Mickey, Ernie, Jack Davis, Farina, Joe, Jackie Condon
Production Notes[]
Length: Two Reel
Producer: Hal Roach
Director: Robert F. McGowan and Tom McNamara
Photography: Harry W. Gerstad
Editor: Richard Currier
Titles: H. M. Walker
Writer: Hal Roach
Released: December 16, 1923
Studio: Pathe Exchange
Main Cast[]
- Allen Hoskins
- Ernie Morrison Jr.
- Jackie Condon (actor)
- Jack Davis (actor)
- Joseph Cobb
- Leona Levin - Leona Daniels
- Mickey Daniels (actor)
Supporting Cast[]
The Short[]
Plot: Two neighboring families, the Tuckers and the McTeeters, plan an outing together in the country. They all travel together on an old horse cart. Jackie helps Ernie and Farina tag along by hooking their small wagon to the cart. As the day goes by, things progress from bad to worse. One of the back wheels on the horse cart falls off due to Jackie loosening it before they left. Once the wheel is reattached, the gang takes off in the cart without the adults. They find a site to set up their picnic and proceed to tear through most of the food. Farina is chased down by a large pig and ends up taking a ride on its back. The gang takes time to catch some field mice and frogs by a creek before going in for a swim. The boys won't let Mickey's little sister swim with them, so she angrily ties their clothes in knots. Farina gets bit by a snapping turtle shortly before the parents finally catch up with the swimmers. After all the children receive their respective spankings, everyone is ready to dig into the picnic baskets. However, a bear chases everyone away from the food. While they're all hiding from the bear, a terrible downpour starts, causing everyone to run back to the horse cart. It finally stops raining, but everyone still decides to call it a day. As Pa Tucker takes the reins, the horse breaks free from the cart and takes off down the road, leaving everyone to chase after it.
Quotes:
- "There are many different causes for insanity. Taking a lot of small boys out for a quiet picnic is sure-fire." - Screen Narration
Notes/Trivia:
- Mary Kornman does not appear in this short.
- In this short, Jack, Jackie, and Joe are depicted as being brothers, with their last name given as being "Tucker". Mickey's last name is given as McTeeter, and he has a younger sister in this film who goes along with the rest of the Rascals on their adventure.
- The idea of tying swimmers' clothes in knots would be used much later in Fightin' Fools.
- When Richard Daniels Sr. plays a gang member's father, it is nearly always Mickey's, but that is not the case in this short.
- A title card refers to Farina as a "she," yet the gang takes Farina swimming (actually mostly splashing in shallow water off to the side), while they insist Mickey's sister can't swim with them because she's a girl.