''Bear Shooters'' is a 1930 ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

'' short

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Robert F. McGowan Robert Francis McGowan (July 11, 1882 – January 27, 1955) was an American film director and producer, best known as the senior director of the ''Our Gang'' short subjects film series from 1922 until 1933. Career Before moving to Los Angeles, ...

. It was the 98th ''

'' short to be released.

Plot

Spud wants to go camping and shoot many bears with Jackie, Chubby, and Farina. But his mother has forced him to look after his little brother Wheezer, who has the

croup Croup ( ), also known as croupy cough, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms of "bar ...

. In caring for his brother he must periodically apply ointment to his chest. He tells his friends he must stay home and grease Wheezer. He tries to get his sister Mary Ann to do this but she insists on going camping. Spud decides to merely go camping anyway and take both Wheezer and Mary Ann along. The gang all go together in an old dilapidated wagon guided by Dinah The

Mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

. The trip initially goes smoothly, but after some time two bootleggers who have themselves concealed in the area spot the gang and decide to try to get the gang to leave. One of the bootleggers dresses up in a

gorilla suit Gorilla suits are a type of creature suit resembling a gorilla. The gorilla suit is a popular Halloween and costume party costume, and is also used as a source of humour, while more realistic suits have been used both to represent real gorillas ...

in order to scare the gang away. While he scares the gang, the gang manages to trap the ape. Eventually the gang ends up leaving the forest due to a

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...

spraying the area, not the bootlegger in the ape suit.

Production notes

''Bear Shooters'' is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of the 1924 silent entry '' It's a Bear''.

Allen Hoskins Allen Clayton Hoskins (August 9, 1920 – July 26, 1980) was an American child actor, who portrayed the character of Farina in 105 ''Our Gang'' short films from 1922 to 1931. Acting career 1920–1936 ''Our Gang'' Stardom Born in Bosto ...

appeared in both films. ''Bear Shooters'' is one of four sound ''Our Gang'' shorts that fell into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

after the copyright lapsed in the 1960s (the other three being '' School's Out'', ''

Our Gang Follies of 1938 ''Our Gang Follies of 1938'' (later reissued as simply ''Follies of 1938'') is a 1937 American musical short subject, the 161st short subject entry in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') series. Directed by Gordon Douglas as a sequel t ...

'' and '' Waldo's Last Stand''). As such, these films frequently appear on inexpensive video and/or DVD compilations. The scenes of the Gang getting ready for the camping trip were filmed in the alley just south of Woodbine Street between Motor Avenue and Mentone Avenue in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. Bear shooters-still

Cast

The Gang

Norman Chaney Norman Myers Chaney (October 18, 1914 – May 29, 1936) was an American child actor, notable for appearing in 19 ''Our Gang'' comedies as "Chubby" from 1929 to 1931. Early life and career Chaney was born on October 18, 1914 (though Richard ...

as Chubby *

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor and director. He began his career performing in film as a child, and successfully transitioned to adult roles and directing in both film and television. At age nine, h ...

as Jackie *

as Farina *

Bobby Hutchins Robert E. Hutchins (March 29, 1925 – May 17, 1945) was an American child actor who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1927 to 1933. A native of Tacoma, Washington, he was given the nickname of Wheezer after running ar ...

as Wheezer *

Mary Ann Jackson Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923 – December 17, 2003) was an American child actress who appeared in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was born and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Mary Ann Jackson's f ...

as Mary Ann *

Leon Janney Leon Janney (April 1, 1917 – October 28, 1980) was an American actor and radio personality from 1920 to 1980. Career Leon Elbert Janney was born in Ogden, Utah, to Nathan Haines Janney and Bernice Rebecca Kohn. The names of his parents are con ...

as Donald 'Spud' *

Pete the Pup Pete the Pup (September 9, 1929 – January 28, 1946), also called the Mississippi Man Mauler, was an American dog actor known to portray "Pete, the dog with the ring around his eye" in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies series (later known as '' ...

as himself * Dinah the Mule as herself

Additional cast

Fay Holderness Fay Holderness (née MacMurray; April 16, 1881 – May 13, 1963) was an American vaudeville performer and film actress. Family Fay Holderness was born Fay MacMurray in Oconto, Wisconsin, the daughter of Thomas James MacMurray and Mary E. MacM ...

as Spud's mother * Charlie Hall as Charlie (Bootlegger #2) *

Bob Kortman Robert F. Kortman (December 24, 1887 – March 13, 1967) was an American film actor mostly associated with westerns, though he also appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1914 and 1952. 193 ...

as Bob (Bootlegger #1) *

Charles Gemora Carlos Cruz Gemora (June 15, 1903 – August 19, 1961), commonly known as Charles Gemora, was a Hollywood makeup artist renowned as "the King of the Gorilla Men" for his prolific appearances in many Hollywood films while wearing a gorilla suit. ...

as Charlie (in gorilla suit)

References

External links

* * * 1930 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films 1930 comedy films Our Gang films Articles containing video clips 1930 short films 1930s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub