down Limited | Robert McGowan | September 21 |
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031 | 032 | Every Man for Himself | Robert McGowan | October 19 | |
032 | 016 | Fast Company | Robert McGowan Charles Parrott | November 16 |
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033 | 033 | The Mysterious Mystery! | Robert McGowan | December 14 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
034 | 034 | The Big Town | Robert McGowan | January 11 | |
035 | 035 | Circus Fever | Robert McGowan | February 8 |
|
036 | 036 | Dog Days | Robert McGowan | March 8 | |
037 | 037 | The Love Bug | Robert McGowan | April 5 | |
038 | 039 | Shootin' Injuns | Robert McGowan | May 3 |
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039 | 038 | Ask Grandma | Robert McGowan | May 31 |
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040 | 040 | Official Officers | Robert McGowan | June 28 |
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041 | 042 | Boys Will Be Joys | Robert McGowan | July 26 |
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042 | 041 | Mary, Queen of Tots | Robert McGowan | August 23 |
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043 | 044 | Your Own Back Yard | Robert McGowan | September 27 |
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044 | 043 | Better Movies | Robert McGowan | November 1 |
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045 | 045 | One Wild Ride | Robert McGowan | December 6 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
046 | 046 | Good Cheer | Robert McGowan | January 26 |
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047 | 047 | Buried Treasure | Robert McGowan | February 14 |
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048 | 048 | Monkey Business | Robert McGowan | March 21 |
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049 | 049 | Baby Clothes | Robert McGowan | April 25 |
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050 | 050 | Uncle Tom's Uncle | Robert McGowan | May 30 |
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051 | 051 | Thundering Fleas | Robert McGowan | July 18 |
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052 | 052 | Shivering Spooks | Robert McGowan | August 8 | |
053 | 053 | The Fourth Alarm | Robert McGowan | September 12 |
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054 | 054 | War Feathers | Robert McGowan Anthony Mack | November 21 | |
055 | 056 | Telling Whoppers | Robert McGowan Anthony Mack | December 19 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
056 | 057 | Bring Home the Turkey | Robert McGowan Anthony Mack | January 16 |
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057 | 055 | Seeing the World | Robert McGowan Anthony Mack | February 13 |
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058 | 058 | Ten Years Old | Anthony Mack | March 13 |
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059 | 059 | Love My Dog | Robert McGowan | April 17 |
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060 | 060 | Tired Business Men | Anthony Mack Charles Oelze | May 15 | |
061 | 061 | Baby Brother | Anthony Mack Charles Oelze | June 26 |
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062 | 064 | The Glorious Fourth | Robert McGowan | June 26 |
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063 | 063 | Olympic Games | Anthony Mack | September 11 |
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066 | 062 | Chicken Feed | Anthony Mack Charles Oelze | November 6 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
069 | 065 | Playin' Hookey | Anthony Mack | January 1 |
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072 | 066 | The Smile Wins | Robert McGowan | February 26 |
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The Roach/MGM silents (1927–1929)
[edit]These silent Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. All films are two reels (20 minutes) long, except Spook Spoofing, which is three reels (30 minutes) long. Shorts marked with an asterisk (*) were originally released with a synchronized music and sound effects track.
Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
064 | 067 | Yale vs. Harvard | Robert McGowan | September 24 |
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065 | 068 | The Old Wallop | Robert McGowan | October 22 | |
067 | 069 | Heebee Jeebees | Robert McGowan Anthony Mack | November 19 |
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068 | 070 | Dog Heaven | Anthony Mack | December 17 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
070 | 071 | Spook–Spoofing | Robert McGowan | January 14 |
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071 | 072 | Rainy Days | Anthony Mack | February 11 | |
073 | 073 | Edison, Marconi & Co. | Anthony Mack | March 10 |
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074 | 074 | Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (*) | Robert McGowan | April 7 |
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075 | 075 | Fair and Muddy | Charley Oelze | May 5 |
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076 | 076 | Crazy House | Robert McGowan | June 2 |
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077 | 077 | Growing Pains | Anthony Mack | September 22 |
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078 | 078 | The Ol' Gray Hoss | Anthony Mack | October 20 |
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079 | 079 | School Begins | Anthony Mack | November 17 |
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080 | 080 | The Spanking Age (*) | Robert McGowan | December 15 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
081 | 081 | Election Day | Anthony Mack | January 12 |
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082 | 082 | Noisy Noises (*) | Robert McGowan | February 9 |
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083 | 083 | The Holy Terror | Anthony Mack | March 9 |
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084 | 084 | Wiggle Your Ears (*) | Robert McGowan | April 6 |
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085 | 085 | Fast Freight | Robert McGowan | May 9 |
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087 | 086 | Little Mother | Robert McGowan | June 1 | |
091 | 087 | Cat, Dog & Co. (*) | Anthony Mack | September 14 |
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093 | 088 | Saturday's Lesson (*) | Robert McGowan | November 9 |
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The Roach/MGM talkies (1929–1938, The Little Rascals)
[edit]These sound Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. These 80 films, excepting some that have been removed for content, are the Our Gang shorts that King World Productions have packaged and syndicated as The Little Rascals.
All shorts through Arbor Day in 1936 are two reels (approximately 17 to 20 minutes) long except Small Talk, which is three reels (26 minutes) long. Subsequent shorts (1936's Bored of Education through 1938's Hide and Shriek) are one reel (10 minutes) in length, except for Our Gang Follies of 1938, a one-shot return to the two-reel format. Also in 1936, an Our Gang feature-length film, General Spanky, was released.
Many of the shorts were edited for television over the years, and distributor King World Productions removed several of the shorts from their Little Rascals television package. Shorts that were either edited for, or withheld from, television broadcast are noted as such.
Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
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086 | 089 | Small Talk | Robert McGowan | May 18 |
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088 | 090 | Railroadin' | Robert McGowan | June 15 |
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089 | 092 | Lazy Days | Robert McGowan | August 24 |
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090 | 091 | Boxing Gloves | Anthony Mack | September 9 |
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092 | 093 | Bouncing Babies | Robert McGowan | October 12 |
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094 | 094 | Moan and Groan, Inc. | Robert McGowan | December 7 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
095 | 095 | Shivering Shakespeare | Anthony Mack | January 25 |
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096 | 096 | The First Seven Years | Robert McGowan | March 1 |
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097 | 097 | When the Wind Blows | James W. Horne | April 5 |
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098 | 098 | Bear Shooters | Robert McGowan | May 17 |
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099 | 099 | A Tough Winter | Robert McGowan | June 21 |
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100 | 100 | Pups Is Pups | Robert McGowan | August 30 |
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101 | 101 | Teacher's Pet | Robert McGowan | October 11 |
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102 | 102 | School's Out | Robert McGowan | November 22 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
103 | 103 | Helping Grandma | Robert McGowan | January 3 |
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104 | 104 | Love Business | Robert McGowan | February 14 |
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105 | 105 | Little Daddy | Robert McGowan | March 28 |
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106 | 106 | Bargain Day | Robert McGowan | May 2 |
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107 | 107 | Fly My Kite | Robert McGowan | May 30 |
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108 | 108 | Big Ears | Robert McGowan | August 29 |
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109 | 109 | Shiver My Timbers | Robert McGowan | October 10 |
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110 | 110 | Dogs is Dogs | Robert McGowan | November 21 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
111 | 111 | Readin' and Writin' | Robert McGowan | January 2 |
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112 | 112 | Free Eats | Raymond McCarey | February 13 |
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113 | 113 | Spanky | Robert McGowan | March 26 |
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114 | 114 | Choo-Choo! | Robert McGowan | May 7 |
