The Little Rascals - Centennial Collection Review
Nov 27, 2022 0:13:36 GMT -5
tboneator64 likes this
Post by mtw12055 on Nov 27, 2022 0:13:36 GMT -5
Since activity here has been pretty quiet for a while, I figured I'd throw out my thoughts on ClassicFlix's recent Blu-Ray set. But if you want to skip my ramblings, then I'll say this much: If you're a fan of Our Gang then yes, you should buy this set.
The 80 Roach talkies are included, which may seem like pointless double-dipping to those who purchased the 2008 Little Rascals collection. But you won't be getting a simple re-release of that set. The people at ClassicFlix worked their tails off to restore the shorts and the result is a major step-up from previous DVD releases. As a comparison, I watched CF's version of "Free Wheeling" alongside the old DVD print. The new presentation not only looks sharper but also sounds much clearer.
The Pros:
- Need I say more? Everything looks and sounds amazing. And 79 of the 80 shorts are uncut (see below).
- Subtitles are included with each short. Always nice to have those.
- Bonus content galore!
The Cons:
Well, they're minor, and definitely not deal-breakers.
- "Bear Shooters" is still missing a brief bit of footage just before the Gang leaves the neighborhood for their camping trip.
- The subtitles aren't always accurate. When it comes to older films where primitive sound equipment and outdated slang can make discerning dialogue iffy for a modern viewer, one can't expect the subtitles to be totally on point. But the captions here are correct about 99% of the time. "Railroadin'", in particular, proved problematic with dialogue often drowned out by noisy locomotives (Farina's line about changing his name to George and becoming a porter is now about changing his name to John and becoming a boater).
Again, something like that is incredibly minor. The average viewer's level of OCD is probably much, much lower than mine. The fact that those are the only two cons I can think of tells you all you need to know.
Bonus Features:
Okay, now things really get fun. We've got a nice array of material on Disc 6, but it should be worth noting that Disc 1 includes an introduction by Leonard Maltin. As someone who grew up with the old Cabin Fever tapes, I always appreciated Maltin's presence on each volume. His warmth and enthusiasm made me all the more excited to watch these films. Having him back on board is sort of like visiting an old friend.
Interestingly, Leonard mentions that Sidney Kibrick is the last surviving Rascal. Robert Blake gets zero mention, perhaps due either to his prior controversies or because it just doesn't make sense to bring him up on a set barely features Mickey Gubitosi (we do see a photo of him in the intro, as well as a few brief clips in one of the bonus features). Or perhaps calling Sid the last surviving Rascal just sounded catchier.
Disc 6 begins with three foreign language shorts. As some may already know, many of the early Hal Roach talkies were re-filmed for the foreign markets. In the days before dubbing and subtitles were perfected, it was decided that the Roach stars would speak the necessary languages themselves. With the help of language tutors and phonetically-written dialogue, Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Harry Langdon and Our Gang were able to speak Spanish, French, German and (sometimes) Italian.
The foreign Our Gang shorts were obscurities until now. First up is "Las Fantasmas," the Spanish-language "When the Wind Blows." It's the only uncut foreign short here, as not all elements from the others have been found. "When the Wind Blows" was already a film that didn't rely to heavily on dialogue, which may have been done with the "Las Fantasmas" taken into account. The direction is planned out perfectly so that the kids wouldn't have too much trouble with their lines. By the way, watch the scene where Kennedy tries to calm down a screaming Farina. Nine-year-old Sonny Hoskins is clearly trying not to crack up during all of the commotion.
Only the opening titles and the second reel of "Los Cazadores de Osos" (the Spanish "Bear Shooters") are featured. As an introduction explains, the picture elements of reel one have been found, but not the sound elements. A reported French version is completely lost. Leon Janney's character is called "Pancho" here. I've long had a theory that Janney was mainly hired to help carry this version of the film. He used "Laon Ramon" as a prior acting name, which seems to imply some connection to the language. His dialogue in reel two is slim, but what little he has is handled confidently. He even corrects himself quickly after nearly muffing a line.
Rounding out the foreign shorts is "Temps d'Hiver," the French "A Tough Winter." Only reel one has been found. A German version ("Winter Wetter") was also shot, but is totally lost. Of course, part of the fascination with this short is that Stepin Fetchit does his usual shtick in another language. There are a couple of new bits of material, and two of the extra kids are given dialogue here - no doubt because they were more adept at speaking French. It's a safe bet that some of the other extras were treated similarly in "Winter Wetter."
All three shorts are scored slightly differently from their English counterparts, which adds to the strangeness of these shorts. The big chase sequence in "Los Cazadores de Osos" uses much quieter tunes than the suspenseful pieces in "Bear Shooters." All three shorts have optional English subtitles.
Three silent shorts are featured next - "The Big Show!", "Dogs of War!" and "Mary, Queen of Tots." All three are frighteningly sharp prints. I kept finding myself paying attention to details in the background of shots that were previously hard to make out. Philip C. Carli provides accompanying piano music for the first two shorts, while Ben Model handles the score for "Queen of Tots." A nice surprise is the original opening title cards for "The Big Show!" The openers for "Queen of Tots" are missing, but some newly-made once utilizing stills and publicity photos suffice. The print of "Queen of Tots" that CF got a hold of was missing a brief bit of business during Mary's dream sequence (where Joe loses his sawdust). A slightly lesser print was borrowed to make up for this loss. It amounts to only a few seconds of footage.
Overall, a great preview for ClassicFlix's future silent Gang sets.
"Good Old Days - The Music of Our Gang" is a bonus documentary on the history of (as the title implies) the music in the Our Gang shorts. And interesting feature for those unfamiliar with the likes of Leroy Shield and Marvin Hatley. Film historian Ray Faiola narrates.
Ray (as an exaggerated tour guide character) returns to host "Then and Now - A Special Tour of Our Gang Shooting Locations." While it's both neat and somewhat shocking to see what some of the old locations look like today.
We next get a look at opening day of the Our Gang exhibit at the Hollywood Museum. In addition to a skim through the assorted photos and costumes on display, we get speeches from Leonard Matlin, Richard Bann, Maria Roach Carpenter (Hal Roach's daughter) and Sidney Kibrick. Richard mentions the upcoming silent set(s) from ClassicFlix, which he states will include a silent Gang short that has never been screened domestically. Leonard and Maria talk about being part of the generation that watched the old shorts on television. Sid (once again ID'd as the last surviving featured player) briefly tells us how he got cast as "Woim."
The "You Asked for It" reunion, featuring the silent era kids, is also presented. Sure, most of us have seen this bizarre appearance before, but what we're given is easily the best-looking print out there. A newspaper ad promoting the appearance is shown before the clip, providing us with a few new details. Of note, it confirms that Mary Kornman was indeed scheduled to show up.
"A Day in the Life of Spanky and Porky" follows the two ex-Rascals during an appearance at the University of Colorado Boulder's 1985 "Trivia Bowl." A prior radio appearance with the two is also included. It's a real treat to see them all grown up. Spanky in particular grew up to become a real class act.
"The Little Rascals Jukebox" offers all of the Rascals musical numbers in one place. Tunes are divided between "Alfalfa Tunes" and "Rascal Varieties."
Four image galleries are provided, with a mix of promotional stills, production stills, candids and more. Plenty of great stuff here.
In the "Other Rarities" section, we start with the Speed-O-Byke ad starring Spanky. It's followed by a theatrical ad for a Mary Ann Jackson Vaudeville appearance. The ad is packed with (silent) outtakes from "Love Business" and "Bargain Day." A real treat, for sure. A similar ad with Chubby is also featured, but is sadly outtake-less (though the outtakes can be found on YouTube).
Speaking of Mary Ann Jackson, we're also treated to a rare screen test of hers from the mid-1930s. It's unclear what project this was for, which is not at all helped by the fact that there is no sound. Mary Ann still has the physical acting chops, and it's a shame she didn't do much film work post-Gang.
An interview with Spanky at the 1980 Rascals reunion follows, along with silent home movies shot by Art Lloyd during the 1930s. If you haven't seen these before, they're quite fun, and give us a glimpse into the oft reported family dynamic among the Roach staff. Joe Cobb appears, as does Spanky McFarland and his brother Tommy.
One highlight I didn't expect is a TV commercial for the MGM Our Gang shorts. An introduction states that the date for this isn't known, but I suspect it's from 1958 - the year the Metro episodes were brought to the small screen. I've always had a fondness for vintage trailers, and this one is no exception. I dare say it actually made me want to watch some of the MGM shorts... Classic advertising. Makes the product seem better than it actually is.
Finally, we get an audition reel for Jackie Lynn Taylor (then going by "Lynn Taylor") from the 1950s. Jackie tends to be one of the overlooked Rascals, as her tenure with the Gang was so brief. But she evolved into a class act and a real natural on camera.
Be sure to pick up your copy of this great collection - available on both Blu-Ray and DVD from ClassicFlix's website.
www.classicflix.com/products?display=grid&keywords=centennial&per_page=20&sort=ascend_by_alphabet
The 80 Roach talkies are included, which may seem like pointless double-dipping to those who purchased the 2008 Little Rascals collection. But you won't be getting a simple re-release of that set. The people at ClassicFlix worked their tails off to restore the shorts and the result is a major step-up from previous DVD releases. As a comparison, I watched CF's version of "Free Wheeling" alongside the old DVD print. The new presentation not only looks sharper but also sounds much clearer.
The Pros:
- Need I say more? Everything looks and sounds amazing. And 79 of the 80 shorts are uncut (see below).
- Subtitles are included with each short. Always nice to have those.
- Bonus content galore!
The Cons:
Well, they're minor, and definitely not deal-breakers.
- "Bear Shooters" is still missing a brief bit of footage just before the Gang leaves the neighborhood for their camping trip.
- The subtitles aren't always accurate. When it comes to older films where primitive sound equipment and outdated slang can make discerning dialogue iffy for a modern viewer, one can't expect the subtitles to be totally on point. But the captions here are correct about 99% of the time. "Railroadin'", in particular, proved problematic with dialogue often drowned out by noisy locomotives (Farina's line about changing his name to George and becoming a porter is now about changing his name to John and becoming a boater).
Again, something like that is incredibly minor. The average viewer's level of OCD is probably much, much lower than mine. The fact that those are the only two cons I can think of tells you all you need to know.
Bonus Features:
Okay, now things really get fun. We've got a nice array of material on Disc 6, but it should be worth noting that Disc 1 includes an introduction by Leonard Maltin. As someone who grew up with the old Cabin Fever tapes, I always appreciated Maltin's presence on each volume. His warmth and enthusiasm made me all the more excited to watch these films. Having him back on board is sort of like visiting an old friend.
Interestingly, Leonard mentions that Sidney Kibrick is the last surviving Rascal. Robert Blake gets zero mention, perhaps due either to his prior controversies or because it just doesn't make sense to bring him up on a set barely features Mickey Gubitosi (we do see a photo of him in the intro, as well as a few brief clips in one of the bonus features). Or perhaps calling Sid the last surviving Rascal just sounded catchier.
Disc 6 begins with three foreign language shorts. As some may already know, many of the early Hal Roach talkies were re-filmed for the foreign markets. In the days before dubbing and subtitles were perfected, it was decided that the Roach stars would speak the necessary languages themselves. With the help of language tutors and phonetically-written dialogue, Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Harry Langdon and Our Gang were able to speak Spanish, French, German and (sometimes) Italian.
The foreign Our Gang shorts were obscurities until now. First up is "Las Fantasmas," the Spanish-language "When the Wind Blows." It's the only uncut foreign short here, as not all elements from the others have been found. "When the Wind Blows" was already a film that didn't rely to heavily on dialogue, which may have been done with the "Las Fantasmas" taken into account. The direction is planned out perfectly so that the kids wouldn't have too much trouble with their lines. By the way, watch the scene where Kennedy tries to calm down a screaming Farina. Nine-year-old Sonny Hoskins is clearly trying not to crack up during all of the commotion.
Only the opening titles and the second reel of "Los Cazadores de Osos" (the Spanish "Bear Shooters") are featured. As an introduction explains, the picture elements of reel one have been found, but not the sound elements. A reported French version is completely lost. Leon Janney's character is called "Pancho" here. I've long had a theory that Janney was mainly hired to help carry this version of the film. He used "Laon Ramon" as a prior acting name, which seems to imply some connection to the language. His dialogue in reel two is slim, but what little he has is handled confidently. He even corrects himself quickly after nearly muffing a line.
Rounding out the foreign shorts is "Temps d'Hiver," the French "A Tough Winter." Only reel one has been found. A German version ("Winter Wetter") was also shot, but is totally lost. Of course, part of the fascination with this short is that Stepin Fetchit does his usual shtick in another language. There are a couple of new bits of material, and two of the extra kids are given dialogue here - no doubt because they were more adept at speaking French. It's a safe bet that some of the other extras were treated similarly in "Winter Wetter."
All three shorts are scored slightly differently from their English counterparts, which adds to the strangeness of these shorts. The big chase sequence in "Los Cazadores de Osos" uses much quieter tunes than the suspenseful pieces in "Bear Shooters." All three shorts have optional English subtitles.
Three silent shorts are featured next - "The Big Show!", "Dogs of War!" and "Mary, Queen of Tots." All three are frighteningly sharp prints. I kept finding myself paying attention to details in the background of shots that were previously hard to make out. Philip C. Carli provides accompanying piano music for the first two shorts, while Ben Model handles the score for "Queen of Tots." A nice surprise is the original opening title cards for "The Big Show!" The openers for "Queen of Tots" are missing, but some newly-made once utilizing stills and publicity photos suffice. The print of "Queen of Tots" that CF got a hold of was missing a brief bit of business during Mary's dream sequence (where Joe loses his sawdust). A slightly lesser print was borrowed to make up for this loss. It amounts to only a few seconds of footage.
Overall, a great preview for ClassicFlix's future silent Gang sets.
"Good Old Days - The Music of Our Gang" is a bonus documentary on the history of (as the title implies) the music in the Our Gang shorts. And interesting feature for those unfamiliar with the likes of Leroy Shield and Marvin Hatley. Film historian Ray Faiola narrates.
Ray (as an exaggerated tour guide character) returns to host "Then and Now - A Special Tour of Our Gang Shooting Locations." While it's both neat and somewhat shocking to see what some of the old locations look like today.
We next get a look at opening day of the Our Gang exhibit at the Hollywood Museum. In addition to a skim through the assorted photos and costumes on display, we get speeches from Leonard Matlin, Richard Bann, Maria Roach Carpenter (Hal Roach's daughter) and Sidney Kibrick. Richard mentions the upcoming silent set(s) from ClassicFlix, which he states will include a silent Gang short that has never been screened domestically. Leonard and Maria talk about being part of the generation that watched the old shorts on television. Sid (once again ID'd as the last surviving featured player) briefly tells us how he got cast as "Woim."
The "You Asked for It" reunion, featuring the silent era kids, is also presented. Sure, most of us have seen this bizarre appearance before, but what we're given is easily the best-looking print out there. A newspaper ad promoting the appearance is shown before the clip, providing us with a few new details. Of note, it confirms that Mary Kornman was indeed scheduled to show up.
"A Day in the Life of Spanky and Porky" follows the two ex-Rascals during an appearance at the University of Colorado Boulder's 1985 "Trivia Bowl." A prior radio appearance with the two is also included. It's a real treat to see them all grown up. Spanky in particular grew up to become a real class act.
"The Little Rascals Jukebox" offers all of the Rascals musical numbers in one place. Tunes are divided between "Alfalfa Tunes" and "Rascal Varieties."
Four image galleries are provided, with a mix of promotional stills, production stills, candids and more. Plenty of great stuff here.
In the "Other Rarities" section, we start with the Speed-O-Byke ad starring Spanky. It's followed by a theatrical ad for a Mary Ann Jackson Vaudeville appearance. The ad is packed with (silent) outtakes from "Love Business" and "Bargain Day." A real treat, for sure. A similar ad with Chubby is also featured, but is sadly outtake-less (though the outtakes can be found on YouTube).
Speaking of Mary Ann Jackson, we're also treated to a rare screen test of hers from the mid-1930s. It's unclear what project this was for, which is not at all helped by the fact that there is no sound. Mary Ann still has the physical acting chops, and it's a shame she didn't do much film work post-Gang.
An interview with Spanky at the 1980 Rascals reunion follows, along with silent home movies shot by Art Lloyd during the 1930s. If you haven't seen these before, they're quite fun, and give us a glimpse into the oft reported family dynamic among the Roach staff. Joe Cobb appears, as does Spanky McFarland and his brother Tommy.
One highlight I didn't expect is a TV commercial for the MGM Our Gang shorts. An introduction states that the date for this isn't known, but I suspect it's from 1958 - the year the Metro episodes were brought to the small screen. I've always had a fondness for vintage trailers, and this one is no exception. I dare say it actually made me want to watch some of the MGM shorts... Classic advertising. Makes the product seem better than it actually is.
Finally, we get an audition reel for Jackie Lynn Taylor (then going by "Lynn Taylor") from the 1950s. Jackie tends to be one of the overlooked Rascals, as her tenure with the Gang was so brief. But she evolved into a class act and a real natural on camera.
Be sure to pick up your copy of this great collection - available on both Blu-Ray and DVD from ClassicFlix's website.
www.classicflix.com/products?display=grid&keywords=centennial&per_page=20&sort=ascend_by_alphabet
