Birthday Blues
Encyclopedia
Birthday Blues is a 1932 Our Gang
short
comedy film
directed by Robert F. McGowan
. It was the 118th (31st talking episode) Our Gang short that was released.
The party turns out to be a mess and Spanky's and Dickie's father returns to find it. He throws the gang and other kids out of the house and then gives Dickie a severe spanking. When his father finds out that Dickie is using the money to buy his mother a dress, he abruptly changes his attitude. However, Dickie's mother feels the dress his father bought for her is too fancy to wear at church on Sunday morning, and proudly wears the one Dickie and Spanky picked out, to the crowd's amusement.
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Robert F. McGowan
Robert F. McGowan
Robert Francis McGowan was an American film director and producer, best known as the senior director of the Our Gang short subjects film series from 1922 until 1933.-Career:...
. It was the 118th (31st talking episode) Our Gang short that was released.
Plot
When their pennypinching father refuses to buy a birthday gift for their long-suffering mother, brothers Dickie and Spanky decide to purchase a gift for Mom on their own. Unfortunately, the "late 1922 model" dress they have selected is beyond their price range (a daunting $1.98); thus, acting upon the advice of Stymie, Dickie and Spanky decide to bake a cake with hidden prizes, then auction off the cake at ten cents a slice.The party turns out to be a mess and Spanky's and Dickie's father returns to find it. He throws the gang and other kids out of the house and then gives Dickie a severe spanking. When his father finds out that Dickie is using the money to buy his mother a dress, he abruptly changes his attitude. However, Dickie's mother feels the dress his father bought for her is too fancy to wear at church on Sunday morning, and proudly wears the one Dickie and Spanky picked out, to the crowd's amusement.
Cast
- Dickie Moore - Dickie
- George McFarlandGeorge McFarlandGeorge Robert Phillips "Spanky" McFarland was an American actor most famous for his appearances as a child in the Our Gang series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s...
- Spanky - Matthew Beard - Stymie
- Dorothy DeBorbaDorothy DeBorbaDorothy Adelle DeBorba was an American former child actress who was a regular in the Our Gang series of short subjects as the leading lady from 1930 to 1933.-Early life:...
- Dorothy - Bobbie BeardBobbie BeardBobbie Beard was an American child actor, best known for portraying "Cotton" in several Our Gang short films from 1932 to 1934. He was a native of Los Angeles, California...
- Cotton - Jackie Lyn Dufton - Jacquie
- Kendall McComas - Breezy Brisbane
- Donald HainesDonald HainesDonald Haines was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1929 to 1933.-Our Gang:...
- Tough party guest - Bobby Mallon - Party guest
- Douglas Greer - Party guest
- Carlena BeardCarlena BeardCarlena Beard was an American child actor, most famous for portraying several different minor characters in the Our Gang short films from 1930 to 1935. She was a native of Los Angeles, California...
- Party guest - Georgie Billings - Party guest
- Mildred KornmanMildred KornmanMildred Kornman , also known as Ricki VanDusen, is a former American child actress.Mildred, the younger sister of Mary Kornman, leading lady of the silent film Our Gang series, was featured as a regular in the series from 1926–1928 and made more appearances from 1929 until 1935...
- Party guest - Dickie Jackson - Party guest
- Edith FellowsEdith FellowsEdith Marilyn Fellows was an American actress who began her professional career at age 6.-Personal life:When she was a year old, she and her father and grandmother moved to Charlotte, North Carolina...
- Party guest - Marcia Mae JonesMarcia Mae JonesMarcia Mae Jones was an American actress whose prolific career spanned 47 years.-Career:Jones made her film debut at the age of two in the 1926 film Mannequin...
- Party guest - Pete the PupPete the PupPete the Pup was a Pit Bull character in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies during the 1920s and 1930s...
- Himself - Charles McMurphy - Officer
- Lillian RichLillian RichLillian Rich was an English actress of the silent era. She appeared in 66 films between 1919 and 1940.She was born in Herne Hill, London and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.-Selected filmography:...
- Mom - Hooper AtchleyHooper AtchleyHooper Atchley was an American film actor. He appeared in 214 films between 1929 and 1944.Born in Ebenezer, Tennessee, Atchley is best known for his appearance as the inconsiderate father in the Our Gang film Birthday Blues.Atchley committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun in 1943 in...
- Dad - Gordon DouglasGordon Douglas (director)Gordon Douglas was an American film director, who directed many different genres of films over the course of a five-decade career in motion pictures. He was a native of New York City.-Hal Roach and Our Gang:...
- Delivery boy - Harry BernardHarry BernardHarry Bernard was a movie comedian who worked for Mack Sennett and with Laurel & Hardy, usually typecast as a policeman.Bernard was born in San Francisco, California, and died in Hollywood.-Selected filmography:...
- Store proprietor