The Great Film Discussion

[RJH]

Hi'-Neighbor! (1934) - Wally and Spanky are playing with a poor excuse for a boat, a small piece of wood with a piece of paper for a sail, in a puddle, when they see a moving truck loaded with among other things a nice large toy fire engine. They call the gang together to greet the new neighbor Jerry who turns out to be a total jerk. He shoos the gang away from his shiny fire engine, but does give Wally's maybe-girlfriend a ride. Wally brags that he has a fire engine large enough for the whole gang to ride, and then has to build it. The gang gets all the necessary materials from the neighborhood, or more precisely from neighbors without their knowledge. After some difficulties, the fire engine is ready but Jane still accepts another ride from Jerry for a race down a big hill. Soon the gang's engine loses its brakes and goes sideways, but Jane partially falls off Jerry's vehicle, sitting on a ladder that gets dragged behind. Then Jerry falls off when his engine hits a curb, and soon the engine crashes. Jane turns on a water sprinler, soaking Jerry like he deserves. The gang's engine keeps going, turning onto a sidewalk and knocking many pedestrians over or high into the air. The vehicle finally stops when it goes through a hedge, which rips off the gang's outer clothes except for Spanky, who was protected in a front compartment.

This has a lot of the classical Our Gang elements. The gang is poor, but that doesn't stop them from using their resourcefulness to achieve their goal and help Wally try to get his girl back. Tommy (pre-Butch) brings a great collection of mismatched wheels, but when Spanky "helps" Stymie put the wheels on, Spanky keeps taking the same wheel off and handing it back to Stymie when he moves to the next position. This is part of why the scene where they build the fire engine is excellent. After Spanky's "help," the older kids keep shooing him and Scotty away from wherever they sit down. It sad to see Bubbles sitting in the background with nothing to do. Jerry tries to spy on them, but when he does, his short pants are snagged by a drill and are pulled away. I don't understand why Stymie was drilling a hole in the barn wall. Then Spanky and Scotty realize that the completed fire engine is too big to fit through the door. That problem is solved by knocking down a large piece of the wall.  Another neat thing was the early version of a zip line Stymie uses to go out his window to the front of his yard near the beginning. The ending semms a bit odd, with the boys shouting and waving instead of scrambling to retrieve their clothes, and I can't tell what Spanky means to do. He takes off his sweater; does he intend to keep going to match the other boys? In any case, Spanky is excellent throughout this.

[ymymeatemup]

MARY, QUEEN OF TOTS (1925)

Things I like:
Mary Kornman. She was always charming in her Our Gang appearances, but this was the one film that revolved around her. To describe her as sympathetic would be understating it, and it's also particularly pleasing to see such a well-dressed little rich girl making mud pies and otherwise getting into mischief.
The Dream. Every once in a while, this series would enter into Fantasyland, and I'm not sure if there was ever a more enchanting example of this. The use of oversized furniture, double exposure and the glass floor shot make for the kind of uncanny illusion that makes it surprising to think it came from 1925. The way Mary's bedroom is decorated also serves to enhance this portion of the film.
The Governess. Somehow, the characters in this series who were given the job of caring for children almost always hated kids, and the shrewish governess in this short is no exception. Just why she feels the need to throw out Mary's dolls is beyond me, unless she perceived them as 'poor people's' toys. Her comeuppance at the end is one of the most satisfying the Roach studio ever devised.

Things I don't like:
The Boys Visit Mary. While there are a couple of highlights, such as the hat gag and the radio gag, the portion of the film dealing with the boys in the wealthy home is a letdown after all of the great stuff that comes before it. The endlessly repeated rug gag is definitely a low point.

Grade: A-

[myhomeo]

Re: Hi-Neighbor. Gotta point this out. When Scotty pokes his head out of that little shack and has a conversation with the kids before coming out, did anyone else pick up the joke was supposed to be we were supposed to think he was using the outhouse?

[ymymeatemup]

HI'-NEIGHBOR! (1934)

Things I like:
The Introductions. Most of the kids were new to the series (and most of them never ended up becoming regulars), so it's fun to see each one join their pals as they journey to Jerry's house to see the shiny fire engine. Highlights include Bubbles and the laundry line, and Scotty in the outhouse (but not really).
Jerry Tucker. Easily the best Jerry episode ever. He's best remembered for playing snotty rich kids, even though this only happened a couple of times. The once-over he gives the boys after they attempt to make friends with him is priceless. Also of note is the gag involving Jerry's shorts, which is exactly what a kid like him deserves.
The Scavenger Hunt. As the boys acquire various items for their fire engine, we're treated to a succession of gags that work from beginning to end. Topping them off is the street strewn with debris as Spanky exits the scene.
The Fire Engine. I speak, of course, not of Jerry's gleaming store-bought ride (which is clearly a classic old toy that would no doubt fetch quite a sum these days), but of the Gang's collection of odds and ends that they've somehow made into a vehicle large enough to fit all of them. If ever an Our Gang prop should have been preserved and eventually donated to the Smithsonian, this is it.
The Hill. I speak not of the hill used in the race, which looks suspiciously tame, but of the "hill from hell" which Stymie reacts to with "Wh-what hill?" And speaking of the other hill, I think the race itself deserves some honorable mention on this list, as it definitely has its highlights, most notably when the pedestrians are being hurled into the air.
The Headlight. Or more specifically, the Gang's reflections in the chrome of the headlight on Jerry's fire engine. I've always loved these little cinematic moments in the series.
"Don't Rush Me, Big Boy." Best line in the short.

Things I don't like:
The Technical Limitations. Which only apply to the race down the hill. As much as I can understand the need to keep things safe and sane when filming with young kids, the results nevertheless are overloaded with fast-motion footage and rear-screen projections.

Grade: A-

[RJH]

Hide and Shriek (1938) - Alfalfa decides to become a detective and opens up the Eegle Eye Detektive Agensy, and Buckwheat and Porky join up. Alfalfa sends them to look for crooks, and they bring in Leonard and Junior, who stand accused by Darla of stealing her box of candy. After declaring them to have guilt all over their faces, Alfalfa lets Leonard and Junior go, explaining to Darla that it's a trap: criminals always return to the scene of their crime, and the junior detectives will follow them. Lenoard and Junior climb onto a truck, and then out of it as the detectives hide in a box on the truck bed in back. Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and Porky are then taken to a huanted house. Looking for a light switch, Alfalfa turns on the power and triggers all sorts of contraptions. The boys are scared by a creepy voice on a phonograph, mechanical demons, and skeletons. They wind up on a treadmill and eventually slide into another room where they are scared into taking a ride on a bench that sends them toward a buzzsaw, which rises shortly before it might cut off their heads. They are deposited outside, and run back. Darla announces that she found the candy in her doll carriage and is sharing it with Leonard and Junior, but the detectives don't want anything to do with it and Alfalfa hangs up an "Out of Bizzness" sign.

This is an enjoyable short, with the main ideas of how seriously Alfalfa takes the detective business and the haunted house effects. Alfalfa declares himself Sooper Slooth Agent 10, and Porky and Buckwheat become Agents 6 and 6 1/2. Also on the staff is a large "bloodhound," Agent 20, who resembles the "puppy" from "Roamin' Holiday." Alfalfa reads from the book "How to Become a Junior Detective," and gets obsessed with disguises, but the mustaches and beards prove completely ineffective. An endearing moment is when Alfalfa is swearing in the younger boys and tells them to raise their right hands. Porky raises his left hand, looks at Buckwheat to the right who has raised the correct hand, and then switches hands. Leonard gets more than his usual number of lines, getting to say "Phooey" three times. The boys' reactions in the haunted house are good, wtih Buckwheat having the best facial expressions as was often the case. Of course he gets the most contact with the skeletons, not varying from the idea since Ernie in "No Noise" and Farina in "Shootin' Injuns." It would have been nice if Darla had a bigger part, but I don't see that could fit in with this plot. Overall a good finish to the Hal Roach era.

Monkey Business (1926) - The gang beats up Farina, who got hold of the wrong set of plans. Furthermore, his home life is miserable since his parents are always fighting, so he decides to head west. Meanwhile, a trained chimpanzee escapes from his cage and sits down on the curb next to Farina. Farina is scared at first, but the chimp proves friendly to him. When Farina's father comes to get him, the chimp beats him up, and Farina sees an opportunity for revenge. He slugs Mickey, who was making a drawing on a board making fun of Farina, and then runs behind a corner. When Mickey comes after him, the chimp is there and thoroughly beats Mickey up. The gang decides they want the monkey in their gang, and then plans a show to raise money featuring it doing tricks. While they set up the show, they leave the chimp alone in a house, and he promptly trashes it, getting drunk in the process. On the loose, he wreaks havoc in town, destroys a car, and gets hold of some loaded guns and fires off several shots. The gang and the chimp eventually take refuge in a shed where the police catch them. The cops load the gang into their paddy wagon to give them a scare. The gang does get a scare with the monkey knocks the driver out of his seat and takes the gang for a wild ride. There are a lot of close calls, weaving in and out of traffic, before they run through a patch of wet cement and crash into a store. They get out of the rear of the vehicle, and get cement all over their shoes as they try to run away.

There are several good moments in this but I find the scenes featuring only the chimpanzee way too long. It's more than three minutes before the gang is even seen, and another seven-minute stretch where the gang is only seen for a few moments during the rampage. As a result, Joe, Jackie, Mary, Johnny, and Jay are given very little to do. I'd have preferred more interactions between all of the gang and the monkey; instead, only Farina gets this honor, and he does do a good job with it. Mickey's fight with the chimp is offscreen. There are the usual clever title cards, with Darwin saying man sprang from monkey and Will Rogers saying some didn't spring far enough, and at the end Farina saying he decided to go out of the monkey business in an effort to avoid responsibility for all the damage. The wild ride is done better than some of the others in the series, with shots of part of the steering wheel corresponding to the police truck's motion. The emphasis on the chimpanzee may be attributed to the recent Scopes Monkey Trial, but I still think most of the gang should have been involved wtih "The Missing Link" more.

[ymymeatemup]

HIDE AND SHRIEK (1938)

Things I like:
The Haunted House. Needless to say, since it's clearly the real star of this short. Some frights are a bit more convincing than others, but I imagine they'd all be pretty effective on kids within the Gang's age range, especially if they have no idea they're in an amusement park ride. I particularly enjoy Buckwheat's encounter with the organ-playing skeletons (and just for the sake of nitpicking: Am I the only one that finds it strange that Buckwheat tires out on the treadmill before Porky does, even though Porky was on it the entire time Buckwheat was with the skeletons?). One particularly gruesome addition to the haunted house, and one that was probably never included in any actual amusement park ride, is the circular saw coming towards the boys' necks. I can only imagine the lawsuits if something like that really existed and went haywire.
The Eye. One of the coolest props in series history is attached to the door of Alfalfa's detective agency.
The Disguises. I quite like Alfalfa's disguise as an old man, even if Darla sees right through it. And honorable mention should go to the beards used on the three boys, which always remind me of the Marx Brothers in "A Night At The Opera."

Things I don't like:
The Fact That They Kept Making More. I enjoy a handful of the MGM episodes, but I'd gladly be deprived of those if it meant that the series finished in 1938. It's a testament to the overall quality of the Roach shorts that the series' reputation hasn't really been damaged by the shoddy work done by MGM, but it still would have been more impressive if those six years never happened, leaving what would already have been a whopping sixteen years of consistently good product.
Pretty Much Nothing Else. This isn't a huge favorite on my list, but I can't think of much of anything wrong with it. It's a fun short, and easily one of the better ones made during 1938.

Grade: B+

[marsh]

HIDE AND SHRIEK may not be the best Rascals short, but it is my favorite. The scenario really captured my imagination as a kid, and it still tickles my fancy. Not knowing what was behind each door and being delighted by every creepy surprise was just so much fun. I have this one on DVD and Super 8, and trot it out frequently. Everyone seems to get a kick out of it.

[RJH]

Honky-Donkey (1934) - Rich kid Wally accompanies his mother to some store, but she sends him own with the chauffeur Barclay. When she is out of sight, Wally instructs Barclay to drive through the poorer part of town, including alleys, and he does so. Wally gets Barclay to stop when he sees the gang playing on their improvised mule-powered merry-go-round, and wants to join in the fun. The gang is happy to let the mule, Algebra, chase him, with the instructions that the mule chases anyone who sneezes, and stops when a bell rings. The gang is chased off the lot by the owner, so Wally volunteers his house. When the mule stops in the middle of traffic, it is put in the car for the ride to Wally's house. There the mule mostly chases Barclay and gets into the house, and of course makes a big mess of things. Stymie's attempt to lasso the animal snags Barclay instead. The mother comes home in a cab to the mayhem, and when she sneezes, Algebra chases her out of the house and into a fountain.

This is sort of a standard plot, the rich kid wanting to play with other kids his age instead of being coddled by his mother, and the gang making a mess of a mansion, though here Barclay and the mule have the biggest roles. Barclay utters many funny things, many to the mule in ineffective ways to get it to leave the house. Spanky and Scotty are a good team as usual, with moments trying to fix their broken alarm clock that had been used to get Algebra to stop. We get to see Tommy before he was Butch, and Buckwheat is a girl. At the end, the mule's whinny in triumphing over the overprotective mother sounds like Mickey Daniels' laugh. One mysterious thing is why Barclay follows Wally's orders instead of the mother, Barclay's employer. Or why Wally accompanites his mother to the store in the first place when she just sends him home while she goes shopping. But there wouldn't have been a story otherwise.

[ymymeatemup]

MONKEY BUSINESS (1926)

Things I like:
The Finale. This film doesn't really start to take off until after the chimp escapes. The high point of the chaos is the last part, as he drives the patrol wagon through the streets - though the earlier gag in which the motorist returns to find his car demolished is probably the single funniest thing that happens in the entire short.

Things I don't like:
The Chimp. When it comes to nature documentaries, there's barely an animal on Planet Earth that I find more fascinating than the chimpanzee. However, when it comes to film comedy, I just can't get into chimp humor. Our Gang films are always best when the kids are on the screen, and this short too often neglects the kids in favor of the silent era's answer to Lancelot Link.
Punching Bag Farina. There's a mistaken notion about this series (or at least its silent era) that Farina was routinely left out of the fun and picked on by the white kids. This, of course, was almost never the case, but it IS the case in this film. When we first see the Gang, they're pummeling Farina for no apparent reason. Perhaps more puzzling is the fact that Mickey even draws an illustration on the back of the billboard showing how he's going to beat up Farina. I'm not assuming that race is necessarily a factor here, but the only other reason I can think of is that Farina is smaller than the rest of them, which also seems totally messed up.
Anthony Mack. It's a good thing he switched to directing, because he definitely didn't have a future as an actor. I don't expect much from the bit players in this series - as long as they do a reasonably capable job, then I have no complaints. But Mack is so wooden in his performance that he actually stands out like a sore thumb.

Grade: C-

[RJH]

I wouldn't say "almost never." While it wasn't routine, I'd say Farina was left out of the fun or picked on in, at least part of the time, in "Seein' Things," "Your Own Back Yard," "One Wild Ride," "Monkey Business," "War Feathers," "Chicken Feed," "The Glorious Fourth," "The Smile Wins," "Spook-Spoofing," and "Election Day." In some of these his situation improves by the end of the film.

The title card in "Monkey Business" shown just before the gang's introduction makes it sound like Farina started the fight, illogical at that may seem.

[mtw12055]

Farina being left out of the fun in "Seein' Things" is likely a case of age (certainly not a case of race, as Ernie is treated as one of the Gang).

I am aware that "Your Own Back Yard" was based on a song depicting a black woman telling her kid not to worry about the "white boys." The Our Gang film does feature a closeup of a sheet for the song, that replaces "white boys" with "little boys." That being said, Farina just seems to be prone to bad luck in this film. He's not the only one that falls victim to some of the kids' pranks. And he comes out on top in the end. You could make the same argument for "One Wild Ride," as it supposedly consists largely of footage intended for "Your Own Back Yard."

In "War Feathers," Farina clearly doesn't know the Gang. Him being left out could be a case of "we don't like outsiders." Actually, Joe implies that Farina can join in the fun if he dresses the part. Though one wonders why they let Mango in.

I can't say what the motivation for picking on Farina in "Chicken Feed" and "The Glorious Fourth" was. In "Chicken Feed," Farina eventually manages to boss the other kids around.

Picking on Farina in "The Smile Wins" is a crucial part of the plot. At least in this one, the kids are sorry for what they did to him.

"Spook-Spoofing" seems to be case of practical joking Joe wanting to find the perfect victim for his pranks. Overly superstitious Farina seems like the natural choice.

And as RJH mentioned in his review of "Election Day," tormenting Farina seems to come from the fact that the others are making sure he keeps his promise to vote.

There were a few minor instances of Farina getting picked on. "Shivering Spooks" has a scene in which the other kids make him be the first to go through the hole in the wall. "Tired Business Men" makes a reference to Farina being the one the kids 'initiate' after they run out of new members. Both scenes always make me uncomfortable.

[RJH]

I may be unqualified for this. It never occurred to me that Farina might not know the rest of the gang at the outset of "War Feathers." When they are together in the last part of the film they all act like they usually do, and one of them referring to Mango by name may have reinforced my perception they were all familiar with each other.

For "Election Day," that would be the others are making sure Farina can't fulfill his promise to vote - eight times against each of Joe and Jay according to that missing opening title card.

My plan is to hold off reviewing until others catch up.

[ymymeatemup]

Okay - bottom line is "almost never" was obviously overstating it. I was thinking of "Your Own Back Yard," "One Wild Ride" and "Spook-Spoofing," and had basically forgotten about those other instances (though Ernie's presence in "Seein' Things" kind of allows that one to squeak by). It comes out to less than 10 percent of all the Farina episodes, so it was by no means the usual situation, but it's still a pretty good chunk of films.

[ymymeatemup]

HONKY-DONKEY (1934)

Things I like:
Spanky & Scotty. While not quite up to the standards set in "The First Round-Up," this is the only other episode in which we get such an abundance of snappy one-liners from these two. They're both little enough that the delivery is a bit shaky here and there, but overall, they're the main attraction in this short.
A Few Other Things. It's nice to see William Wagner's brief appearance in this film, as he's just as uptight as ever, and Wally Albright is one of those refreshing rich kids that would rather hang out with the Gang than behave the way his overbearing mother wants him to. And, of course, putting the ragamuffins of Our Gang into the environs of the wealthy is always good for a few laughs.

Things I don't like:
The Over-Reliance On Barclay & Algebra. A little bit of both of these characters would have been fine. Barclay, for instance, has probably the funniest line in the whole film ("Listen, cop, I'm on the verge of disliking you"), but I don't otherwise find him to be that funny - and he's all over this short. For that matter, so is the mule, and the repeated alternating between chasing Barclay and depositing her rear end in inconvenient places just gets old by the middle of the film.
The Lack Of Incidental Music.  There was a brief period in which this series (for the most part) stopped putting Leroy Shield's music on the soundtrack (aside from the opening and closing credits), but had yet to achieve the quicker pace that was necessary to overcome this change.  So this is one of those episodes that seems a bit stagnant as a result.  All of the funny business would have come across more whimsically if the studio hadn't been trying to save a few dollars.

Grade: B-

[RJH]

Hook and Ladder (1932) - A newspaper article states that due to a manpower shortage, all citizens should help answer fire alarms, so the gang forms their own fire department. They have a barn for their station, and some animal-powered vehicles of questionable stability. When lookout Breezy sees the real fire department answer an alarm, he appears to conclude there is a fire at that fire station. After some delays caused by Spanky refusing to take medicine and getting his pants put on from big brother Dickie and a wheel falling off the wobbly wagon, the gang eventually gets to the empty fire station when the real firefighters are long gone. Fortunately they spot another fire in a nearby barn. When they get there, Stymie climbs a ladder to go through a second-floor window and tosses out many boxes of dynamite and black powder, while the rest of the gang squirts water into the first floor and sometimes at each other. Explosions from the dynamite attract the attention of the real firemen, and they arrive as the fire is put out. They tell the gang they will be rewarded, while Spanky, by himself, pours out a tablesthingy of medicine, drinks the rest of the bottle, and tosses the tablesthingyful away, to the worms.

This film is decent, with most of the gags involving animals, as part of the "automatic" alarm and pulling the vehicles. A problem is that this is obviously a remake of "The Fourth Alarm!", which I find had a lot more energy and humor. "Hook and Ladder" gets off to a slow start, with long sequences involving Dickie trying to give Spanky his medicine from a bottle, and then trying to force Spanky to put on his pants before going to the fire. Both times Dickie enlists Stymie's help, the latter having to hold Spanky down or still. There is another long sequence involving a rotten broken egg that gets tossed around. Action finally picks up when the fleet is under way. There is the standard dog chasing a caged cat, and now a mule chasing a carrot on a stick. A highlight is Stymie driving the wobbly wagon, which wobbles so much this time that a wheel falls off. Even at the fire, the action is repetitive. It's mostly Stymie carrying boxes while dodging one flame that keeps flaring up at a door near the window and the rest of the gang going back and forth with the hose. The final gag with Spanky drinking all but one sthingyful of the medicine is unexpected. Overall, a reasonable short that could have used more humorous material, especially in the first part.

The Mysterious Mystery! (1924) - Wealthy Little Adelbert Wallingford, played by Jackie Condon, is kidnapped, and becomes a perfect case for Mickey's detective agency. He calls in his troops, and they put on disguises to track down all the suspicious suspects in town. One of these is the inept Detective Jinks, who follows one of them dressed as a female mannequin into their hideout, and falls through a trap door and gets sort of manacled to a wall. When another cop comes and reveals Jinks' identity, the gang runs away before Jinks can get revenge. One of the kidnappers comes by and gives the gang a dollar to deliver the ransom note to Mr. Wallingford, with the instructions to attach $5000 to the enclosed homing pigeon and release it. The bird gets away when the gang handles it, and they get in Wallingford's car as he drives after the pigeon. They reach an airfield, and Wallingford asks a pilot to catch the pigeon. Upon seeing Jinks there, the gang hides. Andy, Sing (usually Sing Joy) and Snowball (Gene or Pineapple) crouch down on the floor of the back seat of Wallingford's car, but Mickey, Joe, and Farina hide in the back seat of the plane. The plane takes off, scaring the boys. Miraculously, the plane does catch up to the pigeon, and the bird lands on a wing. Joe climbs out to get it, but loses it and falls down, hanging onto some wires. The pilot gets out to rescue Joe and tells Mickey to hold the control stick steady. Mickey doesn't, the plane loops the loop, and the pilot falls off, but lands okay in a water. The pigeon then lands on the tail, and Farina gets out to catch it, but ends up hanging onto wires as the tail flaps flap up and down. Meanwhile Adelbert is driving the other two kidnappers crazy, crying if they don't perform cirucs stunts. The plane then crashes into the roof of the hideout, and only the kidnappers are dazed. Wallingford instructs Jinks to give the gang the $500 reward Wallingford offered the pilot, but the gang runs away, fearful that Jinks is still bent on revenge.

A fun film throughout with lots of action. Adelbert behaves like the usual Jackie, playing pranks on his tutor and mainpulating the kidnappers, eventually riding on one's back and hitting the other with a toy sword. Mickey has a very elaborate setup for his detective agency, and the gang takes the detective work very seriously. There are the typical beard and mustache disguises, and Joe and Snowball tail Jinks in a sandwich board and part of a barber pole. The airplane flight is the highlight, and the photography is very good for this time period. When the pilot goes to rescue Joe, he tells Mickey "Hold the stick steady, son. Don't move it." Two minutes later Farina uses the same words when Mickey isn't holding the tail flaps steady. It may be unsettling to see the pilot fall hundreds of feet and the plane crash from a similar height, both events being nearly always fatal, but I guess some suspension of disbelief isn't far out of place. It would have been nice if Mary was in this somehow, but for some reason she was absent every few films. Oh well, still very enjoyable throughout.