Melodies Old and New is a 1942 Our Gang

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 Edward Cahn. It was the 203rd Our Gang short (204th episode, 115th talking short, 116th talking episode, and 35th MGM produced episode) that was released.

Plot

Just as they did in Ye Olde Minstrels

Ye Olde Minstrels

Ye Olde Minstrels is a 1941 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Edward Cahn. It was the 197th Our Gang short that was released.-Plot:...

, the gang prevails upon old-time minstrel impresario Uncle Wills to help them stage a fund-raising musical show. Highlights include the ensemble number "When Grandma Wore a Bustle", the barbershop-quartet set piece "Songs of Long Ago", and the grand finale "Dances Old and New". The kids are unable to post the profits because Mickey has allowed most of the audience to enter for free, but Uncle Wills comes to the rescue once again.

Cast

• George McFarland
  George McFarland
  George Robert Phillips "Spanky" McFarland was an American actor most famous for his appearances as a child in the Our Gang series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s...
  
   - Spanky
• Mickey Gubitosi
  Robert Blake (actor)
  Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
  
   (later known as Robert Blake) - Mickey
• Billy Laughlin
  Billy Laughlin
  William Robert "Billy" Laughlin was an American child actor. He is best known for playing the character Froggy in the Our Gang short films in its final stretch, from 1940 to 1944.-Career:...
  
   - Froggy
• Billie Thomas - Buckwheat
• Janet Burston
  Janet Burston
  Janet Burston was an American child actress who was the final leading lady in the Our Gang short subjects series, replacing Darla Hood in 1942.-Career:...
  
   - Janet
• James Gubitosi
• Billy Ray Smith
• Frank Ward
• Freddie Walburn
• Dwayne Hickman
  Dwayne Hickman
  Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
  
  
• Shiela Brown
• Shirley Jean Dobler
• Lavonne Battle
• Walter Wills - Uncle Walt Wills