Shrimps for a Day (1934)

A magic lamp lets a young couple become kids again and exposes a mean old man who runs his orphanage like a prison.

Director:

Gus Meins

Stars:

Matthew 'Stymie' Beard, Scotty Beckett, Eileen Bernstein

Cast

Credited cast:
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Stymie
Scotty Beckett	...	Scotty Beckett
Eileen Bernstein
George Brasno	...	Dick as a child
Olive Brasno	...	Mary as a child
Richard Brasno	...	Mr. Crutch as a child (as Dick Brasno)
Alvin Buckelew
Marianne Edwards	...	Marianne
Gordon Evans	...	Kid Who Finds Lamp
Herbert Evans	...	The butler
Barbara Goodrich
Rosa Gore	...	Mrs. Crutch
Marialise Gumm
Harry Harvey Jr.
Dorian Johnston	...	(unconfirmed)

Storyline

A fantasy-departure from the norm in the series as the Kids are all orphans in a home that is ran like a prison by Mr. Crutch, except when he is trying to impress wealthy sponsors such as Mrs. McWade, her daughter Mary and Mary's fiancée Dick. Mary is so impressed with Mr. Crutch's "operation" and how happy the kids appear to be, and wishes she could be a kid again and share in all the fun. She gets her wish.

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Plot Keywords:

orphanage | magic lamp | series | sponsor | wish | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pequenos por um Dia

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

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Framing Youth (1937)

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Soundtracks

"Here Comes The Ice-Cream Man"
Written by 'T. Marvin Hatley', lyrics by 'Billy Gilbert'
Sung by Olive Brasno

User Reviews

A wonderful though not standard Our Gang short

While the plot is highly predictable and the villain a bit too melodramatic, this short contains some truly great early special effects of people morphing between child and adult. The performances by the child actors of the Gang are typical of their usual cute mugging for the camera, but the performances of George Brasno and Olive Brasno as the two adults turned children are brilliant. The children of the Gang are reduced to comic supporting roles to the straight leads played by the two Brasnos, and that makes this short work all the better as it relies less on "cute kids" antics and utilizes true acting to carry the story.