Official Officers

film no. 40

availability:

Our Gang Volume #2 (VHS) from Grapevine Video and also from The Picture Palace: This copy is by Kodak Cinegraph. The inter-titles are remade, but appear to be worded the same as the originals. The print totals 20:34, with about 17:35 of it original footage. Ignoring the inter-titles, most of the original film is included. This version has appeared on numerous bootlegs.
Our Gang Comedies present Hal Roach's Rascals 2 Pack (2 VHS set) from Brentwood Video: Released Nov. 2000. Also available as part of Our Gang Comedies presents Hal Roach's Rascals 10 Pack (10 VHS set). This is basically identical to Grapevine's copy. This version is probably the one that appears on bootlegs containing the Roach talkies.
Hal Roach's Rascals (DVD) from Brentwood Video: This is also available in a 2 DVD set with another same-named DVD. Something went wrong with the DVD copying, as there are several instances of small bits of footage repeated.
Hal Roach's Rascals 3-Tape Set (3 VHS set) and
Hal Roach's Rascals (DVD) from Brentwood Video: VHS released Feb. 2000. The DVD is one of two with this name, the other containing the entire film. This one, and the VHS, include a documentary entitled Hollywood Hall Of Fame, with 20 clips from this film. The 1st lasts 0:03, and shows the gang playing ball. The 2nd lasts 0:03, and shows Joe eating a banana. The 3rd lasts 0:01, and shows the boys laughing. The 4th lasts 0:02, and shows Mickey being frustrated. The 5th lasts 0:04, and shows the gang being led off by the cops. The 6th lasts 0:04, and shows the gang playing ball in the street. The 7th lasts 0:12, and shows the gang battling with another gang. The 8th lasts 0:09, and shows the gang meeting with the nice cop. The 9th lasts 0:14, and shows the gang harassing the bad guy. The 10th lasts 0:05, and shows the nice cop inspecting the kiddie cops. The 11th lasts 0:03, and shows the gang marching back and forth. The 12th lasts 0:07, and shows the cop ordering the kids to clear the street. The 13th lasts 0:32, and shows Jannie in the jail cell. The 14th lasts 0:03, and shows the good cop greeting the uniformed kids. The 15th lasts 0:03, and shows the bad cop chasing down the kids. The 16th lasts 0:06, and shows Farina turning on the saw. The 17th lasts 0ᚪ, and shows Joe in the baby carriage. The 18th lasts 0:03, and shows the fights between the two gangs. The 19th lasts 0:03, and shows the gang playing in the alley. The 20th lasts 0&358;06, and shows Farina getting run over.
Our Gang Silent Comedies Volume 12 (VHS) from Video Classics: This copy is essentially the same as Grapevine's, except that my copy cuts off a little past the halfway point.
Our Gang Silent Comedies Vol. 1 (VHS) from HenryButch: This is the same version as the one released by Grapevine.
The Original Comedy Classics: Released 1999. This collection also contains films featuring other stars.
TV Time Comedy 100 TV Episodes (10 DVD set) from TV Time: This collection also contains films featuring other stars.

technical details:

Production A-40.

Filmed February 16 to 27, 1925.

Copyrighted May 18, 1925, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU21471. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain.

Premiered June 10, 1925, in New York City.

Released June 28, 1925. It was the 40th film in the series to be released.

Silent two-reeler.

Opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Official Officers".'

Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1008, "Little Officers," copyrighted Sep. 1, 1960, with registration number LP17313. 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 Robert F. McGowan: This credit probably appears in the film, but without his middle initial.
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: As indicated in the film.
studio personnel
possible uncredited involvement

the kids:

