Gus Meins Movies

Venerable character actor Harry Davenport (best remembered as Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind) takes center stage in the "Higgins Family" entry Grandpa Goes to Town. The story gets under way when Joe and Lil Higgins (James and Lucille Gleason) invest their life savings in a frontier hotel. Upon arrival, the family discovers that the establishment is smack dab in the middle of a ghost town that hasn't seen a human face in years. Fortunately, Grandpa Higgins (Davenport) discovers gold on the property, leading to a spectacular upsurge in business-and a bit of unexpected trouble from a few unsavory types. In keeping with its policy of hiring the losers of Joe Louis' heavyweight championship bouts for their films, Republic Pictures provides a sizeable role in Grandpa Goes to Town for Louis' latest victim, Arturo Godoy, who appears in a dance sequence with his attractive wife Ledda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the Higgins Family series, pandemonium ensues when Ma enters a dog biscuit contest. The prize is a whopping $50,000. Unfortunately, the company is represented by Pa's ad agency and his wife cannot legally enter. The trouble is, to win, Ma purchased every dog biscuit in town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Mysterious Miss X would have the audience believe that the very American Michael Whalen and Chick Chandler are a pair of stranded British vaudevillians named Neville and Casey. Further straining the film's credibility is the notion of our heroes being mistaken for Scotland Yard detectives. Rising to the occasion, Neville and Casey attempt to solve a murder in a backwater Midwestern town. The clues all seem to point to heroine Julie (Mary Hart, aka Lynne Roberts), much to the dismay of Neville, who's developed a crush on the girl. When a second murder occurs, Julie is in the clear, and the "least obvious suspect" (whom the audience tagged in reel one) is captured. A few scattered laughs are provided by radio comedienne Mabel Todd as a well-meaning buttinsky. Mysterious Miss X was directed by former "Our Gang" helmsman Gus Meins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the comedy series the "Higgins Family," the group must cancel a cruise to South America after the check they needed does not arrive. To save face before their neighbors, the family embarks upon a wilderness fishing trip. The family made a wise decision to forego the cruise as the boat sinks and everyone is lost. This creates havoc for the Higgins family neighbors who believe they went down with the ship. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Though its title suggests yet another rip-off of It Happened One Night, Republic's Romance on the Run is more accurately classifed as a crime caper comedy. Private detective Barry Drake (Donald Woods) gives chase when jewel thieves Lily (Grace Bradley) and Cooper (Craig Reynolds) skip town and high-tail it to the sticks. Along the way, Drake begrudgingly accepts the help and advice of dizzy Dale (Patricia Ellis), with whom he falls in love (hence the film's title). Much of the film takes place in hillbilly country, with Drake and Dale running afoul of comic-strip hillbillies. Edward Brophy has a few choice moments as a dyspeptic gangster. Romance on the Run was directed by Gus Meins, a graduate of the "Our Gang" comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a milquetoast clerk is betrothed to the socialite whose aunt holds a big account with his company. When the agency owner hears that the generous aunt is preparing to close her account and give all the money to the happy couple, the boss decides to stop the wedding. To do so, he hires the seductive blonde wife of a vaudevillian friend to play a "practical joke" upon the hapless clerk. The joke almost succeeds when he comes very close to losing his beloved. Fortunately, the gal is loyal and totally trusting. The marriage takes place and all is well. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical an agent hawks a new singing star to irritate a wealthy socialite whom he managed to get on the radio. There the socialite found some success, but then she dumped her agent. As the radio network continues to search for new talent, music and mayhem ensue. Songs include: "Sweet Heartache," "Hail Alma Mater," "Last Night I Dreamed of You," "You'd Like It," "I'll Reach for a Star," "The Lady Wants to Dance," "Was It Rain," "Love Is Good for Anything That Ails You," "I've Got to Be a Rug Cutter," and "Jungle Rhythm." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also released as The Gentleman from California, this budget-conscious swashbuckler is strongly reminiscent of The Mark of Zorro. Nineteenth-century California aristocrat Ramon Escobar (Ricardo Cortez) returns after several years' schooling in Spain to discover that his native land is in the hands of corrupt politicians. The villains are systematically forcing the "old" Californian families from their property, using a variety of legal but highly unethical maneuvers. In retaliation, Escobar adopts the guise of a mystery avenger to right all wrongs and re-establish justice. Based on a story by Harold Bell Wright, The Californians was directed by Gus Meins, heretofore most closely associated with Hal Roach's "Our Gang" comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced by Hal Roach, Kelly the Second is one of the few feature films to capture the comic spirit of Roach's wonderful two-reelers. Patsy Kelly stars as Molly Kelly, who as the result of an unexpected street brawl becomes the trainer of truck-driver-turned-prizefighter Cecil Callahan (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams). It seems that Cecil is a gentle soul who turns into a fighting fool whenever he hears the strains of "The Irish Washerwoman." Molly talks her boss, druggist Doc Klum (Charley Chase), into financing Cecil's ring career, which gets Doc in dutch with gangsters Ike (Ed Brophy) and Spike (Harold Huber). When Cecil's head is briefly turned by Ike's moll Gloria (Pert Kelton), Molly walks out on him but returns in time to cheer him to victory in the inevitable Big Fight. Despite some formidable comic competition, the film is stolen by the great Charley Chase, in one of his few feature-film appearances. Kelly the Second also features unbilled cameos by such Hal Roach favorites as Max Davidson and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (Billy Gilbert, alas, was cut from the final release print); best of all, the musical score includes several familiar "background" themes by the inimitable LeRoy Shield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lovable old Gus (Gus Leonard) is forced to move his tiny lemonade stand when sidewalk-diner owner William Wagner and his bratty son Leonard Kibrick complain that Gus represents "unfair competition." As Gus relocates near a barber shop at the invitation of friendly boot black Joe Mathey, the Our Gang kids decide to drum up business for their favorite merchant by staging a makeshift parade and musical show. Wagner and his son finally get their comeuppance when a scalp-massaging device becomes lodged in Wagner's trousers, forcing the villain into a brief but colorful "dancing" career. Highlights include Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer's deathless rendition of "Little Brown Jug" and a lengthy comedy set piece involving soap-spiked lemonade. Though filmed for Our Gang's 1934-1935 season, The Lucky Corner was inexplicably withheld from release until March 14, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the last of the Hal Roach Studio "girlfriend" two-reel comedies, Patsy Kelly and Lyda Roberti go on a rugged camping trip for publicity purposes. The teaming of the homely Kelly with glamorous Roberti, Roach's Polish-born replacement for the late Thelma Todd, continued to amusing effect in the feature comedy Nobody's Baby (1937) but was eventually cut tragically short when Roberti suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 26 on March 12, 1938. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Much against his will, Spanky McFarland had been entered in a kiddie talent contest by his ambitious mother (Kitty Kelly). Hoping to dissuade his Mom from forcing him into a theatrical career, Spanky arranges for the other Our Gang kids to "razz" him during the performance, thereby making certain that he'll lose. While backstage, however, Spanky befriends little Marianne Edwards, who desperately needs the prize money to buy a new dress. Stricken by stage fright, Marianne rushes offstage in tears before she can go into her act. Touched by the girl's plight, Spanky is now determined to win the contest and turn the prize money over to the girl--but the other Gang members don't know that, and they're primed to greet Spanky's recitation with a barrage of boos, catcalls, noisemakers and peashooters. As in the previous comedy Our Gang: Mike Fright, this two-reeler scores its biggest laughs by contrasting the pretensions of "professional kids" with the down-to-earthness of the Gang. As an added bonus, this film marks the debut of future series stalwart Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. "Beginner's Luck" was originally released on February 23, 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anxious to go fishing, Spanky McFarland skips out of Sunday school, despite the admonitions of his pal Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer that "Something's going to happen to you." Actually, everything happens to Spanky and his kid brother (Eugene "Porky" Lee) in the course of the morning. Chased out of a private estate by cantankerous Clarence Wilson, the two boys wander into a dark, mysterious woods --- just as a group of black worshippers are holding a mass baptism ceremony. Inevitably, the kids scare the worshippers, and vice versa, culminating in a hectic chase (accompanied by the strains of LeRoy Shield's "Fastie", a nervous agitato orginally written for the 1935 Laurel and Hardy feature Bonnie Scotland. Originally released on October 26, 1935, "Little Sinner" has been withdrawn from most "Little Rascals" TV packages due to its racial content; those few stations that have run the film in recent years have been forced to rely upon prints so severely edited that they're hardly worth the bother. Fortunately for film historians and purists, the film is available in its entirety on home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide