Our Gang filmography

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The following is a complete list of the 221 Our Gang films produced by Hal Roach Studios and/or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1922 and 1944, in order of release. All but the sole feature film General Spanky were part of the short subjects series; these 220 films are number as such.

1922 - 1923 - 1924 - 1925 - 1926 - 1927 - 1928 - 1929 - 1930 - 1931
1932 - 1933 - 1934 - 1935 - 1936 - 1937 - 1938 - 1939 - 1940 - 1941 - 1942 - 1943 - 1944

[edit] The Roach/Pathé silents

These two-reel silent Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Pathé.

[edit] 1922

[edit] 1923

[edit] 1924

[edit] 1925

[edit] 1926

[edit] 1927

[edit] 1928

[edit] The Roach/MGM silents

These silent Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. All films are two reels (20 minutes) long, except Spook Spoofing, which is three reels (30 minutes) long. Shorts marked with an asterisk (*) were originally released with a synchronized music and sound effects track.

[edit] 1927

[edit] 1928

[edit] 1929

[edit] The Roach/MGM talkies (The Little Rascals)

These sound Our Gang shorts were produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. These 80 films, excepting some that are banned for content, are the Our Gang shorts that King World Productions have packaged and syndicated as The Little Rascals. All shorts through Arbor Day in 1936 are two reels long except Small Talk, which is three reels long.

(*) denotes a film that was banned from television and deleted from the Little Rascals package, whether from the outset of the series' television debut or in later years. Rationale for most of the films' edits are given; the usual reason was to remove stereotypical humor or insensitive references to African Americans, Asian Americans, or Jewish Americans. Films were restored for home video release in the 1990s.

(**) denotes a film that was aired in an edited television print, whether from the outset of the series' television debut or in later years, for reasons given. Films were restored for home video release in the 1990s.

[edit] 1929

  • 089 Small Talk (May 18) ** heavily edited for time and sound quality
  • 090 Railroadin' (June 15) * never shown on television because the film's soundtrack was presumed lost since the mid-1940s. Railroadin's sound track turned up in the MGM vaults in 1982; while it was released on home video, although it never became part of the television package
  • 091 Boxing Gloves (September 9) ** edited for time and to add sound to originally silent scenes
  • 092 Lazy Days (August 15) * banned for insensitive references to African-Americans
  • 093 Bouncing Babies (October 12) **
  • 094 Moan and Groan, Inc. (December 7) * banned for insensitive references to Jewish-Americans and African Americans

[edit] 1930

  • 095 Shivering Shakespeare (January 25) **
  • 096 The First Seven Years (March 1) **
  • 097 When the Winds Blows (April 5) ** All scenes with Farina edited heavily due to perceived racism toward African Americans
  • 098 Bear Shooters (May 17) **
  • 099 A Tough Winter (June 21) * banned for perceived racism towards African-Americans
  • 100 Pups Is Pups (August 30) ** All scenes with Farina edited heavily due to perceived racism toward African Americans and stereotyping of other people
  • 101 Teacher's Pet (October 11) **
  • 102 School's Out (November 22) ** many scenes edited due to negative stereotypes towards women, African Americans, and others

[edit] 1931

  • 103 Helping Grandma (January 3) ** edited heavily due to perceived racism toward African Americans
  • 104 Love Business (February 14) **
  • 105 Little Daddy (March 28) * banned for perceived racism towards African-Americans
  • 106 Bargain Day (May 2) ** edited heavily due to perceived racism toward African Americans
  • 107 Fly My Kite (May 30) **
  • 108 Big Ears (August 29) * banned for depicting divorce
  • 109 Shiver My Timbers (October 10) **
  • 110 Dogs Is Dogs (November 21) ** edited due to negative treatment toward children

[edit] 1932

  • 111 Readin' and Writin'' (February 2) **
  • 112 Free Eats (February 11) **
  • 113 Spanky (March 26) ** edited heavily due to perceived racism toward African Americans
  • 114 Choo Choo (May 7) **
  • 115 The Pooch (June 11) ** edited due to negative treatment toward children
  • 116 Hook and Ladder (August 27) **
  • 117 Free Wheeling (October 1) ** edited due to negative conceptions of women, African-Americans
  • 118 Birthday Blues (November 12) **
  • 119 A Lad An' a Lamp (December 17) * banned for perceived racism towards African-Americans

[edit] 1933

[edit] 1934

  • 126 Hi'-Neighbor! (March 3) **
  • 127 For Pete's Sake! (April 14) ** edited heavily due to perceived racism toward African Americans
  • 128 The First Round-Up (May 5) **
  • 129 Honky Donkey (June 2) **
  • 130 Mike Fright (August 35) **
  • 131 Washee Ironee (September 29) ** edited for perceived racism towards Asian-Americans as well as African Americans
  • 132 Mama's Little Pirate (November 3) **
  • 133 Shrimps For a Day (December 8) **

[edit] 1935

  • 134 Anniversary Trouble (January 19) **heavily edited for perceived racism towards African-Americans
  • 135 Beginner's Luck (February 23) **
  • 136 Teacher's Beau (April 27) **
  • 137 Sprucin' Up (June 1) **
  • 138 Little Papa (September 21) **
  • 139 Little Sinner (October 26) */** banned for a period of time because of perceived racism towards African-Americans, the short was later reinstated, though edited heavily for the same reasons
  • 140 Our Gang Follies of 1936 (November 30) ** heavily edited for perceived racism towards African-Americans

[edit] 1936

All shorts from Bored of Education on are one-reel (ten minutes) long, unless otherwise noted. Also in 1936, an Our Gang feature film (six reels), General Spanky, was released.

[edit] 1937

[edit] 1938

[edit] The MGM talkies

These sound Our Gang shorts were produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

[edit] 1938

[edit] 1939

[edit] 1940

[edit] 1941

[edit] 1942

[edit] 1943

[edit] 1944

[edit] Cameos/appearances in other films

Our Gang as a unit appeared in a handful of other Hal Roach films, and in a few outside productions as well.

  • The Stolen Jools (1931) (a.k.a. The Slippery Pearls) - promotional short subject intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists tuberculosis sanitarium
  • The Cracked Iceman (1934) - a Hal Roach Charley Chase short subject, featuring Chase as a schoolteacher and the Our Gang kids as his students.
  • Kid Millions (1934) - an Eddie Cantor musical feature. The Our Gang kids appear among the children in the Technicolor fantasy sequence.

[edit] Home videos

[edit] Blackhawk/Republic releases

For many years, Blackhawk Films released 79 of the 80 Roach talkies on 16 mm film. The sound discs for Railroading' had been lost since the 1940s, and a silent print was made available for home movie release until 1982, when the film's sound discs were located in the MGM vault and the short was restored with sound. Like the television prints, Blackhawk's Little Rascals reissues featured custom-created title cards in place of the original Our Gang logos, as per MGM's 1949 arrangement with Hal Roach not to distribute the series under its original title.

In 1983, with the VHS home video market growing, Blackhawk began distributing Little Rascals VHS tapes available through catalogue only. 67 sound shorts were made available across twenty-two VHS volumes, three shorts to a tape.

Republic Pictures purchased Blackhawk in 1983, and continued the catalogue releases while also making The Little Rascals available on retail home video collections in 1984. 30 Little Rascals shorts were released in a set of five VHS compilations, with six shorts to a volume: Little Rascals Comedy Classics 1, Little Rascals Comedy Classics 2, Best of the Little Rascals, Little Rascals on Parade, and Adventures of Little Rascals. In addition, Republic made the first two catalogue volumes available for retail.

Twelve more Little Rascals shorts made their way to home video through Spotlite Video in 1986. Meanwhile, MGM released 20 of its 52 Our Gang shorts in a five-volume VHS set with four shorts per tape.

In 1991, Republic repackaged 30 Little Rascals shorts for a fifteen-volume VHS set, with two shorts per tape. By this point, 13 Hal Roach talkies had still not been made available on home video.

[edit] Cabin Fever/Hallmark releases

In 1993, Republic sold the home video rights to the 80 sound Roach shorts and some of the available silent shorts to Cabin Fever Entertainment. Cabin Fever also acquired the rights to use the original Our Gang title cards and MGM logos, and for the first time in over 50 years, the Roach sound Our Gang comedies could be commercially exhibited in their original format. In June 1994, Cabin Fever released a 12-volume set of Little Rascals VHS tapes, hosted by Leonard Maltin. With four shorts per tape, Cabin Fever made 48 Roach sound shorts available for purchase, uncut and with digitally restored and remastered picture and sound.

Due to the success of these volumes, Cabin Fever released nine more volumes in June 1995, which made the other 32 Roach talkies available for purchase (some of which had never been made available for home exhibition before). Cabin Fever began pressing DVD versions of their first 12 Little Rascals VHS volumes (with the contents of two VHS volumes included on each DVD), but went bankrupt before the release and sold their catalog to Hallmark Entertainment.

In April 2000, Hallmark cleaned out their warehouse, making all available DVDs and VHS tapes available for retail, but never did an official launch of the Cabin Fever Little Rascals DVDs. In August, the first 10 volumes were re-released on VHS with new packaging, and the first two volumes were released on DVD as The Little Rascals: Volumes 1-2.

In 2003, the VHS tapes went out of print. That spring, Hallmark issued a DVD called Little Rascals Vols. 3–4, which actually did not completely compile volumes three and four of the Cabin Fever VHS set. On November 13, 2005, ten more Little Rascals shorts were issued on a DVD entitled Little Rascals Collectors Edition III.

In 2006, Legend Films released colorized versions of fifteen Our Gang comedies, which were released across three Little Rascals DVDs.

[edit] Public domain

The following Our Gang comedies are in the public domain, and have turned up on many different VHS and DVD releases over the years. (Somewhat questionably, some other titles have turned up in unauthorized VHS and DVD editions.)

  • 1922: Our Gang; Fire Fighters; Young Sherlocks; One Terrible Day; A Quiet Street; Saturday Morning
  • 1923: The Big Show; The Cobbler; The Champeen; Boys To Board; A Pleasant Journey; Giants Vs. Yanks; Back Stage; Dogs of War; Lodge Night; Stage Fright; July Days; Sunday Calm; No Noise; Derby Day
  • 1924: Fast Company; Tire Trouble; Big Business; The Buccaneers; Seein' Things; Commencement Day; It's a Bear; Cradle Robbers; Jubilo, Jr.; High Society; The Sun Down Limited; Every Man for Himself; The Mysterious Mystery!
  • 1925: The Big Town; Circus Fever; Dog Days; The Love Bug; Ask Grandma; Shootin' Injuns; Official Officers; Mary, Queen of Tots; Boys Will Be Joys; Better Movies; Your Own Back Yard; One Wild Ride
  • 1926: Good Cheer; Buried Treasure; Monkey Business; Baby Clothes; Uncle Tom's Uncle; Thundering Fleas; Shivering Spooks; The Fourth Alarm; War Feathers
  • 1930: Bear Shooters, School's Out
  • 1937: Our Gang Follies of 1938
  • 1940: Waldo's Last Stand

[edit] In-print Little Rascals DVDs (excluding public domain releases)

  • Little Rascals Volumes 1 and 2: Fly My Kite, Honky Donkey, Beginners' Luck, Reunion in Rhythm, Hook And Ladder, The First Roundup, Teacher's Beau, Hearts Are Thumps
  • Little Rascals - Volumes 3 and 4: Teacher's Pet, School's Out, Readin' & Writin, Sprucin' Up, Spooky Hooky, Dogs Is Dogs, The Pooch, Kid From Borneo, For Pete's Sake, Dog Heaven
  • Little Rascals - Collection III: Free Wheeling, Mike Fright, Washee Iornee, Fishy Tales, Divot Diggers, Shiver My Timbers, Board Of Education, Choo Choo, When The WInd Blows, Framing Youth
  • Little Rascals - Superstars Of Our Gang - In Color - School's Out, Free Wheeling, For Pete's Sake, Divot Diggers, Waldo's Last Stand
  • Little Rascals - Best Of Spanky - In Color - Little Rascals Follies (Our Gang Follies 1936), Washee Iornee, Choo Choo, Shrimps For A Day, Night N Gales
  • Little Rascals - Best Of Our Gang - In Color - Fly My Kite, A Lad An A Lamp, Kid From Borneo, Hi Neighbor, Hide & Shriek

[edit] External links