Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937)

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writer:

Jack Jevne (story)

Release Date:

18 December 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Musical | Short

Plot:

The gang is putting on a show with Alfalfa billed as "King of the Crooners." But Alfalfa abandons the show saying his crooning days are over...

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Nightclub | Our Gang | Children

Cast

Daniel Boone	...	Boy in Balcony
Frances Bowling	...	Girl with the letter O on her sweater
Henry Brandon	...	Barnaby (opera impressario)
Tom Braunger	...	Kid
Bill Cody Jr.	...	Waiter
John 'Uh huh' Collum	...	Kid at Club Spanky
Gino Corrado	...	Singer
Wilma Cox	...	Miss Jones (stenographer)
Patsy Currier	...	Girl Near Dickie
Dix Davis	...	Boy Sitting at Table
Barry Downing	...	Boy in Balcony
Charles Flickinger	...	Boy
David Freeman	...	Conductor
Betsy Gay	...	Blonde Girl Fan of Alfalfa
Joe Geil	...	Corky
Cordell Hickman	...	Musician in Buckwheat's Band (as Bobbie Hickman)
Darla Hood	...	Darla
Jackie Horner	...	Girl Wearing Exclamation Point on Sweater (as Dorothy Horner)
Philip Hurlic	...	Boy (unconfirmed)
Gloria Hurst	...	Blonde Hula Girl
Dickie Jones	...	Dickie, Curtain Operator
Darwood Kaye	...	Waldo
Georgia Jean LaRue	...	Girl in the Love Bug Act
Eugene 'Porky' Lee	...	Porky
Henry 'Spike' Lee	...	Spike, Farm Boy
Ada Lynn	...	Girl
George 'Spanky' McFarland	...	Spanky
Tommy McFarland	...	Tommy
Billy Mindy	...	Chauffeur (as Billy Minderhout)
Priscilla Montgomery	...	Girl Wearing Letter 'T'
Raymond Rayhill Powell	...	Boy Sitting at Table
June Preston	...	Little blond curley girl
Josephine Roberts	...	Girl (unconfirmed)
Annie Ross	...	Loch Lomond Singer (as Annabelle Logan)
Tommy Ryan	...	Boy in Love Bug Singing Act (as Philip MacMahon)
Jimmy Sommerville	...	Blonde Boy in Balcony
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Alfalfa
Harold Switzer	...	Harold, Farm Boy
Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas	...	Buckwheat
Bobs Watson	...	Boy (unconfirmed)
Doodles Weaver	...	Winstead (piano player)
Kenneth Wilson	...	Boy (unconfirmed)
Robert Winkler	...	Boy Carrying Sign in Film Beginning
Gloria Browne	...	Tall Hula Girl (uncredited)
Bobby Crockett	...	One of the Boy Wearing Kilt (uncredited)
Tim Davis	...	Boy Sitting at Table (uncredited)
Billy Diamond	...	Boy Fan of Alfalfa (uncredited)
Dorothy Heinrichs	...	Girl Sitting at Table (uncredited)
Paul Hilton	...	Boy Sitting at Table (uncredited)
Don Hulbert	...	Boy Dancer (uncredited)
Payne B. Johnson	...	Boy in Band (uncredited)
Patsy May	...	Hatcheck Girl (uncredited)
Roger McGee	...	Waiter / Announcer (uncredited)
Norman Salling	...	Boy Sitting at Table (uncredited)
Clifford Severn	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Nora Rita Stein	...	Girl Wearing the Letter 'F' on Sweater (uncredited)
Helen Westcott	...	Girl Wearing the Letter 'I' on Sweater (uncredited)
Camille Williams	...	Girl Wearing the Letter 'L' on Sweater (uncredited)
Laura June Williams	...	Hula Girl on Right Side (uncredited)
Rhoda Williams	...	Girl Sitting at Table (uncredited)

Directed by
Gordon Douglas

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jack Jevne		story department

Produced by
Hal Roach	....	producer
Sidney S. Van Keuren	....	associate producer (as S.S. Van Keuren)

Original Music by
Marvin Hatley		(uncredited)
Arthur Morton		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Art Lloyd

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)

Art Department
William Stevens	....	property department

Sound Department
Warren B. Delaplain	....	sound (as W.B. Delaplain)

Visual Effects by
Roy Seawright	....	visual effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stax Graves	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Harry Black	....	costumer

Music Department
Marvin Hatley	....	musical director
Marvin Hatley	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Bud Murray	....	choreographer
Lawrence Tarver	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (USA) (theatrical)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

21 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #3871)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

The "ice cream sundaes" in Club Spanky were made using mashed potatoes and whipped cotton.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Alfalfa is pelted with produce, his face is clearly a mess from it, but when he is immediately sent out by his boss to collect money on street corners, his face is clean again.

Quotes:

Spanky:You'll be sorry about this! Someday I'll be a big producer on Broadway, and you'll be singin' your opera in the street with a tin cup in your hand!
Alfalfa:[snootily] Is that so?
Spanky:Yes, that's so!

Movie Connections:

References Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)

Soundtrack:

Follow the Leader

The Show of Shows

If you ever want to see an Our Gang/ Little rascals short, this is the one to see. A big-budget musical short that features a floor show in snazzy Club Spanky (thanks to the convenient plot device of having Alfalfa dream the whole thing), "Our Gang Follies of 1938" was the last truly great film in the Our Gang series and the last two-reel comedy Hal Roach would ever produce. This short is incredibly enjoyable, it's dialogue and gags instantly quotable, its songs are insanely catchy...and Buckwheat (excuse me, "CAB" Buckwheat) is the band leader. A winner by all accounts.

Interestingly enough, when MGM bought Our Gang from Hal Roach not six months after this short was produced, they tried a number of time to produce a short to match this one ("Ye Old Minstrels," "Melodies Old and New," "Calling All Kids," etc.) but it never happened.