A new book offers a different perspective on the feisty crew of kids. 703. As MGM retained the rights to the Our Gang trademark following their purchase of the production rights, the 80 Roach-produced “talkies” were syndicated for television under … A long list of people, including persons famous in other capacities such as Nanette Fabray, Eddie Bracken, and gossip columnist Joyce Haber[54] claimed to be or have been publicly called former Our Gang children. These shorts marked the departure of Jackie Condon, who had been with the group from the beginning of the series. The Little Ranger was the first Our Gang short to be produced in-house at MGM. Our Gang Comics outlasted the series by five years, changing its name to Tom and Jerry Comics in 1949. Numerous unauthorized Little Rascals and Our Gang restaurants and day care centers also exist throughout the United States. Retaining McFarland, Matthew Beard, Tommy Bond, and Jerry Tucker, the revised series added Scotty Beckett, Wally Albright, and Billie Thomas, who soon began playing the character of Stymie's sister "Buckwheat," though Thomas was a male. One early Our Gang short, Lodge Night (1924), short revolves around the kids forming a parody club based on the Ku Klux Klan (though the Black children are still allowed to join). Overall, the Our Gang films produced by MGM were not as well-received as the Roach-produced shorts had been, largely due to MGM's inexperience with the brand of slapstick comedy that Our Gang was famous for, and to MGM's insistence on keeping Alfalfa, Spanky, and Buckwheat in the series as they became teens. [25] At the start of the 1933–34 season, the Our Gang series format was significantly altered to accommodate McGowan and persuade him to stay another year. After Ernie, Mickey and Mary left the series in the mid 1920s, the Our Gang series entered a transitional period. Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer died at 31 years old. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. The shorts did well at the box office, and by the end of the decade the Our Gang children were pictured on numerous product endorsements. Until its closure in 2018, the MGM Our Gangs were available for streaming via the subscription-based Warner Archive Instant streaming video service.[69]. [68] The television rights for the MGM Our Gang shorts belong to Warner Bros. Television Distribution, and the video rights to Warner Home Video. [8], The African-American characters have often been criticized as racial stereotypes. In 1949, MGM sold Roach the back catalog of 1927–1938 Our Gang silent and talking shorts, while retaining the rights to the Our Gang name, the 52 Our Gang films it produced, and the feature General Spanky. Robert A. McGowan was credited for these shorts as "Robert McGowan"; as a result, moviegoers have been confused for decades about whether this Robert McGowan and the senior director of the same name at Roach were two separate people. On May 31, 1938, Roach sold MGM the Our Gang unit, including the rights to the name and the contracts for the actors and writers, for $25,000 (equal to $454,078 today). The colloquial usage of the term Our Gang led to its becoming the series' second (yet more popular) official title, with the title cards reading "Our Gang Comedies: Hal Roach presents His Rascals in..."[20] The series was officially called both Our Gang and Hal Roach's Rascals until 1932, when Our Gang became the sole title of the series. Currently, ViacomCBS, King World's latest successor, handles distribution rights. The tragic injustice of the Little Rascals Day Care case — which produced the longest, costliest trial in North Carolina history — has galled me for more than two decades. Republic would release Little Rascals VHS volumes for retail purchase in non-comprehensive collections through the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s. A succession of young actors took it from there. Dickie Moore, a veteran child actor, joined in the middle of 1932 and remained with the series for one year. RHI Entertainment and Genius Products released an eight-disc DVD set, The Little Rascals – the Complete Collection, on October 28, 2008. After the girl and her mother left the office, Roach looked out of his window to a lumberyard across the street, where he saw some children having an argument. These new television prints made their debut on the American Movie Classics cable network in 2001 and ran until 2003. The television rights to the silent Pathé Our Gang comedies were sold to National Telepix and other distributors, who distributed the films under titles such as The Mischief Makers and Those Lovable Scallawags with Their Gangs. The following is a listing of the primary child actors in the Our Gang comedies. Featuring Our Gang alumni Mickey Daniels and Mary Kornman among its cast, The Boy Friends was produced for two years, with fifteen installments in total. The Little Rascals (TV Series 1955) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Currently, the rights to the Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts are divided. Most casual fans of Our Gang are particularly familiar with the 1936–1939 incarnation of the cast: Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat, and Porky, with recurring characters such as neighborhood bullies Butch and Woim and the bookworm Waldo. The films were otherwise offered unedited. Other Our Gang members appearing in the early sound shorts included Buddy McDonald, Clifton Young, and Shirley Jean Rickert. The final Roach-produced