The Great Film Discussion

[ymymeatemup]

FAST FREIGHT (1929)

Things I like:
"The Ravings Of John McCullough." Easily the funniest bit in the film is when Pete plays this record on the phonograph, which inspires various humorous closeups of the Gang's faces.
Farina The Music Man. Not only does he believably perform his musical act (which probably wouldn't have sounded very 'musical' if this was a talkie), but there's a style to Farina's mannerisms during this early scene that suggest a long history in vaudeville. (So THAT'S what he did before joining the Gang!)

Things I don't like:
The "Haunted" House. It's quite disappointing, after the extravagances of "Shootin' Injuns" and "Shivering Spooks," to see what passes for a haunted house in this short. It's basically just an abandoned house with cobwebs everywhere. The gag material during this extended sequence is mostly run-of-the-mill fright stuff seen to better effect elsewhere. The low point would have to be the 'black sweat' gag later repeated in "Birthday Blues."

Grade: C

[ymymeatemup]

DANCING ROMEO (1944)

Things I like:
Froggy's Dance Routine. Somehow, this whole sequence just works for me. They found the perfect costume to go with Froggy's personality, and gave him a bunch of fun, acrobatic dances to do. The fakery with the wire is a clever idea that would have fit right in with the put-on-a-show episodes from the Roach era, and most of what happens is quite humorous. And Froggy handles his lead role in this short quite well.
The Eggs. Quite a nice touch, though it nearly repeats the Alfalfa scene in "Bubbling Troubles."

Things I don't like:
The Shock. I speak, of course, of the profound shock I experience when realizing that I actually LIKE the final Our Gang short. Just when you think you've figured out the general arc of this series, it throws you a curve ball! Heck, even Mickey and Janet's performances are virtually unnoticeable, which I think ought to count as a plus. Are there any flaws? Wellllll, Gerald and Marilyn are unrealistically mature and mannered for their ages, and there's something annoying about how maturely all the other kids behave during the recital (minus Froggy, of course). On the other hand, I've yet to vomit while watching this episode, which puts it way ahead of most of the other MGMs.

Grade: B

[RJH]

Dad for a Day (1939) - Gas station owner Mr. Henry is so smitten with Mickey's widowed mother and her coffee that he neglects his gas station, and pours gas in a customer's radiator. Of course he's too scared to pop the question. Mickey leaves his mother's diner to attend the gang's big meeting about the upcoming Father-Son picnic (not much for girls to do that day), and then Mickey cries very annoyingly for much too long a time. The rest of the gang tried to find someone to fill in as his father at the picnic. After unsuccessful visits to the employment agency and hospital, in an amazing coincidence (what a surprise) they ask Mr. Henry. He agrees, and of course he and Mickey do well in the competitions and Henry wins an award. (The competition may have been diluted because Buckwheat and Dad had to sit out the game to do the cooking.) They return to Mickey's mother with the news, Mickey claims he wishes Henry was his father every day, and that gives Henry the nerve to propose. Then they all live happily ever after ... or at least until the new Mrs. Henry makes hash too many times.

As so often happens, protracted crying makes the scene unpleasant to watch. From then on the film is on the sappy side and very predictable. All the humor is concentrated in the scenes where the boys are trying to find a father for Mickey. Those are okay, but aren't enough to carry the rest of the film.

Fast Freight (1929) - In a setup far unlike any other "Our Gang" film, Farina is a tramp riding the rails by having slung hammocks for himself and Petie under a freight train boxcar. He drills holes into the car above to obtain a nutritious lunch of jelly beans and gum drops, but unfortunately his next attempt gets him a face full of white paint before he can stop it with one of several plugs he uses. When the train stops, Farain and Petie get out for some exercise, and encounter the gang, some of whom are practicing their music lessons. Farain puts on a one-man band performance, and wins the admiration of the gang. He tells them he's going to California to sweep the streets that are paved with gold. This must be true because the Chamber of Commerce would never lie in their brochure. The gang decides to ditch their music lessons and join Farina on his journey.

In another attempt to get food, Farina drills into a cage of bees, and this causes the gang to abandon the train at the next stop. This leaves them stranded near nightfall, and they take refuge in an old house which turns out to be rather spooky. The wind blows a piece of the roof off and blocks the door, trapping the gang. They get scared, mostly by each other as various kids and the dog get covered with a sheet that resembles a ghost. Petie starts a gramophone record containing many spooky sounds. Harry is knocked through a trap door into a cart of flour, and when he climbs up a ladder to get out, the other kids think he's a ghost and push him back down. Farina attaches a candle to and puts his (or is it Stan Laurel's) hat on a frog, which hops around scaring the kdis some more. Eventually a police officer comes by to take the kids home, but Farina breaks thorugh a wall and he and Petie escape to another train. While Farina has changed his mind about California, unfortunately they get locked in a boxcar with skeletons and cadavers bound for a medical facility.

I find a lot to like in the first part of this film. Farina is depicted as being clever and confident, and perfectly capable of fending for himself on the open road. When they get stranded, the gang looks to Farina for leadership on how to survive. It is a treat to see him treated this way after so many films where this was anything but the case. Then the film loses steam rapidly at the spooky house. The gags are unoriginal and not very amusing, though the gramophone record does cause some nice facial expressions as each gangster gets a closeup. The ghost-resembling sheets are not convincing, and Harry falls into the flour too many times. There should have been a limit of one push by each other gang member. At least it wasn't Farina who got all the flour baths, but there is a low point when he wipes black sweat off his brow onto a wall. Wheezer throws light bulbs down the stairs, which is supposed to scare somebody. A face on a portrait appears through a hole in a wall, but it isn't very scary. There is too much repetition here, and it feels like it's marking time until the conclusion occurs, when the policeman arrives. I hope Farina still had his drill on him at the end and could drill his way out of that last boxcar.

This is one of several films that starts out promising and then doesn't follow through very well. It would have been better wtih a house more like that in Shootin' Injuns or a second half more like Shivering Spooks.

[RJH]

Dancing Romeo (1944) - Froggy is depressed over losing Marilyn to her dance partner Gerald, so decides to do something desperate: learn to dance himself. He puts on a performance, aided by Buckwheat and Mickey pulling on a wire run through a pulley to a harness that enables Froggy to make incredible leaps. Gerald is the only one who realizes the fakery, and goes back stage to expose the fraud. After some jockeying for position, he manages to cut the wire with pruning shears sending Froggy crashing to the floor and partway through it. Marilyn whispers to Froggy that she likes him anyway and he faints.

The second half of this film is much better than the first, which features a long dance with Gerald and Marilyn at a party and Froggy's non-stop complaining. Froggy goes on to see images of Gerald and Marilyn everywhere, including his breakfast of eggs and a billboard advertising swimsuits. The gang meets at that billboard, and in an odd bit Buckwheat is twirling a gun around with some skill, and seconds later Janet is afraid Froggy intends to shoot himself. At Froggy's performance, the (almost) hidden wire harness is in line with other "Our Gang" shorts, such as "Barnum & Ringling, Inc." and "Clown Princes." The thing that bothers me is that Marliyn is supposed to be a real dancer, but doesn't see instantly how fake Froggy's moves are. Credibility is strained too much for me. Also, all the kids are too old for the series by now. I do like the music, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt, that Froggy dances to and his moves coincide fairly well with the music. Above average for MGM, just not top tier for me from that era.

[RJH]

Divot Diggers (1936) - The gang sneaks onto a golf course, with Buckwheat, Porky, Jiggs the Chimp, and I guess Harold Switzer as caddies for Spanky, Alfalfa, and blonde Darla. The golfers use interesting golf clugs like a spade, hammer, and pool cue. Good bits not mentioned above is Porky diligently recording all of Alfalfa's several dozen strokes on one hole, and Buckwheat's facial expressions when Darla makes a put that goes in the hole via a rather circuitous route. Back at the clubhouse, the caddies go on strike, and the desperate caddymaster roams the course in search of anyone capable of carrying a bag when he is hit by Spanky's ball. The boys all hide, fearing they're in trouble, but when the caddymaster tells Darla there's an opportunity to make some money, the boys appear from behind trees and bushes. The first foursome of real golfers warily accepts their caddies, who start off by making too much noise and disrupting shots. Pete chases one of the golf balls and drags Buckwheat behind him, who scoops up many golf balls in his sweater. Things evidently improve until the fifteenth hole, where the worts golfer gets so frustrated that he breaks his putter. Jiggs, in a classic "monkey see, monkey do," breaks several more clubs, and then is chased away but gets on a tractor mower and terrorizes everyone around him. The gang runs up against a fence which collapses under their combined weight, and they go on a long sled ride, upending many other golfers who appartenly weren't concerned by the lack of caddies. The gang ends up covered in feathers after crashing through a chicken coop, and an eggs hatches after Spanky knocks it from Buckwheat's mouth.

There is one great, glaring, shortcoming to this film: it's only fourteen minutes long! This is a two-reeler and should have run twenty minutes. All of the other sound two-reelers are close to twenty mintues in length. What happened to the other six mintues? As it is, this is highly enjoyable, from the kids' imaginative golf game to their interactions with the real golfers and the wild ride at the end. I only wish there were more hijinks added with the extra time; there could be more damage to the coures, more trick shots, Buckwheat and Porky (and even Harold and Jiggs) could have taken a few golf shots instead of only caddying, the real caddies could get a kick out of seeing how their replacements were doing, etc. Oh well, I can be grateful for the amount of material that did make it to the screen.

[ymymeatemup]

DIVOT DIGGERS (1936)

Things I like:
The Golfers. I have no idea whether or not these four guys hung around together in real life, but in the film, I'd swear they've known each other for years. They're also quite comical, and virtually steal the show from the kids.
Jiggs. Easily the best use of a chimp in the entire history of the series, and another cast member who outshines the kids. Of course, his role would be a lot less amusing without the voice work of Russ Powell.
The Music. Leroy Shield had recently recorded a new batch of instrumentals for the Roach studio, and many are featured in this short. A larger ensemble was used for the recordings, and the results are generally jazzier than the earlier tunes.

Things I don't like:
Pretty Much Nothing. All I can think of to knock is the closing gag, which features some less-than-impressive animation. Everything else in the film works just fine, and even though they're a bit upstaged, the kids are very appealing. It's especially nice to see that director McGowan's return to the series for his final entry turned out so well.

Grade: A

[ymymeatemup]

FIRE FIGHTERS (1922)

Things I like:
Pretty Much Nothing. Not that it's a bad short, but I find myself feeling restless through most of it. Jackie Condon has a few moments here and there where he's endearing (though he has just as many where he's kinda whiny), but the rest of the cast doesn't impress me too much. The firefighting theme was done to better effect in "The Fourth Alarm" (made at a time when both the cast and the pacing were much improved), and there's a huge amount of padding for what is basically one reel's worth of material. Nevertheless, there is a simple, pleasant nature to the film that I find mildly enjoyable.

Things I don't like:
The Animals. In an age when animated cartoons were quite crude, movie audiences were often treated to the type of live-action animal humor featured in the opening sequence of this film. I can't think of anything too terribly wrong with this kind of entertainment, but I'm glad it fell by the wayside in subsequent episodes.
Ernie At Home. Following the extended animal sequence is an extended sequence featuring Ernie Morrison in a farmyard doing little more than attempting to harness Dinah the Mule. That nearly half the film is finished by the time the rest of the Gang show up is indicative of the aforementioned padding. Ernie was the only kid in the series that audiences would have recognized, so it's not too surprising that he's given so much screentime, and while he performs admirably, there's just too little here to work with.
The Gang. It took about nine months for Hal Roach to assemble the seven kids that made up the first steady group of Our Gang members. This film was made in the third month, so we have Ernie Morrison, Jackie Condon, Farina Hoskins, and a bunch of other kids who either disappeared shortly after this, or were relegated to the background in some of the subsequent shorts. These additional kids, while reasonably capable of performing in a film, were not on a par with the kids that eventually became the core group. As a result, even the best part of this film, featuring the kids playing as firemen, is unexceptional compared to most of the other silent films in this series.

Grade: C-

[RJH]

Fire Fighters (1922) - The film shown on the TCM marathon looks complete, which may make it inferior to another print I have that' s missing the excruciating opening sequence with the dressed up animals. Then Booker T. Bacon (Ernie's character, and perhaps the only time in the series he is given a last name), is revealed to have been dressing up a goat like Uncle Sam and apparently also dressing up the ducks and dog. In addition he already has a clever device by which brushing Lily the Mule's rear end the beast wags its tail, causing Farina's baby swing to go back and forth. Next Booker is ordered by his father to harness Lily the mule so that Father (Ernie's real father) can deliver the laundry that Mother has just finished. Ernie displays an excellent performance in physical comedy in his efforts to harness the uncooperative Lily, and after an extended sequence he uses his ingenuity to get the job done.

That chore over, Booker joins the rest of the gang, where Jackie is showing off his new fireman's helmet. Coupled with the gang's spying on two bootleggers, and mistaking their still as a container for water, they get the idea to form the Goat Alley Fire Department. They assemble animal-powered vehicles with hoses and ladders, joined by Peggy Cartwright and her pony. They go on a test run where Jackie gets dumped in a puddle on the trip back. Mabel shows up and threatedn to take Jackie and his fireman's hat home if she isn't allowed to play, and she gets to be the lookout. Soon she sees steam from a kettle, think's it's smoke, and wakes the gang who had been trying to sleep in the loft of a barn. They get delayed because the chief's brother has a hard time getting Jackie's pants on. Once at the scene, the gang bumbles around and then discovers their water tank is filled with some other liquid. Then comes another long, dull sequence of animals jumping around in slow motion, evidently drunk. The gang scurries away when a cop comes by, and after getting the story from Jackie, is pulled away on the dog-powered vehicle. The dog chases a cat, crashes into the bootlegger, and winds up running into the police station, where the gang cheers the arrest.

After getting past those drawn-out animal sequences, I find this rather enjoyable. It is a treat to see Ernie showing off what he can do, but that individual sequence runs rather long for "Our Gang." It could have been appropriate for that unfortunately named series "The Pi*******y" that never took off. The main part of the film is classic "Our Gang" with the kids getting an idea, building their contraptions, and enduring lots of stumbling blocks on the way to something workable. There aren't any bad performances. I think the main reason the other boys in the gang didn't last long is that they were considered too old, and the decision was it would be better to have kids in the 3 to 10-year-old range. I feel Peggy Cartwright could have lasted much longer.

One excellent point in this very early short is that nobody questions Booker sleeping in the same room, even if it's a barn loft, with all the other gang members. This was not customary for 1922, and Hal Roach deserves credit for establishing this precedent that would last throughout the series.

[RJH]

Dog Daze (1939) - The gang borrowed 37 cents from Butch to take care of a dog they found in the gutter with two broken legs, and can't pay him back. Then the police come by, announce it's their mascot, and reward the gang with a dollar. Alfalfa ridiculously holds the bill in front of a goat's mouth, who eats it. Desperate for an idea on how to make more money, Alfalfa reasons that if they got one dollar for one dog, they can earn a lot of dollars for a lot of dogs. Thus they decide to steal all the dogs in town and collect rewards. A visiting entertainer with a penguin is thrown into the mix. When the gang sees a newspaper reporting on their crime wave, they have to figure out a way to get rid of all the dogs they're stashing in their clubhouse. Alfalfa and Buckwheat rummage through garbage cans, I think looking for bones, when Cousin Wilbur rats them out to the authorities. There is a long chase back to the clubhouse. Meanwhile, it looks liek Porky has gotten ridden of the dogs by getting the penguin to follow him, and the dogs to chase the penguin. Everyone converges on the dog-less clubhouse, but one of the women finds her dog's ecollar and the dogs come pouring back into the clubhouse for some reason. A woman ask the officers to enforce the law, and one replies by asking if she has a license for her dog. None of the women do, so they back away. The cops pay off the 37 cents when Butch and Woim show up, and then chase them away. An officer then lectures the gang about trying to sell kindness, and asks another to get the wagon ready. The gang assumes it's a paddy wagon about to take them to jail, but it turns out to be a present, one they can ride downhill in with the dogs and penguin chasing after them.

