''The Boy Friends'' is a series of American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s released between 1930 and 1932. The series consisted of fifteen films and was spun off from the long running '' Our Gang'' film series (also known as ''The Little Rascals'').

Overview

Like the ''Our Gang'' shorts of the time, ''The Boy Friends'' films are two-reel short subjects 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, ...

through

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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. They feature teenage actors including some, particularly

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

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 ...

, who as children had starred in the early silent ''Our Gang'' shorts.

Grady Sutton Grady Harwell Sutton (April 5, 1906 – September 17, 1995) was an American film and television character actor from the 1920s to the 1970s. He appeared in more than 180 films. Early years Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised ...

was also a lead player in the series. Daniels and Sutton appear in every short, while Kornman appears in all but one (1932's ''You're Telling Me''). Roach released three ''The Boy Friends'' films in 1930: ''Doctor's Orders'', ''Ladies Last'', and ''Bigger and Better''. The series added seven installments in 1931: ''Blood and Thunder'', ''High Gear'', ''Love Fever'', ''Air Tight'', ''Call a Cop'', ''Mama Loves Papa'', and ''The Kickoff''. Finally, 1932 saw the release of the last five films: ''Love Pains'', ''The Knockout'', ''Too Many Women'', ''Wild Babies'', and ''You're Telling Me''. At least some of the films in the series took place at

Elmira College Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York. Founded as a college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men. Elmira College became coeducational in a ...

, an actual school located in Roach's home town of Elmira, New York.

Characters

*Mickey (

): The main character. Appears in all entries. *Mary (

): Mickey's girl friend. Appears in all entries except ''You're Telling Me''. *Grady "Alabam" Sutton (

): Mickey's best friend and sidekick. Appears in all entries. *Dave ( David Sharpe): Mickey and Grady's friend. He is their rival in his first short. Last appears in ''Call a Cop!'' *Gertie (

Gertrude Messinger Gertrude Dolores Messinger (April 28, 1911 – November 8, 1995) was an American film actress known for her B-movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s. She began as a child actor in silent films, but found her greatest fame in talkies of ...

): Dave's love interest. Last appears in ''The Kick-Off''. *Dorothy (

Dorothy Granger Dorothy Karolyn Granger (November 21, 1911 – January 4, 1995) was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood. Career Granger, with her parents, two brothers, Richard and James, and their grandmot ...

): Alabam's love interest. Last appears in ''Love Fever''. *Betty ( Betty Bolen): Alabam's love interest. Appears in ''Air-Tight'', ''Mama Loves Papa'', ''The Kick-Off!'', ''Love Pains'', ''The Knockout'', ''You're Telling Me'' and ''Wild Babies''. *Jacqui ( Jacqueline Wells): Appears in ''The Knockout'' and ''You're Telling Me''.

Filmography

1930

:*''Doctor's Orders'' :*''Bigger and Better'' :*''Ladies Last''

1931

:*''Blood and Thunder'' :*''High Gear'' :*''Love Fever'' :*''Air-Tight'' :*''Call a Cop!'' :*''Mama Loves Papa'' :*''The Kick-Off!''

1932

:*''Love Pains'' :*''The Knock-Out'' :*''You're Telling Me'' :*''Wild Babies'' :*''Too Many Women''

References

Sources

* *

External links

Introduction to The Boyfriends Shorts
(TCM's details)
'The Boy Friends' thread at Proboards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Friends Film series introduced in 1930 1930s teen comedy films 1930s short films American teen comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Hal Roach Studios short film series Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Our Gang 1930s American films