After reading a newspaper article regarding old Tightwad's rise in the world, Bill and Jim hit upon a plan to get some of Tightwad's easy money by holding young Tightwad for ransom. They accordingly hire a rig, take the boy and conceal him in a cave. The boy, instead of weeping and wailing for home and mother, proclaims himself "Red Chief" and makes it uncomfortable for his captors. (Moving Picture World)
Watch the official The Ransom of Red Chief 1911 trailer in HD below.
The film is a series of comical musical numbers and skits following Phil Harris around, starting with him performing at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, which is listened to by Dorothy on the radio whose home-brewing husband Walter hates Harris.
Joe Cobb is a wealthy child who longs for a baby brother. His nursemaid takes him to the other side where he meets some kids his age (the rest of Our Gang) where Joe offers three dollars for a baby.
In this Our Gang film, James Finlayson plays the gang's schoolteacher who takes the kids to Europe after winning a local contest.
Alternative movies trailers for The Ransom of Red Chief
More movie trailers, teasers, and clips from The Ransom of Red Chief:
FRED ALLEN: "The Ransom of Red Chief" with OSCAR LEVANT (1952) [CLIP]
From the 1952 anthology film "O. Henry's Full House" here's the very funny segment starring Fred Allen and Oscar Levant titled "The Ransom of Red Chief".
Popular movie trailers from 1911
These some of the most viewed trailers for movies released in 1911:
Billy and His Pal, released on February 16, 1911, is about a cowboy, Jim (Francis Ford), who is idolised by young Billy (actress Edith Storey in drag).
The ballet pupil Camilla Favier makes for a quick success and falls for the author Jean Mayol. She discovers a love letter to him from a rich married woman and is devastated.
George Petit, the son of a bank cashier is a heavy gambler. After losing a significant amount of money at cards, he becomes desperate to recover his losses.
A young millionaire, whose hobby is mechanics, takes his newly overhauled car out for a trial spin, and he would have laughed had anybody told him that it was to be the most eventful trip of his life.
