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Post by RJH on Jul 2, 2013 2:11:49 GMT -5
Tarzan's Treasured Tigers (1924) - In an attempt to capitalize on the increasing popularity of the Tarzan stories first published a decade earlier, the studio decided to make a feature-length film with the Our Gang characters based on those stories. Mickey Daniels was cast as Tarzan, Mary Kornman as Jane, Jackie Condon as Boy, and the monkey that would be in "One Wild Ride" as Cheeta. The native African tribe that worshiped tigers consisted of Ernie, Farina, Pineapple, Powder-Puff, and Mango. Joe Cobb was the leader of many less prominent characters, on a big game hunting expedition intent on bagging some of these rare tigers.
Tarzan and Jane decide Boy's hair needs to be cut for the first time. Terrified of the knife about to be used and preferring his natural hair style, we see Jackie jump onto the vine by their treehouse, swing on that and several more vines, and finally drop to the ground. Unfortunately he lands in a pool of quicksand, and there is a long sequence showing him struggling and gradually sinking until he is in a little past his waist, realistically stopping when his body displaces an amount of quicksand equal to his weight. Tarzan, Jane, and Cheeta search for Boy in different directions. Meanwhile, Joe's band tracks tiger droppings to the native village. When Chief Ernie doesn't tell Joe where the tigers can be found, there is a fight which sends the natives scattering. Joe's group continues in the direction they were going.
Cheeta finds Jackie, and is about to go back to Tarzan for help when he sees Farina, whose hair is in the style from "No Noise" or "Stage Fright" and kind of resembles Jackie's. Since Farina is close, Cheeta tries to direct him to help, but winds up scaring Farina into running into the quicksand. An identical long sequence shows Farina struggling and sinking, with the same result as Jackie. They wind up about five yards apart, but totally stuck.
Mary comes across the native village after they regroup, but they mistake her for a member of Joe's expedition, grab her perhaps thinking she is part of Joe's expedition, and prepare a large pot of boiling water. She screams, and Mickey, who had started out in the wrong direction, hears her and swings into action after making his customary yell. Cheeta finds Mickey, and directs him to the stuck boys, but when Mickey sees they're not hurt, he leaves them there to teach them a lesson. He then sneaks up to the village, and quick as lightning knocks Ernie, Pineapple, and Powder-Puff out and ties them to trees. Mary isn't sure what happened, but when the natives wake up they explain about the tiger hunt, and that they were only inviting Mary for dinner, not to be dinner. Mickey isn't sure, so he leaves them tied up, and tells Mary to take care of Mango, who is too little to understand any of what's going on.
After a couple hours, our hero catches up to Joe's expedition. The group is so clueless they let Mickey knock them out one by one, and break all their rifles. When he finally gets to the leader, he threatens Joe, who is scared into promising to stop hunting and never set foot in Africa again. Mickey then calls a herd of elephants to carry Joe and his group away to the shore. The elephants are highly intelligent and make sure the hunting party leaves and disappears over the horizon.
With film running low, Mickey hurries back to the quicksand where, with the aid of special effects that make it look easier than it really is, pulls Jackie and Farina out. Since they seem to be friends now, Tarzan Mickey is kind to the natives, cuts them loose, and takes them up on their offer for dinner before going home. When Mary asks Jackie does he realize how much trouble he's caused by not wanting his hair cut, he replies that if he hadn't run away, the hunters would have gotten the tigers. Therefore Mickey and Mary let Jackie keep his long hair.
At the screening after the film was completed, it was pointed out that while the alliteration of the title sounds nice, Africa is the wrong continent for tigers. It was confusing whether the natives were good or bad, and that the whole thing didn't make sense. It was never released to the public.
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Behind the scenes rumors that cannot be verified:
At the time Joe was shorter than Jackie, but Jackie got the part of Boy because no one wanted to see Joe in a loincloth.
Due to lack of good planning, the filming was done in strict chronological order. It was too much trouble pulling Jackie and Farina out of the quicksand every time there was a brief scene showing them, so for twenty shooting days they were left in the quicksand for eight hours at at time. Food and water were tossed to them throughout the days.
Powder-Puff was so embarrassed at this film, having spent several days looking pathetic tied to a tree in a tiger-stripe loincloth, that he requested his real name be removed from all records of Our Gang activity after receiving his final paycheck in cash.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jul 2, 2013 7:23:21 GMT -5
Zombie Apocalypse (1928)
This follow up to Spook Spoofing was filmed at the same time and used a great deal of discarded footage from its companion piece. In this storyline Farina's Mumbo Jumbo charm actually works and he does indeed kill Harry. When Farina arrives at the cemetery with Harry's corpse the grave yard witch casts a spell up the bowler hat wearing corpse and turns him into a zombie. Half dead Harry bites Farina's arm and turns him into a zombie too. The decaying pair find their way into the mausoleum where Jay and Joe are hiding, there then ensues a frantic and nail biting chase as the lumbering zombie pair pursue the terrified boys through the cobwebbed darkness. Eventually Jay is cornered and one of his skinny legs is bitten by Harry. Hearing his friend's scream Joe hesitates and in doing so falls foul of Farina who quickly converts him to the joys of zombiness too. The half dead foursome emerge into the storm lashed graveyard and quickly locate Jackie, who has caught his trousers on a tree branch and is unable to escape. The grave yard witch cackles and tells her growing army of zombies to unleash the zombie plague upon the entire world. Fortunately Wheezer, who is hiding behind a tombstone observing the whole thing, has a brain wave and shouts at Joe "Eat the witch, she tastes like a doughnut." The ever hungry Joe does as instructed and instead of simply biting the old crone he eats every last scrap of her, down to her boot laces. Once the witch has been eaten the zombification spell is broken and the boys return to normal. They all cheer and pat each other on the back in congratulation, except for Jay R. who hits Harry over the head with a piece of wood and says, "That's pay back for biting my leg you little swine. It really hurt and I probably need a tetanus shot now too."
Unfortunately the US board of film censorship refused to pass this movie for cinema release on the grounds that it was too dark. Not for the storyline however just because of the lack of adequate lighting.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jul 4, 2013 11:41:00 GMT -5
A Clockwork Watermelon (1927) Harry finds a bottle of illegal Canadian whiskey and decides to try it. He sits on the steps of a concert hall where a visiting concert pianist is playing a selection of Beethoven compositions. Half an hour later he's as fighting drunk as a skunk and raring for some ultra violence. He spots the rest of the Gang approaching and walks over to meet them and then launches an unprovoked attack on Farina. The rest of the gang simply stand by and laugh. "Why did you do that?" asks Joe when Harry eventually stops for breath. Harry shrugs, "It seemed like a good idea at the time, anyway it's fun beating people up." "Is it?" Asks Jay R. "Perhaps we should try it too, just to find out?" "I'm up for it," agrees Joe. Jackie Condon kicks the prone Farina and laughs, "It seems like fun to me too so count me in." "And me, I wanna hit some boys for a change," agrees Mary Ann "Can I jab people with a pin?" Asks Jean. Harry nods, "Sure thing but you all have to wear bowler hats, just like me, and we can be called droogs instead of Our Gang, okay?" The rest nod in agreement and then run off to their various homes to borrow bowler hats. The droogs reassemble ten minutes later and go on the prowl looking for other kids to beat up... This short opening snippet is all that remains of one of the Gang's most controversial movies. The rest of the movie has been declared lost although according to Hal Roach ledgers some scenes were cut into Olympic Games. In its day the movie caused a massive controversy and was instrumental in launching a heated public debate about the pros and cons of hitting people for fun. Those in favor of hitting people won the argument by simply resorting to violence and hitting their opponents. However the film was withdraw from public circulation in cinemas after it was linked to sporadic outbreaks of vandalism and violence by children who were wearing bowler hats and humming Beethoven tunes.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jul 5, 2013 10:27:03 GMT -5
1938 A Fake Odyssey (1937)
Spanky leaves his house one fine sunny morning and is surprised to see a tall black rectangular object standing in the middle of his front yard. Elmer the monkey is engaged in hitting the object with a hammer and chisel. Spanky is puzzled, the object certainly wasn't there when he came home the previous day. Puzzled, he walks around it, careful to keep a safe distance, before running off to fetch the rest of the Gang. "Maybe it's one of those whatchamacallits?" Suggests Buckwheat. "That's exactly what it is," agrees Alfalfa, nodding his head enthusiastically. Spanky looks a little doubtful, "But what does it do? What's it for?" Porky shrugs, "I dunno." Just then Darla arrives hand in hand with her latest boyfriend, Deadpan Switzer, who stands almost two feet taller than her. "What do you reckon on this Darla?" Asked Spanky. Darla frowns in concentration for a moment before replying, "Err it's very nice Spanky. I think everyone should have one but I'd like a pink one, black is a little bit depressing don't you think? I mean you wouldn't be able to see it at night." "Just like me," adds Buckwheat gleefully. "We can always spot you by your eyes and your teeth," replies Spanky. "One days I'm gonna creep up on you in the middle of the night an' I'll be wearing sun glasses and I'll keep my mouth closed an' you won't know what's hit you fat boy," replies Buckwheat. Elmer the monkey has fetched a blow torch from Spanky's garage and it focusing the flame on one small area of the black object, he shakes his head, baffled by his inability to make even a slight mark on its smooth black surface. "Can we go and do something instead of just standing here looking at a dumb black thingamajig?" Protests Alfalfa. Just then there is a sudden flash of light and the black object has mysterious disappeared, leaving no trace. Elmer packs up his tools and returns them to the garage. Deadpan shakes his head sadly, "You kids have just messed up the biggest opportunity of our lives. That thing was obviously built by an alien civilization and sent here to look for signs of intelligent life. Thanks to you lot it's now decided that there is no intelligent life here and now it's gone someplace else to look for it. What a missed opportunity, we could have communicated with beings from another planet, learned the secrets of the universe, unlocked space travel and quantum mechanics." Seeing the blank looks on the faces of the rest of the Gang Deadpan simplifies things, "We could have been famous. This could have been the most important event in the history of mankind but you lot blew it." "So," replies Alfalfa crossing his eyes and spinning one finger close to his temple, "Now that Einstein's made his crazy speech let's get on to the really import things okay?" He turns to Spanky,"So great and rotund leader, where are we going to go and what are we going to do?" "Let's go and buy an ice cream soda with six straws," suggests Spanky. "Make that seven," says Elmer, "I'm coming too."
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Post by RJH on Jul 6, 2013 1:52:50 GMT -5
Seizing Caesar (1937) - The club wants to raise money for new football equipment, so Spanky decides to put on a performance of "Julius Caesar." He has to take the title role, and tells Alfalfa to play Marc Antony, Darla to play Cleopatra, Porky to play Brutus, Buckwheat to be a slave, and all the unimportant members the Roman army. After extensive advertising, no one shows up to see the play. Spanky leads the group outside to find out why. He encounters a teenage loner, who resembles someone Wheezer once told him about, named Harry. Spanky asks him if he knows what's going on, and gets the reply,
"Are you out of your mind? Kids don't like Shakespeare, and they have much better things to do on a Saturday afternoon than watch and pay for your stupid play. They're out playing ball, swimming, fishing, some are working, like regular kids. In fact, I can't believe any of those kid shows drew any audience, but they're all normal now, and they're not going to in the future. Now good-bye, and don't bother me any more!"
Alfalfa asks, "are we still going to do the play?"
Porky: "I still want to stab Spanky in the back."
Spanky: "I feel like I've already been stabbed in the back."
Porky stabs Spanky with his cheap plastic sword anyway. Spanky emotes, "Et tu, Porky?" and falls on his face, ending the film. On the bright side, Buckwheat was glad that he didn't have to do any slave things and Darla was happy she didn't have to kiss Alfalfa, who never kicked his habit of eating onions before big performances.
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After a one-day run this film was pulled from all theaters, and refunds were given under the condition that the film never be mentioned.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jul 6, 2013 16:00:15 GMT -5
The Matinee Tricks (1938) The movie starts with Alfalfa outside the cinema one Saturday afternoon waiting for the rest of the Gang to turn up. However nobody does show up because they've all been invited to an impromptu party by Butch. Eventually Alfalfa gets fed up waiting and goes into the cinema alone. The cinema is virtually empty as the movie had been running for several weeks and most of the kids in town have already seen the film, several times. Alfalfa takes a seat in the front row and pays little attention to the far too familiar movie, soon his eyelids begin to grow heavy. Suddenly a voice speaks directly to Alfalfa, he starts up in his seat and looks around frantically. The cinema is now deserted but the movie is still running. Again the voice speaks and Alfalfa realizes that it is coming from the cinema screen. "Welcome Alfalfa" says the voice as swirling black and white patterns cover the screen. "It is I, Naughty Gus. You think you've been looking for me but in reality I've been looking for you for days. You want to know what the matinee really is don't you?" Alfalfa nods eagerly. "Look on the empty seat next to you," instructs the voice, "There is a chocolate sundae and a bag of popcorn. If you choose the chocolate sundae I'll show you the truth behind the matinee. But it will be dangerous and once you start upon the journey there is no going back." Alfalfa swallows nervously and asks in a trembling voice, "Is there a second choice?" The voice replies, "It you have a cowardly nature and prefer ignorance and safety to knowing the truth about the matinee simply choose the popcorn and the film you were watching will resume and you'll forget that you ever heard my voice." Alfalfa picks up the tub of chocolate sundae and the bag of popcorn and appears indecisive. "To give you some time in which to make your decision there will be a short intermission," instructs the voice, "Here is a Felix the Cat cartoon, you have five minutes to make your choice." Alfalfa holds the tub in one hand and the bag of popcorn in the other, "Matinee or safety" he whispers as he watches Felix clambering over a mess of girders high on the New York Skyline. His eyes grow tired and begin to close. A voice wakes him up. "Sorry dearie you'll have to go, you've been here for hours and the next show is due to start soon. It's got Lon Chaney in it and it's not suitable for children. Come on dearie, time to go home" Alfalfa rubs his eyes and stands up. "Oh you've spilled your popcorn," says the usherette, she lowers her voice a little, "Don't worry I'll give you some fresh popcorn on the way out." "But where's my chocolate sundae?" Asks a confused Alfalfa. The usherette shakes her head, "I was the one who sold the refreshments. You didn't have a sundae, I distinctly remember that you chose popcorn." This film was part of a cost cutting exercise made by MGM who had envisaged make a number of similar movies each featuring only one Rascal at a time. However the audience at the trial screenings complained that Alfalfa should have chosen the chocolate sundae as that had far more potential for an interesting storyline. This negative feedback coupled with the cost of psychiatric treatment required by the confused Carl Swizter, who was apparently convinced that there was some unknown truth about the matinee which had been kept from him, meant that the movie was shelved and left to gather dust. Twenty years later during a TV interview Carl Switzer declared that the shelving of the movie had been a deliberate ploy to suppress any questioning of the true nature of the matinee.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jul 7, 2013 14:43:15 GMT -5
Mathematricks (1929)After negotiating a sponsorship deal with 'Numeracy 4 Nuts', an alternative mathematics foundation Hal Roach agreed to make a mathematics based Our Gang movie, the result was Mathematricks. During its initial screening for the 'Numeracy 4 Nuts' executives the film was seized by government agents and impounded. It was considered by many high ranking mathematicians to be a work of pure anarchy which threatened the numeracy of the nation. Only one copy of this strange movie still exists and that one is kept under lock and key at the Smithsonian Institute. There is a long and complicated procedure which must be first gone through in order to view the movie and then only under the supervision of the archives curator and two armed guards. There isn't much in the way of a story but apparently the 'Numeracy 4 Nuts' foundation wanted it that way. The episode largely takes place in the Hal Roach Studios classroom, where a stand in for studio teacher Fern Carter was used. Miss Fern Cotton is engaged in teaching four of the Our Gangers mathematics. She explains the new 'Nuts Numeracy' philosophy to the kids telling them that any sheep can copy their teacher and find the correct answer to a sum but it takes imagination and creativity to produce a wrong answer and then give a convincing explanation as to how it was reached. Pretty quickly Farina and Joe cotton on to the principles. Joe imaginatively misses an entire one hundred out of the answer to a multiplication problem and explains that the hundred column is actually still there but it is in a different time stream and isn't visible in our present. He also misses the numeral 8 from the answer to a long division problem, giving the answer as 273 instead of 2738. Apparently the Pope had recently proclaimed a injunction against the use of the number 8 in mathematical problems on Wednesday afternoons in Culver City or at least Joe claimed that he had. Miss Cotton gives Joe a gold star to stick on his school book. Eager to show that he could equal anything that Joe could do, Farina also produced two wrong multiplication answers. He explains that he added an extra 1 to the first answer because it was the first problem and took two units away from the second answer because it was the second problem. Farina was rewarded with a gold star too. Jean stuck Miss Cotton with a pin and then complained that the whole thing was silly and that she couldn't give any answers to any of the problems because invisible pixies had magicked all the numbers away. Miss Cotton gave her a gold star too. Harry simply drew a picture of his cat and picked his nose. Miss Cotton gave him a gold star too, so that he wouldn't feel left out. Attachments:
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jul 8, 2013 15:05:25 GMT -5
Emergency Exit (1940) This episode starts with Mickey arriving at the Our Gang club house. Nobody is there yet so he climbs up to the old hay loft and tired from lack of sleep, because he was worrying about his parents all night, the small boy falls asleep. The sound of voices wakes him and Mickey is about to climb down from the hay loft when he realizes that the Gang are talking about someone that they don't like. 'He's a total pest' says Spanky, 'always trailing around behind us. Doesn't he realize that he's not wanted?" "We could just tell him straight out," suggests Alfalfa, "Next time we see him we can all just shout 'Get Lost' and turn our backs on him." "Good idea," says Spanky, "Let's put it to the vote. All members of the He-owl that gets mistaken for a brown eagle in a chipmunk suit club raise you right hand if you agree with chairman Alfalfa's suggestion." Spanky does a quick count, "That's everybody if you include Porky, he had his left hand up but he can't tell the difference 'tween left and right." "Neither can I" replies Alfalfa, "I just made a lucky guess." Everybody laughs except for Mickey. The small boy watches as the rest of the Gang leave the club house to play a game of baseball before lunch. Alone once more Mickey sobs and wails, "Why does nobody like me?" He squeals, "My new daddy won't talk to me, my own mummy even forgot my name and called me Bobby. Now the Gang hates me too. I can't stand this any more, I make everyone's life a misery." He looks up at a wooden beam and spots an old length of rope. "You're doing that all wrong," says a voice. Mickey guiltily drops the rope that's been trying to form into a noose and turns his head rapidly left and right. "Over here." Mickey glances at a stack of old straw bales and spots Deadpan Switzer and Uh-huh sitting there sharing a packet of pop corn. Deadpan jumps down and crosses the dusty loft. He extends his hand and says, "Here, give me the rope and I'll tie a proper noose for you. I learned how to do them in scouts." Uh-huh jumps down from the straw bales and joins them too. "So why do you want a noose Mickey? Are you planning on saying goodbye to the rest of us, permanently?" Mickey hangs his head and begins to sob again as he explains how his daddy and mummy have treated him and how the Gang doesn't want him around any more. Uh-huh shakes his head and says, "Uh uh, you've got it all wrong Michael, hasn't he Deadpan?" Deadpan finishes tying the noose and nods his head and says, "Uh huh. Your new daddy doesn't talk to you because he's dumb, didn't you notice that he's got no tongue? Bootleggers cut it out when he narked on them to the feds." Uh-huh nods and adds: "And your mum probably called you Bobby because you're wearing Wheezer's old sweater, the one with BOBBY knitted across the front of it. It was just a simple mistake that's all." Mickey looks up and manages a weak smile, "Gee thanks fellers but why did the Gang say that stuff about not wanting me around." Deadpan grins, "Why do you think?" Mickey thinks and then he grins too, "They didn't say it was me at all! I just thought that they were talking about me. They were probably talking about that mangy old dog that keep turning up. I'm right aren't I?" Deadpan looks at Uh-huh and then shakes his head, "Sorry Mickey they were talking about you. You see the problem is they are sick of listening to you whining and crying all the time about nothing." Uh-huh nods and adds "And lets not forget that you are seriously stinky. Phooey do you pong? I'm nearly gagging just talking to you now and the loft windows are wide open." Deadpan nods, "It's true Mickey, you smell like something crawled into your socks and died about three months ago." He hands the smaller boy the neatly tied noose, "There you go kid, I'd go ahead if I were you. But I want you to do us all a favor first, OK? Write a suicide note and ask them to bury you really deep so the rest of us don't have to put up with the lingering stench." He turns to Uh-huh and says, "Let's split and get some fresh air and maybe go for a soda, are you up for it?" "Uh-huh" replies his friend and they both jump down from the hayloft and leave. This movie was never screened as Mickey Gubitosi renewed his contract to work for MGM for a greatly reduced salary, as they'd intended all along. It is rumored that similar movies were made featuring each of the principle actors in order to keep their salaries and their egos in check.
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Post by RJH on Jul 17, 2013 1:06:21 GMT -5
Butch's Revenge (1939) - Butch was coming out on the losing end in every film, so to be fair this idea was conceived. Determined to get revenge for being humiliated by Alfalfa in the boxing and wrestling matches and remembering Alfalfa was once hypnotized into thinking he was D'Artagnan, Butch decides to hypnotize Alfalfa, but this time into thinking he's Houdini.
Setting the plan in motion, The Woim sneaks up on Alfalfa from behind and grabs him to hold him still while Butch hypnotizes him. Partway through the process, Spanky, Buckwheat, and Porky rush to Alfalfa's aid, but they all get hypnotized as well. Under hypnosis, Buckwheat and Porky confess to ripping Butch's wrestling suit off under the mat and knocking him out from behind the curtain alongside the boxing ring.
Butch decides to get even by telling the gang they should show off their escape skills after going swimming. In the most overworked plot development ever, Butch and Woim steal their clothes while the gang is swimming. Emerging in their wet underwear, the foursome lets Butch and Woim tie them to trees. Butch then thinks of the biggest insult he can, and writes "MUG" in large letters on the gang's chests, using black paint for Alfalfa, Spanky, and Proky, and white paint for Buckwheat.
Butch and Woim then plant the gang's clothes in Waldo's garage to frame another enemy. They write a note to Darla telling her where to find the gang. After a few hours, she finds them, and Alfalfa explains they bet Waldo that they could get loose before the paint dried, but they lost. Also, that he didn't win the boxing and wrestling matches fairly, the gang is guilty of breaking into the school at night when their phony sick excuse note didn't work, and that he thinks Darla is an awful vamp for constantly playing him and Butch against each other, and that he doesn't want anything more to do with her. Darla is offended, and turns to leave. That triggers the end of the hypnotic spells. The boys call for help, but now can't give a good reason, so Darla leaves anyway, telling them that she will send the truant officer for them the next morning.
After the initial screening, it was pointed out that this would wreck future Alfalfa-Darla story lines in progress, so it was quietly shelved.
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Post by mtw12055 on Aug 16, 2013 14:33:50 GMT -5
Ghost Eater (1938) - A bizarre short that was apparently meant to pay tribute to Norman Chaney. Instead, it just comes off as insulting.
While digging through his family's ice box, Spanky is visited by the ghost of Chubby Chaney. Spanky learns that the only way to communicate with Chubby is by giving him food. His response will depend on if he accepts the food (if he accepts an apple, he's saying "applesauce", if he accepts bananas or peanuts, he's saying "this guy is nuts/bananas").
Spanky and the Gang use this ghost to help them solve a series of poorly-thought-out mysteries.
A bad concept that was done more appropriately (and far better) with the 1990's series "Ghostwriter".
Reunion in Rhythm (the original version) (1937) - The infamous two-reel version, this was produced in honor of the series' fifteenth anniversary, this short finds Spanky (Joe Cobb), Alfalfa (Mickey Daniels), Darla (Mary Kornman), Buckwheat (Farina Hoskins), Porky (Jackie Condon), and Pete the Pup (Dinah the Mule) as they try to (what else?) put on a show.
The opening scene shows Spanky/Joe attempting to play hooky from school because he doesn't want to take part in the class play. Some coaxing from Alfalfa/Mickey and Pete/Dinah convinces him to go.
In front of the school, Buckwheat/Farina and Porky/Jackie are hungrily waiting for the play to start (so they can get to the refreshment table); Darla/Mary brought two apples to school (one for the teacher and one for Alfalfa/Mickey). The two hungry boys eat the apples when she isn't looking.
At school, Alfalfa/Mickey asks the teacher Miss Lawrence/George B. French if he'll be able to sing a song in the school play. French sort of ignores him, obviously not too happy about having to play a female character.
The scenes in the show are pretty much the same as those used in the final version. And if you thought Carl Switzer's singing was bad, wait 'till you hear the silent Gangsters sing. The only former Gang member in this film with a good voice is Johnny Downs, here playing the Georgia Jean La Rue role. Like George B. French, Downs looks extremely uncomfortable at the fact that he has to be in drag.
An extremely bizarre experimental short that left test audiences extremely confused. MGM thought the finished product was terrible, and forced the Roach staff to remake it with the then-current Gang as the stars, and the former Gangsters in mere cameos. Farina, Jackie, Johnny, George French, and even Dinah were so embarrassed by the finished product that they refused to appear in the remake.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Aug 17, 2013 9:41:44 GMT -5
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (1939) After the departure of Farina the Our Gang writers needed a new scapegoat who the kids could accuse of being lazy and a liar. Worried that Alfalfa was becoming far too popular and overshadowing his son Mister McFarland suggested that Alfalfa might be the ideal candidate to be Our Gang's resident liar. A script was soon drawn up in which numerous wrongs befall the various members of the Gang. Eventually Spanky calls an emergency meeting of The Three Fingered Peruvian Sloth Club and the Gang gathers in their barn to discus their problems. From their various accounts it soon becomes apparent that each time a Gang member is wrongly accused of some misdeed Alfalfa has been noticed lurking in the vicinty and smoke has also seen to be rising from the back pocket of his trousers. Spanky points his finger at the club chairman and declared, 'It's all Alfalfa's fault, he's lazy and a liar.' Alfalfa loudly protests his innocence, whereupon the back of his trousers burst into flames. The entire Gang point their accusing fingers at the cowlick kid, as he plunges his backside into a barrel of water, and they chant 'Liar, liar pant's on fire!" The movie was never screened after a legal suit was brought against Hal Roach Studios by Mister Switzer. This action resulted in a substantial compensation payment and a public apology by the studio declaring that Carl Switzer was the most trustworthy kid in the whole of Hollywood who was always scrupulously honest.
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Post by myhomeo on Aug 19, 2013 17:31:33 GMT -5
Of course, if we're going to discuss terrible unclaimed Rascals shorts that never really existed, we must cover the work of Helmut Jabobsom Schroeder.
Schroeder, a German refugee who fled to America during the Nazi takeover, was perhaps best known for his Weimer era avant garde films 'A Dog With Three Legs' and 'The Woman Who Left.' His best-reviewed work, 'Lost In The White,' reportedly concerned a young couple and their infant child struggling to survive in an isolated cabin after a blizzard leaves them snowbound. No known copies of these films survive.
Hal Roach, however, was apparently more impressed with 'The Crazy Children', a series of silent shorts obviously influenced by The Gang, and hired Schroeder as director and scenarist for a brief period just before selling the series to MGM. Surviving Gang members disliked talking about him, though when pressed, all vividly remembered him. A huge, bearlike man with a beard and an inpenetrable accent which often required translating by the assistant director, he seemed to want the Gang to think of him as a grandfather figure. More than one kid remembered being snuck up on, seized without warning, and thrown into the air repeatedly by this laughing behemoth, who called them 'mein bunny rabbits.' Spanky particularly loathed being slapped on the stomach while he proclaimed him, "My grumpy little bear cub." He was evangelical about his vegetarian-nudist lifestyle and often discussed his morning outdoor exercise regimen, conducted entirely in the buff; "The mental image," one grown Rascal stated, "was terrifying."
This perhaps led to his repeated attempts to sneak nudity past the censors. The only short of his known to survive more or less intact, 'A Summer Day,' rehashes the old 'clothes stolen while skinnydipping' schtick, though in this case it's a goat that eats Spanky and Alfalfa's garments, leaving them to make their way home while trying to keep out of sight. According to some accounts, this was originally planned as a solo Spanky vehicle but Alfalfa's parents demanded he be included as well. They did him no favor. Unoriginal and episodic, it plays like a silent with dialogue and was in fact reportedly a remake of Schroeder's 'Crazy Children' short 'Bare At The Party.' Perhaps the only solid laughs come from the scenes near the end; hiding in barrels of flour, Spanky and Alfalfa find themselves delivered to the home of a wealthy woman hosting a garden party and use their flour-covered state to imitate statues as they attempt to slip away. When an inebriated party-goer leans against one of the 'statues,' he's startled to come away with a white palm and the outline of his hand on one figure. (Spanky's expression is priceless.) This obviously could never make it past the censors in 1938 and the film was never shown publicly.
The same is true of 'Gym Dandies,' which is known only through a few stills and fragments and apparently involves Spanky and Alfalfa fleeing Butch and Woim and taking refuge in a health spa. The only intact segment is the end where Spanky and Alfalfa try to hide in a steam room. Butch and Woim, for some reason wearing only towels, almost catch the boys but they flee, Spanky turning up the steam to hide their escape. The other patrons, adults in various stages of undress, emerge complaining of the heat and the disruption, but Butch and Woim remain inside until, in the gag end, they emerge shrunk to pint size, clutching their oversized towels and vowing vengeance against their startled opponents in squeaky voices. The special effects are crude but impressive for the era. Still, it's difficult to imagine how he thought this would make it past the Hays office.
There were other problems, most notably his gags involving Buckwheat. In Schroeder's shorts, he was often shown chasing little girls in an imitation of Harpo Marx; at least one short had him gnawing a huge bone of indeterminate origin while stirring a cauldron from which a human leg protruded. This was too much for even Roach, who was also aggravated by Schroeder's overwrought Teutonic dialogue. In the example cited, Butch goes on for three solid minutes about a tormenting monster that haunts him and while it's agreed Tommy Bond's performance was remarkable, it seemed a little much for just Buckwheat and Porky piggy-back in a gorilla suit. Schroeder was let go halfway through filming of 'Cradle Days,' a short which seemed inexplicably influenced by The Baby Burlesks, in which the Gang played infant versions of themselves going through a standard 'Rascals' plot wearing oversized diapers on giant sets left over from 'Brats.' The footage shot was scrapped and Roach elected to go ahead with the MGM deal to recoup his losses. Schroeder, a deeply troubled man, later commtted suicide, leaving a note addressed to Scotty Beckett, who, perhaps foruitously, never saw it.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Aug 21, 2013 9:44:31 GMT -5
