Fast Company

technical details:

Production A-16.

Filmed March 5 to 15, 1923, and June 13 to 21, 1924. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Copyrighted October 2, 1924, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU20634. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released November 16, 1924. It was the 32nd film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Fast Company".'.

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1052, "The Big Switch," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17357. Footage also went into episode no. 1080, "Play Ball!!" copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP18381, and recopyrighted May 16, 1961, with registration number LP19565.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Probably credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Charles Parrott and Robert F. McGowan

Maltin & Bann credit only McGowan, and the film probably reflects this, but without his middle initial. However, they also explain that McGowan was injured when a camera platform he was standing on collapsed, and that Parrott (better known as Charley Chase) directed the film initially. Parrott, however, had to go to New York on business, and the film was left in the can for at least a year, at which time McGowan proceeded to finish it.

Co-Assistant Director: Clarence Morehouse

This credit derives from Morehouse's payroll status as the Our Gang assistant director during 1923. The payroll summaries also list Tom McNamara as an assistant director beginning the week ending Mar. 17, 1923, but not during 1924.

Photographed by Harry W. Gerstad, Art Lloyd, and Robert Doran

This credit is based on the weekly payroll summaries of the Roach studio. During the 1923 shooting dates, Gerstad was the official cameraman of the Our Gang unit. During the 1924 shooting dates, Lloyd had just started to be listed as the official cameraman. Doran is also listed for the week ending June 21st. It's likely that Lloyd received sole credit.

Titles by H. M. Walker

This credit probably appears in the film.

Props by Charles Oelze, Dick Gilbert and Don Sandstrom

This credit derives from Oelze's payroll status as an Our Gang prop man during both of the shooting periods, with Gilbert assisting in 1923, and Sandstrom in 1924.

Story by Hal E. Roach

This credit probably doesn't appear in the film. Hal Conklin was listed in the payroll summaries as an Our Gang gag man during the period leading up to the 1923 shooting dates. A. H. Giebler was listed in the summaries as an Our Gang gag man during the 1924 period.

Teacher: Fern Carter

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 in 1923

still photographer - Gene Kornman, who left the Roach studio the week ending Aug. 4, 1923, Chester "Bud" Graves and Clarence "Stax" Graves

transportation director - Bob Davis joined the Roach studio the week ending June 9, 1923.

possible uncredited involvement

editing - Credit usually went to Thomas J. Crizer during this period.

writing - Robert F. McGowan, Thomas J. Crizer and Leo McCarey may have been among the gag writers.

animal training - Tony Campanaro may have been involved in this capacity during the 1924 shooting dates.

the kids:

Mickey Daniels as "Mickey"

Lead role. He's essentially the center of the story line, and is featured more than any other kid, switching places with the rich boy to see what the inside of a hotel looks like.

Walter Wilkinson as "Little Rondamere"

Featured role. This obscure player from "The Champeen!" (no. 9) is given a rare starring role as the boy who switches places with Mickey. He subsequently joins the gang in their adventures. I'm presuming that his mother's name is on the telegram, making his character's last name "Von Swell."

Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"

Supporting role. He's featured throughout most of the film to add comic punctuation. His big scene is the one with the hose.

Jack Davis

Supporting role. His last name is "McChicken," and Jackie is his little brother. He appears frequently throughout the short. Jack returned to the Gang after an absence of 10 months to take part in the retakes for this film.

Jackie Condon

Supporting role. His last name is "McChicken," and Jack is his older brother. He mostly does ensemble acting in this film.

Joe Cobb as "Joe"

Supporting role. He mostly does ensemble acting in this one, but gets featured a bit in the early scene with his parents.

Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as "Ernie"

Supporting role. Maltin & Bann give him the "Sunshine Sammy" moniker, but they also state that they haven't seen the film. He's known as "Ernie" in one of the prints that I've seen. Ernie returned to the Gang after an absence of four months to take part in the retakes for this film.

Mary Kornman as "Mary"

Small part. Maltin & Bann don't include her in the cast listing, but she's definitely in the film.

Lassie Lou Ahern

Small part. Maltin & Bann don't list her, but she signs photographs showing her with the gang in this movie. She's the little brown-haired girl running around the hotel with them.

Hal Eugene Roach, Jr.

Bit part. He's the one who turns on the hose to douse Farina. He was 6 years old at this time. Maltin & Bann reveal his presence in the updated version of their book, but only in the text portion. The cast listing hasn't been updated, and all of the kids in it are "presumed" to be in the film.

questionable listings

In the text portion for this film, Maltin & Bann also reveal that 4-year-old Margaret Roach was used. However, since Lassie Lou Ahern signs her name to photos showing the little brown-haired girl in the hotel sequence, I'm assuming that that's not Margaret. Besides, the story goes that both Margaret and her brother, Hal Jr., were featured in the scene shot at the Roach estate.

the animals:

monkey 004

Supporting role. This is a guess, as it might not be the same monkey. He's seen in the extended hotel sequence.

Bill

Small part. He delivers the milk to Mickey's house.

mule 007

Small part. Previously appeared as "Featherfoot" in "The Big Show" (no. 7).

other animals

Small parts and bit parts.

(1.) The goat seen in Mickey's bedroom, which is presumably the same one pulling his cart. Possibly the same goat from "Giants Vs. Yanks" (no. 12).

(2.) Mickey's dog, who appears in the bedroom. The dog in the hotel lobby appears to be the same, though the implication is that it's a different dog.

(3.) A horse pulling the milk wagon.

(4.) A chicken in Mickey's bedroom.

bugwatch

A fly buzzes around Mickey's face as he tries to sleep.

the adults:

Helen Gilmore as the woman from the Traveler's Aid Society

Small part. Maltin & Bann don't list any adults for this film, but this is clearly her.

Anna Magruder as Joe's mom

Small part. She does the clobbering.

woman 014 as the woman with the monkey

Small part. I'm guessing this is the same woman from "Dogs Of War!" (no. 14).

"Tonnage" Martin Wolfkeil as Joe's dad

Small part. I could be wrong, but it looks like him. He gets clobbered by his wife. As he falls to the floor, all of the furniture bounces up.

Roy Brooks as one of the desk clerks

Bit part. He's one of the desk clerks.

Charles A. Bachman as the cop

Bit part. Just a guess, but I think this is who plays the cop.

Charley Lloyd

Bit part. I think this is him falling out of the window. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Charley Young.

Lyle Tayo

Bit part. Looks like her anyway, getting a torpedo blown up on her hat.

Del Henderson

Bit part. It sure looks like him, anyway, looking out over the lobby as the chaos ensues.

Charlie Hall as one of the bellboys

Bit part. Just a guess, but that's him carrying Farina out.

other adults

Bit parts and extras.

(1.) The fireworks salesman, who's shown with the man that looks like Del Henderson.

(2.) Mickey's grandfather, who sleeps with him.

(3.) Mary's mother, who trips with Helen Gilmore.

(4.) The woman that tells the cop that the gang climbed up the fire escape.

(5.) An additional desk clerk, who looks familiar, but I can't place the face.

(6.) The black maid, who gets spooked by Ernie. This might be a white man in blackface.

(7.) The woman who faints at the sight of Farina.

(8.) The receptionist at the Traveler's Aid Society. She hands the telegram to Gilmore.

(9.) The painter who kicks the kids out of the Cocoanut Grove room.

(10.) The doorman at the hotel.

(11.) The milkman, who we barely see at all. He works for Gordon's Dairy.

(12.) The train conductor, who we also don't get a good look at. He sits Rondamere on the bench.

(13.) Six bellboys, one of whom I mentioned as possibly being Charlie Hall.

(14.) Two smokers at the end of the film.

(15.) Several people around the train station.

(16.) Dozens of customers at the hotel.

the locations:

Master Mfg. Co., Palms district, Los Angeles

Mickey's house is located at the back of this building at 3316 Motor Avenue. When the milk wagon arrives, it enters the north end of the back alley at National Boulevard, with a glimpse of the Palms Lumber Company in the background at 10321 National Boulevard. The dog gets out and runs into the backyard of the Master property and up to the back porch of the building. As he pulls the rope to wake Mickey, we see the fence along the northern end of this property, with the Palms Garage behind it at 3304 Motor. In another shot, we see the back gate of the Master property from inside the yard. This same spot serves as the backyard where Jack and Jackie live. When the kids pull up to pick up Mickey, we see the Master property and part of the Palms Garage in the background.

Motor Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

The kids come across Walter Wilkinson driving Mickey's vehicle on the portion of Motor Avenue north of Featherstone Avenue. In the background we can see the house at the corner of Motor and Irene where Dickie Moore lived in "Free Wheeling" (no. 117). Looking the other direction, we see the Palms Garage.

The Roach residence

Located in Berkeley Square.

Santa Fe Railroad Station

I'm pretty sure this is where Little Rondamere switches with Mickey.

miscellaneous:

18 days of shooting went into the making of this film. According to Maltin & Bann, director Bob McGowan fell from a camera platform and was not able to start this film. For the first day of shooting, Mar. 5th, the director in the 1923 datebook is listed as 'Parrott.' (In fact, this is the point when the datebooks start listing directors.) No director is listed for the remainder of the first week, but 'Parrott' is listed the following week, and specifically as 'C. Parrott' on Mar. 15th. This, of course, was Charles Parrott, soon to become famous as Charley Chase. It's probable that he directed on all of these March dates. Maltin & Bann continue to explain that Parrott was called away to a meeting in New York, which would explain why the Our Gang unit had a rare Friday off on Mar. 16th. The film was then left unfinished for over a year, as Tom McNamara began work on "Stage Fright" (no. 17) the very next day. It's interesting to note, however, that McGowan's injury may have occurred at a different time (especially if Maltin & Bann's source for this story was purely anecdotal). Filming for "Lodge Night" (no. 15) wrapped the Saturday before the Monday starting date for "Fast Company," a date on which Parrott is already at the helm. So did McGowan get injured as "Lodge Night" was being finished? If so, he was active again eight days later. The Our Gang company took their usual Sunday off on the 11th, but the datebook includes the following for that date: 'McGowan working - A18 Tia Juana.' Production A-18 was "July Days," which would be McGowan's next directorial effort, but the footage was shot at a racetrack just across the border and wound up in "Derby Day" (no. 21).

It isn't clear at all why so much time passed before production on "Fast Company" was resumed, but the studio managed to complete 16 Our Gang films in the interim. The day after filming ended for "Every Man For Himself" (no. 32), June 13, 1924, McGowan began 'retakes' for "Fast Company," and continued these until June 21st. To be specific, though, the words 'retakes' and 'retake' are omitted for the dates June 18th and 21st in the 1924 datebook, and technically, much of the work would have been 'pick-ups,' as they would have involved scenes that hadn't been attempted yet the previous year. No work took place on the 15th or 22nd, which were Sundays. It should be noted, too, that McGowan DID suffer some sort of accident during the filming of "The Sun Down Limited" (no. 31), little over a month before these new shooting dates, which may have led to the Maltin & Bann info. It's also interesting to note that Ernie Morrison and Jack Davis, both of whom were no longer members of Our Gang, were brought back to participate in this new footage, as evidenced by the studio payroll summaries. Another notable point: By this time, the Our Gang unit was routinely taking a break between productions, so shooting for "The Mysterious Mystery!" (no. 33) didn't begin until June 30th.

The datebooks also give information regarding what the weather was like on the various shooting dates. For the 1923 dates, the weather was usually described as 'clear' (including the day off on Friday), with Mar. 14th specifically being described as 'clear windy.' Mar. 7th was described as 'AM hazy' and Mar. 9th as 'dull & cloudy.' No description was given for Mar. 11th. For the 1924 dates, the weather was usually described as 'medium', with June 15th described as 'medium bright', and June 16th to 18th as 'bright.' No description was given for June 22nd.

This film was the second of six in the sixth 'series' of Our Gang films.

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

The telegram in the film says January 4th, while the calendar on the wall is January 1924.

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

© Robert Demoss.