Production K-8.
Release no. C-587.
Filmed February 15 to 19, 1937. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Negative shipped on March 8, 1937.
Cutting continuity submitted March 9, 1937.
Title sheet prepared by Elmer Raguse on March 10, 1937.
Music cue sheet prepared March 10, 1937.
Copyrighted March 31, 1937, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP7034. Renewed July 27, 1964, with registration no. R341922. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2032.
Released May 13, 1937. This is the date given by Maltin & Bann. However, IMDb lists it as Mar. 13, 1937, which would be a Saturday, the usual day of release for MGM shorts. Early in the film season, Fred Quimby of MGM set a projected release date for this production of March 27, 1937.
All-talking one-reeler.
Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "Three Smart Boys".'
King World Productions episode no. 49a, available in both colorized and original black-and-white versions.
Five shooting dates went into the making of this film. Here's a breakdown of the activity, deriving from the call
sheets, production sheets, daily film reports and various memos:
Feb. 11 - No shooting took place, but there is a crew production sheet prepared for this date.
Feb. 12 - No shooting took place, but there is a crew production sheet prepared for this date.
Feb. 13 - Film costs for the previous week were $986.31.
Feb. 15 - This was the first day of shooting. Scheduled were the five main kids, plus Rosina Lawrence, Nora
Cecil, Darwood Kaye, 4 boys over six years of age, and 4 girls over six years of age. Shooting was to take place on the
exterior school and interior office sets on Stage 4, and on the exterior barn set on Stage 1. A camera crane and a Ford
car would be needed. The production sheet places the entire day's work on Stage 1, listing the five main kids,
Lawrence, 1 bit woman (no doubt Cecil), 9 extras, and 1 school teacher. This last person would have probably been
the real thing and not an actress. A Rivkin memo to Van Keuren, O'Brien, Huber and Cash, states that Rosina Lawrence
and the five regular kids all 'started' on this date. A surviving script carries this date.
Feb. 16 - This was the second day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys, Sidney Bracey, and Jack
Eagan. Shooting was to take place on the exterior barn set and the interior veterinary's office set, both on Stage 1.
The Ford car, a monkey and other animals would be needed. The production sheet reveals that the four boys and Bracey
worked on Stage 1, but doesn't mention Eagan or the monkey. A Rivkin memo to the same four people states that Rosina
Lawrence and Darla both 'closed' as of Feb. 15th.
Feb. 17 - This was the third day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys, Sidney Bracey, and Jack
Eagan. Shooting was to take place on the interior veterinary's office set on Stage 1. A monkey and other animals would
be needed. The production sheet reveals that Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and '2 bits' were involved, with Porky on
standby. The monkey isn't mentioned. A Raguse memo reveals that the title "Three Smart Boys" was finalized
on this date.
Feb. 18 - This was the fourth day of shooting. The four main boys and '2 bits' worked on Stage 1 on
this date.
Feb. 19 - This was the final day of shooting. Scheduled were the four main boys. Shooting was to take place on
the interior veterinary office set on Stage 2. A monkey and other animals would be needed. The production sheet mentions
the four boys working on Stage 1, but not the monkey.
Feb. 20 - The production sheet for this date lists Douglas, Oelze, Aldrich and Lloyd, but states that the production
closed the previous day. A Rivkin memo to Van Keuren, O'Brien, Huber and Cash, from this date states that Spanky,
Alfalfa, Buckwheat and Porky, were 'closed' as of Feb. 19th. Film costs for the previous week were $2765.26,
for a total of $3751.57 so far.
Feb. 22 - No shooting took place, but there is a crew production sheet prepared for this date.
Mar. 8 - A Raguse memo from this date indicates that the domestic negative and the domestic negative soundtrack were
shipped to the MGM lab, and that the domestic positive Movietone print was sent to W. D. Kelly in New York.
Mar. 22 - A Raguse memo from this date indicates that the Canadian negative and Canadian negative soundtrack were
shipped.
The negative cost on this film as of April 24th was $18,429.51.
Inspired by the feature, "Three Smart Girls."
There was a flu epidemic that closed the studio for weeks around the Christmas holiday.
This film was 968 feet in length.
The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B643.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.
© Robert Demoss.