Little Papa

This Hal Roach comedy short, Little Papa, is the one hundred thirty-ninth in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the fifty-first talkie. Spanky is anxious to play football with the gang but his mother makes him take care of his baby sister (Patsy Dittemore or May) while she goes out. So Spank and Alfalfa try to make her sleep. Now if only they can get out of the house without waking her up...This was another funny Our Gang comedy with Spanky and Alf making a fine comedy team. It's like a miniature Laurel & Hardy, complete with Alfalfa singing "Go to Sleep" like Ollie did previously in Brats! Leonard Maltin & Richard W. Bann complained about that factor when reviewing this short in their book, "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang", but since I love both Stan & Ollie and Spanky & Alfalfa, seeing them doing some of the same things just make me laugh and smile all over! So on that note, I highly recommend Little Papa.

Spanky wants to go play football with the other kids. However, his mother is irresponsible and tells him he has to stay home and take care of his baby sister. I guess in the mid-1930s this seemed like a good idea, but this is a very YOUNG Spanky and leaving him with a toddler is insane. Nonetheless, Spanky figures if he can get the baby to sleep, he can then sneak out to play ball. But the mischievous baby isn't sleepy and she'd much rather get into trouble! And, each time they DO get her to sleep, something invariably happens to stop them from leaving the kid. All in all, a simple idea that worked well. A decent short and an improvement over their previous outing.

By the way, the baby is quite adorable--and seeing this cutie jumping in mud puddles is reason enough to watch this short.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Before Spanky can play football with the Gang, he has to watch his baby sister; if she falls asleep, he is to put her to bed. But how is LITTLE PAPA going to get the tot sleepy?

This is a very funny little film. Tiny Eva Lee Kuney is adorable. Highlight: any scene with the baby. Alfalfa croons `Go To Sleep, My Baby'.