Feed 'em and Weep

This Hal Roach comedy short, Feed 'em and Weep, is the one hundred sixty-seventh entry in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the seventy-ninth talkie. Darla's dad just wants to have a quiet dinner on his birthday. It seems he's having just that with his daughter, son Junior, and his wife...until Darla's friends of Alfalfa, Porky, and Philip arrive! I'll stop there and just say this was funny from beginning to end and Johnny Arthur was a big reason for that. He reprised his role as Darla's father here which he previously played in Night 'n' Gales. He was also Spanky's dad in Anniversary Trouble. So on that note, I highly recommend Feed 'em and Weep. P.S. This was Johnny Arthur's final appearance in the series but he'd continue to appear in various comedies until 1947. He died on December 31, 1951. For some reason, Buckwheat wasn't in this one so he's replaced here by one Philip Hurlic who had appeared in some shorts in this series before and would appear in one after. He'd also appear with Oliver Hardy in one of his few solo projects in Zenobia the following year. He died on July 7, 2014. And this marked the first gang appearance of one Leonard Landy who plays Percy here.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Darla's dad is celebrating his 32nd birthday & wants nothing more than a quiet evening at home with his family, enjoying his mock turtle soup, roast chicken & cake. Serenity is shattered, however, by the arrival of Alfalfa, Percy & Porky. To his infinite disgust, all Mr. Hood can do is FEED 'EM AND WEEP...

This little film has a few good moments, mostly dealing with the Rascals. Johnny Arthur, as Papa (a champion whiner), actually turned 55 the year this was filmed. Wilma Cox is levelheaded Mama. Alfalfa warbles `Many Happy Returns Of The Day'.

The title of this film is shared by another film from Hal Roach Studios--a Max Davidson film from 1928.

The short begins with Johnny Arthur talking about how hungry he is and how he's looking forward to his birthday dinner. However, when the gang shows up, Arthur is visibly saddened--he just wants to eat! But throughout the film, he's prevented again and again from eating and the kids drive him crazy while they try to wish him the happiest of birthdays. Considering that eventually Alfalfa sings for him, you really have to feel sorry for the guy! This is a decent short--even if you have to endure Alfalfa's singing. Arthur's reactions are funny and serve to make a pretty ordinary film just a bit better. Worth seeing.

By the way, this is the first Our Gang film without Spanky in some time. All the last Our Gang films from Hal Roach lacked Spanky--but he returned to the series when rights to the films were sold outright to MGM (who previously had just distributed them). Now, starting in 1939, MGM would begin making their own Little Rascals films. These were very popular on TV when I was a kid but they are unavailable today--just the earlier and superior Our Gang comedies. Also, Buckwheat is replaced by a new black kid (there always is at least one in their films)--and I have no idea who this kid is.