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
- Additional teachers for extra kids: Adele Buzzo, Veta Geddes, Mrs. F. Ganahl, C. Spiellmeyer, Grace King and Pearl Long.
- 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."
- Donald Hughes
- Small part. He's the catcher in the baseball game that Weigel joins in on and does most of the interacting with him. He also worked on the days when the amusement park was operating, either
as one of the customers, or as one of the boys operating the rides.
- Charles Oelze, Jr., Paul McKeeby, Robert Greene, Gabe Saenz, Manuel Saenz, Clarke Robinson and David Campbell
- Bit parts. These are the boys building and operating the rides. They can be seen in early footage before the crowds arrive. It looks like Campbell is also the blonde boy that takes a look at the
skunk. The narrators of the Mischief Makers refer to the boy in the dunking machine as "Charlie."
- Jay R. Smith
- Bit part. He appears briefly with one of the black boys. This was his series debut.
- John Henry Allen
- Bit part. He's the black boy seen in shots with Jay R. Smith. His mother was Irene Allen, who played Farina's mother a couple of times, and his nephew was "Big Shot,"
Buckwheat's little brother from the late MGM shorts.
- Dorothy Hughes
- Bit part. She runs the refreshment stand.
- Victor Burkhart, Ernest Koepke, Victor Rassen, Harold Rhoades and Arthur Alvarado
- Bit parts and extras. These are the remaining boys taking part in the baseball game. Like Donald Hughes, they also worked on the days when the amusement park was operating, either as customers or
taking part in operating the rides.
- other kids
- Small parts, bit parts and extras. There are literally dozens of kids attending the Gang's amusement park and operating the rides. Notable among these is "The Grate Affrican
Dogder." The ledger lists Odell Conly among the kids working from the 18th to the 24th, which makes him a candidate for this role, but there's actually two black boys in
the film wearing overalls like this character does, and Conly might be the one seen only in longshot. 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 spokesman for the boys who are tired of working as "Lenny." 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 payroll
ledger provides us with the names of (seemingly) all of the kids who worked on the film, which I will list as follows (though there is a chance that one or more of these are
adults): Working on all six of the shooting dates in which the amusement park is operating (Apr. 18 to 24) were Robert Burns, Buddy McNeal, King Gates, Billie
Rodgers, Marsile Chiniquy, Charles Levin, James Hollywood, Harry Gerstad, Billie Gerstad, Billy Naylor, Monty O'Grady, Bill Clute,
Jack Clute, Billy Allgrunn, Dick Hulme, Mignon Chiniquy, Edna Anderson, Betty Allgrunn, Ivadell Carter, Loretta Cobb, Lucile Cobb and
Geraldine Condon. Also part of this group, but absent for some reason on the 20th was Lethe Tawana. Next we have a group of kids that were present from the 18th to the 23rd:
David Sterling, James Sterling, Billie Hannah, Clifford Daniels, Alex Wallace, Francis Gerstle, Ed Bellamy, Doris Oelze, Wai Hing,
Sen Wing, Len Hing and Sen Guing. Also part of this group are Lloyd Campbell, who worked from the 18th to the 21st, and Jack Campbell, who appears to have replaced
Lloyd on the 22nd and 23rd. Perhaps a clerical error occurred here and it's only one of these two brothers. Another group of kids worked from Apr. 20th to 24th: Henry Hill, George
Hill, Tom Conlon, Lucile Condon and Joe-Boy Bond. Two kids, Hazel Crisp and Muriel Crisp, worked only on the 18th and 20th. And then we have a long list of
kids that only worked on the 18th: Melvin Siegfried, Raymond Siegfried, Jerry Miles, Wallace Carter, Jack Hollywood, Windsor Fernette, Billie
Siegfried, Jimmie Barnes, Jack Ellison, Bobby "Bonedust" Young, Sidney Allen, Jr., Victor Gardner, Jack Morrison, Mary Hannah,
Katherine Hollywood, Irene Miles, Margaret O'Grady, Vivien Kruger, Hazel Hedhes, Dorothy Lang, Edwin Fisher, Harry Wartman and Eric
Young. Sidney Allen, Jr., looks like he might be the boy trying to fight the older boy operating the weighing machine.
- unconfirmed listings
- Maltin & Bann list Andy Samuel, who isn't listed in the ledger. However, it might be that he's part of the "Jubilo, Jr." (no. 29) footage, though this is
pretty difficult to confirm.
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.
- John H. Wells as one of the board members
- Small part. He wears a top hat throughout the film, and appears to be the man 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.
- H. C. Simmons, Jules Hanft and John Orloff
- Small parts. These are the three remaining board members. I know what Hanft looks like, but I'm sure which board member he is. I haven't familiarized myself with the other two yet.
- Harry Bowen
- Small part. He worked on the day when the baseball game was shot (Apr. 14th). The picture quality in the available versions makes it difficult to be sure, but it looks like he's the
store owner whose window is broken by the baseball.
- Ollin Francis
- Small part. He also worked on the day when the baseball game was shot, and it looks like he could possibly be the cop. Maltin & Bann credit this part to Noah Young, but his name isn't in
the ledger.
- Buddy Devanney and Buck Weaver
- Bit parts. I'm guessing that these two are the additional surveyors, as they worked on one of the two days (the 14th) that Bachman was present. Alternatively, they may have been in
the roles of the store owner and the cop, as this was the same day that the baseball game was shot.
- other adults
- Extras. Several people are shown in the opening footage of a real amusement park, particularly those shown on the roller coaster. This seems to be stock footage, perhaps left over from some
earlier Roach project. Additionally, on the first day of shooting, April 13th, the following six adults worked in this film: Janet Gaynor, Muriel Montrose, Betty Mulligan,
Bob Finlayson, Bernie Brooks and Al Flores. It's apparent that the footage including these people wound up on the cutting room floor, as the only other extras working on this
date were Jannie Hoskins, and the seven boys that were assisting in building the Gang's amusement park, and none of their footage accomodates these six adults. The only other choice is that
footage of these six was taken at Santa Monica Pier on this day, resulting in the opening footage. Montrose, incidentally, was the mother of Tony Dow of "Leave It To Beaver" fame.
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.