Pete the Pup Movies

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

A followup to the musical-revue short Our Gang Follies of 1936, the one-reel Reunion in Rhythm was apparently filmed under the title Our Gang Follies of 1937. Its release title reflected the fact that, in addition to such current Gang members as Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Darla Hood, Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas, and Eugene "Porky" Lee, the film also features return appearances by former "Our Gang" stalwarts Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb and Mathew "Stymie" Beard. The occasion is a class reunion at Adams Street Grammar School, where the students stage a show for the entertainment of the alumni. Musical highlights include "Baby Face", performed by Darla and Porky; &"Broadway Rhythm", performed by Spanky and the ensemble; and a medley of &"Going Hollywood" and "I'm Through With Love", sung by Alfalfa and Georgia Jean LaRue. Originally released on January 9, 1937, "Reunion in Rhythm" is the least satisfying of the "Our Gang" musicals, perhaps because the kids seem a tad over-rehearsed this time out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even allowing for the fact that it's only a one-reeler, the "Our Gang" comedy "The Pigskin Palooka" goes by so rapidly that the viewer will be gasping for breath! Having written of his football heroics in military school, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer returns home to a hero's welcome. No sooner has he stepped off the train than his old pal Spanky McFarland, manager of the gang's football team, informs Alfalfa that he's been slated to be star player in an upcoming gridiron battle --- which is to be staged within the next few hours. Only one problem: Alfalfa has been exagerrating his athletic prowess, and in fact has never played football in his life. Will Alfie survive this dilemma, or will he be blitzed into the next county? "The Pigskin Palooka" was released just in time for football season on October 23, 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several years away from the Our Gang series, the gang's longtime mentor Robert F. McGowan briefly resumed his directorial activities with the sidesplitting Divot Diggers. The action takes place at an expansive California golf course, where the Our Gang kids merrily play their own ragtag version of golf with their own makeshift clubs. When the course's regular caddies quit en masse, the desperate caddy master hires the gang members as replacements. The kids -- and their gibberish-spouting pet chimpanzee -- proceed to drive an adult foursome crazy, then put the finishing touch on an imperfect day by accidentally commandeering a lawn-mowing tractor. To list the film's best verbal and visual gags would require a website in itself; suffice to say that the film packs an inordinate amount of laughs into its brief 14 minutes. Augmented by a terrific LeRoy Shield musical score (including such familiar Hal Roach leitmotifs as "Hot and Dry," "Standing on the Corner," and "Beyond the Rainbow"), Divot Diggers made its theatrical debut on February 8, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the last day of school, the Our Gang kids learn that their beloved teacher Miss Jones (Arletta Duncan) is going to be married; thus, come September, the kids will have a "new" teacher, Mrs. Wilson. Miss Jones' fiancee Ralph (Edward Norris) playfully paints a frightening picture of Mrs. Wilson as "a dried-up mean old woman" ---neglecting to inform the kids that his last name is Wilson, and that Miss Jones will continue to be their teacher under her new married name. Thanks to Ralph's ill-timed joshing, the youngsters convince themselves that the only way to retain their favorite teacher is to break up the wedding --- starting with the pre-nuptual reception, where the kids surreptitiously "spike" the food with tabasco sauce, horseradish and garlic peppers. Originally released on April 27, 1935, "Teacher's Beau" marks the final "Our Gang" appearance of series stalwart Mathew "Stymie" Beard. Note: the version included in the "Little Rascals" TV package has been severely edited, rendering the film's punchline incomprehensible (a complete and uncut version is available on home video). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to get on the good side of the new truant officer (Dick Elliot), the Our Gang kids go out of their way to impress the man's cute little daughter Marianne (Marianne Edwards), even unto making such sacrifices as taking baths, combing hair, shining shoes, and washing behind the ears. Both George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer pay a social call on Marianne, and before long, the two lifelong pals have become romantic rivals. Ultimately, Spanky and Alfalfa stage an athletic competition to determine who is the better man, an undertaking with (literally) prickly results. Originally previewed under the title Good Night Ladies, Sprucin' Up was officially released on June 1, 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When neighborhood bully Leonard Kibrick wrecks little Marianne Edwards' favorite doll, the "Our Gang" kids promise to purchase a new doll for the brokenhearted girl. Unfortunately, the local toy store is run by Leonard's equally obnoxious father William Wagner, who agrees to give the kids a doll only if they'll hand over their beloved Pete the Pup in exchange. Balking at this arrangement, the kids concoct a variety of moneymaking schemes, all of them doomed to failure. Tearfully, the youngsters trade Pete for the doll --- but fear not, a happy ending is waiting in the wings! Originally released on April 14, 1934, "For Pete's Sake" is highlighted by the bantering byplay between the two youngest "Our Gang" members, Spanky McFarland and Scotty Beckett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When open auditions are announced for a radio variety program, the local station is besieged by aggressively overcoached "professional kids." Also auditioning is an impressive-sounding musical aggregation called the International Silver String Submarine Band --- which turns out to be none other than the "Our Gang" kids, equipped (or rather, armed) with home-made instruments. After suffering through an endless parade of cloyingly cute kiddie troupers (and inadvertently wrecking several expensive pieces of radio equipment in the process), the Gang members step up to the microphone and steal the show with a truly unforgettable rendition of "The Man on the Flying Trapeze". The irresistably entertaining "Our Gang" entry "Mike Fright" was first exhibited theatrically on August 25, 1934. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This time around, the Our Gang Kids are residents (or rather, inmates) of the Bleak Hill Boarding School, where the crabby old lady in charge forces them to do all the chores and feeds them a strict diet of mush. Fortunately, the kids have a strong ally in the form of lovable old Cap (Gus Leonard), the school's combination handyman and teacher. Cap promises the youngsters that he'll rescue them from Bleak Hill once his back pension comes in -- and, by golly, he does! Highlights include Spanky McFarland's garbled telephone conversation with perennial Laurel and Hardy foil James Finlayson, and 6-year-old Tommy Bond's stirring rendition of the very adult torch song "Friends, Lovers No More". Our Gang: Mush and Milk was originally released on May 27, 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released on September 9, 1933, "Bedtime Worries" was the first of two "Our Gang" comedies in which the vaudeville team of Emerson Treacy and Gay Seabrook (a second-echelon Burns and Allen) were cast as the parents of little Spanky McFarland. On the day he is promoted to head clerk (or "head cluck," as Spanky puts it), Treacy declares that it is high time Spanky stopped sleeping in his parents' room and go to bed in his own room. During his first night alone, Spanky envisions all sorts of imaginary horrors, from a bat (actually a moth) to "the boogeyman." Thus, when a burglar (Harry Bernard) climbs into Spanky's window, the boy's dozing parents fail to believe his story. Passing himself off as Santa Claus, the burglar steals everything that isn't nailed down until the rest of the Our Gang kids come to the rescue. A quote from Mae West caps this delightful two-reeler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this classic "Our Gang" comedy, Dickie Moore, Spanky McFarland and Dorothy DeBorba play siblings who, through a misunderstanding, become convinced that the local carnival's "Wild Man of Borneo" is really their prodigal Uncle George. Though basically harmless, the Wild Man really goes wild when he's hungry for candy. Shouting "Yum, yum! Eat 'em up," the Wild Man sparks a hectic chase that doesn't let up until the "End" title. Best scene: little Spanky prodding the Wild Man into eating the entire contents of the family refrigerator. Originally released on April 15, 1933, "The Kid From Borneo" has been withdrawn from the "Little Rascals" TV package due to its allegedly offensive "racist" content; even so, it remains a favorite on the home-video market. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

