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Little Rascals: The Complete Collection (The)
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Jeremiah Chin (28th October 2008). |
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The Show
 Most of my knowledge about the “Little Rascals” franchise comes from the 1994 film, featuring a handful of child actors who are now in college and never really broke out. As far as the older, 1920’s – 1930’s shorts are concerned, I’ve never really heard or seen much about them outside of Eddie Murphy’s hilarious Buckwheat routines on “SNL” (1975-Present) and other talk of some definite ‘old-timey’ racism present in the old theatrical shorts. Now I also like to think of myself as something of a “racism connoisseur” (as Dave Chappelle first termed it), seeking out the finely tuned attitudes and examples of racism then sampling them, like fine wines only more destructive. So when “The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection” dropped into my lap I eagerly dug in to the well put together collection to get a fuller taste for the show. Across the 8-disc set is apparently a completely restored collection of all of Hal Roach’s “Our Gang” shorts, featuring characters that would became a part of the pop cultural consciousness such as Buckwheat (Billie Thomas), Spanky (George McFarland) and Alfalfa (Carl Switzer). Yet most of these characters came at the later end of the “Our Gang” saga that had no real continuous plot or ongoing story, other than going through little shorts about children living their own lives and being childish around town. Most of the shorts revolve around adventures, antics or pranks involving children, with a few mostly revolving around Spanky and his family. Of course as a part of trying to imitate a version of adult visions of childhood, the shorts are a type of slapstick fantasy that revolved around the almost carefree lives of the children featured. But to get to the racism, there’s some interesting points on both sides. While the “Our Gang” shorts do feature an integrated cast in a time of segregation, many of the portrayals simply feed off of racist stereotypes and imagery of the time, such as the ‘pickaninny’ image of black children: huge grins, unkempt hair and a sambo-esque way of speaking (see the cover of Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” (2000) and listen to Jar Jar Binks speak for a clearer image). Similarly shorts such as “Kid from Borneo” perpetuate racist images of the ignorant African savage, who may appear to be grown men but in fact have the minds of children. And while these children may live integrated lives, and even in some shorts go to integrated schools, there is only one main black child for each era, each leaving the show within a year of each other, leaning more heavily towards tokenism than actual statement in favor of integration. It began with Farina (Allen Hoskins) in the silent era, then in the early 30’s went to Stymie (Matthew Beard) and finally the most well known (and parodied) Buckwheat from the mid 30’s until the end of the shorts in the 40’s. Overall, the shorts are great for other connoisseurs of racism, but similarly great for those interested in taking a look at depression-era slapstick shorts. The set has a great selection and runs the gamut of “Our Gang”’s different eras and child actors, with many different episodes to get a taste for both the racism of the day that’s on display, along with a lot of different social and cultural attitudes of the time. The actual shorts themselves are built a lot like other slapstick and pun comedies of the day and have some humor value there, but the set is more a collectors item than a must see. Here’s a breakdown of the shorts included across the 8-disc set: - "Small Talk" (1929) - "Railroadin'" (1929) - "Boxing Gloves" (1929) - "Lazy Days" (1929) - "Bouncing Babies" (1929) - "Moan and Groan Inc." (1929) - "Shivering Shakespeare" (1930) - "The First Seven Years" (1930) - "When the Wind Blows" (1930) - "Bear Shooters" (1930) - "A Tough Winter" (1930) - "Pups is Pups" (1930) - "Teacher's Pet" (1930) - "School's Out" (1930) - "Helping Grandma" (1931) - "Love Business" (1931) - "Little Daddy" (1931) - "Bargain Days" (1931) - "Fly My Kite" (1931) - "Big Ears" (1931) - "Shiver My Timbers" (1931) - "Dog is Dogs" (1931) - "Readin' and Writin'" (1932) - "Free Eats" (1932) - "Spanky" (1932) - "Choo Choo" (1932) - "Pooch" (1932) - "Hook and Ladder" (1932) - "Free Wheeling" (1932) - "Birthday Blues" (1932) - "A Lad an' a Lamp" (1932) - "Fish Hooky" (1933) - "Forgotten Babies" (1933) - "Kid from Borneo" (1933) - "Mush and Milk" (1933) - "Bedtime Worries" (1933) - "Wild Poses" (1933) - "Hi, Neighbor" (1934) - "For Pete's Sake" (1934) - "The First Round-Up" (1934) - "Honkey Donkey" (1934) - "Mike Fright" (1934) - "Washee