The Lucky Corner

technical details:

Production G-31.

Release no. C-216.

Filmed around mid-spring 1935. Maltin & Bann state that the release date was one full year after completion, which seems to be only a month or two off.

Copyrighted February 19, 1936, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP6212. Renewed June 21, 1963, with registration no. R317581. This copyright is currently due to expire at the end of 2031.

Released March 14, 1936. It was the 143rd film in the series to be released.

All-talking two-reeler.

Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "The Lucky Corner".'

King World Productions episode no. 34b, 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: Ernest Depew, A. S. C.

This credit appears in the film.

Film Editor: Louis McManus

This credit appears in the film.

Sound: W. B. Delaplain

This credit appears in the film.

Assistant Director: Gordon Douglas

Revealed in the photo 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. 869.

studio personnel

general manager - Henry Ginsberg was replaced in Jan. 1936 by David Loew

assistant general manager - L. A. French until early 1936

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 - Bud "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 was probably involved in this capacity.

titles - Louis McManus probably designed the main titles.

the kids:

George "Spanky" McFarland as "Spanky" aka "Spank"

Featured role. He leads the parade and sets up a show to attract customers for the lemonade stand.

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas as "Buckwheat"

Featured role. He's given several tasks to perform throughout the film, providing comedy relief along the way.

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as "Alfalfa"

Featured role. He's given a fair amount of dialogue throughout the film, and sings a song with Harold.

Leonard Kibrick

Featured role. He and his father try to sabotage Gus's business.

Scotty Beckett as "Scott"

Supporting role. He runs the lemonade stand with Gus.

Gloria Brown as "Gloria"

Small part. She's the girl that does the tapdancing routine. She's listed as Gloria Mann in the 1977 edition, and in Maltin's earlier book, The Great Movie Shorts.

Harold Switzer as "Harold"

Small part. He's present in most of the scenes, but only noticeable during his singing routine with Alfalfa.

Merrill Strong

Small part. He shares the glass of lemonade in the first scene and honks the horn with his foot later on. Maltin & Bann list him as Merrell Strong.

Marianne Edwards

Small part. She shares the glass of lemonade in the first scene, and is part of the parade, but has no dialogue.

Alvin Buckelew

Small part. He plays the bass drum in the parade.

Donald Proffitt

Small part. He's pretty much entirely an ensemble player in this film.

Billy Minderhout

Small part. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Billy Winderlout. He's the boy in the sailor suit.

John Collum

Extra. He's seen in the crowd on the sidewalk during the parade scene.

other kids

Bit parts and extras.

(1.) Seven additional girls in the parade, which should basically correspond to the girls 'backstage' at the shoeshine stand. Listed among them by Maltin & Bann are Priscilla Lyon, who I'm not able to spot, and (presuming this is a girl) Snooky Valentine, who I'm not familiar with.

(2.) One additional boy along the parade route. Maltin & Bann list Tommy McFarland, but I'm not so sure this is him. There's also a girl in the crowd seen in one shot.

the animals:

Pete the Pup IV

Bit part. He's shown in the parade, but doesn't seem to be in any other part of the film.

Leo

Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film (but was cut from the Cabin Fever print).

the adults:

Gus Leonard as "Gus" aka "Grandpa"

Featured role. He runs the lemonade stand.

William Wagner as the proprietor

Supporting role. He pressures the cop into sending Gus and his lemonade stand away from his own business.

James C. Morton as the cop

Supporting role. He settles disputes, directs traffic and clears the way for the parade.

Joe Mathey as "Joe," Buckwheat's dad

Supporting role. He allows Gus to set up next to his shoeshine stand.

Charley Lloyd as the barber

Small part. He lends Spanky his electric razor. He's listed in Maltin & Bann's 1977 edition as Charley Young. This is interesting since the sign on the window says 'Young's Barber Shop.'

Bobby Dunn as one of the lemonade customers

Small part. Maltin & Bann list him as the 'poisoned' customer, but specifically, the cop accuses him of trying to poison him. I'm not familiar with this actor, so I'll take their word for it.

Joe Bordeaux as the painter

Bit part. He gets knocked down by the board that Buckwheat slides over. I'm not familiar with this actor, so I'll take Maltin & Bann's word for it.

Ernie Alexander as the first customer

Bit part. He turns down Leonard's lemonade in favor of Grandpa's.

Art Rowlands as the customer who screams

Bit part. According to Maltin & Bann. I still need to familiarize myself with this actor.

Fred Holmes as one of the crowd

Extra. He's standing right next to the lemonade stand, and Buckwheat slides through his legs.

Jack "Tiny" Lipson as one of the crowd

Extra. He's standing right next to Holmes.

Lester Dorr as one of the crowd

Extra. He drinks lemonade as Wagner summons the cop. Maltin & Bann state that he plays two parts, wearing different clothes. I think he might be shown to the left of Jack Lipson in the longshots.

other adults

Bit parts and extras.

(1.) The woman with Ernie Alexander.

(2.) There are dozens of additional pedestrians in this film. Maltin & Bann list several that I still need to familiarize myself with: Sam Lufkin, Jack Hill, Bunny Bronson and Toby Dolan.

the music:

"Good Old Days" by Leroy Shield

Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931.

(A15.) A new recording of this piece is played over the opening titles and as we first see the lemonade stand. The very end is repeated over the end title.

"Dixie (I Wish I Was In Dixie Land)" by Daniel Decatur Emmett

Published in 1859. Also known as "Dixie's Land." This is the song played during the parade. A Marvin Hatley arrangement of this song was copyrighted on May 7, 1936.

piece 138a

This is probably a contemporary hit, but I don't know the name of it. Gloria tapdances to it.

"Goin' To Town" by T. Marvin Hatley

Copyrighted Dec. 5, 1933. Written with lyrics by Eddie Dunn and Charley Chase. An instrumental version is played as Buckwheat gets a lemon, and then gets starch instead of sugar.

"Little Brown Jug"

Attributed to Septimus Winner in 1869. In this film, it's sung by Alfalfa and Harold Switzer. Steve Porter had a number three hit with this song in 1900. Marvin Hatley received arrangement credit for this version, which was copyrighted on Jan. 29, 1936.

"The Stars And Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa

Composed on Christmas Day, 1896. Published in 1897. This is the Official March of the United States of America. It was a number one hit for Sousa's Band in both 1897 and 1901. In this film, it's initially whistled for a few seconds by Leonard as he serves lemonade, and later played while Leonard and his father do their electric razor dance.

the locations:

Hal E. Roach Studios

It appears that the entire film was shot on the New York street set in the Hal Roach backlot.

miscellaneous:

Working titles for this film included "Trusting Lemons," "Lemonade Trust" and "Follow The Leader."

A memo of May 9, 1935, signed by William Terhune, states that the title of the film will be "Follow The Leader."

Memos of both May 15 and 16, 1935, state that the main titles for "Follow The Leader" were sent to New York via air mail.

A memo of June 5, 1935, states that publicity negatives and prints (nos. 1 to 18 inc.) for "Follow The Leader" were shipped to Joe Rivkin via parcel post on that day. Rivkin was Roach's eastern representative.

3 star Mfg. Co. in Elmira, NY produced the sugar and starch.

Wagner's business has a Baby Ruth ad on the wall.

availability:

The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Vol. 10 (VHS) from Cabin Fever and

The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Volume Two (4 LD set) from Cabin Fever

Released July 6, 1994. Also released as part of 12 VHS boxed set. This is a nearly complete print, but is missing the MGM lion. The picture quality is excellent. The total footage lasts 15:55. This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs. There are also two clips included in the opening advertisement of all the Cabin Fever VHS releases. The 1st lasts 0:07, and shows the parade. The 2nd lasts 0:02, and shows Buckwheat's teeth chattering. There's also a clip lasting 0:06 included in the opening montage of all the Cabin Fever releases, which shows the parade.

The Little Rascals Volume '10: Collector's Edition (VHS) from Hallmark Home Entertainment

Released Aug. 15, 2000. Also included as part of The Little Rascals Volumes 1-10: Collector's Edition (10 VHS set), released Aug. 15, 2000.

The Little Rascals Remastered & Unedited Vol. 9 & Vol. 10 (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 - The Complete Collection (8 DVD set) from Genius Products

Released late Oct. 2008. This is identical to the Cabin Fever version.

The Little Rascals On Parade (VHS) from NTA Home Entertainment

Released Apr. 1991. This is a home movie print from Blackhawk. The opening titles are remade, but the crew credits and the end title are original. The picture quality is very good. The original footage totals 15:48, but the original soundtrack lasts an additional 0:08.

The Little Rascals Book VII (VHS) from Blackhawk Video

This is the Blackhawk print.

The Little Rascals: Rushin' Ballet/Lucky Corner (VHS) from Republic Pictures Home Video

Released May 1991. This is a home movie print from Blackhawk.

Rascal Dazzle (VHS/LD) from Embassy Home Entertainment

Original film released 1981. Video released 1984. A clip lasting 1:08 is included, showing the parade, with narration and sound effects added. Another clip lasting 0:06 is included, showing Buckwheat sliding on the block of ice, with music and sound effects added.

Jackie Remembers Our Gang - The Silent Era (VHS/DVD) from Jackie Taylor

A clip lasting 0:03 is included, showing Buckwheat with chattering teeth, with narration added.

© Robert Demoss.