1-2-3-Go!

"1-2-3 Go"'s humor to some, maybe weak, but it is very informative on being aware how where you walk or run, as a pedestrian. In the closing scene, after Mickey was asked to speak, he suggested "Froggy" was better at making short speeches, on the lesson they learned, after two or three microphones, busted because of his "Popeye, the Sailor" voice, he made the speech in his regular voice. Then he immediately said "Fooled you!", in his "Popeye, the Sailor" voice then that microphone exploded, also, in humor. There was another short that "Froggy" did not talk like his "Popeye, the Sailor" voice, all the time, it's title is 1942's "Surprised Parties". In this one, he spoke and dressed as if he was a girl! Learning that Spanky & the gang of Rascals were creating a surprise party, and temporarily removed him from "The Gang", (just to keep it secret, to him). When he heard of this, he messed up everything, on purpose, thinking it was for someone else and he decided to dress and try to look and act like a girl, to watch his schemes and tricks "Backfire", on everyone else! Then, when he finally realized it was for him, he let all the "ACCIDENTS", that he created, happen to him, on purpose!

This was a pretty good short, it's so sad to see little kids get hurt by being hit by cars, but, I'm glad Mickey Gubatosi is alive and well. Getting hit by cars is the worst thing that could happen to a kid. I give this episode 8 out of 10.

It's inconceivable to imagine an unfunny Hal Roach Our Gang. After Hal sold off the series to his distributor MGM in May, 1938 it soon became harder to find anything to laugh about. Somewhere along the way MGM decided to supplant comedy with moral lessons and/or--- even worse--- education! No one ever went to see an Our Gang installment to do anything other than laugh and, unfortunately, comedy was the one true weakness in the MGM machine. In this dismal entry, Mickey Gubitosi (the now incarcerated Robert Blake) gets hit by a car and the gang goes off on a pedestrian safety crusade called the "1-2-3 Go Safety Society." Worthy cause or not, this is not what Our Gang is all about. It's also painfully apparent that Spanky had outgrown his role in the series at this point. This one's nearly as bad as the MGM shorts could get... unfortunately the series would fumble through 3 more years of garbage that would rival 1-2-3 Go!

This M-G-M educational short, 1-2-3 Go!, is the two hundredth entry in the "Our Gang" series and the one hundred twelfth talkie. Yes, I said educational, as this one seemed nothing more than a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the benefits of looking both ways before crossing the street. See, Mickey-in trying to catch the baseball-gets hit by a car while running in the street and gets his legs broken as a result. When Spanky and the rest of the gang see him and other kids who were hurt the same way in the hospital, Spanky forms the 1-2-3 Go Safety Society as we see both kids-one of whom is Giovanna Gubitosi, or Jean Blake, Mickey's sister-and adults practice crossing the street by saying those numbers before doing so. Okay, to paraphrase Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann-authors of the Our Gang filmography book, before M-G-M took over the series, these would never have been mistaken for classroom films and Our Gang's only connection with the mayor, who supports their cause here, would only a few years before have been a baseball accidentally breaking his window! Whatever funny stuff there is in this one is courtesy of Froggy especially at the end when he attempts to speak to a national audience on radio but when he uses his unique voice, the microphones blow out! So he uses a more normal voice for the remaining intact one before...oh, just watch 1-2-3 Go! (though I don't really recommend it) if you want to find out!

There are maybe two "gags" in this short. And to spare you from having to watch it, the "best" one is when Froggy drinks a sedative meant for the laid-up Mickey.

But the important thing is that "the Our Gang" has created a safety society where horrid little children say "1 2 3 Go" before crossing the street. Soon the stuffy, unlikable adults are doing it too. At the end, there is even a "Nationwide Broadcast To Honor Our Gang Originators Of The "1-2-3 Go" Safety Society." I'm sure all of America tuned into to listen to THAT.

It's really sad to see Spanky, now far too old for this, speechifying and reciting dialogue that no one outside of MGM-land would ever say. It makes me want to run into the street WITHOUT counting to avoid it.