Readin' and Writin' (1932)

Director:

Robert F. McGowan

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Release Date:

2 February 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Family | Comedy

Plot:

Tired of going to school, Breezy comes up with a plan to get himself expelled. |

Plot Keywords:

Smart Ass | First Day Of School | Backtalking To Schoolteacher | Practical Joke | Our Gang

Cast

Sherwood Bailey	...	Spud
Carlena Beard	...	Marmalade
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Stymie
Harry Bernard	...	The fruit vendor
Dorothy DeBorba	...	Dorothy
Otto Fries	...	The blacksmith
Donald Haines
Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins	...	Wheezer
June Marlowe	...	Miss June Crabtree
Kendall McComas	...	Breezy Brisbane
Lyle Tayo	...	Breezy's mother
May Wallace	...	Wheezer's mother

Directed by
Robert F. McGowan

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

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

Cinematography by
Art Lloyd

Film Editing by
Richard C. Currier

Music Department
Leroy Shield	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios Inc.

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

USA: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 Inc.

Trivia:

'June Marlowe' 's final Our Gang appearance as Miss Crabtree.

Quotes:

The blacksmith: I led my class in all my subjects. I really *wanted* to be president.
Breezy Brisbane: And all you turned out to be is a punk blacksmith!

Very nostalgic picture of 1931 school days

"Readin' and Writin'" was eloquent of how not only some of the Little Rascals but a lot of kids felt about school. Breezy Brisbane was not naturally a BAD boy. More than anything else, he was irked by his dasmal-dame mother's nagging him about becoming President of U.S. He had desire to become a streetcar conductor instead, remarking about how they "pick up the nickels". (In 1931, a ride on a trolley car DID often cost five cents.) Trouble was that he behaved badly with INTENT to get expelled! Miss Crabtree sensed that, so as punishment, she insisted that he memorize the sappy piece that Sherwood had recited, about picking daffodils. Breezy would not do that, so he got expelled, He could not become President but could hardly become a streetcar conductor either! After he got expelled, his conscience caught up to him. It spoke in an uncanny way that he had better learn that poem. His conscience pointed out that there was no one to play with, the children being all in school, and no place to go as he could not go home, under the circumstances. (What would Mom say?) Breezy decided to go fishing, but the voice spoke spookily "learn that poem". Then he called to order the Secret Order of the Winking Eye (all by himself). Again, the mysterious voice tormented him LEARN THAT POEM. He DID memorize the poem, apologized to "Crabby" (as he coached others to call poor Miss Crabtree), and recited the poem, was in tears, and was laughed at. It was a just punishment for his deliberate effort to get expelled; it WAS deliberate, especially bringing in Dinah the Mule. Certainly it was more appropriate than being spanked so hard as to be unable to sit for days. What showed how Breezy felt about school, besides his being upset over Mom's pressure for him to want to be President, was his criticizing Sherwood for his poem. Granted, such a poem was sappy, though I would recite a poem like THAT before some others; all the same, reciting such a piece DOES NOT MAKE A GUY A SISSY AS THERE IS NO SUCH THING! It was an excellent film for a school days setting; it was the last in Robert McGowan's Our Gang school shorts with June Marlowe as Miss Crabtree