June Marlowe made her final "Our Gang" appearance as Miss Crabtree in "Readin' and Writin'." Despite his mother's admonitions that he'll "never be President" unless he attends school, little Breezy Brisbane (Kenneth McKenna) contocts a plan that will earn him expulsion from Miss Crabtree's classroom. But though Breezy is able to escape the halls of learning, he is unable to elude his own conscience, in a scene eerily reminiscent of the Eugene O'Neill play Strange Interlude. Along the way, Miss Crabtree tries to conduct another "pop quiz," apple-polisher Sherwood "Spud" Bailey recites a sappy poem, and the classroom is invaded by both a donkey and a skunk. "Readin' and Writin'" was originally released on February 2, 1932. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released on August 27, 1932, Hook and Ladder was a remake of the 1926 "Our Gang" comedy The Fourth Alarm, with several gags repeated verbatim. Answering the Fire Chief's request for volunteers, the Our Gang kids form their own firefighting squadron, replete with ersatz uniforms, a fire pole, a dog-and-cat-powered alarm, and a jerry-built fire engine that must be seen to be believed. After a few false alarms and delays, the kids are afforded the opportunity to put out a real fire, which they do with the expertise of veteran smoke-eaters. Some of the sequences in the blazing warehouse may be a bit intense for modern viewers, but rest assured that the kids back in 1932 were both thrilled and delighted. An amusing running gag involving little Spanky McFarland's worm medicine punctuates this lively series entry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide