Sprucin' Up

technical details:

Production G-30.

Release no. C-28.

Filmed Apr. 2 to 9, 1935, with retakes on May 7, 1935. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Title sheet prepared by William Terhune on April 17, 1935.

Cutting continuity submitted May 28, 1935.

Released June 1, 1935. It was the 137th film in the series to be released.

Copyrighted June 12, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP5615. Renewed August 1, 1962, with registration no. R299655. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2030.

All-talking two-reeler.

Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "Sprucin' Up".'

King World Productions episode no. 37, available in both colorized and original black-and-white versions.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Gus Meins

This credit appears in the film.

Photography: Art Lloyd, A. S. C.

This credit appears in the film.

Film Editor: Louis McManus

This credit appears in the film. Credited as Lewis McManus in the Blackhawk print.

Recording Engineer: William Randall

This credit appears in the film.

Assistant director: Gordon Douglas

This is revealed in the photograph in Maltin & Bann's book.

Props by Bob Saunders

This is revealed in the photograph in Maltin & Bann's book.

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.

Approved by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America

Certificate no. 738.

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

publicity and advertising - Fred Purner

property department - W. L. Stevens

film editor and sound department - Elmer Raguse

construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen

laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin

process department - Roy Seawright

still photographer - Clarence "Stax" Graves

musical director - Marvin Hatley

makeup department - Jack Casey

hairdressing - Peggy Zardo

transportation director - Bob Davis

school teacher - Fern Carter

possible uncredited involvement

writing - Hal Yates, Carl Harbaugh, James Parrott, Charlie Hall, Frank Butler, Hal Law, Frank Tashlin and Gordon Douglas may have been among the gag writers.

property department - Charles Oelze and Don Sandstrom were probably involved in this capacity.

titles - Louis McManus probably designed the main titles.

the kids:

George "Spanky" McFarland as "Spanky"

Lead role. Mr. Jones addresses him as "Mr. Spanky." He cleans his ears and battles with Alfalfa over the affections of the new girl in the neighborhood.

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as "Alfalfa"

Lead role. Marianne calls him "Mr. Alfalfa." He combs his hair and battles with Spanky.

Marianne Edwards as "Miss Jones"

Supporting role. The cutting continuity refers to her as "Marianne." She's the new girl in town and the daughter of the truant officer.

Scotty Beckett as "Scotty"

Supporting role. He's featured as an equal with Spanky and Alfalfa early in the film, but disappears before the halfway point.

Jerry Tucker as "Percy"

Small part. He shows up at the end of the film to escort Marianne out of the film.

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas

Small part. The nickname wasn't used in this film. He sits on the curb with the other boys. Photos reveal that he's the little girl with the parasol at the end of the film.

Alvin Buckelew

Small part. He's the only remaining kid with dialogue. The cutting continuity mistakenly identifies him as "Donald."

Donald Proffitt

Small part. He sits at the far right on the curb.

Harold Switzer

Small part. He sits at the far left on the curb.

Bobby "Spike" Lentz

Small part. He sits between Harold and Alvin on the curb. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Robert Lentz.

Dorian Johnston

The payroll ledgers reveal that he was present on one day of shooting. In the 1977 edition of their book, Maltin & Bann identify him as the blonde boy in the photo where the kids are sitting on the curb. In the 1992 edition, they corrected this error by identifying the boy as Robert Lentz. Nevertheless, the ledgers strongly suggest that this scene on the curb was reshot, probably to bring the dialogue in line with Scotty's newly-filmed opening segment. By this time, Johnston was no longer in the cast and ended up not being in the film. Lentz, however, worked on that same earlier date as Johnston, so Johnston was more likely among the pedestrians in that version of the scene.

the animals:

Pete the Pup IV

Small part. He's Spanky's dog, and is present in his bedroom, as well as on the sidewalk.

Leo

Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film.

the adults:

Dick Elliott as "Mr. Jones," the truant officer

Supporting role. The cutting continuity refers to him as "Jones." He moves into the neighborhood with his pretty daughter, and ends up with a face full of cactus.

Leota Lorraine as Spanky's mom

Small part. She lets Spanky know that it's Saturday and orders him to clean his ears.

Gertrude Sutton as Alfalfa's mom

Small part. She orders Alfalfa to comb his hair.

Bess Flowers as Scotty's mom

Small part. She orders Scotty to polish his shoes. She worked only on May 7th, after Scotty's scene was reworked.

James Burtis as the real estate agent

Bit part. The cutting continuity refers to him as "Agent." He talks to the Joneses as they move in.

Harry Bernard as "Mr. Riley," the cop

Bit part. The cutting continuity refers to him as "Riley." He tells the boys that the new neighbor is the truant officer.