The Stick's Sense (1928) First time director and screenwriter M Day Shyamalan was the guiding hand behind this project which was shelved without ever being put on general release. The basic plot was simple enough; Farina is hit over the head by his little sister. Unfortunate for Farina she had used an ancient Juju spirit stick belong to Farina's grandfather, a stick which had once belonged to an African witchdoctor. Initially Farina notices no ill effects, other than a slight bump on his head, that is until he encounters Harry laying in the middle of a road. When he asks Harry what he's doing there Harry replies that he's just been run over by car and that he feels cold and clammy. Farina comments that his friend and sparring partner does indeed look even paler than usual, even his freckles seem to have faded away. At this point Joe and Jackie turn up and ask Farina why he's standing in the middle of the road talking to himself. Confusion ensues as Farina insists that he's talking to Harry and the other boys inform him that he can't be talking to Harry because Harry isn't there and furthermore Harry was run down and killed by a car earlier that morning. The two boys escort Faina to the funeral parlor owned by Jay R. Smith's father and tell him to go inside and see for himself. Sure enough Farina soon spots the corpse of Harry laid out in a coffin. Farina is extremely puzzled when he turns to his right and finds that Harry is also standing next to him looking even paler than he did earlier. Just then undertaker's son Jay R. Smith enters the room and asks Farina why he's looking so shocked and disturbed. Farina tells him what has happened to him that day and explains that not only can he see Harry laid out in a coffin but he can also see him standing next to Jay R. Jay R. Smith nods his head in understanding. He explains that the Juju stick that Farina was hit with has bestowed upon him the stick's sense and that he can now see dead people. When Farina asks Jay R. Smith how he knows this Jay R. admits that he's dead himself, having fallen off a ladder a week earlier. Although a test screening met with an initially fairly positive reaction the storyline had soon leaked out and was printed in several newspapers and cinema magazines. A snap survey of cinema goers soon revealed that now they knew about the 'surprise' ending they wouldn't be wasting their money going to see the movie, especially as they'd heard that it wasn't even funny. Hal Roach decided to cut his losses and shelve the movie. Having been fired by Hal Roach, M Day Shyamalan set up his own production studio where he went on to produce a number of other movies with 'surprise' endings. Pretty soon his movies were losing money at the box office as newspapers began running competitions for their readers to guess the surprise twist ending to the latest M Day Shyamalan movies in advance. Surprise endings became so expected that they no longer held any element of surprise at all and were unofficially known as 'Shyamalans.' Bored with the formula the general public voted with their pockets and stayed away from his later movies. Shyamalan was forced to sell his film studios and give up directing. He later graduated from college and became a child psychiatrist. Towards the end of his long life he apparently delighted in telling his grandson bedtime stories with twist endings..
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Post by myhomeo on Aug 24, 2013 14:10:11 GMT -5
From The MGM days...
NEVER ON A SUNDAY: A remake of 'Little Sinner,' in which Froggy decides to go fishing rather than attend Sunday school. In the updated version, rather than being scared by an eclipse and a Baptist revival service, the errant boy is torn apart by wild jackals. Mickey speaks at the funeral and comments that while his friend's death was indeed tragic, it was no more than he deserved for playing hookey from Sunday school.
A TAX-ING DAY: Mickey, Froggy, Janet and Buckwheat explain the Municipal tax code in all its intricate detail. Removed from circulation because it was feared some audiences might actually find it interesting.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Aug 24, 2013 16:24:37 GMT -5
It's All About Socks (1943)
This short is split into two sections. In the first section Froggy calls for Mickey (he must have been really desperate for friends). The younger boy is busy tidying his clothes cupboards so Froggy volunteers to help and explains to Mickey how to organize his sock drawer by color and sock length. Froggy tells the younger boy how to arrange the longer pairs of less used sports socks at the back of the drawer and the every day, go to school, socks near the front. With his sock drawer sensibly organized, Froggy explains, Mickey will now be able to get ready for school with the minimum of fuss. "I'll show you have to organize your undies next week," he promises the eager youngster, "but you'll need to iron them all first."
Eager to cater to the female cinema going audience too the second section of the short features Janet explaining that the same sock organizing system works equally well for girls before adding that arranging socks by season is also a useful tip. The back wall of Janet's bedroom then slides to one side revealing a huge revolving stage complete with 240 young uniformed tap dancers and an 88 piece orchestra who accompany Janet's excruciating rendition of "The Seasonal Sock Song.'
This movie was so nauseating that the film's assistant editor actually vomited several times during the editing process before he'd had enough of the whole thing and then tipped all of the exposed film into a metal trash can before setting it on fire. It is certainly true that no copies of the film now exist. The assistant editor was apparently escorted from the MGM studio by armed security guards but they were unable to prevent him from shouting 'if you hadn't stopped me I'd have gotten rid of all the rest of the rubbish that Janet was in too.' If only.
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