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Sprucin' Up
''Sprucin' Up'' is a 1935 '' Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. It was the 137th ''Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot Hoping to get on the good side of the new truant officer (Dick Elliott), the gang goes out of their way to impress the man's cute daughter (Marianne Edwards), even unto making such sacrifices as taking baths, combing hair, shining shoes, and washing behind the ears. Both Spanky and Alfalfa pay a social call on Marianne, and before long, the two lifelong pals have become romantic rivals. Ultimately, Spanky and Alfalfa stage an athletic competition to determine who is the better man, an undertaking with prickly results. Note ''Sprucin' Up'' was originally going to be known as ''Good Night Ladies''. According to The Lucky Corner Web Site, the boys can be identified in the scene where they are sitting on the curb, from left to right as: Harold Switzer, Robert Lenz, Alvin Buckelew, Scotty Beckett, George "Spanky" McFarland, Billie "Buckwheat" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Meins
Gus Meins (March 6, 1893 – August 1, 1940), born Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley, was an American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Career Meins started out in the 'teens as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Evening Herald before becoming a comedy writer for Fox in 1919. In the 1920s, Meins directed a number of silent short subjects film series for Universal Pictures, including the ''Buster Brown'' comedies. He is best known as senior director of Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies from 1934 to 1936, and also as director of Laurel and Hardy's '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). His assistant director was a young Gordon Douglas, who became senior director in 1936 when Meins left ''Our Gang'' for other directing jobs at Roach. Meins left Roach in 1937 over creative differences. Death In the summer of 1940, Meins faced prosecution of "morals charges", having been accused of sex offenses against six youths. The director swore his innocence but stated that the case would ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scotty Beckett
Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, California, Beckett got his start in show business at age three when the family moved to Los Angeles and a casting director heard him singing by chance. He was at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital visiting his father, who was recovering from an illness, and was entertaining him by singing songs in Pig Latin. Nurses heard him singing and carried him from room to room on every visit to sing for other patients. A studio casting director noticed the child and told his parents he had movie potential. He auditioned, and landed a part in ''Gallant Lady'' (1933), alongside Dickie Moore. The same year, his father died. In 1934, he joined ''Our Gang'', in which Moore had appeared from 1932 to 1933. ''Our Gang'' Beckett appeared as a regular in the ''Our Gang'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1935 Films
The following is an overview of 1935 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. The cinema releases of 1935 were highly representative of the early Golden Age period of Hollywood. This period was punctuated by performances from Clark Gable, Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and the first teaming of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. A significant number of productions also originated in the UK film industry. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1935 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * February 22 – '' The Little Colonel'' premieres starring Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore and Bill Robinson, featuring famous stair dance with Hollywood's first interracial dance couple * February 23 – Gene Autry stars as himself as the Singing Cowboy in the serial ''The Phantom Empire''. He would later be voted the number one Western star from 1937 to 1942. * February 27 †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Gang Filmography
__NOTOC__ The following is a complete list of the 220 ''Our Gang'' short films produced by Hal Roach Studios and/or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1922 and 1944, numbered by order of release along with production order.Production order from ''The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang'' by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann, which says on p. ix that "the film entries are ordered according to production sequence, not by release dates or copyright dates." In the book the feature-length film ''General Spanky'' is counted as number 150 on the list, whereas this page's list only includes the shorts, so for shorts whose number is over 150 in the book, the production# on this page's list is the number in the book minus one (for example, ''Reunion in Rhythm'' is listed as #151 in the book, but #150 for this list). ---- 1922 - 1923 - 1924 - 1925 - 1926 - 1927 - 1928 - 1929 - 1930 - 1931 1932 - 1933 - 1934 - 1935 - 1936 - 1937 - 1938 - 1939 - 1940 - 1941 - 1942 - 1943 - 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blanche Payson
Blanche Payson (born Mary Elizabeth Bush, September 20, 1881 – July 4, 1964) was an American film actress. Biography Payson was born as Mary Elizabeth Bush to Thomas and Sarah Bush. She first attracted public notice when she served as policewoman in the Toyland exhibit at the Panama Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. She also performed in vaudeville. She was married to Eugene Payson in San Francisco prior to 1910, who died before 1915. Payson then moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles and began her film career with the Mack Sennett studio, with her first film being ''Wife and Auto Trouble''. She appeared in short films in mostly uncredited roles. She appeared in nearly 160 films between 1916 and 1946. At , she towered over both men and women co-stars in the many slapstick comedies she appeared, as a foil for such comedians as The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy and similar popular acts of the time. She often played brutal and dominant women, such as Oliver Hardy's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Bletcher
William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney's '' Three Little Pigs''. Early life William Bletcher was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on on September 24, 1894, to Huber and Dora Bletcher. Career Bletcher appeared on-screen in films and later television from the 1910s to the 1970s, including appearances in several '' Our Gang'' and ''The Three Stooges'' comedies. He was most active as a voice actor. His voice was a deep, strong and booming baritone. Bletcher provided the voices of various characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios ( Black Pete, Short Ghost and the Big Bad Wolf in '' Three Little Pigs''). He auditioned to play one of the dwarfs in Disney's '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937). However, Walt Disney disapproved for fear that people would recognize Bletcher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viola Richard
Viola Richard (26 January 1904 – 28 December 1973) was an American actress. Biography Born as Evelyn Viola Richard in 1904 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, she appeared in several silent short comedies at the Hal Roach Studios opposite Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase, and Max Davidson in the 1920s. Pert and vivacious, she left Roach in 1928, but returned in 1935 to play small roles in an Our Gang short and again with Laurel and Hardy in ''Tit for Tat''. Richard was married three times. Her first marriage, to Alexander Kempner in 1928, ended in divorce in 1938. She married Sydney Rusinow in 1942, but he died in a house fire in 1951. In 1953 she married Lawrence McCafferty, and they remained married until her death; he died in 1979. Richard died in 1973 in Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lillian Rich
Lillian Rose Rich Woodland, more commonly known as Lillian Rich (1 January 1900 – 5 January 1954) was an English-born actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1940. Biography Rich was born in Herne Hill, London, on 1 January 1900. In 1919, she married a young Canadian fighter pilot named Lionel Edward "Leo" Nicholson, and accompanied him back to his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Rich's new father-in-law decided that she had a future in Hollywood, and he gave her $1000 of his own savings to fund her acting career. After making her film debut in ''The Day She Paid'' (1919), Rich quickly became highly sought, appearing in 18 films between 1920 and 1922. In 1923, Rich lost her financial support when her father-in-law became ill and died, and she did not produce any films until the following year. She soon divorced her husband, and Rich regained her stride in 1924, appearing in six new films, with roles in eight more in 1925. She gaine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leota Lorraine
Leota Lorraine (1899–1974) was an American film actress. A leading lady and supporting player of the silent era. After the introduction of sound she generally played minor, often uncredited, parts. A stint as Mary Boland's stand-in led to her being cast as Boland's sister in '' Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1935).Story Helps Extra Girl to Leading Role. Oakland Tribune Vol. CXXII No. 105 p 13. 15 April 1935. Accessed 5 March 2023. Selected filmography * '' The Promise'' (1917) * '' Her American Husband'' (1918) * ''The Kaiser's Shadow'' (1918) * ''Playing the Game'' (1918) * ''The Finger of Justice'' (1918) * '' Desert Law'' (1918) * '' Know Thy Wife'' (1918) * '' The Girl Dodger'' (1919) * '' The Pest'' (1919) * ''Luck in Pawn'' (1919) * ''The Loves of Letty'' (1919) * ''Her Five-Foot Highness'' (1920) * '' The Misfit Wife'' (1920) * '' The Turning Point'' (1920) * ''The Bowery Bishop'' (1924) * ''Infatuation'' (1925) * '' The Woman I Love'' (1929) * ''Sprucin' Up ''Sprucin' Up'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bess Flowers
Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films. She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerous comedy shorts in her 41-year career. She holds the record for appearances in films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (23).Slide, Anthony. 201Silent Players: a Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 103. . Career Born in Sherman, Texas, Flowers' film debut came in 1923, when she appeared in ''Hollywood''. She made three films that year, and then began working extensively. Many of her appearances are uncredited, as she generally played non-speaking roles. By the 1930s, Flowers was in constant demand. Her appearances ranged from Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford thrillers to comedic roles alongside of Charley Chase, the Three Stooges, Leon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Bernard
Harry Bernard (January 13, 1878 – November 4, 1940) was an American actor and comedian best remembered for his appearance in numerous comedy films by Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. Harry Bernard appeared in over 150 films between 1915 and 1940, usually typecast as a policeman. He played with Laurel & Hardy (25 films), Our Gang (nine films) and Charley Chase (33 films). The character actor also worked as a theatre and vaudeville actor. Bernard was born in San Francisco, California, and died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1940. He was married to Jere Gerard Bernard (1886-1970); they had one daughter named Patricia. Selected filmography *''Bluff'' (1916) *''Two Tars'' (1928, Short) - Truck Driver *''Liberty'' (1929, Short) - Worker at Sea Food Dealer *''Wrong Again'' (1929, Short) - Policeman *'' Night Owls'' (1930, Short) - Policeman (uncredited) *''They Learned About Women'' (1930) - Baseball Spectator (uncredited) *''The Rogue Song'' (1930) - Guard *''Let's Go Native'' (1930 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Tucker (actor)
Jerry Tucker (born Jerome Harold Schatz, November 1, 1925 – November 23, 2016) was an American child actor, most notable for having played the "rich kid" in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series semi-regularly from 1931 to 1938. Life and career Tucker was born Jerome Harold Schatz in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth (Keno) and Leonard Schatz. His German Jewish surname was changed to "Tucker" for his acting career. Tucker first appeared in the 1931 Our Gang short '' Shiver My Timbers''. He appeared in seventeen ''Our Gang'' comedies through 1938's ''Three Men in a Tub''. In addition to his ''Our Gang'' appearances, Tucker appeared in the Marie Dressler film ''Prosperity'', again as a spoiled rich kid. He also appeared as one of Mother Peep's children in the Laurel & Hardy feature film '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). He also appeared with Shirley Temple in '' Captain January'' in 1936, playing the "know-it-all" boy who forgets his answers on the test. On radio, Tucker played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
