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Post by mtw12055 on Apr 23, 2014 16:30:16 GMT -5
Alf (1941) - Technically not an Our Gang short, but it does feature Carl Switzer reprising his Alfalfa role, and references to the Gang are frequently made. The year is 1986. An average suburban family, the Tanners, are quietly eating dinner when Alfalfa suddenly appears in their living room. As it turns out, Alfalfa stole Waldo's time traveling machine (yes, he built a time traveling machine), and left Greenpoint around 1940. With the time machine broken, and Alfalfa having no idea how to fix it (he tries, but naturally makes things worse), he is now stuck in the 1980's. Meanwhile, the Tanners think that Alfalfa is an alien ("who else would have hair like that?"). Fearing that the Alien Task Force would want to experiment on Alfalfa, the family decides to let him stay in their home. Alfalfa (affectionately dubbed "Alf" by the Tanners) makes a donkey of himself, constantly stealing food, destroying furniture, and singing off-key while making weird facial expressions. A good chunk of the film is spent on "Alf" enlightening the Tanners with stories about his days in Greenpoint. "Alf" claims that he was the most popular kid in the neighborhood, especially with the ladies, and that he was in charge of his own 'gang'. Other false statements include that his girlfriend, Darla, was in her early twenties during Alf's stay in Greenpoint, that Froggy was secretly a Nazi spy, and that Butch was the neighborhood sissy. Just then, Butch arrives in his own time machine (as seen in "Bubbling Troubles", he was really into science), and prepares to beat up Alf. But Alf steals Butch's time machine, this time landing in "B-Movie Land", where he runs into Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. This bizarre film was MGM's attempt at doing an Our Gang spin-off. As Alfalfa was the series' most popular star at the time, and as he was growing to old for Gang, it only seemed logical to give the series to him. Surprisingly, the film tested pretty well. But Carl Switzer reportedly behaved like a prima donna on the set, gushing over himself, and bossing the crew around. The final straw came on the last day of shooting when Carl told Louis B. Mayer to get him a bottle of Coke. Mayer fired Switzer, thus cancelling the series. While reading the summary for this pilot in the book "The Life and Times of Hal Roach's Rascals", by Leroy Milton and Robert W. Bamm, entertainer Paul Fusco was inspired to rework the concept with a fuzzy alien puppet. The only surviving photo from the film's production:
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Post by myhomeo on May 1, 2014 16:31:48 GMT -5
FOR OUR COLORED PALS: Another wartime morale-booster, this one intended for African-American audiences. Buckwheat's older brother, played in a nice touch by a grown Allen 'Farina' Hoskins, has enlisted in the army. Home on leave, he complains how bored and lonely the 'colored' ranks are in their segregated area of the base, prompting Buckwheat to go to the Gang and talk them into putting on a show. The rest of the short features the Gang in darkface performing with occasional cutaways to the Black soldiers laughing and applauding obviously edited in from somewhere else. Froggy does his rendition of 'Ole Man River,' Mickey and Janet do a romantic tune, Spanky appears as "Aunt Jemina" to sing 'Laugh Your Troubles Away,' and there's a platoon of blacked up child-performers doing a Stephen Foster medley for the grand finale. We're told Buckwheat planned and produced the entire thing but we doesn't perform at all in the show, appearing only in cutaway shots sitting with Farina. At the end of the program, the Gang announces the entire base is receiving a free shipment of watermelons from a local farmer and everyone applauds. Spanky then looks directly into the camera, still in blackface, and hails the accomplishments of 'our colored friends in uniform,' thanking them for their efforts. Then the entire group goes into 'Darktown Strutters Ball.' The short has been unavailable since shortly after its preview when every single theater showing it burned to the ground. Asked about it, Hal Roach is rumored to have stated, "People nowadays just don't understand ethnic humor."
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Post by mtw12055 on May 10, 2014 22:11:19 GMT -5
Darn Right It's Bush! - This strange parody film was produced by Al Gore during the 2001 US Presidential election. So far, only a small clip has been shown publicly. It's a pretty average "This guy would make a terrible President, vote for me" ad, with W. Bush's face placed over Tommy Bond's in scenes from "Fishy Tales". (Yeah, I couldn't really come up with anything for this one. I just wanted an excuse to make this image)
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Post by mtw12055 on May 17, 2014 2:28:16 GMT -5
Spanky and Our Gang (1940) - The Gang decides to form their own Big Band in order to raise money for the Red Cross. Spanky acts as the conductor, Leonard plays drummer, while the other boys are the horn section. Alfalfa doubles as both a saxophonist and a singer. Waldo acts as the group's manager. The band becomes the biggest attraction in Greenpoint, but trouble quickly occurs. Buckwheat and Leonard both grow upset over Spanky's bossiness, and that they never get any say in writing the music. The only Gang members that ever get a chance to play solo are Alfalfa and Mickey, both of whom perform badly. Things get worse when Alfalfa begins dating Darla. Spanky and the other don't want a girl coming between the band, and demand that Alfalfa break away from romance. Alfalfa becomes depressed over having to give up Darla, and develops a nasty addiction to Settles-It Powder. Alfie constantly forgets to attend rehearsals, much to the Gang's annoyance. The final nail in the coffin is when Alfalfa arrives on stage during a performance with a rather large belly. In the midst of a song, Alfalfa trips over a music stand and releases air from his stomach, literally blowing away the audience. The following week, Spanky tells Alfalfa that he and the others found a replacement - a new kid in town named Froggy. Froggy adds some new, much-needed sound to the group. Furthermore, the only thing Froggy is addicted to is his country. Infuriated, Alfalfa quits the group to form a double act with Janet Burston. The audience is unhappy with the addition of Froggy. One night, Buckwheat and Leonard decide to sabotage a performance by singing "Strolling Through the Park One Day". A fight breaks loose, causing the band to split up for good. This was actually based on a script Hal Roach pitched to MGM back in 1935. His story was about a music group ("The Roaches"), which consisted of Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase, and Spanky McFarland.
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on May 17, 2014 8:56:12 GMT -5
The Go-man (1929)
It's winter and all the kids are building snowmen. Well perhaps not all of the kids and those who are building them aren't all building snowmen. Take Farina for example. He actually managed to stir himself into action long enough to roll a ball of snow about the size of a basketball before he gave up because it was all just far too tiring. Posh girl Jean had a pretty impressive snow-president in her front garden but she didn't build it, the servants were ordered to make it for her. Wheezer and Mary Ann did make their own construction but it wasn't a snowman, they made a snow Petey and the real Petey added his own touch of authenticity to their effort by peeing onto the snow covered ground, near the snow-dog, and turning it yellow. Joe made a rather rotund snow-boy complete with a snow lunch box containing snow pies and snow cakes. Jay R was the only one who made a conventional snowman, complete with carrot nose and pieces of coal for eyes and buttons. Jay R removed the scarf that his parents had given to him for Christmas and wrapped it around the neck of his snowman but his family were too poor to afford hats for themselves, let alone to spare for snowmen. Only Jay R's younger brother owned a hat and that was a battered old thing that he'd taken off the dead body of another boy who'd 'slipped' and been run over by a tramcar. Nevertheless hatless though his snowman might be Jay R was rightly proud of his creation. Then he heard the sound of shouting and loud laughter. He ran to the garden gate just in time to see his younger brother Harry launch an unprovoked and violent assault on Joe's snow-boy, punching its head clean off its body and then stamping on the rest of the snow-boy until it was reduced to a mushy and shapeless mound. In the distance Jay R could see the destruction that Harry had left in his wake. Wheezer & Mary Ann's snow-dog was now no more than a shapeless mound and even Farina's snowball had been trampled into nothing. Over in Jean's garden her snow-president had been returned to his origins. Fearful of what Harry intended to do Jay R. managed to slice through the base of his snowman with a sheet of scrap metal and then used the metal to sledge his snowman into his house, where he would be safe from Harry. Leaving his snowman in the living room Jay R ran upstairs, where he spent the rest of the afternoon keeping watch from his bedroom window, fearful that Harry might try some sneaky trick to gain access to his snowman but Harry was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately for Jay R the reason why he couldn't see Harry through the window was because Harry was already inside the house, using the snowman's coal buttons and eyes to light a fire in the grate. When Jay R's mum returned home from a long hard day working in the laundry she was distraught to find that her precious store of coal had been severely depleted to light an unnecessary fire in the grate and that Jay R's scarf was laying soaking wet in the middle of a large puddle of water. She was in no mood to listen to any explanation that Jay R might have attempted in his defense and instead bent the hapless lad over her knee and gave him a sound spanking with the sort of wooden kitchen utensil that doesn't exist. Upstairs, in his room Harry listen to the sound of the trashing taking place below and grinned happily while he practiced boxing with his nervous and reluctant shadow.
