technical details:
Production A-40.
Filmed February 16 to 27, 1925. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Copyrighted May 18, 1925, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU21471. Since the copyright was not renewed,
this film is now in the public domain.
Premiered June 10, 1925, in New York City.
Released June 28, 1925. It was the 40th film in the series to be released.
Silent two-reeler.
Opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Official
Officers".'
Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1008, "Little Officers," copyrighted Sep.
1, 1960, with registration number LP17313. 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 Robert F. McGowan
- This credit probably appears in the film, but without his middle initial.
- Assistant Director: Lloyd French
- This credit derives from French's payroll status as the Our Gang assistant director during this period.
- Photographed by Art Lloyd
- This credit derives from Lloyd's payroll status as the Our Gang cameraman during this period.
- Titles by H. M. Walker
- This credit probably appears in the film.
- Story by Hal E. Roach
- This credit probably doesn't appear in the film.
- Props by Charles Oelze
- This credit derives from Oelze's payroll status as Our Gang prop man during this period.
- Animal trainer: Tony Campanaro
- He was Pal's trainer.
- Teacher: Fern Carter
- Released by Pathé Exchange, Inc.
- Passed by the 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
- laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
- publicity director - Garrett Graham
- purchasing agent - Clyde Hopkins
- still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves
- transportation director - Bob Davis
- possible uncredited involvement
- supervision - F. Richard Jones became director-general of the studio after this film was shot, but
before it was released.
- editing - Richard Currier was the supervising
editor.
- writing - Robert F. McGowan, Frank Terry
and James Parrott may have been among the gag writers.
the kids:
- the gang
- Mickey Daniels
- Featured role. As usual, he's the leader of the gang and does most of the talking.
- Joe Cobb as "Officer Joe"
- Featured role. He gets quite a bit of footage mooching bananas off of Tony.
- Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Officer Farina"
- Featured role. He gets to patrol the "Powder Puff" district, and is also instrumental in
catching McManus at the end of the film.
- Mary Kornman
- Supporting role. She plays baseball with the boys at the beginning of the film, and then convinces them that Mac is a good guy.
- Johnny Downs
- Supporting role. He's seen throughout the film, but does mostly ensemble work, except for his spooning scene with Peggy.
- Jackie Condon
- Supporting role. He does mostly ensemble acting in this film. He's the motorcycle cop that catches speeders.
- Todd Roark
- Supporting role. This is the black boy, who mostly stands around, but later gets to drive the patrol wagon.
He had, about three weeks earlier, been one of three winners in the Los Angeles Evening Express Baby Contest, the
prize for which was one week of work in the Our Gang comedies for 100 dollars. He's listed in the payroll summary for
the week ending Feb. 21st as Tod Roark.
- the Man-eating Tiger-cubs of Wildcat Alley
- Elmo Billings
- Small part. At least I think it's him getting hit with a tomato thrown by Mickey.
- Gabe Saenz
- Small part. No closeups, but there's no doubt that it's him.
- other rival gang members
- Small parts. Also among this group are the boy getting pelted by Johnny, and the tallest boy, but he's too hard to identify.
- other featured kids
- Jackie "Husky" Hanes
- Supporting role. No nickname given in the film, but studio publicity identified him as "Husky
Hanes." He does a lot of crying, until Mac finally does enough entertaining to get him to stop.
- Jannie Hoskins
- Supporting role. Farina arrests her, but can't get her to stay behind bars.
- Peggy Ahern
- Small part. Maltin & Bann list her as Peggy Ahearn. She gets arrested for spooning.
- boy 035
- Bit part. Or maybe it's not him, but it looks like "Mort" from "Dog Days"
(no. 36) as the baby in this film.
- other kids
- Bit parts and extras.
- (1.) The boy who gets arrested for speeding.
- (2.) The four boys standing with their backs to the camera as the gang is standing next to their patrol wagon
talking with Officer Mac. It might be that these four appear elsewhere in the film.
the animals:
- Pal
- Supporting role. He and the other dog have some good footage chasing down the bad guy.
- dog 036
- Supporting role. This appears to be Jackie's dog from "Dog Days" (no. 36). He and
Pal are strongly featured at the end of the film.
- donkey 040
- Supporting role. Presumably the donkey later seen in "Boys Will Be Joys" (no. 42)
pulling the patrol wagon.
the adults:
- Jack Gavin as "Hard-Broiled McManus"
- Featured role. Maltin & Bann list him as "Hard-Boiled McManus." Since the
inter-titles in this print are not original, they might be right about it. He's basically the starring adult in
the film, and the bad guy.
- Charley Lloyd as "Tony," the fruit vendor, aka "Antonio Campanaro"
- Supporting role. He's given a fair amount of footage running the fruit stand. Both McManus and Joe take advantage of him.
Listed by Maltin & Bann as Charley Young.
- Dick Gilbert as the later traffic cop
- Bit part. He's seen briefly letting the gang's wagon through.
- George Rowe as the cross-eyed motorist
- Bit part. He's seen briefly getting mad at the gang for blocking traffic.
- James Finlayson as another angry motorist
- Bit part. He's also angry at the blocked traffic.
- man 040 as the shop owner
- Bit part. The gang breaks his window.
- Chet Brandenberg as the construction worker
- Bit part. I assume Maltin & Bann mean the guy on the roof, who I believe does look like
him.
- other adults
- Featured role, supporting role, bit parts and extras.
- (1.) "Mac," referred to by Maltin & Bann as "Officer Mac." He immediately
endears himself to the gang.
- (2.) "Inspector Malone," who replaces McManus with Mac.
- (3.) The mother of the baby that Joe takes the carriage from.
- (4.) The blind beggar that gets harassed by McManus.
- (5.) The old man next to the blind beggar.
- (6.) The motorist who almost runs over Farina.
- (7.) The woman motorist who gets angry at the blocked traffic.
- (8.) Tony's wife.
- (9.) At least seven or eight black men in the "Powder Puff" neighborhood.
- (10.) Two women coming out of the shop with the broken window.
- (11.) Scores of other adults shown in the background of several scenes.
the locations:
- Adams Hotel
- The alley next to this hotel is Wildcat Alley in the film.
- Hal Roach Studios backlot
- Most of the outdoor scenes were shot on the New York exterior set.
- New York
- This is just a guess, but I wonder if the very first shot, showing the bustling city, is left over from
the New York footage for "The Big Town" (no. 34).
- Kleen Knickrehm House Mover
- The fence that McManus jumps over says this. This business was located at 3319 South Central Avenue, but
the fence may have simply been an advertisement.
miscellaneous:
11 shooting dates went into the making of this film. About a week and a half after shooting had finished for
"Shootin' Injuns" (no. 39), the 'start' date arrived for "Official Officers" on
Feb. 16th. Shooting continued until the 'finish' date of Feb. 27th. No shooting took place on Feb. 15th and 22nd,
which were both Sundays. Judging by the payroll summary, Todd Roark's scenes were filmed during the first week of shooting.
Two weeks later, shooting began on "Mary, Queen Of Tots" (no. 41).
The character played by Charley Young is named after Tony Campanaro, the man who provided most of the animals in
the Roach shorts.
An excerpt from this film was used for the opening titles of the TV series "Comedy Capers," produced by
National Telepix, the same folks who brought us "Mischief Makers."
38 still images were printed into numerous press photos to promote this film.
availability:
- Our Gang Volume #2 (VHS) from
Grapevine Video and also from
The Picture Palace
- This copy is by Kodak Cinegraph. The inter-titles are remade, but appear to be worded the same as the
originals. The print totals 20:34, with about 17:35 of it original footage. Ignoring the inter-titles, most of
the original film is included. This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs.
- Our Gang Comedies present Hal Roach's Rascals 2
Pack (2 VHS set) from
Brentwood Video
- Released Nov. 2000. Also available as part of
Our Gang Comedies presents Hal Roach's Rascals 10
Pack (10 VHS set). This is basically identical to Grapevine's copy. This version is probably the one
that appears on bootlegs containing the Roach talkies.
- Hal Roach's Rascals (DVD) from
Brentwood Video
- This is also available in a 2 DVD set with another same-named DVD. Something went wrong with the DVD
copying, as there are several instances of small bits of footage repeated.
- Rascals Silents Vol. 4 (VHS/DVD) from
A-1 Video
- This is a TV print from the Mischief Makers series entitled "Little Officers." The
picture quality is fairly good, but only one TV-made inter-title is shown. The footage totals 12:26, with
12:13 of it original.
- Hal Roach's Rascals 3-Tape Set (3
VHS set) and
- Hal Roach's Rascals (DVD) from
Brentwood Video
- VHS released Feb. 2000. The DVD is one of two with this name, the other containing the entire film. This
one, and the VHS, include a documentary entitled Hollywood Hall Of Fame, with 20 clips from this film. The 1st
lasts 0:03, and shows the gang playing ball. The 2nd lasts 0:03, and shows Joe eating a banana. The 3rd lasts
0:01, and shows the boys laughing. The 4th lasts 0:02, and shows Mickey being frustrated. The 5th lasts 0:04,
and shows the gang being led off by the cops. The 6th lasts 0:04, and shows the gang playing ball in the street. The
7th lasts 0:12, and shows the gang battling with another gang. The 8th lasts 0:09, and shows the gang meeting with
the nice cop. The 9th lasts 0:14, and shows the gang harassing the bad guy. The 10th lasts 0:05, and shows the
nice cop inspecting the kiddie cops. The 11th lasts 0:03, and shows the gang marching back and forth. The 12th lasts
0:07, and shows the cop ordering the kids to clear the street. The 13th lasts 0:32, and shows Jannie in the jail
cell. The 14th lasts 0:03, and shows the good cop greeting the uniformed kids. The 15th lasts 0:03, and shows the
bad cop chasing down the kids. The 16th lasts 0:06, and shows Farina turning on the saw. The 17th lasts 0ᚪ, and
shows Joe in the baby carriage. The 18th lasts 0:03, and shows the fights between the two gangs. The 19th lasts
0:03, and shows the gang playing in the alley. The 20th lasts 0&358;06, and shows Farina getting run
over.
- Our Gang Silent Comedies Volume 12 (VHS)
from Video Classics
- This copy is essentially the same as Grapevine's, except that my copy cuts off a little past the
halfway point.
- Our Gang Silent Comedies Vol. 1 (VHS)
from HenryButch
- This is the same version as the one released by Grapevine.
- The Original Comedy Classics
- Released 1999. This collection also contains films featuring other stars.
- TV Time Comedy 100 TV Episodes (10 DVD set)
from TV Time
- This collection also contains films featuring other stars.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.