Mama's Little Pirate

For a few films before this one, Buckwheat was a character played by a girl! This film marks the appearance of the real Buckwheat we have all come to know and sometimes love.

This is one of the best Our Gang comedies. Unlike some, which seemed to have little in the way of plot, this one was very well written and didn't just rely on the kids being adorable to attract an audience. It all begins with Spanky being adorable (which was true in all his earlier films). His father talks about an article in the newspaper that says pirate treasure was recently discovered. Naturally, this gives Spanky an idea and he rounds up all the kids to go explore a nearby cave. However, when he returns home for a flashlight, his mother catches him and forbids him to go. He's defiant--resulting in him being sent to his room. Now I could tell you all about the rest of the film, but I don't want to spoil it. Suffice to say that it's a wonderful and rather dark fantasy film from here on. I especially loved Spanky talking with his rather nasty conscience--but the giant was also a sight you have to see! This film has what you want in a film--lots of laughs. While I normally think the Our Gang comedies aren't nearly as good as some of the other series from Hal Roach Studios (especially Laurel & Hardy and Charley Chase), this one is a definite exception. Well worth seeing and fun.

I watched MAMA'S LITTLE PIRATE, a short comedy offering from the Our Gang team, on a video compilation of Little Rascals efforts that Amazon Prime were kind enough to upload. It's an energetic if slight tale in which the team decide to hunt for some buried treasure inside a cave, only to get up to all kinds of hijinks with the people therein. It has goofy slapstick, exaggerated performances, and all of the childish humour you could hope for.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Against his mother's wishes, Spanky takes Stymie & the Gang treasure hunting in a dark cave. What MAMA'S LITTLE PIRATE finds there will be a big surprise to them all...

Lots of fun & adventure in this little film. Highlight: the attack of the Giant (played by R. E. `Tex' Madsen, voice by longtime comedian Billy Bletcher). This was one of the films where Buckwheat is supposedly a female character.

I am a crazed Rascals fan

Yes, I admit it. I'll snap up every Our Gang comedy like a ravenous monkey, especially the installments featuring the adorable child actor Scotty Beckett. This film, considered by some critics to be one of the best in the series, was also rumored to have provided some basic story lines for Steven Spielburg's "The Goonies". It features a very young Buckwheat in contrast to an "aging" Stymie.

The Little Rascals is an escape to yesterday for all of us. With it's simple childhood portrayal, in the midst of the depression, and Saturday morning memories, it is difficult to find people who are not interested in this remarkable series. If you have not seen any, what are you waiting for?