The Cobbler

film no. 8

availability:

This film has not been officially released on VHS or DVD. There is a Video Yesteryear VHS entitled The Return Of Our Gang which includes a Mischief Makers episode called "Summer Daze." The video company mistakenly claimed this to be "The Cobbler," but it's actually a Buster Brown short with several plot and gag elements taken from two Our Gang films, "The Cobbler" and "The Champeen!" (no. 9). It appears to be one of the later Buster Brown shorts, probably from around 1927.

I've been able to view most of this film in the 16mm format, as well as the Mischief Makers print.

technical details:

Production A-8.

According to the 1922 studio datebook, filming took place from August 16 to September 9, 1922, on September 18 and 19, 1922, and from September 28 to 30, 1922. However, some of these dates were almost certainly shooting dates for "The Champeen!" (no. 9). See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Released February 18, 1923. It was the 8th film in the series to be released.

Copyrighted February 26, 1923, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU18733. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Silent two-reeler.

Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "The Cobbler".' This is the way it reads on the lobby poster, but the film itself may have read '"Our Gang" Comedy' or '"Our Gang" Series.'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1042, "The Lucky Shoemaker," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17347. Footage also went into episode no. 1080, "Play Ball!!" copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP18381, and recopyrighted May 16, 1961, with registration number LP19565.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach: Probably credited in the film as a presenter.
Directed by Tom McNamara: This credit probably appears in the film.
Photographed by Len Powers: This credit is based on Powers' payroll status as the Our Gang cameraman during this period.
Titles by H. M. Walker: This credit probably appears in the film.
Story by Hal E. Roach: This credit probably doesn't appear in the film.
Released by Pathé Exchange, Inc.
Passed by the National Board of Review: Probably indicated in the film.
studio personnel
possible uncredited involvement

the kids:

Allen "Farina" Hoskins: Featured role. The nickname isn't specified in any of the footage that I've viewed. In the early part of the film, he eats tacks, and then at the end he invades a watermelon patch.
Jackie Condon: Featured role. He succeeds in impressing Mary by swallowing nails, much to the dismay of Mickey and Jack. Later, he unties the dog to go after the tramp.
Mickey Daniels: Featured role. His rivalry with Jack Davis is explored as they compete for Mary's attention. Later, he gets oil all over his face while under the car and stumbles upon the tramp's hideout.
Jack Davis: Featured role. He battles with Mickey to gain Mary's favor and later is the second to enter the tramp's hideout.
Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison: Featured role. Maltin & Bann indicate that the "Sunshine Sammy" moniker was used in this film. In the first half, he mostly does ensemble acting, but also stops Farina from munching on any more tacks. Later, he tries to blow up a tire but pops it.
Mary Kornman: Supporting role. She appears early in the film to have a shoe repaired and flirt with the boys. H. M. Walker introduces her as "Little Miss Riches."

the animals:

dog 001: Featured role. Maltin & Bann list Pete the Pup, but this is an error. In this film, dog 001 picks a fight with a cat and ends up losing. As a result, he suffers a black eye, which is illustrated by a ring drawn around his eye. He belongs to Mickey, who's mortified by these developments. Later he goes after the tramp.
cat 005: Supporting role. I'm not really sure, but this looks like Jackie's cat in "A Quiet Street" (no. 5). A pretty ferocious cat, since he's able to polish off Mickey's dog.
parrot 008: Small part. He belongs to Mr. Tuttle, and alerts the dog to the presence of the cat. Presumably the same parrot that appeared in later films.
other animals: Small part and bit parts.
(1.) The hog that knocks over the tramp.
(2.) Six piglets that follow the tramp as he crawls along the ground.
(3.) Several chickens, most notably the one that lays the eggs in Dandy Dick's hideout. There are also seven or eight others that pop up as Mickey and Jack start climbing on the haystack. Earlier, there are about twenty chickens in the road. Mr. Tuttle later finds one of them on the front of his car.

