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, in order of release.
1922 - 1923 - 1924 - 1925 - 1926 - 1927 - 1928 - 1929 - 1930 - 1931
1932 - 1933 - 1934 - 1935 - 1936 - 1937 - 1938 - 1939 - 1940 - 1941 - 1942 - 1943 - 1944
[edit] The Roach/Pathé silents (1922–1928)
These two-reel silent Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Pathé.
[edit] The Roach/MGM silents (1927–1929)
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.
[edit] The Roach/MGM talkies (1929–1938,The Little Rascals)
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. Also in 1936, an Our Gang feature-length film, General Spanky, was released by MGM . 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.
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 086 | Small Talk | Robert McGowan | May 18 | - First sound film; release dates of first five sound shorts overlap with those of final three silents shorts.
- Television prints heavily edited for time and sound quality. Initially in the Little Rascals television package, but eliminated in the early 1980s due to sound quality.
|
| 088 | Railroadin' | Robert McGowan | June 15 | - First appearance of Norman "Chubby" Chaney.
- Never shown on television because the film's soundtrack was presumed lost since the mid-1940s. Railroadin's sound track turned up in the MGM vaults in 1982; while it was released on home video, it never became part of the television package.
|
| 089 | Lazy Days | Robert McGowan | August 15 | - Withdrawn from television package due to racial humor involving African-Americans.
|
| 090 | Boxing Gloves | Anthony Mack | September 9 | - First appearance of Jackie Cooper.
- Television prints edited due to time and to add sound to originally silent scenes.
|
| 092 | Bouncing Babies | Robert McGowan | October 12 | - Final appearances of Joe Cobb, Jean Darling, Harry Spear.
- Television prints edited due to content considered in bad taste.
|
| 094 | Moan and Groan, Inc. | Robert McGowan | December 7 | - First entry for 1929 – 30 film season.
- With Edgar Kennedy and Max Davidson.
- Final appearance of Jay R. Smith.
- Withdrawn from television package due to racial/ethnic humor involving Jewish-Americans and African Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 095 | Shivering Shakespeare | Anthony Mack | January 25 | - With Edgar Kennedy.
- First appearance of Donald Haines
- Television prints edited due to content considered in bad taste.
|
| 096 | The First Seven Years | Robert McGowan | March 1 | - With Edgar Kennedy.
- Television prints edited for racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 097 | When the Wind Blows | James W. Horne | April 5 | - With Edgar Kennedy.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 098 | Bear Shooters | Robert McGowan | May 17 | - Television prints edited due to content considered in bad taste, as well as racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 099 | A Tough Winter | Robert McGowan | June 21 | - With Stepin Fetchit.
- Withdrawn from television package due to racial humor involving African-Americans.
|
| 100 | Pups Is Pups | Robert McGowan | August 30 | - First entry for 1930 – 31 film season.
- First appearance of Dorothy DeBorba.
- First Our Gang film to feature incidental music by Leroy Shield.
- Selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans and for stereotyping of other people.
|
| 101 | Teacher's Pet | Robert McGowan | October 11 | - Television prints edited due to content considered in bad taste.
|
| 102 | School's Out | Robert McGowan | November 22 | - First appearance of Matthew Beard as "Stymie".
- With June Marlowe.
- Television prints edited due to stereotyping of women and racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 103 | Helping Grandma | Robert McGowan | January 3 | - Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 104 | Love Business | Robert McGowan | February 14 | - With June Marlowe.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 105 | Little Daddy | Robert McGowan | March 28 | - With June Marlowe.
- Withdrawn from television package due to racial humor involving African-Americans.
|
| 106 | Bargain Day | Robert McGowan | May 2 | - Final appearance of Jackie Cooper.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 107 | Fly My Kite | Robert McGowan | May 30 | - Final appearances of Allen "Farina" Hoskins, Mary Ann Jackson, Norman "Chubby" Chaney.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 108 | Big Ears | Robert McGowan | August 29 | - First entry for 1931 – 32 film season.
- Withdrawn from television package for centering on divorce.
|
| 109 | Shiver My Timbers | Robert McGowan | October 10 | - With June Marlowe.
- Television prints edited for verbal descriptions of violence.
|
| 110 | Dogs Is Dogs | Robert McGowan | November 21 | - Television prints edited due to negative treatment toward children and racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 111 | Readin' and Writin' | Robert McGowan | January 2 | - First appearance of Kendall "Breezy Brisbane" McComas.
- Final appearance of June Marlowe.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans and content deemed to be in bad taste.
|
| 112 | Free Eats | Raymond McCarey | February 13 | |
| 113 | Spanky | Robert McGowan | March 26 | - First appearance of Tommy Bond.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 114 | Choo-Choo! | Robert McGowan | May 7 | - Television prints edited due to content deemed to be in bad taste.
|
| 115 | The Pooch | Robert McGowan | June 11 | - Television prints edited due to negative treatment toward children and racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 116 | Hook and Ladder | Robert McGowan | August 27 | - First entry for 1932 – 33 film season.
