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 first four volumes in this chronological series, each of which contained 11-12 talkies, covering 1929 to mid-1935 (Review links: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4). Those Blu-rays were highly recommended for their historical importance and for the excellence of the restoration work performed on the decomposing, surviving elements.

The shorts in Volume 5 will be much more familiar to viewers of The Little Rascals TV show than those that were in earlier volumes in the series. Several of the shorts in the earlier volumes were not included in the TV package, either due to the technical creakiness of the films produced right after the advent of sound or due to content that is considered objectionable today. Also, with Volume 5, the most familiar line-up of cast members becomes complete, as these shorts feature the debuts of Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, Darla Hood, and Eugene ‘Porky’ Lee (joining existing castmates George ‘Spanky’ McFarland and Billie ‘Buckwheat’ Thomas).

A warning for sensitive viewers — ClassicFlix has chosen to release these films uncut, including a handful of scenes that were cut from the TV syndication package, due to the depiction of negative racial stereotypes. Blackface gags and similar stereotypes seem especially prevalent in this volume. It should be noted that while some of the films contain problematic material, by portraying an integrated group of friends, the Our Gang shorts were more progressive than most of the films being produced at the same time. In the films, no one ever questions the fact that black and white kids hang out together and treat each other equally. This forward-thinking aspect of the shorts can be attributed to producer and studio head, Hal Roach. Roach didn’t care what color an actor was. He only cared if they were funny. Still, be aware that the films are products of their time, and occasionally contain cringe-worthy moments.

The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5 features the next 12 Our Gang sound shorts from Anniversary Trouble (1935) to Arbor Day (1936), with each short newly scanned and restored from the original Hal Roach 35mm film elements. Before we dip into the content of the new Blu-ray collection, I think I should state (as I did in my previous reviews) 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 had a really good time revisiting these films of my youth, and I think that this is an essential Blu-ray set for collectors of classic film comedy. I am thrilled that these fragile films have been lovingly restored. ClassicFlix has done a miraculous job of preservation, clean-up, and digital mastering. The shorts look crisp, clean, and better than ever presented on television and previous video releases. You can find more thoughts on the video quality in the “Video” section below.

Here are capsule reviews of the twelve shorts included in Volume 5:

Anniversary Trouble (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

Volume 5 starts off on a problematic note with this short, which unfortunately includes a prolonged blackface scene. Spanky’s Pop (Johnny Arthur) forgot to buy his wife an anniversary gift, so he stuffs a wad of cash in an envelope to leave on the kitchen table. Then, he absent-mindedly uses the envelope as a bookmark and puts the book away. Mom (Claudia Dell) catches Spanky hiding a similar envelope, and she thinks he’s stolen her money. She takes the envelope and goes to tell her husband of Spanky’s thievery. In actuality, Spanky’s envelope contained the treasury of The Ancient and Honorary Order of the Wood Chucks Club. When the gang shows up and demands their money, Spanky tries to sneak past them by blacking up with shoe polish and pretending to be Buckwheat. Johnny Arthur is a good comedy presence as Spanky’s fidgety father, and it’s good to see Hattie “Gone With the Wind” McDaniel in a small role. Otherwise, this is a fairly weak short.

Beginner’s Luck (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

We’re on a better footing with the second short which satirizes pushy stage mothers and amateur talent contests — two things with which the producers of the Our Gang shorts were abundantly familiar. Spanky’s mother (Kitty Kelly) forces her son to enter a local talent contest, performing Mark Antony’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech from Julius Caesar. Spanky isn’t afraid of going onstage, but he is afraid that he might win the prize and have to continue performing for the rest of his life. Consequently, he talks the gang into ruining his act. Later, when Spanky decides to win the contest to give the prize money to pretty contestant (Marianne Edwards), he’s unable to convince the gang that he doesn’t want them to sabotage the act. Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer and his brother Harold make their Our Gang debuts as rival contestants, performing “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain.” They impressed the producers so much that they became regular members of the gang, beginning with the next short. However, for me, the highlight of the film is the performance of “Dinah” by the black vocal group The Cabin Kids. They would have taken first prize, if I was judging the contest.

Teacher’s Beau (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

My favorite Our Ganger, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, began his tenure in the gang with 1930’s Teacher’s Pet. Five years later, he ended his stint with the troupe in the similarly themed Teacher’s Beau. Unfortunately, the over-the-hill rascal was relegated to the background, with virtually nothing to do, in the later short. The kids’ teacher Miss Jones (Arletta Duncan) announces that next year their teacher will be Mrs. Wilson, because she is getting married. They think they’ll get a new teacher, when in reality, Miss Jones is just changing her last name. The gang decides to break up the couple, so they won’t lose Miss Jones, and the situations that follow are pretty predictable (including the old “two kids in a coat pretending to be an adult” gag). Hilarity fails to ensue. For some unknown reason, The Cabin Kids return to perform a musical number in the gang’s classroom. It doesn’t make much sense, but it’s a welcome diversion.

Sprucin’ Up (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

This fairly forgettable short is thematically similar to the prior Our Gang comedy, Love Business (1931), but it’s nowhere near as funny. The boys are fed up with basic hygiene (bathing, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, etc.), until a pretty girl (Marianne Edwards) moves into the neighborhood. Suddenly, Spanky and Alfalfa are “sprucin’ up” to impress the girl and her truant officer father (Dick Elliott, the “Why don’t you kiss her instead of talking her to death?” guy from It’s a Wonderful Life). That’s about all I remember from this comedy, and I just watched it. I told you it was forgettable,

Little Papa (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

Spanky and the gang want to play football, but Spanky’s mother insists that he babysit his toddler sister, while she goes out. It looks like football is off the table. However, Spanky and Alfalfa decide that if they can make the baby tired enough, they can play football while she sleeps. This short is a bit more fun, as the natural reactions of the baby sister (Patsy Dittemore) are entertaining to watch. Unfortunately, that good will is negatively balanced out by Spanky’s acting (if you can call it that). Spanky has grown out of his natural spontaneity, and he is playing for the camera, extremely unconvincingly, with grandiose gestures and stilted line-readings. However, Alfalfa does generate some genuine laughs with his rendition of the song, “Go to Sleep, My Baby.” I love that Alfalfa looks genuinely confused and angry at the lyrics whenever he sings.

Little Sinner (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

Spanky decides to skip church and go fishing instead, with his little brother, Porky (Eugene Lee, making his Our Gang debut), and Buckwheat in tow. The other kids warn Spanky that he will get his comeuppance for skipping Sunday School, but Spanky thinks it’s bunk. However, the ‘little sinner’ gets a scare, due a total eclipse of the sun and because he stumbles upon a mass baptism ceremony of a black congregation, who jump and scream in a religious frenzy. It should be noted that the depiction of the black congregants is embarrassing, and frankly, racist. The only real redeeming aspect of this short is the presence of Porky. He proves himself engaging and photogenic, as the camera lingers on his spontaneous reactions to the world around him.

Our Gang Follies of 1936 (1935, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: No Credit Listed)

This musical revue short begins promising, but it is periodically hampered by a cringe-inducing running gag, in which the black children disappear, except for cartoon eyes, whenever the lights go out. Anyway, the gang is putting on a show, in what amounts to Hal Roach’s answer to Broadway Melody of 1936. There isn’t much of a plot. The short consists of a handful of specialty musical acts, with some backstage mayhem in-between. Darla Hood makes her Our Gang debut in this short, as the girl who changes the signage between acts. She also gets her first, of many, musical showcases, singing “I’ll Never Say ‘Never Again’ Again.” Of course, she has to compete vocally with Alfalfa, who performs both “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” and “The Object of My Affection.” This was the final Roach short for Scotty Beckett (although he will appear in 1936’s The Lucky Corner, which was released out-of-order, a year after filming was complete).

The Pinch Singer (1936, Dir: Fred C. Newmeyer/Wr: Jack Jevne)

A local radio station is sponsoring a talent contest with a $50 prize. Of course, this grabs the attention of the gang, and they audition their membership to determine who has the best chance of nabbing the prize. Although Alfalfa lobbies hard to represent the gang with his vocal stylings, the gang decides that Darla actually has the best chance of winning. Unfortunately, when it comes time to perform over the radio, Darla is nowhere to be found, so Alfalfa jumps in as the pinch singer in her place. His rendition of “I’m in the Mood for Love” manages to win the day, despite the fact that it’s awful. Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas has his best and funniest showcase yet in the audition scene. While overall this short is pretty enjoyable, it should be mentioned that there are two separate instances of blackface (which were probably edited out of most TV airings).

Divot Diggers (1936, Dir: Robert F. McGowan/Wr: Jack Jevne)

The gang, Pete the pup, and a chimp are enjoying a day of golf at a local country club. When the manager of the club runs across them, instead of running them off the grounds, he hires them to replace his caddies that have walked off the job. To keep the story short, the Our Gangers make unconventional caddies. This is far and away the best short in Volume 5, and it is also one of the best Our Gang comedies ever made. I have to believe that one reason why this film is so good is because director Robert McGowan, who oversaw the Our Gang films from 1922-1933, returned to helm this single 1936 short. A certain anarchic energy, that was lacking from the series since his departure, is on full display here. Divot Diggers is faster-paced and jauntier than the Gus Mein shorts that preceded it, and McGowan gets sharper performances from the kids. Most importantly, this film is much funnier than the previous few shorts. In comparison, the prior seven comedies in this set come across as a big bowl of bland.

Lucky Corner 1936The Lucky Corner (1936, Dir: James Parrott/Wr: No Credit Listed)

This comedy, which was completed a full year before it was released, in is the best of the Gus Meins shorts in Volume 5. Reminiscent of For Pete’s Sake (1934), the gang are up against Leonard and his father (Leonard Kibrick and William Wagner) once again. The pair of villains are running an outdoor market and diner, and they coerce a cop (James C. Morton) to run off their competition — Scotty Beckett and his Grandpa Gus (Gus Leonard), who have a portable lemonade stand. Scotty and Gramps have to relocate to a less desirable corner, but the gang organizes a parade and entertainment to entice customers in the direction of the lemonade stand. When Leonard tries to sabotage the lemonade stand, it backfires on him spectacularly. This is a fun “Davey versus Goliath” entertainment.

Second Childhood (1936, Dir: Gus Meins/Wr: Jack Jevne)

This is another tight, fast-paced comedy. A crabby, old lady (Zeffie Tilbury) is celebrating her 65th birthday (Zeffie was actually 73), when a toy airplane zips in through the window and breaks a vase. The old bat insists that Spanky give her 75 cents for the broken vase, which seems like a million dollars to the gang. Spanky suggests that they work off the money, by cleaning up the old lady’s yard to “make the place look like somebody really lives in it.” The old lady agrees, and she finds unexpected enjoyment in joining into the fun with the kids. Her ‘second childhood’ includes mass destruction with a slingshot and roller-skating to back projection.

Arbor Day (1936 Dir: Fred C. Newmeyer/Wr: Jack Jevne)

Little people Olive and George Brasno, who viewers of Volume 4 will remember from Shrimps for a Day (1934), return for the final short in this collection. Spanky, Alfalfa, and the gang are putting on yet another show. I believe this is the fifth revue they’ve performed in Volume 5 alone. This pageant is set in the classroom to celebrate Arbor Day, and it features Alfalfa’s well-remembered rendition of Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees.” The show has a couple of unexpected audience members, because the local truant officer (George Guhl) has rounded up a couple of midgets from a traveling sideshow, mistaking them for AWOL school children. This is another fun one, with no objectionable content.

While the shorts in this set are the ones that fans have really been craving on Blu-ray, I found most of the comedies in The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5 to be weaker than those in the earlier sets. That said, Divot Diggers might be my favorite Our Gang short, and the comedies in the second half of the collection are an improvement over the first six. Of course, I’m not the prime audience for this collection. Rascals fans should be even more enthused with the Blu-ray. This is an incredibly important restoration project, and the Volume 5 Blu-ray maintains the high bar of video presentation set by the earlier volumes. This collection is highly recommended.

USA/B&W-214m./Dir: Various (see above)/Wr: Various (see above)/Cast: George ‘Spanky’ McFarland, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, Scotty Beckett, Darla Hood, Dickie Jones, Billie ‘Buckwheat’ Thomas, Leonard Kibrick, Eugene ‘Porky’ Lee, Johnny Arthur, Hattie McDaniel, Jerry Tucker

For Fans of: If you grew up with The Little Rascals TV airings, you already know if you’ll like these short comedies. The shorts in this collection (and in the upcoming Volume 6) will likely be the most familiar and nostalgic for Rascals fans.

Video: The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations Volume 5 will be released as a single Blu-ray from ClassicFlix on April 5th. Each of the twelve 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 video quality is excellent throughout, and the shorts have never looked better. Some shorts display more authentic film grain than others, but considering the age of the films and the variability of the elements, it is to be expected that there will be some inconsistency in sharpness. One should also keep in mind that these were low-budget outings in the first place, and there are occasional out-of-focus shots that were simply the result of no time or money for re-shoots during filming.

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 1. Also, the Our Gang kids were not trained actors, so they didn’t always enunciate clearly. You may want to use the optional English subtitles if you have trouble understanding any of the kids’ line readings. There is also a little age-related hiss in some scenes, but not enough to be distracting. Most vagaries in sound quality are intrinsic to the original release and are in no way a fault of the restoration.

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 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 Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 2: “Lovesick”
• A trailer for The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 3
• A trailer for The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 4
• Optional English subtitles

Streaming: Some of the early Our Gang shorts are available for digital purchase via Amazon and other streaming services, but you will not get these new restorations.

More to Explore: The earlier volumes of The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations are also highly recommended, and I look forward to the final Volume, scheduled for June 14th of this year. 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: Alfalfa’s older brother, Harold Switzer, joined the Our Gang troupe at the same time as his brother. He’s the other half of “The Arizona Nightingales,” in Beginner’s Luck (1936). Harold continued as part of the cast for over 30 shorts, but he was relegated mostly to a background role, when not performing as an accompanist to his brother in musical numbers.

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.