One Wild Ride

technical details:

Production K-3.

Filmed July 30, to August 4, 1925. It's likely that unused footage from "Your Own Back Yard" (no. 44) went into this film. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

On July 30 and August 1, 1925, photographer Len Powers shot the live-action footage of the Pathé rooster shown at the end of the films released over the next couple of years.

Copyrighted November 6, 1925, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU21978. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released December 6, 1925. It was the 45th film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "One Wild Ride".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1012, "Runaway Taxi," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17317.

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.

Assistant Director: Robert A. McGowan

Later credited as Anthony Mack. This credit derives from his payroll status as an 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.

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 Ernest Tucker

This credit derives from their payroll status as Our Gang prop men during this period.

Music Compiled by James C. Bradford

This according to the Thematic Music Cue Sheet that accompanied the pressbook for this film.

Story by Hal E. Roach

This credit probably doesn't appear in the film.

Animal trainer: Tony Campanaro

He was Pal's trainer.

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

school teacher - Fern Carter was probably away from the studio while this film was being made, though the payroll summaries reveal that she was receiving her salary during this period.

possible uncredited involvement

writing - According to the pressbook for this film, Robert F. McGowan was in charge of developing the stories during this period, suggesting that Roach's credit, as shown above, was somewhat honorary. Carl Harbaugh, Hal Yates, Frank Terry and James Parrott may have been among the gag writers.

the kids:

Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"

Lead role. He's essentially the star of the film. The gang leaves him out of their activities, so he ends up taking their taxi.

Mickey Daniels as "Mickey"

Featured role. His mother makes him do chores, but he soons join the other boys for a ride.

Mary Kornman as "Mary"

Featured role. Her situation is essentially repeated from "Mary, Queen Of Tots" (no. 41). She switches dresses with the other girl so she can ride along with the gang.

Joe Cobb as "Joe"

Supporting role. He's left having to take care of his baby brother, but uses some ingenuity to get out of it and join the gang.

Johnny Downs as "Johnnie"

Supporting role. He's the one with the taxi service.

Jackie Condon as "Jackie"

Supporting role. He assists Johnny with his taxi service.

Jackie "Husky" Hanes as "Bellingham"

Small part. Not listed by Maltin & Bann, but it looks like him. He's Joe's little brother.

other kids

Small part and extras.

(1.) The first girl to take a ride on the taxi, who then switches dresses with Mary.

(2.) At least twelve kids watching the monkey perform. About six or seven are boys.

the animals:

horse 014 as "Evangeline"

Supporting role. This is the white horse that pushes the taxi. Presumably the same horse from "Dogs Of War!" (no. 14).

Pal

Small part. Not listed by Maltin & Bann. He's Mary's dog.

parrot 008

Small part. Presumably the same parrot seen previously, he rides along with Farina.

monkey 004

Small part. Presumably the same monkey seen previously, he rides along with Farina.

other animals

Bit parts.

(1.) The dog that fights with the bear cub.

(2.) The bear cub.

(3.) The horse pulling the watermelon cart.

(4.) Several chickens eat the seeds out of the ground while Mickey sleeps. Later, Farina drives through a whole bunch of chickens.

the adults:

Richard Daniels as the horse owner

Bit part. He appears briefly retrieving his horse from the kids.

Al Hallet as the man with the bird cage

Bit part. He almost gets run over, and also loses his parrot.

Chet Brandenburg as the sprinter

Bit part. He's shown running from the car from Farina's point of view. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Ed Brandenberg.

Fay Holderness as the governess

Bit part. Presumably a governess, since she appears to be repeating her role from "Mary, Queen Of Tots" (no. 41).

Dorothy Vernon as Mickey's mom

Bit part. Looks like her to me. She's a bit of a slave driver.

Fred F. Guenste as the butler

Bit part. He's Mary's butler and is basically repeating his role from "High Society" (no. 30).

other adults

Bit part and extras.

(1.) The driver of the truck that Farina hitches the taxi onto. He's barely seen getting out of his truck.

(2.) The man with the watermelon wagon.

(3.) The man with the monkey.

