technical details:
Production K-5.
Filmed October 1 to 19, 1925. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Copyrighted January 23, 1926, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU22293. Since the copyright was not
renewed, this film is now in the public domain.
Released February 14, 1926. It was the 47th film in the series to be released.
Silent two-reeler.
Probable opening title: '"Our Gang" Comedies - Hal Roach presents His Rascals in "Buried
Treasure".'
Released into TV syndication as Mischief Makers episode no. 1002, "Treasure Hunt," copyrighted Sep. 1,
1960, with registration number LP17307.
the crew:
- Produced by Hal Roach
- Probably credited in the film as a presenter.
- Supervised by F. Richard Jones
- Credited in the film as supervising director.
- Directed by Robert F. McGowan
- This credit appears in the film, but without his middle initial.
- Assistant Director: Robert A. McGowan
- Later credited as Anthony Mack. This credit derives from his payroll status as an Our Gang assistant
director during this period.
- Photographed by Art Lloyd
- This credit appears in the film.
- Edited by Richard Currier
- This credit appears in the film.
- Titles by H. M. Walker
- This credit appears in the film.
- Props by Charles Oelze, Ernest Tucker and
Don Sandstrom
- This credit derives from their payroll status as Our Gang prop men during this period. Sandstrom's
name reappears in the payroll summaries the week ending Oct. 10th.
- Story by Hal E. Roach
- This credit doesn't appear in the film.
- Animal trainer: Tony Campanaro
- He was Pal's trainer.
- 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
- laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
- still photographer - Bud "Stax" Graves
- transportation director - Bob Davis
- possible uncredited involvement
- writing - Robert F. McGowan, Carl
Harbaugh, Hal Yates, Frank Terry and James
Parrott may have been among the gag writers.
the kids:
- Allen "Farina" Hoskins as "Farina"
- Featured role. He gets quite a bit of footage frolicking with the chimp. He's described as an
"able bodied seaman," implying that he's male.
- Johnny Downs as "Johnnie"
- Featured role. He's the rich kid that joins the gang on their treasure hunt.
- Jay R. Smith as "Specks"
- Supporting role. Or more specifically, 'Admiral "Specks".' He's given some footage fishing with Pal.
- Mickey Daniels
- Supporting role. He's the captain of the gang's boat.
- Joe Cobb
- Supporting role. The natives are particularly interested in eating him.
- Mary Kornman
- Supporting role. She saves the day by discovering the fireworks.
- Jackie Condon
- Supporting role. He does mostly ensemble work in this film.
- other boys
- Bit parts. Among the natives are two black boys that get bonked on the head by the gang.
the animals:
- Pal
- Supporting role. Not listed by Maltin & Bann. He appears to be Jay's dog, and catches cats
instead of fish.
- Buster
- Supporting role. This is the other dog that joins the gang. Later played "Magnolia" in
"Thundering Fleas" (no. 51).
- other animals
- Featured role and bit parts.
- (1.) The chimpanzee that plays with Farina and is given quite a lot of footage. Not a baboon, as Maltin & Bann
describe him.
- (2.) The black cat caught by Pal.
- (3.) The cat on board the gang's boat.
the adults:
- Lyle Tayo as Johnnie's mom
- Small part. According to Maltin & Bann. She's not shown in this print.
- Charlie Hall as the man in the gorilla suit
- Small part. According to Maltin & Bann. There are a few people dressed as gorillas, but the one shown
with the head removed looks like Hall.
- Jack Roach as the man in the lion suit
- Small part. According to Maltin & Bann. His face is shown, but I haven't seen any photos of him
to verify.
- Florence Hoskins as Farina's mother
- Small part. She arrives with the other parents towards the end of the film and mistakes the chimp for
Farina.
- Dorothy Vernon as another mother
- Bit part. She's shown towards the end of the film as the parents arrive at the island.
- other adults
- Small parts, bit parts and extras.
- (1.) "'Cap' Tuttle," the kindly old man with the treasure map.
- (2.) The stunt double for Florence Hoskins.
- (3.) Johnnie's dad, who discourages him from reading Treasure Island.
- (4.) The friend of Johnnie's dad, who finds the situation amusing.
- (5.) The man steering Johnnie's dad's boat.
- (6.) There are scores of adults doing location shooting on the island, most of whom are black men playing natives.
A few others make up the crew, and some others are dressed as apes, and one dressed as a bear. One of the men might be
Sammy Brooks.
the locations:
- U. S. S. Catalina
- A press photograph reveals that the gang was aboard this boat of the Wrigley line during the filming of
this short. While it doesn't verify that the boat was one of the ones used in the film, it does support the idea that
the island scenes were shot on Catalina Island, which was also the subject of the brochure that Cap Tuttle has with the
map on it.
miscellaneous:
16 shooting dates went into the making of this film. Nearly two weeks after the finish date for "Good Cheer"
(no. 46), the 'start' date arrived for "Buried Treasure" on Oct. 1st. Shooting continued until
the 'finish' date of Oct. 19th. No shooting took place on Oct. 4th, 11th or 18th, which were all Sundays. After
this, a week and a half passed before shooting began for "Monkey Business" (no. 48).
Johnny is reading a copy of Treasure Island.
There were 40 copies of this film printed for its initial release.
availability:
- Our Gang Silent Comedies Volume 1 (VHS) from
Video Classics and
- Our Gang Comedies I (VHS) from
The Picture Palace
- This copy is a TV print from the Mischief Makers series, with the opening and ending titles
replaced by new ones from Video Classics. The inter-titles have been removed. The print totals 15:16, with
14:34 of it original footage. Roughly three quarters of the original film is included.
- Our Gang (CD-ROM) from
Rom-Man Technologies
- Copyright 1994 by Onscreen Entertainment, Inc. This print has a generic opening title from Mogull's
Film Library and a generic end title, but the crew credits and inter-titles are included. Since it's a CD-ROM,
there are fewer frames per second, and the resolution is limited, but the picture quality is fairly good. The film ends
abruptly, cutting some footage at the end, but there is also footage at the beginning that's missing from the TV
print. The initials "RMT" are superimposed in the righthand corner. The print totals 16:42, with 16:32
of it original footage. Roughly three quarters of the original film is included. Viewing this version along with the Video
Classics version will achieve almost the entire original film.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.