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115 | 115 | The Pooch | Robert McGowan | June 11 |
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116 | 116 | Hook and Ladder | Robert McGowan | August 27 |
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117 | 117 | Free Wheeling | Robert McGowan | October 1 |
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118 | 118 | Birthday Blues | Robert McGowan | November 12 |
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119 | 119 | A Lad an' a Lamp | Robert McGowan | December 17 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
120 | 120 | Fish Hooky | Robert McGowan | January 28 |
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121 | 121 | Forgotten Babies | Robert McGowan | March 11 |
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122 | 122 | The Kid From Borneo | Robert McGowan | April 15 |
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123 | 123 | Mush and Milk | Robert McGowan | May 27 |
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124 | 124 | Bedtime Worries | Robert McGowan | September 9 |
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125 | 125 | Wild Poses | Robert McGowan | October 28 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
126 | 126 | Hi'-Neighbor! | Gus Meins | March 3 |
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127 | 127 | For Pete's Sake! | Gus Meins | April 14 |
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128 | 128 | The First Round-Up | Gus Meins | May 5 |
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129 | 129 | Honky Donkey | Gus Meins | June 2 |
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130 | 130 | Mike Fright | Gus Meins | August 25 |
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131 | 131 | Washee Ironee | James Parrott | November 13[6] |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
132 | 132 | Mama's Little Pirate | Gus Meins | January 5[6] |
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133 | 133 | Shrimps for a Day | Gus Meins | February 20[6] |
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134 | 134 | Anniversary Trouble | Gus Meins | March 13[6] |
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135 | 135 | Beginner's Luck | Gus Meins | April 8[6] |
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136 | 136 | Teacher's Beau | Gus Meins | April 27 |
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137 | 137 | Sprucin' Up | Gus Meins | June 1 |
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138 | 139 | Little Papa | Gus Meins | September 21 |
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139 | 140 | Little Sinner | Gus Meins | October 26 |
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140 | 141 | Our Gang Follies of 1936 | Gus Meins | November 30 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
141 | 143 | The Pinch Singer | Fred Newmeyer | January 4 |
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142 | 142 | Divot Diggers | Robert McGowan | February 8 |
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143 | 138 | The Lucky Corner | Gus Meins | March 14 |
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144 | 144 | Second Childhood | Gus Meins | April 11 |
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145 | 145 | Arbor Day | Fred Newmeyer | May 2 |
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146 | 146 | Bored of Education | Gordon Douglas | August 20 |
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147 | 147 | Two Too Young | Gordon Douglas | September 26 |
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148 | 148 | Pay as You Exit | Gordon Douglas | October 24 |
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149 | 149 | Spooky Hooky | Gordon Douglas | December 5 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
150 | 150 | Reunion in Rhythm | Gordon Douglas | January 9 |
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151 | 151 | Glove Taps | Gordon Douglas | February 20 |
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152 | 152 | Hearts Are Thumps | Gordon Douglas | April 3 |
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153 | 154 | Rushin' Ballet | Gordon Douglas | April 24 |
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154 | 153 | Three Smart Boys | Gordon Douglas | May 13 |
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155 | 155 | Roamin' Holiday | Gordon Douglas | June 12 |
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156 | 156 | Night 'n' Gales | Gordon Douglas | July 24 |
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157 | 157 | Fishy Tales | Gordon Douglas | August 28 |
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158 | 158 | Framing Youth | Gordon Douglas | September 11 |
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159 | 159 | The Pigskin Palooka | Gordon Douglas | October 23 |
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160 | 160 | Mail and Female | Fred Newmeyer | November 13 |
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161 | 161 | Our Gang Follies of 1938 | Gordon Douglas | December 18 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
162 | 162 | Canned Fishing | Gordon Douglas | February 12 |
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163 | 163 | Bear Facts | Gordon Douglas | March 5 |
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164 | 164 | Three Men in a Tub | Nate Watt | March 26 |
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165 | 165 | Came the Brawn | Gordon Douglas | April 16 |
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166 | 166 | Feed 'em and Weep | Gordon Douglas | May 7 |
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167 | 167 | The Awful Tooth | Nate Watt | May 28 |
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168 | 168 | Hide and Shriek | Gordon Douglas | June 18 |
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The MGM talkies (1938–1944)
[edit]These one-reel sound Our Gang shorts were produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
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169 | 169 | The Little Ranger | Gordon Douglas | August 6 |
