''Mail and Female'' is a 1937 ''
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, also the ...
''
short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Fred C. Newmeyer
Fred C. Newmeyer (August 9, 1888 – April 24, 1967) was an American actor, film director and film producer.
Biography
A native of Central City, Colorado, Newmeyer is best known for directing a handful of films in the ''Our Gang'' series and fo ...
.
It was the 160th ''Our Gang'' short (161st episode, 71st talking short, and 72nd talking episode) that was released.
Plot
The Gang's male members, headed by
Spanky
George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in the ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' shorts were later syndicated ...
, decided to create the "He-Man Woman Haters Club" in reaction to not being invited to one of the girl's parties. When the kids ask for a president, Spanky elects his pal
Alfalfa without his authorization, under the notion that Alfalfa "hates women". Yet, Alfalfa's absence to the meeting was due to the fact that he was writing a letter to his sweetheart
Darla.
Alfalfa is informed by
Buckwheat
Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...
and
Porky
Porky may refer to:
As a nickname
* Frank Biscan (1920-1959), Major League Baseball pitcher
* Gordon Brown (Canadian football) (born 1927), Canadian Football League retired player
* Porky Chedwick, Pittsburgh radio disk jockey of the 1950s and 196 ...
that he has been unanimously elected president of Spanky's new club. Before Alfalfa proceeds to the barn, he requests that Buckwheat and Porky are to deliver the note and he requests it be "under the hat". Misunderstanding the phrase "Under the hat", Buckwheat puts Alfalfa's letter under his hat.
Upon arriving at the club, Alfalfa is greeted with cheers. Not knowing what the club is, Alfalfa commands the members to follow the rules; if they fail to do so, they will suffer a paddling from "sergeant-at-arms" Spike, to whom Alfalfa has presented the "official paddle." When Alfalfa asks Spanky what the club is about, Spanky delivers the news that he is the head of the "He-Man Woman Haters Club" and is forbidden to look, talk, walk with or send letters to girls.
Upon figuring this out, Alfalfa says that he has important business to attend to, and leaves the club to look for Buckwheat and Porky. Upon finding Buckwheat and Porky, they inform Alfalfa that they did what they were told.
Alfalfa proceeds to Darla's house to retrieve the note before his fellow members discover that he has broken the rules he's enforced. When asking Darla to give back the note, she responds that she does not know what note he is talking about. At this time, Buckwheat and Porky inform Spanky that Alfalfa is going to Darla's house. Spanky, Spike, Buckwheat and Porky decide to investigate, with Spike taking along the paddle.
Alfalfa spots Spanky, Spike, Buckwheat and Porky coming toward Darla's house, where he is still visiting. In desperation, Alfalfa hides in a closet and asks Darla not to give away his hiding spot. When the members arrive, they ask Darla if Alfalfa has been over. Upon denying that she saw him that day, the members search the house in order to find Alfalfa. After giving up, Alfalfa makes a noise in the closet he was in, giving away his position. When the members open the closet, they find "Darla's cousin" Amelia who was from New York, who is just Alfalfa dressed in woman's clothing. "Amelia" offers the members some ice cream which they accept. The boys begin to like Amelia and admit to liking her when she asks. When "Amelia" steps out to bring back lemonade, Alfalfa comes back angered at his members, grabs the paddle, and proceeds to order the boys to line up to be paddled. He goes down the line, paddling Spike (who complains that he's the sergeant-at-arms) and then Spanky. But when he orders Buckwheat to stoop over to receive his paddling, as he stoops over his hat falls off exposing Alfalfa's love letter, which Spanky picks up. In anger, Spanky tells the boys to get Alfalfa. In fear, Alfalfa jumps out the window into a pool, where he is humiliated when the others stand at the window and laugh at him.
Cast
The Gang
*
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 te ...
as Alfalfa / Cousin Amelia
*
Darla Hood
Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Da ...
as Darla
*
Eugene Gordon Lee
Eugene Gordon Lee (October 25, 1933 – October 16, 2005) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies as Porky from 1935 to 1939. During his tenure in ''Our Gang'', Porky originated t ...
as Porky
*
George McFarland
George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in the ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' shorts were later syndicated ...
as Spanky
*
Billie Thomas
Billie may refer to:
People
* Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress
* Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian
* Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress
* Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist fo ...
as Buckwheat
*
Henry Wesley Lee as Spike
See also
*
''Our Gang'' filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mail And Female
1937 films
American black-and-white films
1937 comedy films
Films directed by Fred C. Newmeyer
Hal Roach Studios short films
1937 short films
Our Gang films
1930s American films