''Anniversary Trouble'' is a 1935 '' Our Gang'' short

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

Gus Meins Gus Meins (March 6, 1893 – August 1, 1940), born Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley, was an American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Career Meins started out in the 'teens as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Evening Herald before ...

. It was the 134th ''Our Gang'' short (46th talking episode) that was released.

Plot

Spanky's appointment as treasurer of the Ancient and Honery Order of Woodchucks occurs on the same day as his parents' wedding anniversary. Spanky's father (

Johnny Arthur Johnny Arthur (born John Lennox Arthur Williams; May 20, 1883 – December 31, 1951) was an American stage and motion picture actor. Early years Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made ...

) puts money in an envelope as an anniversary gift for his wife (

Claudia Dell Claudia Dell (born Claudia Dell Smith; January 10, 1910 – September 5, 1977) was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and movies. Early years Dell was born in San Antonio, Texas on January 10, 1910. She attended school in San ...

), then absent-mindedly uses the envelope as a bookmark. Spanky's mother sees Spanky hide the gang's club money in a cookie jar and jumps to the conclusion that Spanky stole her gift envelope. She takes that money and shows it to Spanky's father who also jumps to the wrong conclusion. Spanky is looking for the money and cannot find it. Minutes later, the other Woodchucks demand the return of their "dough," as the club had just broken up. Spanky cannot accommodate them. Spanky's father calls the maid/nanny and tells her to send him to his dad's office for punishment immediately. Spanky is unable to leave because the gang is blocking the exits out of his house. Spanky then tries to sneak out by painting himself in blackface and dressing up like Buckwheat, the maid/nanny's son. That plan is also foiled and then Spanky's parents return home. Spanky puts the book with the anniversary money in his back pocket to protect himself from a spanking. His father discovers the gift envelope in the book and realises his mistake. So that his mother thinks the spanking is being carried out and can remain unaware of the mistake, Spanky's father has Spanky spank him instead and has Spanky make the groaning noises. Spanky's mother though catches them leading to a wild and wooly conclusion wherein Spanky's dad is duly punished for his faulty memory.

Notes

The television broadcast version of ''Anniversary Trouble'' has been radically edited, removing the sequence in which Spanky dons blackface to disguise himself as Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas due to perceived racism against African Americans. It was only partially restored on the 2001 to 2003 showings over

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

. It was finally available unedited on VHS home video from the early 1980s until the late 1990s.

Cast

The Gang

* George McFarland as Spanky * Matthew Beard as Stymie *

Scotty Beckett Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, Califo ...

as Scotty *

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 * Alvin Buckelew as Alvin *

Leonard Kibrick Leonard Kibrick (September 6, 1924 – January 4, 1993) was an American child actor. Career Kibrick was most notable for appearing in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1934 to 1936, usually portraying the villain. Kibrick first appe ...

as Leonard * Jerry Tucker as Jerry * Sidney Kibrick as Our Gang member * Harry Harvey Jr. as Our Gang member * Donald Proffitt as Our Gang member * Merrill Strong as Our Gang member *

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 ...

as Himself

Additional cast

as John, Spanky's father *

as Spanky's mother *

Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...

as Mandy, the maid * Cecelia Murray as Girl with doll * Tony Kales as Undetermined role

References

External links

* {{Gus Meins 1935 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Gus Meins Hal Roach Studios short films 1935 comedy films Our Gang films 1930s American films