Production K-5.
Release no. C-585.
Filmed December 9 to 14, 1936. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Negative shipped on December 31, 1936.
Title sheet prepared by Elmer Raguse on January 2, 1937.
Music cue sheet prepared on January 2, 1937.
Cutting continuity submitted January 2, 1937.
Released January 9, 1937. It was the 151st film in the series to be released. Early in the film season, Fred Quimby of MGM had set an original projected release date for this production of January 2, 1937.
Copyrighted January 14, 1937, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP6862. Renewed July 27, 1964, with registration no. R341918. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2032.
All-talking one-reeler.
Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "Reunion In Rhythm".'
King World Productions episode no. 48a, available in both colorized and original black-and-white versions.
Five days of shooting went into the making of this film. It had been nearly three weeks since shooting ended for "Spooky Hooky" (no. 149). Shooting for "Reunion In
Rhythm" started on Dec. 9th and continued until Dec. 14. There was no shooting on Dec. 13th, which was a Sunday. Here's a breakdown of the activity, deriving from the call sheets,
production sheets, daily film reports and various memos:
Nov. 20 - A Raguse memo to Van Keuren from this date states that Gordon Douglas was requesting that local information be obtained and clearance secured through MGM in New York for
instrumental, vocal, and visual usage of "Just A Gigolo," and "Until The Real Thing Comes Along." Local information in Los Angeles indicated that the numbers were
available at standard rates.
Nov. 24 - A Raguse memo to Van Keuren from this date states that Douglas was requesting clearance of "Auld Lang Syne," "Little Bo-Peep Has Lost Her Sheep" and
"Broadway Rhythm." Local information indicated that the first two were public domain provided new arrangements were used, and that the third was an MGM-Robbins number available
at standard rates. This memo also mentions that "Billboard March," approved the previous day, would be used in production K-4, "Spooky Hooky" (no. 149).
Nov. 25 - A Raguse memo to Van Keuren from this date states that Douglas was requesting local information and MGM New York clearance for the Axst Remick song "Baby Face." Local
information in Los Angeles indicated that the number was available at standard rates. The memo also states that the musical setup thus far was "Until The Real Thing Comes Along"
(pay), "Baby Face," "Little Bo-Peep, Lost Her Sheep" (PD), "Just A Gigolo" (pay) and "Auld Lang Syne" (PD).
Nov. 27 - A Raguse memo to Van Keuren fromt this date relays a wire from Mr. Decker stating that "Just A Gigolo" should be substituted in light of a five hundred dollar use fee
from the publisher. The wire also states that "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" was not available for picture use.
Nov. 28 - A memo from this date relays a wire from Mr. Decker stating that "Old Gray Mare," "Auld Lang Syne" and "Little Bo Peep" were all public domain,
and that "Broadway Rhythm" could be licensed for visual vocal use for a hundred dollars. "Old Gray Mare" was not intended for this film, but was being cleared for
production F-15, which was "Pick A Star." The memo also states that clearance was being secured for the Robbins numbers "I'm Through With Love" and "Going
Hollywood," which would replace "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" and "Just A Gigolo."
Nov. 30 - A Raguse memo from this date relays a wire from Mr. Decker stating that "Baby Face" could be licensed from Paine for visual vocal world rights for a two hundred
dollar fee. A Joe Rivkin memo from this date to Van Keuren, O'Brien, Huber and Cash, states that Bud Murray 'started' as of this date. This memo mistakenly identifies the
production as K-4.
Dec. 1 - A Raguse memo to Van Keuren from this date relays a wire from Mr. Decker stating that "Little Jack Horner" and "Little BoPeep" were okay for visual
recitation, and that "I'm Through With Love" and "Going Hollywood" were also okay at the standard terms. The memo also relates that Douglas had stated that it would
cost six hundred dollars for using the musical numbers in this film, with the recording of the numbers being in addition to this.
Dec. 4 - A recording session directed by Hatley took place on this date. Five songs were recorded: "Auld Lang Syne," "Baby Face," "Broadway Rhythm,"
"Going Hollywood" and "I'm Through With Love."
Dec. 5 - A Hatley memo to Miss Burch from this date states that arranger Ted Duncan furnished orchestral arrangements for "Title Music," "Broadway Rhythm" and
"Baby Face." Film costs for the previous week were $293.98.
Dec. 7 - Gordon Douglas and Charles Oelze led eight children through rehearsals on this date.
Dec. 9 - This was the first day of shooting. Present were the five main kids, Rosina Lawrence, Georgia Jean LaRue, Baby Patsy, the four graduates, 39 extras and two school
teachers. Shooting took place on Stage 4. A script with this date reveals that there was additional footage and dialogue for the graduates, including a bit of dialogue for Stymie.
Dec. 10 - This was the second day of shooting. Scheduled were the five main kids, Rosina Lawrence, Georgia Jean LaRue, Baby Patsy, the four graduates, 10 kids from the Bud Murray
dance school, John Keith (no doubt Collum), Barbara Bletcher, 7 boys (20 yrs. old), 7 girls (20 yrs. old), an 8 piece orchestra (20 yrs. old) including the
leader, 6 boys and 6 girls of school age, 3 girls and 3 boys of the 'collegiate' type, and Pete the Pup. Shooting was to take place on the exterior school set on Stage 4, with
playbacks of "Auld Lang Syne" and "Cutie Face" (sic). The film at this point was identified as "Untitled (Our Gang)." The production sheet
reveals that 45 extras were used on this day, as well as two school teachers. No mention is made of Pete.
Dec. 11 - This was the third day of shooting. Scheduled were the five main kids, Georgia Jean LaRue, Baby Patsy, 10 kids from the Bud Murray school, 4 boys and 4 girls of school
age, 8 boys and 8 girls of the 'collegiate' type, and Pete the Pup. Shooting was to take place on the exterior school set on Stage 4, using two cameras, and was to include playbacks
of "Broadway Rhythm," "Baby Face," "Going Hollywood" and "I'm Through With Love." The film at this point was identified as "Untitled (Our
Gang)." The production sheet reveals that 34 extras were used on this day, as well as two school teachers. No mention is made of Pete.
Dec. 12 - This was the fourth day of shooting. Scheduled were the five main kids, Georgia Jean LaRue, 8 girls and 8 boys of the 'collegiate' type, 4 girls and 4 boys of
school age, and Pete the Pup. Shooting was to take place on the exterior school set on Stage 4, using two cameras, and involving the doll shop and the farm setting. Playbacks were to be
"Going Hollywood," "I'm Through With Love" and "Baby Face." The film at this point was identified as "Untitled (Our Gang)." The production
sheet reveals that 24 extras were used on this day, but doesn't mention Pete. A Raguse memo from this date set the onscreen credits for this film. The title "Reunion In Rhythm"
was also official as of this date. Film costs for the previous week were $4477.27, bringing the total to $4771.25 so far.
Dec. 13 - This was a Sunday. No shooting took place.
Dec. 14 - This was the final day of shooting, and was almost entirely a day of retakes. Present were the five main kids, Georgia Jean LaRue, and 8 extra kids. Shooting took place
on Stage 4.
Dec. 15 - The production sheet for this date states that the production closed the previous day. Douglas, Oelze, Goode and Lloyd are all listed on the sheet, perhaps indicating that they
were involved in some sort of post-production on this date. A Rivkin memo to Van Keuren, O'Brien, Huber and Cash, from this date states that Rosina Lawrence 'started' as of
December 9th, and 'closed' as of December 10th. Another Rivkin memo to the same four people states that the five regular kids were 'closed' as of December 14th.
Dec. 19 - Film costs for the previous week were $1081.33, bringing the total to $5852.58 so far.
Dec. 31 - The domestic negative and domestic negative soundtrack were delivered to the MGM lab on this date. The domestic positive Movietone print was also shipped on this date.
Activity on the set of this film is described in the 1937 book Of All Places! which was written by three travelling children named Patience, Richard and Johnny Abbe. Here's an
excerpt: "This Hal Roach studio was like being home, although it was on a sound stage, where everyone was working but having a good time. Nothing seemed to be a matter of life or death.
This Our Gang acts, but they don't seem to be not real. They seem to be what they are. The director, who has dark eyes and curly hair, sits on the floor and talks to this gang and tells them
what to do and they go over and do it. The extras were the ones who made the mistakes. They were kids all dressed up in smoking and cabaret costumes, and some were in street clothes and rode
around on scooters, but they were always making mistakes. Alfalfa was a traffic cop directing the traffic on Broadway and 42nd Street, New York City, and he did it over and over again while
these kids made mistakes because they didn't get around the scenery in time on the scooters. But the director never got mad once."
Elsewhere they say: "The whole set was full of people, all young including the young director, who worked his way up. They were Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb, very fat, Mickey Daniels, very red
hair and big freckles, and Rosina Lawrence. Rosina Lawrence is a girl with real blond hair who was once paralyzed in the spine from an accident and she used her character to make her better. So
she danced and danced until the paralysis went away and now is working her way up to be a star. The school-teacher had on a purple dress and her white hair looked very pretty with this. All
the mothers were sitting around in back with their children, the extras, giving them lessons, while the stars had the school-teacher, and these kids couldn't go on the set unless they
asked her, and when they were not working they had to ask her if they could do this or that. They did lessons between scenes. The mothers were also knitting. It looked like a very boring life for
the mothers to be sitting around all day like that."
Later in the book, the kids had this to say: "Well, Spanky made a date with us to play football after lunch, so we agreed. Pretty soon they said, 'One hour and a half for lunch.'
So Our Gang all roared out of the studio and we roared with them over to the commissary. We rushed into the restaurant and Mrs. Flake had a special table for us. All the mothers showed up on time
when we began to eat. Baby Patsy was on a high chair at the head of the table. We all had hot roast beef sandwiches and raspberry sundaes because it was a special day for all of us, so we could
get what we wanted. Buckwheat's mother, however, sent over some eggs, and Porky had to eat some cheese and Darla had to eat some soup and Baby Patsy had some baby stuff. Spanky didn't
want to waste any time so he could start the football game outside on the grass."
