It's A Bear

film no. 27

availability:

Our Gang . . . "Si Sic Omnes" (VHS) from Video Yesteryear: Released 1987. This copy is virtually complete, but with remade opening, ending and text titles, although the wording on the latter appears to be original. The title card with the crew credits is original. There is a small amount of footage not seen in the Reelclassicdvd verison. The print totals 28:25, with about 25:00 of it original footage, projected at a slower speed.
The Our Gang Collection - Volume 3 (DVD) from Reelclassicdvd.com: Released July 2007. This version has a refashioned opening title deriving from "Derby Day" (no. 21). The inter-titles are not original, but seem to have the original wording. There are a few seconds of footage not seen in the Video Yesteryear version. The image freezes before the end of the film has arrived, and is then followed by an end title. The footage totals 18:34, with about 16:21 of it original.
Our Gang Silent Comedies Vol. 9 (VHS) from HenryButch: This copy derives from the Video Yesteryear version.
SlapHappy: Vol. 7 (DVD) from Fishigan Films: Released 2003. Originally produced in 2001. Includes a clip from this film. This volume is also included as part of The SlapHappy Collection (11 DVD set).

technical details:

Production A-27.

Filmed December 10 to 26, 1923, January 2 to 7, January 12, and March 7 to 12, 1924. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Copyrighted June 30, 1924, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU20347. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released July 27, 1924. It was the 28th film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "It's A Bear".' This is the way it reads on an advertising slide that I've viewed, except that the word 'Comedy' is substituted for 'Comedies'.

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1010, "Animal Hunters," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17315.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach: Probably credited in the film as a presenter.
Directed by Robert F. McGowan and Mark Goldaine: Maltin & Bann list only McGowan, and the film probably reflects this, but without his middle initial. According to Rob Stone's list, Goldaine directed most of the film, with McGowan directing only on January 7th.
Photographed by Frank Young, Blake Wagner and Bob Walters: Not listed by Maltin & Bann. The film credits Young, which is ironic since the payroll summaries don't mention him as an Our Gang cameraman. Wagner is listed beginning the week ending Dec. 22nd, and ending the week ending Jan. 5th. The Walters credit comes from Joseph McBride's Frank Capra - The Catastrophe Of Success. This is also a bit ironic, since the summaries only list him for the week ending Jan. 12th, and for only five of the six working days for that week, which means that he probably only worked on one day of shooting for this film. Nobody is listed for the first week of shooting in December, nor for the March retakes, so perhaps Young and/or Walters fit in there somewhere. It seems likely that Young shot only the retakes, though, since the earlier shooting dates would have conflicted with his work in the Stan Laurel series.
Edited by T. J. Crizer: Not listed by Maltin & Bann. The 'T' stands for Thomas
Titles by H. M. Walker: This credit appears in the film.
Story by Hal E. Roach: This credit probably doesn't appear in the film. Mark Goldaine was listed in the payroll summaries as an Our Gang writer during this period. Frank Capra contributed gags to this film, including the milk-by-dog-delivery bit, and the part where Joe shoots the weather cock. Capra's arrival at the studio would have been in time only for the retakes, so Goldaine presumably contributed to the initial version of the story.
Animal trainer: Tony Campanaro: He was Pal's trainer.
Teacher: Fern Carter
Released by Pathé Exchange, Inc.
Passed by the National Board of Review: Probably indicated in the film.
studio personnel
possible uncredited involvement

the kids:

Joe Cobb as "Joe": Featured role. He's virtually the star of this film, getting the most attention. He practices with his gun, and tries to roll a cigarette, and also has trouble keeping his pants on.
Mickey Daniels as "Mickey": Featured role. He's the farm boy that invites the gang to see some real wild animals.
Allen "Farina" Hoskins: Supporting role. He's a "she" in this film. He gets his usual moments of comedy relief, but these are reduced in favor of Joe for this film.
Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as "Ernie": Supporting role. Maltin & Bann indicate that the nickname was used, but it appears not to be the case. He practices with his bow and arrow, and is the one that lassos the bear.
Mary Kornman as "Mary": Supporting role. She's present during the gang's visit to the farm, but doesn't get much screen time. Her biggest moment is early in the film when she's flirting with Mickey.
Jackie Condon as "Jackie": Supporting role. He takes a back seat to most of the other kids, even though he's present through most of the film.
"Dick": Supporting role. This gang member was actually played by a 19 year old midget. He's in virtually every shot with Jackie. I suspect that he's Dick Henchen, who's listed in the payroll summaries during the March retakes for this film, and for "Jubilo, Jr." (no. 29). Previous to that period, he was presumably a day worker.

the animals:

Pal: Small part. Not listed by Maltin & Bann. He appears early in the film helping Mickey deliver milk. This was his series debut.
skunk 014: Bit part. This skunk appears while Joe is feeling sickly.
Dinah the Mule: Bit part. She pulls Mickey's milk wagon.
dog 003: Bit part. This is the dog that chases after the goat.
horse 014: Bit part. A white horse, perhaps "Duke" from "The Ol' Gray Hoss" (no. 78). This is one of the animals that scares Farina.
other animals: Small parts, bit parts and extras.
(1.) The bear that chases the gang at the end of the film.
(2.) Ernie and Farina's dog, which appears to be a dachshund mix.
(3.) The dog that fights with the turkey.
(4.) The goat that Farina runs from.
(5.) The cow that spooks Farina.
(6.) The hog that Joe lassos.
(7.) The turkey that fights with the dog.
(8.) A large goose lassoed by Joe.
(9.) The rooster that Joe tries to lasso.
(10.) Two rabbits that the gang goes after.
(11.) Four piglets, first shown with the mother hog, then being lassoed.
(12.) Various chickens throughout the farmyard scenes.

the adults:

Noah Young as the farmer: Supporting role. He provides Joe with nicotine inspiration. I'm assuming he's the farmer, but Maltin & Bann list him as the sheriff. I don't see any sheriff character in this print.
Helen Gilmore as the farmer's wife: Small part. She appears briefly talking to Mickey.
other adults: Supporting roles, small parts and bit parts.
(1.) The farmhand, who's the victim of the gang's shenanigans.
(2.) The person dressed in the bear costume for certain shots. In other shots, they use a real bear.
(3.) The blacksmith hammering the anvil.

the locations:

the back porch: This is same one seen in "Ask Grandma" (no. 38).

miscellaneous:

24 shooting dates went into the making of this film. Directly after the 'finish' date for "Commencement Day" (no. 26) 'prep' work began on "It's A Bear" on Dec. 5th. In the datebook, the production number was written over the one for "Commencement Day," suggesting that perhaps some changes had been made in the scheduling. The following day involved retakes for "Commencement Day." Dec. 7th was a 'writing' day for "It's A Bear," with the 8th and 9th being two more 'prep' days. The next day, Dec. 10th, began the principle photography for the short, which continued until Dec. 22nd, with a break in the schedule on Dec. 19th while retakes for "Seein' Things" (no. 25) were shot. The Our Gang unit had not had a day off throughout this time, with Sunday the 9th being devoted to prep work and Sunday the 16th being a shooting date. This provided the studio with the opportunity to have a three day weekend for Christmas. Work on "It's A Bear" resumed on Dec. 26th, but the datebook is blank for the remainder of the year, as well as New Year's Day, suggesting that the studio was closed for a week. Work then resumed again on "It's A Bear" on Jan. 2nd and continued until the 5th. Mark Goldaine had directed on each shooting date so far, but left the Roach studio after this date. No shooting took place on the 6th, which was a Sunday. Robert McGowan then divided his work between three films, "It's A Bear," "Commmencement Day" and "Seein' Things," on Jan. 7th, before spending the next few days shooting additional footage for "Commencement Day." He then returned to "It's A Bear" on Jan. 12th. The Our Gang unit then had two weeks off before McGowan directed the last day of shooting for "Commencement Day" and proceeded to shoot "Cradle Robbers" (no. 28) and most of "Jubilo, Jr." (no. 29). Retakes resumed on "It's A Bear" from Mar. 7th to 12th, with activity divided between that film and the final shooting of "Jubilo, Jr." on the 8th. No shooting took place on the 9th, which was a Sunday. The Our Gang unit then had about a week and a half off before starting work on "High Society" (no. 30).

Since Frank Capra didn't work for Roach until February, we can assume that the March dates involved the shooting of the milk-by-dog-delivery bit, and the part where Joe shoots the weather cock.

There were 40 copies of this film printed for its initial release.

©Jan. 29, 2005, by Robert Demoss.
2005 updates: 2/27, 3/19, 3/27, 4/25.
2006 updates: 1/2, 1/9, 2/11, 6/12, 10/25.
2007 updates: 2/5, 4/1, 10/17, 10/22, 11/25.
2008 updates: 1/19, 2/21, 3/18, 3/31, 7/6.
2009 updates: 5/23, 6/8, 6/9, 7/23.

Thanks to Rob Stone, Joe Moore, Bob Satterfield, Richard Bann and Mark Brumfield for assistance on this page.