- First appearance of Dickie Moore.
|
| 117 | Free Wheeling | Robert McGowan | October 1 | - Television prints edited due to stereotyping of women and racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 118 | Birthday Blues | Robert McGowan | November 12 | - Final appearance of Kendall McComas.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 119 | A Lad an' a Lamp | Robert McGowan | December 17 | - Withdrawn from television package due to racial humor involving African-Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 120 | Fish Hooky | Robert McGowan | January 28 | - Features "Our Gang Graduates" Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, Joe Cobb
|
| 121 | Forgotten Babies | Robert McGowan | March 11 | |
| 122 | The Kid From Borneo | Robert McGowan | April 15 | - Withdrawn from television package due to racial humor.
|
| 123 | Mush and Milk | Robert McGowan | May 27 | - Final appearances of Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins, Dorothy DeBorba, Dickie Moore.
- Television prints edited due to negative treatment of children.
|
| 124 | Bedtime Worries | Robert McGowan | September 9 | |
| 125 | Wild Poses | Robert McGowan | October 28 | - With Emerson Treacy, Gay Seabrook, Franklin Pangborn.
- Production hiatus until early 1934 following this short.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 126 | Hi'-Neighbor! | Gus Meins | March 3 | |
| 127 | For Pete's Sake! | Gus Meins | April 14 | |
| 128 | The First Round-Up | Gus Meins | May 5 | - Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 129 | Honky Donkey | Gus Meins | June 2 | |
| 130 | Mike Fright | Gus Meins | August 25 | - First entry for 1934 – 35 film season.
|
| 131 | Washee Ironee | James Parrott | November 13 [1] | - Final appearance of Wally Albright.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving Asian Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 132 | Mama's Little Pirate | Gus Meins | January 5 [1] | - First appearance of Billie Thomas as "Buckwheat".
|
| 133 | Shrimps for a Day | Gus Meins | February 20 [1] | - Final appearance of Jackie Lynn Taylor.
|
| 134 | Anniversary Trouble | Gus Meins | March 13 [1] | |
| 135 | Beginner's Luck | Gus Meins | April 8 [1] | |
| 136 | Teacher's Beau | Gus Meins | April 27 | - Final appearance of Matthew "Stymie" Beard.
|
| 137 | Sprucin' Up | Gus Meins | June 1 | |
| 138 | Little Papa | Gus Meins | September 21 | - First entry for 1935 – 36 film season.
|
| 139 | Little Sinner | Gus Meins | October 26 | - First apeparance of Eugene "Porky" Lee.
- Withdrawn from television package from the early 1970s to early 1980s due to racial humor involving African-Americans. The short was later reinstated, though edited heavily for the same reasons.
|
| 140 | Our Gang Follies of 1936 | Gus Meins | November 30 | - First appearance of Darla Hood.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 141 | The Pinch Singer | Fred Newmeyer | January 4 | - Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 142 | Divot Diggers | Robert McGowan | February 8 | - Filmed before The Pinch Singer, but released after.
|
| 143 | The Lucky Corner | Gus Meins | March 14 | - Filmed in mid-1935 between Sprucin' Up and Little Papa, withheld for a year.
- Final appearance of Scotty Beckett, although the final short Beckett shot was Follies of 1936.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 144 | Second Childhood | Gus Meins | April 11 | |
| 145 | Arbor Day | Fred Newmeyer | May 2 | - Final regular two-reel short in series.
- First appearance of Rosina Lawrence as schoolteacher Miss Lawrence/Miss Jones.
- With Hattie McDaniel.
|
| 146 | Bored of Education | Gordon Douglas | August 20 | |
| 147 | Two Too Young | Gordon Douglas | September 26 | |
| 148 | Pay As You Exit | Gordon Douglas | October 24 | - Features "Our Gang Graduate" Joe Cobb.
|
| 149 | Spooky Hooky | Gordon Douglas | December 5 | - With Rosina Lawrence.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 150 | Reunion in Rhythm | Gordon Douglas | January 9 | - With Rosina Lawrence and "Our Gang Graduates" Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb, Matthew "Stymie" Beard.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 151 | Glove Taps | Gordon Douglas | February 20 | |
| 152 | Hearts Are Thumps | Gordon Douglas | April 3 | |
| 153 | Three Smart Boys | Gordon Douglas | May 13 | - Final appearance of Rosina Lawrence.
- Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 154 | Rushin' Ballet | Gordon Douglas | April 24 | - Television prints edited due to racial humor involving African Americans.
|
| 155 | Roamin' Holiday | Gordon Douglas | June 12 | |
| 156 | Night 'n' Gales | Gordon Douglas | July 24 | |
| 157 | Fishy Tales | Gordon Douglas | August 28 | |
| 158 | Framing Youth | Gordon Douglas | September 11 | - First entry for 1937 – 38 film season.
|
| 159 | The Pigskin Palooka | Gordon Douglas | October 23 | |
| 160 | Mail and Female | Fred Newmeyer | November 13 | |
| 161 | Our Gang Follies of 1938 | Gordon Douglas | December 18 | - Two-reel musical special.
|
| |
| # | Film | Director | Original release date | Notes/Content edits for television |
| 162 | Canned Fishing | Gordon Douglas | February 12 | |
| 163 | Bear Facts | Gordon Douglas | March 5 | |
| 164 | Three Men in a Tub | Nate Watt | March 26 | |
| 165 | Came the Brawn | Gordon Douglas | April 16 | - George "Spanky" McFarland departs series after this short; will rejoin after transition to MGM.
|
| 166 | Feed 'em and Weep | Gordon Douglas | May 7 | |
| 167 | The Awful Tooth | Nate Watt | May 28 | |
| 168 | Hide and Shriek | Gordon Douglas | June 18 | - Final Roach short. Final two entries for 1937 – 38 film season completed by MGM.
|
[edit] The MGM talkies (1938–1944)
These one-reel sound Our Gang shorts were produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
[edit] Cameos/appearances in other films
Our Gang as a unit appeared in a handful of other Hal Roach films, and in a few outside productions as well.
[edit] Home videos
[edit] Blackhawk/Republic releases
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. 69 of the 80 sound shorts were made available across twenty-three VHS volumes, three shorts to a tape. Half a dozen silent episodes were also available across two VHS volumes.
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 excluded. 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 had been previously unreleased.
[edit] Cabin Fever/Hallmark releases
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.
In 2006, Legend Films released colorized versions of fifteen Our Gang comedies (most of which are public domain), which were released across three Little Rascals DVDs. Fourteen 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 the summer of 2008.
RHI Entertainment and Genius Products released a 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. Other than that issue, the actual footage remains unedited.
Until recently, only a handful of MGM Our Gangs were available on DVD. Waldo's Last Stand, which is in the public domain, is one of only five MGM Our Gangs available on DVD. The other four—Party Fever, Dog Daze, Duel Personalities and The Big Premiere—have been released as bonus features in DVD releases of vintage Warner Bros. DVD releases. The former two are on the Warner Home Video release of The Marx Brothers Room Service and At The Circus DVD, while the latter two are on Warner's Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection: Babes In Arms DVD and Broadway Melody Of 1940 DVD, respectively.
On September 1, 2009, Warner Bros. released the 52 MGM Our Gang shorts in a compilation as part of their Warner Archive Collection mail-order series. The collection, Our Gang Comedies 1938–1944, is available for DVD and digital download only by mail order on the Warner Bros.' Studio Online Store. General Spanky remains out of circulation.
[edit] Public domain
The following Our Gang comedies are in the public domain, and have appeared on several different VHS and DVD releases over the years (somewhat questionably, some other titles have turned up in unauthorized VHS and DVD editions.)
- 1922: Our Gang; Fire Fighters; Young Sherlocks; One Terrible Day; A Quiet Street; Saturday Morning
- 1923: The Big Show; The Cobbler; The Champeen; Boys To Board; A Pleasant Journey; Giants Vs. Yanks; Back Stage; Dogs of War; Lodge Night; Stage Fright; July Days; Sunday Calm; No Noise; Derby Day
- 1924: Fast Company; Tire Trouble; Big Business; The Buccaneers; Seein' Things; Commencement Day; It's a Bear; Cradle Robbers; Jubilo, Jr.; High Society; The Sun Down Limited; Every Man for Himself; The Mysterious Mystery!
- 1925: The Big Town; Circus Fever; Dog Days; The Love Bug; Ask Grandma; Shootin' Injuns; Official Officers; Mary, Queen of Tots; Boys Will Be Joys; Better Movies; Your Own Back Yard; One Wild Ride
- 1926: Good Cheer; Buried Treasure; Monkey Business; Baby Clothes; Uncle Tom's Uncle; Thundering Fleas; Shivering Spooks; The Fourth Alarm; War Feathers
- 1930: Bear Shooters, School's Out
- 1937: Our Gang Follies of 1938
- 1940: Waldo's Last Stand
[edit] In-print Little Rascals DVDs (excluding public domain releases)
- Little Rascals - Collection III: Free Wheeling, Mike Fright, Washee Iornee, Fishy Tales, Divot Diggers, Shiver My Timbers, Board Of Education, Choo Choo, When The Wind Blows, Framing Youth
- Little Rascals Complete Collection: All Hal Roach talkies, with Barnum, Ringling, Inc., Dog Heaven, and Spook Spoofing as bonus shorts.
- ^ a b c d e Demoss, Robert (2008-11-09). "The Lucky Corner". http://www.theluckycorner.com/. Retrieved 2008-11-19. . This is the copyright date for this film. The dates given for shorts 131 through 135 in the 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 unavailible 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.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
