Mickey Daniels Movies

Not unexpectedly, the benign title of this silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy is a misnomer. Escaping from the local cop on the beat, the Our Gang kids take refuge in a railway station, where they exchange clothes with a group of runaway boys scheduled to be returned to their home in San Francisco. Unaware that a "good licking" awaits the kids in Frisco, the gang boards the train, where they are immediately placed in the care of the persnickety, child-hating boyfriend (William Gillespie) of a temporarily incapacitated welfare worker. Inevitably the kids wreak all sorts of havoc on the train and its passengers, especially when they come across the wares of a traveling fireworks salesman. Originally released on March 18, 1923, A Pleasant Journey was partially remade as the 1932 Our Gang entry Choo-Choo! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the silent film era's "third genius" was Harold Lloyd, who stars in this Horatio Alger-style story of an average country boy trying to make good in the big city. The Boy (Lloyd) leaves his sweetheart, The Girl (Mildred Davis, later the real-life Mrs. Lloyd) in Great Bend while he pursues his fortune in a teeming metropolis. The Boy lands a job as a clerk at a fabric counter of DeVore's, a huge department store, but he lies in his letters home to his beloved, pretending to be the store's manager and spending his earnings on lavish gifts. The Boy's roommate, The Pal (Bill Strother) makes money as a "human fly," performing attention-getting stunts. Promised $1,000 by DeVore's real manager if he can devise a publicity gimmick, The Boy convinces his friend to climb the 12-story establishment and split the winnings with him. On the day of the event, however, The Pal is busy dodging The Law (Noah Young), forcing The Boy to make the arduous climb solo. Dodging a variety of obstacles, The Boy climbs higher and higher, eventually dangling from the store's clock tower, in the film's most memorable image. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The title character in this silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy is lovable Mr. Tuttle, played by Richard Daniels, the father of freckle-faced Gang regular Mickey Daniels. The kids love to hang around Tuttle's shoe-repair shop, and he in turn enjoys their company, even when they get a bit too rambunctious for their own good. In a typical Our Gang plot twist, Tuttle receives a letter informing him that his back-pension has arrived. Exultantly he invites the gang on a picnic to celebrate -- a riotous sequence capped by a standard "watermelon" gag involving black youngster Allen "Farina" Hoskins. The Cobbler was originally released on February 18, 1923. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the behest of shady professional fundraiser Prince Delmar El Faro (William Gillespie), small-town author Fawn Ochletree (Clara Guiol) stages a charity performance of her latest play -- a Roman epic along the lines of Quo Vadis -- while the local mothers force their kids into playing all the roles. Since several of the budding thespians are members of Our Gang, the viewer can rest assured that havoc will ensue -- and it does, in spades! Not only are the kids unable to learn their dialogue, remember where they're supposed to be standing, or keep a straight face during the play's melodramatic plot convolutions, but the final act is disrupted by the sudden appearance of fireworks, courtesy of little Jackie Condon. On the plus side, fat Joe Cobb does make an impressive-looking Nero. Originally released in October of 1923, the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Stage Fright was remade as the 1929 talkie Shivering Shakespeare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Our Gang kids stage their own version of a county fair, with the help of two trained horses that have been innocently "borrowed" from a local trained-animal show. With their usual ingenuity, the youngsters devise and construct all manner of sideshow attractions, from a shooting gallery to a dog-powered merry-go-round. But the big-money act is an impromptu "movie show," with Gang members impersonating such silent-screen luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, William S. Hart, and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. A delightful two-reel time capsule, The Big Show was originally released on February 25, 1923. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Our Gang member Mickey Daniels goes to the hospital to have his tonsils removed, the rest of the kids decide to pay him a visit. Sure enough, the youngsters cause all sorts of mischief for the hospital staff and the other patients, invading the sanctity of the x-ray room and the operating theater, among other places. Highlights include little Allen "Farina" Hoskins' x-ray examination (revealing a stomach full of such indigestibles as nails, wire and safety pins), Mickey's strenuous efforts to avoid his hourly dose of castor oil, and a lengthy slow-motion sequence as the gang succumbs to the mirthful side effects of nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas. No Noise was originally released on September 23, 1923. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

