School's Out

School's Out (1930)

*** (out of 4)

Our Gang short plays out like a sequel to Teacher's Pet. When a man comes to the school asking about Miss Crabtree, the gang fears it's a man wanting to marry her and take her away. To try and make him change his mind they start telling lies about her but what they don't know is that this man is actually her brother. This is a pretty good short but it's certainly not as good as the previous film as there aren't as many laughs here. The highlight is a wonderful sequence where Miss Crabtree gives the class a history quiz but they keep giving dumb answers after buying them from a classmate. All of the group get some nice stuff with Jackie Cooper once again taking most of the good stuff. There is a rather off color remake made towards Farina that doesn't play too well today but overall this is a pleasant film. The joke about Lon Chaney and one of his famous movies is well done as well.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short

SCHOOL'S OUT for lunch when Miss Crabtree's brother comes looking for her. Mistaking him for a possible suitor, the Gang quickly develops plans to get rid of him...

A funny little film. Highlight: Question & Answer time. June Marlowe plays pretty Miss Crabtree and Creighton Hale appears as her brother Jack..

Watching this put me back to my long ago childhood. There were afternoon children's shows that used the Little Rascals as fillers, killing fifteen to twenty minutes. They reran the ones they had over and over. I have to say that they were gentle and funny, with neat characters. While there was a lot of racism in some of the comments, African American children were regulars. This one didn't use the more recognizable ones (especially Spanky and Alfalfa) and was more coarse. I enjoyed that. It probably portrayed the lives of little kids very well.

Jackie, who has a crush on his teacher, Miss Crabtree, is afraid that she will get married and leave the school. When a strange man comes around the school asking for Miss Crabtree, Jackie and the gang are convinced he's going to marry her. They tell the stranger several stories about her -- saying she puts red stuff on her lips, has two sets of false teeth, one wooden leg, two husbands, and twenty-one kids. Unknown to the gang, the man is actually Miss Crabtree's brother! What will happen to the gang when Miss Crabtree finds out?

"School's Out" is a sequel to the Little Rascals film "Teacher's Pet," and is a fine follow-up for Hal Roach and company. The laughs are constant throughout the film, and the kids are so natural that you would swear you are watching a real situation. The feelings they display are genuine; they truly love their teacher and don't want to see here go anywhere.

Much of the dialogue in "School's Out" is hilarious; Roach dialogue writer "Beanie" Walker deserves the credit. Some lines slipped past the censors! When Miss Crabtree is driving the children to school, they are steadfast in saying they will never get married. Farina says, "I'm not getting married, and I'm raising my children the same way!" Mary Ann states, "I heard my mother say she made my father marry her!" Out of the mouths of babes...

Miss Crabtree's brother is played by Creighton Hale, an actor with greater silent screen credits than talkies ("The Cat and the Canary" is perhaps his most famous silent role). Most of his talkie career went unnoticed in uncredited roles. This appearance, and his two later Rascal roles in "Big Ears" and "Free Wheeling," are undoubtedly his most familiar talkie roles. He displays enough feigned surprise at the gang's comments about his sister to warrant laughter.

If you loved "Teacher's Pet," you'll love "School's Out." A finer comedy sequel would be tough to find in any decade. 9 out of 10.

Jackie Cooper leads the Little Rascals troop in their efforts to derail what they mistakenly believe is their teacher Miss Crabapple's potential husband (Creighton Hale). A decent entry in the long-running Hal Roach series. The kids are cute - but June Marlowe as their beloved teacher is far, far cuter in all sorts of different ways.