(4.) Two bike riders who almost get hit by the taxi.

(5.) Numerous other drivers.

the music:

The pressbook for this film includes a Thematic Music Cue Sheet, which provided the opening melodies for 11 musical cues comprising 10 pieces of music, one of which is repeated.

"Aurora" by J. Louis Von der Mehden

Published in 1910. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece 'at screening,' which presumably means at the start of the film, and continue for 2 minutes.

"Lazy" by Irving Berlin

Published in 1924. Al Jolson had a number 4 hit with this song the same year. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the title that introduces Mickey, and continue for 1 minute.

"He's Me Pal" by Gus Edwards

Published in 1905, with words by Vincent P. Bryan. J. W. Myers had a number 7 hit with this song the same year. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the title that introduces Joe, and continue for 1 1/2 minutes.

"Poupée Valsante" by Eduard Poldini

Written in 1904. Cue sheet version published in 1908. Also known as "Waltzing Doll" and "Dancing Doll." The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the point where Joe ties the rope to the pump handle, and continue for 1/2 minute.

"The Birds And The Brook" by Robert Morrison Stults

Written in 1903. Cue sheet version published in 1923. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the point when the 'friends ride up,' and continue for 1 minute. However, one minute is not enough to cover the footage up to the next cue, and the previous cue would be just a few seconds rather than the half minute it requires.

"Mary's A Grand Old Name" by George M. Cohan

First published in 1905. Cue sheet version published in 1924. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the title that introduces Mary, and continue for 1 1/4 minutes.

"Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here" by Theodore F. Morse

Published in 1917, with lyrics by D. A. Estron and Theodora Morse. The melody derives from a song from "Pirates Of Penzance" written by Arthur Sullivan. Specifically, it's part of "With Cat-Like Tread" from Act II, which itself was based on "Anvil Chorus." Cue sheet version published in 1918, with songwriting credit going to somebody named Lake. Irving Kaufman and the Columbia Quartet had a number one hit with this song in 1918. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the point when the car stops in front of Mary's house, and continue for 1 1/2 minutes.

"Western Allegro" by Edward Falck

Published in 1918. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the point when the car starts again, and continue for 3 3/4 minutes. The cue sheet also gives the instruction for a 'rattling effect' as the car is racing.

"Stay In Your Own Back Yard" by Lyn Udall

Written in 1899 with lyrics by Karl Kennett. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the title where Farina says 'Us want a ride,' and continue for 1 1/4 minutes. After Farina's wild ride, this piece is supposed to be reprised at the title that reads 'same old story,' and continue for 3/4 minute to the end of the film.

"Western Allegro" by Hugo Riesenfeld

Published in 1918. The cue sheet gives the instruction to begin this piece at the point when Farina hitches the taxi to the truck, and continue for 4 minutes. It also adds the following note regarding sound effects: 'Fast racing Ford, hits man with gold fish, glass crash, chicken squawk; catch remarks of parrot, T. "One Cigar," T. "Two Cigars," chicken squawk again; crash as he hits truck.'

the locations:

Mentone Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

Mickey does his gardening in the backyard of a property on Mentone. Seen in the background is the vacant lot on the southwest corner of Motor and Woodbine, as well as buildings on the opposite side of Motor.

Motor Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

Farina's wild ride takes him south on the 3300 block of this street, with very brief, and tilted, views of the Sanitary Market at 3343 Motor, the Arthur Boetsch Barber Shop at 3347 Motor, the Palms Hardware Co. at 3351 Motor, and the house at 3359 Motor. We also see a bit of the east side of the 3400 block, including the Masonic Hall at 3402 Motor.

Overland Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

It's pretty clear that the truck pulls Farina's car up the hill on Overland Avenue that begins at Featherstone Avenue (now Rose Avenue). After clearing the top of the hill, Farina breaks loose and goes downhill towards the north and makes a right turn on National Boulevard, where a little business selling oil is situated on the southeast corner.

Tabor Street, Palms district, Los Angeles

As pointed out in Chris Bungo's YouTube video, Johnny drives the taxi westward on this street from Motor Avenue and makes a left turn into the alley situated between Motor and Mentone Avenues. Bacon's Pharmacy on the northeast corner of Motor and Tabor is just barely visible through the trees.

South Rimpau Boulevard and Mascot Street, Los Angeles

Farina rides northward on South Rimpau and encounters the man with the bird just short of the intersection with Mascot, after which the bird is a passenger. Shown clearly in these shots is the apartment building at 4718-4722 Mascot, and the apartment building at 1880-1886 South Rimpau. Also seen in the background, without the modern-day buildings blocking our view, is the house at 4716 Pickford Street. A little later, Farina travels west on Mascot and drives through the intersection with South Rimpau. As he passes a group of kids being entertained by an organ grinder with a monkey, the monkey jumps aboard the taxi. As this happens, we get a shot of Farina passing in front of the house at 4805 Mascot. All of these buildings are still there today. The house on the southwest corner of Mascot and South Rimpau also seems to be the same one standing today.

North Toluca Street and 1st Street, Los Angeles

As Farina is on his wild ride, he races southward down Toluca Street. To the left is Douglas Street, which forms a narrow corner with Toluca, and on this corner is a rather narrow 3-story apartment building, which still stands there today. The camera pans to the left, following Farina as he reaches a T-intersection with 1st Street. In the distance, we can see the house at 1405 West 2nd Street.

Bunker Hill Avenue and California Street, Los Angeles

We see Farina coming down the hill, driving north on Bunker Hill. The camera pans to the left, and we see him reach California Street to the right, with the Renshaw Hotel on the southeast corner at 712 California. This was the end point for California Street, so when Farina turns left, he's still on Bunker Hill, and across the street we see the Cooper Hotel at 410 North Bunker Hill. There are streetcar tracks that run along California Street and continue on this part of Bunker Hill. Both the tracks and Farina then make a sudden right turn and proceed along more of Bunker Hill Avenue. In this shot, we see the Kress House Moving Co. to the far left. There was a business with this name located at 728 Sunset Boulevard, but if this is the same one, then it must have taken up a lot of space, as Sunset was still a block or two north of there. All of these buildings are gone today. In fact, the hill Farina drives down is also gone, excavated to make room for the Hollywood Freeway.

Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles

As the camera is tilted to give the impression that Farina is travelling downhill, he races past the Hyperion-Childs Market at 2627 Hyperion Avenue. In the same building, at 2625 Hyperion, is a Waffle Shoppe. This building, which still stands today, is only a block south of where the Disney studio was being built at 2719 Hyperion.

oil rigs

One of the areas Farina races through has a number of oil rigs, suggesting that perhaps it was the same area used for "The Smile Wins" (no. 66).

house

At one point, the taxi goes by a large house that was later seen in the bullfighting sequence in "Ten Years Old" (no. 58).

miscellaneous:

Reportedly, only four shooting dates went into the making of this film. The previous film, "Your Own Back Yard" (no. 44) used up more time than usual for an Our Gang film, and it seems likely that unused footage from that production served as the basis for "One Wild Ride." The day after the earlier film was completed, filming for "One Wild Ride" began on July 30th. It continued until Aug. 4th, when it was considered 'finished.' No shooting took place on Aug. 2nd, which was a Sunday, nor on July 31st. For this latter date, the 1925 datebook indicates that the Our Gang unit was involved with something called "Movie Parade." No production number or director is given, so this might not have been a film project. However, it's possible that it explains the existence of the mysterious little film known variously as "Our Gang At Home" and "More Mischief." After shooting finished for "One Wild Ride," four weeks passed before the Our Gang unit began shooting "Good Cheer" (no. 46). The studio was closed during two of these weeks.

Unused footage from "Mary, Queen Of Tots" (no. 41) also went into this film, which explains the brief appearance of the governess and the butler, the latter of whom, Fred F. Guenste, worked in the earlier film but not this one. New footage was shot showing Mary switching dresses with another girl to explain the wardrobe change.

On July 31st, the Our Gang kids took part in the Greater Movie Season Parade through the streets of Los Angeles.

35 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.