Lillian Rich as "Mrs. Jones," Marianne's mom

Bit part. She's barely seen in the film, but the payroll ledger verifies her involvement.

Billy Bletcher and Blanche Payson as Scotty's parents

Small parts. These two appeared in footage that was cut from the finished film. A new version of Scotty's opening segment was later shot with Bess Flowers as his mother.

other adults

Small part and extras.

(1.) Early in the shooting, Hazel Langton did one day of work on this film, and made enough money to suggest that she was more than just a mere extra. Whatever she did, it must have wound up on the cutting room floor.

(2.) Six men and 2 women can be seen as pedestrians. Two of them are seen clearly enough to be identified, so I'm assuming that these are the two that Maltin & Bann refer to as the first and second pedestrians. Respectively, they are Lester Dorr and Viola Richard. The ledger lists Dorr but not Richard. Dorr worked only on the reshoot date of May 7th, and others who worked on this date were Patsy Green, Dorothy McNames and Bill Reid. Some of the pedestrians shown must have been filmed on the earlier shooting date of Apr. 4th. Extra people who worked on that date include Chet Brandenburg, Charlie Hall, Ham Kinsey, Tom Darby, Lucille McNames, Marion Montgomery and Alice Orchid.

the music:

"Good Old Days" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931.

(A14.) This is played over the opening titles and as we first see Spanky in bed. The last half-verse is played as Alfalfa goes through the hedge and the end title appears.

"The One I Love Best" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931. Also known as "All The World (To Me)." The middle part and uptempo last verse are played as Spanky realizes it's Saturday and happily gets out of bed. It's played in full with the first verse repeated as Spanky and Alfalfa first try to top one another.

"Nothing At All" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Aug. 13, 1931. Half of this piece appears as Spanky pretends to wash. Most of it is repeated as Spanky and Alfalfa start doing chin-ups.

"Dash And Dot" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted 1930. This is played twice as Scotty and Alfalfa have disagreements with their mothers.

"Little Dancing Girl" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931. Also known as "Dancing Girl" and "Dancing Girls." This is played as the boys sit on the curb and watch the truant officer move in to the house across the street. This is the version reproduced on the 1st Beau Hunks CD.

"Teeter-Totter" by Leroy Shield

The first half of this piece is played as the boys react to Marianne. The same portion is played again as Mr. Jones chases off Spanky and Alfalfa.

"She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain"

Originally a negro spiritual entitled "When The Chariot Comes." The retitled version was a popular Appalachian song in the 19th century, and also sung by railroad workers in the latter part of that century. In this film, it's sung by Alfalfa as he fixes his hair. Marvin Hatley received an arrangement credit for this version, which was copyrighted on Mar. 8, 1935.

"The Ice Man" by T. Marvin Hatley

Copyrighted Oct. 27, 1933. Part of this piece is played as the three boys spruce up. A fuller version is played as the boys are outside the Jones residence and Spanky honks the horn.

"In My Canoe" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931. This is played as Mr. Jones walks in and Alfalfa catches the vase. This is the version reproduced on the 1st Beau Hunks CD.

"The Moon And You" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931. Most of this piece is played and partially repeated as Percy puts the cactus under Spanky and Alfalfa.

other music

The only remaining music in this short is the impromptu little song that Spanky sings about Saturday.

miscellaneous:

Eight shooting dates went into the making of this film. Almost two weeks had passed since shooting finished for "Teacher's Beau" (no. 136). Initial shooting for "Sprucin' Up" started on Apr. 2nd and continued until Apr. 9th. There was no shooting on Apr. 5th, which was a Sunday. Almost a month later, retakes were shot on May 7th. After this, almost a week would pass before the Our Gang unit began filming "The Lucky Corner" (no. 138).

A memo of April 1, 1935, states that the title for this film would be "Good Night Ladies!" Maltin & Bann state that the film was previewed with this title.

A memo of April 4, 1935, describes the main title cards for "Good Night Ladies!"

A memo of April 19, 1935, signed by Terhune, states that the negatives and stills were shipped to Joe Rivkin that day. Rivkin was Roach's eastern representative.

At least one lobby card for this film (shown in the pressbook) reveals that Scotty's portion of the film with Bess Flowers was actually new footage. Originally, Billy Bletcher and Blanche Payson played his parents, and his scene had something to do with the breakfast table. Perhaps his mother was having trouble getting him to eat his mush, but I couldn't make out what was in the bowl. The payroll ledgers also reveal that Bletcher and Payson worked in the film, and that the production later resumed with Flowers.

Another piece of deleted footage was the part at the end of the film where Spanky catches up to the little girl with the parasol, only to find out that it's Buckwheat. This scene was still intact when the pressbook was prepared.

Reel one ends with the shot of the shoeprints on the chair.

The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B620.

See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.

© Robert Demoss.