Fly My Kite (1931)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Robert F. McGowan

Writer:

H.M. Walker (writer)

Release Date:

30 May 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy | Short

Plot:

A greedy man tries to get rid of his mother by putting her in an old folks home until he discovers she has a fortune in stock certificates. |

Plot Keywords:

Children | Our Gang

Cast

Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Stymie
Mae Busch	...	Dan's new wife
Norman 'Chubby' Chaney	...	Chubby
Dorothy DeBorba	...	Dorothy
George Ernest
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins	...	Farina
Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins	...	Wheezer
Dickie Jackson
Mary Ann Jackson
Margaret Mann	...	Grandma
Jim Mason	...	Son-in-law Dan (as James Mason)
Broderick O'Farrell	...	Bond agent
Shirley Jean Rickert
Chic Sales Jr.	...	Chic
Jackie Williams

Directed by
Robert F. McGowan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
H.M. Walker		writer

Produced by
Robert F. McGowan	....	producer
Hal Roach	....	producer

Original Music by
Leroy Shield		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Art Lloyd

Film Editing by
Richard C. Currier

Stunts
David Sharpe	....	stunt double: Margaret Mann (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (laserdisc)

Runtime:

USA:20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Filming Locations:

Cadillac Avenue & Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

The final Our Gang appearances for Mary Ann Jackson, and Norman 'Chubby' Chaney.

Movie Connections:

References Saturday Morning (1922)

Fair

Fly My Kite (1931)

** (out of 4)

This Our Gang short doesn't have too many laughs but there's still a fairly nice story. The gang's favorite grandmother is getting taken advantage of by her evil stepson. He kicks her out of the house she's staying but soon tries to steal some bonds from her, which are worth a lot of money. Again, I really didn't laugh a single time during this short but I enjoyed the story enough to make it worth sitting through and the cast were all pretty good. Margaret Mann is pretty good as the grandmother and Mae Busch, of Laurel and Hardy fame, is nice in her one scene. Chubby, Stymie and Wheezer are all cute enough in the film even though they don't get too many comic moments. The film ends with the gang tracking down the stepson and throwing rocks at him, which was mildly entertaining.