Anniversary Trouble
Encyclopedia
Anniversary Trouble is a 1935 Our Gang
short
comedy film
directed by Gus Meins
. It was the 134th Our Gang short (46th talking episode) that was released.
) inadvertently hands over the Woodchucks' treasury as an anniversary present for his wife (Claudia Dell
).
Meanwhile, Spanky accidentally gets hold of the real anniversary money, and, mistaking it for the treasury, hides it in the cookie jar—an act witnessed by his Mom, who jumps to the wrong conclusion. She takes that money and shows it to Spanky's father who also jumps to the wrong conclusion. Spanky is looking for the money and cannot find it. Minutes later, the other Woodchucks demand the return of their "dough," since the club has broken up, but Spanky cannot accommodate them. Spanky's father calls the maid/nanny and tells her to send him to his dad's office for punishment immediately. Spanky is unable to leave because the gang is blocking the exits out of his house. Spanky then tries to sneak out by painting himself in blackface
and dressing up like Buckwheat, the maid/nanny's daughter. That plan is also foiled and then Spanky's parents return home.
Spanky then finds the anniversary money and puts it in his back pocket. His father gets ready to spank Spanky and realizes he made a mistake. So his mother thinks the spanking is being carried out and can remain unaware of the mistake, Spanky's father has Spanky spank him instead and has Spanky make the groaning noises. Spanky's mother though catches them leading to a wild and wooly conclusion wherein Spanky's dad is duly punished for his faulty memory.
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Gus Meins
Gus Meins
Gus Meins was a German-American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany.-Career:...
. It was the 134th Our Gang short (46th talking episode) that was released.
Plot
Spanky's appointment as treasurer of the Ancient and Honery Order of Woodchucks occurs on the same day as his parents' wedding anniversary. Absent-minded as usual, Spanky's father (Johnny ArthurJohnny Arthur
Johnny Arthur was an American stage and motion picture actor.-Early years:Born John Lennox Arthur Williams in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made his screen debut in 1923's The Unknown Purple...
) inadvertently hands over the Woodchucks' treasury as an anniversary present for his wife (Claudia Dell
Claudia Dell
Claudia Dell was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and Hollywood motion pictures. Her birth name was Claudia Dell Smith. She was born in San Antonio, Texas on January 10, 1910. She attended school in San Antonio and Mexico. Dell was blonde and blue-eyed, with a porcelain face. Her...
).
Meanwhile, Spanky accidentally gets hold of the real anniversary money, and, mistaking it for the treasury, hides it in the cookie jar—an act witnessed by his Mom, who jumps to the wrong conclusion. She takes that money and shows it to Spanky's father who also jumps to the wrong conclusion. Spanky is looking for the money and cannot find it. Minutes later, the other Woodchucks demand the return of their "dough," since the club has broken up, but Spanky cannot accommodate them. Spanky's father calls the maid/nanny and tells her to send him to his dad's office for punishment immediately. Spanky is unable to leave because the gang is blocking the exits out of his house. Spanky then tries to sneak out by painting himself in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
and dressing up like Buckwheat, the maid/nanny's daughter. That plan is also foiled and then Spanky's parents return home.
Spanky then finds the anniversary money and puts it in his back pocket. His father gets ready to spank Spanky and realizes he made a mistake. So his mother thinks the spanking is being carried out and can remain unaware of the mistake, Spanky's father has Spanky spank him instead and has Spanky make the groaning noises. Spanky's mother though catches them leading to a wild and wooly conclusion wherein Spanky's dad is duly punished for his faulty memory.
Cast
- George McFarlandGeorge McFarlandGeorge Robert Phillips "Spanky" McFarland was an American actor most famous for his appearances as a child in the Our Gang series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s...
- Spanky - Billie Thomas - Buckwheat
- Matthew Beard - Stymie
- Scotty BeckettScotty BeckettScott Hastings "Scotty" Beckett was an American child actor. He starred in the Our Gang and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger series.-Early career:...
- Scotty - Leonard KibrickLeonard KibrickLeonard Kibrick , was an American former child actor, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1934 to 1936, usually portraying the villain...
- Leonard - Jerry TuckerJerry TuckerJerry Tucker is a former American child actor, most notable for appearing as the "rich kid" in the Our Gang short subjects series semi-regularly from 1931 to 1938....
- Jerry - Sidney KibrickSidney KibrickSidney Kibrick is an American former child actor, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1935 to 1939. From 1937 to 1939, he portrayed "The Woim", the sidekick of the neighborhood bully "Butch", played by Tommy Bond.He is the brother of the late Leonard Kibrick,...
- Our Gang member - Alvin Buckelew - Our Gang member
- Harry Harvey Jr. - Our Gang member
- Cecelia Murray - Girl with doll
- Donald Proffitt - Our Gang member
- Merrill Strong - Our Gang member
- Pete The PupPete the PupPete the Pup was a Pit Bull character in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies during the 1920s and 1930s...
- Petie - Johnny ArthurJohnny ArthurJohnny Arthur was an American stage and motion picture actor.-Early years:Born John Lennox Arthur Williams in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made his screen debut in 1923's The Unknown Purple...
- John, Spanky's father - Claudia DellClaudia DellClaudia Dell was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and Hollywood motion pictures. Her birth name was Claudia Dell Smith. She was born in San Antonio, Texas on January 10, 1910. She attended school in San Antonio and Mexico. Dell was blonde and blue-eyed, with a porcelain face. Her...
- Spanky's mother - Hattie McDanielHattie McDanielHattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
- Mandy, the maid