Customer Reviews

Our Gang [VHS]

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I think only one of these shorts is really funny (GOIN' FISHIN', which is about a bus trip) but the rest aren't bad and have some good moments, especially THE BIG PREMIERE, which has the Gang making an amateur movie. UNEXPECTED RICHES has them digging for buried treasure and COME BACK MISS PIPPS is about their beloved, unjustly-fired teacher.

There are a few moments of ethnic stereotyping - in RICHES, Buckwheat passes out free watermelon and fried chicken to a black neighborhood, and in PREMIERE he briefly plays Robinson Crusoe's Friday (although dressed like himself, as it's a sloppy production) in the home-movie, but they come across as mild, especially in the context of Our Gang, which in 1942 was providing almost (maybe not even almost) the only Hollywood films that portrayed black and white friends interacting as equals.

These aren't really the best of Spanky, but they all do have him as the star. The best Spanky shorts date back to the early 1930s. By 1940, George "Spanky" McFarland was 12. Even though his acting here is excellent, the scripts are not as strong, and he lacks the charm he had when he was six.

You'll see Alfafa, Froggy, and Mickey in addition to Spanky.

Any of the "Our Gang" shorts is worth having. With only four of the lesser films and no supporting features, wait for a digital version, with remastered sound and video.

Four short films are on this video.

"The Big Premiere" (1940)
Imitating the premieres of the Hollywood movie set, tries to make their own film, complete with a hilarious attempt at making cement footprints.

"Come Back, Miss Phipps" (1941)
The superintendent fires the kids' teacher when she throws a small birthday party for Mickey (played by Robert Blake of "Baretta" fame). To bring her back, the kids put on a play for the school board explaining what the superintendent did.

"Unexpected Riches" (1942)
When a penny-for-your-weight machine tells the kids they will have unexpected riches, they are conned into helping rich kid Ken dig a hole. Ken was told by his dad to dig, but the kids think there is treasure buried there. They dream of what they'll do with their new found wealth.

"Goin' Fishin'" (1940)
The kids want to go fishing and get up early. They grab a bus, but have all kinds of problems getting on, and have no help from the conductor.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

This MGM compilation represents a pale shadow of the classic Hal Roach shorts. When Roach sold the Our Gang series to MGM in 1938, the creative decline became painfully evident. These one-reel travesties lack the charm and spontaneity of the Roach efforts - underscoring MGM's sledgehammer approach to slapstick comedy. Spanky, Alfalfa and company were badly served in these joyless endeavors.

This is a really cute video for those who love the Our Gang series, a must see at a great price!