''General Spanky'' is a 1936 American comedy film produced by

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 ...

. A spin-off of Roach's popular ''

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 subjects 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 film stars George McFarland,

Phillips Holmes Phillips Raymond Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life, education and career Born in ...

Rosina Lawrence Rosina May Lawrence (December 30, 1912 – June 23, 1997) was a British-Canadian actress and singer. She had a short but memorable career in the 1920s and 1930s in Hollywood before she married in 1939 and retired from entertainment. She is best kn ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Directed by

Fred Newmeyer Fred C. Newmeyer (August 9, 1888 – April 24, 1967) was an American actor, film director and film producer. Biography A native of Central City, Colorado, Newmeyer is best known for directing a handful of films in the ''Our Gang'' series and fo ...

and Gordon Douglas, it was originally released to theaters on December 11, 1936, 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 ...

(

MGM 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

). This film, a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

period piece, was intended as an experiment to determine if Roach could move ''Our Gang'' into features, as the

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

and block booking were slowly smothering his short subjects production. The film was a box-office disappointment and, after another year of shorts production, Roach ended up selling the ''Our Gang'' unit to MGM in May 1938. When Roach bought the rights to the back catalog of ''Our Gang'' films he had produced from MGM in 1949, he did not buy back the rights to ''General Spanky''. The film was part of the MGM catalog acquired in 1986 by

Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

, which holds the rights today as a subsidiary of

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

''General Spanky'' was released on VHS and

laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

in 1991. In 2016 it was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in Region 1 by

via their

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

Plot

Spanky ( George McFarland), Alfalfa (

), Buckwheat (

) and others form an army called "The Royal Protection of Women and Children Regiment Club of the World and Mississippi River". The group sees unexpected action when Union troops approach, engaging in battles more farcical than fierce. Using clowning tactics instead of military tactics, the kids stop the advance . . . and later save an adult friend from the firing squad.

Cast

Principal cast

* Spanky McFarland as Spanfield George 'Spanky' Leonard *

as Marshall "Marsh" Valient *

Ralph Morgan Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), known professionally as Ralph Morgan, was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan. Early life Morgan was born in New York City, the eig ...

as Yankee General *

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Cent ...

as Capt. Simmons, The Gambler *

as Louella Blanchard *

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas William "Billie" Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1 ...

as Buckwheat *

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 ...

as Alfalfa *

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil Wa ...

as Col. Blanchard *

Robert Middlemass Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ...

as Overseer * James Burtis as Boat Captain *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...

as Cornelia * William Best as Henry, the lazy slave

Additional cast

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 ...

as Harold * Jerry Tucker as Jerry * Flayette Roberts as Flayette—Gang kid in Army * John Collum as Our Gang member *

Rex Downing Rex Haddon Downing (April 21, 1925 – November 18, 2020) was an American actor as a child and youth. Early years Downing attended Hollywood High School. Career Rex Downing started his film career in several Our Gang comedies, but his roles t ...

as Our Gang member * Dickie De Nuet as Our Gang member * Ernie Alexander as Friend of Marshall *

Hooper Atchley Lemuel Hooper Atchley (April 30, 1887 – November 17, 1943) was an American film actor. Atchley was the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. S. Atchley. He was a 1908 graduate of the Knoxville, Tennessee, school system. Atchley's first professional ac ...

as Slavemaster *

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, ...

as Man on the boat * Jack Daugherty as General's Aid * Walter Gregory as Capt. Haden * Karl Hackett as First mate * Henry Hall as Slavemaster * Ham Kinsey as Man with paint on shoes * Frank LaRue as Slavemaster * Richard R. Neil as Col. Parrish *

Buddy Roosevelt Buddy Roosevelt (born Kenneth Stanhope Sanderson; June 25, 1898 – October 6, 1973) was an American film and television actor and stunt performer from Hollywood's early silent film years through the 1950s. Biography Roosevelt was born as Kenn ...

as Lt. Johnson * Jeffrey Sayre as Friend of Marshall * Carl Voss as Second Lieutenant * Jack Cooper as Bit role * Alex Finlayson as Bit role *

Jack Hill Jack Hill (born January 28, 1933) is an American film director in the exploitation film genre. Several of Hill's later films have been characterized as feminist works. Early life Hill was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Mildred (n� ...

as Bit role * Portia Lanning as Bit role * Harry Strang as Bit role * Slim Whittaker as Bit role * Von the Dog as Von

Awards

The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the category Best Sound Recording ( Elmer A. Raguse).

References

External links

* * * * {{Gordon Douglas 1936 films 1936 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fred C. Newmeyer Films directed by Gordon Douglas Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Our Gang films American Civil War films 1936 directorial debut films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films