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Post by RJH on Jan 28, 2014 0:38:41 GMT -5
Came the Brawn (1938) - Spanky sets up a wrestling match between Alfalfa and the Masked Marvel, the winner to receive a new football, but they have trouble finding someone Alfalfa can beat. After Alfalfa loses a practice match with Porky, he sees Waldo tripping over things while reciting Shakespeare. For some reason Waldo agrees to be the Masked Marvel. Alfalfa then finds Darla and brags about the upcoming match. Butch comes by in a Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit to impress Darla, but she now prefers he-men to gentlemen. With Butch about to pound Alfalfa, Darla interferes, and The Woim has an idea, which is for Butch to replace the Masked Marvel. Butch gets backstage and forces Waldo to trade clothes. Then Butch plays along in the wrestling match for a while, until Waldo is spotted reciting poetry with Darla and Woim hanging onto every word. Alfalfa then peeks behind the mask, and is terrified to see Butch. Butch throws Alfalfa around, and has him pinned when Buckwheat and Porky poke him with some kind of pruning shears from below the wrestling mat. Butch jumps up, and soon chases Alfalfa under a tear in the mat. Now Buckwheat and Porky luckily grab onto the Masked Marvel costume with the shears, and manage to pull it off completely. Butch has to remain mostly hidden under the tear, so Alfalfa is declared the winner. However, Darla is now interested in refined boys, and leaves with Waldo and the Woim, moved to tears by Waldo's reciting.
This short is sort of standard, and seems to be an inferior remake of Glove Taps. Buckwheat and Porky as great as a team as usual and have to save the day again. Unexplained is why Waldo would agree to be the Masked Marvel. It isn't all that clear why there is a match in the first place - to set up something to impress Darla? Or maybe just to raise money. The way Alfalfa acts does not make me cheer for him in the match. Darla stopping Butch and Alfalfa from fighting to protect Butch doesn't ring true, and it's hard to believe Butch wouldn't beat up Alfalfa right then. It's also hard to believe that the Masked Marvel suit could be pulled off like it was, and stay in one piece. The most unexpected and probably funniest thing is the Woim's reaction to Waldo's reading. I don't care for Alfalfa's addressing the audience at the end. If that has to be done, I'd prefer it be more subtle like Jackie Condon's wink at the end of Boys to Board.
Dog Heaven (1927) - This is the most bizarre of the silents and not in a good way. It opens with Pete hanging himself, but he gets rescued by another dog. Pete explains to the other dog that he and Joe used to be best buddies, but that Joe has spurned him for a "vamp" named Clarabelle. Joe is soon spending all his time and money on her, including that which was supposed to pay for a new collar. One day Clarabelle idiotically leans through the rails of a bridge so a random dog can push her in the lake. Some stunt person does a horrid impression of drowning while Pete overcomes many obstacles to rescue her, only to be blamed by Clarabelle for pushing her in. Pete runs off, and the second dog decides that hanging is the appropriate course of action and helps Pete to finish the job. Fortunately, a man in a wheelchair witnessed the incident and informs all that Pete is the hero. Joe rescues Pete just in time and gives him the new collar he bought with a reward given to him by Clarabelle's mother. A possible complication is that Pete is suddenly a father via a secret affair, producing a litter of puppies with a ring around one eye.
There are a few good gags but they are overpowered by the hanging scenes which are just plain disturbing. The rest of the gang doesn't do much, mainly trying to get Joe to go fishing with him. A highlight is Farina tying a worm to a rattrap and successfully catching a fish with it. He did the same thing later in Bear Shooters. Wheezer puts a bunch of worms in Joe's hat which end up sliding down's Joe shirt. Speaking of which, Joe buys new clothes that are too small and tear apart when he bends down in front of Clarabelle. Several gang members get splashed by an uncooperative water fountain, but Wheezer's crying appears genuine and isn't funny. Then there's Jackie and Jay R. embracing each other mocking Joe and Clarabelle kissing. However, the hanging theme overwhelms these and puts this near the bottom of the silents for me.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 30, 2014 0:42:50 GMT -5
CAME THE BRAWN (1938)
Things I like: Alfalfa. He was perhaps at his most comical in these Butch episodes, being the very epitome of bravado. I especially enjoy his unwillingness to take any chances with the three pushovers at the beginning of the short, only to be bested in the ring by Porky. The Fully Utilized Cast. There are eight main players in this short, and all of them are crucial to the story. Each personality has been developed over the course of several episodes, to the extent that it comes off like a baseball lineup with nothing but .300 hitters. The acting is generally over-the-top, but this just makes the proceedings more cartoonish. Spanky is inevitably the brains behind the gang's wrestling organization, while Butch is his usual menacing self and Darla is as fickle as ever. Waldo couldn't be anymore bookwormish, while Woim retains his thuggish persona even while weeping over Waldo's favorite love poems. And, of course, Porky and Buckwheat save the day. Everything's just as it's supposed to be in the world of Our Gang.
Things I don't like: Pretty Much Nothing. Sure, there might be some minute details that I can mention, but that would just be nitpicking. Perhaps some alternative to Alfalfa addressing the audience at the end would be preferable, but then again, I don't find it particularly bothersome, and it lasts all of two seconds. After quite a long while of being at the top of its game, this series suddenly became pedestrian at the start of 1938, and pretty much stayed that way as it moved to MGM. This particular episode is the main exception to this trend and is comparable with the high standards of the earlier Gordon Douglas one-reelers. In fact, I can't think of any subsequent Our Gang short that was its equal (though one or two came close).
Grade: A
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 30, 2014 23:15:34 GMT -5
DOG HEAVEN (1927)
Things I like: Pete. This is numero uno among Pete episodes, if only because he's so prominent in it. But it also contains what is arguably his greatest piece of acting (if this word can truly apply to dogs): I speak, of course, of the scene in which he's living out of a bottle. The look he gives Joe is eerily human. The Other Drunks. Quite an assortment of mangy, derelict mutts join Pete on his journey down the drain. The studio really pulled out all the stops with this scene. Clarabelle. In the earlier silent era, Mickey was smitten with Mary, and it was always easy to see why. In this film, Joe is smitten with Clarabelle, and like Mary, she's really quite cute. In fact, it's a bit surprising that we only see her in this one film, since she seems to be capable enough acting-wise. The best part of the Joe/Clarabelle romance, however, is everybody else's reaction to it, especially Jackie and Jay, who peck each other on the lips repeatedly in mockery of the two lovebirds.
Things I don't like: Suicide. If there's one thing that seriously mars this episode, it's the entire subject of suicide, which doesn't seem appropriate for modern family fare, let alone something to watch with the kids back in 1927. But worse than the overall theme of suicide is Pete's dangling tongue while he's hanging from the noose. Looks like something you'd find in your sleeping bag on your worst-ever camping trip.
Grade: B+
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 31, 2014 15:38:52 GMT -5
CANNED FISHING (1938)
Things I like: Buckwheat & Porky. One hundred percent of the charm of this short is because of these two. Their conversation with Wilma Cox early in the film is a series highlight. The Block Of Ice. I'm fascinated by the fact that this really is a block of ice, and Alfalfa really does sit down on it wearing little more than a nightshirt. Somehow, I don't think we'll be seeing any recent child actors being put through such an uncomfortable situation.
Things I don't like: Junior. I realize that his deadpan reaction to everything is supposed to be the main source of humor in this short, but I frankly find him to be rather dull. The fact that he routinely gapes into the camera doesn't help, either, though I suppose that's the risk the filmmakers take working with such a young kid. What's worse is the utter stupidity of Spanky and Alfalfa, especially when they BOTH enter the weight-reducing cabinet to retrieve Junior. This is the same Spanky that previously organized talent shows, boxing matches and football teams. Overall, this short marks the beginning of a period of mediocrity from which the series never recovered.