Ironee" (1934) - "Mama's Little Pirate" (1934) - "Shrimps for a Day" (1934) - "Anniversary Trouble" (1935) - "Beginner's Luck" (1935) - "Teacher's Beau" (1935) - "Sprucin' Up" (1935) - "Little Papa" (1935) - "Little Sinner" (1935) - "Our Gang Follies of 1936" (1935) - "Divot Diggers" (1936) - "The Lucky Corner" (1936) - "Pinch Singer" (1936) - "Second Childhood" (1936) - "Arbor Day" (1936) - "Bored of Education" (1936) - "Two Too Young" (1936) - "Pay as You Exit" (1936) - "Spooky Hooky" (1936) - "Reunion in Rhythm" (1937) - "Glove Taps" (1937) - "Hearts are Thumps" (1937) - "Three Smart Boys" (1937) - "Rushin' Ballet" (1937) - "Roamin' Holiday" (1937) - "Night 'n' Gales" (1937) - "Fishy Tales" (1937) - "Framing Youth" (1937) - "The Pigskin Palooka" (1937) - "Mail and Female" (1937) - "Our Gang Follies of 1938" (1937) - "Canned Fishing" (1938) - "Bear Facts" (1938) - "Three Men in a Tub" (1938) - "Came the Brawn" (1938) - "Feed 'em and Weep" (1938) - "The Awful Tooth" (1938) - "Hide and Shriek" (1938) - "Dog Heaven" (1938) - "Spook Spoofing" (1938) - "Barnum & Ringling, Inc." (1938)
Video
The shorts are presented in the original 1.33:1 full screen with a good transfer, especially considering the time that has passed between their original production and this DVD. As time goes on you can see the preservation levels increase as more well known characters like Spanky and Buckwheat come along, while the older silent shorts have very apparently declined in quality with whole sections of some reels being half off of the screen which becomes problematic as the speech title cards appear on the screen.
Audio
The audio of the shorts is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio, having many of the same triumphs and failures as the video transfer. While some of the audio on the shorts has survived fairly well, others have degraded and don’t transfer as well. All of the audio however is intelligible and clear for the most part, you can fully distinguish the audio and all of the pops that come along with it, keeping to the old feel of the show. There are no optional subtitles available on this set.
Extras
The 8-disc set has a fair amount of features including five audio commentaries, seven featurettes, and a handful of introductions and interviews that help to round out the set, but still leaves something to be wanting. Here’s a disc by disc breakdown of the special features: DISC ONE: Video introduction from film historian and author Richard Bann runs for 1 minute and 9 seconds, Bann introduces the set drawing briefly from his knowledge of the series displayed in the book he co-wrote with Leonard Maltin. DISC TWO: Video introduction from TV host Tom Hutten” runs for 53 seconds, Hutten roecounts introducing "The Little Rascals" and some of his favorite moments from the shorts. “Teacher’s Pet” comes with an audio commentary by film historian and author Richard Bann. This commentary delivers an interesting history complete with casting information, where the name Ms. Crabtree comes from and other facts about the production. Bann also spends time raving about Roach’s ‘colorblindness’ in terms of casting and the integrated nature of the “Our Gang” shorts, however I’ve already voiced my disagreement. The commentary also suffers from some big gaps in the track where Bann will simply go silent for extended periods of time. “Fly My Kite” also comes with audio commentary by film historian and author Richard Bann. Bann again puts forth some impressive knowledge about the casting and other roles along with the fairly cut and dry nature of morality in the “Our Gang” world. There’s also some interesting points about re-mastering the old shorts, but again suffers from the same problems with huge intermittent pauses. DISC THREE: Video introduction from Little Rascal Dickie Moore runs for 34 seconds, one of the less well known members of the “Our Gang” cast sends best wishes in enjoying the shorts. DISC FOUR: Video introduction from Little Rascal Jerry Tucker runs for 1 minute and 23 seconds, here Tucker remarks on the joy of having the “Our Gang” comedies available for younger generations. “Wild Poses” comes with audio commentary by author Richard Lewis Ward. Ward talks about writing his book on the History of Roach's studios, gives some points about the origins of Stymie’s hat, the Laurel and Hardy brief cameo and the move to more Spanky centered films. Again many long silences as with Bann’s commentary. DISC FIVE: Video introduction from Little Rascal Jerry Tucker runs for 1 minute and 36 seconds. Tucker waxes nostalgic about the wholesomeness of the “Our Gang” shorts and his life as a child actor. DISC SIX: Video Introduction by author Richard Lewis Ward runs for 23 seconds where Ward briefly introduces the shorts to come. DISC SEVEN: Video Introduction by Little Rascal Annie Walsh” which runs for 49 seconds. Walsh talks briefly about the singing arrangement she did in the “Our Gang” shorts. DISC EIGHT: Video Introduction by Little Rascal Jean Darling runs for 1 minute and 5 seconds, Darling talks about her time as one of the ‘Little Rascals’ and child acting. “Spook Spoofing” comes with audio commentary by author Richard Lewis Ward. Ward focuses on the city and filming locations made possible by the time in Southern California when it wasn’t so populated. While interesting there are still incredibly long pauses and gaps that almost make you forget you turned the commentary track on. “Barnum & Ringling, Inc.” comes with audio commentary by author Richard Lewis Ward. Here ward focuses on the actors and histories of the characters, but makes some of the same remarks that are on previous commentaries. He makes some interesting points about the animal rights activists and their complaints against “Our Gang” and the dangers of working with ostriches, but again lots of pauses and gaps in the track. The first major featurette is “The Story of Hal Roach and Our Gang” which runs for 29 minutes. Ward and Bann talk about falling in love with the serials as children and give some secondary history from talking with the child actors long afterward, Pete the Pup and all the characters. There are also some interesting technical points about moving from silent to sound. All of the actors featured in the video introductions reminisce about going to school with the other movie children and the perceived innocence and appeal of the “Our Gang” shorts. A nice retrospective featurette that mixes clips and good interviews, it’s nice to see they took the time to track down some of the living original child actors as well. “Rascals and Racial Issues” featurette runs for 7 minutes and 5 seconds. After going on my own small analysis in the review this featurette deals with the racial problems with in the “Our Gang” shorts, though tends to focus on the prosepects of integration presented in the shorts through the use of central black characters. Most of the comments tend to brush over the stereotypical portrayal of black characters, though most seem perplexed by the issues Moore relates some interesting and painful stories of growing up in the time and the racism prevalent in the day. It’s interesting and good that they included the featurette on the set, though I feel like they should have expanded it more and done some more digging rather than just letting two “Our Gang” fanboys rave about the positive aspects without doing some external criticism, but still a nice addition. Next up is a series of interviews labeled “Catching up with the Rascals” broken down by individual actors, described below: - The interview with Dickie Moore runs for 11 minutes and 8 seconds, catching up with him in New York in 2008. Moore talks about his roots and getting in to film, remarking that he never saw the completed shorts. There are some nice, interesting aspects of the interview, including Moore talking about finding new life through his service in the Pacific Theatre in World War II, becoming a correspondent and writing his book. - Jean Darling’s interview runs for 10 minutes and 33 seconds. Darling talks about her breakout into movies and the drama of being a child actor, making some funny remarks about getting vertigo from the “Ringling” short where she was left attached to the ceiling fan and continuously spinning between takes. - Jerry Tucker’s interview is the longest at 15 minutes and 6 seconds where he talks about his father getting him set up for acting through a failed prize fight. He also talks about his World War II experience in the Navy and hiding his past at times and enjoying the anonymity after growing up. - The Annie Ross interview runs for 12 minutes and 23 seconds. Ross talks about her upbrining as the daughter of Scottish Vaudevillians, breaking out into acting and a career on her own as well as her experience in Radio Shows. - Finally there’s a “Memories of Spanky (with Rick Saphire)” featurette which runs for 8 minutes and 35 seconds, where Spanky’s former manager talks about Spanky’s later career in the 1970’s and his involvement as manager, including his personal favorite episodes of the “Our Gang” shorts. This interview raises some questions about why they didn’t investigate the children, relatives or friends of other children associated with “Our Gang” especially Billie Thomas’ (Buckwheat) son who has been vocal about Eddie Murphy’s portrayals of Buckwheat and the “20/20” special after they claimed to interview Thomas when in fact he had already been dead for some time. Also including in this set is a 12-page booklet.
Packaging
The 8 disc set is packaged in a four section fold out cardboard case housed in a slip-case.
Overall
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