Derby Day

technical details:

Production A-21.

Filmed Mar. 11, 1923, and from July 18 to August 13, 1923. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Copyrighted November 9, 1923 by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU19594. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released November 18, 1923. It was the 19th film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Derby Day".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1027, "Little Jockeys," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17332.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Robert F. McGowan

This credit appears in the film, but without his middle initial.

Assistant Director: Clarence Morehouse

This credit derives from Morehouse's payroll status as the Our Gang assistant director during this period.

Photographed by Harry W. Gerstad

Credited in the film, but not in the book.

Edited by T. J. Crizer

Credited in the film, but not in the book. The 'T' stands for Thomas.

Titles by H. M. Walker

This credit appears in the film.

Props by Dick Gilbert, L. Barker and E. P. Norris

This credit derives from their payroll status as Our Gang prop men during this period. Barker's name is removed from the payroll summaries after the week ending July 21st, and was replaced by Norris's.

Story by Hal E. Roach

This credit doesn't appear in the film. W. H. Belmont was included in the payroll summaries as an Our Gang writer during this period.

Released by Pathé Exchange, Inc.

Passed by National Board of Review

As 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 left the studio during this period

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

transportation director - Bob Davis

possible uncredited involvement

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

the kids:

main players

Mickey Daniels as "Mickie"

Featured role. He's definitely the take-charge guy in this film. It's his idea to have the kiddie race. At the race, his name is spelled "Micky." He rides Bill the bulldog.

Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"

Featured role. He swipes hot dogs in the early sequence, and then rides a tricycle in the kiddie race, eventually becoming the winner.

Joe Cobb as "Joe"

Featured role. He's selling lemonade with Mickey in the early sequence. At the kiddie race, he gets some footage flirting with a girl, then rides the cow.

Jackie Condon as "Jackie"

Supporting role. He's selling hot dogs with Jack in the early sequence, then rides a cart pulled by dog 003 (aka Barney) in the kiddie race.

Jack Davis as "Jack"

Supporting role. He's selling hot dogs with Jackie in the early sequence, then rides Mary's pony in the kiddie race.

Mary Kornman as "Mary"

Supporting role. She's the rich girl whose father is big at the racetrack.

Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as "Ernie" aka "Sammy"

Supporting role. The inter-titles call him "Ernie," but the board showing the jockeys with their accompanying animals lists him as "Sammy." Maltin & Bann seem to indicate that the nickname "Sunshine Sammy" was used in this film, but it isn't. He rides Dinah the Mule in the kiddie race.

George "Sonny Boy" Warde as "Sing Joy"

Supporting role. Listed by Maltin & Bann by the character name. The payroll summaries verify that Warde played this role. He joins the gang in their adventures, riding a cart pulled by the goat.

girl 021

Small part. The fat girl that flirts with Joe. She later appeared in "Big Business" (no. 23) and "Commencement Day." (no. 26).

other kids

Kenneth Johnson

Bit part. He announces the race through the bullhorn. It also looks like he's the "strter" that starts the race.

boy 021

Bit part. He's running one of the betting booths. Later seen in "Big Business" (no. 23).

Gabe Saenz

Bit part. He's the second boy running a betting booth. His booth is called "Dugans Betting Stand," which might refer to his character name.

Cliff Daniels

Bit part. He's right in front of Gabe Saenz's betting booth.

Donald Hughes

Bit part. The ledger includes his name for this film, and the boy in glasses operating the newsreel camera looks like him. Maltin & Bann list Billy Lord for this film, which they do every time Donald Hughes is present.

boy 007d

Bit part. This is the boy who looks over the kids' names and the animals they're riding, and looks kind of like Johnny Downs.

Julia Brown

Bit part. She's the one on the right among the three 'society' girls in the stands.

Peggy Ahern

Bit part. She's the middle girl seen applauding the band.

Lassie Lou Ahern

Bit part. She's the girl to the right of Peggy.

Andy Samuel

Extra. He's among the crowd of kids watching the race.