This film is pretty bad. The gang really is a bunch of criminals, and then to get rewarded for their acts is nonsensical. Wilbur is not a member of the club like he was at the end of "CousinWilbur," and is supposed to be smart, yet gets the gang in trouble inadvertanly, even if they deserve it. The kids acting is unnatural, with lots of exaggerated closeups when they realize something bad is happening. As was often the case, Butch delivers his lines the most believably, and I'd give second place to the Woim, who doesn't say much but does hold an impressively large ledger detailing Butch's loans.

Having been alerted, I notice that Buckwheat loses his hat a second time during the chase, and Alfalfa doesn't retrieve it then. The first time, with Alfalfa scooping up the hat and placing it back on Buckwheat's head, ranks as one of the best points of this film. In the last clubhouse scene, Buckwheat is hatless, including walking out the door, but when the scene shifts to an outside shot, his hat is back on as he passes through the door. For me, the most memorable scene involving Alfalfa and Buckwheat is their Romeo and Juliet balcony scene in "Pay as You Exit."

[ymymeatemup]

DOG DAZE (1939)

Things I like:
The General Idea. File this under 'good ideas executed badly.' It's ironic that MGM would have the kids stealing the neighborhood pooches, since they're usually such upstanding (not-so-)little citizens in these shorts. This wasn't quite the case during the Roach era, and I think given the same basic idea, the results could have been quite good if the episode had been made a few years earlier.
Jo-Jo. I kinda like the fact that this little penguin is waddling around in this short. It brings a sense of novelty to what is otherwise a ho-hum outing.

Things I don't like:
Buckwheat. It was, by this time, par for the course for the Our Gang kids to overact, but the closeups of Buckwheat are really hard to watch. It's almost like they time-traveled one of the kids from the '70s version of the Mickey Mouse Club into the Our Gang series. I'm not at all clear on why director George Sidney (making his final Our Gang film) couldn't get better performances out of the kids; after all, his other episodes are mostly pretty decent. Perhaps the directorial credit is just that - a credit - and Sidney was sharing the duties with Edward Cahn (who had already directed his first short for the series).
Wilbur. Scotty Beckett makes his second and final appearance as the erudite Wilbur. As with the earlier episode, whatever charm Scotty manages to muster has to maneuver its way around wordy scientific lingo, such pantywaist expressions as "Oh, my gracious!" and a tendency to hold one's hat while running (of which perhaps Buckwheat should take note). Oh, and his mother dresses him funny.

Grade: D

[RJH]

Dogs is Dogs (1931) - Not much more to say. The stepmother immediately establishes herself as one of the all-time most evil characters in the Our Gang universe, and Sherwood/Spud certainly fits with her. The opening scenes are unpleasant to watch apart from when Wheezer and Pete are playing; there is a lot of spanking and crying. The film brightens a great deal when the stepmother leaves and Stymie enters, and cons Spud into cooking a good breakfast for him, Wheezer and Dorothy. Then there's Spud falling in the well, and Stymie initially offering a comically short piece of rope for Spud to grab on to. For some reason Dorothy just stays at the table while Wheezer and Stymie investigate. Spud blames Pete for killing Mr. Brown's chcken, and Brown's attempt to shoot Pete are are supposed to be funny with Pete running under the hay, but Brown's shot at the floor could easily have penetrated the wooden loft and hit any of the children. Fortunately a cop interferes and Pete is taken to the pound, where by good fortune Wheezer and Dorothy's aunt arrives, pays for Pete's license, expalins that their father has been very ill, and takes them away from that wretched home, with Stymie stowing away on the back spare tire.

After the depressing start a thoroughly happy ending was necessary, and it was delivered. The aunt kicking "Old Hatchet-Face" in the rear is very satisfying. One thing different about this film is that there are so few gang members involved. Spud clearly isn't part of the gang, Dorothy does fine in the beginning but then is absent through the rest of the action, reappearing only at the end, and Dickie Jackson has an even smaller part. The adults play a larger than usual role and are quite good in their parts, while among the kids, Wheezer and Stymie definitely carry this film. One thing I don't like, besides Wheezer repeately getting whipped, is Stymie repeatedly throwing eggs straight up only to land on his head. Wheezer and Dickie have much better aim when targeting Mr. Brown, but Stymie has gone from a clever character, conning his way into a free breakfast, to a really stupid one, not learning after one egg breaking on his head that he should try throwing them in a different manner. There is also a nagging question: how could Wheezer and Dorothy's father ever marry that horrible woman?

The Fourth Alarm! (1926) - It's a very hot day, and the fire department is entertaining the kids with a miniature Coney Island with a water slide. The fun is interrupted when the department has to race to a fire. While the real firemen are away, a fire breaks out in a house practically next door, and since the gang has a fire extinguisher handy, they manage to put the fire out. When the fire chief returns, he says he will make the gang junior firemen. Soon the gang has converted a barn into their own firehouse, where most plan to snore in the loft while two (Turkey-Egg and Abie) scout for fires. They all have uniforms and raincoats. When they spot a trash can fire, they raise the alarm. There are many delays, including Farina atepping on a mousetrap, Bonedust getting stuck on a nail while sliding down the pole, other kids landing in a heap at the bottom (why didn't more take the slide like Mango and Farina?) but most significantly Joe lost his pants because the dog took them to a corner and used them as a mattress.

They get on four wonderful animal-powered vehicles, with the water tank on the wobbly wagon. Pushing one of the vehicles, Bonedust gets his foot caught in a loop of rope and is dragged behind. The gang's first successful effort is extinguishing the fire on his rear end. They are disappointed that the trash can fire is pretty much out when they arrive, but then they hear a real fire and follow the real fire department to it. They offer their help, but the chief refuses. The gang has turned on a hose, and Farina and Scooter fail to control. Scooter abandons the effort, leaving Farina flying around on the end and soaking everything in sight. The fire department and police shoo them away again, and they gang finds themselves in an alley toward which the fire is heading. They put out some flames, and then go upstairs to find a chemist's lab filled with explosives. The chemist has abandoned his shop, and seems not to have had the foresight to have a fire extinguisher on the premises. The gang heroically carries the powder out, mostly Mary and Farina dodging the flames and dumping the explosives over the second-floor railing, some of which is caught in a net, and some of which results in small explosions. When the chief gets there, all the powder is out of the building, and the gang is due another commendation.

This is a very enjoyable film, filled with plenty of excitement and inventions. The action only stops when Joe and Mary have to feed their baby sister Mildred some medicine every fifteen minutes. This is the one thing I think this film could have done without. At one point in the gang's firehouse Mary pushes Mildred back down about ten times after the baby sits up; that was not one happy baby. Everything else lives up to the Our Gang spirits, from the many gags to the seriousness with which the gang takes their responsibility as fire fighters.

[RJH]

Doin' Their Bit (1942) - Froggy's Uncle Walt asks the gang to put on a show for the troops. A lot of non-Our Gang kids dance in uniform, Janet pretends to sing, Spanky and Froggy do a skit about a day of camp filled with unfunny jokes, some girl never seen before sings something patriotic while lots of kids, including a couple regular gang memebers, walk around with cardboard flags.

This is one of those support-the-troops efforts that is utterly devoid of entertainment value. No humor, so much non-Our Gang stuff that it doesn't deserve to be associated with Our Gang, and just total failure overall.

