''Fire Fighters'' is a silent

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, the second entry in

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

's ''

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 ...

'' (''Little Rascals'') series. Directed by

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, ...

and Tom McNamara, the two-reel short was released to theaters in October 1922 by

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

Plot

The kids organize their own fire department and unwittingly thwart a group of bootleggers.

Production notes

*There are a total of ten children in the fire department: two girls and seven boys. There are three regular actors —

Ernie Morrison Ernest Fredric Morrison (December 20, 1912 – July 24, 1989) was an American child actor, comedian, vaudevillian and dancer who also performed under the stage name Sunshine Sammy Morrison and was the only black member of the ''East Side Ki ...

Allen Hoskins Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

and

Jackie Condon John Michael Condon (March 25, 1918 – October 13, 1977) credited as Jackie Condon was an American child actor who was a regular in the '' Our Gang'' short series as an original cast member from 1922 until 1929, during the Hal Roach produc ...

—and one regular actress,

Peggy Cartwright Peggy Cartwright (November 14, 1912 – June 12, 2001) was a Canadian silent film actress and the leading lady of the ''Our Gang'' comedy series during the silent film era. She appeared in four short films released in 1922 (and, possibly, the in ...

. There are also four additional boys and one other girl. There is some conflict concerning the identity of these last five child actors and actress. *This ''

'' entry marks the debut of

, who portrayed the character "Farina" until 1931, making him the longest tenured member of the gang. *Plot elements of ''Fire Fighters'' were reused in ''

The Fourth Alarm ''The Fourth Alarm'' is a 1926 short silent comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 53rd ''Our Gang'' short subject released. It was later reworked in '' Hook and Ladder'' in 1932. Notes This is Mary Kornman's final ''Our Gang'' ...

'' (1926) and '' Hook and Ladder'' (1932). *When television rights for the original silent Pathé ''Our Gang'' comedies were sold to National Telepix and other distributors, several episodes were retitled. This film was released as ''The Mischief Makers'' in 1960 under the title ''Little Firemen'': two-thirds of the original film was included. The film was also released as an episode of the series ''Those Lovable Scallawags With Their Gangs'' under the title ''Fire Works''. Among the scenes deleted were the opening animal sequences; most of the inter-titles were left intact.

Cast

The Gang

as Booker T. Bacon *

as Roosevelt "Roosie" Pershing Smith *

as Peggy *George "Freckles" Wardetheluckycorner.com
/ref> as Freckles *Richard Billings as Jackie's older brother *Elmo Billings as Our Gang member * Kenneth Johnson as Other Our Gang member *

Betsy Ann Hisle Betsy Ann Hisle (born Juanita J. Hisle; May 30, 1917 – September 20, 1978) was an American child actress. She is best known for appearing in ''Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model'' (1924), ''The Way of All Flesh ''The Way of All Fl ...

as Mabel 'Mike' * Dinah the Mule as Lilly

Additional cast

as Farina * Joseph Morrison as Booker T.'s dad * George Rowe as The bootlegger *

Charles Stevenson Charles Stevenson may refer to: *Charles Stevenson (philosopher) (1908-1979), American philosopher. *Charles Alexander Stevenson (1855–1950), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Charles A. Stevenson (1851–1929), Irish-born American stage and movie a ...

as The police officer

References

External links

* *
Fire Fighters
movie at th
Prelinger Archive
1922 films 1922 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films American silent short films Our Gang films 1922 short films 1920s American films Silent American comedy films {{short-silent-comedy-film-stub