A Tough Winter

I've mentioned Stepin Fetchit in several film comments recently, for films that had an offensive black stereotype. These are generally 30s films and the stereotype is of dull, slow, shuffling subservient "boys." I thought I owed it to myself to actually see the man at work.

And its a shock. Those other black actors were successfully playing the stereotype. But not this man, at least not here. This could be an anomaly because it is the only film from the era in which he is billed as himself. Sure he plays a type: someone so lazy he rigs a device to hold his arm when signaling a turn in his cart. Someone who can't read, and who seems stupid, even retarded. But in every motion, he's winking at the audience, he's letting us see the actor's timing, the process of creating the doofus.

The overall effect is the opposite, its of an intelligent, noble, skilled man goofing on us all. Its particularly clear here because he isn't the only incompetent in the frame. All the "Gang" (but one, the pretty rich girl) are as on the periphery of lucid living as his character. There's a story parallel to his, where the kids make taffy and make a huge mess.

He simply walks into the mess in a sort of glee, and use the sticky stuff on the walls to save a hundredth of a motion in removing his gloves.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This was shown on TV until the mid-1970s as my sister and I used to watch it on a local independent station. My sister used to think Stepin was mentally retarded because of the way he talked and acted. I can see how his characterization would be considered offensive. It was unseen after that until 1997 or so when Cabin Fever put it out on VHS. I bought a 16mm print of it from the company that owned the film rights back in 1992 and had it duped to VHS just so I could see it again. The funniest part is when Stepin has Farina read him a letter, explaining that he went to night school and couldn't read until it was dark. There's also a hilarious bit where Stepin uses the taffy that's all over everything to assist him in pulling off the four gloves he wears on each hand.

Rounding out the 1929-30 all-talkie "Our Gang" release schedule, "A Tough Winter" features two storylines. First, Wheezer and Mary Ann, home alone on a wintry day, decide to make some taffy. Little Wheezer relays the directions to Mary Ann from a radio cooking show. The problem: Wheezer relays information from different shows and Mary Ann ends up putting soap in the mix! Funny moments occur when the rest of the Gang shows up to pull the taffy - and end up getting it all over the house!

The second storyline deals with Stepin Fetchit, a neighbor/handyman of the Gang, and his interactions with the Gang.

"A Tough Winter," to my knowledge, has never been shown on television, although it is available on home video. The reason for this is the Stepin Fetchit characterization which shows a shifty, sly, and slow-moving character. "Our Gang" producer Hal Roach called Fetchit a "skilled comic" and used this "Our Gang" entry as a pilot for a Fetchit comedy series that never saw the light of day. Understandably, Fetchit's characterization is offensive to many people today, which explains why the film has been shelved.

Although there are some funny moments both with Fetchit and the taffy, "A Tough Winter" is a plodding and meandering effort. If one positive came out of this film, it was that the Hal Roach Studios grew confident and experienced in making talkies. The sound in the film is good, and some of the sound effects used are very funny. For this reason, this film in part paved the way for the excellent 1930-31 "Our Gang" films.

3 out of 10.

Tough Winter, A (1930)

* (out of 4)

Our Gang short has Stepin Fetchit playing a handyman who hangs out with the gang while they try to make taffy on a wintery day. This is a pretty poor short without much of anything going for it. There are pretty much two stories going on with the first half dealing with Fetchit while the second deals with the gang making a mess with the taffy. Neither one works and I can only recall one time laughing and that's a scene where Mary Ann gets taffy on her after it blows up. I was somewhat surprised to see how much screen time Fetchit got and his brand a humor is certainly not going to work on everyone in this day and age. I don't mind his performance but it just didn't make me laugh here. The kids too are also quite tame but you can't blame them as there really isn't any evidence that the screenplay was trying to be funny.