Sidney Kibrick Movies

Reprimanded for his poor grades ("Gee, Dad, don't 'F' stand for 'Fabulous'?"), Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer is told that, unless he improves his academic standing, he'll never get to college. But Alfalfa laughs this off, informing his dad that he intends to sail through college on a football scholarship. Dreaming about his future gridiron triumphs, Alfie is brought down to earth when he envisions himself being disqualified from the inevitable "big game" due to his lousy grades. Awakening from this nightmare, our hero vows to put football on the back burner in favor of cracking the books. A typically heavy-handed MGM "Our Gang" entry, the one-reel morality play Time Out for Lessons was originally released on December 2, 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Upset that his youthful sweetheart Darla Hood has once again thrown him over in favor of neighborhood bully Tommy "Butch" Bond, Our Gang member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer tries to forget his troubles by watching a sidewalk performance by famed hypnotist Professor William Delmore (John Davidson). Chosen as a subject, Alfalfa is hypnotized into believing that he is the fearless D'Artagnan, of Three Musketeers fame. Armed with this bold new personality, Alfie not only sweeps Darla off her feet, but also challenges the dumbfounded Butch to a duel. The results, while not deadly, are devastating for both Alfalfa and Butch. The one-reel Our Gang comedy Duel Personalities was originally released March 11, 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Our Gang kids must raise 37 cents to pay off neighborhood bully Tommy "Butch" Bond. After earning a dollar for taking care of an injured dog, the kids hit upon a sure-fire moneymaking scheme; they'll "rescue" every dog in town, thereby collecting a dollar from each grateful owner. Naturally, the pet owners are upset when their pooches mysteriously disappear, and before long the gang is in hot water with the cops. Originally released on July 1, 1939, Dog Daze is a substandard Our Gang one-reeler that even the presence of guest star Scotty Beckett (repeating his "Cousin Wilbur" characterization) cannot rescue from mediocrity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Our Gang members Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Tommy "Butch" Bond are bitter rivals for the affections of little Darla Hood. The nerdish Waldo (Darwood Kaye) comes up with a solution: Alfalfa and Butch will compete for the title of Junior Mayor during Boys' Week, and whichever one wins will earn the honor of escorting Darla to the annual Strawberry Festival. But despite the strenuous efforts of both young candidates, a "dark horse" wins not only the election, but also the girl. Originally released on August 27, 1938, the one-reel Our Gang comedy Party Fever was among the earliest directorial efforts of George Sidney (The Harvey Girls, Show Boat, Bye Bye Birdie). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to get even for all the practical jokes perpetrated by neighborhood troublemaker Tommy "Butch" Bond, the Our Gang kids plan to sabotage Butch's birthday party. The weapon of choice is a firecracker, which is substituted for one of the birthday candles. Unfortunately, the kids in general and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer in particular are unable to escape from the party before the big (and tasty) explosion. Essentially a single-joke effort, the one-reel Our Gang comedy Practical Jokers was originally released on December 17, 1938. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Last week, fickle Darla Hood declared that she would not go out with neighborhood bully Butch (Tommy Bond) until he started behaving like a gentleman. This week, however, Darla is ga-ga over "muscle men" in general and self-styled wrestler Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer in particular. Thanks to the machinations of his manager Spanky McFarland, "Wildcat" Alfalfa is set to defend his championship title in a fixed bout against the "Masked Marvel"--in reality, the wimpy Waldo (Darwood Kaye). But what Alfie doesn't know is that a revenge-seeking Butch has traded places with Waldo. As he prepares to mop up the floor with the helpless Alfalfa, Butch is defeated through the trickery of Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas and Eugene "Porky" Lee -- but this time, both Alfalfa and Butch are losers when it comes to Darla. Originally released on April 16, 1938, Our Gang: Came the Brawn marked Spanky McFarland's final appearance in Hal Roach's "Our Gang" series, though Spanky would return to the property when it was purchased by MGM later in the year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After appearing as a peripheral player in several earlier "Our Gang" shorts, Tommy Bond made a spectacular return to the series in Glove Taps. Here and in all future appearances, Bond is cast as neighborhood bully Butch, the bane of the existence of Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and the rest of the Gang. Normally, Butch explains, he beats up every kid in school to prove that he's Big Man on Campus; but to save time, he'll lick the toughest kid in school. By a fluke, weak-kneed Alfalfa is chosen to face Butch in the barnyard boxing ring --- and he has only one day to train for the big bout! If the background music in this one-reel comedy sounds familiar, it should; much of it was lifted from Marvin Hatley's Oscar-nominated score for the Laurel and Hardy feature Way Out West (1937). A fast and funny exercise in adolescent wish-fulfillment, "Glove Taps" was originally released on February 20, 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is Valentine's