technical details:
Production A-41.
Filmed March 16 to April 1, 1925. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Copyrighted June 11, 1925, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. MU3071. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.
Premiered August 17, 1925, at the Ocean Grove Auditorium in New Jersey.
Released August 23, 1925. It was the 42nd film in the series to be released.
Silent two-reeler.
Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Mary, Queen Of Tots".'
Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1005, "Mary's Dream," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17310.
the crew:
- Produced by Hal Roach
- Probably credited in the film as a presenter.
- Supervised by F. Richard Jones
- Probably credited in the film as supervising director.
- Directed by Robert F. McGowan
- This credit probably appears in the film, but without his middle initial.
- Photographed by Art Lloyd
- This credit probably appears in the film.
- Edited by Richard Currier
- This credit probably appears in the film.
- Titles by H. M. Walker
- This credit probably appears in the film.
- Props by Charles Oelze and Don Sandstrom
- This credit derives from their payroll status as Our Gang prop men during this period. Sandstrom's reappears in the payroll summaries the week ending Apr. 4th, which means he may
have worked on this film during the last three shooting dates.
- Story by Hal E. Roach
- This credit probably doesn't appear in the film.
- Animal trainer: Tony Campanaro
- He was Pal's trainer.
- Sculptor: J. L. Root
- This credit derives from Root's payroll status as a sculptor for the Our Gang unit during the week ending Mar. 14th, which was just prior to the shooting of this film. It seems
fairly clear that he sculpted the dolls used in this film.
- 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
- laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
- still photographer - Clarence "Stax" Graves
- transportation director - Bob Davis
- possible uncredited involvement
- photography - Special photographic effects were probably achieved by Alvin V. Knetchel.
- >writing - Robert F. McGowan, Frank Terry and
James Parrott may have been among the gag writers.
the kids:
- Mary Kornman as "Mary"
- Lead role. She's the star of the film, the lonely rich girl without other kids to play with, and whose dolls seemingly come to life.
- Allen "Farina" Hoskins
- Supporting role. The nickname doesn't appear in the film. He's given most of the comedy bits in this film.
- Mickey Daniels
- Supporting role. As usual, he's the leader of the group of boys.
- Joe Cobb
- Supporting role. He does mostly ensemble work in this short.
- Jackie Condon
- Supporting role. He does mostly ensemble work in this short.
- Andy Samuel
- Small part. The payroll ledger makes it fairly clear that Andy worked in this film, and I'm inclined to believe that it's him in the dog costume, as all the other day players are
accounted for.
- Jack Davis
- Bit part. He's the other boy in armor besides Mickey Daniels. It's almost certain that this brief sequence was left over from an earlier production, most likely "July
Days" (no. 18).
- other kids
- Johnny Downs, who doesn't appear in the film, appears in at least one publicity photo taken on the set.
- Nancy McKee was one of three winners of the Los Angeles Evening Express Baby Contest, and was accordingly awarded a hundred dollars to work in the Our Gang unit for one
week. The studio payroll summaries indicate that she earned this money while this film was being shot. It seems probable that she worked elsewhere on the lot (notably in the Charley
Chase film "Isn't Life Terrible?"), as she's nowhere to be found in this Our Gang short.
-
the animals:
- Pal
- Supporting role. He's Mary's dog and takes a bath in her place.
- donkey 041
- Small part. Shown during the dream sequence.
- other animals
- Bit parts.
- (1.) The pony seen in the swordfighting sequence. Possibly one of the earlier ponies, but it's impossible to be sure.
- (2.) The canary shown in the background at the radio station. At KHJ, canaries were kept in a cage and could be heard in the background whenever "Uncle John" did his
announcing. Presumably, there are other birds in the cage, but I've only been able to make out one of them in the available print.
the adults:
- Fay Holderness as the governess
- Featured role. She's featured pretty strongly in this short, always at odds with Mary. Maltin & Bann identify her as May Beatty.
- Richard Daniels as the gardener
- Featured role. He's also featured strongly, but is kind to Mary and buys the dolls for her.
- Lyle Tayo as "Mrs. Newman," Mary's mom
- Small part. She's shown briefly on her way to a bridge game. She doesn't have enough time for her daughter.
- Helen Gilmore as the dollmaker's wife
- Small part. She's first seen with her husband, then later sells the dolls to the gardener.
