The Buccaneers

Sound out pirate ship. And Ernie's ship.

Someone posted all the silent Our Gang shorts on YouTube some time ago....and I really appreciate it. However, be aware that a few of them have music that goes in and out a lot. This is not a big deal, as the films originally had no sound whatsoever and theaters would often have a piano or organ provide incidental music. So, if the music disappearing randomly and re-appearing randomly bothers you, just turn the sound all the way down.

This short find the Gang playing pirates. And, as is so often the case, this means the kids have supposedly built themselves an amazingly realistic toy. In this case, however, they borrow a sailboat and soon run afoul of the US Navy who sees their boat and come to the rescue...all the while the kids continue to pretend to be pirates. What's next? See the film.

Once again, this installment of the Our Gang comedies sure features the kids doing some amazingly dangerous stuff unlike in their later sound films. In these early films, the kids often played with straight razors, drove cars or sailed boats..stuff they'd never do in later shorts.

So is it any good? Yes, though the jokes aren't as big nor as often as many of their early films....it is still worth seeing.

Buccaneers, The (1924)

** (out of 4)

Lesser Our Gang short has the group playing pirates and building a ship to sail in. Once the ship hits water it sinks but they end up on another boat when the good ol' dog unties the rope and the kids head off to sea where they must be rescued by the Navy. This entry in the series certainly isn't the best Hal Roach had to offer but it's decent enough of a time killer but the lack of laughs really keep it from being better. The only laughs don't happen until the end of the film once the kids are on the Navy ship and the Captain informs them that they hang pirates. This small sequence gets a few nice laughs but everything leading up to it is pretty flat. This includes a running joke of Joe chewing tobacco and we get close ups of the spit once it hits the floor. We see this at least five times during the film so apparently someone thought it was funny. Another joke deals with the boys not wanting Mary on the ship because pirates and girls don't go together.

The rascals decide to head down to the waterfront and play pirate..... and Mary Kornman is upset because they won't let her play. However, when they're chased, they take refuge on a ship.... and find themselves drifting out to sea, until they're rescued by the Nacy... . and the captain of the rescuing vessels informs them they hang pirates.

It's one of the Our Gang comedies in which they wind up playing with outsized props, and while they're always a lot of fun, it's not one of the better shorts in the silent era, still, Joe Cobb has a couple of good gags, and it's always a pleasure to watch Ernie Morrison and Alan 'Farina' Hoskins.