the adults:

Richard Daniels as "Mr. Tuttle," the cobbler: Featured role. He seems to appear only during the first half of the film. Guiol refers to him as "Professor."
Dick Gilbert as "Dandy Dick," the tramp: Supporting role. He appears in the second half of the film, and suffers the wrath of the gang's dog. There's a box in his hideout that says 'Dandy Dick No. 1,' so I'm not sure that this is his name. In the inter-titles, he's introduced as 'the tramp.'
Katherine Grant as Mary's nursemaid: Supporting role. She appears only in the early part of the film, bringing Mary into the shoe shop to have her shoe repaired.
Charley Young as the postman: Small part. He appears briefly delivering news of Mr. Tuttle's back pension.
Clara Guiol as the shoe repair customer: Small part. She appears briefly near the beginning of the film as a flapper. The boys make fun of her behind her back.
other adults: Bit parts and extras.
(1.) The chauffeur, who's seen twice, but only briefly.
(2.) The driver of the truck that gets pulled backwards by Mr. Tuttle's car.
(3.) At least two pedestrians seen as the car drives through the streets.
(4.) The woman in the portrait in Dandy Dick's haystack hideout.

miscellaneous:

According to the 1922 studio datebook, 26 shooting dates went into the making of this film. However, the datebook makes no mention of production A-9 ("The Champeen!"), nor are there any blank dates between productions, aside from Sundays and holidays, which could accommodate the shooting of A-9. Therefore, it's more than likely that many of the late August and early September dates were actually for "The Champeen!" with production number A-8 pencilled in by mistake. Some of the retakes for A-8 may have also actually been for A-9. In any event, shooting commenced on Aug. 16th, and continued until Sep. 9th on these two productions. No shooting took place on Aug. 20th, Aug. 27th, Sep. 3rd, or Sep. 10th, which were all Sundays, nor on Sep. 4th, which was Labor Day. The following week, from Sep. 11th to 16th, was devoted to added scenes for "The Big Show" (no. 7). No shooting took place on Sep. 17th, which was a Sunday. Added scenes took place for "The Cobbler" on Sep. 18th and 19th, though the datebook doesn't specify 'added scenes' for the 19th. Work then returned to "The Big Show" from Sep. 20th until Sep. 28th. On this last date, production was divided between "The Big Show" and "The Cobbler." Retakes were then shot for "The Cobbler" on Sep. 29th and 30th. In fact, for the 29th, the datebook states that the unit was 'retaking retakes.' No shooting took place on Oct. 1st, which was a Sunday. It's interesting to note that shooting began the day after the last day of initial shooting for "The Big Show," and that shooting for "Boys To Board" (no. 10) started the Monday after the last Saturday date for "The Cobbler." The Our Gang unit took very little time off during 1922.

The datebook also reveals what the weather was like during the making of these films. During the initial August and September dates, the weather is usually described as 'bright.' Specifically, though, it's described as 'bright & very hot' on Aug. 26th and 27th, 'bright & hot' on the 28th, and 'bright & somewhat cooler' on the 29th. It's described as 'medium' on Sep. 7th, and 'medium bright' on the 8th. When filming resumes in mid-September, the weather is described as 'bright & hot' on the 18th and 'bright - morning foggy - cooler' on the 19th. For the late September dates, it's described as 'bright' (including on Sunday, Oct. 1st), with the exception of Sep. 28th, when it was 'medium bright morning dark.'

This film was the second of six in the second 'series' of Our Gang films.

There were 38 copies of this film printed for its initial release.

Copyright Jan. 10, 2005, by Robert Demoss.
2005 updates: 2/27, 4/25, 6/7, 9/6.
2006 updates: 1/9, 6/12.
2007 updates: 4/1, 10/22, 11/16.
2008 updates: 1/20, 2/21, 3/31, 4/26, 4/29.

Thanks to Rob Stone, Joe Moore and James Gipson for assistance on this page.