Customer Reviews

Follies of 1938-Live Action [VHS]

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Move over Ziegfeld and Goldwyn, the follies from Our Gang have arrived. A hilarious comedy with all those lovable kids. Film features Alfalfa as a crooner who wants to be a serious opera singer. When he treats the swooning girls to "The Barber of Saville", he's literally forced off the stage with a flood of boo's from his 'loyal' audience. In a dream sequence (20 years in the future - although the kids never age) we see him try his hand at opera, fail and become a crooner on the streets with a tin cup, trying to make a living. He runs into Spanky who has his own night club. We're then treated to the wonderful singing and dancing talents of all the kids in a delightful "Coconut Grove" type variety show, which features Darla singing, dancing and telling Alfalfa that she and Spanky are making hundreds of thousands of dollars. The musical and dance numbers are a lot of fun and very well done. I won't give away the ending but believe me, the entire show is worth the price of admission!

Our Gang Follies of 1938 is vintage Little Rascals, featuring Spanky, Alfalfa, Porky, Buckwheat, and Darla. The King of the Crooners gets top billing in Spanky's production, but unfortunately Alfalfa decides he wants to stop crooning and concentrate on singing opera. He walks out, heads off to an opera rehearsal, and lands a contract (for 20 years in the future). He comes back and shows off his contract to Spanky, who tries once again to convince him to croon for the audience chanting his name. Then Alfalfa takes a nap and dreams of his future career-when he finally makes his big opera debut, the audience boos and throws vegetables at him. Reduced to singing on the streets, he meets up with big-time club owner Spanky, band conductor Buckwheat, and singing sensation Darla, all of whom are making hundreds of thousands of dollars. When he wakes up from this bad dream, he's more than happy to give up opera and join the gang for the closing number of the Follies production.

This video features a number of songs and dances from Our Gang's talented kids, and Alfalfa's performance of The Barber of Seville is a quintessential Alfalfa moment. Our Gang Follies of 1938 only lasts a little over 21 minutes, but it's one of the truly classic Little Rascals' performances.