Fly My Kite
Encyclopedia
Fly My Kite is a 1931 Our Gang
short
comedy film
directed by Robert F. McGowan
. It was the 107th Our Gang short that was released.
He tells her to get her stuff and get out. He also tells her that she is broke and that he used up all the money from the store sale mere months ago. He says that she is old and that he cannot wait till she dies of old age because that could take forever. He even says he's arranged to have her sent to the Poor Farm.
Grandma confronts her son-in-law and the Gang attacks him up on the spot. He manages to escape the children's rampages and then tells Grandma to leave immediately. He finds a letter informing her that she has savings bonds and to communicate with the bank right away. He goes to the bank and discovers they are indeed worth $100,000 dollars (by today's standards about $5 million). As Grandma is packing, she finds the bonds that she still thinks have no worth. Chubby is flying a kite with Dickie and the kite does not stay up. Grandma tells him the tail needs more weight and uses the bonds to get the kite to fly.
Grandma's son-in-law returns to the house, purposely breaks her glasses (she thinks it is accidental) and pretends to read a letter that her bonds are worthless. She tells him that the bonds are on the tail of Chubby's kite. He runs outside and tries to take the kite away from Chubby. Grandma then reads the letter (magnified through a goldfish
bowl) and learns the truth. She sends the Gang out to help Chubby keep her son-in-law from getting the kite. The Gang runs out and beats Grandma's son-in-law to a pulp (Including dragging him over a board studded with nails!). They bust his watch (tit-fot-tat for him breaking Grandma's glasses!) They saw a telephone pole he is climbing to get the kite away from him. He falls in a large puddle and Mary Ann gets the bonds and hands them to Grandma.
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Robert F. McGowan
Robert F. McGowan
Robert Francis McGowan was an American film director and producer, best known as the senior director of the Our Gang short subjects film series from 1922 until 1933.-Career:...
. It was the 107th Our Gang short that was released.
Plot
Grandma, who recently sold her grocery store, is enjoying retirement with her beloved "grandchildren". She's actually a widow who outlived her only daughter, who was married but childless. Grandma lives in her son-in-law's house and he's in charge of her money, which he has mostly spent. Meanwhile, she is having fun with the Gang -- she's not any one child's grandma but everyone's grandma. Her son-in-law, however, wants to remarry and he and his intended both want Grandma out of the house so they can move in.He tells her to get her stuff and get out. He also tells her that she is broke and that he used up all the money from the store sale mere months ago. He says that she is old and that he cannot wait till she dies of old age because that could take forever. He even says he's arranged to have her sent to the Poor Farm.
Grandma confronts her son-in-law and the Gang attacks him up on the spot. He manages to escape the children's rampages and then tells Grandma to leave immediately. He finds a letter informing her that she has savings bonds and to communicate with the bank right away. He goes to the bank and discovers they are indeed worth $100,000 dollars (by today's standards about $5 million). As Grandma is packing, she finds the bonds that she still thinks have no worth. Chubby is flying a kite with Dickie and the kite does not stay up. Grandma tells him the tail needs more weight and uses the bonds to get the kite to fly.
Grandma's son-in-law returns to the house, purposely breaks her glasses (she thinks it is accidental) and pretends to read a letter that her bonds are worthless. She tells him that the bonds are on the tail of Chubby's kite. He runs outside and tries to take the kite away from Chubby. Grandma then reads the letter (magnified through a goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
bowl) and learns the truth. She sends the Gang out to help Chubby keep her son-in-law from getting the kite. The Gang runs out and beats Grandma's son-in-law to a pulp (Including dragging him over a board studded with nails!). They bust his watch (tit-fot-tat for him breaking Grandma's glasses!) They saw a telephone pole he is climbing to get the kite away from him. He falls in a large puddle and Mary Ann gets the bonds and hands them to Grandma.
Cast
- Matthew Beard - Stymie
- Norman Chaney - Chubby
- Dorothy DeBorbaDorothy DeBorbaDorothy Adelle DeBorba was an American former child actress who was a regular in the Our Gang series of short subjects as the leading lady from 1930 to 1933.-Early life:...
- Dorothy - George ErnestGeorge ErnestGeorge Ernest was an American actor. He appeared in over 60 films between 1930 and 1942.Born George Ruud Hjorth to a Norwegian mother and Danish father, the family moved to California when George was two and a half years old...
- Our Gang kid who boxes with Grandma - Allen Hoskins - Farina
- Bobby Hutchins - Wheezer
- Dickie Jackson - Dickie
- Mary Ann JacksonMary Ann JacksonMary Ann Jackson was an American former child actress who appeared in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was a native of Los Angeles, California.-Career:...
- Mary Ann - Shirley Jean RickertShirley Jean RickertShirley Jean Rickert was an American child actress who was briefly the "blonde girl" for the Our Gang series in 1931, during the Hal Roach talkie period.-Career:...
- Shirley - Pete the PupPete the PupPete the Pup was a Pit Bull character in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies during the 1920s and 1930s...
- Petie - Margaret MannMargaret MannMargaret Mann , was a Scottish - American actress. She starred in a number of major films such as Black Beauty in 1921 and played the lead role in the 1928 film Four Sons one of John Wayne's first films...
-Grandma - Jim MasonJim Mason (actor)Jim Mason was an American actor. He appeared in 173 films between 1914 and 1952.He was born in Paris and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:* Nan of Music Mountain...
- Son-in-law Dan - Mae BuschMae BuschMae Busch was an Australian film actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career, she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, where she frequently played Hardy's shrewish wife.-Early life and career:Born in Melbourne, Australia, Busch was...
- Dan's new wife - Broderick O'Farrell - Bond agent
- Chic Sales Jr. - Our Gang member
- Jackie Williams - Our Gang member