You can make out the Hal Roach/Our Gang connection in the casting of the movie, but by this time, the magic was gone, and the youngsters appearing here were used more for visuals and sight gags rather than genuine chemistry among friends. The story finds the kids attempting to prove their friend, the neighborhood Fix-It Man (Whitford Kane), innocent of a murder, and most of the action takes place in the second half at a creepy old mansion with it's share of dark passageways and ghostly effects. Since you never get to see the title character Doc Robbin till the very end, you begin to wonder just what connection George Zucco might have had to the picture until he's finally revealed under the gorilla suit. Unlike many films of the era utilizing a gorilla gimmick where the ape looks entirely fake, this one has some genuinely scary moments for young viewers where it's hard to tell the difference; I think I'd run too.
As for the kids, they're a little hard to warm up to, with Ardda (Ardda Lynwood) the single genuinely likable character, especially with her courtroom testimony. Speck's (Dale Belding) gimmick of fainting a lot gets to be over used, and even though one of the film's alternate titles cites 'Curley and His Gang', I didn't see much that suggested Curley (Larry Olsen) as the nominal leader of the kids. Others on this board have mentioned the stereotyping of the little black boys, Dis and Dat, but when you come right down to it, they wound up with the funniest bits, especially the scene involving the washer and clothes press machine. It seems to me that if racism was the main point of the film, you wouldn't have the kids all getting along as equals and having a fun time together during their misadventures.
However if you want the real thing in an Our Gang comedy, you'll have to go back to some of the shorts made during their heyday in the early 1930's. Think what you'd have had here with Spanky at the helm, and Darla, Alfalfa and Stymie along for the ride - the gorilla wouldn't have been safe!
As for the kids, they're a little hard to warm up to, with Ardda (Ardda Lynwood) the single genuinely likable character, especially with her courtroom testimony. Speck's (Dale Belding) gimmick of fainting a lot gets to be over used, and even though one of the film's alternate titles cites 'Curley and His Gang', I didn't see much that suggested Curley (Larry Olsen) as the nominal leader of the kids. Others on this board have mentioned the stereotyping of the little black boys, Dis and Dat, but when you come right down to it, they wound up with the funniest bits, especially the scene involving the washer and clothes press machine. It seems to me that if racism was the main point of the film, you wouldn't have the kids all getting along as equals and having a fun time together during their misadventures.
However if you want the real thing in an Our Gang comedy, you'll have to go back to some of the shorts made during their heyday in the early 1930's. Think what you'd have had here with Spanky at the helm, and Darla, Alfalfa and Stymie along for the ride - the gorilla wouldn't have been safe!