Our Gang Follies of 1936
| Our Gang Follies of 1936 | |
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Title card
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| Directed by | Gus Meins |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Starring |
George McFarland Billie Thomas Carl Switzer Scotty Beckett Darla Hood Eugene Lee |
| Music by |
Marvin Hatley LeRoy Shield Walter Donaldson Sam M. Lewis Joe Young Harry McGregor Woods Pinky Tomlin Coy Poe Jimmie Grier Ethelbert Nevin |
| Cinematography | Art Lloyd |
| Edited by | Bert Jordan |
| Distributed by | MGM |
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Release date
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Running time
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18 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Our Gang Follies of 1936 is a 1935 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 140th Our Gang short to be released and the first of several musical entries in the series.
The gang stages a big musical revue in Spanky's cellar ("6 Acts of Swell Actin," reads a sign above the cellar door). Spanky, as the master of ceremonies, persuades the neighborhood kids through song to come to the show, which includes performances by a miniature chorus line, a trio of farm girls, a group of kids dressed as skeletons, and featured spots for Alfalfa and a new girl named Cookie.
Backstage, there is pandemonium involving Buckwheat's dealings with a mischievous little monkey, as well as Spanky's worrying over his star act, the Flory-Dory Girls, whose tardiness forces the would-be impresario to keep shuffling his acts. When the show reaches its final act with still no sign of the Flory-Dories, Spanky has the other boys dress in the Flory-Dories' costumes. Since he knows the girls' dance, Spanky figures the gang can pull off the act in drag if everyone just does what he does. Unknown to Spanky, however, the monkey that was terrorizing Buckwheat has hidden in the bustle of Spanky's costume. The monkey pulls a needle from the costume during the dance and begins stabbing Spanky in the rear, and the other boys mimic his out-of-character jolts of pain and discomfort to the audience's amusement. Spanky manages to accidentally shake his dress to the floor, and the other boys follow suit, ruining the act as the audience roars with laughter.
Cookie tries to bring down the curtain, but only succeeds in trapping the boys in front of the curtain, causing them to scramble underneath as Spanky closes out the show (with the curtain hiding his corset, garters and lace leggings) and sends the audience of kids home.
A follow-up to the popular radio/talent show based Our Gang entries Mike Fright and Beginner's Luck, Our Gang Follies of 1936 took the concept of those two films one step further by having the kids themselves stage an elaborate revue on their own.Follies of 1936 was a particular success with theater owners, leading to a long line of Our Gang mini-musicals, among them a direct sequel, Our Gang Follies of 1938, and several other all-revue shorts, including Reunion in Rhythm, Ye Olde Minstrels, and Melodies Old and New, among others.
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