''Family Troubles'' is a one-reel comedy short subject and is an episode of the ''

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 ...

'' series. It was released to theatres on April 3, 1943, produced and released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. It was the 212th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

Janet feels that her parents no longer love her because they made her older sister the definite center of attention during her aunt's visit. Filled with anger and despair, she decides to run away. The gang volunteers to look for a family or couple who will "adapt" Janet. After naming off potential candidates, they decide on the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Tom and Mary Jones and escort Janet to their home. A neighbor boy who witnesses the exchange runs to the Burstons' house and inadvertently reports that Janet was kidnapped by a gang whose leader has a heavy voice (referring to Froggy). Janet's parents, Mary and Jasper, quickly call the police. When the gang pay the Jones a visit and offer Janet to them, the Jones quickly realize that Janet is a runaway and decide to teach her and the gang a lesson. They agree to adopt her but make her life a living hell by forcing her to scrub the kitchen floor (which causes Janet to wail, "Why did I ever leave home?") and show where she will sleep (which is under the kitchen table). They even force her to give up all food in exchange for bread and water. When Mrs. Jones decides that Janet is unhappy enough, she and Mr. Jones leave the kitchen and Mr. Jones phones Janet's parents to retrieve her. But once they leave, Janet (with the help of the gang) runs away again. The gang soon discover that the police are searching for them, so they run and hide in a cave. While trying to cook some food (a handful of potatoes), they burn them and create heavy smoke, which leaves their faces covered with soot and ashes. Once they see that the soot will hide their true identities, they bring Janet back home and tell Janet's parents why she wanted to run away. Janet's family now realize how fortunate they are to have her. Mary apologizes for her unfeeling behavior and assures that it will never happen again. With everything happy, Froggy says, "All's well that ends well, I always say." Jasper corrects him, saying that Shakespeare originally said that phrase. "He did? Shucks!" answers a disappointed Froggy.

Cast

The Gang

* Janet Burston as Janet Burston *

Bobby Blake Bobby Blake (born Edgar Gaines; August 11, 1957) is a Baptist elder who acted in gay pornography until 2000. Biography Blake appeared in over 100 releases.. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. Bobby Blake was a long time partner with Flex-Deon Blake. B ...

as Mickey *

Billy Laughlin William Robert Laughlin (July 5, 1932 – August 31, 1948) was an American child actor. He is best known for playing the character Froggy in the ''Our Gang'' short films in 1940–44, its final years of production. Early life Laughlin was ...

as Froggy *

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 * Mickey Laughlin as Happy

Additional cast

* Dickie Hall as Kid informing Janet's family * Beverly Hudson as Aurelia Burston * Barbara Bedford as Mary Burston * Harry C. Bradley as Tom Jones *

Elspeth Dudgeon Elspeth Dudgeon (4 December 1871 – 11 December 1955) was a Scottish character actress. With a career spanning nearly two decades, she was involved in 67 films, only 14 of which included her name in the credits. Her best known appearance ...

as Aunt Aurelia *

Sarah Padden Sarah Ann Padden (16 October 1881 – 4 December 1967) was an English-born American theatre and film character actress. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. Her best-known single-act performance was in ''The Clod'', a stage pro ...

as Mary Jones * Byron Shores as Jasper Burston

Notes

The song that Janet's sister sings for her aunt is entitled "She May Have Seen Better Days." It was written by James Thornton and published in 1894 and was a hit in 1896 for

George J. Gaskin George J. Gaskin (February 1863 – December 14, 1920) was one of the most popular singers in the United States during the 1890s and an early American recording artist. Biography Gaskin was born in Belfast, Ireland, but migrated to the United Sta ...

. The short shows a net profit of $4,927.00 during the 1942-43 release season in MGM records.

References

Sources

*Demoss, Robert
Family Troubles
*

External links

* * {{amg movie, 226216 1943 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Herbert Glazer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films 1943 comedy films Our Gang films 1940s American films