Stage Fright on AllMovie

At the behest of shady professional fundraiser Prince Delmar El Faro (William Gillespie), small-town author Fawn Ochletree (Clara Guiol) stages a charity performance of her latest play -- a Roman epic along the lines of Quo Vadis -- while the local mothers force their kids into playing all the roles. Since several of the budding thespians are members of Our Gang, the viewer can rest assured that havoc will ensue -- and it does, in spades! Not only are the kids unable to learn their dialogue, remember where they're supposed to be standing, or keep a straight face during the play's melodramatic plot convolutions, but the final act is disrupted by the sudden appearance of fireworks, courtesy of little Jackie Condon. On the plus side, fat Joe Cobb does make an impressive-looking Nero. Originally released in October of 1923, the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Stage Fright was remade as the 1929 talkie Shivering Shakespeare.