''Pay as You Exit'' is a 1936 '' Our Gang'' short

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Gordon Douglas. It was the 148th '' Our Gang'' short that was released.

Plot

Hoping to attract customers to Spanky's barnyard production of ''Romeo and Juliet'', star performer Alfalfa proposes a "pay as you exit" policy: If the kids like the show, they will pay the allotted "one penny" admission on the way out. The performance is nearly over before it starts when leading lady Darla walks out, complaining that Alfalfa has been eating onions (which, he insists, improves his splendid speaking voice.) Spanky stalls for time in a cute weight-lifting act. Alfalfa hits upon a replacement for Darla: Buckwheat, decked out in a lovely blonde wig and Juliet costume. When the kids in the audience recognize him, they clap and cheer and call out, "It's Buckwheat! Hooray for Buckwheat!" However, the ladder Alfalfa is standing on gives way; Buckwheat saves him before he falls. When the ladder gives way again, Alfalfa tells Buckwheat to hold on tight, but the aroma of onions gets to Buckwheat, causing him to let go. As the ladder weaves, Spanky drops the curtain and Alfalfa and the ladder then tear through it and into the audience, much to their laughing delight. When the audience leaves, Spanky admonishes him for his "pay as you exit" scheme. But pay they did and Alfalfa and Spanky eat onions as a toast to their success.

Notes

Joe Cobb Joe Frank Cobb (November 7, 1916 – May 21, 2002) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing as the original "fat boy" in the ''Our Gang'' comedies from 1922 to 1929. Early life and career Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on Novemb ...

, an ''Our Gang'' star from the series' silent days, makes a return appearance. *Among the incidental music played on the

Victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

by stagehand Porky in the course of the show are LeRoy Shield's familiar background tunes "In My Canoe" and "Hide and Go Seek", as well as "Walking the Deck", a tune written for the 1936 Laurel and Hardy feature '' Our Relations''. *The Buckwheat character was originally a girl, but had morphed into a boy by this episode, appearing for the first time in his new costuming—overalls, striped shirt, oversized shoes, and a large unkempt Afro—which was retained for the series until the end.

Cast

The Gang

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Da ...

as Darla * Eugene Lee as Porky * George McFarland as Spanky * Carl Switzer as Alfalfa *

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People * Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress * Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian * Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress * Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist for ...

as Buckwheat

Additional cast

as Leader of the audience kids

Audience extras

John Collum,

Rex Downing Rex Haddon Downing (April 21, 1925 – November 18, 2020) was an American actor as a child and youth. Early years Downing attended Hollywood High School. Career Rex Downing started his film career in several Our Gang comedies, but his roles t ...

, Jack Egger, Paul Hilton, Sidney Kibrick,

Harold Switzer Harold Frederick Switzer (January 16, 1925 – April 14, 1967) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series as an extra. He was the older brother of gang member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, one ...

, Marvin Strin, Robert Winckler

References

External links

* 1936 films 1936 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Gordon Douglas Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1930s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub