Wild Poses

Last updated
Wild Poses
Wild poses TITLE.JPEG
Directed by Robert F. McGowan
Written by Carl Harbaugh
Hal Roach
H. M. Walker
Hal Yates
Produced by F. Richard Jones
Hal Roach
Starring George McFarland
Matthew Beard
Jerry Tucker
Tommy Bond
Emerson Treacy
Gay Seabrook
Franklin Pangborn
Stan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Cinematography Francis Corby
Edited by William H. Terhune
Music by Marvin Hatley
Leroy Shield
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • October 28, 1933 (1933-10-28)
Running time
18' 14" [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wild Poses is short subject in the Our Gang (The Little Rascals) series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach Studios and first released on October 28, 1933 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. [2] It was the 125th Our Gang short that was released.

Contents

A sequel to the previous Our Gang short, Bedtime Worries,Wild Poses features a brief cameo by Laurel & Hardy.

Plot

Otto Phocus (Franklin Pangborn) is a haughty photographer hellbent on taking a formal portrait of a terrified Spanky (George McFarland). The little guy has been told by the gang that Phocus plans to "shoot" him; thinking the camera is a cannon. This leads Spanky to avoid having his picture taken, and his habit of punching Phocus in the face with regularity.

Phocus serves as Spanky's foil in other ways as well. He tries to get Spanky to pose with an exaggerated sweet smile on his face; when Spanky sees Phocus' ridiculous grimace he turns to his Dad (Emerson Treacy) and says, "Hey Pop, do you see what I see?" Later, when Spanky's friends have filled the rubber shutter bulb with water, and Phocus squeezes it, squirting Spanky's Dad with water, his Mom (Gay Seabrook) tells Spanky, "That's how they take watercolor pictures." Finally, after having successfully taken Spanky's picture, Phocus discovers the gang exposed his photographic plates, rendering "all my lovely work for nothing!". Spanky responds to the photographers request for "one more bust" with a punch in the nose before his family leaves the studio in disgust.

Cast

The Gang

Additional cast

Laurel and Hardy cameo

At the beginning of the film, a salesman is seen soliciting Otto Phocus' services throughout a residential neighborhood. At one home, he tells a housewife that she has "two of the most photogenic children" he has ever seen.

The camera cuts to reveal the woman's two children, portrayed in a brief cameo by Laurel and Hardy, dressed in baby clothes and using giant sets from their short Brats (1930). Laurel and Hardy briefly fight over a baby bottle, until Laurel eye-pokes Hardy and emerges victorious as the scene transitions to set the main plot in motion.

Notes

Wild Poses was the last Our Gang short directed by Robert McGowan until 1936's Divot Diggers . The entire film employs background music again, now a mix of Leroy Shield recordings and other studio recordings. The film was done with a feel of a sitcom and focuses again around Spanky. The depleted gang, now only three children (Georgie Billings plays a kid Darby who is with his mom and not part of the gang) basically is in the background throughout the episode, though unlike Bedtime Worries , they do not appear to be homeless.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal Roach</span> American filmmaker (1892–1992)

Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. was an American film and television producer, director, screenwriter, and centenarian, who was the founder of the namesake Hal Roach Studios.

<i>Bored of Education</i> 1936 film

Bored of Education is a 1936 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 146th entry in the Our Gang series to be released.

The Our Gang personnel page is a listing of the significant cast and crew from the Our Gang short subjects film series, originally created and produced by Hal Roach which ran in movie theaters from 1922 to 1944.

The following is a complete list of the 220 Our Gang short films produced by Hal Roach Studios and/or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1922 and 1944, numbered by order of release along with production order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Pangborn</span> American actor (1889–1958)

Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. For his contributions to motion pictures, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street posthumously on February 8, 1960.

<i>Our Gang</i> American series of comedy short films

Our Gang 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 producer of the Laurel and Hardy films, Our Gang shorts were produced from 1922 to 1944, spanning the silent film and early sound film periods of American cinema. Our Gang is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively natural way; Roach and original director Robert F. McGowan worked to film the unaffected, raw nuances apparent in regular children, rather than have them imitate adult acting styles. The series also broke new ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerson Treacy</span> Actor (1900-1967)

Emerson Treacy was a film, Broadway, and radio actor.

<i>Mush and Milk</i> 1933 American film

Mush and Milk is a comedy short subject; part of the Our Gang series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach, and was originally released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 27, 1933. It was the 123rd Our Gang short to be released overall, and the 35th to include sound.

<i>Our Gang Follies of 1938</i> 1937 American film

Our Gang Follies of 1938 is a 1937 American musical short subject, the 161st short subject entry in Hal Roach's Our Gang series. Directed by Gordon Douglas as a sequel to 1935's Our Gang Follies of 1936, the two-reel short was released to theaters on December 18, 1937, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>The Kid from Borneo</i> 1933 film

The Kid from Borneo is a short subject film in the Our Gang comedy series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach Studios, and was originally released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on April 15, 1933. It was the 122nd Our Gang short released, and the 34th talking episode.

<i>Spanky</i> (film) 1932 film

Spanky is a 1932 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 113th Our Gang short that was released. The film was based on Our Gang co-star George "Spanky" McFarland.

<i>Choo-Choo!</i> 1932 film

Choo-Choo! is a 1932 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 114th Our Gang short that was released. It is a remake of the 1923 Our Gang film A Pleasant Journey.

<i>Birthday Blues</i> 1932 film

Birthday Blues is a 1932 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 118th Our Gang short that was released.

<i>A Lad an a Lamp</i> 1932 Our Gang short film

A Lad an' a Lamp is a 1932 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 119th Our Gang short that was released. The film has been criticized as containing racist humor.

<i>Bedtime Worries</i> 1933 film

Bedtime Worries is a 1933 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 124th Our Gang short released.

<i>Hi-Neighbor!</i> 1934 Our Gang short film

Hi'-Neighbor! is a 1934 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 126th Our Gang short to be released and Meins' first series entry as director.

<i>Beginners Luck</i> (1935 film) 1935 American film

Beginner's Luck is a 1935 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. It was the 135th Our Gang short that was released. It was also the first short for seven-year-old Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and his ten-year-old brother Harold Switzer to appear.

<i>Pay as You Exit</i> 1936 American film

Pay as You Exit is a 1936 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. It was the 148th Our Gang short that was released.

<i>The Little Ranger</i> 1938 American film

The Little Ranger is a 1938 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. It was the 169th short in the Our Gang series, and the first produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who purchased the rights to the series from creator Hal Roach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay Seabrook</span> American actress

Gay Seabrook was a film, Broadway and radio actress.

References

  1. ↑ theluckycorner.com/
  2. ↑ Hal Erickson (2011). "New York Times: Wild Poses". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.