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Robert F. McGowan
Robert Francis McGowan (July 11, 1882 – January 27, 1955) was an American film director and producer, best known as the senior director of the ''Our Gang'' short subjects film series from 1922 until 1933. Career Before moving to Los Angeles, McGowan was a firefighter in his native Denver. An on-the-job accident during a fire rescue mission left him with a permanent limp. McGowan moved to California in the 1910s and made the acquaintance of Hal Roach, an aspiring film producer who opened his own studio in 1914. By 1920, McGowan was a director at the Roach studio, and in 1921 began work on the first entries in the ''Our Gang'' series. The ''Our Gang'' series was at its most popular and successful under McGowan's direction; when he became ill in the late-1920s and had to turn over the director's chair to nephew Robert A. McGowan (billed as "Anthony Mack" to distinguish himself from his uncle) for two years, the series faltered. McGowan was a natural with kids, and knew how to ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the producer of the Laurel and Hardy films, ''Our Gang'' shorts were produced from 1922 to 1944, spanning the silent film and early sound film periods of American cinema. ''Our Gang'' is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively natural way; Roach and original director Robert F. McGowan worked to film the unaffected, raw nuances apparent in regular children, rather than have them imitate adult acting styles. The series also broke new ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the United States.Leonard Maltin, Maltin, Leonard (1994). ''The Little Rascals: Remastered and Uncut'', vol. 22, introduction. Videorecording. New York: Cabin Fever Entertainment/Hallmark E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shivering Shakespeare
''Shivering Shakespeare'' is an ''Our Gang'' short film directed by Anthony Mack. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 95th ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Plot The gang participates in a play entitled ''The Gladiator's Dilemma'' written, produced and directed by the wife of Kennedy the Cop. The badly written play goes comically wrong as the young actors forget their lines, miss their cues, and deal with unwieldy props and costumes. The audience members, unruly teenage boys, mercilessly heckle the actors and torment them by throwing food. The movie ends with everyone in the auditorium participating in a pie fight. Mrs. Kennedy sees the play being completely ruined and orders everyone to stop. The kids turn to Mr. Kennedy. He nods, giving them permission, and all the kids throw their pies at her. Production notes ''Shivering Shakespeare'' was the final ''Our Gang'' comedy directed by Robert A. McGowan, who was billed as "Anthony Mac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Roach Studios Filmmakers
HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fighter aircraft and helicopters Businesses * HAL Allergy, a Dutch pharmaceutical company * HAL Computer Systems, a defunct computer manufacturer * HAL Laboratory, a Japanese video game developer * Halliburton's New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol * Hamburg America Line, a shipping company * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fighter aircraft and helicopters * Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, an Indian public sector pharmaceutical manufacturer * Holland America Line, a cruise ship operator * HAL FM, or CHNS-FM, a classic rock station in Halifax, Nova Scotia Computing * Hardware abstraction layer, a layer of software that hides hardware differences from higher level programs * HAL (software), an implementation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Film Directors
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design and all the creative aspects of filmmaking. The film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the budget. There are many pathways to becoming a film director. Some film directors started as screenwriters, cinematographers, producers, film editors or actors. Other film directors have attended a film school. Directors use different approaches. Some outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue, while others control every aspect and demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely. Some directors also write their o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Film Producers
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickie McGowan
Micky or Mickie can be a given name, but it is most often a nickname for Michael or non-Anglo Saxon equivalents, such as "Mikhail". People with the name include: Men * Micky Adams (born 1961), English football manager and former player * Micky Arison (born 1949), Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Corporation * Micky Dolenz (born 1945), American actor, musician, and television and theatre director * Micky Dore (1883–1910), Australian rugby union and rugby league player * Micky Droy (born 1951), English retired footballer * Micky Hazard (born 1960), English retired footballer * Mickie Henson (1963-2022), American professional wrestling referee * Micky Horswill (born 1953), British professional footballer * Micky Mellon (born 1972), Scottish football manage and former player * Micky Moody (born 1950), English guitarist * Micky Quinn (born 1962), English retired footballer * Micky Lee Soule (born 1946), American musician, founding member of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow * Micky Stewar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Who Killed Doc Robbin
''Who Killed Doc Robbin'' is a 1948 film directed by Bernard Carr and starring Larry Olsen, Billy Gray, and Renee Beard. It was produced by Hal Roach and Robert F. McGowan as a reimagining of their ''Our Gang'' series. The film was one of "Hal Roach's Streamliners" features of the 1940s, running only 55 minutes, and was designed as a B-movie. Like most of Roach's latter-day output, ''Who Killed Doc Robbin'', the sequel to 1947's ''Curley'', was shot in Cinecolor. The film was released to theatres on April 9, 1948 by United Artists. ''Who Killed Doc Robbin's'' plot involves a murder mystery involving the death of local scientist Dr. Hugo Robbin. Curley (Olsen) and his "gang" happen to have been key witnesses to several of the events, and the children's testimonies are told in flashback during the court case. When Hal Roach sold ''Our Gang'' to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938, he was contractually bound not to produce anymore kids comedies. When Roach decided that he wanted to prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curley (1947 Film)
''Curley'' is a 1947 American comedy film produced by Hal Roach and Robert F. McGowan as a re-imagining of their ''Our Gang'' series. The film was one of Roach's "streamlined" features of the 1940s, running 53 minutes and was designed as a b-movie. Like most of Roach's latter-day output, ''Curley'' was shot in Cinecolor. Bernard Carr was the film's director, and the film released to theatres on August 23, 1947 by United Artists. It stars Larry Olsen, Frances Rafferty, Billy Gray, and Renee Beard, younger brother of original ''Our Gang'' cast member Matthew "Stymie" Beard. The plot of the film centers on a group of schoolchildren, led by Curley (Olsen), playing pranks on their teacher, Miss Johnson (Rafferty). ''Our Gang'' was known for its integrated cast of black and white children, and ''Curley'' followed suit. The Memphis, Tennessee Censor Board banned ''Curley'' for showing black and white children in school together and playing together. Lloyd Binford, head of the censor boa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divot Diggers
''Divot Diggers'' is a 1936 '' Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan; It was the 142nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Plot The action takes place at an expansive California golf course, where the gang merrily play their own ragtag version of golf with makeshift clubs. When the course's regular caddies quit ''en masse'', the desperate caddy master hires the gang members as replacements. The kids—and their gibberish-spouting pet chimpanzee—proceed to drive an adult foursome crazy, then put the finishing touch on an imperfect day by accidentally commandeering a lawn-mowing tractor. Cast The Gang * Darla Hood as Darla * Eugene Lee as Porky * George McFarland as Spanky * Carl Switzer as Alfalfa * Billie Thomas as Buckwheat * Patsy May as Baby Patsy * Harold Switzer as Harold * Pete The Pup as himself * Jiggs The Chimpanzee as Chimpanzee Additional cast * Leonard Kibrick as Caddy * Billy Bletcher as Bill, golfer * Tom Dugan as Aggravated golfer * Jack H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frontier Justice (film)
''Frontier Justice'' is a 1935 black-and-white Western film directed by Robert F. McGowan starring Hoot Gibson based on the novel by Colonel George Brydges Rodney. Produced for Walter Futter's Diversion Pictures, it was rereleased by Grand National Pictures in 1937 and later reissued by Astor Pictures in the 1940s.p.206 Pitts, Michael R. ''Astor Pictures: A Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933-1965'' McFarland, 19 Apr 2019 Plot In order to seize his cattle ranch to turn it into a sheep pasture, a wealthy sheepman and a crooked doctor have the ranch owner Sam Holster certified insane and placed in an insane asylum. His son returns from five years in Baja California to stop the range war and set things straight using his six gun and a variety of mail order practical joke devices. Cast *Hoot Gibson as Brent Halston * Jane Barnes as Ethel Gordon *Richard Cramer as Gilbert Ware *Roger Williams as James Wilton * John Elliott as Ben Livesay *Franklyn Farnum as Lawyer Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest film studio in the United States (behind Universal Pictures), and the sole member of the Major film studio, "Big Five" film studios located within the city limits of Los Angeles. In 1916, film producer Adolph Zukor put 24 actors and actresses under contract and honored each with a star on the logo. In 1967, the number of stars was reduced to 22 and their hidden meaning was dropped. In 2014, Paramount Pictures became the first major Hollywood studio to distribute all of its films in digital form only. The company's headquarters and studios are located at 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California. Paramount Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America, Motion Picture Associ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George McFarland
George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in the ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' shorts were later syndicated to television as ''The Little Rascals''. Early life McFarland was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 2, 1928, to Virginia Winifred (née Phillips) and Robert Emmett McFarland. He had three siblings: Thomas ("Tommy", who appeared in a few ''Our Gang'' episodes as "Dynamite"), Amanda, and Roderick ("Rod"). He attended Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Texas. Before joining the ''Our Gang'' comedies, "Sonny", as he was called by his family, modeled children's clothing for a Dallas department store and was also seen around the Dallas area on highway billboards and in print advertisements for Wonder Bread. This established Sonny early on in the local public's eye as an adorable child model and provided experience before cameras. Career ''Ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
