| Bouncing Babies | |
| Director: | Robert F. McGowan |
| Producer: | Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach |
| Starring: | Bobby Hutchins Mary Ann Jackson Dora Dean Allen Hoskins Jean Darling Harry Spear Jackie Cooper Norman Chaney Pete the Pup Bobby Mallon Eddie Dunn Lyle Tayo |
| Cinematography: | F. E. Hershey Art Lloyd |
| Editing: | Richard C. Currier |
| Distributor: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Runtime: | [1] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Bouncing Babies is a 1929 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan.[2] [3] Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 92nd Our Gang short to be released.[4]
Wheezer is jealous of his baby brother, who gets all the attention from his family while Wheezer is ignored and expected to behave like a "big boy". After a failed attempt at making his own breakfast (and being spanked for doing so), Wheezer attempts to run away from home with Pete the Pup. After he happens upon Farina, they both find themselves on the receiving end of Halloween pranks from the gang in their costumes.
Farina tells Wheezer a tall tale about trading in an unwanted baby sibling for a goat and inspires Wheezer to try the same. However, when Wheezer arrives at the hospital with the baby carriage (which unknown to him holds Mary Ann's doll rather than the baby) in order to "change the baby for a goat," a nurse plays along, but also calls Wheezer's mother and informs her of what he has done. Wheezer's mother and his sister Mary Ann pretend to be distraught over the baby's disappearance.
After seeing his mother crying, a remorseful Wheezer rushes back to the hospital to retrieve his brother, but the nurse informs him that it is too late. Wheezer returns home alone, and his mother tells him to pray for the baby to return. Wheezer then drops to his knees and begins praying, only for the baby to come out of hiding and knock him on the head.
The park scenes were filmed at Media Park on the Culver City / Los Angeles border. [5] The park still exists today, though it's been reconfigured over the decades.
The scene where Wheezer is trying to cross the busy street and he keeps throwing light bulbs into the street to get the traffic to stop (the drivers hear the popping sound and think they have a flat tire!), is the intersection of Motor Avenue and Tabor Street in the Palms neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles.[6]
Bouncing Babies marks the last Our Gang comedy for Jean Darling and Harry Spear. Some sources also list Joe Cobb as a cast member, but he does not appear onscreen.