''Melodies Old and New'' is a 1942 ''

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 Edward Cahn. It was the 203rd ''Our Gang'' short (204th episode, 115th talking short, 116th talking episode, and 35th MGM produced episode) that was released.

Plot

The gang prevails upon old-time minstrel impresario Uncle Wills to help them stage a fund-raising musical show (as they did in ''

Ye Olde Minstrels ''Ye Olde Minstrels'' is a 1941 '' Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Edward Cahn. It was the 197th ''Our Gang'' short (198th episode, 109th talking short, 110th talking episode, and 29th MGM produced episode) that was released. Premis ...

''). Highlights include the ensemble number "When Grandma Wore a Bustle", the barbershop-quartet set piece "Songs of Long Ago", and the grand finale "Dances Old and New". The kids are unable to post the profits because Mickey has allowed most of the audience to enter for free, but Uncle Wills comes to the rescue once again.

Cast

The Gang

* Janet Burston as Janet * Mickey Gubitosi 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 b ...

as Froggy *

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 *

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

Additional cast

* Walter Wills as Uncle Walt Wills

Dancers and audience members

Lavonne Battle, Shiela Brown, Shirley Jean Doble, Donna Jean Edmondson, Eddie Ehrhardt, James Gubitosi,

Dwayne Hickman Dwayne Bernard Hickman (May 18, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, Bo ...

, Dickie Humphries, Robert Morris, Kay Tapscott, Frank Lester Ward, Patricia Wheeler

References

External links

* 1942 films 1942 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Edward L. Cahn Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Our Gang films 1942 short films 1940s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub