''Surprised Parties'' is a 1942 ''

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 Edward Cahn and starring

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 ...

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 ...

, Mickey Gubitosi,

Billy Laughlin William Robert Laughlin (July 5, 1932 – August 31, 1948) was an American child actor. He is best known for playing the character Froggy in the ''Our Gang'' short films from 1940 to 1944, the films′ final years of production. Early life ...

, and

Janet Burston Janet Elizabeth Burston (January 11, 1935 – March 3, 1998) was an American child actress who was the final leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series, replacing Darla Hood in 1942. Career Burston began her film career in the Ou ...

. It was the 206th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

Upset because, as a leap year baby (he only has a birthday every four years), Froggy remembers the fact that he has almost never had a birthday party. The gang decides to throw a surprise party in Froggy's honor, but they pretend to throw him out of the clubhouse in order to keep it a secret. Vengefully, Froggy sneaks back and sets all sorts of booby-traps for the other gang members and then shows up at the party disguised as a new girl in town. But when Froggy discovers that the party was for him, he becomes guilty and sets off all the traps by himself.

Cast

The Gang

as Janet * Mickey Gubitosi as Mickey *

as Froggy Laughlin *

as Spanky *

as Buckwheat

Additional cast

* Margaret Bert as Froggy's mother * Giovanna Gubitosi as Gloria * Leon Tyler as Jimmy

Party guests

Buz Buckley, James Gubitosi, Tommy Tucker, Frank Ward

Production note

''Surprised Parties'' was the last short with Edward Cahn as ''Our Gangs regular director. He would return in 1943 to direct '' Three Smart Guys''. Herbert Glazer takes over directing beginning with '' Doin' Their Bit''.

References

External links

* 1942 films 1942 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Edward L. Cahn Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Our Gang films 1942 short films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films English-language comedy short films {{short-comedy-film-stub