Saturday Morning

film no. 6


technical details:

Production A-6.

Story written July 5 to 7, 1922.

Filmed July 8 to 25, 1922. See 'miscellaneous' section below for more details.

Copyrighted November 11, 1922, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU18403. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released on December 3, 1922. It was the 5th film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Opening title: '"Our Gang" Series - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Saturday Morning".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1045, "The Music Lesson," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17350.


the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach
Probably credited in the film as a presenter.
Supervised by Charles Parrott
Better known as Charley Chase. The film probably includes this credit. Parrott was director-general of all of the studio's output during this period. This was the last such credit he received in the series.
Directed by Robert F. McGowan and Tom McNamara
This credit probably appears in the film, but without McGowan's middle initial.
Titles by H. M. Walker
This credit probably appears in the film.
Story by Hal E. Roach
This credit probably doesn't appear in the film.
Released by Pathé Exchange, Inc.
Passed by the National Board of Review
Probably indicated in the film.
studio personnel
general manager - Warren Doane
assistant general manager - L. A. French
secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach
construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen
purchasing superintendent - John L. Murphy
still photographer - Gene Kornman and Chester "Bud" Graves
possible uncredited involvement
photography - The earliest credits given were for Len Powers, who was working for Roach during this period.
editing - Credit usually went to Thomas J. Crizer during this period.
titles - Tom McNamara probably illustrated the title cards.
writing - Robert F. McGowan, Tom McNamara, Thomas J. Crizer and Leo McCarey may have contributed gags.
property department - Charles Oelze and Dick Gilbert were probably involved in this capacity by this time.

the kids:

Mickey Daniels
Featured role. Mickey is virtually the star of this film, being given the longest of the opening sequences, and then joining the gang later on. The 9.5mm version calls him "Mickey," but it's not an original inter-title.
Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as "Sorghum"
Featured role. He appears early in the film with "Maple" in footage cut from this print, and then joins the gang later on. He still seems to be the leader.
Jack Davis as "Waldemar"
Featured role. His opening scene is cut from this print, but it involves him as a rich kid who wants nothing more than to have the type of fun that poor kids have. He appears throughout the gang scenes.
Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Maple"
Supporting role. He appears early in the film with "Sorghum" in footage cut from this print, and then joins the gang later on, providing comedy relief.
Jackie Condon
Supporting role. It appears that he pretty much just appears during the gang scenes, but he's still one of the main players.
other kids
Bit part. The only remaining kid in this print is the baby in the carriage being cared for by Katherine Grant. We only see the baby in a longshot, so identification is virtually impossible.

the animals:

Bill
Supporting role. This is Mickey's dog, and appears quite a bit, with a featured spot during the violin sequence.
Dinah the Mule
Small part. Dinah is pulling Ernie's wagon.
dog 002
Small part. This is Jackie's dog, and was previously seen in "Fire Fighters" (no. 2). He went on to appear in "The Big Show" (no. 7).
other animals
Supporting roles and small parts.
(1.) The bear that escapes from the train and chases the kids around in the last part of the film.
(2.) Two toads who are mercilessly scrubbed by Mickey.
(3.) A pony ridden by Jack, and apparently not one of the ponies seen in earlier films.
(4.) A horse ridden by William Gillespie.
(5.) Three kittens, three ducklings and a dog living with Ernie and Farina. The dog can be seen in the photograph of Ernie and Farina in Rebecca Gulick's Those Little Rascals.

the adults:

Molly Thompson as Mickey's mother
Supporting role. She gets a lot of footage during the early part of the film.
William Gillespie as Waldemar's father
Supporting role. He's presumably in the earlier scene with Jack, and is seen off and on later in the film. Maltin & Bann identify him as the father in the cast listing, but as Waldemar's valet in the text section.
Joseph "Ernie" Morrison as "Aunty Jackson"
Supporting role. He's presumably in the earlier scene with Ernie, but doesn't appear in this print until the end of the film.
Katherine Grant as the maid
Small part. She's seen briefly on a park bench.
Richard Daniels as the violin teacher
Bit part. Maltin & Bann list him as 'one of the parents,' but there's a sign next to his door that says 'violin teacher.' This makes sense, too, since Mickey is sent away from his house carrying his cello. In any event, Richard Daniels is seen very briefly.
other adults
Small parts.
(1.) The neighbor woman, who appears briefly with Molly Thompson enjoying the music. The 9.5mm version calls her "Mrs. Glump," but the inter-titles aren't original.
(2.) Jackie's mother, who don't see until the end of the film.
(3.) The two police officers, who each appear briefly.

the music (sort of):

"Humoresque" Op. 101 No. 7 by Antonin Dvorak
Written in 1894. This is the piece that Mickey's playing.

the locations:

Master Mfg. Co.
By 1927, this company had moved into the property at 3316 Motor Avenue, though they weren't necessarily there when this film was made. The backyard of this property was used extensively in the Our Gang series during this period, and in this film, we see Ernie and Farina exiting through the back gate in their wagon. They make a left turn into the alley, which though we don't see it, would immediately bring them upon National Boulevard. Also, the top of the Palms Depot can be seen in this shot.
the river
This location appears to be around the same area as the one in "A Quiet Street" (no. 5).
the park
The location where Gillespie meets up with Katherine Grant looks like it could possibly be the same one used as Peggy Cartwright's yard in "Young Sherlocks" (no. 3).

miscellaneous:

15 days of shooting went into the making of this film. Story construction took place from July 5th to 7th, though specifically, the entry for the 7th reads 'story, etc.' The 'starting' date for filming was July 8th, and shooting continued until July 25th. No shooting took place on July 9th, 16th, or 23rd, which were Sundays. It's interesting to note that "A Quiet Street" (no. 5) was mostly shot prior to "Saturday Morning," with only the 4th of July 3-day weekend separating them, and that the retakes for "A Quiet Street" were started the day after shooting wrapped for "Saturday Morning."

The Motion Picture News of Sep. 16, 1922, reported that "Saturday Morning" had shipped the previous week.

The Motion Picture News of Dec. 2, 1922, carried this review of the film by Lillian Gale: "'Our Gang' members are not unlike other boys who dread the Saturday morning exercises prescribed by mothers, such as practicing on a violin, wiping the dishes, or taking a bath. And the two reel subjects with the 'gang' all present shows some of the members suffering varied Saturday morning complaints. Little Farina is subjected to a shower bath improvised by Sunshine Sammy and while there is no plot, most of the entertaining incidents relative to the children's pranks are those having to do with the morning before Sunday. It would be hard to say which of these several versatile children claim first honors. Little Farina, it will be admitted, is a true-to-life pickaninny and commands many laughs."

The 1922 datebook also gives information on the weather conditions for the various days of shooting. During story construction, the weather went from 'bright' on July 5th, to 'somewhat dull' on the 6th, to 'dull' on the 7th. During most of the shooting dates, the weather was described as 'bright.' However, it was merely 'fair' from July 9th to 12th, 'changeable' on the 15th, and 'dull' on the 18th.

This film was the fifth of six in the first 'series' of Our Gang films.

40 still images were printed into numerous press photos to promote this film.


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


© Robert Demoss.


My thanks to the following people for assisting with this page:
Rob Stone (for providing the production number, and the story and shooting dates)
Joe Moore (for providing the copyright information)
Matthew Lydick (for adding the "The" to "The Music Lesson")


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