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(More customer reviews)This video is a collection of some of the most controversial films in the Little Rascals series due to racial jokes. However, one must look at the context of the film and the time period in which it was made.
"Lazy Day" is a short that focuses on two groups. The first is Farina and his baby sibling. He is so tired that he makes a contraption to rock the cradle and uses his female friend to wait on him. When she says she has to go, he threatens not to marry her. Many people say this paints a bad picture of black people, but the lazy child shown could have been any of the members of the gang. It just happened to be Farina because he was one of the most popular of the time. The other portion of the show is dedicated to a bunch of the gang dressing their siblings and each other up as babies to win the most beautiful baby prize at a local fair. It is the more harmless aspect of the short. It isn't extremely funny and drags on like many of the early talkies did.
"Moan and Groan, Inc." is titled as such because it was the first short released after the stock market crash. In it, the gang is persuaded not to go in the old haunted house to play by Kennedy the cop. He suggests they dig for gold instead, so they do, inside the haunted house. Inside lives a man escaped from the mental institution who taunts the kids with his ghostly moans and sneaky tricks. Farina has a major role and displays his comical array of facial reactions.
"A Tough Winter" is probably the most offensive short of the series because of the guest actor Stepin Fetchit. He was a very popular comedic black actor of the time who was going to receive his own series. His jokes were truly funny and were typical of the day. In his guest appearance, he plays a man who can't be rushed to the point of comedy. He wears countless layers of clothes in the cold winter snow and has cleverly wired his home to be more convenient. He has a device to cook eggs without any effort. He is clever about getting out of other work too. When a letter arrives, he asks Farina to read it to him. He explains that he can't read it now; he went to night school and it is daytime. It is from his girlfriend; Stepin doesn't want Farina to hear what he's reading so he has him put cotton balls into his ears. The best part of the short is a more classic routine in the Our Gang series. Mary Ann and Wheezer decide to make taffy. Mary Ann tells Wheezer to listen to the radio for the ingredients. He starts with the molasses and butter, but each time he runs to the kitchen to rattle off an ingredient, a new recipe starts. Soon, the kids are adding Tabasco sauce and chili peppers to the mix, and even end up adding Lux soap! The result is a mess that gets all over the house. The short was often pulled from television viewing, but it is one of the greats of the series.
"Little Daddy" is also considered to be racist, but I can't figure out why. It is about Farina and his little brother Stymie. Farina keeps being threatened that Stymie will be taken away from him because he can't take care of his little brother. He does his best though, making Stymie breakfast and making sure he takes his shower (even though the little boy uses an umbrella to avoid getting wet!). June Marlowe, who played Miss Crabtree in the series, make a short appearance in this short.
One must remember that the Little Rascals was a breakthrough series because it featured black and white actors playing together with no regard to the color of their skin. Sure, a few racial jokes were thrown into the shorts, but that was simply because it was the style of the time. It was completely innocent. Times have changed, and for the better, but it is wrong to judge films of the past by standards of the present.
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