''Feed 'em and Weep'' is a 1938 ''

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 Gordon Douglas. It was the 166th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

It is Mr. Hood's birthday, and he has been eagerly anticipating a quiet dinner at home with his family, his lunch consisted only of "a lettuce sandwich on

gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain Cereal, cereal grains. The term ''gluten'' usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water ...

bread." Darla then mentions that she has invited her friends to the celebration: Alfalfa, Porky, and Philip. The well-meaning trio drive Mr. Hood to distraction with loud and interminable choruses of "Happy Birthday, Mr. Hood." Then they present their ill-conceived presents: a frog, a duck, and a cat. When the kids are not arguing over their favorite comic-strip characters, they are busily devouring Mr. Hood's birthday dinner. Mr. Hood, disgusted over the whole affair, declares he is going out to get a bite to eat and leaves.

Notes

Regular ''Our Gang'' member

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas William Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1944. He w ...

does not appear in ''Feed 'em and Weep'' due to a short illness. In for Buckwheat is

Philip Hurlic Philip Raymond Hurlic (December 20, 1927 – July 7, 2014) was an American child actor. Biography Hurlic appeared in a number of films in the 1930s and early 1940s. Hurlic's income from his film work was used to support his East Los Angeles fami ...

, a prominent

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

child actor of the time. Hurlic has bit and background parts in several other ''Our Gang'' shorts and featured roles in films such as ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (1938) and Hal Roach's own ''

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

'' (1939). ''Feed 'em and Weep'' is also the first of five ''Our Gang'' shorts produced without one of the series' stars, George "Spanky" McFarland. McFarland had actually exited ''Our Gang'' following the previous entry, ''Came the Brawn'', but would return to the series after its transition to MGM later in 1938.

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 Hood * Eugene Lee as Porky *

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 *

as Philip *

Gary Jasgur Gary Jasgur (November 8, 1935 – August 22, 1994) was an American former child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short film series from 1937 to 1939. Career Dark-haired Jasgur was cast as "Junior", the infant brother of eit ...

as Junior *

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 Percy

Additional cast

Johnny Arthur Johnny Arthur (born John Lennox Arthur Long; May 20, 1883 – December 31, 1951) was an American stage and motion picture actor. Early years Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania to John William Long and Matilda (née Hertzog) Long, Arthur was a vete ...

as Johnny Hood * Wilma Cox as Mrs. Hood

References

External links

* 1938 films 1938 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Gordon Douglas Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1930s American films Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield {{short-comedy-film-stub