Hi'–Neighbor! (1934)

Interesting facts

Hi'-Neighbor! is a 1934 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 126th Our Gang short to be released and Meins' first series entry as director.

Production notes

Hi-Neighbor! was the first Our Gang film produced after the series' four-month hiatus, necessitated by George "Spanky" McFarland's unavailability. While on loan to Paramount to appear in Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934), McFarland caught whooping cough, but his parents allowed him to work while sick. As a result, McFarland gave the disease to his juvenile co-star Baby LeRoy, forcing a shutdown in production.

Between Wild Poses and Hi'-Neighbor, several changes were made to the Our Gang company. Producer-director Robert F. McGowan, who had been with the series from its beginnings in 1921, was worn out from the strain of working with child actors and left Hal Roach Studios to direct features at Paramount.

Also joining Our Gang at this time were several new child actors, in particular Wally Albright, Scotty Beckett, and Jackie Lynn Taylor. Albright, already a veteran actor at age eight, had appeared briefly in the Our Gang short Choo-Choo! in 1932. He would appear in four more Our Gang shorts as the kids' leader in 1934.

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