''School's Out'' is a 1930 ''

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, who also pr ...

'' short

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

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, ...

. Produced by

Hal Roach Harold 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 released to theaters by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, it was the 102nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

Jackie is trying to circulate a petition among his classmates to keep school open during the summer, as he and the gang are afraid that they might lose Miss Crabtree during summer vacation. In addition, the kids fear she might get married and therefore no longer be able to teach them. The gang has grown to like Miss Crabtree tremendously, and ride with her in her roadster to school every morning. In the car this particular morning, the kids all try to scare Miss Crabtree away from even considering marriage in the future, but Miss Crabtree states that she wants to get married some day. Schools-out-our-gang-1930

Later in the day, Miss Crabtree goes into town for lunch, and a man named "Jack" stops by the school looking for her. The man is actually Miss Crabtree's brother, but the gang is afraid that Jack is a suitor who wants to marry their teacher. The kids tell the man outlandish lies about Miss Crabtree to scare him away ("She has two false sets of teeth and one wooden leg!"; "She's got seven husbands!"; "And twenty-one kids!"). Jackie, Farina and Chubby follow Jack when he leaves the schoolyard and goes for a swim in the nearby lake. Hoping to keep Jack away from Miss Crabtree, the boys steal and stash his clothes, forcing Jack to wander around dressed in leaves and branches.

Cast

The Gang

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor and director. He began his career performing in film as a child, and successfully transitioned to adult roles and directing in both film and television. At age nine, h ...

as Jackie Cooper *

Norman Chaney Norman Myers Chaney (October 18, 1914 – May 29, 1936) was an American child actor, notable for appearing in 19 ''Our Gang'' comedies as "Chubby" from 1929 to 1931. Early life and career Chaney was born on October 18, 1914 (though Richard ...

as Chubby Chaney * Matthew Beard as Hercules *

Dorothy DeBorba Dorothy Adele DeBorba (March 28, 1925 – June 2, 2010) was an American Child actor, child actress of Portuguese people, Portuguese descent who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' series of short subjects as the leading lady from 1930 to 1933. E ...

as Echo *

Allen Hoskins Allen Clayton Hoskins (August 9, 1920 – July 26, 1980) was an American child actor, who portrayed the character of Farina in 105 ''Our Gang'' short films from 1922 to 1931. Acting career 1920–1936 ''Our Gang'' Stardom Born in Bosto ...

as Farina *

Bobby Hutchins Robert E. Hutchins (March 29, 1925 – May 17, 1945) was an American child actor who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1927 to 1933. A native of Tacoma, Washington, he was given the nickname of Wheezer after running ar ...

as Wheezer *

Mary Ann Jackson Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923 – December 17, 2003) was an American child actress who appeared in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was born and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Mary Ann Jackson's f ...

as Mary Ann Jackson *

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 ...

as Donald Haines *

Buddy McDonald Thomas "Buddy"/"Bud" McDonald (October 1, 1922 – September 22, 2008) was an American child actor. He is perhaps best known as one of the ''Our Gang'' kids of the early sound period, and McDonald is prominently featured in the ''Our Gang'' short ...

as Buddy O'Donnell * Bobby Young as Robert 'Bonedust' *

Pete the Pup Pete the Pup (September 9, 1929 – January 28, 1946), also called the Mississippi Man Mauler, was an American dog actor known to portray "Pete, the dog with the ring around his eye" in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies series (later known as '' ...

as himself

Additional cast

Douglas Greer Charles Douglas "Turkey Egg" Greer (May 21, 1921-January 6, 2016) was an American child actor. Career and war service Greer was a semi-regular actor in ''Our Gang'' between 1930 and 1932 but also appeared in some feature films besides the gang. ...

as Douglas Greer *

Bobby Mallon Robert Howard Mallon (April 7, 1919—September 10, 2008) was an American child actor, known for appearing in Hal Roach Studios films, notably ''Our Gang'', as Bobby. Early life He was born in Greybull, Wyoming. His father was a fireman killed ...

as Bobby Mallon *

June Marlowe June Marlowe (born Gisela Valaria Goetten, November 6, 1903 – March 10, 1984) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. She was best known for her role as "Miss Crabtree" in the ''Our Gang'' short subj ...

as Miss Crabtree *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Wills Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Hale ...

as Jack Crabtree *

Lyle Tayo Lyle Tayo (born Lyle Minnie Shipman; January 19, 1889 – May 2, 1971), aka Lyle Barton, was an American film actress who appeared in more than 50 films between 1921 and 1948, appearing in many short comedies at the Hal Roach Studios, severa ...

as Woman on path *

Mildred Kornman Mildred Gene Kornman (July 10, 1925 – August 19, 2022), also billed as Ricki VanDusen, was an American actress, model, businesswoman, and photographer. At the time of her death, she was the last living actress of the silent era. Life and c ...

as Classroom extra * Barbara Roach as Classroom extra * Beverly and Betty Mae Crane as the title readers * William Courtwright as the old man (scene deleted)

Production notes

A sequel to ''

Teacher's Pet A teacher's pet is a student who is viewed most favorably by their teacher in a school. They can be viewed unsympathetically by other students due to jealousy or envy in certain situations. The phenomenon is extensively acknowledged by the public ...

'', ''School's Out'' was the second of six ''Our Gang'' shorts to feature

as Miss Crabtree. This was also Bobby Young's first talkie short in ''Our Gang''. When shown on television as part of

King World King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States founded by Charles King (1912–72) that w ...

's ''The Little Rascals'' package beginning in the 1970s, ''School's Out'' was edited to remove racial humor and stereotypes relating to African-Americans. The kids lost their last teacher, Miss Magillicuddy, when she got married. In the 1930s, female teachers were usually not allowed to continue their profession after marriage. ''School's Out'' is one of four sound ''Our Gang'' shorts that fell into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

after the copyright lapsed in the 1960s (the other three being ''

Bear Shooters ''Bear Shooters'' is a 1930 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 98th ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Plot Spud wants to go camping and shoot many bears with Jackie, Chubby, and Farina. But his mother has ...

'', ''

Our Gang Follies of 1938 ''Our Gang Follies of 1938'' (later reissued as simply ''Follies of 1938'') is a 1937 American musical short subject, the 161st short subject entry in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') series. Directed by Gordon Douglas as a sequel t ...

'' and '' Waldo's Last Stand''). As such, these films frequently appear on inexpensive video and/or

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 ki ...

compilations..

References

External links

* *{{Internet Archive short film, id=SchoolsOut, name=School's Out 1930 films 1930 comedy films 1930 short films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films