George 'Spanky' McFarland

A tiny alien lands in the small town Aurora in Texas in the times of the Wild West. He flies around in his spaceship and checks out everything. While the kids are fascinated, their parents are rather sceptic and afraid. Ms. Peabels, teacher and new owner of the local paper, smells a good story and brings the alien into the headlines. When the governor hears of the rumors he sends a ranger to take action. (imdb)

The Great Elmer and Company, two out-of-work magicians, help lovelorn Jerry Bronson adopt Spanky Milford, to distract him. When Bronson makes up and elopes, the pair are stuck with the little boy. But Spanky inherits a Kentucky fortune, so they head south to Banesville, where the Milfords and Wakefields are conducting a bitter feud. (imdb)

Spanky & Alfalfa fake a toothache to get out of school. (imdb)

The gang attends a radio station amateur show. (imdb)

Spanky, Alfalfa and the gang play a bunch of wanna-be caddies. (imdb comments)

Alfalfa tries to back out of a fight by pretending to be incapacitated. (imdb)

Alfalfa and Butch are competing in an amateur radio contest, and Butch tries to fix it so that he will win. (imdb)

A small boy is instrumental in a famous Civil War victory. (imdb)

The gang is putting on a show with Alfalfa billed as "King of the Crooners." But Alfalfa abandons the show saying his crooning days are over, and that opera is his true calling. But after taking a nap and dreaming of a successful future in popular music, he changes his mind and joins the rest of the gang for the closing number. (imdb)

Bad guy John Hubbard, gambler and town boss, tries to take a gold mine inherited by innocent Mary Lee on her seventeenth birthday. Roy and his pal "Bad Boy" Williams ride to help the girl and her cousin (Dale). Songs include the title song, "Round Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "Bunk House Bugle Boy," and "Enchilada Man." (imdb)

In this brutal prison drama a hen-pecked husband is sentenced to prison after getting caught with his hand in the company till. He is sent to a high-rise facility in LA. It seems the fellow was only following the instructions of his domineering, constantly nagging wife who, as soon as he is put away, takes up with a more successful businessman. This causes her new lover's ex-lover to get insanely jealous and kill the conniving wife. (allrovi.com)

A foreword warns against the peril of yellow journalism, and the story illustrates it by following events in the upstate New York town of Cornwall after prominant financier George Ferguson is killed. Two types of New York City journalists descend on Cornwall, one interested in facts, the other in getting sensational "news". Mrs. Ferguson is known to have been friendly with a local banker. (imdb)

A forger is forced to work for a Nazi spy ring. His conscience gets the better of him, though, and he secretly conspires with the FBI to turn over the gang. (imdb)

While staging a play, Spanky finds his father's hiding place for the family "fortune." (imdb)

Stymie spots a dogcatcher taking the gang's dogs and lets them out of the dogcatcher's truck. But the gang thinks Stymie is stealing their dogs and threaten him. When it's learned that Stymie actually was rescuing their pets and that the dogcatcher now has Stymie's dog Petey in custody, the gang helps him in his attempt to save Petey before the dogcatcher can gas him. (imdb)

The gang goes to a circus sideshow to visit Dickie and Spanky's uncle, mistakenly believing he is "The Wild Man from Borneo." (imdb)

While the rest of the gang goes fishing, Spanky gets stuck babysitting. (imdb)

An Our Gang Comedy. Spanky's parents take their reluctant boy to get his portrait taken by a prissy photographer. (imdb)

A truant officer spots the kids in an amusement park. They try to escape him. (imdb)

An Our Gang Comedy. Spanky's parents are trying unsuccessfully to get Spanky to spend a peaceful first night in his own room. (imdb)

The gang goes after pirate treasure they believe is hidden in a cave. (imdb)

Wally (the rich kid of our gang team) brings his pet mule along with the gang back home. (imdb)

The gang decides to build their own fire engine. (imdb)

The gang packs up for a camping trip to Cherry Creek two miles from their home, but to them it is the wilderness. After night falls, the hooting owls and croaking frogs conjure up visions of spooks. When a thunderstorm hits, they all scurry for home. (imdb)

The gang puts on a show, everything goes well, except they're missing an act. (imdb)

The gang's treasury is entrusted to Spanky, who accidentally gets it mixed up with his father's money. (imdb)

Rather than go to church, Spanky decides to go fishing - with disastrous results. (imdb)

An arrogant young actress doesn't want to play "young" parts anymore, and runs off. The studio replaces her with the president of her fan club, who just happens to be a lookalike. Meanwhile, some other former child actors, trying to put on a show for the GIs, will be able to do it only if they can get the young actress to be in it, so they set out to persuade her to be in their show--not knowing that she's isn't who they think she is.

An officer moves into the neighborhood, and everybody wants to get friendly with his daughter. (imdb)

The Our Gang put on their own production of "Romeo and Juliet", with some lines from "Hamlet" and a strong man act thrown in for good measure. Buckwheat saves the day by playing Juliet after Darla quits because of onions on "Romeo" Alfalfa's breath. (imdb)

The gang puts a phony absent note on their teacher's desk so they can go to the circus, then have to get it back when they find out that the class was going on a field trip to the circus anyway. (imdb)

A lonely, rich, hypochondriac is celebrating her 65th birthday in the same manner in which she observes the other 364 days of the year by complaining, berating her servants, taking her pills and grumping about everything around her, including the sunshine. A toy airplane comes flying through an open window and breaks a vase, and when its owner, Spanky, comes in search of it he is informed he will have to pay seventy-five cents for the broken vase. (imdb)

Spanky & Alfalfa try to get Porky's & Buckwheat's fireworks. (imdb)

Because of a storm, the Gang has to stay overnight at Darla's house, and they drive her father crazy. (imdb)

While trying to track down Butch, Spanky and Alfalfa get caught up in a dance recital. (imdb)

When they overhear Miss Witherspoon, the school superintendent, say that nothing short of an epidemic will allow the school to be closed for a week, the Our Gang conspire to fake illness. They paint spots on their faces and go to the doctor. Unfortunately they don't realize the doctor they've chosen is a veterinarian. The doctor humors them by inviting Buckwheat into the examining room, but when a monkey emerges they assume the doctor's "monkey serum" has transformed their pal. (imdb)

The Gang's male members, headed by George "Spanky" McFarland, decided to create the "He-Man Woman Haters Club" in reaction to not being invited to one of the girl's parties. When the kids ask for a president, Spanky elects his pal Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer without his authorization, under the notion that Alfalfa "hates women". Yet, Alfalfa's absence to the meeting was due to the fact that he was writing a letter to his sweetheart Darla Hood. (en.wikipedia.org)

The gang runs away from home, but meet up with a kindly old couple. (imdb)

The gang promises to keep away from girls on St. Valentine's Day, but Alfalfa can't resist Darla. (imdb)

Spanky and Alfalfa plot to play hooky so they can go fishing, by pretending that Alfalfa is sick and Spanky should stay with him while the parents are away. But Spanky's mom, knowing the truth, turns the tables by insisting they also watch Spanky's little brother. But taking care of little brother turns out to be more difficult than they expected. (imdb)

In an effort to impress Darla (Darla Hood), Alfalfa (Carl Switzer) tells her that he's a famous bear trainer. Little does he know that Darla's father owns a circus - and a bear costume. It's time for everyone to uncover the "bear facts". (imdb)

When Darla shows up with a new beau, Alfalfa is bereft. Unable to compete with Waldo's wealth, he decides to compete with skill. Waldo has a miniature speedboat. Alfalfa and the gang build their own "speedboat," powered by ducks, and challenge Waldo to a race for the hand of Darla. (imdb)

The songwriter Ollie Watts goes to court to claim the rights to his song that was stolen by the unscrupulous music publisher Ted Lowry. Ollie brings his girlfriend and singer Margaret Wallace with him. Eventually, Ollie wins his song back and $ 50,000 in damages. (imdb)

German actress Dorothea Wieck, who achieved international fame in Maedchen in Uniform, was given a brief shot at Hollywood stardom in 1933 and 1934. Miss Fane's Baby is Stolen stars Ms. Wieck as an actress whose child (Baby LeRoy) is kidnapped. As Wieck takes to the radio to beg for her boy's safe return, the abductors cover their trail by disguising the kid with black hair dye. (allmovie.com)

The gang wants Spanky to come out and play football, but he has to make sure his baby sister is asleep first. (imdb)

Trouble-prone Billy Peck and his gang descend on a traveling circus that has just hit town, and before long their antics are causing the circus owner all kinds of problems. (imdb)

The gang tries to dissuade their teacher from geting married. (imdb)

Jeanette and Eddie get married, but their wedding night is a fiasco. First, their wedding guests follow them, resulting in a police chase, then the guests show up at their apartment, disrupting the building. Then, a rowdy sailor friend of Eddie's shows up, accompanied by a squad of even rowdier buddies and an enormous vengeful mosquito. (imdb)

A circus wild animal trainer searches for the son who was taken away from him by a meddling relative years earlier.

The gang, while playing firemen, come upon a real fire. (imdb)

The gang members are putting on a musical show about Aladdin and his lamp. While Spanky, Alfalfa, and Darla endeavor to stick to the script (such as it is), their efforts are undermined by smaller kids Buckwheat and Porky. (Wikipedia)

Darla has had a tonsillectomy, and the gang, announcing themselves as "Third Ward Sunshine Spredders Club", go to the hospital to pay her a visit. They bring with them a large picnic basket full of food that they know Darla can't eat, intending to eat it all themselves after Darla refuses it. When the kids make it to Darla's room in the children's ward, Spanky assigns Alfalfa to stay outside and guard the picnic basket until they're sure Darla's still too sick to eat any of it. (wikipedia.org)

The gang squares off against "Butch's Assassins" in a crucial football game. Star player Carl Alfalfa balks at participating, leaving it up to Darla to coerce and cajole him into donning his uniform. The climax of the game finds Alfalfa attempting a sixty-yard touchdown, despite the formidable opposition of his lifelong rival Butch. (Wikipedia)

Butch has been playing practical jokes on the gang, but now they get their turn. (imdb)

Alfalfa thinks that his own aunt is plotting to murder him. (imdb)

Alfalfa "trades in" his whining baby brother for another baby--who turns out to be a midget criminal. (imdb)

While under a hypnotic spell, Alfalfa thinks he's one of the Three Musketeers and challenges Butch to a duel. (imdb)

The landlord has given final notice to Porky's family--pay the rent or get out. Of course the Our Gang put on a show to raise the needed money. This time it's a circus, with Alfalfa on the trapeze, and brave Darla taming the "lions." (imdb)

Alfalfa introduces his prissy, snooty cousin Wilbur to the gang. He instantly gets on everyone's bad side. Especially Alfalfa. (imdb)

The Boys Scouts give a demonstration of their camping skills, but the Our Gang are excluded from participating because they are not yet old enough. Undeterred, the Our Gang head off on their own unsupervised camping adventure, with comically disastrous results. (imdb)

The "Our Gang" kids are working on their vehicle for the Kidmobile Race Classic taking place this afternoon at 2:45. They are certain they will win with their invention, the supercharged rocket powered tire attachments. Their adversaries, Butch and Woim, find out their secret. Using the dogcatcher to take away their unlicensed dog, Whiskers, to the pound as a distraction, Butch and Woim are able to sabotage the Kids' vehicle. (imdb)

An abandoned old show boat is moored in a lazy creek. The Our Gang put the old vessel back to use when they stage a show featuring "Darla's Dancin' Dandies" and a "meller dramer" entitled "Out in the Snow You Go." All is not smooth sailing however, as Butch seeks revenge for having been excluded from the cast. (imdb)

Mr. Henry owns a service station next to young Mrs. Baker's lunch counter. He is too shy to get the words out and tell Widow Baker that he loves her and her young son. The day of the town's annual fathers and sons picnic arrives. The Our Gang ask Mr. Henry to take Mickey Baker along since the boy's father is dead. The picnic goes well and Mr. Henry gets the courage to ask Mrs. Baker for her hand in marriage, and she happily accepts. (imdb)

Reprimanded by his father for his poor grades, Alfalfa is told that, unless he improves his academic standing, he'll never get to college. Alfalfa responds, "Don't 'D' stand for 'Dandy'?" He then informs his father that he intends to sail through college on a football scholarship. Alfalfa dreams that he is a student at "Hale University" (a spoof of Yale University) and that he is a big football star with poor grades. (Wikipedia)

Alfalfa comes face to face with his wealthy lookalike Cornelius (also played by Carl Switzer). This fateful meeting provides a golden opportunity for both boys: By trading places with his double, Alfalfa will be able to weasel out of his yard work and live a life of luxury, while Cornelius will be able to escape the rigors of dancing lessons, baths, and the like, and briefly enjoy the benefits of being a "regular kid. (Wikipedia)

It is a premiere night at the Fox Carthay Circle theater, and the Our Gang show up to observe the festivities. But after the Gang causes a disruption, the police send them scurrying home. Not to worry--the Our Gang stage their own premiere night in the clubhouse barn. (imdb)

Mickey's parents are constantly quarreling because his mother serves hash every Monday night. The kids decide to put on a radio skit to try to get them to stop fighting. (imdb)

Sally (Juanita Quigley) is a new student at the school that the gang goes to. Upon Sally's arrival, Alfalfa and Spanky literally fall over each other trying to get her attention, leaving the gang's traditional sweetheart Darla in the lurch. But when it turns out that Sally cannot stand either one of the boys, she and Darla cook up a scheme to dampen their romantic aspirations. (Wikipedia)

To impress Darla, Alfalfa drinks a concoction of Butch's "dynamite" brew. (imdb)

Deciding that a life of crime suits them, the gang gets mixed up with a real burglar. (imdb)

The Our Gang decide to go fishing in the morning. However, when on the bus, things start to stall along the way before they get to their stop. (imdb)

Rich 'Old Man' Bill Morton is a hypochondriac. After bringing new sugar pills to Bill Morton's house, his physician, Doctor Malcolm Scott suggested to Bill Morton's wife that adopting a child might help cure Mister Morton of his delusions. (imdb)

While the Our Gang kids are enjoying the local swimming hole, a rival group ties all their clothes in knots. Our Gang challenges the meanies, and the two sides have a military-style battle using fruits and vegetables for ammunition. (imdb)

Mickey's mother is about to deliver her fourth child. But Mickey, after reading in the almanac that one out of every four children born into the world is Chinese, is afraid the baby will be Chinese. Frightened at this prospect, the Our Gang drop by to visit Lee Wong, the son of the Chinese laundry man. They hope to learn what to expect of an oriental baby. In the process the Our Gang save Lee Wong from some politically incorrect bullies. (imdb)

The Our Gang members want to raise money for the Red Cross. Of course they decide to put on a musical show. With the help of Froggy's uncle, an old minstrel show man, they hire the Greenpoint Auditorium for their event. The highlight is Walter Wills and the Our Gang doing a tribute to the great minstrel man George Primrose. It is reasonably faithful to the minstrel show art form with Spanky as interlocutor, and Mickey and Froggy as side or end-men. (imdb)

While playing baseball, Mickey runs into the street to catch a fly ball and is struck by a car. When the gang visit him in the hospital they are appalled to find the ward populated by many other children injured in automobile accidents. The Our Gang resolve to do something about the problem, and thus the "1-2-3-Go Safety Society" is born. (imdb)

While visiting Black's Department Store, the Our Gang observe "Volto" a publicity robot in the appliance department. Unaware that the robot is actually an actor in a costume, the Our Gang resolve to build one of their own. The neighborhood bully takes advantage of the gang's ignorance and sells them a box of "invisible rays" to fuel the gang's creation. Actually, neighborhood tough guy "Boxcar" climbs inside to animate the robot. (imdb)

Spanky receives a letter from his recently drafted older brother. Inspired by the letter's patriotic sentiments, Spanky and the gang organize a "home guard," prepared to do battle should the Nazis invade California. This attracts the attention of Army Major Sanford, who informs the kids that they would be of even greater service to Uncle Sam by looking out for fire hazards, collecting scrap metal and paper, and encouraging their parents to buy war stamps and bonds. (Wikipedia)

On Mickey's birthday, Miss Pipps, the school teacher, serves cake and ice cream during school hours. Sour old Mr. Pratt, head of the school board, stumbles on the festivities and has Miss Pipps fired. The Our Gang conspire to save her job by inviting all the parents to a special meeting. There the gang stage a melodrama, with Mr. Pratt portrayed as Simon Legree. The parents react by demoting Mr. Pratt to janitor. They appoint kindly Mr. Swanson, the current janitor, to head the school board. (imdb)

After being invited to Darla's widowed father's wedding, Spanky, Froggy, Buckwheat and Mickey, believing Darla's new stepmother to be like the evil stepmothers in fairy tales, do everything they can to break up the ceremony. PS: Froggy's remarks of the 3 Little Pigs, shortly after being invited to Darla's father's second wedding is what the attempted preventions originated from. (imdb)

Just as they did in Ye Olde Minstrels, the gang prevails upon old-time minstrel impresario Uncle Wills to help them stage a fund-raising musical show. Highlights include the ensemble number "When Grandma Wore a Bustle", the barbershop-quartet set piece "Songs of Long Ago", and the grand finale "Dances Old and New". The kids are unable to post the profits because Mickey has allowed most of the audience to enter for free, but Uncle Wills comes to the rescue once again. (Wikipedia)

The gang has started up a newspaper, and one of their first orders of business is to find out who is the "boss" behind a new gang of tough kids. (imdb)

A big monkey has escaped from the circus, and Buckwheat sees it enter the neighborhood "haunted house." Buckwheat tries to tell his friends, but they don't believe him because he has been fibbing lately. To teach him a lesson, the gang dress Froggy up in a monkey suit and have him posted inside the "haunted house." They take Buckwheat inside, but the joke backfires when the Our Gang are pursued by the real monkey. (imdb)

In order to plan a surprise party for Froggy, the gang has to throw him out of the clubhouse. (imdb)

As part of their contribution to the war effort, the gang decides to stage a show for local servicemen. (imdb)

The car carrying a casting director for Mammoth Picture Studios has a flat tire next to a baseball field where the Our Gang are playing. Bill Patterson, the movie director notices Rover, the Gang's talented dog, as he watches the baseball game, (and his automobile flat tire is being replaced). The casting director invites the gang to bring their dog for a screen test. On the appointed day, the gang arrive at the studio with their high hopes staked upon Rover's success. (imdb)

The gang tries to clean off their clothes after being splattered with mud accidentally by a passing motorist. A "miracle" cleaning solution devised by Billy "Froggy" Laughlin works beautifully, but with one major drawback: The stuff stinks to high heaven! Froggy tells the gang that they would get used to the smell. They do get used to the bad odor to the point of being oblivious to it. The kids manage to empty out a bus trying to board it. (Wikipedia)

After getting scale saying that their will be unexpected riches, the Our Gang are soon tricked by another kid to do a chore that he needs to do, thinking that they're going to get rich. This is the final "Our Gang" short for the character Spanky. (imdb)

This serious entry in Pete Smith Specialty series encourages industry to hire people with disabilities to help with the war effort. As a boy, Ben Helwig was blinded in an accident while playing baseball. He eventually acquired a guide dog and now works in a defense plant.