''Bedtime Worries'' is a 1933 ''

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 124th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

On the day he is promoted to head clerk (or "head cluck," as Spanky mistakenly puts it), Spanky's father (

Emerson Treacy Emerson Treacy (September 17, 1900 – January 10, 1967) was an American film, Broadway, and radio actor. Early years Treacy graduated from St. Joseph College in Philadelphia. When his father died in an automobile accident, Treacy became ...

) declares that it is time Spanky stopped sleeping in his parents' room and go to bed in his own room. Earlier, the gang asked Spanky if they could board Pete, their dog. Spanky could not do that. During his first night alone, Spanky envisions all sorts of imaginary horrors, from a bat (actually a moth) to "the

boogeyman The bogeyman (; also spelled or known as bogyman, bogy, bogey, and, in US English, also boogeyman) is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearances, and conceptions vary drast ...

." Thus, when a burglar (

Harry Bernard Harry Bernard (January 13, 1878 – November 4, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He is best remembered for his appearance in numerous comedy films by Mack Sennett and Hal Roach.https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0076236/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm ...

) climbs into Spanky's window, the boy's dozing parents fail to believe his story. Passing himself off as

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, the burglar attempts to steal everything that is not nailed down. The orphaned gang stop at Spanky's house to stay. He tells them Santa was visiting and when Stymie sees him, he realizes that this man is a burglar. The gang comes to the rescue and tackle down the burglar and the police arrive and take the burglar away.

Production notes

With

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 ...

, Dickie Moore and

Dorothy DeBorba Dorothy Adele DeBorba (March 28, 1925 – June 2, 2010) was an American Child actor, child actress of Portuguese people, Portuguese descent who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' series of short subjects as the leading lady from 1930 to 1933. E ...

having departed after the previous film (''

Mush and Milk ''Mush and Milk'' is a comedy short subject; part of the ''Our Gang'' (Little Rascals) series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach, and was originally released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 27, 1933. It was ...

''), Spanky is left to carry the next two films. New ''Our Gang'' members would not be introduced until 1934 ''Bedtime Worries'' was the first film since 1930 to employ only a minimal music score, relying more on dialogue than visual humor.

Cast

The Gang

George McFarland George Robert Philips McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' short ...

as Spanky * Matthew Beard as Stymie *

Tommy Bond Thomas Ross Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He was best known for his work as a child actor for two nonconsecutive periods in ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies (fir ...

as Tommy * Jerry Tucker as Jerry * Georgie Billings as Georgie *

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

Additional cast

as Emerson, Spanky's father *

Gay Seabrook Gay Seabrook (born Gladys Johnson; April 1, 1901 – April 18, 1970) was an American film, Broadway and radio actress. Early years Seabrook was the daughter of Rufus Johnson, a newspaper circulation manager. She married screenwriter Edward Ev ...

as Gay, Spanky's mother *

as The burglar *

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's ''Mickey Mouse'' short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Di ...

as Radio Voice (voice) *

Lee Phelps Lee Phelps (born Napoleon Bonaparte Kukuck; May 15, 1893 – March 19, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 600 films between 1917 and 1953, mainly in uncredited roles. He also appeared in three films that won the Acade ...

as Officer * Frank Terry as Radio voice (voice) * David Sharpe as Gay (double)

References

External links

* 1933 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films 1933 comedy films Our Gang films 1933 short films 1930s American films Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield 1930s English-language films English-language short films {{short-comedy-film-stub