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Reviews
Babes on Broadway (1941)
Some great numbers
I admire a lot of the musical parts of BABES ON BROADWAY. "How About You" is a lovely song, and Rooney and Garland are sweet together performing it (and all their other scenes). The Carmen Miranda spoof is funny, the "Hoe Down" number is wonderful, and the three boys do a nifty routine about New York in the beginning.
However. B.O.B. has, I think, the most bland prefab plot and dialogue of any Judy-Mickey musical, and that takes up more time in the film than the songs and dances--and even those aren't ALL good, especially the one Garland sings in honor of the British refugee children. Richard Quine, Ray McDonald and Virginia Weidler are charming and interact just great with the two stars; if the story had more of those three, if there were more attempts at humor, and if everything was less sappy (or if the sappiness at least felt more sincere), then I would like the film, but as it is, my fast forward button gets a workout every time I watch it.
Girl Crazy (1943)
Commendable film
This is the only Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musical I actually like. Their previous three had sappy plots and sometimes so-so songs, but this film rarely gets sentimental, and when it does it works. The music is the best of any of their movies, by far, and the presentation of it is fine, often more than that. It doesn't adhere to the play it's based on much, but so what; I don't know if the stage version would have translated well to film anyway. The two stars give their usual skillful performances, with unusually likeable characters and sprightly dialogue to base them on. And then there's those nice sunny REAL desert backgrounds - how often did musicals of that era get so far away from the studios? It isn't perfect - for one thing, am I the only one who finds Rags Ragland a bit annoying? - but it's still pretty inspired.
The Kid from Borneo (1933)
Disappointing
I can only assume this short's popularity has something to do with its political incorrectness; in itself it's rather lame. How funny is it really to see a grunting halfwit running around in circles after a bunch of little kids? The film does have its moments, especially with Spanky and Bumbo in the kitchen, but overall it reminded me a lot of that standard childhood nightmare of being chased by a gorilla, except not as exciting. I pass on this one.
Auto Antics (1939)
The race is nice
However, the film could have been a lot better than it was. The kids are all getting noticeably older, especially the previously noted Alfalfa and Spanky, who speak in a gosh-wow way that not only trammels the whole picture with that MGM goodygoody feeling but is age-inappropriate as well. If MGM wanted to use ten and eleven year olds, okay, but they should have adjusted the plots and such accordingly. The rest of the gang comes off better, especially Butch. This is one of the five or six shorts that got recycled into the plot of the 1994 LITTLE RASCALS remake, and it's the only one that was actually improved in the retelling.
The Little Ranger (1938)
Now why don't they put this on video?
This was the first MGM OUR GANG, presented as a dream of Alfalfa's that places him in the old West fighting Butch for Darla's hand. It's pretty good. I cannot figure out why it isn't on video. It certainly belongs there much more than FARM HANDS, DON'T LIE, TIME OUT FOR LESSONS and some of the other masterpieces the copyright holders have chosen to give us on tape. In fact it doesn't even seem to play on TV, and they show most of the other (mostly inferior) entries all the time. It's bizarre.
Hi'-Neighbor! (1934)
Hard to top
This is the funniest, most thrilling OUR GANG I've ever seen. If I could wish for one picture in the series to be named to the National Film Registry or to survive the Apocalypse or what have you, it would probably be this one. I wouldn't say it's the best - the Rascals made too many different kinds of film for any one to be the best - but it embodies what made the series great.
One of those great things is Spanky McFarland. In some of his early shorts his grumpiness is a little overdone, but here he's just perfect. I doubt any of the children have ever been cuter.
Free Wheeling (1932)
It's got something after all
The first time I saw FREE WHEELING I was disappointed (Spoiler Warning: Only read this if you've seen the film). I thought the whole thing about Dickie's bad neck was a waste of time. He's obviously perfectly healthy, and he, the kids and the adults (even the nurse, despite what she says) in his life all seem to know this. Only his mother doesn't believe it, and she's not onscreen long enough to have much impact. So when Stymie accidentally cures him, the feeling for me was not "Wow - he's all better," but "Wow - I didn't know he was ill."
The climactic ride down the hill also lacked something to me. When Stymie and Dickie are shown inside the carriage, not the least bit terrified, watching that fake projected view in front of them, with mostly background music playing rather than the rumble of sound effects, it seems almost like they're watching TV in a limo.
Recently, however, I saw the film again and liked it better. The acting from the kids is great, something I didn't fully appreciate the first time around. Dickie's bad health is still a flimsy device but it does get the plot where it needs to go. The middle part, with the kids driving their wagon, is what made the short work for me this time, and it inspired cheery feelings that spilled over to the rest of the story. It really is a pretty well-designed film.
Dogs Is Dogs (1931)
Not as good as it starts out being (Spoiler Warning)
The first five minutes are affecting, with a traumatic scene between Wheezer (who is unusually good) and his step-relatives. Looking it over, though, I think it should have come further on in the story. It makes the later scenes of persecution anticlimactic. Then there's the fact that, after seeing Wheezer has a sister, a smart dog, a best friend and (eventually) an aunt who all love him, he doesn't seem so bad off. Some time before the picture ended I was sorrier for nasty little Sherwood, who only has chicken-thieving Nero and his creepy mother, who snarls at him at the picture's end. I doubt that's the feeling the writers meant to inspire. There is a funny breakfast scene, but most of the film is devoted to its drawn-out sob story, which reaches a rather abrupt conclusion.
Tiny Troubles (1939)
What happened?!?
I believe this is the worst OUR GANG film of the late thirties - and I've seen GENERAL SPANKY, TIME OUT FOR LESSONS, DOG DAZE and every other entry from 1935 - 1939. No other can touch the astounding badness of TINY TROUBLES. The drop in quality between this film and the decent ALFALFA'S AUNT must be some kind of series record. When Alfalfa emerges from the house in the first scene all bleary-eyed and groggy I imagine him being released from some satanic ritual that laid a curse on most of the later films.
The story is nonsense at every turn, the acting is mostly weak (who can blame them) and the lecturing adults are insufferable. It isn't so-bad-it's-amusing, though (like a few of the Metro episodes). It's bad in a depressing way. There is not one entertaining moment in the entire short.
Aladdin's Lantern (1938)
The last OUR GANG short from director Douglas...
...is a pleasant but undistinguished addition to the series' mini-musicals (which I have never wholeheartedly appreciated). I liked the tap-dance solo to "Your Broadway and My Broadway," the stage effects, and all of Porky and Buckwheat's scenes, but all in all I agree that this film isn't original enough.
The First Seven Years (1930)
Beguiling early talkie
THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS wouldn't have worked as well with a musical score. Though the background silence is probably a sound equipment problem fluke rather than an artistic decision, it gives the illusion the onscreen events are actually happening. This might not have worked with most Rascal pictures, but it complements FIRST's natural, leisurely tone, with Jackie and his friends seeming more than ever like everyday kids. The story is interesting though, unlike certain OUR GANG sequences where it seems they probably did film whatever might be happening at the moment (and then forgot to edit it). I wish they'd tried this kind of thing more often.
The Awful Tooth (1938)
Not infuriating, but not very good
I'll say this for the dentist: He doesn't get as carried away by his sadism as other adults who revel in frightening the Rascals under the guise of moral instruction (see BEAR FACTS, for example). He also doesn't mislead them much - extracting teeth is a horribly painful process with serious consequences, and it makes sense for him to strongly discourage them in case they decide to hire someone else or yank them on their own. Best of all, he forks over some rewards to console them.
That being said, this entire short is pretty dull, because its preachiness is so plain - more than probably any other Hal Roach OUR GANG I've seen, it barely even tries to be funny or charming.
Rushin' Ballet (1937)
A Rascal Rush of Pleasure
One of the best OUR GANG shorts of the late thirties, RUSHIN' BALLET is amusing, original and sometimes thrilling. I won't go into plot details here - if you've seen it, you know them; if you haven't, hearing these things described too much beforehand always diminishes them a bit. I will say that this is one of those concise stories for which the ten-minute format works terrifically. It moves quickly, but despite its title never feels rushed, and it lacks nothing.
Roamin' Holiday (1937)
Thwarted Quest for Independence
This meandering, easygoing film feels like they might have made it up as they went along...and it's funny. Buckwheat and Porky are especially cute, even for them, and Spanky and Alfalfa are their usual skillful selves. The shopkeeper has some pretty harebrained ideas about educating children, but in spite of it he and his wife both manage to be warmly likeable.
Canned Fishing (1938)
Ominous little Sunday School lesson
It has the same ineffable charm all the Hal Roach OUR GANG movies had, but not much else. MGM may have nailed the lid on the series' coffin, but CANNED FISHING probably marks the beginning of its terminal illness. Its kids-asking-for-trouble-by-playing-hooky-from-school-to-go-fishing plot has little to enliven it except a few mildly cute turns by the cast's younger children. We've seen this story done a billion times already, and it almost never worked. Does anyone really enjoy seeing the urchins taught a moral by condescending adults? I guess so; Roach's following (mostly mediocre) shorts included BEAR FACTS and THE AWFUL TOOTH as well...then MGM took over, and we all know how that ended up.
Hide and Shriek (1938)
A rather weak way to end
The film is well-acted and directed, but the story is dull and contrived and reminded me of nothing so much as an old SCOOBY-DOO cartoon. This was the last Hal Roach OUR GANG short, made while Spanky was off doing some feature film, if I'm not mistaken, and his absence makes the story feel even limper.
Men in Fright (1938)
Before the whole thing came apart
OUR GANG may have ended its run at MGM ignominiously, but it didn't start out that way. In fact, I think the seven series films Metro made in 1938 are a bit better than the seven Hal Roach made earlier that year, and the best of them - in fact, probably the best of the whole MGM crop - is MEN IN FRIGHT, a funny, nimble romp made before the children's acting became painfully forced and those Sunday School lessons started seeping in. It's not just a fine MGM OUR GANG entry, it's a fine short, period.
General Spanky (1936)
Frankly, it's one of the worst films I've ever seen
OUR GANG got one chance at a feature film in its 22 year history, and this was the best that could be done? It's boring, forced and pointless, and I must respectfully disagree with the other poster on this film; the 1994 LITTLE RASCALS remake was better than this. Almost anything is. The kids are subordinate to the Civil War proceedings; it doesn't feel like an OUR GANG film at all, but like a humorless second-rate Shirley Temple clone.
A Letter for Evie (1946)
Surprisingly nice film
The plot is like a million others before and since, but it doesn't feel like it somehow. Perhaps it's because Marsha Hunt and Hume Cronyn are both so charming (I've never seen the often villain-ized Cronyn play a role like this before). The rest of the actors do a good job too, with John Carroll particularly well-cast. It's amusing and somewhat touching without being sappy. I wish it wasn't so seldom shown.