Saturday's Lesson

The copy of "Saturday's Lesson" on YouTube is very odd, as someone took an original copy of the film and videotaped it as it played! It makes for a rather ugly print.

On this particular Saturday morning, the various kids from the gang are mad at their mothers. Some hate that they have to do chores instead of going out to play and some hate that their mom makes them eat spinach*. They rebel and meet under a nearby tree to complain about their awful mothers. However, in a scene that could only happen in films, a man dressed as a devil is nearby and he overhears the kids. Using smoke bombs, he 'magically' appears and warns them all to listen to their mothers...or else! Well, this naturally scares the crap out of the kids and they all rush home to do their chores or eat their spinach. The problem now, however, is that they are insanely devoted to their jobs and their mothers cannot stop them! And, naturally, complications result from all this niceness.

Overall, this is a very funny (albeit cruel) installment of the Our Gang comedies. Strange, naturally, but funny...especially when the kids break through the fourth wall at the end!

*By the way, in the spinach scene, the kids are given a HUGE helping of spinach and nothing else. What sort of parenting is that?! I don't mind spinach at all but if I was one of these kids, I'd refuse to eat it as well!

Yes, this is the last silent Our Gang/Little rascals film, and it's also one of the best! Here, the kids are upset because their parents want them to do household chores on their day off from school. They gather together in a gripe session when a heater salesman dressed as the devil to advertise his wares overhears this. He drops a smoke bomb and jumps around to scare the kids into performing their chores. What happens? I'll let you see for yourself.

This film is fall down on the floor funny. Evey adult with a bit of kid in them could identify with the fun the actor playing the devil has as he hams it up to scare the kids. There is a lot of really natural humor in the film too. One early scene has Jean and Mary's mother serving the bratty kids spinach while she has a headache. The kids express their disgust by throwing the spinach in the trash can while their mother steps out. Simple stuff, but so real that it's a hoot. This natural comedy mixes well with the fake devil's antics and as a whole, sends the Gang's career in silent movies out with a bang. A bit hard to find, but well worth it!

Our Gang's final silent, non-talkie movie was "Saturday's Lessons." Even though it was filmed in early March 1929, just before the construction took place to convert Roach's studio to sound, "Saturday's Lessons" was withheld until its release in November 1929. The short's premise has the gang members ignoring their parents' instructions to do household chores on Saturday morning before going out to play. A neighbor, witnessing their insolence, dresses up as a devil and scares them because they didn't listen to their parents. The fact "Saturday's Lessons" was a silent shows the young actors in a more free-wheeling comfort level than their first talkie movie, "Small Talk."

The next few months transitioning to sound created a major overhaul in the talent pool in the Our Gang's series. Joe Cobb, Jean Darling and Harry Spear left the gang. Replacing them were Norman Chaney, Dorothy DeBorga, Mathew 'Stymie' Beard, Donald Haines and Jackie Cooper. The last actor, Cooper, remained with the Roach troupe for only two years before the producer sold his contract to MGM in 1931 for the Louis B. Mayer studio's feature films.

This two-reel comedy is more than just an amusing film, it's a milestone: Saturday's Lesson was the last silent Our Gang short produced for the Hal Roach Studio before the series switched to the full talkie format. Happily, it's a worthy finale, a high energy romp that gives each kid a good moment or two, and leaves the viewer with a warm glow.

"When little boys have been in school all week," says the opening title card, "they have their own ideas about Saturday—" Surprisingly, this introduces a scene of luxury, in which a well-dressed Farina is served a sumptuous meal by a uniformed servant. Needless to add, it turns out to be a fantasy. All too soon, he's awakened by his angry Mama, who puts him to work beating rugs. The other kids are equally unlucky: Harry and his siblings Wheezer, Mary Ann, and Jean must eat spinach—which, of course, they hate—and then do chores. Joe's mother is angry with him over some unspecified infraction, and orders him to chop wood in the back yard as punishment. And all the rascals are warned that if they don't behave, the "devil man" will get them. Before long, the kids manage to escape their imprisonment, meet in a park, and lament their sad lot in life.

Meanwhile, a strange fellow in a devil costume is roaming the city sidewalks, advertising space heaters. (It's claimed they're "hotter than hot.") We get the sense this guy is rather eccentric; he doesn't merely advertise the product, but actually throws smoke bombs at spectators, and performs back-flips for his own amusement. He too winds up in the park, and overhears the children as they discuss shirking their chores—and also hears Farina express curiosity about the "devil man." Recognizing his cue, he appears before the astonished kids in a puff of smoke, and orders them to perform their chores. They rush home to do so, terrified, in a wild frenzy of activity. Amused, the costumed devil follows them, issues more commands to the now-compliant kids, and makes sure they follow through.

A simple description of the story cannot fully convey the appeal of this short. Where the Our Gang series is concerned, the charm of these child actors who make up the cast is crucial. (If you don't believe it, try watching some of the many pseudo-Gang comedies produced in the '20s; those other kiddie shows never rise to the same level of quality.) Farina has one of the best moments, when he first sees the alleged devil and, without further ado, simply faints dead away. Joe Cobb has several terrific, highly expressive close-ups, and so too do the girls. The best Our Gang shorts are true ensemble efforts, and Saturday's Lesson is no exception.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to enjoy this film with a full audience, at a recent silent comedy festival at NYC's Museum of Modern Art, and can attest that it scored a real hit. Although there were lots of entertaining Our Gang comedies made in the talkie era, I tend to prefer the silent shorts of the '20s. It's nice to find that this chapter of the series' history came to a close with a real winner.