They don't come any stranger than the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Lodge Night. After a brief sequence involving an African-American temperance lecturer, the Our Gang kids sneak away from their respective homes to attend a meeting of their secret organization, the Cluck Cluck Clams. Despite the fact that the organization is superficially patterned after the Ku Klux Klan, complete with white robes and pointed hoods, it is obvious that the kids have no idea what the real Klan is all about; in fact, two of the club's members are black youngsters "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison and Allen "Farina" Hoskins. Beyond this paradoxical plot device, the film follows the usual Our Gang pattern, as the Cluck Cluck Clams, together with new inductee Joe Cobb, manage to capture a gang of auto thieves -- and even get to drive one of the stolen cars. Reportedly, one of the film's gag writers was future Oscar-winning director Frank Capra. Lodge Night was originally released on July 29, 1923. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joining their families on a rural picnic, the Our Gang kids indulge in their usual horseplay. Adding to the comic chaos is the well-meaning interference of party-crashers "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison and Allen "Farina" Hoskins. Despite the mischievous youngsters, not to mention an invasion of frogs, mice and other pesky critters, the picnic proceeds as scheduled -- almost. A very minor silent "Our Gang" two-reeler, Sunday Calm was filmed in the summer of 1923, but not released until December 16 of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With the Our Gang kids involved, no street could ever possibly be quiet, despite the title of this silent two-reel comedy. In the early scenes, the gang "initiates" a new member, who happens to be the son of a policeman. Later on, the kids inadvertently capture an escaped convict named Red Mike (played by Jack Hill, later the perennial stunt double and stand-in for Hal Roach Studios comedian Charley Chase). The best gags have little to do with the plot, notably the hectic sequence in which a mule is pressed into service as a "carpet-beater." A Quiet Street was originally released by Pathe Exchange on December 31, 1922. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Because it was sandwiched between the exceptional comedies Grandma's Boy and Safety Last, Doctor Jack is one of Harold Lloyd's lesser-known features. Nevertheless, it's quite charming and actually did even better at the box office than Grandma's Boy, which was Lloyd's first true feature. Doctor Jack (Lloyd) is a nice young country doctor who prefers to use common sense and his sunny personality to effect cures instead of resorting to pills and potions. His most challenging case comes when a rich father (John T. Prince) asks him to look after his daughter (Mildred Davis, who, a few months after this film's release, would become Mrs. Harold Lloyd). The girl is being cared for by Dr. Ludwig von Saulsburg (Eric Mayne), who claims to be an eminent specialist. He keeps her in a darkened room and has prescribed her various medications. It takes Dr. Jack only a moment to figure out there is nothing wrong with the girl that a little sunshine and excitement won't cure. Von Saulsburg, who has been making a comfortable living off of the girl's family, is horrified by the country doctor's approach; to make matters worse, the girl falls in love with Dr. Jack. Their romance gets Dr. Jack thrown out of the house, but he gets back in the family's good graces by a little trick: Disguised as a lunatic, he terrorizes the household, then dressed as himself, he comes to the rescue. Along the way he makes a fool of the eminent Dr. Von Saulsburg. The excitement proves that the girl is perfectly healthy -- and ready to become Dr. Jack's wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Though not the first Our Gang comedy to be filmed, the silent, two-reel One Terrible Day was the first to be released, on September 10, 1922. It all begins when wealthy Mrs. Van Renssaler decides to improve her social standing by sponsoring a day's vacation for a group of local kids. Unfortunately for the dignified dowager, she is saddled with the Our Gang troupe, who make a shambles of the outing. The film's best scenes take place in and around Mrs. Van Renssaler's fancy limousine -- or at least, it was fancy until the kids showed up. Elements of One Terrible Day would resurface in such later Our Gang efforts as Fair and Muddy, Free Eats, Washee Ironee, and Honkey Donkey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide