The little rascals: Wild Poses
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Spanky at the photographer |
| Original title | Wild poses |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1933 |
| length | 18 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert F. McGowan |
| script |
HM Walker , Robert F. McGowan |
| production | Hal Roach |
| music |
Leroy Shield , Marvin Hatley |
| camera | Francis Corby |
| cut | William H. Terhune |
| occupation | |
| |
Wild Poses (also known in Germany as Spanky by the photographer ) is an American short film comedy by the Little Tramp directed by Robert F. McGowan from 1933.
action
Spanky is taken by his parents to the shop of the meticulous and somewhat self-important photographer Otto Phocus, because they want to participate and win a competition for the most beautiful child's photo. He is told that the photographer wants to "shoot" a picture of him - which is why he thinks the camera is a dangerous cannon that should be shot at him. As a result, Spanky tries to prevent Otto Phocus from taking a photo of him by all means: he looks away from the camera, he doesn't laugh and just looks stubborn, he ducks and hides and even hits Phocus in the face several times. His friends Stymie, Tommy and Jerry, who are also present in the photographer's shop, rush to help Spanky. For example, the children accidentally break the lens of the camera and replace it with a bottle, which Phocus takes a long time to notice. The increasingly desperate photographer is now trying by all means to get a photo of Spanky, for example he wants to distract him with an artificial bird on a pole so that he can take the photo, and tells him to look at the bird. However, when the little bird falls down, Spanky looks at the floor and the photographer's attempt failed again. When Phocus tries to persuade Spanky to take a family photo with his parents, the father is splashed with water by the camera shutter release (the shutter release was previously filled with water by the other children).
After Spanky's father Emerson got his head into the camera through an accident of his mother, Spanky looks distracted at them and has to laugh, whereupon Otto Phocus can finally take his picture. However, he discovers that Spanky's friends left the light on in the darkroom, destroying the photographic plates , so that Phocus' tedious work was for nothing. Spanky gives Phocus one last slap in the face before leaving the studio with his annoyed parents.
background
The film was shot in August 1933 and had its US premiere on October 28, 1933. Wild Poses was the 125th published film by the little rascals. Robert F. McGowan, permanent director of the series since the series began in 1922, left The Little Rascals for Wild Poses . One reason for McGowan's voluntary departure were the pushy and often disturbing parents of the child actors, who wanted to turn them into child stars and harassed McGowan with various demands. However, he returned to the series for a guest appearance as a director on Divot Diggers (1936).
Wild Poses can be described as a sequel to the previous Our Gang film Bedtime Worries (1933), because the radio and theater comedian duo Emerson Treacy (1900-1967) and Gay Seabrook (1901-1970), as in Bedtime Worries (1933) when Spanky's overwhelmed parents can be seen. In Bedtime Worries , Spanky annoyed his parents by not wanting to sleep and finally a burglar ( Harry Bernard ) stood at his door. Compared to other films from the series, both films mentioned fall out of line because they focus on Spanky and his family of the Fokos and not - as usual - on the entire group of children. It was the second and last collaboration between Seabrook and Treacy with the little rascals.
Laurel and Hardy cameo
The legendary comedian duo Laurel and Hardy has a cameo : At the beginning of the film, a businessman speaks to various families - including Spanky's parents - and advertises Otto Phocus' services. He tells a woman that she has two of the most photogenic children he has ever seen. The camera now shows the woman's two children, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in baby clothes. They fight for a baby bottle until Stan can stab Ollie in the eye and win the short scene. To make Laurel and Hardy look like babies in comparison to their surroundings, the oversized structures from the Laurel and Hardy film Happy Childhood (1930) were reused.
Reviews
The All Movie Guide reviewed the film and wrote that it would particularly benefit from adult cast members Franklin Pangborn, Guy Seabrook and Emerson Treacy.
Web links
- The Little Rascals: Wild Poses in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wild Poses at Lordheath ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Wild Poses (1933) - Robert F. McGowan | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie. Retrieved September 8, 2018 .
