One Terrible Day

One Terrible Day is a 1922 American silent short film, the first entry in Hal Roach's Our Gang (Little Rascals) series to be released. Directed by Robert F. McGowan and Tom McNamara, the two-reel short was released to theaters on September 10, 1922 by Pathé. This was the first Our Gang comedy to be released, although the fourth to be produced. The gang’s leading lady in this film is Peggy Cartwright, who makes only a brief appearance in the company of an unnamed character at the country estate. Allen Hoskins’s character in this early short is female. His character will not start taking on male characteristics until the 1923 short, The Champeen, when he dresses like a boy for the first time. This is very similar to what happened with the Buckwheat character years later. When the television rights for the original silent Pathé Our Gang comedies were sold to National Telepix and other distributors, several of the films were released into television syndication and retitled. In 1960 the collective title Our Gang was changed to Mischief Makers: One Terrible Day was changed to The Outing. Two-thirds of the original footage from the film was included. Most of the original inter-titles were also cut and later replaced. The film, having been produced prior to 1923, and never having the copyright renewed, is in the public domain. However, the "Mischief Makers" additions to the film were copyrighted in 1960.