Day, and Our Gang members Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas and Eugene "Porky" Lee aren't impressed. Deciding that romance is the bunk, the boys form the He-Man Woman Hater's Club. Alfalfa is willing to go along with this until he falls head over heels in love with classmate Darla Hood. Hoping to scotch this relationship, Spanky, Buckwheat and Porky insert soap in the sandwich and cream puff that Darla has prepared for Alfalfa. Tortuously, Alfie downs the nauseating repast, rather than hurt Darla's feelings. Things get worse for the would-be Romeo when schoolteacher Miss Lawrence (Rosina Lawrence) prevails upon Alfalfa to offer a bubbly (in every sense of the word!) rendition of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart". The "Our Gang" one-reeler Hearts Are Thumps (sometimes misidentified as Hearts Are Trumps) was originally released on April 3, 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While staging a "William Tell" exhibition in a vacant lot, junior marksman Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer accidentally incurs the wrath of neighborhood bully Butch (Tommy Bond) -- or, as he announces himself, "you're darn right it's Butch!" When Alfalfa faints, his pal Spanky McFarland tries to save face by insisting that, were Alfie still conscious, he'd knock Butch silly. The bully responds by threatening to bounce Alfalfa around "like a rubber ball" when he wakes up. To prevent this, Spanky cooks up a scheme to convince Butch that Alfalfa has suffered a broken leg while defending Butch's reputation. A large dead fish, previously caught by Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas, proves to be a suitable stand-in for Alfalfa's "damaged" leg -- until a couple of cats show up unannounced. The "Our Gang" one-reeler Fishy Tales made its theatrical debut on August 28, 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When little Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas and Eugene "Porky" Lee bring some firecrackers to school, older kids Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Spanky McFarland conspire to get the explosives away from the youngsters ---not out of any regard for safety, but because Alfie and Spanky want to set them off themselves! Posing as "G-Men", the two older boys manage to get their hands on the firecrackers, but Buckwheat and Porky have the last laugh during Alfalfa's classroom recitation of "The Charge of the Light Brigade. Rosina Lawrence again appears as schoolteacher Miss Lawrence. The one-reel "Our Gang" comedy "Two Too Young" was originally released on September 26, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Much against his will, Spanky McFarland had been entered in a kiddie talent contest by his ambitious mother (Kitty Kelly). Hoping to dissuade his Mom from forcing him into a theatrical career, Spanky arranges for the other Our Gang kids to "razz" him during the performance, thereby making certain that he'll lose. While backstage, however, Spanky befriends little Marianne Edwards, who desperately needs the prize money to buy a new dress. Stricken by stage fright, Marianne rushes offstage in tears before she can go into her act. Touched by the girl's plight, Spanky is now determined to win the contest and turn the prize money over to the girl--but the other Gang members don't know that, and they're primed to greet Spanky's recitation with a barrage of boos, catcalls, noisemakers and peashooters. As in the previous comedy Our Gang: Mike Fright, this two-reeler scores its biggest laughs by contrasting the pretensions of "professional kids" with the down-to-earthness of the Gang. As an added bonus, this film marks the debut of future series stalwart Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. "Beginner's Luck" was originally released on February 23, 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anxious to go fishing, Spanky McFarland skips out of Sunday school, despite the admonitions of his pal Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer that "Something's going to happen to you." Actually, everything happens to Spanky and his kid brother (Eugene "Porky" Lee) in the course of the morning. Chased out of a private estate by cantankerous Clarence Wilson, the two boys wander into a dark, mysterious woods --- just as a group of black worshippers are holding a mass baptism ceremony. Inevitably, the kids scare the worshippers, and vice versa, culminating in a hectic chase (accompanied by the strains of LeRoy Shield's "Fastie", a nervous agitato orginally written for the 1935 Laurel and Hardy feature Bonnie Scotland. Originally released on October 26, 1935, "Little Sinner" has been withdrawn from most "Little Rascals" TV packages due to its racial content; those few stations that have run the film in recent years have been forced to rely upon prints so severely edited that they're hardly worth the bother. Fortunately for film historians and purists, the film is available in its entirety on home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Spanky McFarland would like to play football with the rest of the "Our Gang" kids, he is stuck at home taking care of his baby brother. Hoping to lull the kid to sleep, thereby allowing himself to sneak out of the house, Spanky tries all sorts of "sure-fire" beddie-bye methods. But neither he nor his co-conspirator Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer are able to coerce the little brat into drifting off dreamland --- though they do briefly fall asleep themselves. A none too successful reworking of the 1932 Laurel and Hardy two-reeler Their First Mistake, the "Our Gang" comedy "Little Papa" was originally released on September 21, 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide