1940 marked a last for some Our Gang members. Besides Tommy "Butch" Bond, Darwood "Waldo" Kaye, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer leaving the series that year, early silent OG member Mary Kornman made her last movie as well, this one. She plays the girlfriend of Frankie Darro who works at her father's drug store as a soda jerk though he has ambitions of being a scientist so he also experiments occasionally there. Mantan Moreland plays his buddy who reluctantly is roped into some of his plans when a couple of gangsters get shot in the store...Okay, Ms. Kornman plays the kind of leading lady role that has her either getting upset when Frankie doesn't pay enough attention to her or showing concern for him when he's down or in a little danger. Still, it was nice seeing her in her last role here. Mantan plays the stereotypical role of the scared black man though he only mentions being scared since there isn't any scene that calls for him to scream or act really petrified. I did like his wisecrack about a skeleton's teeth and similar comments and when he's called to do something he goes through with it despite his reluctance, so there's that. All in all, On the Spot was a nice time-filler and is worth a look for any Our Gang fans wanting to see some of their members outside of the series.
Review of On the Spot
On the Spot
(1940)
On the Spot marked former Our Ganger Mary Kornman's last film appearance
24 January 2015