''Mama's Little Pirate'' is a 1934 ''

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

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'' ...

. It was the 132nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

Spanky's father reads a newspaper article about treasures found at a nearby cave during breakfast with the family. This inspires Spanky to explore another nearby cave with the gang for more treasures. The cave is too dark so Spanky goes back home to get a flashlight. Spanky's mother catches him and forbids him to hunt for the treasure, going as far as to send him to his room when he refuses to listen. Confined to his room, Spanky falls asleep and in his dream argues with his " inner self", who advises him to disobey his mother and join the rest of the gang in their search for buried treasure. Though the kids miraculously unearth a fortune in gold and jewels, their triumph nearly turns to disaster when they encounter a surly giant (Tex Madsen). During the height of the trouble they've found, Spanky wakes up from his dream.

Notes

''Mama's Little Pirate'' is the first ''

'' fantasy outing. The film was enhanced by

Leroy Shield Leroy Bernard Shield (October 2, 1893 – January 9, 1962) was an American film score and radio composer. He is best known for the themes and incidental music he wrote for the classic Hal Roach comedy short films of the 1930s, including the ''Our ...

's unique background music composition "Cascadia", originally written for the "Boy Friends" comedy ''Air Tight'' (1931).

's music composition was "Good Old Days" in the opening titles and "We're going to arrowhead" was in the end title. The cave was a set from the 1934 film '' Babes in Toyland'', which was also directed by

Cast

The Gang

* 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 *

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

as Spanky *

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People *Billie (given name), the given name Other * ''Billie'' (1965 film), a 1965 film starring Patty Duke * ''Billie'' (2019 film), a documentary about Billie Holiday * ''Billie'' (musical), 1928 Broadway musical by ...

as Buckwheat * Jerry Tucker as Jerry * Marylin Bourne as Little girl * Gilbert Hullett as Our Gang member * Paul Rodriguez as Our Gang member

Additional cast

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's ''Mickey Mouse'' short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Di ...

as Giant (voice) *

Claudia Dell Claudia Dell (born Claudia Dell Smith; January 10, 1909 – September 5, 1977) was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and movies. Early life Dell moved with her mother to New York City in late 1924 or early 1925 to visit Dell ...

as Spanky's mother * Tex Madsen as Giant * Joe Young as Spanky's father (as Joe Young)

References

External links

* 1934 films 1934 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Gus Meins Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1934 short films 1930s American films Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield {{short-comedy-film-stub