''Fish Hooky'' 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 120th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

Wheezer, Dickie, Uh-huh, and Stymie choose to play hooky from school again to go fishing with Joe and Farina. Meanwhile, Miss Kornman is taking her students to the beach and amusement pier free of charge. Spanky and Cotton deliver sick notes forged for Dickie, Stymie, and Wheezer by Joe and Farina to Miss Kornman, stating why they were absent. She decides to teach the boys a lesson, and asks her old flame who is now the truant officer

Mickey Daniels Richard Daniels Jr. (October 11, 1914 – August 20, 1970) known professionally as Mickey Daniels, was an American actor. Signed by Hal Roach in 1921, he was, along with Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Jackie Davis, Mary Kornman, and Ernie Morrison, a ...

to help her. Mr. Daniels, meeting up with the boys but not telling them he is the truant officer, then lectures them about what they can expect if sent to reform school (at Christmas, he claims that "everybody gets a brand new sledgehammer!"), and frightens them so much they decide to go to the beach to apologize to Miss Kornman. Mr. Daniels offers to drive them there. En route, Stymie spots the truant officer badge and the boys flee. The officer purposely makes the chase long, but eventually catches all the boys. They beg Miss Kornman to stop Mr. Daniels from locking the boys in a reform school. She does after the boys promise to never play hooky again. Afterwards, Mr. Daniels asks Miss Kornman for a kiss, but she refuses. As he keeps on begging her, Spanky (who was taking a nap) shouts: "For the love of Pete! Kiss him so I can go to sleep!"

Cast

The Gang

* Matthew Beard as Stymie *

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 ...

as Dorothy *

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 Hutchins *

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 * Dickie Moore as Dickie Moore *

Bobbie Beard Bobbie Beard (August 2, 1930 – October 16, 1999) was an American child actor, best known for portraying "Cotton" in several ''Our Gang'' short films from 1932 to 1934. He was a native of Los Angeles, California. His older brother was Matth ...

as Cotton *

John Collum John K. Collum (June 29, 1926 — August 28, 1962) was an American child actor. He appeared in many ''Our Gang'' films of the 1930s as the character Uh-Huh. Career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Collum was the son of Hal Roach's casting director, ...

as Uh-huh *

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

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 ...

as Joe *

as Mickey Daniels *

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 ...

as Farina *

Mary Kornman Mary Kornman (born Mary Agnes Evans, December 27, 1915 – June 1, 1973) was an American child actress who was the leading female star of the ''Our Gang'' series during the Pathé silent era. ''Our Gang'' She was born as Mary Agnes Evans, and ...

as Mary Kornman *

Donald Haines Donald Haines (May 9, 1919 – February 20, 1943) was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1930 to 1933. He appeared in '' Our Gang'' during the early sound days along with ...

as First kid in class *

Baldwin Cooke Baldwin Gardiner Cooke (March 10, 1888 – December 31, 1953), also known as Baldy Cooke, was a comedic American actor. Born in New York, Cooke and his wife, Alice, toured in vaudeville with Stan Laurel, remaining close friends over the years. H ...

as Amusement park barker * Bobby De War as School kid * Henry Hanna as School kid *

Mildred Kornman Mildred Gene Kornman (July 10, 1925 – August 19, 2022), also billed as Ricki VanDusen, was an American actress, model, businesswoman, and photographer. At the time of her death, she was the last living actress of the silent era. Life and c ...

as School kid

Note

''Fish Hooky'' marks cameo appearances of four former ''Our Gang''ers, now teenagers.

(Farina, aged 12) and

(aged 15) play the "older kids" who the Gang follows to the fishing hole.

(teacher) and

(truant officer) portray adult roles, despite them both being the teenagers as well (Mickey 18, Mary 16). This also marked the final appearance of recurring player

. The Fishing scenes were filmed on

Ballona Creek Ballona Creek (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh" or "Buy-yo-nah" ) is an channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a "year-round river lined with sycamores and willows". The urban watercourse be ...

in Culver City. The amusement park scenes were filmed at the Venice Amusement Pier and show the rides and attractions ca. 1933.''Fish Hooky'' (1933 ''Our Gang'' short)
with scenes filmed at amusement park of era, beginning at time mark 8:35 (YouTube)

References

External links

* * {{TCMDb title, 823323, Fish Hooky 1933 films 1933 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1933 short films 1930s American films Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield 1930s English-language films