Production A-7.
Filmed July 28 to August 15, September 11 to 28, 1922, and January 10 and 11, 1923. See 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Released on February 25, 1923. It was the 9th film in the series to be released.
Copyrighted February 26, 1923, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU18734. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.
Silent two-reeler.
Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "The Big Show".' The lobby poster for this film reads this way, but the film itself may have read '"Our Gang" Comedy' or '"Our Gang" Series.'
Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1021, "County Fair," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17326.
According to the 1922 and 1923 studio datebooks, 32 shooting dates went into the making of this film. However, it should be noted that the datebooks don't mention production A-9 ("The Champeen!") at all. It's probable that production number A-8 ("The Cobbler") was absent-mindedly pencilled in on the A-9 dates, but since "The Big Show" had extensive reshooting during this latter period, some of the A-7 dates may have also involved the making of A-9. Filming for A-7 began on July 28th and initially ended on Aug. 15th. Filming took place in The Palms on the 8th and 9th, and the datebook mentions that Jackie Condon suffered a fractured arm on the 8th. No shooting took place on July 30th, Aug. 6th, or Aug. 13th, which were all Sundays. Work then commenced on "The Cobbler" (no. 8) and (presumably) "The Champeen!" (no. 9) from Aug. 16th to Sep. 9th. After this, shooting was resumed for "The Big Show," taking place from Sep. 11th until Sep. 16th. For the 11th, the datebook states that 'added scenes' were filmed, but it's likely that this was the case for the entire week. The number A-7 was written over A-8 on the 16th, suggesting that things were taking longer than expected. No shooting took place on Sep. 10th or 17th, which were both Sundays. After devoting the 18th and 19th to "The Cobbler," more footage was shot for "The Big Show" from Sep. 20th to Sep. 28th. The datebook states that the 'racetrack sequence' was shot on the 20th, which probably indicates that the opening fairground footage showing the Our Gang boys was probably actually shot outside a local racetrack. Presumably, this is where shooting took place for all seven of these dates. Filming on the 28th was divided between "The Big Show" and "The Cobbler." No shooting took place on Sep. 24th, which was a Sunday. After two more days of retakes for "The Cobbler" on the 29th and 30th, shooting took place for "Boys To Board" (no. 10), "A Pleasant Journey" (no. 11), "Giants Vs. Yanks" (no. 12) and "Back Stage" (no. 13). Retakes for "The Big Show" then took place on Jan. 10th and 11th, 1923. Originally, the 10th was meant to be the 'finishing' date for "Back Stage," but this was achieved the previous day. The 11th was meant for "Dogs Of War!" (no. 14), but this production waited until the 12th. It's interesting to note that there were no gaps in the shooting schedule during this period, other than Sundays and holidays. "The Big Show" began the day after the retakes for "A Quiet Street" (no. 5) were finished, and "Dogs Of War!" began the day after "The Big Show" was (finally) finished.
According to Andy Samuel, who debuted in this film, Roach came up with the idea for this short because of Samuel's Chaplin imitation. This would suggest that the July and August dates probably involved the 'movie stars' section of the film. Since Jackie Condon got injured during this time, it's possible that the mid-September dates involved the animal sections of the film, including the footage where he sets them free.
According to Joe Cobb, he arrived at the Roach studio in September, but didn't join the Our Gang unit until after working in Snub Pollard's "A Tough Winter." The weekly payroll summaries indicate that Joe was paid a full week's salary on Sep. 9th, so if he did start in September, then he was considered part of the Our Gang unit even while working with Pollard. This information supports the notion that the opening footage was shot in late September, since Joe is featured throughout that part of the film. It also makes sense that, perhaps, the cutaway shots of Joe during the 'movie stars' section of the film were shot on the January dates as a way of getting him into the second half of the film.
The datebooks also give information on the weather for the various shooting dates. For the initial shooting dates in July and August, the weather is described as 'bright' on each day with one exception: for Aug. 8th, it's described as 'bright AM dark PM' (which proves that the weather reflects injuries suffered by small boys). For the mid-September dates, the weather was usually 'bright,' but is described as 'medium foggy late & early' on the 12th, 'fog late & very early' on the 13th, and 'bright very hot - some heat haze' on the 17th. For the late September dates, the weather is usually described as 'bright.' Specifically, though, it's described as 'bright & pleasant' on the 20th, 'bright - dull in morning' on the 27th, and 'medium bright morning dark' on the 28th. The weather is described as 'bright' for both of the retake dates of Jan. 10th and 11th.
This film was the third of six in the second 'series' of Our Gang films.
There were 40 copies of this film printed for its initial release.
The opening shot in the film is of a sign advertising the Lincoln County Fair, and saying that it lasts from September 9 to 14. Research reveals that California has never had a Lincoln County.
At the grown-up fair, there are some signs that are partially covered up, but one seems to identify Maria Calvo, and another --ythe Sterling - Daughter of the West.
©Jan. 9, 2005, by Robert Demoss.
2005 updates: 2/27, 3/8, 4/25, 9/6, 12/15.
2006 updates: 1/9, 3/12, 4/3, 5/16, 6/12, 10/25.
2007 updates: 4/1, 10/17, 10/20, 10/22, 11/5, 11/16.
2008 updates: 2/21, 3/31, 4/26, 4/29.
Thanks to Rob Stone and Joe Moore for assistance on this page.