The negative cost on this film, as of March 6, 1937, was $23,973.37. This amount was certified on March 30, 1937.
This film was originally going to be "Our Gang Follies Of 1937," and presumably a two-reeler.
Buckwheat repeatedly recites "Little Jack Horner," which was first published in 1725. However, it had already circulated for many years prior to this. Studio memos indicate that another choice for recitation was "Little Bo Peep," which dates from at least the Victorian era.
The reunion in the film is for the Adams Street Grammar School.
The photo shown in this film of Georgia Jean LaRue was reused in the 1941 Wilding production (and Monogram release) "Uncle Joe." Marvin Hatley provided his services for this film, so perhaps Wilding was renting space at the Roach studio.
This film was 966 feet in length.
The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B578.
On December 17th, the Chicago Daily Tribune reported the following: "At Hal Roach studio in Culver City we found the six contract artists of 'Our Gang' and some twenty
odd extras of ages ranging from 2 to 8 dividing their time among three pursuits. First and foremost was the big Christmas activity led by Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer. Second was the debate as
to which one should pull a coaster while seven or eight other kids climbed aboard as passengers. Third was the hubbub about the ice cream truck which the studio permits at the 'Our Gang'
sound stage. The excitement about the ice cream truck had as its loudest exponent 3-year-old 'Porky' Lee, dressed in a tiny gray cadet suit with gold epaulets and soldier cap of
the kind won at West Point.
"The 'Gang' with the exception of Porky at the ice cream wagon and Spanky McFarland, 8, bossing the trips of the low wheeled coaster, seemed a good deal concerned about its special
Christmas venture. This involves raising $100 for toys for children at the Los Angeles orphanage located two blocks away from RKO-Radio studio. Alfalfa Switzer, 7, Paris, Ill., suggested
the kids and their mothers ought to do something for the orphans after the 'Gang's' school teacher, Mrs. Fern Carter, had told them about the poor children without parents and
without toys. 'I've been saving up for poor children for a long time,' the freckled Switzer said. 'I want to save up and buy 100 goats,' Carl said. 'I already have
28.' (He really has 28 goats on a farm near Hollywood.) 'The goats will give a lot of milk and I'll give the milk to orphans and they will get enough to eat.'
"With the suggestion of the school teacher, Mrs. Carter, to help them, the 'Gang' decided each would contribute the contents of his individual bank. The three Abbe children, who
wrote 'Around the World in Eleven Years' and who are in Hollywood looking over the kids and adults of the screen colony, came out to visit 'Our Gang' and contributed a triply
autographed copy of their book to be auctioned off for the benefit of the fund. With this and other similar contributions to their fund the teacher said she did not believe that Alfalfa
Switzer's goal of $100 for the orphans' Christmas was too high a goal to be attained.
"The Switzer youngster has one of the most infectious smiles in Hollywood. His father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Switzer, brought him and their other two children to Hollywood from a
farm near Paris, Ill., not quite two years ago, and Alfalfa proved just the kid that the Hal Roach comedy scouts had been hunting. When this observer went over to shake hands with Alfalfa the
latter was carrying an unloaded air rifle. 'You know where I can get some bee bees?' Alfalfa asked with disarming casualness of Miss Kolma Flake of the studio staff, who was making
the introductions to the young people. 'No, I don't know about buying bee bees, and if I did know I wouldn't dare tell you,' Miss Flake told Alfalfa, looking hard at his
air-rifle.
"Darla Hood, the good looking curly headed brunette ingénue of the 'Gang' troupe, came walking over in her pink satin slippers and trimly cut little tweed overcoat with fur
collar. Miss Hood, who is 4, held a string from which a big red balloon bobbed about. Mrs. Carter and Miss Flake sent Miss Hood and her balloon indoors away from the sharpshooter with the empty
air rifle. No use tempting fate. Alfalfa might find a nail or small pellet of some kind that would fit his muzzle.
"The Roach studio has ordered a large Christmas tree to be erected and secretly trimmed inside one of its sound stages for the 'Gang's' annual celebration next Tuesday (the
21st) afternoon. Jack Roach, brother of the studio owner, will play Santa Claus because L. A. French, the studio production manager, who played Santa for the child actors for most of the
fifteen years of 'Our Gang's' consecutive history, has retired from active film work. The six children in 'Our Gang' and their brothers and sisters will be the guests and the
only others to 'crash' the Christmas party will be their fathers or mothers. The six kids now comprising 'Our Gang' are Spanky McFarland, leader, 8; Darla Hood, ingénue,
4; Alfalfa Switzer, character man and leading man, 7; Porky Lee, plump comedian, 3; Buckwheat Thomas, Negro comedian, 4; Baby Patsy May, leading woman and audience sentiment
stimulator, 2½."
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.
© Robert Demoss.