Seein' Things

technical details:

Production A-25.

Filmed October 25 to November 7, December 19, 1923, and January 7, 1924. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.

Released April 6, 1924. It was the 24th film in the series to be released.

Copyrighted May 12, 1924, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU20191. 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 "Seein' Things".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1018, "A Crazy Dream," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17323.

the crew:

Produced by Hal Roach

Probably credited in the film as a presenter.

Directed by Robert F. McGowan

This credit probably appears in the film, but without his middle initial.

Assistant Director: Clarence Morehouse

This credit derives from Morehouse's payroll status as the Our Gang assistant director until the week ending Dec. 15th.

Photographed by Harry W. Gerstad and Blake Wagner

Gerstad probably receives sole credit in the film. Maltin & Bann switch his middle initial with a V. The payroll summaries indicate that he was not present for the retakes. Wagner's credit derives from his status as the Our Gang cameraman during the time of the December retakes.

Edited by Thomas J. Crizer

This credit probably appears in the film as 'T. J. Crizer.'

Titles by H. M. Walker

This credit probably appears in the film.

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

This credit derives from their payroll status as Our Gang prop men during this period. Norris's name was removed from the payroll summaries after the week ending Oct. 27th. Sandstrom's name was removed after the week ending Jan. 5th.

Story by Hal E. Roach

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

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 and Leo McCarey may have been among the gag writers.

the kids:

Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"

Lead role. He's referred to as "her" in the inter-titles, but then he flirts with a girl in one scene, so his gender was left very much in the air during this period. This is the first starring vehicle for Farina, as the rest of the gang definitely take a back seat.

Dorothy Morrison

Supporting role. Maltin & Bann list Florence Morrison, who either appears in a scene not included in my print, or is listed in error. She appears only in dream sequence, but makes a notable appearance.

Jackie Condon

Supporting role. He does mostly ensemble acting, but gets a small highlight as he walks out on the plank to try to catch Farina.

Mickey Daniels as "Mickey"

Supporting role. Like most of the others, he appears frequently in the short, but does only ensemble acting.

Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison

Supporting role. Maltin & Bann don't give him a nickname in the cast listing, but they call him "Sunshine Sammy" in the text portion. Ernie doubles for Farina in some of the human fly shots, but otherwise does nothing too special.

Joe Cobb

Supporting role. He, too, does mostly ensemble acting in this short.

Andy Samuel

Supporting role. He's one of the main gang, but isn't given anything specific to do.

Mary Kornman as "Mary"

Small part. She appears at the gang's barbecue, but doesn't join in chasing Farina around.

other kids

Bit part. The only remaining kid is the baby shown briefly outside of his or her carriage.

the animals:

No animals appear in the available print, nor in a print owned by Robin Cook of C. W. Films which is virtually complete, making this film very unique among the silents.

the adults:

Helen Gilmore as the baby's mother

Bit part. Not listed by Maltin & Bann. She appears briefly to discover the gang pummeling Farina while he's in the baby carriage.

Joseph Morrison as the dancer in top hat and tails

Bit part. According to Maltin & Bann. He doesn't appear in this print.

Silas D. Wilcox as the police officer

Bit part. He doesn't appear in this print, but he's in the upcoming version from C. W. Films.

Abraham Lincoln

His portrait is on the wall of Farina's home.

other adults

Small parts, bit parts and extras.

(1.) Farina's mother, who puts him to bed when she sees his swollen belly.

(2.) The driver of the truck that loses its food. The sign on the truck reads "The Elite."

(3.) Two construction workers preparing the dynamite, plus one more blowing it up.

(4.) Somebody in a row boat.

(5.) Many pedestrians on the sidewalk below.

the locations:

Motor Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles

The location of the barbecue was off of the east side of Motor Avenue just north of Featherstone Avenue. Seen in the distance in one of the shots is the house at the southwest corner of Motor and Irene. The house with the baby carriage was at 3359 Motor, and is the same one later used in "The Old Wallop" (no. 68). Seen next to it is the Palms Hardware Co. at 3351 Motor. These two buildings are also in the background as Dorothy vanishes into thin air. As the truck is being loaded with food, we see some of the businesses just north of this spot. While Farina is wearing his top hat, he walks right by the former Palms Chamber of Commerce building on the east side of the 3300 block of Motor. In the film, this building is currently being sold by Geo. F. McCreary, and would soon become home to the Micholithic company. When he sees Dorothy vanish the first time, she's actually on the right side of the 3400 block. In another shot, we see Farina passing the Palms Press on the west side of the 3300 block.

Motor Avenue and Woodbine Street

Farina receives his unexpected feast on Woodbine Street, just east of the intersection with Motor. Behind him is the Masonic Hall at 3402 Motor. As the truck drives by, we can also see the People's Water Co. on the northeast corner at 3392 Motor. When Farina first meets up with Dorothy, they're on Woodbine just west of Motor. The camera is pointing north and shows the addresses at 3359 and 3351 Motor listed above. As Farina reacts to Dorothy's disappearing act, he's still on Woodbine, even though Dorothy is on Motor. In another shot on this part of Woodbine, we get another glimpse of the People's Water Co.

National Boulevard and Vinton Avenue

As the boys are watching Farina scale the tall building, they're standing in front of the large house at the corner of these two streets.

miniature sets

These were currently being used for The Dippy Doo Dads series at the Roach studio.

The Sun Drug Co.

This is shown as the camera looks down at the sidewalk from the top of the building. This building is also shown in the Harold Lloyd film "Girl Shy." Judging by the backgrounds, it's clear that the side of the building being scaled by Farina (and Ernie) is a facade built on the roof of the same building with the flagpole. The facade would have been to the left of the pole, just out of camera range.

miscellaneous:

14 shooting dates went into the making of this film, with Robert McGowan directing on each date. One day after principle shooting ended for "The Buccaneers" (no. 24), the 'start' date for "Seein' Things" arrived on Oct. 25th. Shooting continued until the 'finish' date of Nov. 7th. No shooting took place on Nov. 4th, which was a Sunday, though the Our Gang unit spent Sunday, Oct. 28th, doing retakes for "The Buccaneers" under the direction of Mark Goldaine. Immediately following the 'finish' date for "Seein' Things," Goldaine began work on "Commencement Day" (no. 26), which continued until early December, when he began work on "It's A Bear" (no. 27). Shooting for this latter film took a day off on Dec. 19th while McGowan did retakes for "Seein' Things" (no. 25). After this, work continued on "It's A Bear" until Goldaine's departure from the studio on Jan. 5th. On Monday, Jan. 7th, McGowan alternated between three films, "Commencement Day," "It's A Bear" and "Seein' Things," this last one finally being finished. After this, McGowan spent the rest of the week finishing the other two films.

The kids are holding the Dugans Alley Annule Barbercooe at the start of this film, repeating a place name from "No Noise" (no. 20).

The 1923 and 1924 studio datebooks reveal what the weather was like on the various shooting dates. It was described as 'clear' on each shooting date except October 31st, when it was described as 'cloudy AM - rain PM.' Unusually for this period, even the Sundays were noted.

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

There were 40 copies of this film printed for its initial release.

availability:

Our Gang Silent Comedies Volume 3 (VHS) from Video Classics and

Our Gang Comedies III (VHS) from The Picture Palace

This copy has a generic opening title card. The inter-titles have all been removed. Perhaps it derives from a TV print from the Mischief Makers series. The print totals 15:15, with 14:57 of it original footage. Roughly three quarters of the original film is included.

special note

I was also able to view a home movie print containing much of the first reel, with some of the original inter-titles.

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

© Robert Demoss.