IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

The boutique video label ClassicFlix has undertaken an ambitious multi-volume project to scan and restore all of the sound-era Our Gang comedies produced at Hal Roach Studios between 1929 and 1938. For most kids who grew up in the Sixties and Seventies, these theatrical short subjects are better remembered as The Little Rascals (the name that they were packaged under on television). I previously reviewed the excellent first volume in this chronological series, which contained the first eleven talkies, made from 1929-1930. That Blu-ray was highly recommended for its historical importance and for the excellence of the restoration work performed on the decomposing surviving elements. However, because the films were made right after the advent of sound, with cast and crew that was much more comfortable working silently (on the prior 88 silent Our Gang shorts), the comedies themselves were rather creaky. Happily, the quality of the films and the acting of the kids improves tremendously in The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 2, which picks up with the next eleven shorts in the series, from Pups is Pups (1930) to Dogs is Dogs (1931).

Since the shorts are being released on Blu-ray in chronological order, this second volume does not contain the familiar line-up of Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat, etc. Like the last set, the “Gang” includes Jackie Cooper, Allen ‘Farina’ Hoskins, Norman ‘Chubby’ Chaney, Bobby ‘Wheezer’ Hutchins, and Mary Ann Jackson. This group of shorts also introduces Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard,  Dorothy ‘Echo’ DeBorba, Shirly Jean Rickert, and June ‘Miss Crabtree’ Marlowe. Also, like the last set, the second collection does contain a couple of films that will be new to most audiences, because they weren’t included in the Little Rascals television syndication package.

Before we dip into the content of the new Blu-ray collection, I think I should state (as I did in my previous review) that even as a kid, I was never much of a fan of The Little Rascals. While classic comedy of the 1930s and 40s has always been my cinema sweet spot, I much prefer stage-tested talents, such as W.C. Fields, Abbott & Costello, The Marx Brothers, and The Three Stooges, to the Our Gang kids. Seeing little kids trying to tell jokes and perform physical slapstick is undeniably cute, but I also find it a little painful to watch. It smacks too much of amateur theatricals for my taste.

At the same time, I enjoyed the shorts in the second collection much more than Volume One, and I think that this is an essential Blu-ray set for collectors of classic film comedy. I am thrilled that these fragile films are being lovingly restored. ClassicFlix has done a miraculous job of preservation, clean-up, and digital mastering. The shorts look crisp and clean, without losing any detail in the process. You can find more thoughts on the video quality in the “Video” section below.

Here are capsule reviews of the eleven shorts included in Volume 2:

Pups is Pups (1930, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker & Robert F. McGowan)

“Jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle.” This collection starts out with one of the best of the pre-Spanky shorts. Wheezer is trying to wrangle his puppies to take them to the city pet show to win a prize. Unfortunately, the pups have run off after the sound of a bell, because Wheezer always rings a bell to call the pups to their dinner. The pups criss-cross the city at the sound of anything bell-like, with Wheezer in pursuit. There’s also a lot of loosely related business involving the rest of the gang, their pets, and assorted townspeople, most of which is amusing as well. I especially enjoy the running gag of Dorothy “Echo” DeBorba (in her first Our Gang appearance) repeatedly jumping into a mud puddle.

Teacher’s Pet (1930, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker & Robert F. McGowan)

This short features the Our Gang debuts of Matthew “Stymie” Beard, June “Miss Crabtree” Marlowe, and to the theme music (“Good Old Days” by LeRoy Shield) that audiences associate with The Little Rascals. The kids are getting a new school teacher, and all they know about her is that she has the rather repugnant name of “Miss Crabtree.” Jackie conspires with Farina, Chubby, and Buddy to terrorize the new teacher and get the rest of the day off school. However, the plan backfires when it turns out that the pretty new teacher has a party planned with ice cream and cake. This is a bit of a step down from the prior short, but it is pleasant throughout. Jackie Cooper attributed his later success in features at MGM to the crying scene that he performed in this short, which proved to the higher-ups that he could act.

School’s Out (1930, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

This short is nearly a sequel to the previous one. In another school-based short, the kids are scared that they might lose Miss Crabtree after summer break in the way that they lost their previous teacher — MARRIAGE! When Miss Crabtree’s brother pays a visit, Jackie is certain that he’s a suitor destined to run off with his teacher. The boys lie to the brother, telling him that Miss Crabtree has false teeth and a wooden leg. And they have more surprises in store when the brother decides to take a swim. Like the prior short, this outing is merely average, but that’s not bad at all.

Helping Grandma (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

The kids help out an old lady (Margaret Mann) in her grocery store, while a crooked businessman tries to buy the store for less than its worth (knowing a chain store wants to make an offer on the building). I found this a bit more enjoyable than the prior two school-based shorts, and there’s a certain amount of suspense (even though you’re reasonably sure that everything’s going to turn out alright. Still, it’s a mid-range outing for the gang. The real fun is coming in the next few films. This was the Our Gang debut of blonde, split curled Shirley Jean Rickert.

Love Business (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

“Don’t call me Norman. Call me Chubsy-ubsy.” This is the short in the collection that I best remember from my childhood, and for good reason. It’s one of the best films ever made about childhood infatuation and it is also one of the very best of the Our Gang comedies. Jackie is in love with his teacher, Miss Crabtree, and he keeps kissing his brother Wheezer in his sleep (much to his little brother’s disgust). Things get embarrassingly complicated for Jackie when Miss Crabtree takes up residence in a spare room in his house. Worse yet, Chubby stops by to woo the schoolmarm himself. This means war!

Little Daddy (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

For me, this is the absolute gem of the collection, and the Blu-ray set is worth buying for this film alone. Also, this will likely be audience’s first exposure to Little Daddy, since the rare short was not included in the television syndication package of Little Rascals comedies. I can only guess that this short was omitted from the TV show due to misplaced racial sensitivity, since the focus of the story is on Stymie, who set to be removed from Farina’s care and taken to an orphanage. In truth, this short treats its black cast with great respect, and there is none of the casual racism that occasionally creeps into films of this vintage. The short is touching, without being saccharine, especially because Stymie seems completely unconcerned about the situation. As he tells Farina, “Well, what do you want me to do; bust out cryin?” Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard is the absolute essence of cool. The short has numerous funny and inventive gags, including what might be Norman ‘Chubby’ Chaney’s funniest sequence on film, as he lip-syncs to a bass rendition of the song “Asleep in the Deep.” I also don’t know of another Our Gang short that makes better use of Rube Goldberg-like contraptions.

Bargain Day (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

There are a lot of seemingly unrelated hijinks in this Our Gang short, but it is all breezy and enjoyable, so it doesn’t much matter that it feels a bit thrown together. Chubby needs a new hat, and the gang tags along to help him pick it out. When they are run out of the hat store, they discover that Wheezer has stolen their toys, because he has peddling fever. Wheezer and Stymie try to sell their ill-gotten booty from door to door, and are invited in by a rich girl (Shirley Jean Rickert). Eventually, the rest of the gang catches up with Wheezer, and a chase ensues throughout Shirley’s mansion. A monkey is thrown into the mix to add to the destruction. This was Jackie Cooper’s last Our Gang short. It was features for him from this point forward.

Fly My Kite (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

Margaret “Grandma” Mann is back in this short, and another crook is trying to cheat her out of money that’s rightfully hers. However, this time it’s a lot more fun, because the gang and grandma get to engage in a lot of exaggerated slapstick violence. This was the final Our Gang short for both Mary Ann Jackson and Norman “Chubby” Chaney, who were beginning to age out of the gang. I’m especially sorry to bid farewell to Chubby, as he always added a spark to the shorts in which he appeared. On the other hand, I have to admit that watching him struggling to keep up with the other kids, due to his morbidly obese frame, always made me a bit sad.

Big Ears (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

This short was also excluded from the television package, due to the fact that the story centers around divorce. In addition, station owners feared that kids would imitate Wheezer’s dangerous ingestion of inedible items to make himself sick (in a plot to get his parents back together). The kids also help themselves to various items from the medicine cabinet without parental supervision. The exclusion of this short was no big loss to the syndication package, because it is far and away the worst film in this batch. After watching it once, you’ll probably skip it in future viewings of the disc.

Shiver My Timbers (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

This is another strong short, which was one of my favorites from childhood. The kids keep playing hooky to listen to a local sea captain (Billy Gilbert) tell tall tales of pirate adventure. Miss Crabtree is pissed, and she asks the captain to stop distracting the children. The captain decides to go even further and put a scare in the kids, so they will avoid him in the future. The short is full of fun images and mild scares. It’s just as enjoyable as I remember it being in my youth.

Dogs is Dogs (1931, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: H.M. Walker)

This could have been another maudlin Wheezer short, in the style of Small Talk (1929) or Big Ears (1931). Happily, while there are some sentimental moments, there is a lot more comedy in this one to even things out. Wheezer and Dorothy’s father is nowhere to be found, and they are forced to live with their mean step-mother and bratty step-brother Sherwood (Spud Bailey). When mother leaves the kids alone, Sherwood falls into a well, and Wheezer, Dorothy, and their pal Stymie take their time helping him out. Sherwood tries to get even by blaming the death of a neighbor’s chicken on Wheezer’s dog Petie, knowing the neighbor (Billy Gilbert in growling villain mode) will try to shoot Petie. No dogs are injured, and all ends well in this enjoyable coda to this set.

With the exception of Big Ears (1931), the eleven shorts in The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 2 are funnier, livelier, and more competently directed than the first eleven talkies in Volume One. While, I’m not the prime audience for this collection, I found it a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting, and Rascals fans should be even more enthused with the Blu-ray. This is an incredibly important restoration project, and the Volume 2 Blu-ray surpasses the high bar set by Volume One. This collection is very highly recommended.

USA/B&W-223m./Dir: Various (see above)/Wr: Various (see above)/Cast: Jackie Cooper, Allen ‘Farina’ Hoskins, Mary Ann Jackson, Norman ‘Chubby’ Chaney, Bobby ‘Wheezer’ Hutchins, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, Dorothy ‘Echo’ DeBorba, Shirley Jean Rickert, Sherwood ‘Spud’ Bailey, June Marlowe, Billy Gilbert, Mae Busch, Margaret Mann, Donald Haines, Clifton Young, Creighton Hale, Lyle Tayo 

For Fans of: If you grew up with the familiar Little Rascals shorts, starring Spanky, Alfalfa, and Darla, you might want to see the earlier shorts that led to their introduction.

Video: The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations Volume 2 was released as a single Blu-ray from ClassicFlix on August 3rd. Each of the eleven shorts included on the disc were newly scanned and restored from original 35mm film elements. Here’s how the restoration process is described at the beginning of the restoration comparison supplement:

Original nitrate film elements for the iconic Hal Roach “Our Gang” film series, later to be known as “The Little Rascals”, have languished in studio vaults for decades without any urgency or desire to preserve, restore and release these beloved short subjects with presentations worthy of their status in popular culture.

ClassicFlix has endeavored to right this wrong by seeking out and finding the best available film elements for each short in this collection.

The audio on the early Hal Roach shorts was not great when the films were originally released, but you will notice an improvement in recording techniques in comparison to the shorts in Volume One. Also, the Our Gang kids were not trained actors, so they didn’t always enunciate clearly. These vagaries in sound quality is intrinsic to the original release, and it is in no way a fault of the restoration. The shorts sound as good or better than when they were originally released. You may want to use the optional English subtitles if you have trouble understanding any of the kids’ line readings.

The true value of this disc is in the quality of the restoration work, which could not have been inexpensive to perform. There are very few extras on the disc. The full bonus features are:

• Restoration Comparison – A five minute side by side comparison of selected scenes prior to and after restoration
• A trailer for The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 1
• A trailer for the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca
• Optional English subtitles

Streaming: These early Our Gang shorts aren’t available via any streaming services.

More to Explore: A third volume of The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations is due in October, featuring the next group of eleven shorts from 1932-1933, most of which will feature an intriguing toddler named George ‘Spanky’ McFarland. ClassicFlix and The Sprocket Vault have also released several talkie comedies from other stars of the Hal Roach Studios, including Laurel & Hardy, Thelma Todd, Charley Chase, and Harry Landgon. Many of those Blu-ray or DVD sets are linked below.

Trivia: Hal Roach comedy star Charley Chase sang the bass rendition of “Asleep in the Deep,” which Chubby lip-syncs to in Little Daddy.

For More Info: Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann coauthored The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang, which is an excellent guide on the shorts and the kids who starred in them.