The movie bombed when shown to a test audience. The audience complained that there was no humor, that the plot was too simple, and that the 'bad guy' had triumphed, while innocent Jay R had been punished. The story had potential, said one reviewer, adding that perhaps one day somebody could rework it and give it that touch of 'magic' that would turn it into something special. Not one to flog a dead horse Hal Roach simply took it on the chin and shelved the movie.
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Post by mtw12055 on May 28, 2014 11:11:24 GMT -5
Pardon My Pastries(1938) - In 1938, Hal Roach decided to sell his Gang to another studio. He shopped the series around to different producers, only two of whom seemed to have any interest in the Rascals - Louis B. Mayer and Jules White. Roach allowed White to make a 'test' short for the Columbia shorts department, resulting in one of their worst entries.
The short's opening title is probably the only good aspect. It features the kids saying "Otay!" and doing the Woodchucks hi-sign.
This strange film notably doesn't feature any adult characters. Rather, director White placed the kids in an all-pre teen world, in which they are the adults. Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and Porky are hired as 'moving boys' by Butch's butler Woim. While moving furniture into Butch's house, the Rascals wreck the house (and Butch). Furious, the tough guy threatens to "moider" the Rascals if he ever sees them again.
Later, the trio are given a job preparing a meal for a large corporation. Porky prepares a turkey by 'stuffing' it with crackers and canned vegetables (still in the cans). Alfalfa prepares a cake, mixing motor oil, baking soda, expired milk, and peanuts into the batter. Buckwheat acts as a butler, serving appetizers to the guests, and making a pig of himself.
The business owner finally shows up, and guess who it is? Butch! Butch recognizes the servants, leading to a heated argument, and then a pie fight. The film ends with the Rascals jumping out of a window. Cut to footage of the three kids stuck riding on three wild bulls.
Jules White clearly saw the Rascals as 'mini Stooges', as he has them emulate the famous trio throughout the film. Alfalfa slaps and 'eye pokes' his cohorts, and calls them ridiculous names like "chowder head" and "George". Buckwheat spends a good chunk of the film doing half-hearted Curly Howard mannerisms. And in one scene, Butch gets a nail stuck in his rear end. Woim tries to pull it out, causing Butch to make strange faces and say lines like "I'm losing my mind!"
White wanted to create a second short, but was unable to get the Gang due to Roach's deal with MGM. He had to resort to using stock footage from the previous film, and new footage of 'fake Rascals'. The result was a film that comes off as surprisingly better than this one.
