Cousin Wilbur (1939)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Alfalfa's cousin Wilbur comes over for a visit and the two go to the club house. Once there Wilbur tells the gang that they can get more members if they offered up special benefits, which at first seem like a good idea until Butch hears of it. COUSIN WILBUR is another fairly good entry in the MGM-Our Gang series. This one here benefits from the rather good performance by Scotty Beckett as Wilbur. I thought he really added a lot of charm to the film and it was nice seeing a new face really mix things up. There's no question that his appearance (dorky glasses, parted hair) were meant to be funny and it is but the character also manages to be memorable for what he does to Butch and the other bully. Carl Switzer is also in good for as Alfalfa and Porky and Buckwheat also get a couple good scenes. I thought the story itself was also pretty good and especially the various pay-outs for injuries. There's no question that this short is far from a masterpiece but fans of the series should get enough laughs out of it to make it worth viewing.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Alfalfa's cousin Wilbur comes over for a visit and the two go to the club house. Once there Wilbur tells the gang that they can get more members if they offered up special benefits, which at first seem like a good idea until Butch hears of it. COUSIN WILBUR is another fairly good entry in the MGM-Our Gang series. This one here benefits from the rather good performance by Scotty Beckett as Wilbur. I thought he really added a lot of charm to the film and it was nice seeing a new face really mix things up. There's no question that his appearance (dorky glasses, parted hair) were meant to be funny and it is but the character also manages to be memorable for what he does to Butch and the other bully. Carl Switzer is also in good for as Alfalfa and Porky and Buckwheat also get a couple good scenes. I thought the story itself was also pretty good and especially the various pay-outs for injuries. There's no question that this short is far from a masterpiece but fans of the series should get enough laughs out of it to make it worth viewing.