Spooky Hooky

technical details:

Production K-4.

Release no. C-584.

Filmed November 11 to 16, 1936. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Title sheet prepared by Elmer Raguse on December 8, 1936.

Negative shipped on December 8, 1936.

Cutting continuity submitted December 9, 1936, under the title "Spooky Hookey."

According to Maltin & Bann, this film was released on December 5, 1936, which was the original date set by Fred Quimby at MGM. However, judging by the dates listed above, it seems apparent that it was actually released closer to its copyright date. Assuming "General Spanky" was released on the date listed by Maltin & Bann for that film, "Spooky Hooky" would then be the 150th film in the series to be released.

Copyrighted December 28, 1936, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP6810. Renewed July 27, 1964, with registration no. R341921. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2031.

All-talking one-reeler.

Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "Spooky Hooky".'

King World Productions episode no. 32a, available in both colorized and original black-and-white versions.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Gordon Douglas

This credit appears in the film.

Assistant Director: Charles Oelze

This credit derives from production documents.

Photography: Art Lloyd, A. S. C.

This credit appears in the film.

Film Editor: William Ziegler

This credit appears in the film.

Sound: W. B. Delaplain

This credit appears in the film.

Story by Hal E. Roach

This credit doesn't appear in the film.

Prop Man: Goode

This credit derives from the production sheets, which don't provide a first name.

Script Clerk: Morton

This credit derives from the daily film reports.

Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Indicated in the opening title card.

Passed by the National Board of Review

As indicated in the film.

Western Electric System

As indicated in the film.

Approved by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America

Certificate no. 2880.

studio personnel

secretary-treasurer-general manager - Mat O'Brien

vice president in charge of production - S. S. Van Keuren

Roach's assistant on production activities - Lawrence Tarver

assistant secretary-treasurer, comptroller - Hugh Huber

film editor and sound department - Elmer Raguse

story department - Jack Jevne

casting - Joe Rivkin

publicity and advertising - Fred Purner

art department - Arthur I. Royce

construction department - C. E. Christensen

paint department - James Follette

property department - W. L. Stevens

electrical department - William Lewis

laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin

process department - Roy Seawright

still photographer - Clarence "Stax" Graves

musical director - Marvin Hatley

men's wardrobe - Harry Black

women's wardrobe - Dorothy Callahan

makeup department - Jack Casey

hairdressing - Peggy Zardo

purchasing department - Russell Walker

cashier - Mrs. M. Van Keuren

paymaster - Mrs. Grace Cash

transportation director - Bob Davis

garage - Walter Johnson

commissary - W. M. Furlong

school teacher - Fern Carter. Teaching the extra kids were Eileen Price and Voyd Null (yes, this was his real name).

possible uncredited involvement

writing - Hal Yates, Carl Harbaugh, James Parrott, Hal Law, John Guedel, Felix Adler, Harry Langdon, Richard Flournoy and Gordon Douglas may have been among the gag writers.

property department - Charles Oelze was probably involved in this capacity.

animal training - Tony Campanaro may have been among the animal trainers.

animation effects - Probably the work of Roy Seawright.

the kids:

George "Spanky" McFarland as "Spanky"

Featured role. He's the leader among the boys and writes the phony note. He doesn't believe in spooks.

Eugene "Porky" Lee as "Porky"

Featured role. He repeatedly acts like a spook.

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas as "Buckwheat"

Featured role. He loses his ability to whistle when he sees the owl.

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as "Alfalfa"

Featured role. He's not quite as brave as Spanky.

Dickie DeNeut

Extra. It appears that he's running out of the school at the start of the film. The payroll ledger lists him on the day when this scene was shot. It also lists him for all the previous shooting dates, which was very common during this era, and seems to suggest that he was Porky's stand-in.

other kids

Extras. There are 16 additional kids in the opening scene in front of the school: John Collum (listed in the ledger as John Keith), Paul Hilton, Donald Proffitt, Robert Winckler, Harold Switzer, Sidney Kibrick and Jackie Lindquist are all identifiable in a publicity photo from this film, and all received checks for working in this film on Nov. 16th. Others listed in the payroll ledger for the same date are Mike Messinger, Jack Peter, Frances Bowling, Terry Ann Desmond, Julie Brennan, Helen Pat Phillips, Jackie Clancy, Audrey Rae Leonard and Merlin Powers. On earlier shooting dates, there are some mystery names which might be stand-ins for the lead boys, as Dickie DeNeut is among them. The others are Donald Sanders (who worked from the 11th to the 14th), Al Twiford (who worked on the 11th and 12th), and John White (who worked on the 12th and the 13th). Patsy Barry signed photos from this film, but isn't listed in the ledger.

in still images

Photos of Darla Hood and Baby Patsy May are shown during the opening titles.

the animals:

Jiggs

Bit part. He's the largest of the dogs, and belonged to Hal Roach.

dog 087b

Bit part. He's the dog that runs in the opposite direction when the kids come out.

Laughing Gravy

Bit part. He's the little white dog in the opening scene.

Leo

Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film.

other animals

Bit parts.

(1.) The owl that spooks Buckwheat.

(2.) Three more dogs at the opening of the film. Maltin & Bann list "Von" from "General Spanky" (no. 150), but he's not present.

in still images

A photo of Pete the Pup IV is shown during the opening titles.

the adults:

Dudley Dickerson as "Sam," the janitor

Supporting role. He doesn't let the boys back into the school, and gets spooked later that night. Maltin's earlier book, The Great Movie Shorts, lists Sam McDaniels, probably in place of Dickerson. The cutting continuity refers to him as "Janitor."

Rosina Lawrence as the teacher

Small part. She's seen talking to the boys as she leaves the school. Maltin & Bann indicate that her name is Miss Jones in this film, but no name is used. The cutting continuity refers to her as "Rosina."

Lyle Tayo, Fay Holderness, Mildred Gover and Marie Wells

Bit parts. These are the mothers of the four boys. A publicity photo reveals that Tayo is Spanky's mother. Gover was a black woman, so she would be Buckwheat's mother. And it looks entirely like Holderness is Alfalfa's mother, leaving Wells as Porky's mother.

Ted Mangean and Jack Hill

Bit parts. These two are listed in the payroll ledger on the same day that all the schoolchildren were working. It seems very likely that they're the two clowns seen during the circus parade.

other adults

Alex Finlayson worked on the 16th, which seems to indicate that he's the one driving the circus truck. However, he also worked on the 13th, though I don't see anything in the film that would suggest a reason. It doesn't appear that Dickerson is doubled for his stunts, so that leaves this as a mystery.

in still images

The Unfinished Portrait, the famous painting of George Washington, is hanging on the classroom wall.

the music:

"Good Old Days" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931.

(A15.) Most of this piece is played over the opening titles and as we see the dogs. A small portion is repeated as the film closes.

"The Billboard March" by John N. Klohr

Written in 1901 and dedicated to Billboard magazine. This is the circus music played by the passing parade.

the locations:

Hal E. Roach Studios

Filming took place on Stage 4 on each of the shooting dates.

Motor Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

This was where the footage of the circus truck and clowns was taken.

miscellaneous:

Six shooting dates went into the making of this film. About three weeks had passed since the final filming of "General Spanky" (no. 150.) Shooting for "Spooky Hooky" began on Nov. 11th and continued until Nov. 17. No shooting took place on Nov. 15th, which was a Sunday. After that, it would be nearly three weeks before the Our Gang unit began work on "Reunion In Rhythm" (no. 151). Here's a breakdown of the activity, deriving from the call sheets, production sheets, location work sheets, daily film reports, and various memos:
Nov. 7 - Film costs for the previous week were $286.55.
Nov. 11 - This was the first day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys, and two doubles for Buckwheat and Porky. Shooting was to take place on the exterior and interior schoolroom sets on Stage 4, with lightning, rain and thunder effects to be utilized. The production sheet reveals that a man was also present to handle the owl. A surviving script for the film carries this date. A Joe Rivkin memo to Van Keuren, O'Brien, Huber and Cash, stated that Spanky and Alfalfa 'started' as of this date.
Nov. 12 - This was the second day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys, and two doubles for Buckwheat and Porky. Shooting was to take place on the exterior and interior schoolroom sets on Stage 4, with lightning, rain and thunder effects to be utilized. The production sheet reveals that the owl trainer was again present. It also mistakenly identifies this as the third day of shooting. A memo from this date states that "Rise And Shine" was being registered and cleared through MGM for the main title of a forthcoming Edward Sedgwick feature production. It also states that the title "Spooky Hooky" was now the title of the Our Gang short, presumably replacing the other one. However, the production sheets all label the film as 'untitled.'
Nov. 13 - This was the third day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys, two doubles for Buckwheat and Porky, and a 'colored janitor.' Shooting was to take place on the exterior and interior schoolroom sets on Stage 4, with lightning, rain and thunder effects to be utilized. The production sheet reveals that four doubles were used instead of two. It also mistakenly identifies this as the fourth day of shooting.
Nov. 14 - This was the fourth day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys, two doubles for Buckwheat and Porky, and Rosina Lawrence. Shooting was to take place on the exterior and interior schoolroom sets on Stage 4. The production sheet reveals that five 'bit people' were used, but it doesn't mention Lawrence. These five people were Dudley Dickerson and the four mothers of the boys. It also mistakenly identifies this as the fifth day of shooting. Also scheduled for this date was location footage to be shot on Motor Avenue, which would have involved 16 extra kids (mixed of school age), 2 clowns, a truck driver (with truck), and five or six dogs. Also listed are the four mothers, the janitor, and the doubles, but I think the call sheet is simply mixing elements of both location and studio work. In fact, the extra kids and the dogs also appear in the Stage 4 footage. In any event, no footage was shot on Motor Avenue on this date, but was postponed until the 16th. Film costs for the previous week were $4077.82, bringing the total to $4364.37 so far.
Nov. 15 - This was a Sunday, so no shooting took place.
Nov. 16 - This was the fifth day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys and Rosina Lawrence. Shooting was to take place on the exterior and interior schoolroom set on Stage 4. Also scheduled for this date was location footage shot on Motor Avenue involving 16 extra kids (mixed of school age), 2 clowns, a truck driver, and five or six dogs. The circus truck was to be adorned with a banner and loud speakers. Also listed is the janitor, though I think the call sheet is simply mixing elements of both location and studio work. The production sheet reveals that a double was also present. It also mistakenly identifies this as the sixth day of shooting, and also identifies the production as K-2. In any event, the location footage was actually shot on this date.
Nov. 17 - The production sheet for this date states that the production had closed the previous day. However, it still lists Douglas, Oelze, Goode and Lloyd, so perhaps they worked on post-production on this date. The payroll ledger indicates that two day players, Ted Mangean and Jack Hill, were given checks on this date, but it looks like they were owed additional money for the previous day's work. On the 16th, they each made $15, while on the 17th, they each made $10. A Van Keuren memo (actually written by R. Burch) to Huber and Cash from this date states that Gordon Douglas started as director for this production as of November 9th.
Nov. 19 - A memo from this date states that "Billboard March" was cleared through Mr. Decker.
Nov. 20 - A Joe Rivkin memo from this date to Van Keuren, O'Brien, Huber and Cash, states that Rosina Lawrence 'started' and 'closed' as of Nov. 16th, and that the four main boys also closed on that date.
Nov. 21 - Film costs for the previous week were $1324.82, bringing the total to $5689.19 so far.
Nov. 23 - An Elmer Raguse memo from this date quotes a telegram from Mr. Decker which states that Paine approves instrumental nonvisual use of "Billboard March" for a fee of one hundred dollars.
Dec. 7 - An Elmer Raguse memo from this date indicates that the domestic positive Movietone print was shipped.
Dec. 8 - An Elmer Raguse memo from this date indicates that the domestic negative and domestic negative soundtrack were delivered to the MGM laboratory.

All three previews were successful, making it unnecessary to do any re-shoots.

The negative cost on this film as of Feb. 13, 1937 was $21,174.44. This amount was certified as of March 30, 1937. Maltin & Bann provide a breakdown of this on page 238 of the 1992 edition of their book.

The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B618.

The circus that the boys miss out on is called the Grant Bro's Circus.

This film is 956 feet in length.

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

© Robert Demoss.