''The New Pupil'' is a 1940 ''

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 Edward Cahn. It was the 190th ''Our Gang'' short that was released.

Plot

Sally (

Juanita Quigley Juanita Quigley (24 June 1931 – 29 October 2017) was an American child actress in motion pictures of the 1930s and 1940s. She had a sister, Rita Quigley, who was also a child actress. Career Juanita Quigley was billed as "Baby Jane" in several ...

) is a new student at the school that the gang goes to. Upon Sally's arrival, Alfalfa and Spanky literally fall over each other trying to get her attention, leaving the gang's traditional sweetheart Darla in the lurch. But when it turns out that Sally cannot stand either one of the boys, she and Darla cook up a scheme to dampen their romantic aspirations.

Notes and reception

*This film was released before ''

Bubbling Troubles ''Bubbling Troubles'' is an American 1940 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Edward Cahn. It was the 187th ''Our Gang'' short (188th episode, 99th talking short, 100th talking episode, and 19th MGM produced episode) that was released. P ...

'' but produced after. *''The New Pupil'' marked the debut of

Billy Laughlin William Robert Laughlin (July 5, 1932 – August 31, 1948) was an American child actor. He is best known for playing the character Froggy in the ''Our Gang'' short films in 1940–44, its final years of production. Early life Laughlin was b ...

who would play the character "Froggy". He is named "Harold" in this film. *This marked the final appearance of Harold "Slim" Switzer. At 14 years of age, he was the oldest member of the cast.

Cast

The Gang

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Dav ...

as Darla Hood *

George McFarland George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in the ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' shorts were later syndicated ...

as Spanky *

Carl Switzer Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

as Alfalfa *

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People * Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress * Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian * Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress * Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist for ...

as Buckwheat * Mickey Gubitosi as Mickey

Additional cast

as Sally Stevens *

as Harold * Patsy Currier as Darla's friend *

May McAvoy May Irene McAvoy (September 8, 1899 – April 26, 1984) was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent-film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in '' The Enchanted Cottage'', Esther in '' Ben-Hur'', and Mary Dale ...

as Sally's mother * Anne O'Neal as Teacher * Joe "Corky" Geil as Classroom extra * Giovanna Gubitosi as Classroom extra * Paul Hilton as Classroom extra *

Darwood Kaye Darwood Kenneth Smith (September 8, 1929 – May 15, 2002), also known as Darwood Kaye, was an American child actor most notable for his semi-regular role as the bookish rich kid Waldo in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1937 to 1940. ...

as Classroom extra * Tommy McFarland as Classroom extra *

Harold Switzer Harold Frederick Switzer (January 16, 1925 – April 14, 1967) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series as an extra. He was the older brother of gang member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, one ...

as Classroom extra

References

External links

* 1940 films American black-and-white films 1940 comedy films Films directed by Edward L. Cahn Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Our Gang films 1940 short films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films {{short-comedy-film-stub