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Post by myhomeo on Jun 30, 2014 17:42:50 GMT -5
'The Teacher Creature Feature' - This was an unused script for a proposed NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES episode teaming The Little Rascals with the Scooby gang. The story involved Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma dropping by town to visit their old friend Miss Crabtree, who's busy refurbishing an old schoolhouse. The workers hired to get the building ready have been chased away by what purports to be the ghost of a dead teacher, Miss Gravehaunt, so Miss Crabtree's been doing her best to make the necessary repairs, aided (in theory at least) by the well-meaning but inept Rascals. The Scooby gang pitch in and work progresses, but then Miss Crabtree is kidnapped by the 'ghost.' The two Gangs search for her, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Buckwheat, and Darla going in one direction while Scooby, Shaggy, Spanky, Alfalfa, and Porky go the other and end up being chased by the 'ghost.' Butch and Woim, meanwhile, unaware of what's going on, sneak in planning to don sheets and scare the other kids but fall through a sliding panel in the wall. Eventually, the Gangs discover the 'ghost' is really looking for a treasure chest concealed somewhere in the building. The 'ghost' is unmasked as Mister Krenshew the school superintendent and the first person introduced in the episode outside of the Gang or the Rascals, while the treasure turns out to be worthless confederate money. Other rejected NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES scripts included Paul Lynde, Abbot And Costello, Rose Marie, Davy Jones, Bob Denver, Jeff East and Johnny Whittaker, and Sally Field.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 30, 2014 22:00:26 GMT -5
'The Teacher Creature Feature' - This was an unused script for a proposed NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES episode teaming The Little Rascals with the Scooby gang. The story involved Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma dropping by town to visit their old friend Miss Crabtree, who's busy refurbishing an old schoolhouse. The workers hired to get the building ready have been chased away by what purports to be the ghost of a dead teacher, Miss Gravehaunt, so Miss Crabtree's been doing her best to make the necessary repairs, aided (in theory at least) by the well-meaning but inept Rascals. The Scooby gang pitch in and work progresses, but then Miss Crabtree is kidnapped by the 'ghost.' The two Gangs search for her, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Buckwheat, and Darla going in one direction while Scooby, Shaggy, Spanky, Alfalfa, and Porky go the other and end up being chased by the 'ghost.' Butch and Woim, meanwhile, unaware of what's going on, sneak in planning to don sheets and scare the other kids but fall through a sliding panel in the wall. Eventually, the Gangs discover the 'ghost' is really looking for a treasure chest concealed somewhere in the building. The 'ghost' is unmasked as Mister Krenshew the school superintendent and the first person introduced in the episode outside of the Gang or the Rascals, while the treasure turns out to be worthless confederate money. Other rejected NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES scripts included Paul Lynde, Abbot And Costello, Rose Marie, Davy Jones, Bob Denver, Jeff East and Johnny Whittaker, and Sally Field. Actually, that episode did air (albeit only twice - once in the 1970's, and a second time in the late 1990's). Here is the rarely seen intro. The Rascals show up two times. I'll be darned if I know what they're reacting to when they first appear. Hanna-Barbera reused the same designs when they decided to give the Rascals a weekly animated series. Interestingly, a young Jodie Foster provided Alfalfa's voice in this episode. The great Daws Butler voiced both Buckwheat and Porky (and, according to some sources, Miss Crabtree). Spanky McFarland and Darla Hood were brought in to play themselves. As I recall, much of the episode is spent repeating the Rascals' names (for no particular reason), and saying lines like "Don't worry, we have the Little Rascals to help us". Typical of this series. (By the way, Scooby-Doo really did meet Davy Jones in one episode). If we are to speak of bad animated Rascals shows that never were, we can't forget the 1981 television special All About Hash (not to be confused with the somewhat better MGM film by the same name). This half-hour 'say no to drugs' PSA finds Spanky's older brother Brisbane... er, shall we say 'getting breezy'. Spanky, wanting to be like his big brother, decides to imitate him, and convinces his friends to follow. But before anything can get started, Kennedy the Cop, Miss Cratbree, Aunt Penelope, Mr. Hood, Mr. and Mrs. Treacy, and an unnamed gym coach just so happen to stop by the kids' clubhouse. They then spend much of the remaining special telling the kids (and the audience) about the dangers of drugs. Several bizarre fantasy sequences that look as though they were made by people on drugs are shown during the adults' many tales. The special ends with the Rascals reciting their new club motto (it involves say "no" to a lengthy list of various illegal substances). And instead of the 'woodchucks' motion, the kids' new high (no pun intended) sign is stomping on an invisible cigarette. Oh, and Brisbane is never mentioned again. This special was produced by the same animation company that gave us such classics as the Rascals Christmas of '79 and PSA #57: Washing Your Feet Before You Eat. The company went bankrupt shortly after this show premiered.
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Post by myhomeo on Jul 1, 2014 16:43:29 GMT -5
Oh, I think I saw that. It had Buckwheat doing his 'jaw-drop' take while a badly animated chicken was superimposed over his face and a bit where Harry Spear looks into a mirror and sees himself in a wig and a dress. And I think some versions are narrated by Sonny Bono.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jul 1, 2014 19:59:07 GMT -5
Rascal Tykes (1986) - Produced during the height of the "Muppet Babies" phenomenon, this short-lived Saturday morning cartoon focused on the Rascals as babies. It rips off several popular cartoon scenarios, including using one's imagination to escape reality (the aforementioned "Muppet Babies"), racing in cars while making weird faces ("Speed Racer"), fighting off evil cats ("Smurfs"), solving mysteries ("Scooby-Doo"), and learning valuable lessons from intimidating action stars, fool ("Mister T"). What's even stranger is that the ages of Buckwheat and Porky haven't shifted, which actually makes them older than Spanky, Alfalfa, etc. in this series.
The basic premise is that the kids live at the Happy Home Orphanage. "Pappy", the orphan caretaker, whom we only see from the waist down, is a complete jerk that makes life as an orphan even more miserable than it already is. In each episode, the Rascals will try to escape the orphanage with some strange contraption, only to accidentally return in the end (á la "Gilligan's Island"). Most episodes would throw a random OG kid into the main group (Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat, Porky, and Pete) as a guest star. Parent groups complained about the series' premise, and the mistreatment of the Rascals (ironic, considering most of these parents were too busy complaining about what was on TV to take care of their own children). The series was cancelled after only 13 episodes, and unlike most series at the time, it did not return for reruns for Spring/Summer reruns.
Galaxy Rascals (1978) - Produced at the height of the popularity of "Star Wars" and the sudden return of the sci-fi genre, this Saturday morning cartoon found the Rascals sneaking onto a rocket ship (how they found this rocket ship in the first place is a mystery) and accidentally launching into outer space. In each episode, the kids fly around the galaxy, meet strange creatures, tell bad jokes, throw the word "space" into every uttered sentence, and learn valuable lessons that I'm sure didn't make the kids watching at home want to change the channel. And we can tell this series was made in the 70's because its soundtrack is comprised of disco music. Lots and lots of disco music. It's notable as being the only Rascals revival to feature Henry "Spike" Lee.
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Post by RJH on Jul 9, 2014 0:44:36 GMT -5
I have so much bad writing in me that I can't take the pressure any more and need a release. Sometimes I feel that I could fill a wiki with by changing or adding something to most of the episodes and produce something ... different. Here is an unfortunate example.
The lost third reel of Monkey Business (1926) - After the monkey drove the police van into a building, the cement-footed gang tried to escape, but the police soon caught up with them. There was some discussion as to what would make a suitable punishment, and the town came up with a most poetic justice. The gang was sentenced to thirty days in zoo cages made up for monkeys.
Each cage had a tree with good branches, and a pile of hay in a back corner to sleep on or in, in case the prisoner preferred burrowing as an attempt for shelter. They had to wear degrading outfits. [This is left to the viewer; possibilities include a monkey costume with just the face cut out, bathing suit with a tail attached, and the always-popular grass skirt, among others.] The inmates weren’t fed regularly; instead they had to beg for food by performing for the zoo patrons. Antics included climbing on the trees or cage bars, swinging on vines, and making monkey gestures and noises. Visitors threw mostly bananas into the cages, but other items often enough so that gang had a sufficiently balanced diet and never went hungry.
The gang had to endure a few downpours, and was instructed not to touch the bars when there was lightning, that they would be safe because the zoo cages made good Faraday cages. There was one incident where Farina got completely buried by bananas, but he ate enough of them to get his head clear, and after some wiggling threw many of them to his friends in the neighboring cages. One good note was after the month-long incarceration, Joe had lost five pounds. When the gang was released one policeman said to another, “That oughta teach those delinquents a lesson.” A nearby reporter thought he heard Jackie mutter, “Ha! Not very likely.”
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Post by mtw12055 on Jul 9, 2014 22:12:13 GMT -5
Keep 'Em Fighting (1943) - Easily the darkest film in the series. While playing with Mr. Blake's pistol, the kids accidentally shoot and kill Happy. Not wanting to get spanked by their parents, the Rascals decide to bury him in the Greenpoint Graveyard. Mack and Law attempt to repeat gags from the silent days by having Froggy carry Happy's body in an old sack. The kids go through town, passing by several shocked residents. The reason is that Happy's leg has poked through the sack. The joke is supposed to be that the townsfolk mistakenly think Froggy is carrying a dead body. But it falls flat, since he really is carrying a dead body.