[ymymeatemup]

DOGS IS DOGS (1931)

Things I like:
Wheezer. If ever there was a sympathetic kid in an Our Gang comedy, this is him. A victim of an abusive stepmother, and yet still keeping an optimistic attitude in life (not to mention having some pretty impressive acting chops for a six-year-old), he's the heart and soul of the film, which itself is full of heart. This is arguably the shining moment of his Our Gang tenure.
Stymie. He provides the other crucial element of the short, that of comedy relief, and winds up having what is arguably HIS shining moment as well. I can't think of a better written or better executed comedy scene in this series than the ham-and-eggs sequence.
Sherwood. Let's review: He falls into the well while Wheezer is inside; then when Wheezer is pulling him out, he decides to 'tell mother' on him, even though Wheezer hasn't done anything (yet). Later, he frames Pete for Nero's crime, knowing that Mr. Brown will shoot Pete. Has there ever been a more rotten, spoiled little kid? (Don't answer that!) And Sherwood readily holds his own in every scene with Wheezer and Stymie, which just boggles my mind when I consider how young these kids were.
Blanche Payson. Not just a mean stepmother, but terrifying as well. She routinely towered over other adults, so she's quite an imposing figure in this film.

Things I don't like:
Pretty Much Nothing. Perhaps I can mention the degree of melodrama present, which was par for the course for these early McGowan talkies, but somehow it doesn't strike me as a negative factor. These films were at least partially geared for kids, so the good guy/bad guy dynamics and the story elements are rendered in bold strokes. Perhaps it's the sheer realism of Wheezer's crying after being punished that overcomes any corniness that might rear its ugly head. In any event, this episode never fails to strike the right chord with me, so I think I'll buy it an ice cream.

Grade: A+

[ymymeatemup]

THE FOURTH ALARM! (1926)

Things I like:
The Fire. From the moment the Gang answers the alarm to the end of the short, this sequence outpaces both the earlier "Fire Fighters" and the talkie "Hook And Ladder." Perhaps influenced by the silent serials that were popular at the time, the filmmakers add quite a lot of suspense to the proceedings. The camerawork also provides a certain kinetic energy with the occasional hand-held shots, most effectively utilized while the kids are going down the slide.
Bonedust. This series was in the habit of giving him at least one indignity per episode during this era, and in this short, he gets two, first getting his pants caught on a nail while he's trying to slide down the pole, and then getting dragged behind a vehicle, resulting in a smoky derriere. And as always, he's quite amusing.

Things I don't like:
Pretty Much Nothing. I guess I can mention the 'worm' routine with Mildred Kornman, which was done a lot more effectively with Spanky in "Hook And Ladder," but it doesn't seriously detract from my enjoyment of this film. The genuine highlights are brief and scattered, but the quick pacing keeps me interested from beginning to end.

Grade: A-

[ymymeatemup]

DOIN' THEIR BIT (1942)

Things I like:
Pretty Much Nothing. Oh, did I say "pretty much?" Yeah, you can disregard that part.

Things I don't like:
Janet Burston. This girl gives us so much to choose from when considering just how utterly dreadful her performance is. Is it her inability to handle the melody of "I Love A Man In A Uniform?" Is it her inability to properly lip-synch the words? No, no, as much as both of these things are true, I'd say it's the horribly precocious way she behaves during the entire performance, which is only made worse by the parade of boys acting, well, not as precocious as Janet - but she's Janet, so how much can you expect of them? And if that wasn't enough, she comes back on stage to make her announcement to the troops, pointing her finger at them like they're a bunch of two-year-olds and contorting her face into such exaggerated expressions that a blind monk on a Himalayan mountaintop could catch her drift.
The Flag Of Freedom. One of the more uncharacteristic moments in series history, combining an utterly humorless mood with a sort of "Where's Waldo" game for Our Gang fans. Most of the faces of the various kids hint at just how long and tedious the day's shooting must have been. On the other hand, we do get to have a nice chuckle at Miss Liberty as she does her darndest Judy Garland imitation while looking like she's witnessing the resurrection of Christ.
The "Comedy" Act. Just in case we mistake this film for something other than a comedy, they throw in a corny vaudeville sketch. Ironically, this is the least humorous part of the entire short, even though the rest of the episode wasn't meant to be funny.
The Opening Act. Least of the absurdities was the establishing portion of the show, presenting a row of prepubescent automatons, perfectly synchronized and ready to come unglued by the sultry song stylings of Janet Burston.

Grade: F