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''Mickey McGuire'' is an American comedy series of short subjects from 1927 to 1934. Produced by
Larry Darmour Lawrence J. Darmour (1895–1942) was an American film producer, operator of Larry Darmour Productions from 1927, and a significant figure in Hollywood's Poverty Row. Career Darmour was born in Flushing, Queens. In September 1927 he released t ...
, the series was notable for essentially launching the careers of
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
and Billy Barty. The series was based on
Fontaine Fox Fontaine Talbot Fox, Jr. (June 4, 1884 – August 9, 1964) was an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for writing and illustrating his ''Toonerville Folks'' comic panel, which ran from 1913 to 1955 in 250 to 300 newspapers across North ...
's popular comic strip series,
Toonerville Trolley Toonerville may refer to: * Toonerville Folks ''Toonerville Folks'' ( ''The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains'') was a popular newspaper cartoon feature by Fontaine Fox, which ran from 1908 to 1955. It began in 1908 in the ''Chicago ...
. In 1925 Fox placed a newspaper ad for a dark-haired child to play the role of "Mickey McGuire" in a series of short films. This ad attracted the attention of Mrs Nell Yule, the recently separated wife of vaudevillian Joseph Yule, who believed her son Joseph "Joe" Yule, Jr. (later known as Mickey Rooney) was right for the part. Lacking the money to have her son's hair dyed, Mrs. Yule took her son to the audition after applying burnt cork to his scalp.''Current Biography 1942''. H.W. Wilson Co. (January 1942). pp704-06. . Joe got the role and became "Mickey" for 78 of the comedies, running from 1927 to 1934, starting with ''Mickey's Circus'', released September 4, 1927, and ending with ''
Mickey's Medicine Man ''Mickey's Medicine Man'' is an American 1934 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Jesse Duffy, the two-reel short was released to theaters on May 18, 1934 by Post Pictures Corp. I ...
'' in 1934.{{IMDb name, id=0001682, name=Mickey Rooney These had been adapted from the ''
Toonerville Trolley Toonerville may refer to: * Toonerville Folks ''Toonerville Folks'' ( ''The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains'') was a popular newspaper cartoon feature by Fontaine Fox, which ran from 1908 to 1955. It began in 1908 in the ''Chicago ...
'' comic strip, which contained a character named Mickey McGuire. Yule briefly became Mickey McGuire legally in order to trump an attempted copyright lawsuit (if it were his legal name, the film producer
Larry Darmour Lawrence J. Darmour (1895–1942) was an American film producer, operator of Larry Darmour Productions from 1927, and a significant figure in Hollywood's Poverty Row. Career Darmour was born in Flushing, Queens. In September 1927 he released t ...
did not owe the comic strip writers royalties). His mother also changed her surname to McGuire in an attempt to bolster the argument, but the film producers lost. The litigation settlement awarded damages to the owners of the cartoon character, as well as compelled the twelve-year-old actor to refrain from calling himself by the name Mickey McGuire on and off screen. Rooney later claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
after him,Albin, Kira
''Mickey Rooney: Hollywood, Religion and His Latest Show''
GrandTimes.com Senior Magazine. 1995.
although Disney always said that he had changed the name from "Mortimer Mouse" to "Mickey Mouse" on the suggestion of his wife.Gabler, Neal, ''Walt Disney'', (2006), Alfred A. Knopf The series was very popular in its day, often rivaling
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 ...
series. In fact, it was the only Our Gang series rival to make a successful transition into the talkies. The films were later distributed well into the 1940s, but were rarely shown on television. Therefore, the series is all but forgotten today.


Cast and characters

The series had a wide variety of interesting characters, many of which were created by
Fontaine Fox Fontaine Talbot Fox, Jr. (June 4, 1884 – August 9, 1964) was an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for writing and illustrating his ''Toonerville Folks'' comic panel, which ran from 1913 to 1955 in 250 to 300 newspapers across North ...
. The characters lived in a town known as Toonerville. *Mickey McGuire is a tough, street-wise lower class kid of Irish descent. He usually wears a shirt with a tablecloth pattern, a pair of pants rolled up to his knees, a pair of shoes that are two sizes too big, and a derby with a large hole at the top. He has greasy black hair, which according to
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
was actually something similar to coal dust, as his mother could not afford to dye his hair properly for the role. He said that "it wasn't fun, but I did it anyway". He is the leader of the Scorpions club, and often leads the club into mischief. Mickey doesn't take back talk from anybody, no matter how big they may be. Though Mickey is extremely tough in the series' earlier years, he progresses into more of a heartfelt character as time goes on. In the series' later years, Mickey often tries to assist the less fortunate people in town any way he can. In the silent era, Mickey is often stuck babysitting his baby brother (referred to as "Mickey's Kid Brudder"). During the talkie era, the baby disappeared and was replaced by "Billy McGuire". Mickey McGuire was played by Mickey Rooney from 1927 until the series' end in 1934. For reasons unknown, Rooney was absent from the series during the 1931-1932 season. Co-star
Marvin Stephens Marvin R. Stephens (March 23, 1922 - May 22, 2008) was an American film actor.Dwyer p.225 A child actor, his first Hollywood roles were in the Mickey McGuire films. Stephens then played the recurring role of Tommy McGuire in Twentieth Century Fo ...
took over for the role for that season in Rooney's absence. *Hambone Johnson is Mickey's best friend. Hambone (or "Ham" for short) is an
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
kid. He usually wears a short sleeve shirt, shorts, overgrown shoes, and a sack hat with a clothespin pinned to it. Because of the time the series was produced, Hambone was sometimes forced to be depicted as an exaggerated African American stereotype. However, Hambone proved to have more dignity than most characters who were in this sort of a role. Hambone is often taken advantage of by Mickey. However, Hambone has sometimes questioned Mickey's ways, asking him, "Why do I always have to do everything?". Nonetheless, Hambone clearly has a close friendship with Mickey. Whenever Mickey feels he needs somebody to go with him for one reason or another, he almost always chooses Hambone. Despite the fact that Mickey takes advantage of Hambone, he has also shown worry for Hambone's safety. One example is in ''Mickey's Ape Man'' (1933), where Ham is in danger, and calls out for help. Mickey is quick to jump into action and save his pal. Ham also is usually the one who is left in charge of the Scorpions whenever Mickey is not present. Hambone has a younger brother named "Lucky", who appeared towards the end of the series. Hambone was played by Jimmy Robinson for a majority of the series. However, he has been replaced by another actor in a few of the films due to unknown absences. *Billy McGuire is Mickey's younger brother. A blonde haired boy, he often wears a short sleeve shirt, shorts with suspenders, and small shoes. Billy first appeared early on in the talkie era. During the silent era, Mickey often had to babysit his baby brother (played by a variety of unknown infants). Without any explanation, Billy showed up early in the talkie era, originally being known as "Shorty". Billy's role in the series grew as time went on. He is essentially the runt of the group, sometimes left out of the fun for being too small. In situations like this, Billy manages to outsmart the older kids, and proves that he can do just as much as they can, if not more. Other times, Billy winds up being the hero, saving the other kids from certain danger. On other occasions, Mickey calls on Billy for special tasks, evidently recognizing the talents his younger brother has to offer. Billy was played by Billy Barty, who played the role of "Mickey's Kid Brudder" in at least one of the series' silents. *Stinky (or "Stinkie") Davis is Mickey's arch rival. Stinkie typically wears a Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit. Unlike Mickey and his pals, Stinkie is wealthy, snobbish, and always ready to poke fun at the Scorpions. Stinkie takes after his father, Henry Davis, who later becomes the mayor of Toonerville. Stinkie often tries to make the lives of Mickey and the Scorpions as miserable as possible. However, Mickey and his gang prove to be smarter than Stinkie and his friends, always turning the tables on their rivals (sometimes completely unaware of it). Stinky was played by a wide variety of actors throughout the series run. From 1927 to 1928, the role was played by an unknown actor, believed by some to be Leo Lowenstein, step-son of
Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...
. Buddy Brown took over the role until the end of the silent era. Series supporting player
Kendall McComas Kendall McComas (October 29, 1916 – October 15, 1981) was an American child actor. Career Born in Holton, Kansas, McComas first appeared in the '' Mickey McGuire'' short subjects series as a member of Mickey McGuire's gang and stayed throug ...
briefly played the role in the series' earliest talkies of 1929. Douglas Fox played the role from 1930 until 1933. Douglas Scott played the role for the series' final season, appearing in five of the last six films. *Tomboy Taylor is a member of Mickey's gang, and is the only girl in the gang. Tomboy is a blonde haired girl who wears a hairnet (which causes her hair to stick straight up), a dress, visible bloomers, and knee high socks. Though the only girl in the club, Tomboy is treated like a regular member of the gang. She proves to be just as tough as the boys, always ready to fight Stinkie's gang with the rest of the kids. However, Tomboy has shown femininity, such as in ''Mickey's Ape Man'' (1933) where she would rather stay behind and make a dress than go out hunting with the boys. Tomboy was played by
Delia Bogard Delia Bogard (June 26, 1921 - July 15, 1995) was an American film actress and dancer. Biography Bogard was born in San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Franci ...
from the beginning to the series until 1933.
Shirley Jean Rickert Shirley Jean Rickert (March 25, 1926 – February 6, 2009) was an American child actress who was briefly the "blonde girl" for the ''Our Gang'' series in 1931, during the Hal Roach early talkie period. Career At 18 months of age, Rickert w ...
took over the role for the final season. *Katrink is a member of Mickey's gang. He is a normal sized boy, but has large muscles and an incredible amount of strength. Katrink' has blonde hair, and usually wears a sweat shirt, long pants, a hat. Katrink' sometimes shows his incredible amount of strength by easily lifting heavy objects. He was played by
Marvin Stephens Marvin R. Stephens (March 23, 1922 - May 22, 2008) was an American film actor.Dwyer p.225 A child actor, his first Hollywood roles were in the Mickey McGuire films. Stephens then played the recurring role of Tommy McGuire in Twentieth Century Fo ...
for most of the series, going as far back as 1928. Prior to that, the role was played by a few unknown actors. Mickey Rooney was absent from the series for the 1931-1932 season, and Stephens was chosen to take over the role of McGuire. Since Stephens was busy playing another character, Katrink' was taken over by
Donald Haines Donald Haines (May 9, 1919 – February 20, 1943) was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1930 to 1933. He appeared in ''Our Gang'' during the early sound days along with No ...
.


Films

Silent Films 1927 *Mickey's Circus *Mickey's Pals * Mickey's Eleven *Mickey's Battle 1928 *Mickey's Parade *
Mickey in School ''Mickey in School'' is a 1928 silent short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on February 6, 1928, by FBO. Synopsis It's ...
*Mickey's Nine *Mickey's Little Eva *Mickey's Wild West *Mickey in Love *Mickey's Triumph *Mickey's Babies *
Mickey's Movies ''Mickey's Movies'' is a 1928 silent short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on September 2, 1928 by FBO. Plot Excitemen ...
*Mickey's Rivals *
Mickey the Detective ''Mickey the Detective'' is a 1928 silent short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters in 1928 by Universal Pictures. Plot Mic ...
*Mickey's Athletes *
Mickey's Big Game Hunt ''Mickey's Big Game Hunt'' is a 1928 silent short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on December 23, 1928 by FBO. Plot Mi ...
1929 *Mickey's Great Idea *Mickey's Explorers *Mickey's Menagerie *Mickey's Last Chance *Mickey's Brown Derby *
Mickey's Northwest Mounted ''Mickey's Northwest Mounted'' is a 1929 silent short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on June 9, 1929 by FBO. Plot Sti ...
*Mickey's Initiation Sound Films 1929 *Mickey's Midnite Follies *
Mickey's Surprise ''Mickey's Surprise'' is a 1929 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on September 15, 1929 by RKO. Synopsis Mickey and t ...
*
Mickey's Mix-Up ''Mickey's Mix-Up'' is a 1929 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on October 13, 1929 by RKO. Plot After losing a court ...
*Mickey's Big Moment *Mickey's Strategy 1930 *
Mickey's Champs ''Mickey's Champs'' is a 1930 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on February 2, 1930 by RKO. Plot Mickey and the Gang ...
*Mickey's Master Mind *
Mickey's Luck ''Mickey's Luck'' is a 1930 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on March 30, 1930, by RKO. Premise Mickey and the Gang ...
*Mickey's Whirlwinds *
Mickey's Warriors ''Mickey's Warriors'' is a 1930 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on May 25, 1930 by RKO. Synopsis Mickey's gang and ...
*Mickey the Romeo * Mickey's Merry Men *Mickey's Winners *Mickey's Musketeers *Mickey's Bargain 1931 *Mickey's Stampede *Mickey's Crusaders *Mickey's Rebellion *Mickey's Diplomacy *Mickey's Wildcats *Mickey's Thrill Hunters * Mickey's Helping Hand *Mickey's Side Line 1932 *Mickey's Busy Day *Mickey's Travels *Mickey's Holiday *Mickey's Big Business *Mickey's Golden Rule *Mickey's Charity 1933 *Mickey's Ape Man *Mickey's Race * Mickey's Big Broadcast * Mickey's Disguises * Mickey's Touchdown * Mickey's Tent Show * Mickey's Covered Wagon 1934 * Mickey's Minstrels *
Mickey's Rescue ''Mickey's Rescue'' is a 1934 sound film, talkie short film in Larry Darmour's ''Mickey McGuire (film series), Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Jesse Duffy, the two-reel short was released to theaters on March 2 ...
*
Mickey's Medicine Man ''Mickey's Medicine Man'' is an American 1934 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Jesse Duffy, the two-reel short was released to theaters on May 18, 1934 by Post Pictures Corp. I ...
1945 *Mickey the Great (feature film compilation)


Reissues

Although the series ended in 1934, several of the films were reissued well in the 1940s. These reissues were often given new titles (i.e. ''Mickey's Race'' became ''Mickey's Derby Day'', '' Mickey's Merry Men'' became ''Mickeys Brigade''). In 1945, Darmour and former series director
Jesse Duffy Jesse Duffy (March 24, 1894 – December 14, 1952), sometimes billed as J. A. Duffy, was an American serial screenwriter for Republic Pictures and Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio ...
edited five of the shorts into a feature film compilation titled ''Mickey the Great''. In this feature,
Delia Bogard Delia Bogard (June 26, 1921 - July 15, 1995) was an American film actress and dancer. Biography Bogard was born in San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Franci ...
and two of the series' female supporting players returned to 'host' the complication of shorts. The five films used (''Mickey's Big Broadcast'', ''Mickey's Charity'', ''Mickey's Ape Man'', ''Mickey's Disguises'', and ''Mickey's Race'') were cut down to about half of their original length, and music was added into the background of each film. Many of the shorts found their way into the home movie market. The edited versions of the films used for ''Mickey the Great'' showed up on the market, as did various five-minute clips of the silent shorts for toy reel projectors. The last six shorts in the series were originally distributed by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. Along with several other Columbia short subjects, these six films were bought up by
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
and shown on television beginning in 1958. The silent films also appeared on various television programs that also featured various
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 ...
silent shorts. The ''
Mischief Makers ''Mischief Makers'', released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling platform game developed for the Nintendo 64 gaming console by Treasure, and published in 1997 by Enix in Japan and by Nintendo internationally. The player assumes the role of Ma ...
'' series, created by National Telepix, was a children's program during the early 1960s, and mainly featured various Pathe Our Gang silents cut down to about half of their original length. Sound effects and carnival music were added to the films, as were narration. Some of the McGuire shorts found their way into this package. Shorts from other Our Gang rival series also wound up in the package. Another children's television program ''Those Lovable Scallawags with their Gangs'' also featured various Our Gang silents, as well as various rival series shorts (including Mickey McGuire). The films were rarely shown on television, as opposed to 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 ...
shorts. Because of this, the series is hardly remembered today. The late 1980s brought the arrival of the Mickey McGuire shorts to home video for the first time. United American Video and Summit Media Co. released three volumes of the Columbia Mickey McGuire shorts.
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
introduced each short. In 2001, ten of the sound shorts made their way to home video on five VHS tapes through Virgil Films and Ent. Though the films were mostly unedited, Virgil did add piano music into the background of some scenes that mainly had action in them, rather than dialogue. In 2006, 8thman restored and remastered nineteen of the films, and released them to DVD. Though restored, 8thman did add a musical soundtrack into the background of selected scenes.


References


External links


Mickey Rooney filmography