Grade: D+
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Post by RJH on Feb 2, 2014 0:47:31 GMT -5
Canned Fishing (1938) - I can't add much more to this. Spanky and Alfalfa plot to play hooky by making Alfalfa appear sick, but Buckwheat and Porky ruin it by telling Spanky's mother. She then goes out shopping while making the boys look after Junior, who promptly gets himself very dirty. Buckwheat comes back alone with a lame reason for Porky's absence, and uses up the last bit of intelligence of the main characters by refusing to look after Junior. After that, it's unbelievable abject stupidity on the part of the trio. If the plan was to wash Junior up in the washing machine, any normal kids would have just thrown him in it instead of having Buckwheat demonstrate it. Then it's more stupidity as Spanky and Alfalfa get locked in the steam cabinet when there was no need for both to go inside. They push Junior up out of the small opening, and not only does he fail to open the cabinet he turns on the heat. Buckwheat doesn't even try to turn off the washing machine by reaching over the edge, or get out of it, say by holding onto the edge and then sitting on the edge and swinging his legs over like a normal kid would try. Then the mother comes back after an extremely short shopping trip, but the ending of this short couldn't come too soon.
One thought: why in all the steam cabinet scenes in the series do the cabinets always lock from the outside? It would take a complete moron to design one that can't be opened from the inside.
The highlight for me was Buckwheat and Porky ringing out a tune at the doorbell. One wonders what Porky would have done in this short if he hadn't been sick most of the week.
Dogs of War! (1923) - The gang is battling a rival gang in a lot next to West Coast Studios. The troops consist of five commanding officers and oen private. The trench warfare sees rotten food used as ammunition, and when a skunk follows Private Farina through a tunnel, Ernie orders the gas masks be put on. Red Cross Nurse Mary attends to the wounded. The fighting escalates with the use of a catapult and a home-made tank. Then Mary has to leave to work in the motion pictures and earn five dollars. This causes the war to end abruptly, and the rest of the gang wants to follow Mary into the studio and earn five dollars apiece themselves. They are rejected by a receptionist who throws them out, but Farina sneaked inside and now the gang has to find "her." They disrupt several movie sets, and eventually come across the sappy melodrama Mary is working on. Not realizing Mary is only pretending to be strangled, the gang sets on her attacker, and causes the hammy director to have a major fit. The director gives the cast a lunch break, which the gang uses to make their own movie with the flim being used for Mary's picture ("Should Husbands Work?"), mocking the performance they had just seen. The gang is eventually caught and chased again, but make their escape with the assistnace of Harold Lloyd, filming on another set, by hiding under sombreros used by actors in Lloyd's picture. The gang manages to sneak back in after the film is developed. The film starts out normally, with the director congratulating the cast, but then the gang's effort appears over the original film, and the director becomes rather upset again. The gang is chased away again, and Farina has enounted another skunk, which may have helped stopped any possible pursuers.
This film is two distinct parts that have next to nothing to do with each other, but it doesn't really matter since both parts are so enjoyable. The gang has gone all out using what they can find for uniforms, such as pots for helmets and water bottles. Jackie has a cool periscope. When Jack cuts his finger on a piece of metal, Mary wraps the finger a ridiculous number of times with a piece of gauze. Seeing this, Mickey gets jealous and deliberately lets himself get hit in the face with a tomato so he can recieve Mary's medical attention. A catapult is used to hurl watermelons at the enemy, and when that proves to be insufficient, the gang resorts to their secret weapon, a concealed tank.
Then there's all the chaos at the movie studio. The gang is clever enough to outwit the guards and hide amongst a truck full of mannequins to get into the studio lot. There are encounters with an actor in a bear suit who scares everybody, and Farina causes more problems by turning on a treadmill. The gang does a great job mocking the grown-up movie, and having Harold Lloyd aid in the gang's escape is a nice touch. This film is filled with action and energy from start to finish.
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Post by RJH on Feb 8, 2014 23:37:30 GMT -5
Captain Spanky's Show Boat (1939) - I can add a little to the previous description. The best part of this is the play, and it's interesting to see Spanky play the villian with enthusiasm. The premise is that Alfalfa's family's rent is due and they're broke. Evil landlord Spanky offers to burn the mortgage deed if Alfalfa will let him marry his daughter, played by Darla. Alfalfa states that he would rather see Darla dead. Then Darla comes up with the idea to stage the horse race, where if her family's horse wins, the deed will be burned, and if Spanky's steed wins, he and Darla will be married.
One highlight is Alfalfa repeating and shouting a line when Buckwheat and Leonard miss their cue to produce snow and thunder over the beleagured homesteaders.
It strikes me as odd that Butch would want to sing in Spanky's show. That he would sabotage it is much more believable. He sleeps through most of the show, getting the Woim to wake him up when Alfalfa starts to sing. Backstage, Butch encounters Buckwheat and Leonard and manages to tie them up to each other, but less than a minute later they're loose, and disappointingly how they escape is not shown. (Acutally if they shrugged their shoulders the rope would probably simply fall off.) It is also odd that Butch lets Spanky reconnect the power cable to a player piano; Spanky should never win that battle. Then Butch notices a bundle of ropes, and finds the one that holds a chandelier over Alfalfa's head, but when Butch goes to get an axe, he chops the wrong rope and knocks himself out with a sandbag. Then the audience has to listen to the rest of Alfalfa's song.
At least this isn't one of those moralizing MGM shorts, so I find this to be above average for the post-Porky era. Of couse that doesn't say a whole lot.
Election Day (1929) - Joe and Jay R. are running for something, and refuse to let Farina and Pleurisy leave their yard until the election is over. However, Farina's mother insists they deliver the laundry. A theme that runs throughout the film is Pleurisy's plus-fours continually falling down. Farina and Pleurisy try a "spring dancer" disguise, which almost works when Joe and his aids Harry, Mary Ann, Wheezer, and Pete get ants in their pants and run away. However, Jay and his aid Jackie show up and stop the two. Then Farina uses a scarecrow as a disguise, and that works, sacring off their parents after Jay and Jackie.
Once in town, Pleurisy causes a lot of mischief. Then Joe and company catch up, and Farina blows a whislte that a mobster had dropped to avoid getting pummelled by Joe. The whistle is a signal for shooting to start, during which the Pool Room Party is to steal the real adult election ballots. There is a protracted scene with lots of gunfire, but it ends well when a monkey conveniently knocks some planters onto the crooks' heads. Pleurisy and Farina find the stolen ballots and give them to a police officer, but their reward is getting spanked by their mother, perhaps because the laundry didn't get delivered. The mother is surprised that Pleurisy took Farina's advice and chose the latter option of "pull up your plus-fours or take them off."
This is one of the worst of the silents. The main thing that ruins this film is that we are never given any clue as to why the candidates are being so mean to Farina, and why they won't let him into town when they know he has a job to do in delivering the laundry. Had one of them acted like a real person running for office they might have gotten a vote, but instead they just threaten to beat him up if he doesn't vote for them. It's not believable that the parents would be scared by the scarecrow with Farina moving around under its clothes. Then Farina and Pleurisy do something heroic, braving gunfire and retrieving stolen ballots, and to get spanked after that is just plain wrong.
The best part is Farina talking to his cow, with the bovine nodding in comprehension, and then cooperating, pulling the laundry wagon to Farina and Pleurisy in their spring dancer costumes after they get past Joe and his crew. The cow saw a signal given by Farina through a telescope.
This is a sad end for Jackie Condon, who has the smallest role of the gang and whose big moment is when he and Jay get squrited by a watermelon. Those two don't even get into the mayhem in town like Joe and his contingent. Jackie appeared in the first 77 "Our Gang" films, and then missed three before this sad swan song.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 11, 2014 21:47:18 GMT -5
DOGS OF WAR! (1923)
Things I like: Hal Roach Studios. I find it so interesting to look at the scenery in this short, that it actually distracts me from what's actually happening. There's a lot of strong gag material during this sequence, but I'd rate the one with the dummies in the back of the truck as the funniest. The Film-Within-A-Film. I'm not at all sure how some of the special effects in the Gang's film were achieved, but it looks like somebody may have slipped some hallucinogens into the studio water cooler. The Love Triangle. As usual, the competition between Mickey and Jack for Mary's affections provides most of the humor during the battleground sequence. Harold Lloyd. I'm sure this would have been more effective to a movie audience from 1923 who weren't expecting to see Lloyd's cameo. There probably aren't a lot of modern-day Roach/Lloyd/Gang fans who haven't already seen this film, so the 'surprise factor' is greatly reduced, but I'm still glad he's there. He left to form his own company after finishing the film ("Why Worry") he's shown working on in this short, so it could easily have never happened. The gag with the sombreros is a highlight.
Things I don't like: Pretty Much Nothing. Aside from at least three instances of Farina being made to cry, I can't find any real fault with this film. Of course, getting to watch a complete 35mm print sure gives this episode a healthy advantage, but the content would be strong even with a lesser print. I find it entertaining from beginning to end.
Grade: A
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Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 12, 2014 17:09:17 GMT -5
CAPTAIN SPANKY'S SHOW BOAT (1939)
Things I like: Pretty Much Nothing. Honorable mention should always go to Butch, who single-handedly keeps this short from getting the lowest possible rating, but even he isn't much of a standout here. The general idea of a 19th century-style stage melodrama being done for laughs has some potential, but the execution comes up short.
Things I don't like: The Acting. Of course, during the 'mellerdrammer,' the acting is supposed to be over-the top, but this only works if the acting during the rest of the film is natural. Which it isn't. Darla And Her Two Beaus. Again, it's an old-timey routine, so it's supposed to be corny even by 1939 standards, but Darla's the only one who seems to have any onscreen charisma during this act. Her two friends both seem to be in over their heads. Alfalfa's Big Number. Do I even need to mention this? It's Alfalfa during the MGM era, and he's singing. Hence it's inclusion here. The Final Shot. Somewhere in the deepest pits of hell, there's some poor soul who's constantly tormented by this image.
Grade: D
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 13, 2014 0:49:04 GMT -5
The Final Shot. Somewhere in the deepest pits of hell, there's some poor soul who's constantly tormented by this image. That comment inspired me to make this. Sweet dreams, everyone!
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Post by Hard-boiled Harry on Feb 13, 2014 7:32:42 GMT -5
Actually I rather like that ending. I could watch it again, and again and...
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Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 14, 2014 0:17:17 GMT -5
EDISON, MARCONI & CO. (1928)
Things that intrigue me: The Wild Ride. The well-known publicity still for this film shows the Gang poking their heads out of the portholes of their unusual car. The vehicle is parked in the middle of the Roach studio's New York set, but it's almost certain that portions of the manic ride were shot on the streets of Culver City and Palms. This would be interesting to watch if only to identify locations, but it's also probably safe to say that at least some of the slapstick gags are amusing. There's also a cliff that they nearly plummet over, which may provide us with some thrills. Jay R. Smith. It appears that the real star of this short is Wheezer, but Jay nevertheless has one of his more prominent outings, playing a young genius inventor. It would be interesting to see how much his role may have influenced the Waldo character years later. Jean Darling. The cutting continuity and the few promo photos I've come across show the six boys (Jay, Wheezer, Joe, Farina, Harry & Jackie), but there's no trace of Jean, who is nevertheless listed by Maltin & Bann. It was not unusual for Jean to be occasionally absent from episodes, and this might be one of those occasions, but there's no way to be sure without either watching the film (which is considered lost) or finding a publicity photo that reveals her presence.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 18, 2014 17:58:09 GMT -5
ELECTION DAY (1929)
Things I like: The Scarecrow. This short has a lot of comical touches, but I'd rate this as the most amusing. The Spring Dancers. One of the more bizarre moments in series history, but I find it quite appealing. The Cow. Has there ever been a smarter cow in an Our Gang comedy? The Shoot-Out. The grand finale of this film provides a fitting gagfest in a generally gag-oriented outing for the series. Pleurisy. She was, perhaps, a bit overly cute in her performance, but I'll still mention her here, since she keeps an element of giddiness going throughout the short. And her comment about feeling 'breezy' is a highlight.
