"The reason that MGM hired Bobby for Our Gang was that they could look at him and say, cry, and he'd cry, and not many kids can do that unless they really want to cry"
About this Quote
Bond’s phrasing also sneaks in a quiet defense of the child performer. “Not many kids can do that unless they really want to cry” pushes back against the fantasy that screen emotion is effortless or fake. If the tears read as real, it’s because something real is being summoned - desire, memory, fear, or the pressure to please. The subtext is that talent here isn’t just skill; it’s a vulnerability the studio can reliably extract. “Unless they really want to cry” implies a psychological buy-in: the child has to participate in their own emotional exposure.
The context is classic studio-era efficiency, especially in shorts like Our Gang where charm depended on big, legible feelings delivered on schedule. Bond, himself a former child actor, speaks like a veteran clocking an uncomfortable truth: Hollywood celebrates the “natural” kid while quietly rewarding the kid who can be managed. The line lands because it refuses nostalgia. It frames cuteness and pathos not as innocence preserved on film, but as performance labor - and, for children, a form of emotional piecework.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bond, Tommy. (2026, January 17). The reason that MGM hired Bobby for Our Gang was that they could look at him and say, cry, and he'd cry, and not many kids can do that unless they really want to cry. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-reason-that-mgm-hired-bobby-for-our-gang-was-72438/
Chicago Style
Bond, Tommy. "The reason that MGM hired Bobby for Our Gang was that they could look at him and say, cry, and he'd cry, and not many kids can do that unless they really want to cry." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-reason-that-mgm-hired-bobby-for-our-gang-was-72438/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The reason that MGM hired Bobby for Our Gang was that they could look at him and say, cry, and he'd cry, and not many kids can do that unless they really want to cry." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-reason-that-mgm-hired-bobby-for-our-gang-was-72438/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
