Jubilo, Jr.

technical details:

Production A-29.

Filmed February 25 to March 8, 1924. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Copyrighted June 5, 1924, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU20278. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released June 29, 1924. It was the 27th film in the series to be released. In their book Smile When The Raindrops Fall, Brian Anthony & Andy Edmonds list the release date as July 29, 1924.

Silent two-reeler.

Opening title: '"Our Gang Comedies" - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Jubilo, Jr."'

Footage from this film was reused in Boys Will Be Joys (no. 42).

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Probably credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Robert F. McGowan

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

Photographed by Art Lloyd and Robert Doran

Not listed by Maltin & Bann. This credit appears in Joseph McBride's Frank Capra - The Catastrophe Of Success. Oddly enough, no photographers are listed in the payroll summaries during the period in which this film was shot, but Lloyd and Doran are listed during the period in which the film was released. Hopefully, this wasn't the source for this credit.

Titles by H. M. Walker

This credit appears in the film.

Props by Charles Oelze

This credit derives from Oelze's payroll status as Our Gang prop man during this period.

Story by Hal E. Roach and Frank Capra

The film doesn't include this credit, and even Maltin & Bann list only Roach's name. Capra, however, submitted the story treatment.

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

general manager - Warren Doane

assistant general manager - L. A. French

secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach

construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen

still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves

transportation director - Bob Davis

possible uncredited involvement

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

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

the kids:

the gang

Mickey Daniels as "Jubilo" as a boy

Lead role. Maltin & Bann state that he plays "Jubilo, Jr.," but this is merely the film title, and not a character part. During the circus sequence, he appears as "Maddymozelle Mary." He's basically the star of the film.

Mary Kornman

Supporting role. She appears off and on separate from the rest of the gang, particularly in the scene where she tries on the hat. Interesting, a photo reveals that she's dressed in Mickey's clothes during the circus scene, and can very briefly be seen wearing a cap and sending Mickey-in-a-dress off to the circus ring to do his act.

Allen "Farina" Hoskins

Supporting role. He gets into his usual bits of comic business, and gets to be the dog-training clown in the circus.

Joe Cobb

Supporting role. He mostly does ensemble acting, but gets a moment as "Sampson Sandow," the strong man in the circus sequence.

Jackie Condon

Supporting role. He mostly does ensemble acting, but gets a moment as "Pah Jong," the Japanese juggler.

Andy Samuel

Supporting role. He mostly does ensemble acting, but gets to do his Charlie Chaplin impersonation during the circus sequence. In the Paul Killiam print, he's identified as Johnny Downs.

Dick Henchen as "Dick"

Supporting role. This was his third and last appearance in the series, and like most of the other boys, he's basically part of the ensemble in this short.

other kids

Dorothy Hughes

Bit part. She's the one who gets flour in her face.

boy 021

Bit part. I'm pretty sure that's him getting the boxing glove in the face.

Lassie Lou Ahern

Bit part. A signed photo reveals that she's the "Mide Tiny Man," shown in top hat during the sideshow attractions. Her 'name' is on a sign below her which can be seen in the photo, but not in the film. It appears that she's later sitting in the audience at the circus.

girl 021

She's shown only in the longshot of the sideshow attractions in the available print as "Emma The Fat-Womans" (sic)

other kids

Bit parts and extras.

(1.) The girl who serves as the "Snake Charmer."

(2.) The girl who serves as the bearded lady, identified on a sign in the photo as "Whiskers Lady."

(3.) The "Tattooed Man," actually a boy.

(4.) At least 40 kids in the audience of the circus, plus a few more that help the gang put on the show. Maltin & Bann also list Jerry and Roberta McGowan, but I'm not able to ascertain which ones they are.

the animals:

Pal

Supporting role. Not listed by Maltin & Bann. He appears frequently throughout the short.

dog 003

Bit part. Shown during the parade footage dressed as a lion.

the adults:

Will Rogers as "Jubilo" aka "Mr. Rogers"

Featured role. Credited in one of the inter-titles. He appears frequently, but never in the same shots as the gang.

Lyle Tayo as Jubilo's mom

Supporting role. She's the reason Mickey is trying to raise three dollars.

Noah Young as "Emil," Jubilo's dad

Supporting role. He's too stingy to buy his wife a birthday present, but he shuts up when the remorse gets to him.

Leo Willis as one of the tramps

Small part. This is the tramp sitting next to Rogers and talking with him.

Charley Chase as Jubilo's director

Bit part. We see him at the end of the film directing Will Rogers. Real name Charles Parrott.

Richard Daniels as the grocer

Bit part. Mickey almost makes some money off of him.

Chris Lynton as the hat vendor

Bit part. We see him briefly selling the hat to Mickey. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Allen Cavan.

Joy Winthrop as one of the people outside the church

Bit part. Of the three gossipy women, she's the one on the left.

Otto Himm as the movie photographer

Bit part. We see him in the scene with Charley Chase.

other adults

Small parts, bit parts and extras.

(1.) "Bughouse Bailey," the lunatic that instructs Mickey to dig the hole.

(2.) The man that tells Mickey to fill the hole back up. He just might have been one of the naval officers in "The Buccaneers" (no. 24).

(3.) Two additional men playing Jubilo's hobo pals.

(4.) Two additional gossipy women beside Winthrop, as well as a preacher and several other people entering the church.

(5.) Two men in white to take away the lunatic.

(6.) At least five construction workers.

(7.) The rest of the cast and crew of the film Rogers is working on.

the music (sort of):

"That Old Gang Of Mine" by Ray Henderson, Billy Rose and Mort Dixon

Written in 1923 with music by Henderson and lyrics by Rose and Dixon. This is the song that the tramps are singing at the beginning of the film, but of course, we don't hear it. It later became the opening theme to a handful of early Our Gang talkies.

the locations:

St. Augustine's Church, Culver City

This church at 10053 Washington Boulevard is the one seen at the end of the film. It was at the corner of Washington and Jasmine, and was actually the second church built on the site. A third church was eventually built. Right across Washington Boulevard from this church was the Ince Colonnade of MGM Studios.

Motor Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

It appears that the final scene with Charley Chase directing Will Rogers was shot at the point where Motor Avenue crosses the railroad tracks just beyond Irene Street. Rogers walks north on the tracks, and the shots of the crew show the little bridge south of the crossing. When Lyle Tayo shows up in her limo, we can see the Palms Garage in the distance at the southeast corner of Motor and Featherstone.

miscellaneous:

11 shooting dates went into the making of this film. Two weeks after shooting finished for "Cradle Robbers" (no. 28), the 'start' date for "Jubilo, Jr." arrived on Feb. 25th. Shooting continued until the 'finish' date of Mar. 8th. However, no shooting took place on the 7th, when retakes were shot for "It's A Bear" (no. 27), and shooting was divided between both films on the 8th. No shooting took place on Feb. 24th and Mar. 2nd, which were both Sundays. After another Sunday off on the 9th, retakes continued for "It's A Bear."

The 1924 studio datebook reveals what the weather was like on the various shooting dates. It was described as 'clear' on almost every date, with Mar. 4th being specifically described as 'clear AM - rain PM.' No description was given for either Sunday, or for Monday, Mar. 3rd.

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

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

The 'Jubilo' character derives from the serial of the same name by Ben Ames Williams, as well as the 1919 feature film, which was adapted from the serial and starred Will Rogers.

The calendar in the family kitchen shows the month of May, with the 7th circled as the mother's birthday.

availability:

The Will Rogers Collection (VHS)

This print derives from an episode of Silents Please, a Paul Killiam Film Classic Presentation, reissued by Biograph Television Co., Inc. The opening titles are remade, but the main body of the film has the original inter-titles, with narration added. The circus parade scene is among the missing footage. The print totals 17:32, with 17:04 of it original footage. At least three quarters of the original film is included.

The Hollywood Collection: Hollywood's Children (VHS) from MPI

Released 1991. A clip is included from this film lasting 1:02, and deriving from the Mischief Makers TV print. This documentary was also included as part of The Hollywood Collection: Shirley Temple, America's Little Darling/Hollywood's Children (LD).

other releases

There was a homemade VHS that was briefly available on eBay that included a print of this film. In this print, the opening title is original, but there are no crew credits, and there's an end title that reads "A Laff-Movie Presentation," with a 1954 copyright by Onyx Pictures Corp. The print has original inter-titles, but is missing the parade footage. The picture quality isn't too good. The original footage totals 18:57.

special note

Also, a twenty second clip from this film appears in "Boys Will Be Joys" (no. 42), but it's left out of some of the available copies.

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© Robert Demoss.