Pups Is Pups (1930)

Interesting facts

Pups Is Pups is a two-reel comedy short subject, part of the Our Gang series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach, and originally released to theaters by MGM in 1930. It was the 100th Our Gang short to be released, and the first in the 1930–1931 season.

Production and exhibition

Pups Is Pups was the first entry in the 1930–1931 season of shorts. It was the Our Gang debut for five-year-old Dorothy DeBorba, and for film score composer Leroy Shield. It is the first episode to feature the jazz-based background scoring that the Roach Studio comedies are known for. Some of the tunes included the "Hal Roach Happy Go Lucky Trio" (a.k.a. "Teeter Totter"), "Wishing", "Hide & Go Seek", "On To The Show", and "Confusion".

The industrial landscape framing the Gang's play activities at the beginning of the picture was achieved with a glass-matte process that added towering silo-shaped structures to the more bucolic live views of the Arnaz Ranch, a frequent Roach shooting location. This level of special effect—and budgetary expense—is unusual in Roach two-reelers.

Due to perceived racism toward African-Americans, several scenes featuring Farina were edited out of the Little Rascals syndicated television prints in 1971. They remained in 16mm, VHS and DVD home video releases. The scenes were reinstated in 2001 in the prints shown on American Movie Classics until 2003.

In 2004, Pups Is Pups was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

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