''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, 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

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 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 ...

and released to theaters 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 ...

, 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 that 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 in order 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, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

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 as Echo *

Allen Hoskins Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

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 a ...

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 Nor ...

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'' shor ...

as Buddy O'Donnell *

Bobby Young Robert George Young (January 22, 1925 – February 4, 1985) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of eight years in Major League Baseball, primarily as a second baseman. He played most of his career for the St. Lou ...

as Robert 'Bonedust' *

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 w ...

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 ...

as Douglas Greer *

Bobby Mallon Robert Howard Mallon (April 7, 1919 - September 10, 2008) was an American actor. Early life He was born in Greybull, Wyoming. Career Mallon was known for playing Bobby in 13 of the ''Our Gang''/'' Little Rascals'' series of movies produced by ...

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 performance of "Miss Crabtree" in the ''Our Gang'' sho ...

as Miss Crabtree *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick 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 Born in Cou ...

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, seve ...

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 one of the last living actresses of the silent era. L ...

as Classroom extra * Barbara Roach as Classroom extra *

Beverly and Betty Mae Crane Beverly or Beverley may refer to: Places Australia *Beverley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide *Beverley, Western Australia, a town *Shire of Beverley, Western Australia Canada *Beverly, Alberta, a town that amalgamated with the City of Ed ...

as the title readers * William Courtwright as the old man (scene deleted)

Production notes

A sequel to ''

Teacher's Pet Teacher's pet is a person that has an advantageous position compared to other students, where the teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or v ...

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

as Miss Crabtree. This was also

'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 independently established in 1964 until acq ...

's ''Little Rascals'' package from the 1970s on, ''School's Out'' was edited to remove racial humor and stereotypes relating to African-Americans. The kids lost their last teacher, Miss Magillicuddy, after 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 A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

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 (tenth talking) '' Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot Spud wants to go camping and shoot many bears with Jackie, Chubby, and Farin ...

'', ''

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 to ...

'' and ''

Waldo's Last Stand ''Waldo's Last Stand'' is a 1940 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Edward Cahn. It was the 193rd ''Our Gang'' short (194th episode, 105th talking short, 106th talking episode, and 25th MGM produced episode) that was released. Plot The ...

''). As such, these films frequently appear on inexpensive video and/or DVD compilations..

References

External links

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