Shivering Shakespeare
Encyclopedia
Shivering Shakespeare is an Our Gang
short film directed by Robert A. McGowan
under the pseudonym
"Anthony Mack". Produced by Hal Roach
and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, it was the 95th Our Gang short to be released.
). The play (a benefit for the Auspices Children's Audubon Society) is written like a Shakespearean play, using words of older English and creating silly (and stupid) expressions like "What ho!" The play is written, produced, and directed by Mrs. Funston Evergreen Kennedy. Her husband, Kennedy the Cop, is responsible for the special effects and is forced to play different characters, including the giant named Ursus and an elephant.
As a nervous, uptight Mrs. Kennedy gives her introduction to the audience, the kids get ready for their performance. Their disgust and lack of enthusiasm show how they feel about the show. During the first act, Mary Ann (playing "Mary Annicus") and Wheezer forget a good bit of their lines and confuse some of the words for others, so Mrs. Kennedy has to yell them out to them. In the background, a tall boy who plays Ursus sneezes, causing his fake wig and beard to fall and land on Pete the Pup. Mrs. Kennedy helps Chubby start with his line and then excitedly forces her husband to shake the tin to create thundering noises. When Farina ("Farinacus") begins saying his line, a goat runs loose and butts him, knocking him down. Getting up, Farina yells, "Forsooth, I think these mountains are full of too many goats!"
At the end of Act I, Chubby gets ready to play Nero. He looks at the script and begins writing his lines on his costume in case he forgets a line. Kennedy the Cop luckily notices that he was wearing his costume inside out and has him put it on correctly. At the beginning of Act II, Jackie delivers his lines and (like the others) forgets several words, so Mrs. Kennedy yells them to him, getting more and more nervous. Donald Haines catches the giggles while saying his line about Nero riding an "elephant bathed in perfume." Just minutes later after Kennedy the Cop comes onstage in an elephant costume (with Chubby on his back), the curtain accidentally falls in the middle of he scene, causing the elephant head to fall off. The boy in charge of opening and closing the curtains just sits, so Mrs. Kennedy has to open them up for him. Chubby accidentally falls on a bowl of tomatoes, and the juice leaves his rear end wet and dirty.
Meanwhile, some teenaged boys (who were kicked out of the cast) are seeking revenge by throwing eggs at the players. Chubby forgets a line and has to pull his toga
up to find out what his next line is (this happens off and on throughout the entire show). His mother and Mrs. Kennedy order him to put it back down, so he asks quietly what he must say. After being given the line, he says, "What ho! Bring on the dancing girls!" A female dancer comes onstage to do her number while the musicians play a sour-note version of "The Blue Danube Waltz.". The angry boys find the dance number terrible and throw an egg at her face.
As Farina does his scene, wherein he reads the future from a crystal ball, he confuses some words for others, so Mrs. Kennedy again has to yell out the right words. After a while, he gets disgusted and aggravated with her yelling, and he yells out for the audience to hear, "Doggone it! Look, I wish that woman would quit bothering me!" The audience chuckles, and Farina resumes his performance by beginning his next line with "Well, anyway..." Chubby suddenly gets an egg thrown in his face, while Farina gets one at his right ear. Mrs. Kennedy, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, begins biting at her script.
At the beginning of Act III, "Mary Annicus" is told that Nero wants to marry her. Before she is able to show that she forgot her line, Mrs. Kennedy gives it to her: "I spurn thy vile heart, O monster, and cast it in the dust." Mary Ann, refusing to go through all that, just shortens the line: "Well anyway, I won't marry ya." Farina gets a second egg in the face, and the fight that he must have with the lion turns into a comedic act. The scenes with the sacred bull are even funnier when the man in the bull costume runs around and dances. Kennedy the Cop comes out onstage to play Ursus the Giant, who has to kill the "bullicus." When the man inside the bull costume provokes Kennedy by making the bull stand on just its hind legs, Kennedy takes off his beard and hair and fights the man inside the bull costume with his bare fists. By now, Mrs. Kennedy is about to break down and cry. Soon, Kennedy gets a pie in the face from one of the teenaged boys.
