The Buccaneers

technical details:

Production A-24.

Filmed September 28 to October 28, 1923. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Copyrighted February 20, 1924, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU19931. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Released March 9, 1924. It was the 23rd film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "The Buccaneers".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1024, "The Pirates," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17329.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Probably credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Mark Goldaine and Robert F. McGowan

Both the opening title and the daily datebooks list Goldaine only. Maltin & Bann list McGowan and Goldaine. In the 1977 edition of their book, they identified Goldaine as "Mark Haldane."

Assistant Director: Clarence Morehouse

This credit derives from Morehouse's payroll status as the Our Gang assistant director during this period.

Photographed by Harry W. Gerstad

This credit appears in the film.

Edited by T. J. Crizer

This credit appears in the film. The T stands for Thomas.

Titles by A. H. Giebler and H. M. Walker

The film credits Giebler. Maltin & Bann credit Walker.

Props by Charles Oelze, E. P. Norris, Don Sandstrom and Dick Gilbert

This credit derives from their payroll status as Our Gang prop men during this period. Gilbert's name is moved to the actors section of the payroll summaries after the week ending Sep. 29th. Sandstrom's name begins to appear starting the week ending Oct. 20th. Norris's name was removed prior to the Oct. 28th shooting date.

Story by Hal E. Roach

This credit doesn't appear in the film. Mark Goldaine was listed in the payroll summaries as an Our Gang writer during this period.

Boatmen: William Mathews and J. Masterson

As indicated in the studio payroll summaries.

Watchman: Dan Treet

As indicated in the studio payroll summaries.

Teacher: Fern Carter

Released by Pathé Exchange, Inc.

Passed by the National Board of Review

Probably indicated in the film.

studio personnel

general manager - Warren Doane

assistant general manager - L. A. French

secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach

construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen

still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves

transportation director - Bob Davis

possible uncredited involvement

writing - Robert F. McGowan, Thomas J. Crizer, James Parrott and Leo McCarey may have been among the gag writers.

the kids:

Mickey Daniels as "Mickey"

Featured role. Introduced as "Capt. Mickey." He tries to get Mary into the crew, but doesn't have much luck.

Mary Kornman as "Mary"

Featured role. She's left out of the fun because she's a woman. But she's with the boys when they drift off in Capt. Whelan's boat.

Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as "Ernie"

Featured role. Maltin & Bann indicate that the nickname was used, but it wasn't. He's the new kid in the gang, getting initiated, then becoming engineer.

Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"

Featured role. He appears throughout the short, providing comic moments along the way.

Joe Cobb as "Joe"

Featured role. He wears an eyepatch in this one. His big scene is walking home carrying fish.

Jackie Condon as "Jack"

Supporting role. He's given relatively little to do, even though he's in most of the scenes.

Andy Samuel as "Andy"

Supporting role. He's the first mate. He appears in most of the scenes, and gets to do a little stunt work.

other kids

Bit part. The only remaining kid is the boy that lets loose the watermelons from the back of the truck.

the animals:

Bill the Bulldog

Supporting role. Maltin & Bann misidentify the dog as Pal, but he hadn't made his series debut yet. He's the one responsible for the gang going adrift.

parrot 008

Small part. Seems to belong to Capt. Whelan. Appears at the beginning and again at the very end. Presumably the same parrot seen in "The Cobbler" (no. 8).

other animals

Bit parts.

(1.) A pelican that gets captured by Ernie and Farina.

(2.) A goat which, for some reason, is briefly seen on board the naval ship.

(3.) There must be fifteen or more cats, including two kittens, following Joe as he walks along dropping fish.

the adults:

Earl Mohan as the naval officer

Supporting role. Also shown as Charley Chase's nemesis in "The Fraidy Cat." He decides to teach the kids a lesson.

Chris Lynton as "Capt. Whelan"

Supporting role. He's a kindly old sailor who lets Mary use his boat.

Dick Gilbert as the police officer

Small part. He chases the kids around after the watermelon incident.

Florence Hoskins as Ernie's mother

Bit part. She's seen briefly as Ernie and Farina ride away on the 'bicycle.' Looks like her anyway.

"Tonnage" Martin Wolfkeil as the fat sailor

Bit part. I think it's him, anyway. Looks like him.

other adults

Small parts, bit parts and extras.

(1.) Joe's mom, who sends him off to buy fish.

(2.) The truck driver with the watermelons.

(3.) The other cop besides Gilbert who gives chase.

(4.) Perhaps a hundred sailors shown on board the ship, with only a small handful appearing to be actors.

(5.) Other parents besides Joe's appear, including a black man that might be Ernie Morrison, Sr. There are probably about six of them.

(6.) Two men working at the fish market.

(7.) A dock worker shown in the background.

the music (sort of):

"Yes, We Have No Bananas" by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn

Written in 1923. This is what the parrot sings at the beginning of the film.

the locations:

U. S. S. California

This is the ship that the gang of pirates visits.

