''Clown Princes'' is a 1939 ''

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

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and '' Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive back ...

. Produced and released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, it was the 178th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

When the gang goes to Porky's house, they learn that his family is in danger of eviction unless they pay their landlord the balance remaining on their rent. The gang decides to raise the money by setting up a circus in Porky's barn, with Spanky as the ringleader. A sideshow outside introduces the kid circus' young patrons to Oogie-Boogie, the Wildman from Borneo (Buckwheat), Mademoiselle Darla, the Greatest Rattlesnake Charmer in the World, and the World's Shortest and Tallest Men (Slapsie in a beard and Sniffles on stilts). Also included in the sideshow are the Head Without a Body (Porky), and The Famous Sime and Neez Twins - two boys with their clothes stitched together, revealed as such when Violet the Goat eats the grass skirt covering the stitching. Inside the main show, the gang's circus show includes a clown act, Spanky and Leonard as "a couple of swell acrobats", and lady lion-tamer Darla. When Darla's "lions" break away and everyone scrambles to catch them, Spanky runs into the landlord, to whom he pays the rest of Porky's rent. The circus show's marquee attraction is "Daredevil Alfalfa" singing "

The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze may refer to: * The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (short story collection) ''The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and Other Stories'' is the first collection of 26 short stories by Wil ...

", with Alfalfa's trapeze being held aloft by a pulley system attached to a horse. When a bee turns up and spooks the horse, Alfalfa finds himself pulled and jerked through the air before finally crashing through the ceiling of the barn.

Cast

The Gang

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the female lead in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. As an adult, she performed as a singer in nightclubs and on television. ''Our ...

as Darla *

Eugene Gordon Lee Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

as Porky *

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 *

Carl Switzer Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

as Alfalfa *

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People *Billie (given name), the given name Other * ''Billie'' (1965 film), a 1965 film starring Patty Duke * ''Billie'' (2019 film), a documentary about Billie Holiday * ''Billie'' (musical), 1928 Broadway musical by ...

as Buckwheat * Shirley Coates as Muggsy * Gary Jasgar as Slapsie *

Leonard Landy Leonard Jerome Landy (July 3, 1933 – July 26, 2017) was an American child actor. He appeared in the ''Our Gang'' comedies from 1938 until 1941, in which he went by the names of Percy, Phooey, Deacon, and Leonard. ''Our Gang'' Landy joined ' ...

as Leonard

Additional cast

* Joe Geil as World's Tallest Man / Audience member * Clarence Wilson as The landlord

Orchestra and audience extras

Jimmy Brown, Hugh Chapman, Freddie Chapman, James Gubitosi, Larry Harris, Payne Johnson, Joe Levine, Gerald Mackey, Gloria Mackey,

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. Ear ...

References

External links

* * {{TCMDb title, 401678, Clown Princes 1939 films American black-and-white films Films directed by George Sidney Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films 1939 comedy films Our Gang films 1939 short films 1930s American films Films scored by David L. Snell 1930s English-language films English-language comedy short films