Dogs Of War!  
 
01 July 1923
Pathé Exchange
silent short
2-reels

 

Director: Robert F. McGowan  Producer: Hal Roach  Dialogue: H.M. Walker
Cinematography: Harry W. Gerstad  Editor: Thomes J. Crizer

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The "war of Kelly's tomato patch" is in full swing, with the fearless "Stonewall Jackie", the leader of the periscope forces, keeping a lookout over the trenches in front of the West Coast Studios.  The army of children, consisting of Ernie, Mickey, Joe, Farina and others, gather on the waste ground to do battle.  Mary gives a sexy (can I say that, given she was only 7 at the time?) little wave to Mickey, as Jackie reports to Ernie and tells him the enemy are just two killameeters [sic] from the pump.
The boys jump into a trench they have built for themselves and gather rocks to throw at their enemy.  The opposition retreat briefly, across the barren ground.  Farina spots a skunk and crawls after it into a small tunnel.  The smell from the animal stinks out the place and the boys are told to get their gas marks on!  The rocks are thrown between the two armies when Jack (Davis) is hit and needs to go to the makeshift hospital for treatment.  Nurse Mary attends to Jack's wounded finger by shoving a large lightbulb into his mouth and monitoring his pulse with an alarm clock.
Incensed that Mary is giving somebody else her attention, Mickey encourages one of the boys on the opposing army to fire over a tomato in his direction so that it would appear he is bloodied and can justify a visit to Mary too.
Mickey takes the tomato in the face and reports to the sick bay, where Mary discharges an angry Jack and takes in Mickey.  Jackie and Joe launch a catapult containing large boulders before the opposing army retaliate.  The group decide to regroup after it is announced Farina has been killed four times, and so bring out a self-made tank, but unfortunately the games are abruptly halted when Mary's mother comes to take her away.
Mary claims she has to leave because she is going to be an actress and work in the movies for $5, which leads the group of boys to want to do the same.  So off they toddle, across the road from their battleground and into the West Coast Studios offices.  Farina, followed by Mickey and Joe, all tell the man at the reception desk they want to work in films for five dollars a piece.
REVIEW COMPLETE TO 10:00
IMAGE COMING SOON

  Favourite bit
Undecided.

Facts
•Filmed January 12 - February 10, 1923, with retakes February 20-23 and April 11, 1923.
•Copyrighted July 19, 1923.
•Production A-14 - Our Gang series.
•The 14th film in the series.
Did you notice?
•West Coast Studios is the setting of the film.
•The firecracker lit by Ernie has the words "Big Chief" Salute printed on it.
•The sick chart that Mary writes is inconsistent in its use of lettering.  The letter R is written both normally and backwards for the words "chart" and "finger".  The same goes for the letter C in "cut finger" and "Mickey".
•The building used as the West Coast Studios is actually the Hal Roach Back Lot admin block.

Joe Cobb
Lieutenant Joe
Jackie Condon
Rear Admiral "Stonewall" Jackie
Mickey Daniels
General Mickey
Ernest Morrison
Admiral Ernie
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins
Private Farina
Mary Kornman
Nurse Mary
Jack Davis
Radio corps Jack
Andy Samuel
Boy who throws tomato at Mickey
Roy Brooks
Receptionist
  Elmo Billings
Opposing army member
Bob Davis
Truck driver
  Dick Gilbert
Studio guard
  WIlliam Gillespie
Director, "Should Husbands Work?"
  Clara Guiol
Actress, mother of 'Little Clarice'
  Jack Hill
Officer
  Wallace Howe
Actor around the lot
  Harold Lloyd
Himself
  Walter Lundin
Film's photographer
  Ernie Morrison Sr.
Film's assistant director
  Fred C. Newmeyer
Director of "Why Worry?"
  Jobyna Ralston
Herself
  Gabe Saienz
Opposing army member
  Lincoln Stedman
Casting director
  Charles Stevenson
Actor 'Dan'
George Warde
Opposing army member
  Leo White
Actor around the lot
  Charley Young
Film's photographer

 

Acknowledgements:
http://www.theluckycorner.com/rps/014.html (Robert Demoss/The Lucky Corner)
The Little Rascals - The Life And Times Of Our Gang by Leonard Maltin & Richard W. Bann (book)
Matthew Lydick (screenshot - Bob Davis)

This page was last updated on: 24 March 2019