''Mike Fright'' is a 1934 ''

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

Gus Meins Gus Meins (March 6, 1893 – August 1, 1940), born Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley, was an American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Career Meins started out in the ‘teens as a cartoonist for the ''Los Angeles Evening Herald'' ...

. It was the 130th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

When open auditions are announced for a radio variety program, the local station is besieged by aggressively over-coached "professional kids." Also auditioning is the ''International Silver String Submarine Band''—which turns out to be the gang, equipped (or rather, armed) with home-made instruments. They suffer through an endless parade of cute kiddie troupers, and accidentally knock over the microphone several times, which inadvertently blows tubes and bulbs in the control room, causing the hat worn by the sound man, played by vaudevillian Sid Walker, to be literally blown off his head, and making his hair stand on end. The gang then steal the show with a rendition of "

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 ...

." Musical numbers include ''Jimmy had a Nickel'' (by

Maurice Sigler Maurice Sigler (November 30, 1901 – February 6, 1961) was an American banjoist and songwriter. Sigler was born in New York City but moved to Birmingham, Alabama at an early age, and received his musical tuition there. In the 1920s, Sigler ...

), ''

My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii "My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii", written by Tommy Harrison, Bill Cogswell, and Johnny Noble in Hawaii in 1933, is a Hawaiian song in the Hawaiian musical style known as '' hapa haole''. One of the earliest recordings by Ted Fio Rito ...

'', and ''My Wild Irish Rose'' (by

Chauncey Olcott Chauncey Olcott, born John Chancellor Olcott and often spelled Chauncey Alcott (July 21, 1858 – March 18, 1932), was an American stage actor, songwriter and singer of Irish descent. Biography He was born in Buffalo, New York. His mother, Mar ...

), which is cut short because the gang is distractingly eating lemons!

Cast

The Gang

* Matthew Beard as Stymie (on percussion) *

Scotty Beckett Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on '' Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, Califo ...

as Scotty (on fife) *

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 (conducting) *

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 (on kazoo) * Alvin Buckelew as Alvin (on harmonica) * Jackie Wilson as Jackie (on ukulele) *

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

Leonard Kibrick Leonard Kibrick (September 6, 1924 – January 4, 1993) was an American child actor. Career Kibrick was most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1934 to 1936, usually portraying the villain. Kibrick first appear ...

as Leonard * Jean Aulbach as Hula dancer * Billy Lee as Tap dancer * Leona McDowell as Darling Sister * Joy Wurgaft as Hula dancer * Sid Walker as Charlie, the Sound Man * Charlie Hall as Elevator Operator *

Marvin Hatley Thomas Marvin Hatley (April 3, 1905 – August 26, 1986), professionally known simply as Marvin Hatley, was an American film composer and musical director, best known for his work for the Hal Roach studio from 1929 until 1940. Hatley wrote man ...

as Piano Player * William Irving as Announcer *

Frank LaRue Frank La Rue (born 1952) is a Guatemalan labor and human rights law expert and served as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, from August 2008 to August 2014. Along ...

as Mr. Barker, the Sponsor *

Isabel La Mal Isabelle LaMal (July 16, 1886 – July 20, 1952) was an American film actress. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she appeared in over 95 films between 1928 and 1951. LaMal is best known for her appearance as Mrs. Bedford, socialite owner of pr ...

as Receptionist *

James C. Morton James Carmody Lankton (August 25, 1884 – October 24, 1942), known professionally as James C. Morton, was an American character actor, specializing in short-tempered judges, police officers and officials. He appeared in more than 180 films ...

as Mr. Morton, Station Manager * Fern Carter as Audience member * Joe Young as Audience member * Laura June Kenny as Undetermined role * Gloria White as Undetermined role * The Meglin Kiddies as Dancers

Theme song

''Mike Fright'' was the first ''Our Gang'' short since ''

Pups Is Pups ''Pups Is Pups'' is a two-reel comedy short subject, part of the ''Our Gang'' (''The Little Rascals'') series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach, and originally released to theaters by MGM in 1930. It was the 100th ...

'' to not contain the opening "Good Old Days" ''Our Gang'' theme song. Instead, it was replaced with the

Leroy Shield Leroy Bernard Shield (October 2, 1893 – January 9, 1962) was an American film score and radio composer. He is best known for the themes and incidental music he wrote for the classic Hal Roach comedy short films of the 1930s, including the ''Our ...

incidental tune "Little Dancing Girl", which appeared as background music in many of the films and would be the music used for the first 4 minutes of this episode. Because the nature of this film was a talent show with a variety of musical selections, additional background music was not used, nor was it needed.

References

External links

* * Films directed by Gus Meins Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1934 films 1934 comedy films American black-and-white films 1934 short films 1930s American films Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield 1930s English-language films {{short-comedy-film-stub