Zeffie Tilbury (Grandma), Sidney Bracey (Hobson, the butler), Greta Gould (maid), George McFarland (Spanky), Carl Switzer (Alfalfa), Darla Hood (Darla), Billie Thomas (Buckwheat), Eugene Lee (Porky), Dickie De Nuet (kid).
Director: GUS MEINS. Photography: Francis Corby. Film editor: Louis McManus. Producer: Hal Roach. A Hal Roach Studios Production.
Copyright 17 March 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation. U.S. release: 11 April 1936. An Our Gang Comedy. 2 reels.
SYNOPSIS: The kids teach Grandma to forget about her pills and get hep to singing, roller-skating and slingshots.
NOTES: Number 56 of the 132 talking picture shorts in the "Our Gang" series. (For TV release, "Our Gang" became "The Little Rascals" because Roach sold the name to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. Roach and Mayor were close friends).
COMMENT: One important item in the "B" MOVIE hive was the comedy short. These were initially used as fillers by showmen when the main feature was either long enough or popular enough to stand on its own. The advantage of shorts for the exhibitor was not only their flexibility, but their cost. If a "B" feature could be hired for $10, the fee for a comedy short would be no more than $2. (A documentary or travelogue could be rented for even less).
Furthermore, shorts like Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang were so popular with most patrons that the showman was on a winner from all directions. He not only saved money on film hire and a shorter program, but his patrons loved him for it!
Of course these halcyon days did come to an end in the mid-1930s when patrons demanded two features no matter what (or else they'd patronize the rival cinema), but shorts still found a place right up to the 1960s as an "extra added attraction."
"Second Childhood" is mainly of curiosity value today. It's not particularly funny, or particularly well scripted or particularly well directed. But it does have one cute scene in which Spanky and Alfalfa join Granny in singing "Oh, Susanna!"
Director: GUS MEINS. Photography: Francis Corby. Film editor: Louis McManus. Producer: Hal Roach. A Hal Roach Studios Production.
Copyright 17 March 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation. U.S. release: 11 April 1936. An Our Gang Comedy. 2 reels.
SYNOPSIS: The kids teach Grandma to forget about her pills and get hep to singing, roller-skating and slingshots.
NOTES: Number 56 of the 132 talking picture shorts in the "Our Gang" series. (For TV release, "Our Gang" became "The Little Rascals" because Roach sold the name to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. Roach and Mayor were close friends).
COMMENT: One important item in the "B" MOVIE hive was the comedy short. These were initially used as fillers by showmen when the main feature was either long enough or popular enough to stand on its own. The advantage of shorts for the exhibitor was not only their flexibility, but their cost. If a "B" feature could be hired for $10, the fee for a comedy short would be no more than $2. (A documentary or travelogue could be rented for even less).
Furthermore, shorts like Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang were so popular with most patrons that the showman was on a winner from all directions. He not only saved money on film hire and a shorter program, but his patrons loved him for it!
Of course these halcyon days did come to an end in the mid-1930s when patrons demanded two features no matter what (or else they'd patronize the rival cinema), but shorts still found a place right up to the 1960s as an "extra added attraction."
"Second Childhood" is mainly of curiosity value today. It's not particularly funny, or particularly well scripted or particularly well directed. But it does have one cute scene in which Spanky and Alfalfa join Granny in singing "Oh, Susanna!"