- Charley Lloyd as the dollmaker
- Bit part. He's seen at the beginning of the film with his wife. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Charley Young.
- Charles A. Bachman as the police officer
- Bit part. He's seen at the end of the film taking the governess away.
- Grace Woods as Mickey's mother
- Bit part. She's seen briefly giving laundry to Mickey.
- Harry Lorraine and James Finlayson as the two radio actors
- Bit parts. They're seen briefly at the radio station. Lorraine is on the left and Finlayson is on the right.
- John S. "Uncle John" Daggett as "Uncle John," the radio announcer
- Bit part. He appears briefly introducing the radio program.
- Kathleen Collins as the maid
- Bit part. She's seen briefly with Mary's mother, then again with the governess. She was borrowed from the All Star unit for this film.
- Fred F. Guenste as the butler
- His footage didn't wind up in this film, but in "One Wild Ride" (no. 45). The fact that his name is present for the making of this film, but not for the later film,
is another indicator that the "rich girl" part of "One Wild Ride" was originally shot for "Mary, Queen Of Tots." Holderness also was not around at the time of
the later film's shooting.
- other adults
- Extras. The only remaining adults are the two women seen in the background at the radio station. The payroll ledger omits all of the people seen at the radio station, not only these two
women, but Daggett, Lorraine and Finlayson as well.
the locations:
- Hal E. Roach Studios, Culver City
- The front of the administration building is shown very briefly in the shot where the governess summons the police officer. The interior footage of the KHJ radio station in Los Angeles
was, ironically, shot at the Roach studio and not at the actual station. Obviously, the prop department made quite an effort to reproduce the radio station, even down to the bird cage. The
microphone that "Uncle John" speaks into was fake. He went to the Roach studio to shoot the sequence and met the Our Gang kids, who reportedly were familiar with him but had never
met him. The scene where Gilmore sells the dolls to Richard Daniels was shot on the lawn in front of the studio, with the buildings of the former Lehrman studio shown in the background.
- Berkeley Square
- Mary first meets the boys more or less in front of Hal Roach's residence at 22 Berkeley Square. However, we mainly see 33 Berkeley Square across the street, especially when Mickey
tells Joe that Mary has "birds on her aerial." This was revealed at www.berkeleysquarelosangeles.com.
- Castle Sans Souci, Hollywood
- This mansion on Argyle Avenue was used for the sword-fighting scene.
- KHJ radio station, Los Angeles
- Even though the interior radio station footage was shot at the Roach studio, the shot of the KHJ antenna was almost certainly the real thing.
miscellaneous:
15 shooting dates went into the making of this film. Two weeks had passed since shooting finished for "Official Officers" (no. 40). However, it's clear that
pre-production was taking place during these two weeks, since a sculptor was hired during the second week, presumably to sculpt the dolls seen in this film. The 'start' date for
"Mary, Queen Of Tots" was Mar. 16th, and shooting continued until it was 'finished' on Apr. 1st. No shooting took place on Mar. 15th, 22nd or 29th, which were all Sundays.
After this, a week and a half passed before shooting started on "Boys Will Be Joys" (no. 42).
It's likely that the fantasy scene with the two boys in armor was shot during the making of "July Days" (no. 18), since Jack Davis is present, and also since that
earlier film involved a similar theme. "July Days" was shot from April 12 to May 2, and also on May 31, 1923.
A photograph reveals that a birthday party took place at the studio commissary around this time. The kids' clothes, particularly Mary's dress, narrows everything down to this
film, which would mean that it was Jackie Condon's birthday being celebrated (though, oddly enough, Joe Cobb sits at the head of the table). Interestingly enough, Andy Samuel is
present and sitting right next to his replacement, Johnny Downs, who is wearing his 'civilian' clothes (which is also consistent with this film since he wasn't in it).
Also sitting with the kids is Martha Sleeper.
An article in the Apr. 12, 1925, edition of the Los Angeles Times describes John Daggett's visit to the Roach studio to film his brief appearance in the film. It states that he
did this on Monday, which would logically mean Apr. 6th. It's possible that an earlier Monday was being talked about, but if not, then the studio datebook omits this date on the shooting
schedule.
The radio show is called "Take Off That Hat."
40 still images were printed into numerous press photos to promote this film.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.