The Cutting Room Floor #1

While our favorite Hal Roach shorts are first-rate comedies, Roach’s staff knew that no masterpiece starts out that way. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for the Roach writers to cook up an idea that didn’t quite garner the big laughs during previews. Other times, a film might simply be running a bit too long, and sacrifices had to be made in the edit.

For the most part, these deleted scenes are gone for good. But surviving scripts and photographs give us a taste of what didn’t make the cut.

Here is one from the Our Gang short The Pinch Singer (filmed 1935 and released 1936). In the film, Spanky is holding auditions for one of the Gang to represent the whole crew in an amateur radio contest. We get several bombs – Billy Mindy reciting a tongue twister with no end, a phony whistling routine from Buckwheat, and Alfalfa warbling “On the Road California”. All are met with Pete the Pup’s gong of disapproval.

Finally, Darla charms everyone a rendition of “I’m in the Mood for Love,” earning her the winning slot. But there are three members of the club who aren’t quite on board with the idea.

Originally, Darla’s audition was followed by another tryout, with part-time Little Rascals Leonard Kibrick, Donald Proffitt, and Dickie DeNeut giving us a bit of their musical act. As seen in these photos, the boys' oversized bass violin proves to be something unique.

Unlike some of the previous acts, theirs turns out to not just be a figurative bust. 

 

The Pinch Singer is available on Blu-Ray and DVD, handsomely restored by ClassicFlix.

https://www.classicflix.com/ 

- Matthew Lydick