As a lifelong fan of the Roach studio generally and Laurel and Hardy
specifically, to say nothing of having worked very hard on this book
for the last 16 years, I take the concerns and errors/omissions stated
here very seriously. In the unlikely event that I am ever permitted to
make any changes for future printings, I want to be sure I have my
facts straight.
I have reviewed the complaints thus far and would like to make the
following observations.
If I ever state that Our Gang was THE longest-running short comedy
series, I am clearly wrong. However, I cannot find that particular
claim in the book. On page 48, I do say that Our Gang was "ONE of the
longest short comedy series in film history." In the context of the
paragraph, it should be clear that length refers to production span and
not film running time.
It is asserted that I confuse Mascot and Monogram. This is possible,
since I don't claim to be an expert in the history of either studio.
However, looking at the one Mascot and three Monogram entries cited in
the index, I cannot find where the supposed confusion arises. My single
reference to Mascot is to its acquiring the old Sennett studio in 1935.
To quote my source, the Motion Picture Herald of January 26, 1935, "The
property was bought by Nat Levine, lessor of the studio, for whose
Mascot Pictures a Tom Mix serial will be produced." Two of the
Monogram references refer to it generically as a producer of low-budget
pictures. The third refers to Republic Pictures and Monogram as
producers of low-budget westerns and serials. I believe this is
correct.
As to "Curley," "Who Killed Doc Robbin?," and the no-compete clause in
the contract under which MGM acquired Our Gang, I devote most of the
last paragraph on page 133 to that very situation. The last sentence in
this section says, "Ultimately, MGM reluctantly gave Roach permission
to produce a new 'Kid' series, so long as the name 'Our Gang' was not
used and no comparison was drawn in studio publicity between Roach's
new pictures and his old 'Gangs.' "
Despite the above, MGM seems to have lost much of their interest in the
non-compete contract after they ceased production on the series in
1944, with the exception of not allowing the Our Gang name to be used
(something I go into in great and loving detail). This is why they had
no problem with the release of the old Gangs to television. This was
more explicitly stated in an earlier, longer version of the book.
As to my "disparaging" remarks about Charley Chase, most are merely my
quoting Roach studio documents. Regarding my feeling that Chase's sound
films are a real disappointment after the brilliance of his late silent
work, I clearly state that this is a subjective opinion of my own.
Perhaps I should not have advanced any opinion, good or bad, about any
of the films.
I agree that more text and pictures would have been nice. I was working
under strict limits set by the publisher.
I welcome this type of dialogue with the fanbase for whom the book was
intended. As I said upfront, I want to be sure I correct any errors if
ever given the opportunity to do so in future printings. I just hope
that those criticizing my work will realize that I really put a lot of
my life into this book and I really love these films. I guess the
silver lining is that I will try to be kinder in my own future comments
on the various web boards. I'll never say an unkind word about the
Alloy Orchestra again, I promise.
Richard Ward