Mickey, Waldemar, Jackie Condon, Sorghum, Maple
Production Notes[]
Length: Two Reel
Producer: Hal Roach
Director: Robert F. McGowan and Tom McNamara
Photography:
Editor:
Titles: H. M. Walker
Writer: Hal Roach
Released: December 3, 1922
Studio: Pathe Exchange
Main Cast[]
- Allen Hoskins
- Ernie Morrison
- Jackie Condon (actor)
- Jackie Davis (actor) - as Waldemar
- Mickey Daniels (actor)
Supporting Cast[]
- Joseph Morrison - Aunty Jackson
- Katherine Grant - Maid
- Richard Daniels - Violin Teacher
- William Gillespie - Waldemar's Father
The Short[]
Plot: Waldemar is a local privileged boy to a wealthy family surrounded by maids and butlers. Mickey Daniels, meanwhile, is disgraced into practicing his bass violin as his nagging mother orders him, although as he eyes an axe, he would much rather chop the violin into pieces. Sorghum (Ernie) and Maple (Farina) are stuck with delivering the laundry their aunt takes in. Tired of the demands of their lives, the boys eventually meet Jackie and each other at the river where they decide to become pirates and sail away on a raft. With Maple floating behind in Mickey's violin on the river, they take their raft downstream where it eventually runs ashore. At that location they pitch camp and go hunting, only to find themselves up against a real live bear. Their parents and guardians are searching for them with the aid of the police and eventually find them near the campsite, just as the bear the boys were hunting comes out to chase them all away.
Quotes:
- "She's a' right - Ah got hold o' her hand." - Sorghum (referring to Maple unseen in the river) - later recreated by Farina, referring to Stymie, in Fly My Kite.
- "The Rich Boy's Saturday - Only his French instructor, a dancing teacher, and the bathtub stand between him and perfect happiness." - Screen Narration
Notes/Trivia:
- Jackie Davis plays a character other than his regular role.
- Mary Kornman does not appear in this short.
- This short was made four months after Cecil De Mille's own feature film Saturday Night.
- In the short, Ernie refers to Farina, aka Maple, as a "her." While Allen was possibly playing a girl in the film, incidents like this led to debates by fans as to whether he was a boy or a young actress. This debate continued for years until he grew up and became the longest leading character in the series.
- The scenes next to the river were filmed on the east bank of the Los Angeles River between the Macy Street and Alison Street bridges in Los Angeles, California.[1]
Sequence[]
- Previous Short: A Quiet Street
- Next Short: The Big Show