Thanks for checking out this video on the history of Hal Roach's Our Gang! This video was generously sponsored by NordVPN who are offering an exclusive deal through my channel at nordvpn.com/hatsoff

It’s frightening how much Jackie already looks like the adult he would become. I keep expecting to hear him bellow “Kent!”

What a wonderful tribute to those kids. When I was a grad student I knew Dorothy DeBorba, who was secretary to Dean Bayley at the School of Journalism at UC Berkeley, and she became a dear friend and confidant. The dean liked to call Dorothy our "den mother" at the J school. She sorta became the fall-back source for those students assigned to write a profile of a celebrity. There must have been hundreds written. I didn't learn she'd been a member of Our Gang until about a year after I'd met her. She was quite modest about it, but was happy to chat about her days filming at the studio. And, yes, you are right. She said that all the kids were great friends, they all attended school together and would take breaks from class to shoot the movies. I heard her say many times that none of them had the faintest idea that their lives were in any way different or unusual from that of other kids. Of course, she knew Stan and Ollie (Stan gave Stymie his derby!). And they all got to play with Petey. So there! Dorothy also used to go out on weekends to attend Our Gang reunions and fan meet-ups. It's still a thrill to watch my old friend, and yes, "den mother," running around screaming as a skinny little girl. Those shorts will always be very special to me. Good job!

Something else I enjoyed about this era was how much of the shorts were shot outside and on location in California as opposed to soundstages like the later eras. They’re amazing time capsules of how LA and the surrounding areas looked nearly 100 years ago.

"Don't call me Norman. Call me chubsy-ubsy," is my favorite Our Gang line of all time. Just finished watching (almost) all of the silent-era shorts, and so I'm in the time period, working my way through (nearly) the entire series, in order. This is probably my favorite era, with Jackie's crush on Miss Crabtree being the cherry on top.

When i was very young in the 70s, these shorts along with the Three Stooges would be on every day after school. The early version of the little Rascals was always my favorite. One of my favorite shorts was when the kids tried to create their own taxi service and they cause havoc all over the road!

Bobby Wheezer Hutchins died on May 17, 1945 while attempting to land his North American AT-6D Texan at Merced Army Air Field Base in California (Later renamed Castle AFB). He was very close to completing his advanced flight training at the time of the accident. Coincidentally, Joe Cobb worked for North American Aviation in Downey CA in the 1950's.

We have Our Gang to thank for The Little Rascals, The Goonies, The Sandlot, All That, Slappy & The Stinkers, Stranger Things, or any other iconic kid squad made in Hollywood over the past 80 years. It pioneered and enforced the idea that children can lead in the box office and entertain adults just as easily as we can entertain them.

Jackie,Farina,Mary,Stymie and Chubsie were all brilliant. Still can’t stop watching them to this day

Stymie was always so underrated. He’s so funny

Watching Chubsy-Ubsy smile really warms my heart, he and Farina were by far my favorites.

5:09 this gag only works because of Farina's impeccable comic delivery

What a beautiful tribute to these underrated rascals!

Somewhat tragic fact, the kid who played Wheezer ended up serving in World War II and was killed in action. He was only 20 years old. Rest in peace, Bobby Hutchins

"Younger audiences might associate..." the 90s Little Rascals movie was nearly THIRTY years ago. The kids who grew up with that version are now raising their own kids.

I HAVE A PERSONAL MEDIA SERVER with all of the available "Our Gang" aka "Little Rascals from the years 1922-1944 (157 shorts in total). Silent films from 1922-1928. The first movie was called "Our Gang" 1922. The first Talkie was "Small Talk" 1929.

I remember watching a documentary on Child Actors from this time and it was quite sad in a lot of ways how a lot of the "Our Gang" kids were basically supporting their own parents and never really saw dime of their own money. I think it may have been the little girl who played Darla as an old woman talking about when she was a kid her seeing other kids play outside and thinking to herself, "Why are these kids not at work don't they know we have to take care of the parents?" Thank Jesus child labor laws were changed in the movie industry due to Jackie Coogan who would later gained fame as Uncle Fester on The Addams Family. Jesus Christ Almighty God bless you all

Watching this made my day. As a kid, i used to watch this series including the later LITTLE RASCALS. The sheer joy of watching these kids never fades. Nothing today compares.

The chubsy ubsy scene will go down as one of the greatest scenes ever

I watched the Our Gang shorts as a child in the 50s. Seeing that world of kids has charmed me all my life. They are brilliant pieces of art.

The Farina/Stymie/Miss Crabtree era are by far the best-most creative and funniest of Our Gang shorts. Don't forget the wonderful excellent music by LeRoy Shield

I remember watching this "Our Gang" short on TNT when the re-ran the Little Rascals. It was rather odd not seeing the kids like Buckwheat and Alfalfa.

I will always remember my favorite quote from my favorite episode: "EEEEE OOOOO EEEEE OOOOO"

9:16 "Well I ain't washing my neck and ears for no dame" you tell them King.

80s kid here who grew up watching Little Rascals with his parents and is still a fan to this day. My favorite "era" was between 1932 and 1934, after these films and before Spanky became the top dog. He was younger and more of a sidekick then, and characters like Wally and an older Stymie were more the leaders. So many of my favorite Rascals films came out at that time... "Mike Fright" "Hi Neighbor!" "The First Round Up" "Wild Poses" etc. I never actually cared much for the Spanky/Alfalfa/Darla/etc years. Too many musical performance episodes and the stories were too scripted.

When I was younger, around 2000, somebody bought me the vhs box set of the our gang shorts. It had all of the best shorts from every era. One of the vhs tapes also has a history that talked about the different eras and the different actors and actresses that were involved. That’s where I first learned that the original Alfalfa had a small part in the It’s a Wonderful Life.

13:00 "It's hard to SPOT the difference between them." ayyyyy

For those that do not know, there is a "Little Rascals" channel on most free streaming services like Pluto or Visio Free TV. Just watched "Fly My Kite" this past weekend.

I grew up in the 2000s but these early sound shorts were a big part of my childhood. I always prefered this cast. I got into the series when i saw a marathon on TCM and quickly got the DVD set.

I'm happy you are talking about The Little Rascals again. My mom's favorite comedy series. Props to Cabin Fever for releasing these Shorts on VHS to new generations. I also got them on DVD.

YES!!! Thank you! Among our gang connoisseurs, the early 30s casts remain supreme.

Jackie Cooper was such a great actor. He had such a wonderful career. I loved all the rascals but Jackie was great.

In the 90s, I knew a W2 vet who had flown with Bobby Hutchins (Wheezer) and he talked sadly about seeing Hitchins' death when he had a mid-air collision with another airplane while ending pilot certification in the Army Air Forces, near the end of the war. A lot of these kids met sad ends...

I love knowing that Jackie Cooper became THE Jackie Cooper. I just found out that Stymie Beard was in the first season of Good Times! I was watching it and said out loud "OMG, is that Stymie?" And it was.

My parents got a dvd collection of all the shorts that I watched through growing up, so my initial impression of the rascals was the my gang cast. Our favorite and one we can still quote over a decade later was the love business episode where Jackie and Chubby compete for the love of Ms Crabtree

As a kid, my aunt nicknamed me and always called me Spanky, and by asking her what she meant I got introduced to the series.

At Last…someone who understands the gang at Our Gang! Thank you Joe and Hats Off for your always insightful, and thoughtful tributes to our greatest comedies. What well researched and articulate pieces you have produced…the tribute to Laurel and Hardy s still among my favorites…and that re- editing of Atoll K is something that I’m saving forever. The Our Gang Comedies are just so much fun to watch. Hal Roach made it seem so effortless, blending the silent film era into “ soundies”, he really understood kids, having been inspired by a bunch he observed fighting over a stick. When the company that released the majority of the two reelers for Roach, MGM, finally took over production, they taught the kids how to “act”, they destroyed the charm and natural personalities of Spanky, Darla Alfalfa and the rest of the gang…My hats off to Hats Off! Keep ‘em coming…

I still think these are the funniest, "kid-friendly" shows ever. (I'm a young 40, and grew up with VHS versions of Our Gang, etc)

I had no idea Jackie Cooper was a child actor in the 1930's. Kinda cool seeing Perry White as a Rascal.

If you can get a look at "Small Talk", their first talking picture, the first words uttered by any Rascal is a prayer on the lips of Joe Cobb. Grace offered before a meal, and a prayer that Mary finds an adopted home. I also found pleasure in tracking the casting from the silent era to the sound era. The gradual add/drop development of the cast was smooth and thoughtful. It was simply smashing to see them do so well in talkies. But their age was showing, and they had to move on.

I loved these growing up. My grandparents had a vhs box set of all of them that I "borrowed" for most of my child hood. This and the three stooges are definitely up there with my favorite shows of all time.

My brother and I watched the Our Gang shorts in syndication when we were kids in the 1970s. As primitive as those films were, they were still hilarious and highly entertaining, holding their own against the 1970s shows and usually being funnier than anything else on TV at the time. One of our friends was the spitting image of Alfalfa and would often give himself the pointy cowlick with hairspray. It’s mind-boggling to me that these shorts will be a century old in less than a decade.

I've worked for a non profit for seniors running a senior center in my small home town for nearly the past 2 decades, and honestly only remember seeing The Little Rascals a here, and there growing up not thinking much of them, but over the years since I started my work I always got request from my clients to show them on movie day, and when we finally got internet about a decade ago, I found a batch of the shorts on KZfaq for them, and they honestly have become some of my favorite comedies of that era next to The Three Stooges for their charming, and good natured humor. 👍for another great retrospective.

Those twins reading the titles out loud somehow remind me of the twins that summon Mothra more than the "come play with us" girls from The Shining. Only instead of a giant moth monster, they summon a group of wacky kids.

That sword fight still kills me as much as it did when I first saw it as a kid back in the 70's.

This is actually my favorite Our Gang era, with When the Wind Blows & Love Business being my favorites, with young-Spanky era shorts Birthday Blues & Mush and Milk close behind 😊

Honestly, the silent era had me cracking up. The intro cards for each character had me laughing every time. "Mickey, a veteran engineer with over an hour's experience." "Joe: Too long for short pants, too short for long pants." "Mary: She left home, along with her mother's lipstick" "Jackie: Commander of the Periscope Forces, consisting only of himself."

So glad that this series is finally available to watch in its entirety on Blu-ray.

To me, the first five years of the sound era are the best of the series. I also really like the silent shorts, as well. Even as a kid watching the Little Rascals on TV in the early 80s I didn't think the shorts that came out after 1935 were as good.

There's really not enough pie throwing in today's films and shows

As a child, the episode that had the biggest effect on me was the one where the dog catcher put Petey in his gas chamber and turned on the gas.

This show was so much a part of my childhood that when our mother called us, my brother and I always answered "here I is!".

There was only a brief mention here about the original 'Our Gang' cast of the silent era. Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Jackie Condon, and others blazed the trail for this series. When switching over to sound production, the kids had to be taught how to say lines in German, French, Spanish, etc as the only work-around at the time for the international audience.

Few things bring me as much pleasure as The Rascals. Huge fan here. Love this era of The Gang! Some of the best episodes in the series! Not really anything I didn’t know here, but still a great video. My second favorite era of shorts next to “Baby Spanky” episodes. Stymie is my second favorite member next to Baby Spank. Thanks! Been watching these for nearly 50 years.

I watched these here in Southern California on the KTLA Family Film Festival every weekend. These kids made my childhood pretty special. The episode with the cart is a favorite. Great job on this tribute.

I am glad 2 of these rascals are still with us.

It's amazing to watch Jackie Cooper as a young boy and fast forward to his role as Perry White in the Superman movies. That's a long career!

Man I really love these videos. I grew up watching a lot of this stuff. My Grandparents would sit us down and we’d watch all this stuff. I don’t suppose you could do a Shirley Temple retrospective? She was their favorite, hands down.

how can you not fall in love with miss Crabtree.

Stymie is my favorite, all time. Young Spanky, Farina, Chubby and Scotty were great, as well.

Wasn’t Jackie Cooper one of the only actors of the LR to successfully transition from kid actor to adult actor?

8:37 Anyone interested in the Leroy Shields soundtrack music, be sure to check out the near-perfect reproduction albums by orchestral group “The Beau Hunks” released on two CDs in 1995. They also did recordings of the Laurel & Hardy film soundtracks, as well as others, as none of the original version masters still exist 😕

A wonderful and sensitive documentary. It lends dignity and appreciation to each of these amazing early film industry participants. Thank you

Weirdly, one of my favorites of yours. I've never cared to learn about film prior to the 80s or maybe 70s (give me an hour and I might come up with two handfuls of films I've seen from before then), but between this and your Laurel & Hardy stuff, it makes me feel good to learn about this stuff.

I remember that one kid got kicked off the cast because he freaked out and beat the orphan who played Alfalfa to death. It's a shame, he had a great bit.

Our Gang's adventures always inspired me to think big as a young child.

I had a bunch of those Our Gang Cabin Fever VHS tapes too as a kid. I didn't understand why the casts would completely change between episodes, but I always loved when this group came on.

This brought nostalgia tears to my eyes. I grew up watching the re-runs of these wonderful characters that are a without a doubt the most talented kids I have ever seen on the screen (considering the era and ages of the children) and how clever to use children as vehicles for humor. They were (to me) literature characters come to life! Like Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. In the series, they were just a bunch of very clever kids either making due, getting into trouble with their ideas, doing everyday things (like going fishing) and rescuing their friends all wrapped up in the innocence that made this work for audiences. Unfortunately now long forgotten slap stick comedy. I cannot thank you enough for taking me back to remember these iconic kids that I grew up watching.

This cast had some of my favorites. Jackie was pretty funny, and I always thought Weezer was great. Scottie with early Spanky were great too.

Thank a bunch, Joe - this is outstanding! And here's another vote for the Jackie vs Chubsy-Ubsy love rivalry over Miss Crabtree as being a favorite in this early series. I agree that the kids all looked like they were having a great time just being themselves. Not like stereotypical anxious "child actors" at all.

The earliest reels always were my favorites. Just seemed more like kids having fun and not a script. Thanks.

It’s pretty crazy to me how much Jackie Cooper looks the same as when he was older. Like he could grow out of his roll on here, and walk straight to the Daily Planet.

I still laugh non-stop when I watch those little rascals episodes. Very talented young actors/actresses.

Chubby always had me laughing

Some of that footage is almost 100 years old and that's crazy.

"well ....just keep passin bye til you come to the river and THEN drop in " LMAO ..... one of the funniest lines ever delivered ...and several more from that same short ...my favorite .... WOW June Marlow was a total knockout ..... Sometimes I wish I had been born in that era like my dad .... I can only guess how many people's sanity was saved by the now CLASSIC comedy shorts of the depression era ....

I agree, loved the earlier Rascals, from 29 to 33. Stymie, Jackie, Farina, Wheezer, Mary Ann, Chubby, baby Spanky and of course Pete.

Watching them now seems like a history lesson, in the 70's when I was a kid and this show was on daily, it was like watching the childhood of my older aunts and uncles.

Very well done. The only “gripe” was that you kept referring to the “talkies” era gang as “the original “. You did mention some of the actual Original kids, the set you focused on were not “the Originals”. but this is more a trivial matter. I have all of the “Talkies”, and 25 of the Silent Era shorts. The first 3-4 years of shorts seemed excellent and original. By the time the Talkies came, and later shorts were “reinterpretations” of original stories. [ but still fun to watch]. 📻🙂

I was born in 1969 and I've seen these. I know it's before my time but I've always watched older things because of parents, grandparents and best friends father had a projector and a bunch of films. Fatty Arbuckle, Keystone cops, charlie chaplain.....

Although I grew up on The Little Rascals movie and I love the Alfalfa, Spanky, Darla era of the shorts, I absolutely love the eras that came before it. Great video!

