“Wiggle Your Ears is a cute film from the later Our Gang silent period. It stars Harry Spear as the boy who can wiggle his ears, much to the delight of Mary Ann Jackson who is in love with him. However, when Harry spots pretty Jean Darling, he ditches Mary and refuses to wiggle her ears for her anymore since he has a new girl. Mary vows to get him back, going to such lengths as dressing up as a flapper to win his love.   Wiggle Your Ears is a great film with only a few comedic elements in it. It is not terribly funny; it is more sad than anything. One sympathizes with the sweet Mary Ann who takes so much abuse from Harry, one wonders why she even likes him. The style is unusual and artistic; the film is shot mostly in close up. This is a really strange, but thought provoking film. Here, beloved Mary literally lets Harry Spear kick her behind, spend her money on him, and forces her to push his kiddie car, all so that she could get the occasional joy of watching Harry "Wiggle His Ears." Armchair Freudians and double-entendre fans will quickly get the "joke" here. He quickly dumps Mary for pintsized blonde bombshell Jean Darling. What happens? You'll see.   This is all quite strange and unsettling on a number of counts. It's difficult to accept as comedy a scene where a little girl like Mary is being kicked in the buttocks and abused in other ways by Harry. Farina gives Mary advice on how to "Win your man and be a flapper." The sight of Mary in tight clothes and heavy makeup is REALLY creepy, not to mention the very idea of kids being used to satirize adult sexual relationships. However, the film works as a conversation piece and would especially play well if shown to a college classroom to discuss gender issues. That aside, it leaves a pretty foul aftertaste and fortunately, the Gang producers stuck to the kid's stuff in the future.” Mary Ann Jackson was born on January 14, 1923. She was one of the earliest child stars of the twenties and thirties. Although she was better known as one of the child performers from the famed "Our Gang" comedies that are still popular today, Mary Ann began her film career at the age of four in 1927's "Smith's Pony." Although she didn't make any full length motion pictures during 1928, Mary Ann more than made up for it the following year when she appeared in six major pictures such as "Bouncing Babies" and "Lazy Days." After eight films in 1930 and six in 1931, Mary Ann left the film world after "Little Daddy" at the age of eight. Robert E. Hutchins was born March 29th, 1925, in Tacoma, Washington. He was born to James Hutchins and Olga Hutchins (nee Roe). Robert was a very outgoing boy with a charming personality, because friends persuaded James and Olga to go to a Hollywood photographer and get his picture taken. The photographer was impressed by Robert's intelligence, and asked to take a few feet of film of him. The results were so good that the film ended up in the projection room at Hal Roach Studios. Hal Roach decided the boy would be a good addition to his "Our Gang" short films, and signed him to a five year contract. On his first day at the studio, Robert didn't have an identity for his part in the movies, and he was running around so much that he began to wheeze. Such led to the coining of the "Wheezer" name, one he carried for the rest of his time in Our Gang. Robert played the perky, tag-along little brother that was always anxious to be part of the mischief that the gang was getting into. He played such a part in both the silent films and the talkies. Jackie Cooper recalls, "You'd go to play with Wheezer, and his father would pull him away, very competitive. I didn't get a satisfactory answer from my mother or grandmother as to why, but he was to be left alone. I guess his father was trying to make him a star or something. Obviously it never happened as it did for Spanky or some of the other kids." In trying to make Robert a star, his father malnourished him, and isolated him from the other kids when not filming. James had a plan to keep him small and employable by underfeeding him, and wanted to ensure that Bobby and his siblings never learned that normal kids got a lot more to eat than they did. Nobody ever intervened upon the children's behalf. It's made worse by the fact that his plan backfired. While Robert was incredibly photogenic, and had some fine moments on screen, he looked and acted more like the slow-witted, malnourished child he was, as he aged. Sharper boys were given the leading parts, while Robert spent the last portion of his contract as a background player. After he left Our Gang with 1933's "Mush and Milk", his film career was essentially over -- with an appearance in Pie for Two, Yoo-Hoo, and Strange Roads outside of his Our Gang shorts -- and he did no more acting after that. His mother and father divorced, and he, his brother James, and his mother moved back to Washington. They lived in a household with their grandmother, and Olga's new husband. Robert got a job as a gas station attendant in 1942, and enrolled as an air cadet sometime in 1943, with speculation being that he enrolled sometime in August. He was very close to completing his advanced flight training, until a very unfortunate event occurred May 17th, 1945, and he perished. He was killed in a mid-air collision while trying to land a North American AT-6D Texan, at Merced Army Air Field Base in California. The other pilot involved received only minor damage, and landed safely. Joe Frank Cobb (November 7, 1916 – May 21, 2002) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing as the original "fat boy" in the Our Gang comedies from 1922 to 1929. Some sources such as the first edition (1977) of Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals documented him as being born in 1916 or 1917. Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on November 7, 1916, Cobb auditioned for producer Hal Roach's Our Gang comedy series at the age of five in 1921. He joined the gang in early 1923 after starting production the fall of 1922. His first silent short was The Champeen in January 1923. Cobb appeared in the Our Gang series' last silent film, Saturday's Lesson, and its first talking short, Small Talk, both in 1929. Although Small Talk was released June 15, 1929, Saturday's Lesson was released November 9, 1929. He was a recognizable character, with chubby cheeks and a trademark beanie cap. Some sources indicate that his final film with the Gang was Bouncing Babies; however, he does not appear onscreen in that short. His last film as a regular cast member was the previous entry Boxing Gloves in 1929 when he was 12. In all he appeared in 86 Our Gang episodes during the seven years from 1922 to 1929. Cobb also appeared in three cameo appearances during the 1930s, Fish Hooky in 1933, Pay as You Exit in 1936, and Reunion in Rhythm in 1937. After his acting career ended in the early 1940s, Cobb became an assembler for North American Aviation, a division of Rockwell International in Downey, California. He retired in 1981 at age 65.