technical details:
Production G-22.
Release no. C-826.
Filmed Apr. 2 to 7, 1934. See the 'miscellaneous' section below for details.
Title sheet prepared by William Terhune on April 28, 1934.
Cutting continuity submitted May 24, 1934.
Copyrighted May 25, 1934, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation. Registration no. LP4750. Renewed August 30, 1961, with registration no. R281108. This copyright is
currently due to expire at the end of 2029.
Released June 2, 1934. It was the 129th film in the series to be released.
All-talking two-reeler.
Opening title: 'Hal Roach presents Our Gang in "Honky-Donkey".'
King World Productions episode no. 32b, available in both colorized and original black-and-white versions. This version is listed without the hyphen.
the crew:
- Produced by Hal Roach
- Credited in the film as a presenter.
- Directed by Gus Meins
- This credit appears in the film.
- Photography: Francis Corby
- This credit appears in the film. The Blackhawk print adds the A. S. C. designation to his name.
- Film Editor: Bert Jordan
- This credit appears in the film.
- Recording Engineer: Harry Baker
- This credit appears in the film.
- Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Indicated in the opening title card.
- Passed by the National Board of Review
- As indicated in the film.
- Western Electric System
- As indicated in the film.
- NRA
- The National Recovery Administration emblem is shown in both the opening and end titles.
- studio personnel
- general manager - Henry Ginsberg
- assistant general manager - L. A. French
- secretary-treasurer - C. H. Roach
- assistant secretary - Mat O'Brien
- film editor and sound department - Elmer Raguse
- construction supervisor - C. E. Christensen
- laboratory superintendent - Charles Levin
- process department - Roy Seawright
- still photographer - Clarence "Stax" Graves
- transportation director - Bob Davis
- school teacher - Fern Carter
- possible uncredited involvement
- assistant direction - Probably Gordon Douglas.
- writing - Hal Yates, Carl Harbaugh, Frank Terry, Billy Gilbert, James Parrott,
Charlie Hall, Robert McKenzie, Frank Tashlin and Gordon Douglas may have been among the gag writers.
- property department - Charles Oelze, Don Sandstrom, Thomas Benton Roberts and Bob Saunders
were probably involved in this capacity.
- titles - Louis McManus probably designed the main titles.
- animal training - Tony Campanaro may have been among the animal trainers.
the kids:
- George "Spanky" McFarland as "Spanky" aka "Spank"
- Featured role. He and Scotty are giving plenty of funny dialogue throughout the film, as they serve as sideline observers.
- Scotty Beckett as "Scotty" aka "Scott"
- Featured role. He accompanies Spanky throughout the film, and has his fair share of dialogue.
- Wally Albright as "Wallace"
- Featured role. He's the rich kid who's pampered by his mother, but would rather drive down some alleys.
- Matthew "Stymie" Beard
- Supporting role. The nickname wasn't used in this film. He's the only one who seems to have any influence over the mule.
- Tommy Bond as "Tommy"
- Supporting role. He has a few lines of dialogue, but is mostly an ensemble player.
- Willie Mae Walton as "Buckwheat"
- Supporting role. Listed by Maltin & Bann as Willie Mae Taylor. She's given little of anything specific to do, but is present through most of the proceedings.
- Philbrook Lyons
- Supporting role. He's purely an ensemble player in this film, which was his last.
the animals:
- mule 111 as "Algebra"
- Featured role. Credited as Dinah the Mule by Maltin & Bann. She'll move only when somebody sneezes, and stop only when a bell is rung.
- Leo
- Bit part. The MGM lion appears at the opening of the film.
the adults:
- Don Barclay as "Barclay," the chauffeur
- Lead role. He's basically the star of the film, and sneezes at all the wrong times.
- Julia Griffith as "Cynthia," the household servant
- Supporting role. She tries to remove the mule from the house. The 1977 edition of Maltin & Bann's book, and Maltin's earlier The Great Movie Shorts, credit the
part to Natalie Moorhead.
- Peggy Leon as Wallace's mother
- Supporting role. She pampers her son at the start of the film, and returns near the end.
- Charles McAvoy as the cop
- Small part. He helps Barclay put the mule in the car.
- William Wagner as the realtor
- Small part. He chases the kids out of the vacant lot.
- Ed Brandenburg as "Julius," the butler
- Small part. He unsuccessfully tries to gain control over the mule. Listed as Ed Brandy in the payroll ledger.
- Russ Custer as the bike rider and possibly the cab driver
- Small part. He's getting such a laugh out of the mule that he rides right into a mailbox. Maltin & Bann list Pete Gordon, but his name isn't listed in the payroll
ledger. Custer also worked on one of the later shooting dates when Peggy Leon was present, so I suspect that he's driving the cab that drops her off at the house.
- Sue Gomes as the maid
- Small part. She appears briefly with Griffith when they first see the mule and the kids on the property. Maltin & Bann list Bess Flowers, but her name isn't listed in the
payroll ledger.
- Betty Danko
- On Lord Heath's website, she's credited with handling the stunt work for Peggy Leon. In an Aug. 2, 1936, Detroit Free Press article, she states that among her past
stunts, she had "been chased into a mill pond by a donkey." This all makes sense, since she was present on one of the same days Leon worked. This would have been the one day
that Brandenburg worked, and he also did stunt work in the film.
- Mickey Daniels as the voice-over for the mule
- Bit part. His distinctive laugh is used twice for the mule.
- other adults
- Bit parts and extras. Two people who worked on the first day of shooting (the same day Wagner worked) were Lyle Tayo and Margaret Nearing. Nearing also worked
on the second day, when the multitude of pedestrians were present. Nearing may be among the pedestrians, but Tayo wound up on the cutting room floor. Which brings us to the rest of the
extras used in the film: Ed Thomas, Rod Bacon, Richard Lewis, Harry Northrup, Bill O'Brien, Harvey Shepard, Hans Roth, Chester
Bishop, Virginia Dare, Dot Hoffman, Pauline High, Vida Hunter, Dorothy Stockman, Ruth Stovall, Joan Dix, Loretta Russell,
Betty Todd, Virginia Crawford, Charlotte Stevens, Evelyn Burns, Viola Porter, Andy Prevoust, Everett Hawkins, Jack Kenney, Bill
Dill, Gene Coogan, Harold Erickson, Winona Bell, Doc Kelly and Norman Taylor. All of these people were either making $10 or $7.50 for the
day, and were mostly pedestrians, though one of them would have been the doorman who let Wally's mother into the department store. Also listed is Charlie Hall, who made
$25 for the day, but I haven't noticed him anywhere in the film.
the music:
- "Good Old Days" by Leroy Shield
- Copyrighted Jan. 10, 1931.
- (A14.) This is played over the opening titles and as we're introduced to Wally and his mother and Barclay. A small portion is repeated at the final scene at the fountain
and during the end title.
the locations:
- Bagley Avenue, Palms district, Los Angeles
- In the longshot in which the car pulls into the alley, it's leaving Bagley Avenue just north of Venice Boulevard in Palms. The alley stretches between Bagley Avenue and Cardiff
Avenue. Seen in the background on the corner of Bagley and Venice is Ayres Apparel Shop on the Northwest corner of Venice and Bagley. This building had been occupied by
Turner's Style Shop when "The Smile Wins" (no. 66) was made. Also shown in this shot is a portion of the west side of Main Street in Culver City, with the top of
the Culver Hotel rising above.
- Hal E. Roach Studios
- The shot of the mule chasing the woman into the studio pond was filmed in front of the administration building. It also appears that the remaining street scenes were shot on the New
York exterior set at the studio.
miscellaneous:
Six shooting dates went into the making of this film. Over a week had passed since shooting finished for "The First Round-Up" (no. 128). Shooting for
"Honky-Donkey" started on Apr. 2nd and continued until Apr. 7th. After this, over six weeks would pass before the Our Gang unit began filming "Mike Fright"
(no. 130).
Reel one ends with the line "Well, give him time."
The script submitted to MGM was given the catalog number B454.
See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.