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Post by mtw12055 on Nov 22, 2010 8:33:39 GMT -5
Wow. It certainly caught my attention, even if I didn't understand all of it. If the boy in the bowler hat is supposed to be Harry Spear, then am I correct in assuming that the boy with the handkerchief wrapped loosely around his neck is supposed to be Wheezer? That's right. Also, the chubby kid is supposed to be Joe Cobb, the African-American kid is supposed to be Farina, the freckle-faced girl is supposed to be Mary Ann Jackson, and the blonde girl is supposed to be Jean Darling. The school teacher is supposed to be Fern Carter. Part 4 makes references to "Ol' Gray Hoss", "Saturday's Lesson", and "Lazy Days".
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Post by zootmoney on Nov 22, 2010 13:21:55 GMT -5
Interesting that grown-up Harry is called Sammy, but when Jean calls him on the phone, she calls him Harry, and says Mr McGowan wants him on the set.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Nov 22, 2010 14:38:14 GMT -5
Interesting that grown-up Harry is called Sammy, but when Jean calls him on the phone, she calls him Harry, and says Mr McGowan wants him on the set. I, too, thought that was interesting. For a moment I wondered if it had something to do with Harry Spear's seeming denial of his true identity a few years back, but that's probably reading too much into the film.
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Post by bigshotjones on Nov 23, 2010 10:05:52 GMT -5
Interesting that grown-up Harry is called Sammy, but when Jean calls him on the phone, she calls him Harry, and says Mr McGowan wants him on the set. Harry Spear would later grow up to become Sammy Spear, Jackie Gleason's music director. OK, just kidding. . . .
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Post by rhapsody on Nov 23, 2010 15:42:13 GMT -5
I, too, thought that was interesting. For a moment I wondered if it had something to do with Harry Spear's seeming denial of his true identity a few years back, but that's probably reading too much into the film. Actually, I think your instinct could be correct. The switching between the names Harry and Sammy is clearly intentional, and whoever created this is obviously an Our Gang fan. While Harry's full story wasn't known until after his death when it was confirmed by his family, at the time this film was made 10 years ago, the basics of Harry's tale (specifically that he was alive and living under his real name in Southern CA) could be found on Steve Ramsey's Little Rascals site.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Nov 25, 2010 12:20:26 GMT -5
Okay, just a minute or so ago, I saw a commercial on TV that reminded me of Our Gang. It features a baby in a carriage (or perhaps a walker or something like that) rolling down the street through traffic - all to the tune of Melanie's "Brand New Key." Very much like Rupert in "Noisy Noises," or Joe and Farina in "Telling Whoppers."
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Post by littlerascal4891 on Nov 26, 2010 11:07:53 GMT -5
Okay, just a minute or so ago, I saw a commercial on TV that reminded me of Our Gang. It features a baby in a carriage (or perhaps a walker or something like that) rolling down the street through traffic - all to the tune of Melanie's "Brand New Key." Very much like Rupert in "Noisy Noises," or Joe and Farina in "Telling Whoppers." I know what commercial you're talking about. I laugh every time I see it!
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Post by myhomeo on Nov 27, 2010 17:02:33 GMT -5
Re: Flipping The Whale. So, are the kids hanging out with Michael Jackson or a Japanese mime?
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Dec 16, 2010 3:50:43 GMT -5
Well, they just now showed the Darla Hood episode of The Jack Benny Program on the ME TOO T.V. network. I'm not sure how far the channel's range extends, but it's supposed to have very recently gone national.
A couple of things that I was able to confirm about the segment in which Jack Benny, Darla and the others perform the Our Gang skit:
Rochester is called "Oatmeal", and I think that he's supposed to be a version of Farina. Moments before the segment began, Darla mentioned a handful of Our Gang character names in order to compare them to Jack Benny's "gang", and she mentioned Farina but not Buckwheat.
Dennis Day is "Rodney", but I think that he's really supposed to be Waldo, for the same reason as I mentioned for Farina.
Don Wilson is "Spunky".
The dog is "Sparky".
Darla, of course, is herself, and Jack Benny is Alfalfa.
Watching Darla sing on the program was very interesting. Decades had passed since her last film role in The Gang and her onstage style had changed in some ways, but much of her performing demeanor and gestures were almost exactly as they had been in the mid-'30s. Even if I hadn't known who I was watching, I think I'd have quickly guessed that it was an older version of Darla.
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Post by mtw12055 on Dec 19, 2010 12:47:13 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this is an actual interview or a parody, but here's a radio station's interview with a 91 year old "Buckwheat" a.k.a. "Stymie". www.youtube.com/watch?v=tozZMOzsaBMIf this is the real deal, I'm surprised we still have false Our Gangers around.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 4, 2011 23:00:53 GMT -5
One page back in this thread, the rumor about Shirley Temple having been turned down for a position in The Gang was discussed. The general train of thought here seemed to be that the story probably wasn't true, so it caught my attention tonight when Robert Osbourne mentioned it as fact on TCM. I wonder if he knew that Shirley Temple has denied the veracity of that particular legend.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 4, 2011 23:25:25 GMT -5
I've noticed before that Osbourne is sometimes not too accurate. It's not surprising, since his line of work requires an all-around knowledge of film history. It would be a bit much for him (and his staff) to be up on all the minute details.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 5, 2011 1:01:38 GMT -5
Another thing I heard on the TCM program tonight that I wondered about pertained to the "discovery" of Robert Blake; at one point, in passing, Robert Osbourne credited Hal Roach with that find. I've been under the impression that Hal Roach wasn't involved in bringing Mickey Gubitosi to the Our Gang series, given that Mickey's first appearance in the films wasn't until after Hal Roach had signed full control of the franchise over to MGM. I could be wrong, though. Was Mickey Gubitosi actually a discovery of Hal Roach's, or was Mr. Roach not involved in that selection?
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 5, 2011 16:07:11 GMT -5
Another thing I heard on the TCM program tonight that I wondered about pertained to the "discovery" of Robert Blake; at one point, in passing, Robert Osbourne credited Hal Roach with that find. I've been under the impression that Hal Roach wasn't involved in bringing Mickey Gubitosi to the Our Gang series, given that Mickey's first appearance in the films wasn't until after Hal Roach had signed full control of the franchise over to MGM. I could be wrong, though. Was Mickey Gubitosi actually a discovery of Hal Roach's, or was Mr. Roach not involved in that selection? I'm not sure who writes those introductions for Osbourne, but Blake definately was not a Roach find. From what Blake recalls, during the production of the MGM Our Gang short "Joy Scouts", the writers wanted Gary Jasguar (rather rudely referred to by Blake later on in life as "a little rummy") to speak dialogue, but had little luck. Director Edward Cahn apparently said "How are we going to get this kid to say these lines?". Blake, then an MGM extra being paid $1 a week just happened to be there and said, "I can say them".
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 5, 2011 16:08:52 GMT -5
AT&T's website has an article on Our Gang today in the news section.
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