Once in the graveyard, the kids hold a small funeral. Janet sings "Nearer, My God, To Thee". Froggy tries to give a speech, but is constantly interrupted by Buckwheat loudly blowing his nose. "Keep quiet, sonny!", Froggy says after each blow. Mickey does his forced crying shtick (with thirty-three different facial reactions). A local policeman spots the kids and arrests them. Once in court, the kids explain what happened to a judge. The judge then goes through a long speech about telling the truth. He then directly addresses the theater audiences: "Remember, friends. If you've mistakenly killed someone, don't be afraid of the consequences. Simply be honest. After all, it probably wasn't your fault." The kids agree. Froggy then says, "And remember, he who bites the dust should never swallow it." Everyone laughs at this 'joke', and the film ends.
Mickey's Gang (1944) - I was mistaken. "Feather of a Chicken" was not the final film in the series. As it turns out, MGM was (surprisingly) nice enough to give the Gang a proper finale. Though Maltin and Bann believe it was actually intended to be a pilot for a proposed spin-off series.
The only positive about this film is that it features virtually every principal Gang member from the past. That includes Scooter Lowery, Harry Spear, and Breezy Brisbane. Sunshine Sammy is also on board, but can only be spotted in a few scenes. He had just become the fourth member of the Step Brothers and was only available for one day of shooting. Even (a fake) Pete shows up. The only ones unable to attend this reunion were Farina, Wheezer, and Jackie Cooper (all of whom were serving their country at the time), Chubby (who had sadly passed on), Dickie Moore (Fox refused to loan him out to one of their biggest rival).
The premise is that the Rascals are fed up with complaints about the War. Mickey (Gubitosi) suggests they leave Greenpoint and find a "perfect place" away from all of the noise. With the help of a friendly handyman named Noah (Byron Shores), the Rascals build a flying ark to aid in their escape.
Mickey (Gubitosi), acting as the captain, gets annoying quickly, as he bosses his fellow Gangsters around.
Most of the antics aboard the ark aren't particularly funny. One unfunny bit that stands out involves the kids' motor. Not-Pete runs on a treadmill, chasing after a caged cat. Once he gets tired, the kids have to take turns running. In order to get Joe to participate, Porky throws a pie in his face. An angered Joe then chases Porky.
The rest of the film finds the crew flying from one place to another, briefly setting down each time, only to be disrupted by War-related activities I'm too lazy to write about. In the end, Janet suggests that the Gang simply return home and help in keeping the streets safe from the Nazis. Everyone agrees. They go home, even though the audience already did so towards the beginning of the film.
This story was later reworked by Hanna-Barbera for the equally awful 1972 television special "Yogi's Ark Lark". Lennie Weinrib is present in the remake and its predecessor (playing a slightly amusing Hitler).
La Pandilla Se Va Al Infierno (1957) - Produced in Mexico, this strange reworking of Our Gang finds the kids traveling to the Underworld, "where all bad little boys and girls go." There, they confront a devil named Pitch (who would later appear in the 1959 film "Santa Claus"). This strange film was one of the many K. Gordon Murray got a hold of and re-released in America during the 1960s. Children in a nightmarish setting seems like a perfect children's film, doesn't it? Darla is played by María Garcia (Little Red Riding Hood). Pete is played by an actor in a cheesy dog costume.
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Post by myhomeo on Jul 10, 2014 17:46:57 GMT -5
'The Stick And Stone Age' - An unproduced script from the silent era. The story casts the kids as cave-dwellers in prehistoric times. Harry Spear, or Har-Ree, as he's called in the credits, leads a 'tribe' consisting of Wheezer, Joe, Farina, and Mary Ann. He tries to impress another cave-kid, played by Shirley, by hitting a 'dinosaur' (probably Pete in a suit) with his club. The angry 'dinosaur' chases him up a tree, much to Shirley's amusement. When she and the 'dinosaur' leave, he descends and angrily smacks the tree with his club, causing a cocoanut to drop on his head. There's some business with Wheezer chasing after saber tooth cubs ("Here, kitty, kitty...") and Mary Ann angrily ordering Joe, who's eaten all their stored food, to hunt for more. He and Harry pair up to go after another 'dinosaur', both nervously challenging the other to attack first, then running away when it hisses at them. (Apparently, this was intended to be done with double-exposures.) Later, the two go swimming and a wooly mammoth eats their loin-cloths, much to Wheezer's amusement. Donning grass skirts, they attempt to hunt the mammoth for its fur so they can make new clothes. Their luck is abysmal, to say the least, but they eventually hit on the plan to use Farina as bait. Tying his leg to a tree, they try to lure the mammoth into a pit, but Farina flees. The script ends abruptly there. Apparently, it was decided the script was too radical a departure for the Gang and rejected.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jul 11, 2014 20:50:37 GMT -5
Hal Roach's Rascals Meet the Phantom of the Opera (1926) - The long-forgotten beginning of the 'comedy team vs. horror star' genre later made popular by Abbott and Costello. Filmed mostly in black and white, with ten seconds of color used during the infamous dream sequence. The story finds the Gang being hired by a traveling show manager (William Gillespie). Naturally, the kids make a mess of everything. The manager is eventually killed by a mysterious figure, who (according to night janitor Richard Daniels) is the "Phannom of th' Oprah (sic)." The kids bravely hunt down the Phantom, save for Farina, who spends a good chunk of the film doing the stereotypical 'scared black guy' shtick. The film ends with the kids capturing the Phantom, who turns out to be (surprise, surprise) the janitor in disguise.
Bye'-Neighbor! (1934) - A sequel to "Hi'-Neighbor!". Apparently, theater audiences everywhere wrote letters to the Roach staff, asking how the Gang got home after losing their clothes in the previous film. The Gang (about half of whom have mysteriously vanished) send Pete to go bring them back some clothes. The remaining short focuses on Pete's journey up the steep hill from "Hi-Neighbor!". Eventually, Pete gets distracted by a female pooch. She invites Petey into her dog house. And the film just ends there.
The C-Team (date unknown) - A follow-up to "The B-Team". A gang comprised of Davey Monahan, Laura June Kenny, Paul Hilton, Billy Schuler, and Robert Lentz visit Hal Roach to ask why their parts are so small. Roach misunderstands their question, laughs, and kicks them out of his office.
The Big Rascals (1990) - During the mid-80's, King World proposed a feature film concept involving adolescent versions of the Little Rascals. The Kings were unable to find a suitable scenario for this concept, until they caught wind of NBC's latest Saturday Morning hit "Saved By the Bell". Instead of a film, The Kings put together a 60 minute pilot for ABC to run as a rival to SBTB. The story finds the modern-dayish Rascal teens trying to save their beloved high school from being replaced by an oil field. Meanwhile, Alfalfa (Dustin Diamond's less-talented cousin Merv) tries to avoid getting beaten up by new kids Butch and Woim (Joey Lawrence and that tough kid from "Monster Squad"). And Darla (The All-New Mickey Mouse Club's Kerri Russell) gets addicted to caffeine pills. Buckwheat (Alfonso Ribeiro) and Porky (Fred Savage, in one of his weakest performances) hold an intervention to 'rescue' her. Save for the actors mentioned, the rest of the so-called 'teenage cast' was actually well into their forties during production. Jim Varney plays both Miss Crabtree and the school principal (an uninspired knock-off of "Mr. Belding"). Spanky McFarland and Tommy Bond are barely noticeable as extras during the pep rally scenes.
(It's worth mentioning that this last story was partially based on reality. During the mid-80s, King World really did propose a "Big Rascals" film. The only description for this unmade movie that I could find was that it would have "look(ed) at the gang having grown a little older.")
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Post by RJH on Jul 13, 2014 23:23:24 GMT -5
Maybe some of these should go in a separate "grass skirts and barrels" thread or other location. I'm toying with the idea of creating strong continuity among many episodes, like an alternate series that would never be shown, trying to be entertaining in a way too warped for this universe. Titles would be obvious knock-offs of real titles.
