The Great Film Discussion

[RJH]

The Ol' Gray Hoss (1928) - Retired Fire Chief Cummings runs a horse-drawn taxi service but is in debt and about to be run out of business by a newcomer with a motor car. The gang adores Cummings and his horse Duke, and go all out to drive the new guy away. The horse helps out by splashing the new taxi with mud, and the gang contributes a "Free Rides Today" sign on the back of the cab, connects a wire to the cab and a high voltage line, and runs a pipe from the exhaust back into the cab. The customers are driven to Cummings' taxi service, but it still might not be enough money to pay off the debt. Cummings' friend comes through with a loan or gift, but the gang thinks Duke is about to be taken away and embark on a wild ride with Joe and Farina. Eventually a wheel falls off and Cummings catches up with the good news. At this point, Wheezer, who was been given oddball tasks to do by the gang to get him out of the way, is told to jump in the lake. He jumps off a bridge, and Farina, Joe, and Harry dive off after him, landing head-first in mud. Wheezer is then seen hanging by his suspenders from a ledge from the bottom of the bridge span.

This is pretty solid, with the familiar theme of the gang helping out an older person whose livelihood is threatened by new intruders. The new taxi guy is clearly made out to be evil when he throws aways signs for Cummings' taxi service, so he deserves what he gets. There is a heavier reliance on gags in this short compared to most, starting with Mary Ann making pancakes with popcorn spilled into the batter and following through with all the attacks on the new taxi. I did notice that it was the girls fixing breakfast while the boys clean up Duke, the latter producing a predictable big mess. Wheezer gets a prominent role by repeatedly claiming "Me wanna do something!" and gets told by Joe, Jean, Farina, and Mary Ann to sit on an egg, a tack, soak his head, and roll a peanut. He takes all these commands literally, besides the final jumping into the lake. Electrifying the new taxi may be a bit overboard because the shocks could easily have killed everyone who came in contact with the vehicle at that point. It wasn't clear to me why Joe and Farina leapt to the conclusion that Duke was being taken away, but it may have been an excuse for another wild ride, this time with Joe at the controls. The final gag with the older boys diving off the bridge seems tacked on kind of artificially, and landing head-first from that height should have broken their necks. An interesting choice in names was the new guy calling his service the "Black and Blue Taxi." Kind of describes the driver after encounters with the gang.

[mtw12055]

The Ol' Gray Hoss (1928) - Not much to add. This is definitely a more gag-driven short, and most of the gags work well. For me the electricity gag and the bridge sequence are a bit strange. They almost feel like bits that would show up in one of those rival Our Gang series. I can easily see the Mickey McGuire gag team coming up with ideas like those.

The taxi chase at the end of the short provides a nice look at various spots on the Roach backlot.

Question: How did Wheezer catch up to the taxi so quickly at the end of the film?

[RJH]

Feb 22, 2015 21:35:15 GMT -5 mtw12055 said:

The Ol' Gray Hoss (1928) -
Question: How did Wheezer catch up to the taxi so quickly at the end of the film?

The same way Buckwheat and Porky, way back in last place among those still in the race and on foot, caught up to Spanky and Alfalfa's supercharged car at the finish line of "Auto Antics."

[ymymeatemup]

THE OL' GRAY HOSS (1928)

Things I like:
Chief Cummings. This series had plenty of kindly old folks befriending the Gang, and the Chief is just as lovable as the rest. His relationship with his old horse, Duke, is touching, and it's impossible not to sympathetize with his double plight of potentially losing both his horse and his livelihood.
The Bad Guy. The rival cab driver is suitably despicable, which makes all the awful things that happen to him quite satisfying.
The Big Chase. As usual when it comes to the Gang racing through the streets of Palms (as well as the studio's New York set), things are both lively and comical, especially with all the hapless pedestrians that get pelted with fruit and whatnot.

Things I don't like:
The Final Gag. The three boys landing headfirst in the mud is already a questionable choice, but the obvious use of dummies in the shot ensures that it doesn't work well.
Pretty Much Nothing Else. This short isn't exactly cream of the crop for this series, as many of the gags are nothing special, but it's still a solidly enjoyable outing with a dose of sentiment that never gets out of hand. It's also nice to see the kids in genuine locations, particularly the train station in Palms, which add a sense of realism to what is otherwise largely farcical.

Grade: B

[ymymeatemup]

THE LITTLE RANGER (1938)

Things I like:
The General Idea. As far as the basic structure of this short goes, I can't find much of any fault with it. Of course, Butch so readily cowers to Alfalfa at the end of the story that I find it hard to believe, but otherwise I like the parallels drawn between the kids and the onscreen actors, and the way they merge together in the dream sequence.
Muggsy. This is arguably her finest moment in the series, and her hero worshipping of Alfalfa is virtually the best thing about this film.
"Oh, You're Wonderful!" I don't mean when Darla says this to Butch after he's just bullied Alfalfa, as it makes her a little more cruel than her character ever ought to be. But I do like the parallel drawn with Muggsy and then with the leading lady in the B-picture.

Things I don't like:
The Over-Acting. I'm not talking about the acting that goes on during the dream sequence, since it's supposed to be a melodramatic parody. And certainly, Alfalfa, Butch, Darla and Muggsy are all good during this part of the film. In fact, Darla's fickle attitude is a lot more amusing in this segment. My main problem is that Alfalfa is already being too over-the-top during the non-dream portions, making the contrast insufficient.
Not Much Else. This first entry from MGM is far from the best Our Gang film, but it's got enough going for it that it holds up pretty well next to the last several Roach episodes. If the remaining six years of this series had kept up this level of quality - well, you know where I'm going with this.....

Grade: B

[RJH]

The Little Ranger (1938) - Alfalfa is waiting outside a movie theater for Darla, and refuses to go in wtih Muggsy until a half hour later Darla shows up with Butch. Then Alfalfa agrees to go in with Muggsy, where he falls asleep and dreams the gang into the western that is showing. In the dream, Butch captures Alfalfa and leaves him suspended from a tree while taking Darla to his hideout. Muggsy shows up and promises to get the sheriff, and Alfalfa's horse comes to rescue him. They get to Butch's hideout, where is about to marry Darla. Alfalfa interrupts the proceedings and challenges Butch to a fight, and knocks him out. The rest of Butch's gang jump on Alfalfa. Sheriffs Porky and Buckwheat arrive on the scene and temporarily resuce Alfalfa, teaming up to knock out many of Butch's gang. Then Butch wakes up, grabs a gun, and gets some of his gang to tie up the sheriffs and Alfalfa. He then lights a fuse on a keg of TNT and forces Darla to choose between marrying him or being blown to bits with the gang. She chooses to marry him and goes off wtih him. Muggsy arrives in the nick of time to take the TNT away, but there is an explosion and Alfalfa wakes up. When Butch tells Alfalfa to be quite, Alfalfa tweaks his nose. Darla is impressed, but Alfalfa decides to walk off with the loyal Muggsy.

This first MGM film fits right in with the last several Roach-era talkies. It has a solid story line and it's fun to see Darla get rejected at the end after all the time she's been playing Alfalfa and Butch against each other. This is probably Muggsy's best moment in the series. Alfalfa's dream sequence is well suited to the movie being shown. I always like when Porky and Buckwheat work as a team, and here they plot to knockout many bad guys by Buckwheat luring them into room and Porky hitting them in the head with a frying pan, and later Buckwheat removing hats so Porky has an easier target. Butch is very good in his role; the one thing is that after the dream he cowers rather uncharacteristically after getting his nose tweaked. Also, in the dream Alfalfa, Buckwheat and Porky sit there like dopes waiting for the TNT to go off instead of struggling to escape. It's as if they have to hold still or the single rope tied around them will fall off, or at least free their arms. Actually it looks like they could just stand up together and walk out. Oh well, one might not expect too much realism in a dream, and the story and resolution make up for that.

[ymymeatemup]

THE OLD WALLOP (1927)

Things I like:
"Safety Last." And because of this, I REALLY enjoy watching the last two-thirds of this short, which doesn't put a grown man like Harold Lloyd in danger of falling to his death, but achieves the mind-boggling feat of placing several Our Gang kids high up in the construction site of a tall building. There appear to be four or five different techniques used to film this extended segment, but at least one of them seems to be the key technique used in the Lloyd feature - that is, building the construction site on the roof of a tall building so that the background buildings are in-shot and not projected on a screen. In other shots, though (particularly the ones pointed down at the street), it appears that the filmmakers resorted to rear-screen projection, but even these look pretty convincing. But all of this would add up to very little if it weren't for the fact that the kids are put through some really perilous (and funny) situations.

Things I don't like:
Joe's Pants. Add this short to the list of those in which Joe's pants don't stay on. This time, it's Harry who constantly pulls them down because he needs something to hold onto while the two of them climb up to save Farina.
The Old Wallop. There are some funny moments in the first part of this short, thanks mostly to the adults that come along to get pummeled by prize-fighter-in-the-making Wheezer. However, as evidenced a few years later in "Choo-Choo," it's difficult to get such a young kid to convincingly pack such a wallop over and over again, especially when the recipient is one of the other kids.

Grade: A-

[RJH]

Little Sinner (1935) - Spanky can't wait to try out his new fishing pole, and intends to miss Sunday School to go fishing. He convinces his "kid brother" Porky and Buckwheat that his plan is justified. They go to the church anyway, where the kids, including Alfalfa in perhaps his smallest role in the series, express their disapproval. Spanky sets off with Porky, leaving Buckwheat behind since he tattled to the minister where Spanky was hiding behind a bush. Buckwheat follows anyway, picking up the worms that have fallen through a hole in Spanky's pocket. When Bucwkheat shows up at the fishing site, he is welcomed because of the worms, but he in turn has lost all but one of them to a goose. Spanky battles the goose for the worm and wins temporarily, but the goose gets the worm after Spanky casts his lin. Clarence Wilson runs the boys off his property, but not before a random cast by Buckwheat snags his hat. The boys keep going, and get scared by a baptism ceremony of a black church taking place during a total eclipse. They run back, and Spanky makes it to church just as the service is ending. He tells the minister that he did indeed learn a lesson.

This film is all about Spanky, Porky, and Buckwheat, and they play their roles well. The latter two communicate much more often with facial expressions than verbally. It seems odd that Alfalfa and Sydney Kibrick lecture Spanky on the perils of ditching Sunday School. There are lots of good fishing-related gags, with the worms, the hat that gets ruined, and Spanky and Buckwheat getting tangled together in the fishing line. I like the part where the three boys walk along all holding onto the fishing pole. The baptism reactions are overdone, but don't take away from the small gang's performances. On the way back, however, Porky is left behind eating apples in a tree. Buckwheat is dragged most of the way to the church at the end, after he and Spanky scare a scarecrow into running away, but it isn't clear where he ends up. Then there is the moralizing which is MGM-era-ish, but fortunately that is very brief at the end.

The Old Wallop (1927)
Things I like: the above description sounded good.
Things I hate: that it exists but isn't available to most people, even those willing to pay a fair price for it.

Olympic Games (1927) - The gang tries out for various Olympic events, and generally meets with spectacular failure. Meanwhile, Wheezer has learned how to make razzberry noises and teaches his dog to do the same. From time to time Wheezer blows razzberries, and the gang picks some innocent bystander to beat up. After a while, the four wrongly accused boys team up and start a large rotten vegetable and egg throwing fight. This goes on for some time, and then they all discover that Wheezer was the source of the razzberries. They all threaten to beat him up, but he sics his dog on them and they all run away.

My print looks chopped up and reassembled in the wrong order. It shows the second boy being beaten up before he is shown watching the athletes. Also, footage right before when Jay R. slips in the oil on the track is missing. Anyway, there was a good, original idea here but the film falls flat. The best parts are the boys attempting the different events, like shot put, hurdles, high jump, pole vault, and javelin. There are gags like Farina's throbbing foot after getting shot puts dropped on it, Jackie leaving behind a large pile of timber that used to be hurdles, Joe bending the horizontal bar, Jay bouncing backward in the pole vault, and Paul Toien repeatedly falling into a deep puddle. For the big footrace, Peggy Ahearn and a friend stretch a tire inner tube across the finish line and watch the boys bounce back and fall after running into. There are some good title cards, and I think some are missing. Mango jumps into the puddle apparently just to create a gag of her rubber panties bursting. I found the running gag of Wheezer blowing razzberries got too repetitive and annoying fairly quickly, but my least favorite part was that the ending isn't satisfying and he never gets his comeuppance for creating so much trouble. I would have had the gang throwing him into the puddle at the end.

[ymymeatemup]

LITTLE SINNER (1935)

Things I like:
The Atmosphere. The first half of this short has a very quiet, relaxing quality to it, very much in keeping with its 'day of rest' theme. But it really gets interesting when the baptism scene kicks in, complete with solar eclipse and somewhat awkward shouts of "Hallelujah!" from the black characters. The music during this sequence is quite stirring, generating a similar mood to the one in "Little Daddy."
The Gate Gag. Spanky was now old enough to be outsmarted by a younger kid, even if Porky is oblivious to the situation.
The Scarecrow. The single funniest sight gag in the film.

Things I don't like:
The Blahs. It's difficult to put my finger on it, but I've always felt a bit underwhelmed with this episode. The gag material is mostly of the mild variety, with few standouts. And while there's something amusing about the way the under-utilized Alfalfa delivers his dialogue in the early portion, he's nevertheless unnatural about it. It's also nice to see Clarence Wilson show up at the lake, but his involvement is wasted on a small part which doesn't compare with virtually every other appearance he made in this series. Then there's the unusual amount of religious theming, with the uncharacteristic way the other kids warn Spanky about skipping Sunday school and Wilson's prohibition against fishing on Sunday - and, of course, the admittedly effective baptism sequence. As much as I appreciate Roach's willingness to try something unusual, the results are not on par with the best of this series.

Grade: B-

[ymymeatemup]

OLYMPIC GAMES (1927)

Things I like:
Wheezer & Pete. The only thing charming about this rather one-dimensional short is Wheezer's teaching of the raspberries to his faithful pup, Pete (who joins Farina and Buckwheat on that list of regulars who went through gender reassignment early in their careers).
The Puddle. The single funniest recurring gag in the film is Paul Toien's almost magnetic attraction to one of the largest puddles on the planet.
A Few Other Things. Jay R. Smith actually gets a few extra laughs in this episode, first with his comedic tantrums when the horizontal pole keeps falling to the ground, and then the way he falls flat on his face while trying to impress one of the girls. Otherwise, there's a fun spirit to the film, which is perhaps inevitable in light of its gag-heavy nature.

Things I don't like:
The Unexceptionalness Of It. That is, if that's even a word. What there is of a story is slight, involving Wheezer giving the raspberries to the Gang, and four innocent bystanders taking the blame for it. Once or twice, this would have been amusing, but in order to have enough boys for the climactic battle, four of them had to go through this mistaken identity. It seems the filmmakers could only think of this one way for each of the boys to suffer the Gang's wrath, and even add a fifth instance when Farina is thought to be giving his friends the raspberries. Most of the gags, too, are the usual garden-variety material seen during the silent era, with too much reliance on Farina getting injured and winding up with grotesquely swollen feet or a huge bump on his head. The battle sequence is notable only for its authenticity, as the kids really seem to be getting pelted pretty thoroughly.

Grade: C+

[RJH]

Love Business (1931) - Jackie Cooper and Chubby are hopelessly inafatuated with Miss Crabtree, carrying a picture of her with them all the time. Jackie moans in his sleep, inadvertanly giving Wheezer a hard time. Chubby practices his romantic technique on a wooden cutout of a Hollywood actress. While he reads from notes, Dorothy echoes him, getting some words wrong and resulting in amusing sentences. Miss Crabtree decides to take a room in the Coopers' house, whereupon Wheezer makes comments about Jackie sleeping with her instead of him, much to the mother's dismay. The mother tells Jackie, Mary Ann, and Wheezer to do what Miss Crabtree does at dinner so the childern can learn ettiquette, but this results in a long sequence of making faces after tasting soup in whicn mothballs have fallen. After dinner, Jackie tries to woo Miss Crabtree, but is interrupted when Chubby rings the doorbell. Chubby sneaks in when Jackie closes the door, and gets to sit with Miss Crabtree and give her flowers and candy. Jackie interrupts Chubby (or Chubbsy-Ubbsy as he prefers to be called) by making goofy faces and noises until his mother catches him. Shocked at what Chubby is saying, Chubby admits that he got his notes from Wheezer, which turn out to be Mrs. Cooper's old love letters. She intends to spank Wheezer, and Miss Crabtree objects, following her into the bedroom, where they find Wheezer protecting himsefl by wearing a catcher's mask and having Pete at his side.

This short is filled with humrous gags and dialogue. It definitely is a product of a bygone era, as a modern-day teacher kissing her students and playing along with their romantics attempts for so long would get in big trouble. A big highlight is Dorothy's attempts to repeat Chubby's romantic dialogue, such as turning "I want to skip and dance" into "I want to rip my pants." At school, Farina, stuck in a horrid outfit that looks like a dress with an ugly pattern on it, and Donald Haines give advice and try to console and warn Jackie about what like will be like with his teaching living in his house, while Stymie gets a bunch of one liners. For a change, Stymie's father is not in jail but at home, where he got hit in the head by his wife with a monkey wrench. Pete gives a good performance with his reactions to Wheezer's griping about Jackie. This is quite possibly Chubby's most memorable performance in my view, first with his rehearsal, and then his scene with Miss Crabtree enduring all the heckling by Jackie. This short is one of two (I think) that feature the twins speaking the opening credits, a rather unusual effect. The ending seems a bit abrupt, ending on Wheezer without a real resolution to the Jackie-Chubby-Crabtree triangle. Still, there are enough funny moments so that isn't a big issue.

[RJH]

The Lucky Corner (1936) - Scotty and his Grandpa Gus have a small lemonade stand on wheels that is doing well enough that it takes business away from Leonard and his father in their more permanent store. The father gets a policeman to chase them away, and they reluctanly move to the corner the corner, where they are welcomed by Buckwheat''s shoe-shining father. In order to drum up business the gang puts on a parade and show, and draws a big crowd. Ready to open the stand, Gus finds they're out of sugar, so Buckwheat is sent to get some, but gets a bowl of startch instead. Alfalfa drinks a glass of lemonade made with the starch, and then finds he can't continue singing, which brings lots of laughs to the audience. While everyone is distracted, Leonard steals the starchy lemonade and sells it when the crowd turns away from Gus's stand, but the few unlucky ones immediately spit it out. Lenoard's dad tries hard to pretend there's nothing wrong with it, but the policeman disagrees and orders him to return a customer's money. Leonard confronts Scotty about the doped lemonade, and while they are arguing, Spanky puts an electric razor down the back of Leonard's pants and then connects it with an extension cord, causing Leonard to jerk spasmodically, and then Leonard's father when he intervenes. The crowd gets a good laugh and now Scotty and Gus have had time to make good lemonade which sells well.

This film is in the top tier of the series. The theme is familiar, with the obnoxious people trying to ruin a simple business of a friend of the gang, and getting their comeuppance at the end. Spanky organizes the parade and show, as is typical. The one thing I didn't care for was the girl tap dancing for too long a time. Buckwheat has some good scenes with a block of ice, and does most of his communicating through facial expressions. This is also one of Harold's Switzer's biggest roles, accompanying Alfalfa's singing and being in the parade. The Kibricks' fruit stand gets knocked over a few times, with hundreds of lemons, oranges, and probably limes rolling onto the street. Leonard causes two of these, by kicking Gus's stand away where a handle catches a leg of the fruit stand, and throwing a fruit that bounces off the drum in the parade and hits his father in the head. Leonard really deserves what he gets for stealing the lemonade by pouring it into a bucket and carrying it back to his and his father's stand. One odd thing is that Leonard says no one goes to the corner Gus and Scotty are relegated to, but it is only about forty feet away from the Kibricks' store on the same block. This is the reason that inspires Spanky to come up with the parade, which is a very cheerful event.

One Terrible Day (1922) - A high-society type lady decides to hold an outing for some neighborhood children, a mistake she will never repeat. The original guest list includes Mickey, Jack Davis, a tall boy never to be seen again, and the Doty twins, also possiblyt never to be seen again, but Jackie Condon and his enormous dog, and Ernie and Farina hitch a ride. The latter group is discovered when the car stops and gets a flat tire. The gang gives the chauffeur a hard time when he tries to replace the tire, with Ernie curling up inside the tire and rolling down, up, and back down again before bumping into the chauffeur. Eventually they all make it to a country estate, where the gang makes a mess of the house and teases the farm animals. Their bullfighting efforts against a cow are spectacularly unsuccessful. They also use a fountain as a swimming pool, much to the owner's dismay. A meal never gets underway as Jackie's dog chases the monkey, and Farina lets a lot of geese into the kitchen. Once all this is over, the gang is exhausted on the ride home, but wakes up when there is another flat tire and the society lady faints.

I have what appears to be the common incomplete print, and it isn't of great quality. We see what would become common themes, like the gang treating a mansion like a playground and someone hitching a ride unbeknownst to the adults. Among the adults, the chauffeur gets the worst of it; in later films like "Shivering Shakespeare" and "Washee Ironee" the high-society types suffer more indignities. There is the false bravado of Mickey and Ernie and their exaggerating bullfighting claims, with the whole gang getting scared into climbing a tree by a cow, and then Peggy Cartwright comes along and shows them there was nothing to be afraid of. There are many gags. Farina's wagon has no bottom so he has to hold onto the sides as Ernie pulls it along. Jackie's dog chases someone and drags Jackie along, scorching the seat of this pants. The monkey takes the gang's clothes while they are splashing in the fountain, and then a horse retreives them so the gang isn't seen in their underwear by Peggy. While the flat tire is being fixed, the gang interferes, and when they are pushed aside, they run around in circles forming an endless loop, first just on the ground and then climbing across and around the car. There is a lot of interaction with animals, though I don't care for some of that where it looks like the animals are needlessly tormented. Overall, definitely not a terrible day for the gang and helping laying the groundwork for the series.

[ymymeatemup]

LOVE BUSINESS (1931)

Things I like:
Jackie Cooper. This is one of several episodes that demonstrates why Jack was the lead boy in this series. Not only is he convincing in his love of his teacher, his exasperation over his kid brother, and his disdain for his rifle, er rival, but he actually gets to do some comic business while disrupting Chubby's attempts at wooing Miss Crabtree.
Chubby. He's amusing throughout this short, but never moreso than when he shows up at the door ready for action and somehow sneaks his wide girth past the unsuspecting Jack. Best Chubby episode ever.
Wheezer. The way his face looks as he sleepily complains to his mother about sleeping with Jack. The entirely realistic way he teases Jack in front of the other kids in the schoolyard. The equally convincing way he interacts with Miss Crabtree. This episode should handily find a place in Wheezer's greatest hits.
Mary Ann. She easily takes the prize for 'most hilarious facial expressions' during the dinner sequence. And elsewhere, she's good enough that this episode winds up being the highlight of the talkie era for her. My only gripe is that her reactions to Stymie in the schoolyard look too much like they were shot separately from Stymie's lines (which they probably were).
Dorothy. This film contains THE scene that represents Dorothy on any Our Gang highlight reel. How can it not?
May Wallace. She's always an appealing presence in this series, and this episode is one of her best.
The Music. Need I even mention it? It's 1930/31, so the soundtrack is loaded with catchy little Shield tunes.

Things I don't like:
Nothing That Important. Somehow, June Marlowe was always a welcome inclusion in the cast, even though she couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. Bad acting is never more obvious than when you're in a scene with three little kids, and they're all way better at it than you are. Stymie's one-liners are a bit hit-and-miss, but that's sort of the nature of this type of humor in the first place. All in all, there's nothing seriously wrong with this episode, and it stands as one of the highlights of the already-terrific second season of talkies.

Grade: A

[ymymeatemup]

THE LUCKY CORNER (1936)

Things I like:
William Wagner & Leonard Kibrick. Reprising their roles from "For Pete's Sake," these two are just as petty and callous as we remember them. Of particular note is the pathetic way Wagner pretends the lemonade is perfectly fine.
Gus Leonard & Joe Mathey. As ever, Gus Leonard is thoroughly lovable as Scotty's grandpa, and is entirely matched in this respect by Mathey as Buckwheat's dad, the two of them providing a marked contrast to Wagner & Kibrick.
The Switzers. They were still in their hillbilly phase, and deliver the musical highlight of the short. The amateurish quality of this performance, as well as that of Gloria Brown's tapdancing routine and the kiddie parade, makes this short a lot more plausible than later musical episodes.
Buckwheat. Among the kids, he's given most of the funny business in this episode, highlighted by his scooping of the starch and the sound his butt makes when he's pulled off of the block of ice.
The Spit-Takes. The scene with the tampered lemonade provides us with some good physical comedy courtesy of the Roach stock players of the day.

Things I don't like:
Absolutely Nothing. I really can't think of anything bad to say about this one. Even the cast members not aforementioned are appealing in this short, particularly James C. Morton as the cop on the beat, Scotty Beckett, who quite admirably stands up to the bully, and of course, Spanky, whose leadership qualities were effortless even by this early stage. And in general, the short just rolls along its merry way for two reels, never letting up on its sense of fun.

Grade: A+

[Mark]

Jan 24, 2015 1:06:37 GMT -5 ymymeatemup said:

NOISY NOISES (1929)

Things I like:
The Sound Effects. I already liked this episode quite a lot before I ever heard the original soundtrack, but it's even better with it. This wasn't the first (silent) Our Gang with sound, but it seems to be the first to really take full advantage of the new technology - that is, until the studio actually started making talkies. The film is liberally peppered with sound effects, from hammer hits as Wheezer hunts for bugs, to Rupert's laughter, to Pete whinnying like a horse as the monkey rides him. The most notable use of sound, though, accompanies the cacophonous musical moments. In addition to the Gang's assortment of noise makers, we're treated to three different people rehearsing in the building: first a man practicing his bass fiddle, then a man practicing his tuba, and most notably of all, a woman being given a voice lesson. It's also worth mentioning that, while not perfect, the sound effects are generally well-synched with the action.
Rupert. Normally, I can't tolerate crying babies in film comedies, but somehow I have no problem at all with Rupert. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the fact that it's a silent film, and the soundtrack mercifully omits any sounds of crying. He also seems to, at least at times, be crying simply to make Joe miserable. I also find it hard not to like any toddler that gets as much enjoyment out of carreening recklessly down the road in a baby carriage as this kid does.
The Trip To The Dentist. I love the way the kids skip down the sidewalk and do cartwheels while gleefully following Joe to the dentist.

Things I don't like:
Pretty Much Nothing. I really can't think of a single thing to mention here. Even without the accompanying disc, this gag-heavy short is loads of fun.

Grade: A

So the soundtrack on the German release is original? There have been discussions in the past where some people were skeptical.