Wild Poses

A somewhat atypical OUR GANG comedy. The focus is not on the interaction of the gang, but concerns itself with Franklin Pangborn's tribulations in taking a portrait photo of Spanky. Spanky gets to sock Pangborn frequently and hilariously. Look for a quick cameo by Laurel and Hardy.

The film starts off with a guy trying to get folks to sign up to get their children photographed. In a VERY brief scene, you see a clip of Laurel and Hardy from "Brats"--but don't blink--it's very short. Then, you see Spanky's parents from the prior Our Gang film ("Bedtime Worries") taking him to the photographer (Franklin Pangborn) for a portrait. Oddly, the rest of the Gang all come along--and naturally chaos ensues after the boys sabotage the photographer's equipment. Spanky is also on his worst behavior and socks the photographer in the face repeatedly--at which point, the mother laughs says how cute this is (I really wanted to sock her at this point!). Then, whenever the guy tries to get a picture, Spanky covers his head and refuses to cooperate.

Like "Bedtime Worries", this isn't really an Our Gang film. Sure, it has one scene where the kids come and cause some mishaps and another appearance later, but it's all very brief and the film is much more like a Spanky film and the Gang are but guest stars making brief appearances. Still, it has many cute scenes and is a pretty good film overall. Plus, considering the short cameo by Laurel and Hardy, it's well worth seeing--even if Spanky is a total brat.

I've never seen any of 'Our Gang' before mainly due to the fact that they have never in my lifetime been shown on British TV. Well, at least not to my knowledge. Also 'The Little Rascals' haven't been shown since i was a little kid. I was very impressed by nearly everything in this little comedy gem. The kids are excellent and Spanky is just so amazing it's genius. The way he acts all goofy and at such a young age is quite an achievement and i'm glad they caught this fantastic child actor on camera while they had the chance. I really do sympathise with the photographer though and Stan Laurel's poke in the eye is a bit dodgy. I'm going to try and find some more 'Our Gang' episodes. Superb! 9/10

Outstanding OUR GANG/LITTLE RASCALS short comedy film that hits all the high notes. The perfect storm.

This film may also have broadened Franklin Pangborn's career, who had been appearing in films since the 1920s. Pangborn was an original, the mold for frustrated, highly excited, wise-cracking gentlemen of gentlemen. He plays the role to perfection here as phtographer Otto Phocus, who has the luck of taking pictures of baby Spanky, brought in by his devout mom (Gay Seabrook) and dad (Emerson Treacy). Spanky socks Otto right in the nose, reminsicent of his battle with Dell Henderon in CHOO CHOO.

Spanky thinks Otto is going to shoot him ---so he does everything he can to AVOID having his picture taken, necessitating Otto to desperately do everything HE CAN to get the job done. A scene after scene battle of wits that's a must see, expertly directed by Robert MacGowan who, at the time, was winding down his career after having directed numerous short films for producer Hal Roach.

Treacy and Seabrook appeared together in one other short, BEDTIME WORRIES, also playing Spanky's dutiful parents. The twosome originally appeared as a radio comedy team in the 1930s, a takeoff on BURNS AND ALLEN, and you have to admit, Gay Seabrook's style was very similar to comedian Gracie Allen. They are fun to watch and it's a shame their shorts with Spanky did not continue as a series.

Look for a very quick cameo by Laurel and Hardy dressed as children. Unforgettable.

Get the OUR GANG short film box set just for this one. Remastered and thank you to METV for running this classic on their Comedy Classics segment.

These were produced in bulk. Hal Roach's Filmography must be the largest of anyone. But even in these, where the thinnest of ideas was overblown to fill the time, you can see some ordinary folding.

The business with the gang was all about mugging. And Spanky was the star, at least in the early ones because he was the best at facial expressions.

So here's the setup: we see a recording of someone trying to record Spanky. The success of the recording we see depends on the failure of the photographer.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.