technical details:
Production G-21.
Release no. C-825.
Filmed Mar. 19 to 24, 1934. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Title sheet prepared by William Terhune on April 11, 1934.
Dialogue cutting continuity submitted April 18, 1934.
Copyrighted May 1, 1934, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP4680. Renewed August
29, 1961, with registration no. R281002. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2029.
Released May 5, 1934. It was the 128th film in the series to be released.
All-talking two-reeler.
Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "The First Round-Up".'
King World Productions episode no. 42b, available in both colorized and original black-and-white versions. This
version is listed without the hyphen.
the crew:
- Produced by Hal Roach
- Credited in the film as a presenter.
- Directed by Gus Meins
- This credit appears in the film.
- Photography: Francis Corby
- This credit appears in the film.
- Film Editor: Ray Snyder
- This credit appears in the film.
- Recording Engineer: Harry Baker
- This credit appears in the film.
- Animation by Roy Seawright
- Maltin & Bann specifically credit him with animating the shadow on the wall.
- Animal trainer: Tony Campanaro
- He trained the current Pete.
- Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Indicated in the opening title card.
- Passed by the National Board of Review
- As indicated in the film.
- Western Electric System
- As indicated in the film.
- NRA
- The National Recovery Administration emblem is shown in both the opening and end titles.
- studio personnel
- general manager - Henry Ginsberg
- assistant general manager - L. A. French
- secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach
- assistant secretary - Mat O'Brien
- film editor and sound department - Elmer Raguse
- construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen
- laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
- process department - Roy Seawright
- still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves
- transportation director - Bob Davis
- school teacher - Fern Carter
- possible uncredited involvement
- assistant direction - Probably Gordon Douglas.
- writing - Hal Yates, Carl Harbaugh, Frank Terry, Billy Gilbert,
James Parrott, Charlie Hall, Robert
McKenzie, Frank Tashlin and Gordon Douglas 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.
- titles - Louis McManus probably designed the main titles.
the kids:
- George "Spanky" McFarland as "Spank"
- Featured role. He's able to outsmart the older boys, but is repeatedly the victim of Scotty's
mistakes. The cutting continuity refers to him as "Spanky."
- Scotty Beckett as "Scotty"
- Featured role. He accompanies Spanky throughout the film, as the two provide almost all of the humor.
- Wally Albright as "Wally"
- Featured role. He's the leader of the gang and the main decision-maker.
- Matthew "Stymie" Beard as "Stymie"
- Featured role. He's essentially second-in-command, and has the additional problem of his
little sister tagging along.
- Willie Mae Walton as "Buckwheat"
- Supporting role. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Willie Mae Taylor. She stows away in Stymie's pack and eats
all of his food.
- Tommy Bond
- Supporting role. His name doesn't turn up in the dialogue, but is indicated in the cutting
continuity. He's given a fair amount of dialogue, but is mostly an ensemble player.
- Cullen Johnson
- Supporting role. He's the brown-haired boy, and has a few lines of dialogue along the way, but is
mostly just one of the group.
- Philbrook Lyons
- Supporting role. He has a little bit of dialogue, but is mostly just part of the ensemble.
- Billy Lee Wolfstone
- Supporting role. Aside from the backpack gag at the beginning of the film, he isn't given much of
anything specific to do. Maltin & Bann misidentified him as Marvin "Bubbles" Trin in the 1977 edition of
their book, and failed to remove that name from the 1992 edition, which also lists Billy Wolfstone. The person who
prepared the cutting continuity referred to this character as "Marvin."
- Jackie Lynn Taylor
- Small part. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Jacqueline Taylor. She's Wally's sister, and nags him about
remembering to take everything. The cutting continuity refers to her simply as 'girl.'
- Billie Thomas
- Bit part. He's seen emptying the gang's canteens early in the film.
the animals:
- Pete the Pup IV as "Pete"
- Supporting role. He accompanies the little kids, and brings fleas to the campsite with him.
- Leo
- Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film.
- other animals
- Bit parts.
- (1.) The toad on Wally's pillow.
- (2.) The skunk that Pete encounters.
- (3.) The tortoise that carries away Spanky and Scotty's lantern.
the adults:
- Billy Bletcher as "Billy," Wally's father
- Small part. He's not worried at all about his boy going camping, and expects him back that night.
- Zoila Conan as Wally's mother
- Small part. She has misgivings about Wally going camping.
the music:
- "Good Old Days" by LeRoy Shield
- Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931.
- (A14.) This is played during the opening titles. A portion of it is played again over the end titles.
- "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" by George F. Root
- Originally a civil war song, this was featured in the musical "Naughty Marietta" and was a
number one hit for Byron Harlan & Frank Stanley in 1910. It was later given new lyrics and retitled "Jesus Loves
The Little Children." The instrumental version heard in this film is played as the boys hike up the hill.
miscellaneous:
Six shooting dates went into the making of this film. About two weeks had passed since shooting finished for "For Pete's Sake!" (no.
127). Shooting for "The First Round-Up" started on Mar. 19th and continued until Mar. 24th. After this, over a week would pass before the
Our Gang unit began filming "Honky-Donkey" (no. 129).
During the making of this film, the kids posed for publicity photos in which they campaigned for independent candidate
Mabel B. Roach for Culver City Council. She was the wife of studio secretary/treasurer C. H. Roach, and the two of
them were Hal Roach's parents, often referred to as Dad Roach and Mother Roach.
The working title for this film was "Night Howls."
The reels change during the jelly sequence.
The opening shot shows a page from the Los Angeles Tribune of Monday, February 23, 1934. This is almost
certainly a mockup, since the 23rd was actually a Friday.
A story version of this film appeared in the book Our Gang in 1934.
The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B416.
availability:
- The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Vol. 2
(VHS) from Cabin Fever and
- The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Volume
One (4 LD set) from Cabin Fever
- Released July 6, 1994. Also released as part of 12 VHS boxed set. This is a complete original print with
excellent picture quality. The total footage lasts 18:30. This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs.
- The Little Rascals Volume 2: Collector's
Edition (VHS) from
Hallmark Home Entertainment
- Released Aug. 15, 2000. Also included as part of
The Little Rascals Volumes 1-5: Collector's
Edition (5 VHS set) and
The Little Rascals Volumes 1-10: Collector's
Edition (10 VHS set), both released Aug. 15, 2000.
- The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Vol. 1 &
Vol. 2 (DVD) from Cabin Fever
- Same contents as the Cabin Fever VHS releases. Also released as part of
The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited (6 DVD
set).
- The Little Rascals Volumes 1-2
(DVD) from Hallmark Home Entertainment
- Released Aug. 15, 2000. Same contents as the Cabin Fever DVD.
- The Little Rascals - The Complete Collection
(8 DVD set) from Genius Products
- Released late Oct. 2008. This is identical to the Cabin Fever version.
- The Little Rascals Comedy Classics Vol. 2
(VHS) from Republic Pictures Home Video
- Released Apr. 1991. This is a home movie print from Blackhawk. The opening titles are remade, but the
crew credits and end title are original. The picture quality is very good. The original footage totals 18:11, but the
original soundtrack lasts an additional 0:11.
- The Little Rascals Book XIII (VHS)
from Blackhawk Video
- This is the Blackhawk print.
- The Best Of The Little Rascals (LD)
from Republic Pictures Home Video
- Released 1989. This is the Blackhawk print.
- The Little Rascals: Night 'N'
Gales/First Round-Up (VHS) from
Republic Pictures Home Video
- Released May 1991. This is the Blackhawk print.
- Jackie Remembers Our Gang - The Silent Era
(VHS/DVD) from Jackie Taylor
- A clip lasting 1:03 is included, showing the opening scene in Wally's yard, with narration added.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.