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170 | 170 | Party Fever | George Sidney | August 27 |
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171 | 171 | Aladdin's Lantern | Gordon Douglas | September 17 |
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172 | 172 | Men in Fright | George Sidney | October 15 |
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173 | 173 | Football Romeo | George Sidney | November 12 |
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174 | 174 | Practical Jokers | George Sidney | December 17 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
175 | 175 | Alfalfa's Aunt | George Sidney | January 7 |
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176 | 176 | Tiny Troubles | George Sidney | February 18 |
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177 | 177 | Duel Personalities | George Sidney | March 11 |
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178 | 178 | Clown Princes | George Sidney | April 15 |
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179 | 179 | Cousin Wilbur | George Sidney | April 29 |
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180 | 180 | Joy Scouts | Edward Cahn | June 24 |
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181 | 181 | Dog Daze | George Sidney | July 1 |
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182 | 182 | Auto Antics | Edward Cahn | July 22 |
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183 | 183 | Captain Spanky's Show Boat | Edward Cahn | September 9 |
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184 | 184 | Dad for a Day | Edward Cahn | October 21 |
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185 | 185 | Time Out for Lessons | Edward Cahn Bud Murray | December 2 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
186 | 186 | Alfalfa's Double | Edward Cahn | January 20 |
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187 | 188 | The Big Premiere | Edward Cahn | March 9 |
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188 | 189 | All About Hash | Edward Cahn | March 30 |
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189 | 190 | The New Pupil | Edward Cahn | April 27 |
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190 | 187 | Bubbling Troubles | Edward Cahn | May 25 |
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191 | 192 | Good Bad Boys | Edward Cahn | September 7 |
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192 | 193 | Waldo's Last Stand | Edward Cahn | October 5 |
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193 | 191 | Goin' Fishin' | Edward Cahn | October 26 |
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194 | 194 | Kiddie Kure | Edward Cahn | November 23 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
195 | 195 | Fightin' Fools | Edward Cahn | January 25 |
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196 | 196 | Baby Blues | Edward Cahn | February 15 |
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197 | 197 | Ye Olde Minstrels | Edward Cahn Bud Murray | March 18 |
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198 | 199 | 1-2-3-Go! | Edward Cahn | April 26 |
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199 | 200 | Robot Wrecks | Edward Cahn | July 12 | |
200 | 201 | Helping Hands | Edward Cahn | September 27 |
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201 | 198 | Come Back, Miss Pipps | Edward Cahn | October 25 |
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202 | 202 | Wedding Worries | Edward Cahn | December 13 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
203 | 203 | Melodies Old and New | Edward Cahn | January 24 |
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204 | 204 | Going to Press | Edward Cahn | March 7 |
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205 | 205 | Don't Lie | Edward Cahn | April 4 |
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206 | 206 | Surprised Parties | Edward Cahn | May 30 | |
207 | 207 | Doin' Their Bit | Herbert Glazer | July 18 |
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208 | 208 | Rover's Big Chance | Herbert Glazer | August 22 |
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209 | 209 | Mighty Lak a Goat | Herbert Glazer | October 10 |
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210 | 210 | Unexpected Riches | Herbert Glazer | November 28 |
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Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
211 | 211 | Benjamin Franklin, Jr. | Herbert Glazer | January 30 |
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212 | 212 | Family Troubles | Herbert Glazer | April 3 | |
213 | 214 | Calling All Kids | Sam Baerwitz | April 24 |
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214 | 215 | Farm Hands | Herbert Glazer | June 19 |
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215 | 213 | Election Daze | Herbert Glazer | July 31 |
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216 | 216 | Little Miss Pinkerton | Herbert Glazer | September 18 | |
217 | 217 | Three Smart Guys | Edward Cahn | October 23 | |
Release# | Production# | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes |
218 | 218 | Radio Bugs | Cyril Endfield | April 1 | |
219 | 220 | Tale of a Dog | Cyril Endfield | April 15 |
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220 | 219 | Dancing Romeo | Cyril Endfield | April 29 |
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Foreign-language versions
[edit]During the early days of sound American motion picture companies often made foreign-language versions of their films. The following is a list of known foreign-language versions of Our Gang films.
Year | English | French | German | Spanish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1930 | The First Seven Years | Title unknown | Title unknown | Los Pequeños Papas (The Little Fathers) |
1930 | When the Wind Blows | Las Fantasmas (The Ghosts) | ||
1930 | Bear Shooters | Title unknown | Title unknown | Los Cazadores De Osos (The Bear Hunters) |
1930 | A Tough Winter | Temps d'Hiver (Winter Time) | Winter Wetter (Winter Weather) |
Cameos/appearances in other films
[edit]Our Gang as a unit appeared in a handful of other Hal Roach films, and in a few outside productions as well.
- Dr. Jack (November 26, 1922) - a Hal Roach feature-length comedy starring Harold Lloyd. Jackie Condon and Mickey Daniels both appear.
- Safety Last! (April 1, 1923) - a Hal Roach feature-length comedy starring Harold Lloyd. Mickey Daniels appears.
- The Fraidy Cat (March 30, 1924) - a Hal Roach short comedy starring Charley Chase. Our Gang players featured are Joe Cobb, Mickey Daniels, Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison, and Andy Samuel.
- Girl Shy (April 20, 1924) - a feature-length comedy starring Harold Lloyd. Joe Cobb and Jackie Condon both appear.
- Rupert of Hee Haw (June 8, 1924) - a Hal Roach short comedy starring Stan Laurel. Our Gang players featured are Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, and Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison.
- Short Kilts (August 3, 1924) - a Hal Roach short comedy starring Stan Laurel. Our Gang players featured are Mickey Daniels and Mary Kornman.
- Battling Orioles (October 6, 1924) - a Hal Roach feature film starring Glenn Tryon. Our Gang players featured are Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, and Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison.
- Pathé Review (November 8, 1925) - Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Johnny Downs, "Farina" Hoskins, Mary Kornman, and director Robert F. McGowan appear in a segment.
- 45 Minutes from Hollywood (December 26, 1926) - a Hal Roach short comedy starring Glenn Tryon. Features stock footage from Our Gang's Thundering Fleas.
- The Stolen Jools (April 4, 1931) (a.k.a. The Slippery Pearls) - promotional short subject intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists tuberculosis sanitarium. Our Gang players featured are "Stymie" Beard, "Chubby" Chaney, Dorothy DeBorba, "Farina" Hoskins, "Wheezer" Hutchins, Mary Ann Jackson, Shirley Jean Rickert, and Pete the Pup.
- One Track Minds (May 20, 1933) - a Hal Roach short comedy starring Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd. "Spanky" McFarland is featured.
- The Cracked Iceman (January 27, 1934) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject, featuring Chase as a schoolteacher and the Our Gang kids as his students. Our Gang players featured are "Stymie" Beard, Tommy Bond, and "Spanky" McFarland.
- Four Parts (March 17, 1934) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject. "Stymie" Beard is featured.
- I'll Take Vanilla (May 5, 1934) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject. Tommy Bond is featured.
- Benny From Panama (May 26, 1934) - a Hal Roach short comedy starring Eddie Foy, Jr. "Spanky" McFarland costars.
- Kid Millions (November 10, 1934) - an Eddie Cantor musical feature. The Our Gang kids appear in bit parts among the children in Cantor's makeshift band and also appear in the Technicolor fantasy sequence finale. Our Gang players featured include Wally Albright, "Stymie" Beard, Tommy Bond, "Uh-huh" Collum, Leonard Kibrick, and Jacqueline Taylor.
- Kentucky Kernels (November 2, 1934) - a feature-length comedy starring Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, and costarring "Spanky" McFarland.
- Babes in Toyland (December 16, 1934) - a Hal Roach feature-length comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Several Our Gang members appear as schoolkids, including Scotty Beckett, Marianne Edwards, Jacqueline Taylor, and Jerry Tucker. Jean Darling and Johnny Downs also appear, respectively playing Curly Locks and Little Boy Blue.
- Southern Exposure (April 6, 1935) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject. "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a cameo appearance.
- Here Comes the Band (August 30, 1935) - a musical comedy feature starring Ted Lewis, and costarring "Spanky" McFarland.
- Annie Oakley (November 15, 1935) - a George Stevens film. Jerry Tucker costars.
- Life Hesitates at 40 (November 18, 1935) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject. "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a cameo appearance.
- The Bohemian Girl (February 14, 1936) - a Hal Roach feature-length comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Darla Hood costars.
- Neighborhood House (May 9, 1936) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject. Darla Hood costars.
