The Our Gang Collection (52 Shorts 1938-1942) Review

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(More customer reviews)First off-the-bat, these are all 52 remaining Our Gang films, from 1938-1944, NOT 1942 as the description above reads. These 10-minute short films are the worst in Our Gang's history but I'm giving this collection five stars...and I'll tell you why. During the last few shorts during the Hal Roach period, Our Gang films began their downslide, as Spanky & Alfalfa were older and getting hammier in their acting. Once Roach sold the rights to MGM, the series took a nosedive - but they still had some good moments. The best actor from 1938-1940 was Tommy Bond (Butch) who is a more polished, natural actor; also, Sid Kibrick (Woim) is great as Butch's sidekick, even though his dialogue is limited to lines like, "yeah, Butch." But Spanky and Alfalfa became the worst "Our Gang" actors the older they got; Darla has moments of lameness too, but not to the extreme of Spank & Alf. Buckwheat was OK but was worse in the Gang's final years, 1942-1944. Porky left early, followed by Butch, Alfalfa, Darla (who was just starting to beautifully blossom) and finally, Spanky. They were eventually replaced by Mickey, Froggy & Janet; these last years (1941-1944) are referred to as "The Froggy Years" as one would complain about the awfulness of the films - but it's unfair to Billy "Froggy" Laughlin, as he was actually the series' saving grace. His acting was not as bad as we all thought - he actually pulls off some very funny moments, but we have to suffer through the awful, preachy plotlines to get to 'em....you also get to hear Froggy's REAL voice in a few of these films.
What else made these lame? Little things.
1) No Pete The Pup...the remainder of dogs were these little yappy dogs that always get under your feet with names like "Whiskers" and "Rover" - not big, lovable lugs like all the Petes during the Roach years.
2) New, lesser "Gang" members with names like "Fatty" (no fatter than Spanky) and "Happy" (who has one of the biggest sourpuss faces and is anything BUT happy).
3) Waayyyyy too many episodes had the gang putting on a show for one reason or another. Yawn. (Runnin' outta ideas?)
4) The opening/closing theme - a medley of "London Bridge Is Falling Down/Farmer In The Dell." If they had kept the original theme it really, really woulda helped.
5) Too many episodes where we, the audience, are supposed to learn a lesson. At certain points, some adult - a judge or equivalent of - looks right into the camera and addresses the audience with lines like "if each parent would take more time to teach their kids, blah-blah-blah." Also, too many "moral" episodes where the kids themselves get too preachy, especially Spanky; he becomes the "goody-goody" of the gang, which makes my heart sink. Mickey (Robert Blake) comes a close second. The worst of the bunch? "Time Out For Lessons," where Alfalfa learns that he should balance time between his football playing and schoolwork; after telling the gang "we're not gonna practice until we've done our homework" and his dad tells him to balance play with work, Alfalfa leaves to play football with the rest of the gang and utters, "FROM NOW ON, WE TAKE TIME OUT FOR LESSONS!!!" In real life, he'd probably be kicked off the team.
6) Terrible special effects. Scenes when gang members go flying through the air look amateurish with wires clearly visible.
So, why do I give this collection 5 stars?
1) This is the first, and possibly only time you'll have the chance to get this complete collection of the rest of the gang films.
2) It's also important that you watch and learn how NOT to treat a beloved series; either step up the quality or bow out entirely. Filmmakers should watch the "Our Gang" films beginning with the Hal Roach sound films (1929-1937) and then observe how the series deteriorated with these MGM episodes. A great, great filmmaking lesson is to be learned here.
3) For collectors of comedy films of this period, it's a vital collection.
4) The quality - video & audio - is top-notch.
5) It's very family-friendly - probably even more so than then the original Hal Roach films (still contain some racial humor but less than the Roach films).
So, yes, even with all it's flaws - AND THERE ARE MANY - it's still important for serious collectors. Five stars? Most definitely.

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