technical details:
Production G-28.
Filmed September 3 to 14, 1929. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Copyrighted December 2, 1929, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP880. Renewed
December 19, 1956, with registration no. R182603. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2024.
Released December 7, 1929. It was the 94th film in the series to be released.
All-talking two-reeler, sound on film and disc. (In actuality, there is a little bit of silent footage in
this film.) Also released separately as a silent film.
Opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Moan & Groan,
Inc.".'
the crew:
- Produced by Robert F. McGowan for
Hal Roach
- This is the way Maltin & Bann put it. The film credits Roach as a presenter, with a separate credit
reading "A Robert McGowan Production."
- Directed by Robert F. McGowan
- This credit appears in the film, but without his middle initial.
- Assistant Director: Don Sandstrom
- This credit derives from studio documentation.
- Photographed by Art Lloyd and F. E. Hershey
- This credit appears in the film.
- Film Editor: Richard Currier
- This credit appears in the film.
- Story Editor: H. M. Walker
- This credit appears in the film. The press release credits him with dialogue.
- Recording Engineer: Elmer Raguse
- This credit appears in the film.
- Story by Robert F. McGowan
- This credit doesn't appear in the film.
- Animal Trainer: Harry Lucenay
- He was Pete's owner and trainer.
- Teacher: Fern Carter
- Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Indicated in the opening title card.
- Passed by the National Board of Review
- As indicated in the film.
- A Victor Recording, Western Electric System
- As indicated in the film.
- studio personnel
- general manager - Warren Doane
- assistant general manager - L. A. French
- secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach
- assistant secretary - Mat O'Brien
- construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen
- laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
- optical effects supervisor - Roy Seawright
- still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves
- transportation director - Bob Davis
- possible uncredited involvement
- cutting - Possibly Lloyd Campbell.
- writing - Robert A. McGowan, Jean Yarbrough, Charlie Hall, Harry Keaton and Carl
Harbaugh may have been among the gag writers.
- property department - Charles Oelze, Don
Sandstrom, Thomas Benton Roberts and Bob Saunders were probably involved in this capacity.
- animal training - Tony Campanaro may have been
among the animal trainers.
the kids:
- Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"
- Featured role. He's given more attention than any of the other kids, particularly in his dinner scene with Davidson.
- Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins as "Wheezer"
- Supporting role. He's given a fair amount of the dialogue among the kids and shakes hands with Davidson.
- Mary Ann Jackson as "Mary"
- Supporting role. She's also given a fair amount of the dialogue.
- Norman "Chubby" Chaney as "Chubby" aka "Chub"
- Supporting role. He also has a fair amount of the dialogue, particularly with Farina. The publicity
photos list his full name without the nickname.
- Betty Jane Beard
- Supporting role. She plays Farina's baby brother, and is cared for by Kennedy in this film. There's a temptation to identify her character as
"Trellis," much like Jannie Hoskins' character in "Lazy Days," but it sounds like Officer Kennedy is actually saying "tell us."
This is what the captions in the ClassicFlix release say, in any event.
- Jackie Cooper as "Jack"
- Supporting role. He's mostly an ensemble player in this film, but has a few lines along the way. His full name is used in the publicity photos. His character
name doesn't turn up in the dialogue, but it's written on the fence, along with several other kids' names, in the opening shot.
- Bobby Mallon
- Supporting role. He's also an ensemble player, but has a little bit of dialogue.
- Jay R. Smith
- Small part. He's the one that provides the sergeant with the Japanese handcuffs. He's identified in the cutting continuity as "Junior." This was
his final appearance in the series.
the animals:
- Pete the Pup (no. 1) as "Petie" aka "Pete"
- Supporting role. He's present through the whole film, and is featured in the dinner scene. If the press releases for the films are any indication, this was the
point when 'the Pup' became part of his name. To be specific, he was listed as 'Pete the pup' at this point. It was also common to see a comma as part of
his name for the first year or so. In the dialogue, he's called "Petie," but on the fence in the opening shot, he's called "Pete."
- Leo
- Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film.
- other animals
- Bit part. A white mouse crawls up Kennedy's pantsleg.
the adults:
- Edgar Kennedy as "Mr. Kennedy" aka "Kennedy the Cop" aka "Officer Kennedy"
- Featured role. He enters the house to rescue the kids, but is spooked by the lunatic.
- Max Davidson as the nut
- Featured role. He inhabits the house and gives the kids a good scare.
- Gertrude Howard as Farina's mother
- Small part. She has a short scene speaking with Kennedy.
- other adults
- Small parts and extras.
- (1.) The police sergeant.
- (2.) The three men and one woman walking down the sidewalk past the sergeant.
the music:
- "Runnin' Wild" by A. Harrington Gibbs
- Published in 1922 with lyrics by Joe Grey and Leo Woods. Ted Lewis and His Band had a number 9 hit with
an instrumental version in 1923. An instrumental version is played over the opening titles of this film.
- "Turkey In The Straw" by John Renfro Davis
- This was originally a fiddle instrumental called "Natchez Under The Hill". It was published
with lyrics in 1834 as "Old Zip Coon." In this film, it's sung by Kennedy as he stands on his head.
- "The Wearing Of The Green"
- This song was written during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and is often attributed to Dion Boucicault, who
was born several years later and published the song during the 19th century. In this film, Kennedy sings and hums this
song as he changes the baby's diaper.
the locations:
- Arnaz Ranch House
- This is the "powder house" that Kennedy warns the kids about, as revealed in Chris Bungo's YouTube video. We see a long shot of it
up a dirt road off of Robertson Boulevard. The house and its acreage, which were on the tract of land adjacent to the northern boundary of the Roach
Ranch, have been replaced by a residential neighborhood. There is a slight discrepancy about which modern home sits on the site of the old mansion, with
Chris placing it approximately at 1929 South Crest Drive and the Cheviot Hills History website putting it at 1924 South Crest. As I eyeball the aerial photo
on the website and compare it to the Google Maps aerial view, it looks to me like it was closer to 1912 South Crest.
miscellaneous:
11 shooting dates went into the making of this film. Seven weeks passed between the final day of shooting for
"Bouncing Babies" (no. 93) and the 'start' date for "Moan & Groan, Inc." on Sep.
3rd. The studio had been closed for over four of those weeks. Filming began the day after Labor Day and continued until
the 'finish' date of Sep. 14th. No shooting took place on Sep. 8th, which was a Sunday. Robert F. McGowan directed
on each of the shooting dates. After this, two weeks passed before the Our Gang unit began filming "Shivering
Shakespeare" (no. 95).
In the opening scene, there are caricatures of the kids on the fence with their names included. Most of the names are
illegible, but Farina and Chubby can both be made out, as well as a mystery kid named Ernie.
Studio documentation indicates that the running time is 20 minutes 7 seconds, and that the film was 2000 feet.
A publicity photo reveals a possible deleted scene in which Kennedy and Davidson end up in a puddle outside the
house.
This film was removed from King World's TV package in the early 70s.
availability:
- The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Vol. 20
(VHS) from Cabin Fever and
- The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Volume
Four (3 LD set) from Cabin Fever
- Released 1995. This is a complete print with very good picture quality. The footage totals 20:36.
This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs.
- The Little Rascals Book XII (VHS)
from Blackhawk Video
- This is a home movie print from Blackhawk entitled "Moan And Groan." The opening titles and
crew credits are remade, and the end credits appear to derive from another source. The picture quality is good. The
original footage totals 20:07, although the original soundtrack lasts an additional 0:17.
- The Little Rascals - The Complete Collection
(8 DVD set) from Genius Products
- Released Oct. 28, 2008. This is the Blackhawk print.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.