Mike Fright

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Billing themselves as The International Silver Screen Submarine Band, the Gang enters a prestigious radio talent hunt for youngsters. Arriving late at the studio, Stymie, Spanky & the Rascals create havoc - giving those around them a good case of MIKE FRIGHT.

A fun little film, with interesting performances by kids not part of the Gang. Highlight: the Rascals perform `The Man On The Flying Trapeze'.

In 'Mike Fright' Spanky, Stymie and gang try to get on a radio amateur show as The International Silver String Submarine Band. They compete against a variety of different children, all groomed to perfection by unseen stage mothers. One has to think that 'Mike Fright' was, in a way, Hal Roach's revenge. One can only imagine the countless stage mother's and obnoxious children he had to deal with. Of course, the kids Roach made a part of his gang were not these kind of primped and polished little munchkins. He always went for just plain kids who loved to have fun. That's what makes the Our Gang shorts so great. Seeing the gang up against their exact opposites in this short makes for some great comedy. My favorite scene features Tommy Bond and Alvin Buckelew sabotaging Leonard Kibrick's trumpet performance by eating a lemon. Interesting to note that Bond and Kibrick would be partner's in crime as Butch and The Woim in later Our Gang Shorts.

That's what the gang has put together, a make shift, bizarre band of instruments and gadgets that competes against some other kids in an amateur radio show contest. Hal Roach favorite James C. Morton is a hoot as the befuddled MC. This is a truly fun episode as the kids strut their stuff, hoping to get their big break on the airwaves. There's lots of singing and dancing and you can tell they had a terrific time putting this all together. Best line: "Lemons are good for freckles!" Watch the crazy radio engineer who resembles Larry from THE THREE STOOGES! What made OUR GANG/ THE LITTLE RASCALS a classic series.

This is not one of the deeper Our Gang comedies--and that's not necessarily that a bad thing. So, despite having a rather simple plot, it's full of the sorts of shenanigans you'd expect from such a film.

Tommy (Tommy Bond--who later played the villainous 'Butch' in the Our Gang comedies) is going to the local radio station to participate in a talent contest. He tells the gang and they decide to participate as well--even though they don't seem to have any discernible talent. At the studio, the kids pretty much make a mess of things and end up destroying the show AND the sound man's ears! None of it is especially plot-driven--just lots of gags thrown in rather randomly. Enjoyable and undemanding--while it's not one of the best films (I think many of the early ones are better), it's worth seeing.

....the man working the sound room! How come nobody mentioned the man who's hat keeps flying off every time one of the Gang causes a blown circuit. I'm no technical expert, so I'm not sure what problems the Rascals actually cause, but damn it's great stuff! The look on his face and that head of hair! This episode probably gets more laughs out of me than most (and that's saying a lot). The Gang is at their best, and all the great character actors involved work so well together. Hal Roach was a magician who's comedy, no matter how slapstick it was, still attained a gentle touch. This stuff is good clean harmless fun that will always stand the test of time. How often can one say that?