Dancing Romeo

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Dancing Romeo is a one-reel comedy short film; part of the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Cyril Endfield, and originally released to theatres by MGM on April 29, 1944. It stars Billy "Froggy" Laughlin, Bobby "Mickey" Blake, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, and Janet Burston.

The plot of the film involves Froggy's crush on a young dancer named Marilyn, whose dancing partner Gerlad has a hold on her attentions. Froggy, with the help of the gang, hosts a dance recital in the gang's barn, rigging the stage with pulleys and wires. By having Mickey and Buckwheat manipulate the wires from behind the stage, Froggy appears as if he is actually dancing.

The short was the last Our Gang short to be filmed, the second-to-last to complete production, and the final short released in the series. The Our Gang series was canceled at this time because by this time, most of the shorts, Dancing Romeo included, were sustaining losses instead of turning profits. This wasn't the end of the Gang, though, as a new cast was assembled for two Hal Roach-produced feature films in the late '40's. One of these is a classic, Who Killed Doc Robbin.