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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 20, 2013 0:09:48 GMT -5
Doing mini reviews on my least favorite MGM shorts got me to thinking of plots for made-up shorts.
Here's a few I came up with. Feel free to add more.
1. All About Muffins (1940) - The final part of the "Mickey's Family Troubles" trilogy. The short opens with Mickey bawling and mumbling incoherently (though playing the scene backwards reveals that Mickey is saying "get me out of this short"). The gang (Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, and Froggy) arrive. This was actually Billy Laughlin's first short. He's called "Harold" at this point, and for some reason, talks in his normal voice throughout.
Mickey tearfully (and loudly) explains (via flashback, of course) why he's so upset. Apparently, he's forgotten that it's mother's day, and he didn't get mom anything. So why doesn't he get something for her? That's never explained. "Harold" sees an ad at a local bakery for muffins. Rather than buying some muffins (which they can clearly do, as Mickey is seen playing with some pocket change in the first scene), they decide to make their own.
Naturally, the kids make a mess of everything. The scenes in the kitchen could have brought comedy gold. Unfortunately, MGM's lack of understanding towards comedy mostly causes viewers to fall asleep during this sequence. At one point, Spanky accidentally drops a bag of flour on "Harold". The editing is at a snail's pace, totally killing the timing of the gag. The only somewhat funny scene is when Alfalfa gets a raisin stuck in his throat while he's singing a song. But the over-the-top reactions make it obvious that Carl Switzer was tired of doing this schtick.
On perhaps one of the worst endings in the series, Mickey randomly starts laughing. The gang asks Mickey what he finds so funny, and he explains that mother's day isn't for another three months. The kids all start bursting out into forced laughter at this unfunny joke, and the usual nursery rhyme music plays over the end title card.
Interestingly, Darla has no lines in this short, and Buckwheat isn't in the short at all!
2. Feather of a Chicken (1944) - There's been a debate about which short (Dancing Romeo or Tale of a Dog) is truly the last short in the series. It turns out that neither is the "series finale". The morning that shooting for "Feather" began, the Our Gang kids were told that this would be their last film. In the finished product, all of the kids look like they're ready to quit. Froggy and Mickey seem particularly more irritable than usual.
The short opens in a courtroom scene, with only two adults in the room (the judge and the bailiff). The rest of the room consists entirely of those extra MGM kids that were never given acting lessons. Apparently, Buckwheat has stolen a chicken (...okay?), and is being "sued" by some kid named Jimmy. Several bad racial puns later (which sadly take up most of the first half of the film), Janet gets a big smile on her face. She suggests that the gang play detective to find the real thief. Mickey is clearly rolling his eyes during this scene, while Froggy doesn't even bother to look up. The judge agrees, and Buckwheat is set free to join the gang.
Much the rest of the film is the gang standing around and talking about possible suspects. Other than Janet (give her credit for trying), none of the other kids look particulary interested in this scene. Finally, they come across the real thief, Happy (huh?).
The kids go back to the courtroom, and Happy supposedly gets punished (the writers were too lazy to explain). The film ends on a reworking of the closing gag from “1-2-3-Go!” (with Froggy causing the mics to blow up). This time, Janet gives the speech that explodes the mics. She spends the last minute or so talking about random nonsense (her cat Fluffy, visiting day for dolls at the clubhouse, Carmen Miranda), which causes the courtroom extras to run out off the set covering their ears. One poor guy’s ears appear to be bleeding!
So why all the carelessness in an MGM film? The crew obviously didn’t care anymore. Louie B. Mayer was away on business, while his replacement was away on business at the studio bar.
3. Musical Melodies (1943) – Despite being billed as an Our Gang short, NONE of the gang members appear. Instead we have those over-the-top performers we see in awful shorts like “Doin’ Their Bit”, “Melodies Old and New”, and “Calling All Kids”. There is a very loose plot about some kids trying to raise money to repair a damaged neighborhood so that enemy spies won't suspect their city (... wha??). All of this is interspersed with cheesy musical numbers. Apparently, MGM wanted to make a new series of kids’ shorts. While the idea bombed, it was later reworked during the 1980’s as “Kids Incorporated”.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 20, 2013 6:26:50 GMT -5
Let's not forget the recently discovered 'lost' episode from 1927.
The Big Stink.
Joe's five pet monkeys (what you didn't know he had five pet monkeys?) escaped from a bedroom window which his younger brother (played by three year old Freddie Bartholomew) had carelessly opened in order to empty his chamber pot. Unfortunately passing below at that moment was a member of the Gas House Gang who for ever afterwards was known as Stinky. Stinky complained to his gang leader, played by Mickey Rooney, about what had happened. Mickey then decided it was time that his gang got even with the kids from Our Gang. The Gas House kids built a gigantic wooden sheep which they left outside of the Our Gang barn. Affixed to the Trojan sheep was a sign reading, "free kandee." Joe was on a diet so Jackie Condon opened the cleverly constructed trap door in the base of the wooden sheep. The gang were instantly showered with the contents of the sheep, 100 gallons of liquified pig manure. The terrible stench forced the Gang to take an emergency bathe in a nearby duck pond. While they were attempting to get clean their clothes were stolen by Stinky who shouted, 'Who is stinky now eh?' As he turned around to walk away he was immediately pelted with rotten fruit by Joe's five monkeys, which were sitting in a nearby tree. "You are," replied the Gang, "You're Stinky." This short contained the only Our Gang appearances of Mickey Rooney, Freddie Bartholomew and Stinky (played by four different boys). It also marked the last appearance by Scooter Lowry in Our Gang. The wooden sheep was reputedly constructed by the then relatively unknown Pablo Picasso.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 20, 2013 8:30:40 GMT -5
Slow Business (1943)
The Gang wanted to put on a show but they had no money to pay for the full size orchestra, professional lighting and adult staff to run the theater, so they decided to put on a show to raise the money for their planned show. Entirely by coincidence a full orchestra are passing through town when their tour bus breaks down. Hot and dusty from walking three miles in the summer's heat the tired orchestra members gratefully accepted the jug of homemade iced lemonade which Froggy thoughtfully passed among them. In return for Froggy's kindness the orchestra decided to help Froggy and the Gang by appearing for free in their show to raise funds for a show. Each member of the orchestra then telephoned their family and soon afterwards a bunch of multifaceted younger brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews arrived to sing and dance their way through the show while their mothers, fathers, aunties and uncles operate the lights, curtains and collected the ticket money. At the end of the show the Gang, who had performed just one short bad taste 'comedy' routine featuring Stalin and Hitler, announced they now had enough money to put on their planned show to raise funds for good old Uncle Sam. "Donate the money you've just raised" advised the conductor of the orchestra, "You don't need it to pay us because we'll perform in your new show entirely for free now that we know it is aid of the war effort. "I'd hoped you'd say that," replied Froggy, "I figured you'd want to help seeing as you were good Americans." Everybody laughed out loud, although nobody could later explain what it was they'd laughed at.
The following episode "Not So Slow Business" featured the Our Gang war effort show, which differed from 'the free show to raise funds for the show' only in the substitution of Mussolini for Stalin in the 'comedy' routine.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 20, 2013 13:46:54 GMT -5
Roll Your Eyes (1931) - In this remake of "Wiggle Your Ears", Dorothy is in love with Spud because he has the ability to roll his eyes. All Spud ever does is push Dorothy around. Eventually, he leaves her for a rich girl (unidentified). Meanwhile, Wheezer tries to impress Dorothy by learning how to roll his eyes. Stymie helps him out by giving him a pair of fake glasses that will make his eyes appear to roll. Otherwise, the short is nearly word-for-word, scene-for-scene the same as its predecessor. The film ends with Spud randomly falling into a well. Well, well, well. A weak remake that hardly tries to be original.
Nothing But Trouble (1928) - Another short where the gang treat Farina like garbage for no reason at all. Joe wants a dog, and so he decides to steal Pete from Farina. Despite that, Joe accuses Farina of stealing the dog from HIM. The gang mostly push Farina around "so that he won't steal again". The film ends with a drunk guy throwing a stick of dynamite into Farina's backyard, which causes a hilarious (?) blackface sequence. Farina's mom sees the damage, and thinking that Farina was the cause, spanks him.
A terrible short. Farina doesn't get a break once, and the gang never really get their comeuppance.
Never a Dull Moment (1941) - With America now involved in the war, Uncle Walt asks the gang to go on tour with him to various army training camps. Thankfully, we only have to sit through one show. The kids do an over-the-top dance (with the Our Gang regulars trying their best to keep up with the professional dancers MGM hired). Froggy and Buckwheat go into a comedy bit that's impossible to understand, while Darla sings a song about fighting Hitler (!), backed up by Spanky and Mickey. The film ends with one of the army men thanking the gang for entertaining them. Froggy then says, "Like my Aunt Mamie always said, never break a window when a sandwich has ham". Everyone laughs at this random unfunny saying.
Three Wise Guys (1943) - If you thought "Little Miss Pinkerton" was dark, wait 'till you see the sequel. The film opens at the janitor's funeral (!). After a depressing minute or two of the funeral 'action', everyone heads for the refreshments. Mickey loudly states that at least there's something good about funerals (meaning the food). Surprisingly, nobody else hears this. Janet heads to the other end of the refreshment table, where two men (the bad guys from "Pinkerton", disguised as pallbearers) kidnap her. The boys rush into action on a three-person bicycle. Meanwhile, the bad guys have Janet in a warehouse. The film take such a dark turn at this point, I'm not even allowed to repeat what happens. The gang arrive just in time, and the lead bad guy drops his gun and puts his hands up. That's the end of the short... Weak! And for whatever reason, Froggy spends the entire short talking in 40's slang ("what's buzzin', cousin?", "slip me some skin").
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 20, 2013 14:30:45 GMT -5
Sunny Days (1928) Jay R. Smith has been told to mind his younger siblings, played by Wheezer and Jean. As soon as Jay is engaged in a tin can and string telephone conversation with Joe the pair of little rascals begin to pluck flowers. Upon seeing the destruction of her beloved garden Jay's mother warns him that she won't stand for any more of his negligence. She then warns Jay that if she finds even one more flower has been plucked, when she returns for her afternoon class in walrus wrestling, she'll spank him all the way to St Louis and back. As soon as she drives away Joe rings Jay up again, on the tin can telephone, and while Jay is engaged in conversation his naughty brother and sister once again begin to pick flowers. Jay almost has a nervous breakdown when he realizes what has happened and fears a major spanking is coming his way. Joe volunteers to help his pal out and along with Mary Ann, Harry, Farina and Jackie he climbs the short picket fence into Jay's garden. They find that four flowers have been picked, and three of those are weeds, but instead of simply removing the evidence the Gang decide to give the entire garden a make over. Harry borrows a tractor from his farmer father. Jackie brings a herd of sheep to eat the grass, 'better than a lawn mower any day', he explains, 'and you don't need ay gasoline.' Farina thinks that's a real pity as he's brought a gallon of gasoline, so he decides to build Jay's mother a surprise gasoline powered barbecue. Chaos ensues. Harry runs the tractor straight through the front wall of the house. Jackie's sheep eat all the washing on the washing line. Farina blows up the barn. Mary Ann falls off the roof, where she had been cleaning weeds from the gutters, and Joe eats all the fruit in the orchard and gets a bad case of colic. Jay R's mother returns home to be met by a smiling Jay, who proudly proclaims that he's done a good job of looking after the younger children and stopping them picking any more flowers. Unfortunately at that point a large tree near the garden gate falls over and crushes Jay's mother's car. Jean guiltily drops the chainsaw she has been using and Wheezer blows a raspberry. Jay's mother sits down on the stump of the recently felled tree and bends her oldest boy over her knee. 'This is going to hurt you a lot more than it'll hurt me," she promises. Unfortunately this movie was never filmed and the much more sedate 'Rainy Days' was made in its place. Such a pity really as I'd have liked to have seen Harry drive the tractor through the wall of the house
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 20, 2013 14:57:53 GMT -5
Wash Your Own Clothes (1942)
Spanky heads a drive to save mothers' energy for the war effort by cutting the work that they need to do on behalf of their children. He conducts afternoon seminars in clothes washing, explaining how whites should be separated from coloured clothes and how red items should always be washed on their own, "unless you are a big sissy who likes pink socks and undies" he explains and then laughs. Everybody else laughs too, except Mickey who is wearing pinks socks and a pink shirt, "I like pink clothes" he complains and then begins to cry. Leonard explains that this is what happens to boys who don't have a strong male role model at home. The episode ends with Spanky advising the boys and girls of America not to play out or doors but to stay at home and darn soldiers' socks for the war effort. "Then your own clothes won't get so dirty and they will be easier for you to wash." Everybody laughs again and Froggy suggests that they could also help the war effort if they built battleships. "Good idea" responds Spanky "and you could be the foghorn." Everybody laughs once more and Froggy pulls a grumpy face.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 20, 2013 18:30:55 GMT -5
A Romanian Holiday (1936) - In this remake of "Seeing the World", Spanky, Alfalfa, Cookie (Darla), Buckwheat, Scotty (in his last short), Porky, and Dickie De Nuet go on a European trip with their teacher (Charlie Hall). Like "Seeing the World", this short consists largely of newsreel/travelogue footage. In fact, much of the longshots of the gang is actually stock footage from "Seeing the World" (apparently, Roach couldn't afford a European trip this time). Overall, a fairly boring short. The only real highlight is when Alfalfa attempts to sing a song in Italian by imitating the words he hears from a native, and Buckwheat trying to eat the spaghetti dinner the gang are given.
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Post by RJH on Jun 20, 2013 22:04:47 GMT -5
Actually the Our Gang - Mickey McGuire crossover sounds interesting. Shirley Jean could play two roles (Tomboy Taylor in the McGuire gang).
Friday Driver (1932) - In this inferior remake of "Free Wheeling," Dickie, wearing his neck brace, begs his mother to let him play with the gang, but his mother refuses, describing the gang and especially Stymie in politically incorrect terms. Nevertheless, when Stymie delivers laundry, he helps Dickie sneak out of the house and onto the mule-powered "taxi" he and Breezy have made additions to, and which Stymie's mother has told him not to mess around with. When the mule gets drunk and chases Breezy away, Stymie hooks up the taxi to a truck and he and Dickie climb aboard, while Spanky and Jacquie Lyn sneak into the back and act too familiar with each other for their age. Soon the truck tows the taxi over a hill. The taxi breaks loose, and careens out of control down several streets. Along the way many pedestrians are seriously injured getting out of the way, in addition to several vehicles crashing and damaging buildings to avoid the taxi. The ride ends forcefully when the taxi strikes a fire hydrant, leaving the fire department unable to save a nearby apartment building on fire. A weak attempt at humor consists of the building's residents jumping out of windows, bouncing off the firemen's nest, and landing in awkward places like garbage bins and wet cement. Dickie's stiff neck is further damaged, leaving him temporarily paralyzed, and expected to recover in a few months. Spanky and Jacquie Lyn wind up in the hospital with whiplash and concussions. Stymie is convicted of grand theft auto, driving without a license, and numerous moving violations, and is sent to the juvenile wing of the prison his father is serving time in. Breezy's true age (16) is discovered, and he is sent away for animal cruelty and his creepy obsession of playing with 7-year-olds. Dickie concludes by admitting, "Sorry Ma, you were right about that ___ Stymie." A moral about listening to your mothers is displayed at the beginning of the closing credits.