Things I don't like: The Eyeballs. I speak, of course, of Farina's mother and her chameleon eyes. This is one of those gags that's just a bit too grotesque for its own good. The Weirdness. I don't quite know what it is, but this is a notably strange episode, and while I find myself being amused by most of it, I never quite feel at ease with it. Perhaps it's the introduction of what was a very real adult dilemma - that is, the disenfranchisement of black voters - into what was a family-oriented comedy series. We're supposed to laugh at the ongoing antics, but are continually reminded that in the adult world, a decidedly unfunny version of this was going on.
Grade: B-
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Post by RJH on Feb 20, 2014 0:43:57 GMT -5
I was checking out what theluckycorner.com had to say about Election Day, and reported there is an opening title card missing from available prints that changes, well not quite everything, but a great deal: "The trouble started when Farina threatened to vote eight times against each candidate." All of a sudden the film makes sense while I had labored for many years under the impression that none of it made sense. My strongest objection to the film was just negated. Now Farina brought on the situation himself by threatening to commit voter fraud, and if the voting place is in town, it makes sense for Joe and Jay to stop him.
Other possibilities open up. If Farina can vote against both Joe and Jay, that means there is either a third candidate, or Joe and Jay are running for different offices with unknown opponents. It never occurred to me that the situation was anything other than just Joe and Jay being the only two candidates for one position. Their being in separate contests could explain why they were never fighting each other.
Another line makes more sense now: Joe says something about not letting Farina "start voting." Previously that didn't make much sense as I thought it was just one vote and then it's over. "Starting voting" now means casting the first of eight or sixteen ballots.
This film still rates below average for me among the silents, but now isn't as bad as I had previously indicated. Pleurisy and the intelligent cow are good but not enough to make up for the previously mentioned deficiencies.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 20, 2014 16:44:37 GMT -5
"The trouble started when Farina threatened to vote eight times against each candidate." Well, there's something I completely forgot about. Perhaps the filmmakers weren't referring to disenfranchisement after all. Then again, perhaps in a roundabout way, they were. Or perhaps there was nothing roundabout about it, and Beanie Walker's opening title was belatedly added to make the theme of the film seem more innocuous.
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Post by RJH on Feb 23, 2014 23:40:44 GMT -5
Choo-Choo! (1932) - Not much more to add to the description. I just felt that some of Spanky's scenes started out well but then lost comedic value by too much repetition. He punches someone in the face 17 times, usually Henderson but generally once each for each new person who holds him. After a couple punches, there is no more surprise value, and I felt like, "huury up and get it over with and get to something more interesting." Undoing Henderson's tie once or twice is fine, but by the third time, it's tedious. The same goes for Spanky pulling the covers away four or five times. He is a very talented three-year-old, but I just didn't care for seeing the same bits over and over again. The bit with Spanky and Henderson blowing the horns in the bunk is done better.
Spud and Dorothy are funny with their antics, much to Dorothy's mother's exasperation. Spud is a riot, weirdly excited to have traded clothes with Dorothy. Another scene I liked was Stymie, worried about Pete, struggling to get out of the hammock. After some trouble, he does get out to bring Pete out of the animal compartment, and naturally releases the monkey who releases all the other animals and sets off a lot of fireworks.
I liked the original A Pleasant Journey better . Choo-Choo! is still good, but it didn't bowl me over, and I would have preferred tightening of a few scenes.
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