''The First Seven Years'' is a 1930 ''

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. It was the 96th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

Jackie is in love with Mary Ann, but she is not interested in any boy. Speck also is in love with Mary Ann. Mary Ann, after beating up Jackie (who got aggressive after seeking advice from Kennedy the Cop), decides to play along. She suggests that Jackie and Speck fight in a duel. Jackie tries to chicken out but winds up fighting Speck. They both use real swords that damaged a tire and the radiator leaked from an old car, and cut up tons of laundry on the clothes lines. The rest of the gang roots for Jackie. In the end, they drop their swords and fight with their fists. Jackie wins and Speck's father comes out and holds Jackie down and has Speck hit Jackie until Jackie's elderly grandmother steps in and knocks Speck and his dad out. The gang then cheers her on.

Cast

The Gang

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor and director. He began his career performing in film as a child, and successfully transitioned to adult roles and directing in both film and television. At age nine, h ...

as Jackie *

Norman Chaney Norman Myers Chaney (October 18, 1914 – May 29, 1936) was an American child actor, notable for appearing in 19 ''Our Gang'' comedies as "Chubby" from 1929 to 1931. Early life and career Chaney was born on October 18, 1914 (though Richard ...

as Chubby * Allen Hoskins as Farina *

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 *

Mary Ann Jackson Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923 – December 17, 2003) was an American child actress who appeared in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was born and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Mary Ann Jackson's f ...

as Mary Ann *

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 Speck *

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

* Otto Fries as Speck's father *

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

as Kennedy the Cop * Emma Reed as Farina's mother * Joy Winthrop as Granny

Filming Locations

The scene where Wheezer and Petey are hiding in the metal pipe that Jackie pushed down the hill was filmed at Cheviot Vista Place looking north to National Blvd in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

References

External links

* * 1930 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films 1930 comedy films Our Gang films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films {{short-comedy-film-stub