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[nifwiggl]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPANKY, ALFALFA, BUCKWHEAT, DARLA, PETE THE PUP
AND ALL THE FAVORITES FROM “OUR GANG” ARE BACK

THE LITTLE RASCALS:
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

The Cultural Icons Star in 80 Remastered, Restored, and Uncut Shorts
in an Eight-Disc Anthology in Order of Chronological Release

Bonus Features Include Three Silent Shorts, Three Featurettes, Filmed Introductions and a 12-Page Collectible Photo Booklet

AVAILABLE ON DVD OCTOBER 28


SANTA MONICA, CALIF. (July 28, 2008) – Generations have grown up with them and now Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Darla, Froggy, Pete the Pup and the rest of the gang return in their best-loved comedies when Genius Products and RHI Entertainment debuts The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection on DVD October 28. One of the most famous and successful series in cinema history, the collection represents all 80 shorts in chronological release date order created under the supervision of legendary film producer Hal Roach from the dawn of the talkies (1929) until the series was sold to MGM in 1938, an era generally conceded to be the series “golden age.” Each short has been magnificently remastered from the original camera negatives, restored using DVNR technology and available uncut for the first time in years.

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection also features a wealth of bonus materials including introductions and commentaries by various film historians and authors; interviews with former “Little Rascals” members, the five-part featurette Catching Up With “The Rascals”; the featurette The Story of Hal Roach and “Our Gang;” the featurette “The Rascals” and Racial Issues, a study of racism as part of the Rascals; and three original silent shorts from the Hal Roach “Our Gang” library: Dog Heaven (1927), Spook-Spoofing (1928) and Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (1928). Also included with the set is a collectible photo booklet containing classic images from the series, original movie posters, fun facts, and lobby cards. The preeminent collection is a must-have for all true fans and will be available for $89.95 SRP.

Producer Hal Roach (who also launched Harold Lloyd and Laurel & Hardy into immortality) introduced “The Little Rascals” in 1922. The short films featured ordinary, lower class kids acting like real children, rather than stilted actors and the series immediately gained popularity with film-going audiences. Although originally dubbed “Hal Roach’s Rascals,” the name “Our Gang” caught on in popularity after one of the early short’s titles and became the official name shortly afterward. The series also broke new ground by including boys, girls, whites and blacks interacting as equals.

In 1938, Roach sold the series outright to MGM, stepping away from any active participation in his creation. The studio continued to make “Our Gang” comedies, but without Roach, the series deteriorated in quality and popularity and MGM discontinued production in 1944. In the late ‘40s, Roach exorcized his option to buy back the rights to the 1927–1938 “Our Gang” shorts, repackaged them (without the “Our Gang” name and MGM logo, to which the studio still owned the rights) and launched “The Little Rascals” on television in 1955, where they became, along with “The Three Stooges,” staples of after-school TV, enchanting whole new generations of children for years to come.

In addition to the Academy Award® winning Bored of Education (Best Short Subject/One-Reel, 1937) and Pups Is Pups (1930) which was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004, The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection includes the shorts Small Talk, Railroadin’, Boxing Gloves, Lazy Days, Bouncing Babies, Moan & Groan, Inc., Shivering Shakespeare (all 1929); The First Seven Years, When the Wind Blows, Bear Shooters, A Tough Winter, Teacher’s Pet, School’s Out (all 1930); Helping Grandma, Love Business, Little Daddy, Bargain Day, Fly My Kite, Big Ears, Shiver My Timbers, Dogs Is Dogs, Readin’ and Writin’ (all 1931); Free Eats, Spanky, Choo-Choo!, The Pooch, Hook and Ladder, Free Wheeling, Birthday Blues, A Lad an’ a Lamp (all 1932); Fish Hooky, Forgotten Babies, The Kid From Borneo, Mush and Milk, Bedtime Worries, Wild Poses (all 1933); Hi’-Neighbor, For Pete’s Sake, The First Round-Up, Honky-Donkey, Mike Fright, Washee Ironee, Mama’s Little Pirate, Shrimps for a Day (all 1934); Anniversary Trouble, Beginner’s Luck, Teacher’s Beau, Sprucin’ Up, The Lucky Corner, Little Papa, Little Sinner, Our Gang Follies of 1936 (all 1935); Divot Diggers, The Pinch Singer, Second Childhood; Arbor Day; Two Too Young; Pay As You Exit, Spooky Hooky (all 1936); Reunion in Rhythm, Glove Taps, Hearts Are Thumps, Three Smart Boys, Rushin’ Ballet; Roamin’ Holiday; Night ‘N’ Gales; Fishy Tales; Framing Youth; The Pigskin Palooka; Mail and Female; Our Gang Follies of 1938 (all 1937); Canned Fishing, Bear Facts, Three Men in a Tub, Came the Brawn; Feed ‘Em and Weep, The Awful Tooth, and Hide and Shriek (all 1938).

Special Features:
Commentary from Film Historians and Authors
Interviews with former “Little Rascals” members
Film Introductions
Three Original Hal Roach “Our Gang” Silent Shorts
Dog Heaven (1927)
Spook-Spoofing (1928)
Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (1928)
Featurette: The Story of Hal Roach and Our Gang
Featurette: “The Rascals” and Racial Issues
5-Part Featurette: Catching Up With “The Rascals”
12 page collectible photo booklet with trivia, images, and collectible lobby cards





BASICS
Price: $89.95 SRP
Street Date: October 28, 2008
Pre-order Date: September 16, 2008
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Languages: English
Running time: 1332 Minutes
Catalog Number: 81205
UPC: 7-96019-81205-4

[WaverBoy]

Have the original "Our Gang" opening titles been restored to the films?

That's the way it should be, with a reissue title thrown in as an extra for TV nostalgia purposes.

[nifwiggl]

[nifwiggl]

[Jim Reid]

Most of the distributors of both Laurel & Hardy
and Our Gangs over the years replaced
the MGM opeing titles with their own titles.

In the case of L&H, the best known titles
were the Film Classics and the very plain Blackhawk titles.

He wants to know if the MGM titles have been restored.

My guess is yes, considering they were restored
on the laserdisc set that came out in the 90s.
I'm pretty sure they all had complete titles,
including the roaring lion.

[WaverBoy]

Sounds like they will be. Thanks! I never saw the LD set, or the Cabin Fever DVDs; in fact, I haven't seen these films since I was a kid in the '70s, after school on TV. It'll be so great to see them again!

[Silent Clowns]

What label is putting this set out?
_________________
www.silentfilmmusic.com

[Jim Reid]

[nifwiggl]

[Holmes]

What a year it's going to be for Our Gang/The Little Rascals. Not only do we have this wonderful set coming out within the week, I'm still waiting for Laughsmith's set to come out covering their silent period - Our Gang: Before The Little Rascals Spoke.

[Chubby]

Do you think Laughsmith will eventually release these Our Gang silents? Every time I surf their website, it is STILL not available! It seems like years of waiting and waiting and waiting........

[Jim Reid]

[Mack Sennett]

Hopefully RHI and Genius Entertainmant will release a Laurel and Hardy box set.

[Hillbilly Franey]

It seems Michael Agee's silent L&H project has dropped of the face of the earth.

[Laughsmith]

Greetings all,

Laughsmith has not released the Our Gang set because of
a pending arbitration matter which is scheduled for early
December. We will announce our plans at the conclusion
of that hearing.

Re: Agee

Several associates have indicated that Mr. Agee is seriously
ill. How that will affect his L&H project is anyone's guess.

-- PG