Von the Dog Movies
Hip-hop mogul Damon Dash wrote, directed, and stars in this hard-hitting examination of life in the criminal underground of a great city. Three different crime bosses are locked in a battle over the drug trade in Philadelphia. New York transplant Dame (Damon Dash) and his umbrella crew command a powerful network that controls the city's dope traffic, but he has two bitter rivals who both oversee competing gangs from behind bars -- Beans (Beanie Siegel), Philly-born leader of the once-dominant ABM Crime Syndicate, and Loco (Noreaga), a slick street hustler from Miami who has the bankroll to finance a powerful operation. As these three men and their underlings scramble for money and power, another player is quietly consolidating his forces and rising up against them. State Property 2: Philly Streets also features supporting performances from Mariah Carey, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Cam'ron, and a handful of other hip-hop and R&B stars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beanie Sigel, Victor 'Noreaga' Santiago, (more)
- 1937
Upset at being forced to do the household chores all weekend long, Our Gang-ers Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas and Eugene "Porky" Lee decide to run away from home. Taking a breather in the tiny village of Jenksville, the boys manage to cadge a meal from kindly storekeeper Mrs. Jenks (May Wallace). But when she finds out that the kids are runaways, she passes this information along to her husband, Constable Hi Jenks (Otis Harlan), who jovially decides to teach the boys a lesson. Pretending to arrest the four youngsters, Constable Jenks dresses them in convict stripes and forces them to work on the rockpile, figuring that after an hour or so they'll be glad to return home. But an unanticipated swarm of bees brings this little morality play to a sudden and painful conclusion for all concerned. One of the few "Our Gang" one-reelers to boast an original background-music score (courtesy of Marvin Hatley), "Roamin' Holiday" was originally released on June 12, 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, (more)
- 1936
Finding out that the circus will be coming to town for one day only, "Our Gang" members Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas and Eugene "Porky" Lee conspire to stage an "epidemic" in order to skip out of school. The boys go so far as to write a phony excuse note, to which they affix the name of a local doctor. But then it is revealed out that the schoolteacher (Rosina Lawrence had made plans to close school and take all the kids to the circus for free. Now, the four clever boys are on the horns of a dilemma: How can they retrieve that excuse note from Miss Lawrence's desk, with the schoolhouse securely locked up for the night? The title of this one-reel "Our Gang" comedy should tip off the viewer that our heroes will stage a nocturnal foray into the classroom --- if they don't manage to scare each other silly first. Spooky Hooky was originally released on December 5, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, (more)
