Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 22, 2015 13:51:26 GMT -5
The general trend among Our Gang kids is that they tend to be more fun to watch when they're younger, but are still generally appealing as older members of the troupe. The main exception to this would be the kids that moved to the MGM studio, but this has more to do with MGM than with the kids themselves. Spanky is about the best kid for demonstrating this, as he was arguably the funniest 'little kid' in the Gang's history, was less interesting, though still appealing and quite gifted as an actor in the late Roach era, and spent the MGM era as a somewhat bossy model citizen with a heavy-handed acting style, and was basically what his earlier self would have looked like if he had been ejected from the Space Shuttle in mid-orbit. Inevitably, the following list of "Top 10 Spankys" never takes him past his 7th birthday. Not that he wasn't featured in some terrific shorts after that period, but they tended to be Alfalfa's highlights rather than Spanky's.
1. "Free Eats" - The debut of the talkative 3-year-old, one of the only child actors that's ever been given an opportunity to wing it.
2. "Spanky" - Kind of a disjointed short, but it's chockful of Spanky, hence the title.
3. "The Pooch" - Worthy of this list if only for Spanky's moment in the back of the dogcatcher's wagon.
4. "Forgotten Babies" - Spanky's big moment during the Dickie Moore Season; he tells a good adventure yarn.
5. "Bedtime Worries" - The first of the two Treacy/Seabrook episodes and full of great Spanky moments.
6. "Wild Poses" - The second of the pair, but with Franklin Pangborn added to the mix; Spanky holds his own in this cast with apparent ease.
7. "Hi'-Neighbor!" - His first episode with Scotty, though their pairing would be better realized in subsequent episodes, leaving Spanky with more of his own material in this one.
8. "Mama's Little Pirate" - A wondrous episode largely centered around Spanky.
9. "Anniversary Trouble" - By this time, Spanky's acting abilities were fine-tuned, as evidenced by this episode. And it was about time, too. What was he waiting for - six and a half?
10. "Beginner's Luck" - Spanky meets Alfalfa, but the short still revolves around Spanky. After this, he would be the central character only in relatively weak episodes like "Little Sinner" and the feature film "General Spanky."
1. "Free Eats" - The debut of the talkative 3-year-old, one of the only child actors that's ever been given an opportunity to wing it.
2. "Spanky" - Kind of a disjointed short, but it's chockful of Spanky, hence the title.
3. "The Pooch" - Worthy of this list if only for Spanky's moment in the back of the dogcatcher's wagon.
4. "Forgotten Babies" - Spanky's big moment during the Dickie Moore Season; he tells a good adventure yarn.
5. "Bedtime Worries" - The first of the two Treacy/Seabrook episodes and full of great Spanky moments.
6. "Wild Poses" - The second of the pair, but with Franklin Pangborn added to the mix; Spanky holds his own in this cast with apparent ease.
7. "Hi'-Neighbor!" - His first episode with Scotty, though their pairing would be better realized in subsequent episodes, leaving Spanky with more of his own material in this one.
8. "Mama's Little Pirate" - A wondrous episode largely centered around Spanky.
9. "Anniversary Trouble" - By this time, Spanky's acting abilities were fine-tuned, as evidenced by this episode. And it was about time, too. What was he waiting for - six and a half?
10. "Beginner's Luck" - Spanky meets Alfalfa, but the short still revolves around Spanky. After this, he would be the central character only in relatively weak episodes like "Little Sinner" and the feature film "General Spanky."