While saying his line, Chubby ends up getting a pie thrown at him from one of the boys. His mother catches the boy in the act of throwing the pie and encourages Chubby to throw a pie back at the boy. Chubby tries but misses. The man who was hit tries to hit Chubby but ends up hitting one of the other boys, and the boy's father tries to hit that man but misses. Chubby tries to hit another person who hit him with a pie but ends up hitting his own mother! Soon, a pie fight begins with everyone in the auditorium participating. Mrs. Kennedy sees the play being completely ruined and orders everyone to stop. The kids turn to Kennedy. He nods, giving them permission, and all the kids throw their pies at her.
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 film directed by Robert A. McGowan
Robert A. McGowan
Robert Anthony McGowan was an American screenwriter and film director.-Biography:Born in Denver, Colorado, McGowan is best known as a junior director for the Our Gang short subjects film series from 1926 to 1930, and as the co-writer of the series during the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer period from 1938 to...
under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Anthony Mack". Produced by Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, it was the 95th Our Gang short to be released.
Plot
On Thursday, February 18, in Gamut Hall, the gang participates (allegedly forced to do so) in a boring play entitled The Gladiator's Dilemma (a weak adaptation of the novel Quo VadisQuo Vadis (novel)
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish. Quo vadis is Latin for "Where are you going?" and alludes to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but on his way meets Jesus and asks him why he...
). The play (a benefit for the Auspices Children's Audubon Society) is written like a Shakespearean play, using words of older English and creating silly (and stupid) expressions like "What ho!" The play is written, produced, and directed by Mrs. Funston Evergreen Kennedy. Her husband, Kennedy the Cop, is responsible for the special effects and is forced to play different characters, including the giant named Ursus and an elephant.
As a nervous, uptight Mrs. Kennedy gives her introduction to the audience, the kids get ready for their performance. Their disgust and lack of enthusiasm show how they feel about the show. During the first act, Mary Ann (playing "Mary Annicus") and Wheezer forget a good bit of their lines and confuse some of the words for others, so Mrs. Kennedy has to yell them out to them. In the background, a tall boy who plays Ursus sneezes, causing his fake wig and beard to fall and land on Pete the Pup. Mrs. Kennedy helps Chubby start with his line and then excitedly forces her husband to shake the tin to create thundering noises. When Farina ("Farinacus") begins saying his line, a goat runs loose and butts him, knocking him down. Getting up, Farina yells, "Forsooth, I think these mountains are full of too many goats!"
At the end of Act I, Chubby gets ready to play Nero. He looks at the script and begins writing his lines on his costume in case he forgets a line. Kennedy the Cop luckily notices that he was wearing his costume inside out and has him put it on correctly. At the beginning of Act II, Jackie delivers his lines and (like the others) forgets several words, so Mrs. Kennedy yells them to him, getting more and more nervous. Donald Haines catches the giggles while saying his line about Nero riding an "elephant bathed in perfume." Just minutes later after Kennedy the Cop comes onstage in an elephant costume (with Chubby on his back), the curtain accidentally falls in the middle of he scene, causing the elephant head to fall off. The boy in charge of opening and closing the curtains just sits, so Mrs. Kennedy has to open them up for him. Chubby accidentally falls on a bowl of tomatoes, and the juice leaves his rear end wet and dirty.
Meanwhile, some teenaged boys (who were kicked out of the cast) are seeking revenge by throwing eggs at the players. Chubby forgets a line and has to pull his toga
Toga
The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...
up to find out what his next line is (this happens off and on throughout the entire show). His mother and Mrs. Kennedy order him to put it back down, so he asks quietly what he must say. After being given the line, he says, "What ho! Bring on the dancing girls!" A female dancer comes onstage to do her number while the musicians play a sour-note version of "The Blue Danube Waltz.". The angry boys find the dance number terrible and throw an egg at her face.
As Farina does his scene, wherein he reads the future from a crystal ball, he confuses some words for others, so Mrs. Kennedy again has to yell out the right words. After a while, he gets disgusted and aggravated with her yelling, and he yells out for the audience to hear, "Doggone it! Look, I wish that woman would quit bothering me!" The audience chuckles, and Farina resumes his performance by beginning his next line with "Well, anyway..." Chubby suddenly gets an egg thrown in his face, while Farina gets one at his right ear. Mrs. Kennedy, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, begins biting at her script.
At the beginning of Act III, "Mary Annicus" is told that Nero wants to marry her. Before she is able to show that she forgot her line, Mrs. Kennedy gives it to her: "I spurn thy vile heart, O monster, and cast it in the dust." Mary Ann, refusing to go through all that, just shortens the line: "Well anyway, I won't marry ya." Farina gets a second egg in the face, and the fight that he must have with the lion turns into a comedic act. The scenes with the sacred bull are even funnier when the man in the bull costume runs around and dances. Kennedy the Cop comes out onstage to play Ursus the Giant, who has to kill the "bullicus." When the man inside the bull costume provokes Kennedy by making the bull stand on just its hind legs, Kennedy takes off his beard and hair and fights the man inside the bull costume with his bare fists. By now, Mrs. Kennedy is about to break down and cry. Soon, Kennedy gets a pie in the face from one of the teenaged boys.
While saying his line, Chubby ends up getting a pie thrown at him from one of the boys. His mother catches the boy in the act of throwing the pie and encourages Chubby to throw a pie back at the boy. Chubby tries but misses. The man who was hit tries to hit Chubby but ends up hitting one of the other boys, and the boy's father tries to hit that man but misses. Chubby tries to hit another person who hit him with a pie but ends up hitting his own mother! Soon, a pie fight begins with everyone in the auditorium participating. Mrs. Kennedy sees the play being completely ruined and orders everyone to stop. The kids turn to Kennedy. He nods, giving them permission, and all the kids throw their pies at her.
Cast
- Norman Chaney - Chubby / Nero
- Allen Hoskins - Farina / Farinacus
- Jackie CooperJackie CooperJackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
- Jackie / the Christian - 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 / Mary Annicus - Bobby Hutchins - Wheezer / Mary Annicus' youthful brother
- Donald HainesDonald HainesDonald Haines was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1929 to 1933.-Our Gang:...
- Guard with the giggles / Shepherd - Edith FellowsEdith FellowsEdith Marilyn Fellows was an American actress who began her professional career at age 6.-Personal life:When she was a year old, she and her father and grandmother moved to Charlotte, North Carolina...
- Screaming kid - Gordon Thorpe - Effeminate boy
- Jack McHugh - Teenager
- Douglas Greer - Turkie Egg
- Georgie Billings - Shepherd / guard
- Johnny Aber - Teenager
- Bobby Mallon - Shepherd / guard
- 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 - Gertrude Sutton - Mrs. Funston Evergreen Kennedy
- Edgar KennedyEdgar KennedyEdgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
- Kennedy the Cop - Carlton GriffinCarlton GriffinCarlton Griffin , was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1915 and 1940.He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Girl Shy...
- Man inside bull costume - Charles McAvoy - Man whose son is splattered
- Lyle TayoLyle TayoLyle Tayo was an American film actress who appeared in 59 films between 1921 and 1948. Tayo was born in Elmdale, Kansas and died in Hollywood, California. She is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery....
- Chubby's mother - Dorothy CoburnDorothy CoburnDorothy Coburn was a dark-haired actress, who appeared in a number of the early Laurel and Hardy silents. She was niece of author Walt Coburn, and granddaughter of Robert Coburn Sr., founder of the famous Circle C Ranch in Montana.Raised in Prescott, Arizona, Coburn was born to cowboy-poet and...
- Pie sale girl