Kids Will Be Kids

Apparently, in 1954 Columbia Pictures tried resurrecting the Our Gang/Little Rascals concept. At this point, production of the films by Hal Roach and MGM had ended and perhaps Columbia thought the time was right for bringing them back to an eager world. It turns out that the world wasn't eager after all....though I suspect much of it is because Columbia did such a lousy job with this short...and I hope and pray they didn't make any more! What's so bad about the film? The biggest and most obvious problem are the kids. While Roach did a great job in finding talented kids and getting the most out of them, this motley crew is about as likable as a case of Ebola! They simply cannot deliver their lines well and it sounds as if they are awkwardly reading their lines. I can only assume they never rehearsed and never did retakes....meaning that the director was either incompetent or was ordered to make the film as cheaply and quickly as possible and there was no time nor money for making it any other way. When you add that the script is dull, you've got a recipe for disaster. The ONLY bright spot in the film is the dog, as the veteran Daisy from the Blondie movies is onhand to constantly upstage the untalented kids.

I counted six mistakes while watching this movie. Those 6 mistakes are the lead "actors" producer/director Jules White hired to appear in the film. The year was 1954, and White's idea was to create a new series of theatrical short-subjects inspired by the popular "Our Gang" series that had just been issued to the television market. The televised "Our Gang" shorts were retitled "The Little Rascals", so Jules White christened this gang "The Mischief Makers" (not to be confused with the 1960's television revival of the early "Our Gang" silents).

This 16 minute film seemed to last forever, and is easily the worst two-reel comedy short Columbia Pictures produced. All of the laughs are unintentional, and the child actors chosen for the roles lack the charm and wit of the "Our Gang" kids. To make matters worse, this group of award-winning thespians can barely deliver their lines, and morbidly, the only scene I found funny involved one of the "Mischief Makers" being locked inside an abandoned refrigerator (don't worry...the kid is rescued). If you feel I've left a big spoiler here, forget it. You probably won't be able to dig up a copy of this film anyways (and if you do, I suggest you promptly bury it again).

How veteran character actor Emil Sitka got through this mess of a film, I'll never know.