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IMDbPro

The Pinch Singer

  • 1936
  • 20m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
109
YOUR RATING
Richard DeNeut, Darla Hood, Sidney Kibrick, George 'Spanky' McFarland, and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in The Pinch Singer (1936)
ShortComedyFamily

Alfalfa and our gang try to win fifty dollars on a radio contest, Alfalfa sings and wins the fifty dollars.Alfalfa and our gang try to win fifty dollars on a radio contest, Alfalfa sings and wins the fifty dollars.Alfalfa and our gang try to win fifty dollars on a radio contest, Alfalfa sings and wins the fifty dollars.

  • Director
    • Fred C. Newmeyer
  • Writer
    • Jack Jevne
  • Stars
    • Darla Hood
    • Eugene 'Porky' Lee
    • George 'Spanky' McFarland
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    109
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Fred C. Newmeyer
    • Writer
      • Jack Jevne
    • Stars
      • Darla Hood
      • Eugene 'Porky' Lee
      • George 'Spanky' McFarland
    • 3User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos14

    The Pinch Singer (1936)
    The Pinch Singer (1936)
    Dickie Jones in The Pinch Singer (1936)
    Billy Mindy in The Pinch Singer (1936)
    The Pinch Singer (1936)
    The Pinch Singer (1936)
    Darla Hood in The Pinch Singer (1936)
    The Pinch Singer (1936)
    The Pinch Singer (1936)
    Margaret Kerry in The Pinch Singer (1936)
    George Weidler, Walter Weidler, and Warner Weidler in The Pinch Singer (1936)
    George Weidler, Walter Weidler, and Warner Weidler in The Pinch Singer (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Darla Hood
    Darla Hood
    • Darla
    • (as Our Gang)
    Eugene 'Porky' Lee
    Eugene 'Porky' Lee
    • Porky
    • (as Our Gang)
    George 'Spanky' McFarland
    George 'Spanky' McFarland
    • Spanky
    • (as Our Gang)
    Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer
    Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer
    • Alfalfa
    • (as Our Gang)
    Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas
    Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas
    • Buckwheat
    • (as Our Gang)
    Pete the Dog
    Pete the Dog
    • Pete
    • (as Our Gang)
    Billy Mindy
    • Kid Reciting
    • (as Billy Minderhout)
    Harold Switzer
    • Harold
    • (as Our Gang)
    Jerry Tucker
    Jerry Tucker
    • Jerry
    • (as Our Gang)
    Daniel Boone
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    John 'Uh huh' Collum
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Richard DeNeut
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Rex Downing
    Rex Downing
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Marianne Edwards
    Marianne Edwards
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Kay Frye
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Paul Hilton
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Sidney Kibrick
    Sidney Kibrick
    • Our Gang Member
    • (as Our Gang)
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Audience extra
    • Director
      • Fred C. Newmeyer
    • Writer
      • Jack Jevne
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Goofs
      The whistler on the recording of "The Whistler & his Dog", pauses for breath during the "stuck" portion.
    • Alternate versions
      Scenes with Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer wearing black-face make-up, and of a black-face trio singing, "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" are usually cut from TV prints.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Our Gang Story (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Good Old Days
      (uncredited)

      Music by Leroy Shield

    User reviews3

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    The Pinch Singer was an enjoyable enough musical Our Gang entry with Alfalfa and Darla singing their own versions of "I'm in the Mood for Love"
    This Hal Roach comedy short, The Pinch Singer, is the one hundred forty-third entry in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the fifty-fifth talkie. In this one, there's a radio contest with a $50 prize. Alfalfa tries to audition three times but Spanky has Pete the Pup ring the gong each time. When Darla does her number she's the one picked to enter the show. But she doesn't arrive in time. Guess who goes in her place? The authors of the book, "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang"-Leonard Maltin & Richard W. Bann, thought this was a contrived entry that "was fed too many sweets, and without the proper nutrients never grew into the kind of healthy comedy it might have been." Me, I was amused enough by the whole thing to not even care! If there's any material that gave me pause, it's the scene when Alf does blackface during one of his auditions as well as another three-person act that does the same thing during the actual contest. Otherwise, The Pinch Singer was entertaining enough for me. P.S. Regular Roach composer Marvin Hatley appears as the conductor of the orchestra in the radio studio scenes. Once when someone says "Take it away, Marvin!" and then again when Alf gives him the sheet music. And Darla appears for the second time in the series as a blonde as she was also shooting The Bohemian Girl at about the same time. And this was the official first time that one Fred Newmeyer directed an Our Gang episode though he had previously been involved in the series when he directed the first one actually called Our Gang. But most of his scenes from that were scrapped and Robert McGowan was the one who did the version that was eventually released.
    helpful•1
    0
    • tavm
    • Nov 30, 2014

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 4, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Hal Roach Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      20 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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