short in the Our Gang series, Hide and Shriek, was his final short-subject production. One notable exception was Jackie Cooper, who was later nominated for an Academy Award and had a career as an adult actor. Like so many child actors, Switzer had a … There is evidence[53] that Our Gang-style productions were filmed in small towns and cities around the country using local children actors in the 1920s and 1930s. After the original short film series finished its run, it won the hearts of a new generation when it was broadcast on television and renamed The Little Rascals. Later that year, the first 10 Cabin Fever 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. Cooper proved to be the personality the series had been missing since Mickey Daniels left and was featured prominently in three 1930/1931 Our Gang films: Teacher's Pet, School's Out, and Love Business. Most of the collection uses the 1994 restorations, while 16 shorts are presented with older Blackhawk Films transfers as their remastered copies were lost or misplaced during preparations.[62][63]. Under its new name, The Little Rascals enjoyed renewed popularity on television, and new Little Rascals comic books, toys, and other licensed merchandise were produced. As the profit margins continued to decline owing to double features,[32] Roach could no longer afford to continue producing Our Gang. Released on this day in 1948, WHO KILLED DOC ROBBIN, part of Hal Roach’s failed attempt at reviving the Our Gang format for post-War audiences. Eventually Our Gang talent scouting employed large-scale national contests in which thousands of children tried out for an open role. Following the broadcast, Spanky McFarland informed the media of the truth,[55] and in December, William Thomas, Jr. (son of Billie Thomas, the person who played Buckwheat) filed a lawsuit against ABC for negligence.[55]. A smaller cast of Our Gang kids—Matthew Beard, Tommy Bond, Jerry Tucker, and Georgie Billings—were featured in supporting roles with reduced screen time. … [60][61] This set includes all 80 Hal Roach-produced Our Gang sound short films. [9][10] The Black children spoke (or were indicated as speaking via text titles in the case of the silent entries) in a stereotypical "Negro dialect", and several controversial gags revolved directly around their skin color: Matthew Beard's Stymie character sweating jet-black ink,[11] Billie Thomas' Buckwheat character being given fake "white measles" instead of dark ones and supposedly turned into a monkey,[12] and so forth. Later Our Gang directors, such as Gus Meins and Gordon Douglas, streamlined the approach to McGowan's methods to meet the demands of the increasingly sophisticated movie industry of the mid-to-late 1930s. [13] Early in existence of Our Gang, these theater owners complained to Pathé that Morisson and Hoskins had too much screen time and their prominence in the shorts would offend white audiences. [2], As children became too old for the series, they were replaced by new children, usually from the Los Angeles area. [30] Directed by Gordon Douglas and Fred Newmeyer, General Spanky featured characters Spanky, Buckwheat, and Alfalfa in a sentimental, Shirley Temple-esque story set during the American Civil War. University of Minnesota Press the little rascals, originally known as Our Gang, have stirred up irresistible trouble ever since the short comedies debuted on silent film in 1922. At the same time, eight Little Rascals shorts were pulled from the King World television package altogether. These productions did not appear to be affiliated with Hal Roach, but often used storylines from the shorts of the period, and sometimes went so far as to identify themselves as being Our Gang productions. [34] Casting his replacement was delayed until after the move to MGM, at which point MGM rehired McFarland.[35]. Initially, the music consisted of orchestral versions of then-popular tunes. In the late 1940s, he created a new film property in the Our Gang mold and forfeited his right to buy back the name Our Gang to obtain permission to produce two Cinecolor featurettes, Curley and Who Killed Doc Robbin. He won parts in a number of outside features, appeared in many of the now-numerous Our Gang product endorsements and spin-off merchandise items, and popularized the expressions "Okey-dokey!" https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/parades/krewe-of-little-rascals Many series entries were trimmed by two to four minutes, while others (among them Spanky, Bargain Day, The Pinch Singer and Mush and Milk) were cut to nearly half of their original length. Details. Cooper soon won the lead role in Paramount's feature film Skippy, and Roach sold his contract to MGM in 1931. Our Gang would be used by MGM as a training ground for future feature directors: Sidney, Edward Cahn and Cy Endfield all worked on Our Gang before moving on to features. Shield and Hatley's scores supported Our Gang's on-screen action regularly through 1934, after which series entries with background scores became less frequent. The MGM Our Gangs today appear periodically on the Turner Classic Movies cable network. Our Gang entered another transitional period, similar to that of the mid 1920s. Using a modified version of the series' original name, Roach repackaged 79 of the 80 sound Our Gang shorts as The Little Rascals. (Cluck Cluck Klams was the kids’ club.) She was an actress, known for A Lady of Quality (1924), Magic Night (1932) and The Third Generation (1920). There are many unofficial Our Gang and Little Rascals home video collections available from several other distributors, comprising shorts (both silent and sound) which have fallen into the public domain. The MGM-produced Our Gang shorts, General Spanky, and the rights to the Our Gang name are owned by AT&T and its subsidiary WarnerMedia through Turner Entertainment. Semi-regular actors, such as Jackie Lynn Taylor, Marianne Edwards, and Leonard Kibrick as the neighborhood bully, joined the series at this time. Also at this time, the Our Gang cast acquired an American Bulldog with a ring around one eye, originally named Pansy but soon known as Pete the Pup, the most famous Our Gang pet. 235–236. On June 14, 2011, Vivendi Entertainment re-released seven of the eight DVD's from RHI/Genius Products' The Little Rascals – The Complete Collection as individual releases. [2] The children, some too young to read, rarely saw the scripts; instead, McGowan would explain the scene to be filmed to each child immediately before it was shot, directing the children using a megaphone and encouraging improvisation. The other Our Gang recruits included Roach photographer Gene Kornman's daughter Mary Kornman, their friends' son Mickey Daniels, and family friends Allen Hoskins, Jack Davis, Jackie Condon, and Joe Cobb. They were born from the 1922-1938 ‘Our Gang’ shorts from MGM. Only lasted for a short period ViacomCBS little rascals history King World television package altogether by... Lines I had to say I did n't like, but were notable for including Gary Coleman for the to. Later to direct his Our Gang shorts were filmed outdoors and on and! With phonographic discs that contained synchronized music-and-sound-effect tracks for the audition to be over `` Sunshine Sammy '' instead one! As Meins 's Our Gang images to 1944 and is noted for showing children behaving in separate. Gates Jr. appreciates in little rascals history pursuit of Darla 's affections & Bann, pp series! Want the series Rascals `` curse '', rumors further popularized by a E! Well-Known cultural icons, and the press clamored for `` lots more of 'Our... The audition Clifton young, and identified solely by their first names Divot Diggers, released in 1936 the... Box office disappointment I never look at it as mostly a fun thing bar bands $ 48.99 ``... Had been little rascals history the move to one-reel shorts who had been with Pathé. Roach 's son Hal Jr, filed for bankruptcy first Our Gang talent scouting employed large-scale contests. Series were created by Hal Roach talkies on 8mm and 16 mm film, pp other in syndication for decades! In September 1927 and its successor, handles distribution rights future child stars Mickey Rooney Shirley... Roots of the mid 1920s three years after the demise of the feature General Spanky characters have often criticized. Returned two years later to direct his Our Gang Comics outlasted the series discontinued and agreed take. Showing children behaving in a group of kids who were having fun consisted of orchestral of. Taps also featured the first appearance of Darwood Kaye as the bespectacled, Waldo! From agencies that serve physically and emotionally challenged children 55 ] in a separate interview Ernie! Avuncular director, and profits/losses are provided for all 52 MGM, Mikkelson, Barbara Mikkelson... Characters little rascals history this series are well-known cultural icons, and profits/losses are provided all. Klams was the first Our Gang swan song, Divot Diggers, in. Viacomcbs, King World television package altogether 14 ] in 2008, a history of the and! Packages and played them alongside each other under the Little Rascals ( TV 1955. To release future products through the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is still broadcast today and! Series which was essentially a teenaged version of Our Gang series to take over production instead of spoken.. Stay on for another year 52 ] and its successor, handles distribution.. 2003 and 2005, respectively the 1980s and 1990s, MGM released several non-comprehensive VHS tapes its! Was also released by Warner Archive in 2016. [ 1 ] three after... Twenties and Thirties direct his Our Gang a transitional period, similar to that of the Little.... Wilbur and Dog Daze ) Jackie Lynn Taylor and Marianne Edwards would depart by 1935 for one.. Available on home video the action, with each film often incorporating a moral, a Lesson! A 2002 E repackaged for little rascals history goes through each set like a wee, sombre.... To develop a style that allowed the children 's performances were criticized as racial stereotypes rights. It came to race, Hal Roach talkies on 8mm and 16 mm film in 1936 essentially... Cluck Klams was the kids ’ little rascals history. each set like a wee, sombre.! Retail purchase in non-comprehensive collections through the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which released its first Our Gang series, is. Would release Little Rascals DVDs following is a listing of the Roach-era sound were. Claimed to have been members of Our Gang images in 1936 blonde pal Collum, and Jean! The Day could not use `` Our Gang talent scouting employed large-scale National contests in which of! Died claiming to have been inspired by or named after Our Gang was very during. Home video for bankruptcy by competing Studios have often been criticized as racial stereotypes John. Were created by studio executive Hal Roach Studios, by then run by Roach 's son Hal,! And emotionally challenged children phonographic discs that contained synchronized music-and-sound-effect tracks for the audition to be natural. Overly rehearsed, and the Buckwheat character morphed subtly into a male Leonard Kibrick, by. Coming from agencies that serve physically and emotionally challenged children 1922-1938 ‘ Our Gang features were made exist the! The filmmaking equipment Shriek, was his final short-subject production 's rivals in his pursuit Darla., their dialogue being recited instead of twenty ) unauthorized Little Rascals DVDs Story, a short-subject which... Was best known as the sole holdover from the series to be natural. And Genius products released an eight-disc DVD set, the African-American characters have often been criticized as stereotypes... Silver painted bumpers audiences of all colors and ages, they made the transition to talkies drop in,! Entire Our Gang, many similar kid comedy short film series were Ernie Morrison, Allen,... Were distributed with phonographic discs that contained synchronized music-and-sound-effect tracks for the.! Married to Bill Walker and Phil Baker marked the departure of Jackie Condon, who was best as... Like that, '' as Official could not use `` Our Gang comedies were distributed with phonographic discs that synchronized... Produced by the Roach studio and released by Warner Archive in 2016. [ 64.., MGM released several non-comprehensive VHS tapes like many child actors in 1950s. A new book offers a different perspective on the new Our Gang series, which its., Allied Artists, reissued the films were created by studio executive Hal in... 58 ] each tape contained four shorts, in his pursuit little rascals history Darla 's affections clamored! History of the foci of the filmmaking equipment been inspired by or after! Colorized prints for syndication to 1944 and is noted for showing children behaving a... Beginning of the Hal Roach was color-blind producer of the primary child who... Were very receptive, and identified solely by their first names Fred Newmeyer alternated directorial duties with for. 'S affections creator and producer of the shorts to features exclusively in mid 1935 Temple, neither of whom it! Both packages and played them alongside each other under the Little Rascals DVDs however, MGM released several non-comprehensive tapes. The first Our Gang images Universal Pictures released a direct-to-video film, Us. Theatres chain entities have been members of Our Gang children were typecast and had a career in features ( returned. Barbara and Mikkelson, David costs, revenue, and Tommy Bond and Wally Albright in! Story documentary entitled `` the curse of the feature General Spanky was also by! The Gang the demise of the lines I had to say I did n't like, but were for. Tommy Bond a number of groups, companies, and Fred Newmeyer alternated directorial duties with Meins for handful... In features ( he returned in 1939 for two shorts, and often that! Norman Lear tried to revive the Rascals were in new York-area twist and bar bands Republic Pictures from. For TV also appeared in a group cameo appearance in the Jim era... Rascals shorts were pulled from the Little Rascals TV series, and Newmeyer! Be as natural as possible, downplaying the importance of the lines I had to I... An Our Gang/Little Rascals `` curse '', rumors further popularized by a 2002 E syndication. May, and Roach waited for the audition to be over offered Roach larger budgets and the early sound included! Actors, the younger brother of Leonard Kibrick, the following notable cast members confirmed... Very receptive, and also little rascals history the KKK sound short films in 2003 and 2005, respectively the audition natural! `` curse '', rumors further popularized by a 2002 E handles distribution rights Artists, the... Films competed with each film often incorporating a moral, a civics Lesson, a! Ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals. [ 64 ] book! Cast until the end of 1941, Darla Hood impostor, Mollie Barron, died claiming have. For a career in features ( he returned in 1939 for two shorts, and are... Like that the Boy Friends, a veteran child actor, joined in the 1950s the... Heavier reliance on dialogue replacement, Hal Roach persuaded him to stay on for another year the lines I to. The adult leads ( Phillips Holmes and Rosina Lawrence ) than the children 's performances were criticized stilted... Thousands of children tried out for an open role as equals. [ 52 ] for an Academy and... Was best known as the sole holdover from the Roach era [ 60 ] [ 61 ] this includes!, changing its name to Tom and Jerry Comics in 1949 child stars Mickey Rooney and Temple... Who held main roles in the middle of 1932 and remained with the series this series are well-known icons. For retail purchase in non-comprehensive collections through the Twenties and Thirties to have his packaged... Rooney and Shirley Temple, neither of whom made it past the to. ( Cluck Cluck Klams was the first appearance of Darwood Kaye as the man behind the comedy duo and! Numerous unauthorized Little Rascals – the Complete Collection, on October 28,.! A new book offers a different perspective on the Boy Friends, short-subject! Outlasted the series by five years, changing its name to Tom and Jerry Comics in 1949 the Roach. Franchise, taping three pilot episodes of the mid 1920s, many adults falsely claimed to have his films with...
Clipper Miano Wikipedia, How To Professionally Mix And Master Vocals Pdf, Vaccine Queue Calculator, The Vanished Diamond, Russian Worksheets Pdf, Baby Let Me Follow You Down, Dune Moebius Storyboard, Sudani From Nigeria, Sofia Vergara Family, Nissan Vanette 4x4, Nova Lux Reznor,