Teacher's Pet (1930)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Robert F. McGowan

Writers:

Robert F. McGowan (story)
H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Release Date:

11 October 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Short

Plot:

Jackie prepares a series of elaborate jokes for his new teacher.

Plot Keywords:

First Day Of School | Children | Our Gang | Practical Joke | Actor Shares First Name With Character

Cast

Jackie Cooper	...	Jackie
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins	...	Farina
Norman 'Chubby' Chaney	...	Chubby
Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins	...	Wheezer
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Hercules
Dorothy DeBorba	...	Echo
Buddy McDonald	...	Buddy
Mary Ann Jackson	...	Mary Ann
Donald Haines
Artye Folz
Bobby Mallon
June Marlowe	...	Miss June Crabtree
Baldwin Cooke	...	Caterer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Courtright	...	Old man
Betty Mae Crane	...	Talking titles
Beverly Crane	...	Talking titles
Gordon Douglas	...	Caterer
Mildred Kornman
Barbara Roach
Billy Seay

Directed by
Robert F. McGowan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert F. McGowan		story
H.M. Walker		dialogue

Produced by
Hal Roach	....	producer

Original Music by
Leroy Shield		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Art Lloyd

Film Editing by
Richard C. Currier

Sound Department
Elmer Raguse	....	sound recording engineer

Other crew
Hal Roach	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

Director Robert F. McGowan approached June Marlowe for this role when he spotted her in a Los Angeles department store. He later suggested the she wear a blond wig, to match co-star 'Jackie Cooper''s light-coloured hair (she was a brunette in real life).

Quotes:

Miss June Crabtree: I hope the children like me.
Old man: Oh, they'll like you alright. We'll have the cake and ice cream down to the school right on time.
[Miss Crabtree drives away]
Old man: Ummm... Wow! I wouldn't mind going back to school myself!

Movie Connections:

Remade as Bored of Education (1936)

Good

Teacher's Pet (1930)

*** (out of 4)

Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe) is the new teacher at the school where the gang goes and they plan on making her first day miserable but she has her own plan to get the group's affection. This here is certainly one of the better shorts in the Our Gang series up to this point. The majority of the charm has to go to Marlowe in her first appearance as Miss Crabtree. She has a few spots where her line reading isn't very good but she's attractive enough and charming enough to keep a smile on your face. Jackie Cooper is also very good in his role as the one who has a crush on her but is too embarrassed to say anything. Chubby and Dorothy get a very good sequence where she's constantly dubbing what he says and Wheezer is on hand for one of the highlights in the film. There's plenty of nice laughs throughout this short as well as some nice usage of the sound effects.