Helping Grandma

Infobox Film
name = Helping Grandma


image_size =
caption =
director = Robert F. McGowan
producer = Robert F. McGowan
Hal Roach
writer = H. M. Walker
narrator =
starring =
music = Leroy Shield
Marvin Hatley
cinematography = Art Lloyd
editing = Richard C. Currier
distributor = MGM
released = 3 January, 1931
runtime = 20 minutes
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by = "School's Out"
followed_by = "Love Business"
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0021951

"Helping Grandma" is a 1931 "Our Gang" short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/225652/Helping-Grandma/overview |title=New York Times: Helping Grandma |accessdate=2008-09-19|work=NY Times] It was the 103rd (15th talking episode) "Our Gang" short that was released.

Plot

An older woman owns a small grocery store and the gang helps her run it by waiting on customers, delivering groceries, and keeping her company. They call her Grandma, though she is not any one kid's grandmother but everyone's grandma. She loves the gang and the gang loves her. A chain store company wants to buy her store for more than market value while a swindler also wants to buy it for next to nothing.

The gang thinks both parties want to practically steal the store away from her. The swindler stops in and tries talking Grandma into selling her store immediately for very little money. She balks and then goes downtown to run some errands leaving the gang in charge. Chain store officials then stop by and the gang tries to scare them away from buying the store. They leave as well.

Meanwhile Wheezer and Dorothy tease Stymie and do not let him have any candy. When he tries to con them into giving him some, they have Stymie sampling dog food, oil, lard, lux, gasoline, and fertalizer. Grandma returns along with the swindler who is in a rush to get her to sign away her store. She assumes she signs the store away to this guy and tells the children that she just sold the store. The man then calls the kids houdlems and tells them the store is his and he is the boss and they must leave. Grandma refuses to let him throw them out. Then the chain store officials arrive and the swindler states that the store now belong to him. He shows them the paper she signed and it was blank. The real bill of sale was not signed. Grandma also learns that this guy pretended to be Grandma over the phone and told the officials she did not want to sell the place. The officials also say they offered Grandma three times more than the original price agreed upon. The swindler accuses Grandma of tricking him. Grandma then socks the guy so hard he falls across the room. Wheezer then hits him on the head with a hammer and the show is over.

This episode was heavily edited on the Little Rascals television prints beginning in 1971. Scenes with Stymie being teased were all cut out due to perceptions of racism toward African Americans.

Cast

* Bobby Hutchins - Wheezer
* Matthew Beard - Stymie
* Allen Hoskins - Farina
* Mary Ann Jackson - Mary Ann
* Norman Chaney - Chubby
* Jackie Cooper - Jackie
* Shirley Jean Rickert - Shirley
* Clifton Young - Bonedust (as Bobby Young)
* Dorothy DeBorba - Dorothy
* Donald Haines
* Oscar Apfel - "Mr. Pennypacker" the swindler
* Margaret Mann - Mrs. Margaret Mack (storekeeper)
* Dell Henderson - Chain store official
* William Gillespie - Chain store official

ee also

* Our Gang filmography

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0021951|title=Helping Grandma