Big Ears (1931)

Wheezer pretends to be sick in order to get his parents to stop fighting.

Director:

Robert F. McGowan

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Stars:

Sherwood Bailey, Johnnie Mae Beard, Matthew 'Stymie' Beard

Cast

Credited cast:
Sherwood Bailey	...	Spud
Johnnie Mae Beard	...	Stymie's Mother
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Stymie
Ann Christy	...	Wheezer's mother
Dorothy DeBorba	...	Dorothy
Gordon Douglas	...	Orderly
Donald Haines	...	Speck
Creighton Hale	...	Wheezer's father
Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins	...	Wheezer
Wilfred Lucas	...	Doctor

Storyline

Wheezer's parents fight constantly. When he overhears them threatening divorce, he tells his friends in the gang. At first they think a divorce is something good, maybe something to eat. But when they find out what one really is, they devise a plan to get Wheezer's parents back together. They decide to give Wheezer all the medicines in his medicine cabinet to make him sick, so that his parents will forget their differences in their concern for their boy.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | medicine cabinet | our gang | children

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Genres:

Family | Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 1931 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

20 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Touchy subjects handled in "Our Gang" film

"Big Ears" is one of the few "Our Gang" films not to be shown on television, and the reasons are obvious from the storyline. Wheezer's parents are planning on getting a divorce. With the Gang's help, he hatches a plot to get so sick that the parents will reconcile. But will it work?

The divorce angle is obviously a difficult subject to handle in a "Little Rascals" film. With divorce rates ever on the rise over the decades, this film was shelved from television, and with good reason. As uncomfortable as the divorce storyline is, what makes the film doubly difficult to watch is how Wheezer matter-of-factly swallows things out of the medicine chest (ouch).

Some laughs, but too painful overall to recommend for younger children and sensitive adults. 3 out of 10.