Hook and Ladder

The year 1932 introduced a new actor to the Little Rascals: child star Dickie Moore. The seven-year-older had already been in almost thirty movies, including a trio of silents, when he was offered a part in August 1932's "Hook and Ladder." Some of the gags in Dickie's first "Our Gang" short dates back to the series' inaugural year in 1922's 'The Fourth Alarm." Moore's character is chief of the kids' fire squad who discovers a barn fire. The barn, filled with dynamite and barrels of black powder, poses a challenge for the rascals' fireboys, stretching all the resources they have in their possession. Spanky is Dickie's younger brother here, and requires a dose of dewormer every 30 minutes. Dickie's stay with Our Gang lasted just a year, but his withdrawal from the rascals didn't put a halt to his acting career, which stretched to 1957 when he played the role of Confederate General Jeb Stuart. He retired to start his own public relations firm in the Los Angeles area, operating the business for 44 years.