''Beginner's Luck'' is a 1935 ''

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 ...

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

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 ...

. It was the 135th ''Our Gang'' short (47th talking episode) that was released. It was also the first short for seven-year-old

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer Carl Dean Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American singer, child actor, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the short subjects series '' Our Gang''. Switzer began his career as a child ...

and his ten-year-old brother

Harold Switzer Harold Frederick Switzer (January 16, 1925 – April 14, 1967) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series as an extra. He was the older brother of gang member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, one ...

to appear.

Plot

Spanky has been entered into an amateur show by his overly aggressive stage mother. He wants nothing to do with this and would rather not act. The gang comes up with a plan to disrupt his recitation and make him flop which makes Spanky very pleased. At the theater, the mother infuriates the MC saying 'My son is too much of an artist to open a show". After the first act, as the mother is putting on his costume the MC asks if he's ready which he isn't and the MC decides to have him go on last. Spanky befriends a girl called Daisy who has bombed her act but needs the prize money to buy a special dress. Spanky has a change of heart and decides to win the prize. He asks permission from his mom. She says "All I want is that you are a hit". He promises Daisy, "Girlie, the dress is in the bag". Now he has to tell the gang. His mom won't let him go into the audience as he's about to go on. Instead, she volunteers to speak to the boys. She has no idea there is a plot and just gives them a pep talk about rooting for Spanky. Spanky steps out on the stage clad in a Roman Centurion costume, reciting

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

''. The gang erupts with noisemakers and peashooters. Spanky stoically performing his act with him having an amusing slow burn annoyance while enduring his friends embarrassing him surprisingly makes his act the hit of the show, with everyone laughing and loving it except his Mother. Spanky tries to shut his visor on his helmet but it gets stuck shut he starts to roam around the stage like a

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...

. The mother begs that he be taken off, but he is too much of a hit. She tries to run on the stage but the MC grabs her. The mother then goes behind the curtain with a stage pole to pull her son off. She felt she had to rescue him from this cruel, mean audience. She tries to put and end to the audience's enjoyment of laughing at her son. She moves the pole out trying to catch Spanky, only to insert the pole into an electrical outlet. This shocks her, she drops the pole and is knocked back to be sitting on her heels. She has accidentally opened the curtain grommet which holds the curtain halves together. She is kneeling there wringing the shock out of her hands. She hooks Spanky and starts to pull him back, he is fighting her and she is being pulled out on the stage a little. It takes a little time but she has him close and it's only a few more minutes and she will have him. The grandmother sees the grommet hook dangling between the mother's legs in between her dress hem and shoes. The Old lady sees her chance to give a comeuppance to Spanky's mom. She turns to the MC saying "Here's where we stop the show". The MC says "GO AHEAD" knowing the audience is going to love this. The curtain raises and the hook fits right into the mother's hem, where it's impossible to remove. It worked so well the mother doesn't even know her dress has been snagged. Then the mother feels it and realizes her predicament. Spanky's mom lets out a screech. The mother is now the one who is being humiliated on stage as the curtain goes higher her dress goes up with the audience howling its approval. The dress is yanked off her and runs up on the curtain. The mother is thrown down to kneeling on the stage in her slip, she goes into shock and becomes petrified her head is back, mouth wide open and eyes looking straight up, she seems hypnotized by her dress dangling on the curtain. Spanky rushes to hide her from being ogled and places a stage prop in front of her, once this is in place he hears a wild increase in the laughter, the prop has a caricature of a squatting dog's body on it with the mother's head perched on top. Spanky looks at his mom, she looks so humiliated his eyes bulge and his helmet top starts to spin wildly. The audience is near a riotous level of howling at her. Spanky's mother's rescue has been a fiasco with her being made a spectacle of on the stage.

Cast

The Gang

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 ...

as Spanky * Matthew Beard as Stymie *

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, Califo ...

as Scotty *

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People * Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress * Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian * Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress * Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist for ...

as Buckwheat * Alvin Buckelew as Alvin * Jerry Tucker as Jerry * Eileen Bernstein as Our Gang member *

Sidney Kibrick Sidney Henry Kibrick (born July 2, 1928) is an American former child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects film series, over a ten-year period from 1933 and 1943. Kibrick was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on ...

as Our Gang member * Cecilia Murray as Our Gang member * Donald Profitt as Our Gang member * Merrill Strong as Our Gang member *

Pete the Pup Pete the Pup (original, 1924 – June 1930; second Pete, September 9, 1929 – January 28, 1946) was a character in Hal Roach's '' Our Gang'' comedies (later known as ''The Little Rascals'') during the 1930s, otherwise known as "Pete, the dog w ...

as himself

Additional cast

Marianne Edwards Marianne Edwards (December 9, 1930 – November 8, 2013) was an American child actress who appeared in the ''Our Gang'' film series from 1934 to 1936. She also appeared in several feature films in the 1930s, including ''Gold Diggers Of 1933'', ...

as Daisy Dimple * Laura June Kenny as Floradora Dolly * The Cabin Kids as Themselves * Bonnie Lynn as Little girl singing * The Meglin Kiddies as the Floradora Dollies *

Carl Switzer Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

as Arizona Nightingale *

as Arizona Nightingale * Freddie Walburn as Kid with the harmonica * Jackie White as Tapdancer *

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 ...

as Friend of Spanky's mother * Charlie Hall as Stage hand * Tom Herbert as Master of Ceremonies *

Ruth Hiatt Ruth Hiatt (born Ruth Redfern; January 6, 1906 – April 21, 1994) was an American actress in motion pictures beginning in the silent film era. She is best known for performing in 1920s comedies directed by Jack White, Norman Taurog, and ...

as Daisy's mother *

Kitty Kelly Kitty Kelly (born Sue O'Neil; April 27, 1902 – June 29, 1968), was an American stage and film character actress. Biography Born in New York City in 1902, Kelly was best known as a member of the Ziegfeld Follies and her radio hosting with Co ...

as Spanky's mother *

James C. Morton James Carmody Lankton (August 25, 1884 – October 24, 1942), known professionally as James C. Morton, was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1922 and 1942. Career Born in Helena, Montana, Morton is be ...

as Piano player *

May Wallace May Wallace (August 23, 1877 – December 11, 1938) was an American film actress. Biography Wallace was born in 1877 in Russiaville, Indiana. As a film actress, she often played supporting roles for producer Hal Roach in his Laurel and Har ...

as Spanky's grandmother * Ernie Alexander as Audience member * Fred Holmes as Audience member *

Jack Lipson Jack "Tiny" Lipson (January 17, 1901 – November 28, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 85 films between 1927 and 1948. Career Lipson played character parts, and was usually uncredited. Due to his rotund, towering figure, Li ...

as Audience member * Tommy McFarland as Audience member * Robert McKenzie as Audience member * Snooky Valentine as Undetermined role

References

External links