Series: Our Gang
Director: Robert F. McGowan
Producer: Hal Roach
Titles: H.M. Walker
Photography: Art Llolyd
Editor: T.J. Crizer
Stars: Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Allen Hoskins, Johnny Downs, Mary Kornman
Company: Pathé Exchange
Released: 05 April 1925
Length: 2 reels
Production No.: A-37
Filming dates: December 15-31, 1924;retakes January 2-10, 1925
Rating: 5/10
The Love Bug
 |
Available on DVD:
|
 |
Farina pays a visit to his girlfriend and brings her flowers. After a brief flirting with her he is urged to move on by her father. Jackie pays a visit to Grandma Thomas, an elderly lady who "mothers" the neighborhood. She gives him a lollypop. Joe tries to bribe Peggy into giving him a kiss in exchange for his lollypop (actually that sounds quite disgusting, doesn't it?) She tells him to close his eyes and then gets her little dog to lick him and convince him that it was her. Greedy Joe wants more though, but Peggy doesn't, and leaves. A despondent Joe wanders on by to Grandma Thomas' store complaining that nobody loves a fat guy like him. Mary and Mickey get acquainted on a field when they see a young girl getting beaten up by a bully. Mickey bravely steps in to break it up and shoves the boy's head through a fence before quickly running off to the store. Meanwhile at the beauty parlor, an angry woman storms out after complaining about their poor service. The boys gather around in a garden and hide behind a swingchair where the girls are sitting. They overhear Mary commenting on how much she adores Mickey but complains about the freckles on a fruit she is handed. Mickey, being sensitive thinks she is referring to him. Joe's laughs at Mickey are short-lived when he hears Peggy confess that she made him kiss her dog! When Farina's feelings are hurt Jackie consoles him with how "all women are frickle." The boys leave and bump into a negro boy who tells them he works at a beauty parlor and they can make people look different. Joe wants his tummy to look smaller, Farina wants to dye his hair blond and Mickey asks to have his freckles removed. So Grandma Thomas gives the boys some money and off they go to the parlor... |
|
At the time the kids arrive at the parlor the manager is in the process of firing all of his staff. Mickey starts rubbing a mud pack all over his face which is meant for bunions. Joe tries to shrink his stomach by standing in a steam box. Jackie messes about with some switches that control air, water and steam. Sonny Boy plays with an air hose whilst Farina sits under some kind of hot bulbs in order to brighten his hair. After a little bit of chaos Mickey emerges looking like a clown with an overindulgence of facial make-up on. By the time Farina gets out of his chair his hair looks like a bunch of twizlers all sticking up in the air. Jackie sees a plate of ice cream on the table and helps himself to it before realising the tub says "Janice Cold Cream" (nicely obstructed by a box). Now the fighting begins! Jackie messes around with some controls which makes some hoses shoot steam, air and water into the corridor where Farina tries to dodge them all. All the while Joe is calling out to be released from his steam box, which eventually Pineapple does, to reveal Joe's clothes have shrunk considerably. The owner returns to find the kids running around the place and chases after them through the maze of cubicles in the corridor. The kids are rounded up by a police officer who takes them outside and threatens them with jail. Good ol' Grandma Thomas is there to plead their case for them and urges the kids to run away. She quickly follows behind them as the cop gives chase across a field and down the street into the distance. |
 |
 |
Favourite bit The boys listen in on the girls' conversation from behind the swing and come to all the wrong conclusions. |
| Trivia • Copyrighted April 2, 1925, by Pathé Exchange, Inc. Registration no. LU21305. Since the copyright was not renewed, this film is now in the public domain. • The 37th film in the series to be released. • The film, along with "Your Own Back Yard" was restored and released to DVD in 2018 by C-W Films. You can order a copy from rjc35@hotmail.com • In the scene where we first see Joe and Peggy sitting together on the bench, look at that puppy scratching himself silly! • The black man seen at the start of the film is Ernest Morrison's father, Joseph. The girl who plays his daughter, whom Farina visits, is his real daughter, Dorothy. My opinion • To be honest it's not such a great film. As per usual with these early Our Gang films there are so many plot holes and inconsistencies but the kids' charm makes up for the lack of credibility in the storylines and scenarios they find themselves in. |
 |
Mickey Daniels Mickey |
 |
Joe Cobb Joe |
 |
Jackie Condon Jackie |
 |
Allen Hoskins Farina |
 |
Peggy Ahern Peggy |
 |
Eugene Jackson Pineapple |
 |
Johnny Downs Johnny |
 |
Mary Kornman Mary |
 |
Sonny Boy Warde Sonny Boy |
 |
Ivadell Carter Girl being bullied by Johnny |
 |
Dorothy Morrison Girl with Farina |
 |
Florence Lee Grandma Thomas |  |
William Gillespie Beauty parlor manager |
 |
Helen Gilmore Beauty parlor customer |
 |
Ernest Morrison, Sr. Father of Farina's girlfriend |
| UNIDENTIFIED CAST |
 |
| CREDITS (click image to enlarge) | INTERTITLES (click image to enlarge) |
 |
 |
| LOBBY CARDS (click any image to enlarge) 
 
|
| SHOT ON LOCATION (click any image to enlarge) 
|
| Acknowledgements: http://theluckycorner.com/rps/037.html (Robert Demoss/The Lucky Corner) The Little Rascals: The Life And Times Of Our Gang by Leonard Maltin & Richard W. Bann (book) Jorge Finkielman (lobby cards) Jerry Murbach (lobby cards) Gene Sorkin (help and assistance) Robin Cook (assistance and generosity) Chris Bungo (locations identifications) This page was last updated on: 11 December 2018 |