- Kelly the Second (August 21, 1936) - a Hal Roach feature-length comedy starring Patsy Kelly and Charley Chase. "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a cameo appearance.
- Block-Heads (August 19, 1938) - a Hal Roach feature-length comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Tommy "Butch" Bond makes a cameo appearance.
- The Singing Lesson (1941) - a soundie starring "Alfalfa" Switzer.
- Johnny Doughboy (December 31, 1942) - a feature film starring Jane Withers. George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer are also featured.
- It's a Wonderful Life (December 20, 1946) - a Frank Capra feature film starring Jimmy Stewart. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a cameo appearance.
- State of the Union (April 30, 1948) - a Frank Capra feature film starring Spencer Tracy. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a cameo appearance.
Our Gang related films
[edit]- The Boy Friends (September 13, 1930 through June 18, 1932), a Hal Roach produced short comedy series considered by some to be a spin-off of Our Gang. Former Our Gang stars Mickey Daniels and Mary Kornman were among the series' stars. One Boy Friends short, Too Many Women, featured a direct reference to Our Gang - flashback footage of Mickey and Mary as children.
- General Spanky (December 11, 1936), a feature film produced by Hal Roach and directed by Fred Newmeyer and Gordon Douglas; a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release. Starring George "Spanky" McFarland, Phillips Holmes, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, Rosina Lawrence, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, General Spanky was intended as a test film to move Our Gang into features, but did not perform to Hal Roach's and MGM's expectations at the box office.[8]
- The Gas House Kids (October 9, 1946 through August 23, 1947), a series of B Movies loosely based on the then-popular East Side Kids/The Bowery Boys comedies. Produced by Producers Releasing Corporation. Three films, Gas House Kids, Gas House Kids Go West, and Gas House Kids in Hollywood were made. Carl Switzer reprised his "Alfalfa" character in two of these films. Tommy Bond was also featured in the cast.
- Curley (August 23, 1947) and Who Killed Doc Robbin (April 9, 1948), two Streamliners produced by Hal Roach and Robert F. McGowan and directed by Bernard Carr with a similar cast and tone as the Our Gang comedies. Both films starred Larry Olsen, Billy Gray, and Matthew "Stymie" Beard's brother Renee Beard. Roach forfeited his option to buy back the rights to the Our Gang trademark to produce these films.
- The Little Rascals Varieties (May 5, 1959), a feature-length compilation featuring clips from Our Gang Follies of 1936, The Pinch Singer, Reunion in Rhythm, and Our Gang Follies of 1938.
- The Little Rascals (August 5, 1994), a feature-length adaptation of Our Gang which includes gags and situations borrowed directly from several of the original shorts. Directed by Penelope Spheeris and starring Travis Tedford as Spanky, Bug Hall as Alfalfa, Brittany Ashton Holmes as Darla, and Ross Bagley as Buckwheat, The Little Rascals was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and released by Universal Pictures.
- The Little Rascals Save the Day (April 1, 2014), a direct-to-video Our Gang feature-length adaptation in much the same format as the 1994 film. Directed by Alex Zamm and starring Jet Jurgensmeyer as Spanky, Drew Justice as Alfalfa, Eden Wood as Darla, and Isaiah "Zay Zay" Fredericks as Buckwheat, The Little Rascals was produced by Capital Arts Entertainment and released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Our Gang related television productions
[edit]- The Little Rascals Christmas Special (December 3, 1979), a thirty-minute animated television special featuring Philip Tanzini as Spanky, Jimmy Gatherum as Alfalfa, Randi Kiger as Darla, Robby Kiger as Porky, and Al Jocko Fann as Stymie. Darla Hood and Matthew "Stymie" Beard are also featured.
- Rascal Dazzle (1980), a compilation film featuring clips from various Roach produced films. Narrated by Jerry Lewis.
- The Little Rascals (September 25, 1982 through September 1, 1984), a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, featuring the voices of Scott Menville as Spanky, Julie McWhirter Dees as Alfalfa and Porky, Shavar Ross as Buckwheat, Patty Maloney as Darla, and Peter Cullen as Pete the Pup.
