Boys Will Be Joys

film no. 42


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 - Clarence "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.
David Campbell
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 A. 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.
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.
Joseph "Baldy" Belmont as one of the board members
Small part. He works at the top of the roller coaster loading kids onto the ride. This might be who Maltin & Bann meant when they listed William A. Orlamond, who isn't in this film.
Milton Fahrney as one of the board members
Small part. He appears to be the guy lugging the sandbags to the top of the roller coaster.
Hope Harper as the receptionist
Small part. She lets Weigel know that there's a bunch of kids wanting to talk to him.
Hugh Saxon as one of the board members
Small part. He takes a ride down the water slide.
Jules Hanft as one of the board members
Small part. He's listed in the payroll ledger, and I think that's him pushing the merry-go-round.
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.
Charles Meakin as one of the board members
Small part. He's best seen to the far left, setting the sign on the floor, as the board members decide to follow Weigel to the construction site.
other adults
Bit parts and extras.
(1.) Three remaining members of the board of directors: H.C. Simmons, J.H. Wells and John Orloff.
(2.) The store owner whose window is broken by the baseball.
(3.) The police officer, credited by Maltin & Bann as Noah Young, but the ledger doesn't support this.
(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.
Hubbard St., Culver City
This was the location used for the amusement park, and was either part of, or adjacent to, the Roach studio. It's the same location used for the football field in both "Yale Vs. Harvard" (no. 67) and "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.

40 still images were printed into numerous press photos to promote this film.


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


© Robert Demoss.


My thanks to the following people for assisting with this page:
Rob Stone (for providing the production number and shooting dates)
Joe Moore (for providing the copyright information)
Matthew Lydick (for the correct spelling of Gabe Saenz's last name and helping out with David Campbell)
Drina Mohacsi (for helping out with David Campbell)
Jesse Brisson (for the photo of Hope Harper, and for help on Charles Meakin)
Randy Skretvedt (for clearing up the confusion involving Bud and Stax Graves)
Robin Cook (for noticing the extra inter-title in the Grapevine version)
Mark Brumfield


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