Boys Will Be Joys

technical details:

Production A-42.

Filmed April 13 to 24, 1925, except for the circus parade footage, which derives from "Jubilo, Jr." (no. 29), and was shot sometime between February 25 and March 8, 1924. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Copyrighted July 6, 1925, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. MU3100. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released July 26, 1925. It was the 41st film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Boys Will Be Joys".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1006, "Carnival Time," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17311.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Credited in the film as a presenter.

Supervised by F. Richard Jones

Credited in the film as supervising director.

Directed by Robert F. McGowan

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

Photographed by Art Lloyd

This credit appears in the film.

Edited by Richard Currier

This credit appears in the film.

Titles by H. M. Walker

This credit 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.

Story by Hal E. Roach

This credit doesn't appear in the film.

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

still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves

transportation director - Bob Davis

possible uncredited involvement

writing - Robert F. McGowan, Frank Terry and James Parrott may have been among the gag writers.

the kids:

the gang

Mickey Daniels as "Mickey"

Featured role. He's the leader and the designer of the gang's amusement park.

Allen "Farina" Hoskins

Supporting role. The nickname doesn't appear in the film. He has a few comic moments, culminating with the skunk gag at the end of the film.

Joe Cobb

Supporting role. He's given virtually nothing to do outside of ensemble work.

Johnny Downs

Supporting role. He mostly does ensemble work in this film.

Jackie Condon

Supporting role. He does ensemble acting in this short.

Mary Kornman

Supporting role. She does mostly ensemble acting in this film.

other kids

Jannie Hoskins

Supporting role. She provides occasional comedy relief, first as the boys are trying to read their blueprint, then later when she visits the skunk. The narrators of the Mischief Makers print refer to her as a boy named "Snowball."

Gabe Saenz

Bit part. He's among the boys building and operating the rides.

boy 032

Bit part. He's the blonde boy that takes a look at the skunk. Previously in "Every Man For Himself" (no. 32) and "Ask Grandma" (no. 38).

boy 005b

Bit part. This looks like one of the boys from "A Quiet Street" (no. 5). He's the one in charge of the weighing machine.

Jay R. Smith

Bit part. He appears briefly with one of the black boys. This was his series debut.

boy 042

Bit part. He's the spokesman for the boys that are tired of working and want to go on the rides. The narrators of the Mischief Makers print refer to him as "Lenny."

boy 021

Bit part. This might be the first boy helped onto the roller coaster by the old man.

other kids

Small parts, bit parts and extras.

(1.) The black boy known as "The Grate Affrican Dodger."

(2.) The boy playing catcher in the baseball game.

(3.) The black boy shown talking to Jay. He could possibly be the same black boy from "Official Officers" (no. 40), but a better print is needed to confirm this.

(4.) Four additional players at the baseball game.

(5.) Probably at least ten more boys helping to operate rides other than the ones I've specified. The narrators of the Mischief Makers refer to the boy in the dunking machine as "Charlie."

(6.) Dozens of kids attending the gang's fair.

unconfirmed listings

Maltin & Bann list Andy Samuel, but I can't spot him in these prints. It might just be that he's part of the "Jubilo, Jr." (no. 29) footage, but even that's difficult to confirm. Just possibly, he might be the tallest boy among the ones working at the fair. The narrators of the Mischief Makers print refer to the boy holding onto the man pushing the airplane ride as "Charlie." They refer to the boy who looks scared on the roller coaster as "Dickie." And the Asian boy riding Spark Plug on the merry-go-round? They call him "Snowball," which means they probably thought this was Jannie Hoskins.

the animals:

donkey 040

Supporting role. Listed as Dinah the Mule by Maltin & Bann. This is the donkey pulling the gang's wagon. The chauffeur has quite a job getting him out of the limo. Previously seen in "Official Officers" (no. 40). The narrators of the Mischief Makers print refer to this donkey as "Slowpoke."

Pal

Small part. He's shown mostly as the gang goes to visit the millionaire.

Buster

Small part. This is the small white dog that also accompanies the gang on their visit. Later called "Magnolia" in "Thundering Fleas" (no. 51).

skunk 014

Bit part. Presumably the same skunk as seen previously, as usual, it provides the closing gag.

other animals

Bit part. Also appearing is a pig that seems to be a prize at one of the booths.

the adults:

Paul Weigel as "Henry Mills," board chairman

Lead role. He's virtually the star of the film, deciding that he'd rather partake in boyhood games than take his company seriously.

Hayes Robertson as the chauffeur

Featured role. Previously appeared in "The Big Town" (no. 34). He provides a lot of the comic moments in this film.

George B. French as one of the board members

Small part. He seems to be the spokesman for the rest of the board members.

Charles Bachman as "Jim," the surveyor

Small part. He appears early in the film to let the gang know their lot is going to be taken from them.

Eric Mayne as one of the board members

Small part. He's the bearded guy that runs the water ride with Weigel.

Chris Lynton as one of the board members

Small part. He's the one that gets the hammer on his foot. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Allen Cavan.

Charley Lloyd as one of the board members

Small part. He can be seen mainly during the board meeting. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Charley Young.

William Gillespie as one of the board members

Small part. He's pretty hard to spot, but I'm pretty sure he's there.

Noah Young as the police officer

Bit part. According to Maltin & Bann. I guess it kind of looks like him, but there's too much shadow.

other adults

Bit parts and extras.

(1.) Six remaining members of the board of directors. Maltin & Bann list William A. Orlamond, but I don't think he's in this film. He may be the man working at the top of the roller coaster. Also, is the man lugging sandbags the same one that wants success in "Shivering Spooks" (no. 52)?

(2.) The receptionist at the company. Looks like the receptionist from "Mike Fright" (no. 130).

(3.) The store owner whose window is broken by the baseball.

(4.) Two additional surveyors.

(5.) Several people shown in the opening footage of a real amusement park, particularly those shown on the roller coaster.

the locations:

Adams Hotel, Culver City

As the kids ride in Weigel's car, it goes west on Washington Boulevard and passes this hotel. Also seen is the side of the hotel facing Main Street, which ends in a T-intersection at Washington. We also just barely get a glimpse of the corner of the Culver Hotel before the shot ends.

Culver Palms Market

Just prior to arriving at the ball game, Weigel's car drives past this business, which has a gas station just to the right of it. The name of the business suggests a Venice Boulevard location, since that's approximately where Culver City and Palms meet.

the field

The location of the kids' amusement park is the same one that served as the football field in "Washee Ironee" (no. 131).

Santa Monica Pier

Brief shots of this amusement park are shown at the start of the film, with views of the Whirlwind Dipper roller coaster and the Hippodrome, which housed the carousel.

miscellaneous:

11 shooting dates went into the making of this film. About a week and a half after the finish date for "Mary, Queen Of Tots" (no. 41), the 'start' date arrived for "Boys Will Be Joys" on Apr. 13th. Shooting continued until the 'finish' date of Apr. 24th. No shooting took place on Apr. 12th and 19th, which were both Sundays. After this, about four and a half weeks passed before shooting started on "Better Movies" (no. 43). Edited into "Boys Will Be Joys" was circus parade footage from "Jubilo, Jr." (no. 29), which had been shot between Feb. 25th and Mar. 8th, 1924.

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

availability:

Amusement Park Comedies from the 1920's (VHS) from Encore Home Video and

Amusement Park Comedies (VHS) from A-1 Video

These copies are mostly original, but with a remade ending title. The picture quality is fairly good, and most of the footage seen in other available prints is contained here. There's about five seconds of repeated footage near the beginning, which seems to overlap a missing portion of the film, including one of the inter-titles otherwise shown in the Grapevine version listed below. The print totals 19-44, with 19:31 of it original footage. Most of the original film is included.

Rascals Silents Vol. 2 (VHS) from A-1 Video

This copy is identical to Encore Home Video's.

Our Gang Volume #4 (VHS) from Grapevine Video and also from The Picture Palace

This copy is essentially the same as Encore's, but the picture quality is poor, and there is some footage missing. It does contain one inter-title missing from the Encore version, though. The print totals 18:27, with 18:24 of it original footage. This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs.

Our Gang Silent Comedies (Volume 1) (VHS) from Nostalgia Family Video

This version derives from the same source as Grapevine's, but adds an additional title card at the end. The print totals 18:36, with 18:31 of it original footage.

Our Gang Silent Comedies Volume 10 (VHS) from Video Classics

This copy is identical to Grapevine's.

Our Gang Comedy Festival II (VHS/DVD) from GoodTimes Home Video

This copy is a TV print from the Mischief Makers series entitled "Carnival Time." The footage shown in the first volume of "Our Gang Comedy Festival" is deleted from this version. The initials 'GT' are superimposed in the lower right-hand corner throughout the print, and the VHS is in LP mode. The original footage totals 7:53. This VHS was included as part of the Our Gang Collector Series 5 Pack, while the DVD was included as part of a 5 DVD set of the same name released Mar. 2004.

Our Gang Comedy Festival (VHS/DVD) from GoodTimes Home Video

Copyrighted in 1986 by Movietime Inc. Released on VHS in 1987, it was made available on DVD in 2000. A clip lasting 4:18 is included, deriving from a TV print from the Mischief Makers series. The VHS was also part of a collection called Our Gang Collector Series 5 Pack in 2002. The DVD was also part of a collection called Our Gang Collector Series 4 Pack in 2001, which was superseded by Our Gang Collector Series 5 Pack in Mar. 2004. It was also included as part of the Our Gang Double Feature released June 25, 2002, The Best Of Our Gang Volume 2 (DVD) released June 1, 2004, and The TV Laugh Pack DVD (released Dec. 6, 2005).

Our Gang Silent Comedies Vol. 4 (VHS) from HenryButch

This print is the same as the Grapevine version.

See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.

© Robert Demoss.