At least this short features the only appearance of Stymie's father, and now they have a chance to compete in the prison's version of "Father and Son Day."
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 21, 2013 6:37:28 GMT -5
Juggling Bees (1938)
In this episode, made during Spanky's absence from the gang and just before their move to MGM, Alfalfa is revealed to be dyslexic although the then in vogue term 'word blind' is used instead. Alfalfa's problem with reading and writing give ample excuse for chaos at school. A popular urban legend insists that a nine second long sequence showing Alfalfa's misspelling of Buckwheat's name on the blackboard was ordered to be removed from the film by US censors. Afternoon break is cancelled due to heavy rain and Alfalfa is persuaded to entertain the bored children. The king of the crooners agrees to sing a song which has been composed by Porky & Buckwheat, which gives ample opportunity for him to comically misread words and replace them with wiener, bum, pee and fart. Later at home he misreads the newspaper headlines relating to a sudden rise in the price of pork and manages to convince his father that 'Giant raisins have invaded New York.' The meal is further disrupted when it is revealed that Alfalfa had earlier misread a note and has filled a covered pail with bees in place of the peas which his mother had asked him to pick. The family quickly exit the house pursued by an angry swarm of peas, sorry I mean bees.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 21, 2013 11:04:16 GMT -5
Melting Clokcs (1929) Following the huge popularity of the avant garde Wiggle Your Ears the studio invited Salvador Dali, who was visiting the states at the time, to guest direct the next Our Gang episode. Salvador was given complete artistic freedom and told to interpret the original script in his own distinctive way. The result was the eerie and disturbing Melting Clokcs. The choice of the word Clokcs in place of Clocks was typical of Dali's approach. The basic story revolved around Harry Spear arriving later at school and the methods he then employed in his attempts to wake up on time. Scenes of exploding pumpkins and ants inhabiting a doll's house are randomly cut into the main body of the film, which often pauses and then runs backwards. Dali insisted that gigantic colored transparent celluloid screens were installed in cinemas, which were then dropped in front of the cinema screen at crucial points in the storyline to artificially create the illusion of color. The film ended with the main cinema screen being set on fire by a troop of midgets dressed as giant cockroaches and lobsters. The entire film was so unfathomable and the cost of installing the coloured screen so prohibitive that it was never screened again, after it's premier in a converted water tower, and it is now presumed 'lost.'
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 21, 2013 12:37:32 GMT -5
Wild Worries (1933) *Note:* The film went under the working title "Bedtime Poses", but MGM thought such a title would be too controversial.
In this film, Spanky and his parents (Emerson Tracey and Gay Seabrook) go on a camping trip. There's a lot of humor involving Emerson trying to put up a tent, start a fire, etc., with Spanky's "help". Like the previous Emerson-Tracey-Spanky shorts, this one is very dialogue heavy, with Spanky constantly asking curious little boy questions. The questions distract Emerson, who winds up hammering his own hand while pitching a tent, and burning his other hand while lighting a fire. Later that night, a bear sneaks into the tent and grabs Spanky. Emerson, accompanied by Dave Sharpe (doubling for Gay Seabrook), save Spanky, and they all live happily ever after. Until a storm hits, causing them to fly off of a cliff.
So what's so bad about this short? Literally none of the Our Gang kids are in it. And that includes Spanky. This was during Spanky's bedridden "whooping cough" period. MGM pressured Roach into keeping production going by replacing Spanky with his stunt double Joe Straunch, Jr. While a decent actor, his performances lack the charm that George McFarland brought to the role.
Oh, and Gay Seabrook got scratched by the bear during a break in shooting scenes. Double Dave Sharpe wound up playing her for a good chunk of the film's second half.
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Post by RJH on Jun 23, 2013 2:43:25 GMT -5
The Wild Man from Timbuktu (1939) - This is the lost last two-reeler.
The gang's clubhouse burns down due to their playing with matches. They try to come up with ways to make money and go to a junkyard to scrounge for materials, when they come across a cage about six feet cube with an intact lock and key. Spanky gets an idea: "I got a great idea to raise money. When I was little, there was this guy I thought was my Uncle George. It turns out he was a circus act, "The Wild Man from Borneo," and the circus made a lot of money, and so can we do the same thing with a junior version. We should probably use a different place so they don't get mad at us."
"What did Uncle George look like?" asks Buckwheat.
The next morning, after an afternoon of advertising, their plan is put into action. Using Alfalfa's Tarzan comic book as a guide, they use a belt-length piece of rope and a white towel to make a loincloth for Buckwheat, paint lots of goofy symbols with white water color paint on his body, and stick a large bone in his unkempt hair. They move the cage a little into a clearing in the woods and lock Buckwheat inside, and set up signs advertising five minutes of viewing for a penny. The show is a huge success, with Buckwheat swinging from the bars of the cage, beating his chest, gnawing on a large turkey leg, and making "Oogie Boogie" sounds as in "Clown Princes." Butch and the Woim are so impressed that while they barge through without paying, they don't try to steal the earnings. In three hours the gang has earned more than enough, when a sudden cloudburst sends everyone scurrying home. Except for Buckwheat, who's still locked in the cage. He calls for help and struggles against the bars, but it's hopeless. As he stands there dejected with his hands on the bars, the paint washes off his body. The downpour continues and Buckwheat gets totally drenched, having to sit down and then lie down as he tires.
After two hours, the storm lets up and to the Wild Man's delight, Pete shows up. Buckwheat kneels at the edge of the cage to explain to Pete to get help, but Pete lunges his head through the bars, grabs the bone in Buckwheat's hair with his teeth, and runs away to bury it. The storm returns and Buckwheat is soaked for another two hours. This time Pete returns with the gang, who apologize after breaking down in laughter at the sight of the caged sopping-wet wildman clad only his loincloth. Spanky turns the key in the lock, and the key, begin rusty, breaks inside the lock, rendering it unworkable. Darla comments that it would have been a good idea to test the lock beforehand. The next two hours are spent with the gang trying to cut through the bars with saws and files, but they only break the tools. Eventually Buckwheat's mother, played by Hattie McDaniel, arrives when Buckwheat was late for dinner and she asked around where he might be. Seeing her son in distress, she finds the superhuman strength to pull two bars far enough apart for Buckwheat to slip through. When she asks where his clothes are, she is told in Porky's barn. When they get there, they find the clothes have been eaten by the goat, except for the straw hat which was hanging on a high-enough hook. Porky remarks that Buckwheat will get a chance to wear something different, but Buckwheat explains he wears the same clothes every day because that's all he has. His mother says she'll sew new clothes when she can but the material will cost money. Spanky comments he has a proven method of raising money, and Alfalfa adds that if Buckwheat is going to take another shower, to remember to bring soap next time. For some reason, everyone laughs as the final scene fades out.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 23, 2013 20:15:06 GMT -5
What a Porky! (1935) - This "silent" short is literally twenty minutes of Porky eating everything in sight. It's believed that this was actually home movie footage that a inebriated editor sent to an even more inebriated distributor at MGM, which led to the film being released as an Our Gang short.
