The Boy Friends

This article is about the 1930s comedy films. For other uses, see Boyfriend (disambiguation).

The Boy Friends is a series of American Pre-Code comedy short films released between 1930 and 1932.[1] The series consisted of fifteen films and was spun off from the long running Our Gang film series (also known as The Little Rascals).

Overview

Like the Our Gang shorts of the time, The Boy Friends films are two-reel short subjects produced by Hal Roach through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. They feature teenage actors including some, particularly Mickey Daniels and Mary Kornman, who as children had starred in the early silent Our Gang shorts. Grady Sutton was also a lead player in the series. Daniels and Sutton appear in every short, while Kornman appears in all but one (1932's You're Telling Me).

Roach released three The Boy Friends films in 1930: Doctor's Orders, Ladies Last, and Bigger and Better. The series added seven installments in 1931: Blood and Thunder, High Gear, Love Fever, Air Tight, Call a Cop, Mama Loves Papa, and The Kickoff. Finally, 1932 saw the release of the last five films: Love Pains, The Knockout, Too Many Women, Wild Babies, and You're Telling Me.[2] At least some of the films in the series took place at Elmira College, an actual school located in Roach's home town of Elmira, New York.

Characters

  • Mickey (Mickey Daniels): The main character. Appears in all entries.
  • Mary (Mary Kornman): Mickey's girl friend. Appears in all entries except You're Telling Me.
  • Grady "Alabam" Sutton (Grady Sutton): Mickey's best friend and sidekick. Appears in all entries.
  • Dave (David Sharpe): Mickey and Grady's friend. He is their rival in his first short. Last appears in Call a Cop!
  • Gertie (Gertrude Messinger): Dave's love interest. Last appears in The Kick-Off.
  • Dorothy (Dorothy Granger): Alabam's love interest. Last appears in Love Fever.
  • Betty (Betty Bolen): Alabam's love interest. Appears in Air-Tight, Mama Loves Papa, The Kick-Off!, Love Pains, The Knockout, You're Telling Me and Wild Babies.
  • Jacqui (Jacqueline Wells): Appears in The Knockout and You're Telling Me.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Wood 2017.
  2. ^ IMDB.

Sources

  • "Most Popular 'The Boy Friends' Titles". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  • Wood, Bret (2017). "Introduction to the Boy Friends Shorts". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2019.