David Campbell

Extra. The ledger lists him among the kids, and it looks like he's the blonde boy in the background of the shots of the fat girl in the stands.

other kids

Bit parts and extras. There are perhaps a hundred or so kids in the stands of the kiddie race. Most of these are impossible to identify, and most of the ones that are clearly seen don't look familiar to me from other films. There are also two or three kids next to a house, with some adults, that Joe races past on his cow.

the animals:

Bill as "Bill"

Supporting role. He's Ernie and Farina's dog. He's provides security at the kiddie race, wearing what seems to be the same police outfit he wore in "Fire Fighters" (no. 2). Later, he pulls Mickey's cart.

Dinah the Mule as "Dinah"

Supporting role. She's pulling Ernie and Farina's wagon. She later is ridden by Ernie in the kiddie race.

pony 002 as "Sam" aka "Sammy"

Supporting role. This is Mary's pony, which is shown in the photo in Maltin & Bann's book. They identify it as Dinah the Mule. I'm pretty sure it's the pony from "Fire Fighters" (no. 2), though in the film, everybody refers to it as a horse. It's ridden by Jack in the kiddie race.

dog 003 as "Barney"

Supporting role. This is the dog that pulls Jackie's cart in the kiddie race.

other animals

Supporting roles, bit parts and extras.

(1.) The goat that plays "Baa," who pulls Sing Joy's cart.

(2.) The cow ridden by Joe. The inter-titles identify her as "The Sheik" or "Sheik," but the film footage reveals her name to be "Mary."

(3.) The cat that plays "Whitey," and serves as the motivation for Bill the bulldog to run.

(4.) The turtle that is paid as admission into the kiddie race.

(5.) Probably at least a dozen horses are shown at the adult race, and several more are grazing in the background during the kid version.

the adults:

William Gillespie as Mary's dad, the horse owner

Supporting role. He's aghast at his daughter's association with the scruffy boys of the gang, but becomes a good guy at the end of the film, offering a five dollar purse.

Wallace Howe as the gate attendant

Small part. Mary manages to sneak the boys past him.

Richard Daniels as the horse trainer

Small part. He's shown in the early scenes being friendly with the boys.

Charles A. Bachman as the trumpeter

Bit part. Maltin & Bann list him as an officer, no doubt because he's in military garb. He doesn't appear to be among the police officers at the end of the film.

Edmond Fortune as one of the cops

Bit part. He's the old guy with the moustache shown at the end of the film. I'm pretty sure he's also the cop in "Stage Fright" (no. 17).

other adults

Bit parts and extras. Several jockeys are seen riding horses at the grownup race, as well as others working at the tracks and scores of people, almost all men, in the stands. At the end of the film, six additional cops show up to scare the kids away. There are also a few adults next to a house that Joe races past on his cow.

the locations:

Motor Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

The footage of the kids running the hot dog and lemonade concessions was shot on the 3200 block of Motor Avenue, just north of Featherstone Avenue (now part of National Boulevard). The kids are along the western side of the street. As Sonny Boy Warde tries out the lemonade, we can see the Palms Feed & Feul at the southwest corner of Motor and Featherstone. A shot looking the opposite direction reveals part of the house at the corner of Motor and Irene. The fence for the Southern Racing Association was set up on the east side of Motor, and was not part of an actual racetrack.

Lower California Jockey Club, Tijuana, Mexico

The establishing shots of the adult racetrack were made on Mar. 11th when Bob McGowan visited Tijuana. Gambling on horseracing was illegal in California at the time, so southern Californians routinely crossed the border on weekends for this purpose, the racetrack being a mere 450 feet beyond the border.

the stables

Mixed in with the racetrack footage are shots of the kids at some horse stables. Presumably, these were shot in the L.A. area. While the kids watch the horserace, the stables can be seen behind them, but they're standing at the edge of an actual track, which presumably existed for the training of the horses seen in the stables.

billboards

Wherever it was that the kiddie race was filmed, there was a Club Royale billboard there. Another billboard says "McBryde."

miscellaneous:

24 shooting dates went into the making of this film. The entry in the 1923 studio datebook for Mar. 11th reads 'McGowan working - A18 Tia Juana.' This was in order to get the opening shot of the adult racetrack. After this, production A18 became the film we know as "July Days," and the racetrack footage was saved for production A21, "Derby Day." In the interim, "Stage Fright,", "July Days," "Sunday Calm" and "No Noise" were all filmed. Three days after shooting retakes for "Sunday Calm" (no. 19), the Our Gang unit began the main filming of "Derby Day" on July 18th. Shooting continued until the 'finish' date of Aug. 13th. No shooting took place on July 22nd, July 29th, Aug. 5th, or Aug. 12th, which were all Sundays. The day after filming ended, shooting began immediately on "Tire Trouble" (no. 22).

At the kids' racetrack, we see the 'T-Wana Betin Stand' and 'Dugans Beting Stand.' The name 'Dugan' had been used in the previous film, "No Noise" (no. 20).

The 1923 studio datebook gives information regarding what the weather was like on the various shooting dates. On the vast majority of dates, the weather was described as 'clear.' On Aug. 9th and 11th, it was described as 'foggy,' while July 23rd was described as 'cloudy - hot' and July 31st as 'hazy.' No description is given for McGowan's Sunday in Tijuana, nor for the Sunday off-days.

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

The Nov. 17th issue of Motion Picture News published the following review by Roger Ferri: "Hal Roach's company of clever juvenile comedians make Zev, Morvich and Man O'War look like 'also rans' in 'Derby Day,' about the funniest thing this mob has done for cinematographic entertainment. With the air hopped with turf gossip this travesty on horse racing comes at an opportune time, at a time when even fastidious turf 'hard-boils' can appreciate it. Farina may not belong to equine class, but as a thoroughbred she ran more than true to form, for when her tricycle failed her and she saw her disillusioned opponents finishing the race on foot she resorted to her own hoofs and came home galloping.
"For originality 'Derby Day' can't be beat - you can't touch it. It's in a class by itself. The kiddies run wild - and because they do, you'll run yourself ragged with laughter when you pass your optics over this release. And not a bad branch of promoters, these young ones. They enjoyed the thing themselves, and when they frowned they felt just that way. And when they smiled, well, you just had to yowl. Anyway, here is a two-reel comedy that is so good it will top the ordinary feature on a bill, for it's jammed full of what exhibitors call 'audience stuff' not only in gags, but in story. It isn't a rumbled, jumbled affair - just straight comedy that is the best in the world for everybody who finds delight in laughing.
"The 'gang' makes its appearance as 'hot dog' merchants until they are invited into the race track, where a contest excites them to the extent that Mickey hits on the 'great idea' to stage their own race. And they do. The contest brings together all sorts of mounts, including a cow, pony, mule, several breeds of dogs, a tricycle and what not. They're off - and you're off with your first howl. Around the first turn and all is well. Then the mounts run wild - and the jocks decide to hoof it in a la marathon with Farina winning. However, a description of the theme does the comedy no justice - it's got to be seen, and once your audience see it they won't forget it."

The Nov. 24th issue of Motion Picture News reported the following: "The organization of an 'Our Gang' Club among the juvenile population of Columbus and a grand parade in which the club members participated prior to a special Saturday morning show were two methods of exploiting 'Our Gang' comedies used in connection with the showing of these Pathe two-reelers at the James theatre in Columbus.
"During the week preceding the showing cards were distributed to the children appearing at the theatre. 'Our Gang' hats carrying the inscription 'Hail, Hail, Our Gang's All Here!' were distributed with the membership cards.
"The children met at the prearranged place of assembly and, headed by the local Boy Scouts band, marched to the James theatre through the principal thoroughfares. The hats and the signs carried by the marchers conveyed to the spectators the purpose of the procession and its destination. The organization of the club and the conducting of the parade were carried out by J. D. Kennedy, the Pathe representative in Columbus, in co-operation with William James of the James theatre."

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

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© Robert Demoss.