Fair And Muddy

film no. 75


technical details:

Production G-9.

Filmed January 16 to February 8, 1928. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Title sheet prepared by H. M. Walker on February 21, 1928.

Cutting continuity submitted on February 25, 1928.

Copyrighted May 5, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP25252. Renewed August 11, 1955, with registration no. R154163. This copyright expired at the end of 2023, and the film is now in the public domain.

Released May 5, 1928. It was the 75th film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Fair And Muddy".'


the crew:

Produced by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach
The film credits Roach as a presenter, and designates it as "A Robert McGowan Production." Maltin & Bann list Roach only for this credit.
Supervised by Robert F. McGowan
This credit appears in the film, specifically crediting him as supervising director.
Directed by Charles Oelze
This credit appears in the film. The payroll summaries were currently listing Oelze as an assistant director, but without specifying which unit he worked for.
Photographed by Art Lloyd
This credit appears in the film.
Edited by Richard Currier
This credit appears in the film.
Titles by H. M. Walker
This credit appears in the film.
Animation by Roy Seawright
This credit derives from Seawright's payroll status as the studio animator during this period. This film features animated bees, with 'zings' representing their stings, as well electrical bolts coming out of the cigarette lighter.
Story by Robert F. McGowan
This credit appears on the title page of the cutting continuity.
Animal Trainer: Harry Lucenay
He was Pete's owner and trainer.
Teacher: Fern Carter
Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
As indicated in the opening title card.
Passed by the National Board of Review
As indicated in the film.
All Rights Reserved Under International Convention of Buenos Aires
As indicated in the film.
studio personnel
director-general - Leo McCarey
general manager - Warren Doane
assistant general manager - L. A. French
secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach
construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen
laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
optical effects supervisor - Roy Seawright
still photographer - Clarence "Stax" Graves
transportation director - Bob Davis
possible uncredited involvement
assistant cameraman - Probably Clair Boshard.
cutting - Possibly Lloyd Campbell.
writing - Robert A. McGowan, Jean Yarbrough, Charlie Hall and Hal Yates may have been among the gag writers.
property department - Charles Oelze, Don Sandstrom and Thomas Benton Roberts were probably involved in this capacity.
animal training - Tony Campanaro may have been among the animal trainers.

the kids:

Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"
Featured role. He stows away in a trunk with Pete. His big scene is the one where he's being dragged behind the car.
Jay R. Smith
Featured role. He plays several of the pranks.
Joe Cobb
Featured role. He also plays several pranks.
Jackie Condon
Featured role. He's also in on the pranks and is given a fair amount of footage.
Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins
Supporting role. He seems to be present the entire time, but isn't given a lot of specific attention.
Mildred Kornman
Supporting role. She seems to be paired up with Wheezer through most of the film.
Harry Spear
Supporting role. He's mostly an ensemble player, but gets a bit of attention using a peashooter.
Jean Darling
Supporting role. She's mostly along for the ride, but is the one that lets the water out of the radiator.
Buddy McNeal
Small part. He's the boy who starts the battle by putting mud in Joe's face.
Bobby "Bonedust" Young
Small part. He's one of the boys in the rival gang.
Donnie Smith
Small part. He shares the sandbox with Wheezer early in the film.
Bobby Dean
Small part. He's one of the orphans, and collides with Joe as the two both go after the same baseball. His real name was Bobby Dean Morton.
Bobby Heck
Small part. He's standing next to Bonedust during the mud fight.
Johnny Aber
Extra. He's one of the orphans at the beginning of the film. He's standing in the background as Jackie ties the string around the baseball.
other kids
Small parts. There are three additional boys in the rival gang. There are also additional orphans, numbering perhaps fifteen, who don't go along on the car trip. This includes an additional toddler, plus at least five girls and ten boys.

the animals:

Pete (no. 1) as "Pansy"
Supporting role. Farina sneaks him along on the ride, and he's given several funny moments.
Leo
Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film.
other animals
Bit parts and extras.
(1.) A squirrel seen by Joe.
(2.) The little white dog that Mrs. Schultz kicks.
(3.) Several chicks, including the one that Farina refers to as the 'new roostah.'
(4.) Several additional animals that make up the 'Animals Orphanage.' There are twelve cages, but some might include animals already mentioned.
(5.) A horse seen in the distance during the mud fight.
(6.) Publicity photos show members of the gang wearing sailor suits (like in this film) and posing with white rabbits, presumably since Easter was only a couple of months away. It appears that the rabbits were not in the film.
bugwatch
The bees or hornets in the nest that the gang mistakes for a football. Initially, we see actual bees, but after Farina lands on the nest, they're animated.

the adults:

Lillianne Leighton as "Mrs. Amanda Schultz"
Featured role. She doesn't like kids, but needs to adopt one in order to gain an inheritance. She has a change of heart in the end.
Charles King as the chauffeur
Featured role. He suffers the brunt of the gang's pranks and finally quits his job.
Caroline "Spike" Rankin as "Alvira"
Supporting role. She's the other old maid who goes along on the trip, and is the sister of Mrs. Schultz. This is probably the 'unspecified role' Maltin & Bann were referring to when they listed Patsy O'Byrne.
Alfred Fisher as "Granpa Evans"
Supporting role. He's seen quite a lot in the early part of the film interacting with the kids.
Florence Lee as "Grandma Evans"
Supporting role. She's seen in the earlier part of the film.
Edgar Dearing as the motorcycle cop
Small part. He writes out two tickets to Mrs. Schultz.
Charley Lloyd
Bit part. He's the first to check his tires after hearing a torpedo explode.
Evelyn Burns
Bit part. She gets hit in the butt with mud while walking across a wooden plank.
Sam Lufkin
Bit part. He laughs at Burns, and ends up with mud in his mouth.
other adults
Supporting roles and bit parts.
(1.) The 'boy' that delivers the telegram, actually a young man.
(2.) The man and woman picnicking. He calls her "Honeydew" and she calls him "Mildew."
(3.) The man with the plug hat, who gets mud in his hat.
(4.) The woman powdering her face, who gets hit with mud.
(5.) The old man who laughs and gets hit with mud as he tries to walk away.
(6.) Several men who check their tires.

the locations:

Venice Pier
Promotional photos reveal that footage was shot at this amusement pier, or perhaps Lick Pier at Ocean Park, since the kids are posing in front of the Giant Dipper roller coaster, which existed at both places. The cutting continuity reveals that the film ends just as they're getting ready to go to the beach.

miscellaneous:

21 shooting dates went into the making of this film. A week after shooting finished for "Barnum & Ringling, Inc." (no. 74), the 'start' date for "Fair And Muddy" arrived on Jan. 16th. Shooting continued until the 'finish' date of Feb. 8th. No shooting took place on Jan. 15th, Jan. 22nd, Jan. 29th or Feb. 5th, which were all Sundays. Charles Oelze directed on each of the shooting dates. It should be noted that the 1928 studio datebook mistakenly identifies this film as production C-9 on Feb. 4th. Two days after shooting finished, the Our Gang unit began filming "Crazy House" (no. 76).

The orphanage the gang lives in is called Gramercy Orphanage.

The orphanage footage probably derives from the first week of shooting, since Alfred Fisher appears in the payroll summaries only during this week.

The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B403.


See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.


© Robert Demoss.


My thanks to the following people for assisting with this page:
Robin Cook (for giving the correct number of cages used in the Pet Orphanage)
Rob Stone (for providing the production number and shooting dates)
Randy Skretvedt (for clearing up the confusion involving Bud and Stax Graves)
Joe Moore (for providing the copyright information)


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