It's nice to see this era touched upon. The silent era featured Joe Cobb and Micky Daniels. The ones that would carry over into the sound era were Wheezer and Farjna. I'm not too familiar with the silent era but they're very innovative for their time. The 1st of the sound era cartoons was Small Talk. That era seemed to end with 1931's Fly My Kite. A lot of gang members left after that one film. The Gang seemed a little sparse up until George "Spanky" McFarland came along in 1932.

A million thank yous for this wonderful documentary on my favorite edition of Our Gang and I do believe that the one Jackie Cooper season is the height of the 23 years it was made. The Jackie-Chubby-Miss Crabree arch is something I can watch over and over and over again and I have since being first acquainted with the Gang in the '70s. The Spanky-Alfalpha years are nothing by comparison. One beautiful film that should be mentioned is Pups is Pups the centerpiece is Wheezer chasing his puppies all over town. It's so wonderfully directed with incredible expressionistic sets and lighting. And Wheezer's relationship with the dogs is ... not acting.

The $5 dvd bin, hell even the $1 bins from the 2000s, made me fall in love with old school stuff like Our Gang. I think I first learned of limburger cheese from one of the shorts.

Several of the original silent film version of our gang ended up on TV shows like good times and Sanford and son. Sunshine Sammy Morrison was on a few sitcoms And on all in the family, Archie Bunker’s cab driver boss was a former member of the dead end kids. And I know the guy who played stymie was on good times, and Sanford and son

I had "School's Out" on VHS as a kid and watched it a million times. It was a gift from my grandma. Oh, and Stymie on the back of that car at the end of your video (18:27) is insane. I'm sure he was held there tight, but the fact that they had kids doing their own stunts is crazy.

Stimey was always my favorite.

I’m almost 40 and I thank you for referring to me as “younger audiences” 😂

I always found this line-up underrated too, especially considering Farina actually appeared in more shorts than any other kid, even Spanky

I remember all of these. :) They inspired many a child-owned business venture and show on our street.

I never underrated them. I loved the early cast as much as the late. Farina was hilarious.

This is the first video I remember you being sponsored. Congratulations! You deserve it, I love these videos! If you post them, we will watch. (Yes, it's a Field of Dreams pun)

Excellent work, as always. I grew up watching a mix of these in “reruns” in the early 80’s.

Great video! I think this set of Rascals peaked in the short "Bear Shooters", but there were many other good ones. My personal favorite Rascals era was the one between this one and the more familiar Spanky/Alfalfa/Buckwheat/Porky era, when Spanky was starting out as a toddler and Dickie Moore was around. I feel bad for anyone who's most familiar with the 1990s Little Rascals movie and knows nothing about the WEEEEE-WAAAAOOOW cake!

The funniest thing (to me) were the wood vehicles that the gang would make and drive......they all had the scissoring arm with a boxing glove attached to punch people........and the vehicles would always lose control going down hills........I was hysterical when the out of control vehicle would hit someone and they'd go flying up in the air yelling "whoa"........great stuff......I'm even laughing while I'm writing this.......

Weezer and Mary Ann were my favorites of the earlier cast. The entire series of 'Our Gang' and 'Little Rascals' were terrific! I still watch them when I need a much needed break from the topsy-turvy world of today.

Don't forget the other "other" Little Rascals, the Walt Kelly comic book version. The kids lasted far longer in print than on film, and Kelly utilized the mixed race group to get actual nonwhite characters on comics covers, which was unheard of back then. Further, he had Buckwheat mature into Buck and rid him of his insulting "darkie" dialect. Progressiveness aside, the Pogo creator gave them great adventures and fine illustrations!

Great tribute. I always liked Stymie best. I never saw that banned one with him and Farina. I'll have to find it.

Waaay back in the mid to late 70s, I used to come home after school and the Little Rascals would greet me for an hour or so. My brother and i would spend the afternoons watching and enjoying these Our Gang shorts. And, yes....we noticed the earlier era kids vs the later kids. Thanks for reminding me how fun they were and it's hard to believe, but these shorts are almost a hundred years old!

Farina was so talented he was supposedly able to cry on cue, while Jackie Cooper apparently needed to be tricked and manipulated to get the tears flowing.