the gang
Mickey Daniels: Featured role. As usual, he's the leader of the gang and does most of the talking.
Joe Cobb as "Officer Joe": Featured role. He gets quite a bit of footage mooching bananas off of Tony.
Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Officer Farina": Featured role. He gets to patrol the "Powder Puff" district, and is also instrumental in catching McManus at the end of the film.
Mary Kornman: Supporting role. She plays baseball with the boys at the beginning of the film, and then convinces them that Mac is a good guy.
Johnny Downs: Supporting role. He's seen throughout the film, but does mostly ensemble work, except for his spooning scene with Peggy.
Jackie Condon: Supporting role. He does mostly ensemble acting in this film. He's the motorcycle cop that catches speeders.
other gang members: Supporting role. The only remaining gang member is the black boy, who mostly stands around, but later gets to drive the patrol wagon.
the Man-eating Tiger-cubs of Wildcat Alley
boy 002b: Small part. At least I think it's him getting hit with a tomato thrown by Mickey.
boy 003: Small part. No closeups, but there's no doubt that it's him.
other rival gang members: Small parts. Also among this group are the boy getting pelted by Johnny, and the tallest boy, but he's too hard to identify.
other featured kids
Jackie "Husky" Hanes: Supporting role. No nickname given in the film, but studio publicity identified him as "Husky Hanes." He does a lot of crying, until Mac finally does enough entertaining to get him to stop.
Jannie Hoskins: Supporting role. Farina arrests her, but can't get her to stay behind bars.
Peggy Ahern: Small part. Maltin & Bann list her as Peggy Ahearn. She gets arrested for spooning.
boy 035: Bit part. Or maybe it's not him, but it looks like "Mort" from "Dog Days" (no. 36) as the baby in this film.
other kids: Bit parts and extras.
(1.) The boy who gets arrested for speeding.
(2.) The four boy standing with their back to the camera as the gang is standing next to their patrol wagon talking with Officer Mac. It might be that these four appear elsewhere in the film.

the animals:

Pal: Supporting role. He and the other dog have some good footage chasing down the bad guy.
dog 036: Supporting role. This appears to be Jackie's dog from "Dog Days" (no. 36). He and Pal are strongly featured at the end of the film.
donkey 040: Supporting role. Presumably the donkey later seen in "Boys Will Be Joys" (no. 42) pulling the patrol wagon.

the adults:

Jack Gavin as "Hard-Broiled McManus": Featured role. Maltin & Bann list him as "Hard-Boiled McManus." Since the inter-titles in this print are not original, they might be right about it. He's basically the starring adult in the film, and the bad guy.
Charley Young as "Tony," the fruit vendor, aka "Antonio Campanaro": Supporting role. He's given a fair amount of footage running the fruit stand. Both McManus and Joe take advantage of him.
Dick Gilbert as the later traffic cop: Bit part. He's seen briefly letting the gang's wagon through.
George Rowe as the cross-eyed motorist: Bit part. He's seen briefly getting mad at the gang for blocking traffic.
James Finlayson as another angry motorist: Bit part. He's also angry at the blocked traffic.
man 040 as the shop owner: Bit part. The gang breaks his window.
Chet Brandenberg as the construction worker: Bit part. I assume Maltin & Bann mean the guy on the roof, who I believe does look like him.
other adults: Featured role, supporting role, bit parts and extras.
(1.) "Mac," referred to by Maltin & Bann as "Officer Mac." He immediately endears himself to the gang.
(2.) "Inspector Malone," who replaces McManus with Mac.
(3.) The mother of the baby that Joe takes the carriage from.
(4.) The blind beggar that gets harassed by McManus.
(5.) The old man next to the blind beggar.
(6.) The motorist who almost runs over Farina.
(7.) The woman motorist who gets angry at the blocked traffic.
(8.) Tony's wife.
(9.) At least seven or eight black men in the "Powder Puff" neighborhood.
(10.) Two women coming out of the shop with the broken window.
(11.) Scores of other adults shown in the background of several scenes.

the locations:

Hal Roach backlot: This is where most of the outdoor scenes were shot.
Adams Hotel: The alley next to this hotel is Wildcat Alley in the film.
New York: This is just a guess, but I wonder if the very first shot, showing the bustling city, is left over from the New York footage for "The Big Town" (no. 34).
Kleen Knickrehm House Mover: The fence that McManus jumps over says this. This business was located at 3319 South Central Avenue, but the fence may have simply been an advertisement.

miscellaneous:

The character played by Charley Young is named after Tony Campanaro, the man who provided most of the animals in the Roach shorts.

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

Copyright Feb. 11, 2005, by Robert Demoss.
2005 updates: 2/27, 4/14, 4/18, 4/25, 6/17, 8/30, 12/15, 12/19.
2006 updates: 1/9, 2/11, 4/3, 5/16, 6/12, 10/25.
2007 updates: 2/27, 4/1, 6/15, 10/17, 10/20, 10/22, 11/5, 11/25.
2008 updates: 2/21, 3/31.

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