Speedy Company (September 1923) - In the altered version, all of the boys are ejected from the hotel wearing just the grass skirts they donned in the Cocoanut Grove. They get arrested for trespassing and vandalism, and in view of previous destructive acts, Ernie, Mickey, Jack, Joe, Jackie and Farina are given six-month sentences of being only allowed to wear the grass skirts. The visitor Waldemar runs away never to be seen again. To be sure the sentences were equal the skirts were all cut off above the knees (to avoid accidents by being stepped on) and attached around the hips so that the navel was clearly showing.
The boys were humiliated as they endured relentless teasing at school, church, parks, and any shops they had to visit. Jack was locked up a week in a juvenile detention facility for punching one of those laughing at him. The gang tried to stick together a lot, their self-consciousness vanishing when all around were in the same boat, so their parents countered by sending them on lots of individual errands into town. Having no pockets was a problem, but Jackie and Farina solved it by sticking change in their hair. Understanding less than the others because he was youngest, Farina was affected the least until some other boys his age taunted him into sliding down a hot metal slide headfirst on his stomach. As the weeks passed the gang did get used to it, though, as they learned to ignore the taunts and present a veneer of toughness.
They also had to take lessons in making and repairing grass skirts, and some girls in that class were always giggling at them. The extra skirts were placed in strategic locations by ponds and streams in case something happened to the clothes of people swimming there. For some strange reason, that happened a lot in that town.
There were limited exceptions. If a grass skirt was being washed and dried and there was no spare, if they had to be outside they could put on a barrel with shoulder straps. Also, when it was decided to put on a benefit show, for the sake of realism Ernie and Farina were told they should wear loincloths for the week of rehearsing and the performance. Jackie pointed out that went against the sentence that they were all supposed to be treated equally. The authorities agreed, so each was given the option to wear only loincloths that week, with different patterns for different roles in the play, which raised much more money than expected.
Soon after the sentence was issued Mango was born. Her parents decided that she should get the child’s bedroom, and Ernie and Farina would sleep in the barn by Dinah the Mule. The family didn’t have an extra bed, so the brothers slept in piles of hay. Ordinarily that might be considered demeaning, but the boys soon learned they got a good deal because they weren’t constantly being woken up by Mango’s crying like their parents were. Another observation was that it was hard to tell the difference between sleeping in a grass skirt and sleeping in the raw when in a large hay pile.
The parents noticed some benefits. There was less time needed for laundry, and noticeable savings in clothing costs. Also, grass skirts provide next to no protection in the event of spankings, but that didn’t happen much at all. Sending one on useless errands into town by himself seemed a much better alternative on most occasions.
Some films would have to be out of order to make sense for continuity. In particular Mary's introduction to the gang needs to come very early. And make up something like Ernie and Jack were locked up for stealing apples or fighting for a few days.
Mary, Queen of Brats (November 1923) - This is similar to the short with a similar name with just a few significant differences. The dolls Mary’s gardener gives to her are four figures clad only in short grass skirts. Thus the story she tells her stuffed animals has a jungle theme. She is being held by Jackie and Joe while Farina stirs a giant pot over a fire. Mickey comes in swinging on a vine, knocks out the other three boys, ties them to a tree, and swings away with Mary.
When Mary wakes from her nap and searches for her dolls, she sees the boys at the corner of her street playing with knives, and having just delivered laundry to a house on her block. She runs over and hugs all of them, and invites them in even after they explain why they’re in grass skirts. They pull the same prank to confound Mary’s governess, and she is taken away.
However, one week later everything is straightened out. The governess was found not to be crazy, and the ruse of substituting the dolls for the real boys was uncovered. For punishment, Mary was forced to wear a grass skirt for the next six months. While it might have been different if she was under age five, Mary had to wear a top which consisted of two shells connected on a string, like Ernie made Farina wear in “Speedy Company.” Ernie had liked to tease Farina by dressing him up as a girl, but that stopped as soon as the original grass skirt sentence had been imposed. Also, the boys had six months of wearing grass skirts added to their sentences.
Mary was very apprehensive, but Mickey assured her that she would get used to it. He hugged her, and it felt very good to her (and Mickey, too). Jackie, Joe, and Farina laughed at Mary and Mickey’s reactions, but the act gave Mary enough confidence that she would get through this if she could be with this gang as much as possible.
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