Girls Will Be Whirls (1929) - The boys get invited to go to the local amusement park, but Jean and Mary Ann are left behind. The reason is never fully explained, but from what most people have been able to figure out, it's a sexist thing. Anyway, Jean and Mary Ann sneak onto the back of the car that the boys are traveling in, and eventually wind up in the park's haunted house attraction. This alone could have made a fine short. But instead, we spend most of the rest of the film with the boys at the amusement park. In fact, more than half of the amusement park scenes are footage of extra kids roaming around the area, going on rides, buying food, etc. Finally, the boys head over the haunted house (there is one decent bit of comedy involving Farina's hesitance in entering the place). The boys find Mary and Jean (or at least the title cards say they do). We see the boys looking down (supposedly at where the girls are), and immediately getting horrified looks on their faces. And the film ends right there. No, it doesn't end. It just sort of stops. No idea what Roach and his team were thinking when they made this short.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Jun 24, 2013 10:23:28 GMT -5
Bing Kong (1938)
In this unexpected return to the two reeler format Alfalfa wins a competition run by a local radio station, when he crooners his way through the latest Bing Crosby hit song. The prize is an all expenses paid trip to New York to visit the world's tallest skyscraper, the Empire State building. Of course Alfie manages to wangle things so that instead of his parents and any siblings accompanying him he instead takes Spanky, Buckwheat & Porky. Darla informs the gang that she is afraid of heights and doesn't wish to go so they dress Elmer the monkey in doll's clothes and take him instead. There are some comic moments as Porky eats his way through the entire restaurant car menu and then keeps the boys awake all night by burping the Our Gang theme tune. Unfortunately much of the remainder of the movie is basically a sightseeing tour of 1930s New York. Interesting enough from a social history viewpoint but hardly a comedy. The highlight of the movie occurs when the boys are on the viewing deck of the Empire State Building. Elmer decides to go exploring and eventually works his way up to the radio mast, followed by Alfalfa who is attempting to recapture him. When he finally succeeds and has Elmer securely buttoned up inside his jacket the watching crowd of sightseers, on the observation deck below, break into a spontaneous round of applause and then throw coins into a cap that Buckwheat quickly passes around. Alfalfa bows to his admirers and then gives an impromptu rendition of Bing Crosby's 1937 hit "There's a Gold Mine In The Sky.' As he finished two biplanes fly close to the mast and Alfalfa drums his chest at them before the closing title card fills the screen. With a bit more humor and less sightseeing it could have been a great deal better than it was.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 24, 2013 20:04:09 GMT -5
The Devil With You! (1930) - Perhaps the most controversial film in the series. It's also one of Farina's few lead roles during the sound era. The short revolves around Farina constantly failing every attempt to help the gang in some activity. He tries to help Chubby open a box of cookies. After several unsuccessful attempts, Chubby furiously pushes Farina, causing him to accidentally fall on the box and crush the cookies. Chubby blames Farina, even though it's technically his own fault.
Later, Farina tries to help Jackie Cooper chop some wood. Jackie carelessly left an axe laying around, which Farina picks up. In perhaps one of the most unrealistic gags in the series, he accidentally chops down a huge tree in Jackie's yard, which lands right on Jackie. Jackie comes out with dirt on his face, but otherwise seems unharmed. He too blames Farina. Again, this is kind of Jackie's fault, but whatever.
Later he tries to help Mary Ann and Wheezer catch some fish. Wheezer manages to get ahold of a really big fish. Mary Ann grabs ahold of Wheezer to help him pull, and Farina grabs ahold of Mary. Mary accidentally lets go, causing Wheezer to fall into the water. She socks Farina in the chin (why?), and furiously pulls Wheezer out.
Farina and Pete the Pup sadly sit on a curb. Farina tells Pete that he'd sell his soul to not be so clumsy. Just then, the salesman from "Saturday's Lesson" (still dressed as the Lucifer) shows up to teach Farina a lesson. Farina "sells his soul", and nothing changes. The gang still get mad at Farina for dumb reasons. So what lesson is this guy trying to teach Farina? We're never really told. Probably because the Roach studios was more interested in trying out new special effects with 'the Devil' then developing a solid story.
Anyway, more mean-spiritedness towards Farina, yadda yadda yadda, and finally the salesman shows up to 'take' Farina's soul. Naturally, Farina believes this, and begins to freak out. Just as the 'Devil' grabs Farina, we fade to him waking up in bed. Farina says, "Well burn my clothes. It was just a 'nighthorse'". And that's the end of the short.
Surprisingly, this film wasn't removed from the syndicated package. Rather it was edited down to about five minutes. Strangely, the TV edit makes more sense than the original short.
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