Fire Fighters

Production Notes[]

Length: Two Reel
Producer: Hal Roach
Director: Robert F. McGowan, Tom McNamara, and Charles Parrot (supervisor)
Photography:
Editor: Thomas J. Crizer (presumed)
Titles: H.M. Walker and Tom McNamara (illustrator)
Writer: Hal Roach, Robert F. McGowan, Tom McNamara (presumed), Thomas J. Crizer (presumed), and Leo McCarey (presumed).
Released: October 8, 1922
Studio: Pathe Exchange

Main Cast[]

Supporting Cast[]

Charles Stevenson - Police Officer
Joseph Morrison - Ernie's Father
George Rowe - Bootlegger

The Short[]

Plot: Several animals are walking around the barnyard having human thoughts, and among them, Booker T. Bacon has rigged a contraption to swing his little brother, Farina Hoskins. In the house, his mother works doing laundry, as his father naps in a rocking chair. As he rocks, the chair pushes the laundry line outside where Bookie collects it. His father eventually comes out and tells him to hook up their mule, Lily, to the wagon so he can deliver it. The job takes some effort as she's uncooperative and he needs to get creative to keep her from laying back down. Once Lily is hooked up, Booker's father is off with the laundry.
Nearby, Roosie is showing off his fire chief hat his uncle gave him for washing his face. Booker offers him a trade to let him wear it, but Roosie takes it right back. Nearby, a bootlegger is selling moonshine from a still hidden in the shed by his house. He shoos them off to make his sale, but the boys are still watching from a barn as he leaves his dog to guard his secret. The boys started taunting the dog, but when it runs off to chase a cat, it pulls the flimsy shack apart, revealing the still. The boys don't know what it is, but they figure they can make a fire truck out of it and create their own fire station, which they name the Goat Alley Fire Department. Taking over the barn and joined by Peggy and Mabel, who they name Mike. (It sounds tougher than Mabel,) They create a fire engine and small go-cart for Roosie, but every time he tumbles from it, his hat gets more dented. Mabel is stuck on the roof as a lookout as the gang go to sleep in the loft (like real firemen). A rope is attached to Roosie to wake him up in case there's a fire, and Peggy is at their "phone center." When Mabel sees steam from a kettle coming from Booker's house, she alerts the gang who scramble to clothe and get Lily hooked up. The kids charge to site, but Roosie runs late because he couldn't get his britches buttoned.
At the house, Richard pumps the still and starts spraying the hose but soon realizes the "water" smells and tastes funny. A police officer discovering the moonshine leaking down the street, and the kids run and hide, He discovers the still and befriends Roosie as the animals start drinking the moonshine on the grown. Once drunk, they all start walking in slow-motion, some walking drun on their front legs. However, the officer is sitting on Roosie's dog-pulled go-cart, and when it sees a cat, it pulls him down the street, conveniently smacking into the owner of the still coming out of one of the stores.

Quotes[]

"Saturday Morning. No school. This is one day when small boys are dangerous. Other days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday." - Opening Card
"Booker T. Bacon - Not the worst kid in town - But he's got the opposition scared." - Opening title card
"Roosevelt Pershing Smith. Only two things in the world he's afraid of - One is soap and the other is water." - Title card
"Whar yo' get the tin hat, Roosie?" - Booker T. Bacon
"M'uncle give it to me - For washin' m' face." - Roosie
"I know! This'll make a bully fire engin' - We'll agonize a fire department!" - Booker T. Bacon
"I wanna be Chief - or I won't play." - Roosie
"Aw, let the pony join. There's gonna be fire - We got the matches!" - Booker T. Bacon
"I'm a woman of few words, an' you're gonna hear 'em all!" - Mrs. Quack
"The Gang - Waiting for a chance to start something - a riot preferred." - Opening title card

Notes/Trivia[]

This short was later remade as The Fourth Alarm and Hook And Ladder. In this film, Roosie (Jackie Condon) is the younger brother of Richard Billings. The gag in which Richard attempts to put Roosie's pants on was later repeated with Dickie Moore and Spanky McFarland in Hook And Ladder. The idea of the kids not knowing a water tank is actually full of liquor was later repeated in The Big Town.
Ernie Morrison was actually called "Booker T. Bacon" for this short, later being referred to as "Ernie" and occasionally "Sammy."
Director Robert F. McGowan actually used to work as a firefighter.
In the staged photo from the short, the young actress previously identified as Mary Kornman is actually Betsy Ann Hisle.
The names of the animals for this short includes Lily (donkey, portrayed by Dinah The Mule), Officer T. Towser Barkus (dog), J. Quincy Quack (gander), Henrietta Flapper (hen), Mrs. Quack (goose), Uncle Sam (goat) and Tom (cat). The remaining animals don't have names.
Hal Roach ran a preview for this short at Ocean Park in October 1922.
At a 2000 convention, Peggy Cartwright told an interviewer that she remembered this film, but hadn't seen it since its initial release. In addition, she believed that the film was lost. Peggy was happy to learn that not only was she (and the audience) about to see a projected version of this film but that she would also be given a VHS copy of this film made especially for her. This was her last public appearance.
This short was re-released in some collections as "Jackie's Fire Brigade."
Several scenes in this film were shot at 3302 Motor Avenue in Los Angeles, both on the Motor Avenue side and the National Blvd side.^[1]

Sequence[]

Previous Short: Our Gang
Next Short: Young Sherlocks

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