San Pedro Harbor

This is somewhat of a guess. The 1923 datebook mentions 'Pedro' in their October 7th entry.

miscellaneous:

25 shooting dates went into the making of this film. A week after shooting ended for "Big Business" (no. 23), the 'start' date for "The Buccaneers" arrived on Friday, September 28th. Mark Goldaine was credited with directing on every shooting date, but production was divided on October 2nd between this film and "Sunday Calm" (no. 19), which was directed by Clarence Morehouse on that date. No shooting took place on Sep. 30th, Oct. 14th or Oct. 21st, which were all Sundays. However, shooting did take place on Sunday, October 7th. The 'finish' date for "The Buccaneers" was October 24th, after which Robert McGowan immediately began directing "Seein' Things" (no. 25). Goldaine, however, directed retakes for "The Buccaneers" on Sunday, October 28th.

A clip of this film was shown in an episode of Take A Good Look on October 22, 1959, as part of an Our Gang reunion of sorts.

The 1923 studio datebook gives information regarding what the weather was like on the various shooting dates. The weather was consistently described as 'clear,' except on Oct. 7th, when it was described as 'clear AM.' No description was given for the three non-shooting Sundays, or for Oct. 12th.

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

There were 54 copies of this film printed for its initial release.

availability:

A Festival Of Silent Comedy Volume Three (DVD) from Reelclassicdvd.com

This is a home movie print from Manbeck Pictures Corporation. The opening titles and inter-titles are all original, but the closing title is from Manbeck. The picture quality is generally good, but a bit dark. There are a few seconds of footage missing from the scene where Joe delivers the fish to his mother. The footage totals 21:15, with 21:03 of it original.

The Our Gang Collection - Volume 3 (DVD) from Reelclassicdvd.com

Released July 2007.

Our Gang's Greatest Hits (VHS) from Video Dimensions

Released in 1981. This is a virtually complete print with original titles and crew credits. The footage totals 16:47.

Our Gang Volume #2 (VHS) from Grapevine Video and also from The Picture Palace

This is a home movie print by Exclusive Movie Studios, Inc., in Chicago, entitled "The Buccaneers," and includes footage missing from the Video Yesteryear copy. It's also missing some footage of its own. The print totals 16:57, with 16:51 of it original footage. Roughly three quarters of the original film is included. This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs.

That Old "Our Gang" Of Mine (VHS) from Video Yesteryear

Released 1992. This is also a home movie print by Exclusive Movie Studios, Inc., in Chicago, but is entitled "Pirates." There's a Pathé ending title showing the live-action rooster, but it might have been spliced on. That's followed by a final card by Exclusive. This print includes footage missing from the Grapevine copy, but is missing other parts. The print totals 20:03, with 19:56 of it original footage. Since this version is projected at a slower speed, this still only represents roughly two-thirds of the original film.

Our Gang Silent Comedies Volume 12 (VHS) from Video Classics

This copy is essentially the same as Grapevine's.

Our Gang Silent Comedies (Volume 1) (VHS) from Nostalgia Family Video

This copy is essentially the same as Grapevine's, but with a different soundtrack. The print totals 17:00, with 16:55 of it original footage.

The Little Rascals Collection (5 DVD set) from Passport Video

Released July 13, 2004. This is the TV print from Those Lovable Scallawags With Their Gangs. The opening title has been removed, but the box indicates that it's "The Pirates." The title of the DVD set is superimposed in the lower right hand corner of the screen. The original footage totals 12:18.

The Pirates Of The Silver Screen Collection (5 DVD set) from Passport Video

Released May 23, 2006.

Our Gang Silent Comedies Vol. 6 (VHS) from HenryButch

This is a copy of the Video Dimensions release, with fairly poor picture quality.

The Original Comedy Classics

Released 1999. Includes other stars besides Our Gang.

Rascals Silents Vol. 4 (VHS/DVD) from A-1 Video

This is a home movie print from Exclusive Movie Studios entitled "Watermelon Feast," which derives from the middle part of this film. However, a minute and 23 seconds into it, it switches to the beginning portion of the film, presumably deriving footage from a different home movie fragment. The picture quality is fair and original inter-titles are used. The total footage is 3:03, with 2:55 of it original.

Our Gang Comedy Festival (VHS/DVD) from GoodTimes Home Video

Copyrighted in 1986 by Movietime Inc. Released on VHS in 1987, it was made available on DVD in 2000. A clip lasting 2:23 is included, deriving from the TV print. The VHS is also part of a collection called Our Gang Collector Series 5 Pack in 2002. The DVD was also part of a collection called Our Gang Collector Series 4 Pack in 2001, which was superseded by Our Gang Collector Series 5 Pack in Mar. 2004. It was also included as part of the Our Gang Double Feature (DVD) released June 25, 2002, The Best Of Our Gang Volume 2 (DVD&41; released June 1, 2004, and The TV Laugh Pack DVD (released Dec. 6, 2005).

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

© Robert Demoss.