LR DVDs for Christmas

[rascalstooge]

I got a set of Rascals 1929-38 DVDs as a gift. They were from Genius Entertainment.

[mtw12055]

Neat!

I got a few OG related DVDs.

One was "The Battling Orioles," a 1924 Glenn Tryon feature produced by Roach. The Our Gang kids have a small cameo in it.

I also got both the 1931 and 1937 film adaptation of Booth Tarkington's "Penrod" books, as well as "Penrod's Double Trouble," a sequel to the latter.

The '31 version stars Leon Janney (Spud in "Bear Shooters") as "Penrod," Junior Coghlan (reportedly a rival gang member in "Giants Vs. Yanks") as "Sam," and Billy Lord as "Georgie." Jimmy Robinson (Hambone in the "Mickey McGuire" comedies) and Robert Dandridge (is he related to Dorothy?) play "Herman" and "Verman," the two black kids. Albert Schaeffer, a regular in rival Our Gang series of the 1920s plays "Piggy," a heavyset kid in Penrod's gang. Johnny Arthur and ZaSu Pitts play Georgie's parents (sadldy, they share no scenes), and Gus Leonard has a cameo.

There's not much of a plot in this very episodic film. Penrod's gang are a fun-loving, mischief-making type. Though some of the kids (including the leads) look a little too old to be in the 'gang of kids' concept. Shouldn't they be dating at their age?

The 1937 version stars Billy Mauch as "Penrod" and Harry Watson as "Sam." Philip Hurlic plays "Verman" ("Herman" isn't in this one). Billy Wolfstone, Georgie Billings, and Jerry Tucker play members of Penrod's gang. Stymie has an uncredited cameo.

This version has a very 'MGM' feel to it. Penrod's gang are not about having fun. Rather, they're about playing Junior G-Man, catching bad guys, and doing the 'right' thing. Penrod and his rival "Rodney" (Jackie Morrow) don't fight because they detest each other. Rather, Penrod fights Rodney as a way of sticking up for little Verman.

The film ends on a very cheesy 'everyone lives happily ever after' vibe, complete with Penrod and Rodney becoming pals.

The one really charming aspect of this version is Penrod's relationship with Verman. At a time when America was still very much segregated, the friendship between these two boys (one white, one black, one older, one young) is quite endearing. It's also a sharp contrast to both the original books, and to previous film adaptations, which simply treated Verman (and brother Herman) as "the two black kids." Poor Philip Hurlic has about three crying scenes in this movie, but he pulls each one off succesfully.

I also got the 1933 Warner Bros. drama "The Mayor of Hell," starring James Cagney and Frankie Darro. Darro plays the leader of a tough gang of boys, all of whom get sent to an awful reform school. The ethnically diverse gang includes Farina (in a surprisingly non-stereotypical role) and Sidney Miller (who is strangely treated as more of a stereotype than the other characters). It's a pretty solid film, and far better than its later remakes which starred the Dead End Kids.