''Mischief Makers'' was a children's television series created by National Telepix that debuted on

television syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States wher ...

in 1960. The fifteen-minute series consisted of shortened '' Our Gang'' silent shorts that were originally released through Pathé, as well as various shorts from rival series including ''Mickey McGuire'', '' Buster Brown'', and others. Films from Hal Roach's all animal series the Dippy Doo Dads were also occasionally shown. The series ended production in 1961, but continued to be aired by certain local television stations well into the 1970s, and even during the 80's in Latin America.

Overview

The series mainly featured shorts from Hal Roach's '' Our Gang'' series, but shorts from other series were also sometimes shown. Each episode ran about fifteen minutes, with the featured short only being about twelve minutes in length (the shorts originally ran about twenty minutes long). The shorts were always given a new, relatively simple title (i.e. ''Every Man For Himself'' became ''Shoeshine Shop''). Most of what was deleted from the shorts were from the first half of the film, though some of the first half were retained in the episodes. The deleted footage sometimes wound up in other episodes, known as 'hybrid episodes'; these contained clips from more than one short. The original inter-titles were usually cut, though a few episodes did retain some of the titles. To compensate for the absence of the titles, most episodes were narrated by two kids who are identified as 'Bobby' and 'Bunny'. Bunny typically used the catchphrase "Skeedly Skeedly!". Carnival-like music (composed by Jack Saunders) and rather inappropriate sound effects were also added onto the films.

Theme

The animated opening and closing theme featured a song titled "Hip, Hip, Hooray". It was written by Jack Saunders and Phyllis Brandell Saunders. An instrumental version of this song was among the several soundtrack tunes added onto the silent films. The animation was produced by Gene Deitch. It featured four animated characters in front of a picket fence doing various activities. The animated characters were a fat kid with a beanie hat (probably meant to be

Joe Cobb Joe Frank Cobb (November 7, 1916 – May 21, 2002) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing as the original "fat boy" in the ''Our Gang'' comedies from 1922 to 1929. Early life and career Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on Novemb ...

, a girl (probably

Mary Kornman Mary Kornman (born Mary Agnes Evans, December 27, 1915 – June 1, 1973) was an American child actress who was the leading female star of the ''Our Gang'' series during the Pathé silent era. ''Our Gang'' She was born as Mary Agnes Evans, the ...

), a freckled-face boy (probably

Mickey Daniels Richard Daniels Jr. (October 11, 1914 – August 20, 1970) known professionally as Mickey Daniels, was an American actor. Signed by Hal Roach in 1921, he was, along with Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Jackie Davis, Mary Kornman, and Ernie Morrison, ...

), and a dog with a ring around his eye (obviously meant to be

Pete the Pup Pete the Pup (original, 1924 – June 1930; second Pete, September 9, 1929 – January 28, 1946) was a character in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies (later known as ''The Little Rascals'') during the 1930s, otherwise known as "Pete, the dog wi ...

Narration

Most episodes were narrated by two kids identified as 'Bobby' and 'Bunny'. The way the two interact with each other makes it seem plausible that the two are intended to be siblings, with Bobby being the older of the two. When narrating an episode, they typically leave very little space in between their comments. Today, most fans of the Our Gang series who have come across narrated Mischief Makers episodes find the narration to be rather irritating. The writers for the narration sometimes gave rather odd names to some of the kids in the shorts. Others however were identified by their familiar names. Our Gang members

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

, Farina, Jackie, and

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

all had their familiar names retained. Meanwhile,

was called 'Joey', Jack Davis was referred to as 'Rocky', and Jay R. Smith was called 'Freckles'.

Episode List

Currently Incomplete indicates hybrid episode with more than one short used. Episode production numbers for the following titles are still unknown. *Sparky the Star *Summer Daze ( Buster Brown short) *Sparky at School ( Buster Brown short) *Monkey Mischief *Rival Circus *The Monkey Story

Comedy Capers

After the cancellation of Mischief Makers, National Telepix produced ''Comedy Capers'', a spin-off series consisting of various comedy films produced by

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. 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, and screenwriter, ...

and

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

. Top billing for the series went to Laurel and Hardy (even though very few of their films as a team were shown),

Ben Turpin Bernard "Ben" Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) was an American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films. His trademarks were his cross-eyed appearance and adeptness at vigorous physical comedy. Turpin wo ...

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

, Billy Bevan, and

The Keystone Kops The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film Slapstick film, slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Studios, Keystone Film Company between 1912 and ...

. Other films shown starred Will Rogers,

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

Snub Pollard Harold Fraser (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962), known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s. Career Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 No ...

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...

Larry Semon Lawrence Semon (February 9, 1889 – October 8, 1928) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working ...

, Clyde Cook, and Mabel Normand, among others. The beginning to the opening theme immediately recognized the series as a spin-off of Mischief Makers, as the singers of the theme song mention "The Mischief Makers present...". Although actual Our Gang shorts were not featured on Comedy Capers, the opening theme featured clips from Our Gang shorts

Official Officers ''Official Officers'' is a 1925 American short silent comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 40th ''Our Gang'' short subject released. Cast The Gang * Joe Cobb as Joe * Jackie Condon as Jackie * Mickey Daniels as Mickey * ...

and Playin' Hookey.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Lucky Corner - ''Our Gang'', Little Rascals''Mischief Makers'' Copyright Status''Mischief Makers'' Copyright Status 2''Mischief Makers'' Copyright Status 3Mischief Makers Copyright Status 4Mischief Makers Opening and ClosingThe Barber Shop (part 1) (dubbed)The Barber Shop (part 2) (dubbed)The Secret Meeting (part 1) (dubbed)The Secret Meeting (part 2) (dubbed)A Double Birthday (part 1) (dubbed)A Double Birthday (part 2) (dubbed)Little Officers (part 1) (dubbed)Little Officers (part 2) (dubbed)A Roamin' Holiday (part 1) (dubbed)A Roamin' Holiday (part 2) (dubbed)The Big Switch (excerpt) (dubbed)Comedy Capers ''Do Detectives Think?''Comedy Capers Opening Theme (announcer dubbed)
1960 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1960s American children's television series First-run syndicated television programs in the United States