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Post by sandro on Oct 28, 2016 21:12:58 GMT -5
I never watched the MGM shorts
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Post by tboneator64 on Oct 29, 2016 3:49:03 GMT -5
I never watched the MGM shorts In my opinion, they aren't ALL akin to the Sharknado franchise. While I find them of lesser quality than the Roach shorts, the early MGM entries are generally not too bad, especially from the 1938-39 theatrical season. However, with some ebb and flow, they do gradually become less comedic and more moralistic to the point that by late 1941, some of the one reelers are more Public Service at the expense (And sometimes virtual absence!) of comedic content. For me, the final dozen post Spanky shorts from 1943-44 are the worst of the lot, and they represent some rather dreary viewing! The Warner Archive issued an OUR GANG COLLECTION set on 5 DVD-Rs, containing all 52 MGM one reel shorts in 2009. If you reside outside the U.S. as I do, ordering from The Warner Archive is not a possibility, but Amazon might still be a decent option, although I haven't checked the pricing all that recently. I do recommend viewing these at least once, if only for comparison with, and a deeper appreciation of the Hal Roach Talkies. CHEERS!
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Post by sandro on Oct 29, 2016 10:04:56 GMT -5
tboneator64 yes friend i live outside the U.S.A.
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Post by mtw12055 on Oct 29, 2016 13:45:47 GMT -5
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Post by myhomeo on Oct 29, 2016 13:54:27 GMT -5
And keep in mind, that was one of the LESS tedious ones...
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Post by RJH on Oct 29, 2016 22:51:39 GMT -5
My opinion is that the MGM shorts were generally of acceptable to good quality as long as Porky was in them, and immediately took a sharp turn downhill as soon as he left. Looking at the list, I can say that I liked and looked forward to reviewing most of the films from The Little Ranger to Auto Antics, and very few after that. Firing Porky around his sixth birthday was a big mistake. Had he stayed on and the writers respected the long-term dynamic between him and Buckwheat, they might have come up with better stories for 2-3 more years.
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Post by mtw12055 on Oct 29, 2016 23:04:36 GMT -5
Well, Porky wasn't exactly fired. His contract was up, and the studio simply decided not to renew it. I think a major factor was that Edward Cahn started directing the series right before Porky left. He seemed to be a contributor to the quality weakening.
But I can see your point. The Buckwheat/Porky teaming was charming. The writers already seemed to be giving Porky more dialogue than Buckwheat during the Metro period, but after Porky was gone, Buckwheat rarely contributed anything more than a "sho nuff" line. He was no longer a character with occasional stereotypical moments attached to him, but rather an all out stereotype.
Of course, that's not even half of the problems with the MGM era.
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Post by tboneator64 on Oct 30, 2016 18:53:56 GMT -5
Well, Porky wasn't exactly fired. His contract was up, and the studio simply decided not to renew it. I think a major factor was that Edward Cahn started directing the series right before Porky left. He seemed to be a contributor to the quality weakening. But I can see your point. The Buckwheat/Porky teaming was charming. The writers already seemed to be giving Porky more dialogue than Buckwheat during the Metro period, but after Porky was gone, Buckwheat rarely contributed anything more than a "sho nuff" line. He was no longer a character with occasional stereotypical moments attached to him, but rather an all out stereotype. Of course, that's not even half of the problems with the MGM era. From what I've read, my understanding was that Porky was let go because he had grown taller than Spanky, and had otherwise outgrown his cute persona. That said, I do agree that his departure certainly didn't help the series. Yes, Edward Cahn's arrival as director did seem to coincide with a noticeable downgrade in quality, but as you rightly stated, problems with the MGM era were multi-faceted; poor scripts, inconsistent concepts, and perhaps the fatal coup de grace of poor casting, which really hurt the series in its final few seasons, as the remaining Hal Roach era holdovers aged out of the gang, with some of them kept too long, and others not kept long enough. These days, I try to look at the MGM years as a glass half full proposition, especially after having read that Hal Roach had intended to cancel the 'Our Gang' series even if he hadn't sold it to MGM. At least, a number of enjoyable one reelers did spring from that sale, which would not have been produced, otherwise. CHEERS!
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Post by RJH on Oct 30, 2016 23:01:19 GMT -5
Yeah, "fired" isn't the right term for Porky, and I agree with what's been said above. I still think not rehiring because he was too tall or not cute enough was a big mistake, and Mickey certainly wasn't a better Porky-type character. Buckwheat grew taller than Spanky and wasn't replaced by a shorter and cuter character. But no collection of characters could overcome a lot of bad decisions by those in charge.
Another thing, I can't despise "Time Out For Lessons" as many of the other late MGM shorts because this is a rare entry when Buckwheat isn't treated as a stereotype. He is a student and popular football player and gets equal time at the dance. The the one I feel sorry for is Leonard. By the way, a demeaning thing at that time would have been for Buckwheat to be the team mascot, a position common for black kids of the era and previous decades, but more common in baseball.
Tired Business Men (1927) - The gang has built an elaborate club out of a barn, featuring among other things bowling, billiards, and a goat-powered elevator. Grand Exhausted Ruler Jackie arrives with ah electrical hootenanny which he hopes can be used to initiate someone. Coincidentally, Joe, who is a new kid in town and the son of a policeman, stumbles into the barn chasing his cat. Initially eager to join a club, Joe agrees to be initiated, and is given the works. After he objects to some of the treatment like being pelted with eggs, he is rejected. The gang sends a note via the cat warning Joe not to squeal, but he uses his father's uniform and whistle to threaten the gang and get revenge. The gang submits and Joe turns the tables until he loses his whistle. In the commotion a bank robber on the lam takes refuge in the barn, and Mango finds the whistle, gets to the roof, and blows the whistle, causing all the police to converge on the barn. The gang thinks the police are after them and decides to go down fighting, but after a lot of mayhem the robber is caught, and to celebrate the police treat the gang to ice cream.
This has a lot of lively action but not without flaws. The best parts may be all the features of the club. Farina is the world's only licensed goat-elevator operator, and a dog is employed as a pinsetter for the bowling alley. Something I like about this is that Jackie finally gets a leadership role and more than his share of the good lines, like " They'll hang us anyway - We might as well die fightin'." Even Mango gets a line ("Chop ever'thing") when hapless Bonedust gets his fingers stuck in a bowling ball. Joe's hazing, though, becomes overdone. Spinning around in the chair is fine, but paddled by a board with nails sticking out and getting pelted by eggs with his head sticking out of a box like a steam cabinet strikes me as going too far. And then Joe gets rejected after going through all that, but then there wouldn't be much of a story. The justice in Joe getting revenge is more tolerable. It strikes me as odd that the police would treat the gang to ice cream after they were pelted by eggs, hit by boards, some with nails, squirted with water, and having the bowling balls dropped on their feet. The title is odd; I don't see how anyone was tired. Even if it refers to Jackie's title there should have been a more appropriate title. Left unanswered is whether Joe is accepted into the club, if he still wants to be.
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Post by mtw12055 on Nov 3, 2016 17:07:53 GMT -5
Going back to the MGM shorts, I just asked Robert (Anthony Mack) McGowan's daughter Mickie how her dad felt about working at MGM. Surprise of all surprises, he hated it! I'd imagine Hal Law's sentiments weren't so different. It wouldn't surprise me if the working conditions, studio interference, etc. affected the way the scripts were crafted. And towards the end of the line, moments like Froggy's Shakespeare 'joke' in FAMILY TROUBLES seem to say "we don't care anymore." Shame. With little to no interference, I'm sure we could have at least gotten films on par with the first MGM season.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Nov 5, 2016 22:29:15 GMT -5
TIME OUT FOR LESSONS (1939)
Things I like: Professor Waldo. In the film's most perfect piece of casting, Waldo appears in cap and gown to block Alfalfa's participation in the big game. Muggsy & Darla. In a rare moment of quality acting (for this film, anyway), Muggsy sighs over the dreamy Alfalfa while Darla makes a pretty funny comment about him being all brawn and no brains. Speaking of Darla, she really delivers a smoking rendition of "Swingin' The Jinx Away," which is marred only by everything else that's going on while she's doing so.
Things I don't like: The Gang As College Kids. This idea fits loosely into the same category as the Club Spanky sequence in "Our Gang Follies Of 1938." But while the earlier film succeeded in retaining a high level of charm even while presenting the kids as quasi-adults, this short completely fails to do so. There's something discomforting about the pretentious way the kids jitterbug their way through the rally (even though they're surprisingly better at this then I could ever have imagined). I'm not sure what that thing is called that Mickey's doing while dancing with his girl, but I wince every time I see it. And don't even get me started on that "come on, you little apple" kid. *shudder* Alfalfa. Part of the problem with this episode (and many others from this period) is that the lead kid, as tremendous as he was a couple of years earlier, shouts his way through the film and is otherwise totally unnatural. Alfalfa's Swell Pop. My only complaint about Alfalfa's dad, other than the usual problem with any moralizing authority figure in this series, is that he seems like a really dull, uninteresting person. What's ironic is that one of the few things MGM did right in producing this series was in the casting of William Newell as Alfalfa's father elsewhere in the series.
Grade: C-
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Post by RJH on Nov 6, 2016 22:39:39 GMT -5
Tiny Troubles(1939) - Alfalfa is stuck taking care of his noisy baby brother. When the gang visits, Darla's story about trading in a puppy for a quieter model and Spanky's suggestion that Alfalfa do the same convinces Alfalfa to take his baby brother to the park and leave a note for someone to make a suitable trade. By an amazing coincidence, a midget crook, Light-fingered Lester, is hiding from the police in a hollow tree, and agrees by nodding to go with Alfalfa to his house. While inside, Lester makes a phone call to his accomplice Myrtle and drinks a beer. Porky and Buckwheat have some difficulty in making the others believe this, but soon they all catch him smoking a cigar. There is a chase and then the police come, nabbing Lester and the gang. The police teach the gang a lesson and get Alfalfa to agree that if his baby brother can be found, he will never complain again. An officer then brings the real baby into the police station, and the gang takes him to Alfalfa's house where he can tell his mother the baby wasn't any trouble to speak of.
It's hard to believe this travesty came right after "Alfalfa's Aunt," as good a film as any MGM produced. Stupidity abounds throughout "Tiny Troubles," starting with the gang thinking it's okay to leave a baby alone in a park. Then they are very slow to realize Lester isn't a baby. Then there's Lester, who idiotically blows his cover with the beer and cigar. The other midgets in the series had the brains to maintain the deception as long as practical. Most of the story is a flashback, but this seldom-used device doesn't help. The chase in the house isn't very thrilling, and it's predictable that Spanky would catch Alfalfa in the butterfly night. Porky and Buckwheat don't distinguish themselves by mostly being scared and hiding in a closet. The police teaching the gang and Alfalfa in particular a lesson is not funny or entertaining, and it's a shame that idea wasn't immediately abandoned
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Post by tboneator64 on Nov 8, 2016 19:49:46 GMT -5
Going back to the MGM shorts, I just asked Robert (Anthony Mack) McGowan's daughter Mickie how her dad felt about working at MGM. Surprise of all surprises, he hated it! I'd imagine Hal Law's sentiments weren't so different. It wouldn't surprise me if the working conditions, studio interference, etc. affected the way the scripts were crafted. And towards the end of the line, moments like Froggy's Shakespeare 'joke' in FAMILY TROUBLES seem to say "we don't care anymore." Shame. With little to no interference, I'm sure we could have at least gotten films on par with the first MGM season. I'd imagine they felt a lot of the same frustrations Stan Laurel in particular felt upon discovering he had virtually no say (Initially, at least!) in how their films would be produced upon Laurel & Hardy's mid 1941 arrival at 20th Century Fox. Similarly, I believe that MGM's production methods were very much assembly line, especially compared to the Hal Roach Studios, where there was much more room for creativity, during the '30s, at least! CHEERS!
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Post by RJH on Nov 13, 2016 22:50:45 GMT -5
A Tough Winter (1930) - Stepin Fetchit comes home on a cold winter day on the wobbly wagon driven by Farina, and gets the boys of the gang to stop their snowball fight to take care of his mule while he goes inside to take off many layers of clothes. A letter arrives, but Farina has to read it to Stepin because the latter can only read at night, having gone to night school. When it turns out to be a love letter, Stepin has Farina put cotton in his hears so he can't hear what he's reading aloud. Meanwhile, Mary Ann decides to make some taffy, and Wheezer relays instructions from the radio to her and two assistants. However, the radio gives recipes for different treats, and Wheezer doesn't realize the changes amidst his running back and forth. The result is a horrible tasting mess which gets the gang stuck to the walls, floor, and furniture when they try to pull it. Stepin comes by, and attempts to help the gang clean up by fixing pipes were water isn't running, but mixes up plumbing and electrical connections that result in all of appliances working in unintended ways.
A lot of this is a vehicle for Stepin Fetchit, who clearly demonstrates the lazy persona. He is clever enough to invent several labor-saving devices, but it's disappointing when he needs Farina to read the letter. At least it makes Farina look good, and he understands that putting cotton in his ears won't stop him from learning the contents of the letter. The taffy making is predictable, featuring the gang's usual efforts when they try to cook or bake something. Some of the getting stuck sequences are mildly amusing, but this film doesn't have a whole lot of laughs. There isn't much plot either. Wheezer and Petey are good together, and as in other films Wheezer doesn't get to do the fun things like the snowball fight, and instead is sent to chase a mouse in the basement. There isn't much of an ending, with the radio freezing and the refrigerator playing music. Mary and Wheezer's mother doesn't come home to find the house in an unfortunate condition. As for Stepin Fetchit, I realize that he played an exaggerated stereotype, but recognize that the facts that that was the best acting job available to him at the time and that he could play such a character convincingly led the way for better roles for minorities in the future.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Nov 14, 2016 18:34:57 GMT -5
TIRED BUSINESS MEN (1927)
Things I like: Some Of The Gags. Among my favorites are Joe's impersonation of his policeman father, Jannie's magical hat, Jay's disregard for hapless orphans, the way Bonedust's head keeps intercepting those eggs, and what is possibly Scooter's best-ever line: "There ain't nobody here."
Things I don't like: The Fact That I Can't Think Of Anything Else. This episode fits into the gag-heavy category of, say, "Saturday's Lesson" or "Free Eats," but unfortunately, the majority of the gags are only mildly humorous, which makes it notably inferior to those other two examples. On the other side of the coin, there are few, if any, truly weak gags in the film, so the results are still generally positive - just not that great. It's still fun to watch the Gang enjoying their "gentleman's club" and initiating a hapless new member, as well as watching that new member turn the tables on them. It's worth noting, though, that the subject matter of this short necessarily places the action indoors through most of its running time - this during an era when the series definitely benefited from realistic exterior shooting.
Grade: B-
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