Home media
[edit]Blackhawk/Republic releases
[edit]For many years, Blackhawk Films released 79 of the 80 Roach talkies on 16 mm film. The sound discs for Railroading' had been lost since the 1940s, and a silent print was made available for home movie release until 1982, when the film's sound discs were located in the MGM vault and the short was restored with sound. Like the television prints, Blackhawk's Little Rascals reissues featured custom-created title cards in place of the original Our Gang logos, as per MGM's 1949 arrangement with Hal Roach not to distribute the series under its original title.
In 1983, with the VHS home video market growing, Blackhawk began distributing Little Rascals VHS tapes available through catalogue only. The 80 sound shorts were made available across twenty-seven VHS volumes (one volume had the MGM short Waldo's Last Stand which was public domain to round out to 81), three shorts to a tape. Half a dozen silent episodes were also available across three additional VHS volumes. Four volumes on VHS went out of print by 1986, then leaving only 69 out of 80 episodes available.
National Telefilm Associates, later renamed Republic Pictures, purchased Blackhawk in 1983, and continued the catalogue releases while also making The Little Rascals available on retail home video collections in 1984. 30 Little Rascals shorts were released in a set of five VHS compilations, with six shorts to a volume: Little Rascals Comedy Classics 1, Little Rascals Comedy Classics 2, Best of the Little Rascals, Little Rascals on Parade, and Adventures of Little Rascals. Each of these tapes contained two volumes of the 1983 catalogue releases, making each tape contain six episodes. In addition, Republic made the first two catalogue volumes available for retail.
Twelve Little Rascals shorts made their way to home video through Spotlite Video in 1986. These also were all previously released on the catalogue Blackhawk releases and contained none of the ones that had been out of print. These were available through retail. Meanwhile, MGM released 20 of its 52 Our Gang shorts in a five-volume VHS set with four shorts per tape.
In 1991, Republic repackaged 30 Little Rascals shorts for a fifteen-volume VHS set, with two shorts per tape. Out of the 30 episodes released, only one of them (Night 'n' Gales) had been previously unreleased.
Cabin Fever/Hallmark releases
[edit]In 1993, Republic sold the home video rights to the 80 sound Roach shorts and some of the available silent shorts to Cabin Fever Entertainment. Cabin Fever also acquired the rights to use the original Our Gang title cards and MGM logos; for the first time in over 50 years, the Roach sound Our Gang comedies could be seen in their original format. In June 1994, Cabin Fever released a 12-volume set of Little Rascals VHS tapes, hosted by Leonard Maltin. With four shorts per tape, Cabin Fever made 48 Roach sound shorts available for purchase, uncut and with digitally restored and remastered picture and sound.
Due to the success of these volumes, Cabin Fever released nine more volumes in June 1995, which made the other 32 Roach talkies available for purchase (some of which had never been available on home video before). Five of these volumes contained four sound shorts, while the other four featured three sound shorts and a silent short.
Cabin Fever began pressing DVD versions of their first 12 Little Rascals VHS volumes (with the contents of two VHS volumes included on each DVD), but went out of business before the release was announced in late 1998. Early in 1999, they sold their catalog to Hallmark Entertainment.
In April 2000, Hallmark cleared out their warehouse, making all of the Little Rascals DVDs and VHS tapes available for retail, but never did an official launch of the Cabin Fever Little Rascals DVDs. In August, the first 10 volumes were re-released on VHS with new packaging, and the first two volumes were released on DVD as The Little Rascals: Volumes 1-2. In 2003, the VHS tapes went out of print. That spring, Hallmark issued a DVD called Little Rascals Vols. 3–4, which actually did not completely compile volumes three and four of the Cabin Fever VHS set, but included ten Our Gang shorts. On November 13, 2005, ten more Little Rascals shorts were issued on a DVD entitled Little Rascals Collectors Edition III.
MGM/UA releases
[edit]Throughout the early and mid 1990s, MGM/UA released a handful of the 1938-1944 MGM Our Gang shorts on VHS. The 1936 feature film General Spanky received both a VHS and LaserDisc release. Additionally, MGM/UA released a LaserDisc set of Our Gang comedies, consisting of both silent films and sound films.
Later releases
[edit]In 2006, Legend Films released colorized versions of twenty four Our Gang comedies, which were released across five Little Rascals DVDs. Twenty three of these shorts were Hal Roach talkies, while the remaining film is Waldo's Last Stand, a public domain short from the MGM era. These DVDs went out of print in 2009.
RHI Entertainment and Genius Products released an eight-disc DVD box set entitled The Little Rascals - the Complete Collection on October 28, 2008. This set includes all of the Hal Roach sound short films in the Our Gang series (1929–1938), encompassing all of the Our Gang shorts distributed to TV as The Little Rascals (save for a handful of silents). Sixty-four of the shorts are sourced from the Cabin Fever restorations, while the remaining sixteen shorts utilize older Blackhawk Films transfers without their original title cards. On June 14, 2011, Vivendi Entertainment re-released seven of the eight DVDs from the RHI/Genius box set (which encompasses all of the sound Roach Our Gang shorts and excludes the eight "special features" bonus disc), replacing the Blackhawk transfers with their respective Cabin Fever restorations.
Throughout the 2000s, Warner Home Video used individual MGM Our Gang shorts as supplemental features on DVD releases of entries in their classic film library. On September 1, 2009, Warner Bros. released the fifty two MGM Our Gang shorts in a compilation as part of their Warner Archive Collection mail-order series. The collection, Our Gang Comedies 1938–1942 (despite the title, includes the 1943 and 1944 MGM shorts as well), is available for DVD mail order through the Warner Bros. Studio Online Store, and for digital download through both the WB Studio Online Store and the Apple iTunes Store. On January 19, 2016, General Spanky was released on DVD through Warners.
Public domain
[edit]The following Our Gang comedies are in the public domain, and have appeared on many different VHS and DVD releases over the years.
- All pre-1929 comedies
- 1930: Bear Shooters; School's Out
- 1937: Our Gang Follies of 1938
- 1940: Waldo's Last Stand
Notes
[edit]- ^ Production order from The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann, which says on p. ix that "the film entries are ordered according to production sequence, not by release dates or copyright dates." In the book the feature-length film General Spanky is counted as number 150 on the list, whereas this page's list only includes the shorts, so for shorts whose number is over 150 in the book, the production# on this page's list is the number in the book minus one (for example, Reunion in Rhythm is listed as #151 in the book, but #150 for this list).
- ^ "Family Jewels: Child Progeny - MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Demoss, Robert. "Bouncing Babies". theluckycorner.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.. The Maltin/Bann book credits Bouncing Babies as Cobb's final appearance, but Demoss confirms that he does not appear in the finished film.
- ^ Fish Hooky (Our Gang short, 1933) at IMDb
- ^ Fish Hooky (1933 Our Gang short) with scenes filmed at amusement park of era, beginning at time mark 8:35 (YouTube)
- ^ a b c d e Demoss, Robert (2008-11-09). "The Lucky Corner". Retrieved 2008-11-19.. This is the copyright date for this film. The dates given for shorts 131 through 135 in the Leonard Maltin/Richard W. Bann book The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang were based on data prepared at the beginning of the film season as projected release dates. Our Gang director Gus Meins stepped in to take over direction of Laurel and Hardy's Babes in Toyland in mid-1934, leaving him unavailable to direct Our Gang. When Babes ran over schedule, James Parrott was called in to direct short #131 Washee Ironee; the others were delayed in shooting until after Babes wrapped in October, pushing the shooting and release dates for much of the 1934 – 35 season back several months from the projected and planned dates. This is based upon information from the Hal Roach Studios archives and the Library of Congress, including filings of documents (cutting continuity, title sheets, film copyright) done during the processes of production.
- ^ Mama's Little Pirate (1934) video, time mark 8:10 (YouTube)
- ^ Maltin, Leonard; Bann, Richard W. (1977). Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals. Crown Publishers. pp. 197–199. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
References
[edit]- Maltin, Leonard & Bann, Richard W (1977, rev. 1992). The Little Rascals: The Life & Times of Our Gang. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-58325-9.
- Demoss, Robert (2008-11-28). "The Lucky Corner". Retrieved 2008-11-28.