Teacher's Pet

This Hal Roach comedy short, Teacher's Pet, is the one hundred first in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the thirteenth talkie. This is the one that really showcased Jackie Cooper's charisma as a child actor and would eventually lead him away from the series into starring exclusively in feature films. He leads the gang in playing pranks on the new teacher they find out is named Miss Crabtree who they think is someone-well, certainly not pretty as she eventually turns out to be as played for the first time by June Marlowe. I'll just say that this short is one of the most charming of the series with just the right amount of laughs to offset whatever sadness one may feel about doing something so cruel to someone as beautiful as this new teacher. So on that note, I highly recommend Teacher's Pet. P.S. This film marked the debut of one Matthew Beard who'd eventually be called Stymie in the series but here is called Hercules. It's also the first in the series to open with what would become the theme song-"Good Old Days" by LeRoy Shield. And it would be the first in the series to have "talking opening credits"-that is, a couple of ladies-Beverly and Betty Mae Crane-would announce the title and production credits instead of them being printed on screen. They'd do this also for subsequent Our Gang shorts School's Out and Love Business. And Richard W. Bann-co-author of the book "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang"-provides nice commentary on disc 2 of The Little Rascals Collection DVD during this short.

The gang's beloved teacher is leaving because she's getting married. When they hear that their new teacher is named Miss Crabtree, they assume she's a nasty old prune--and the kids plan a series of horrible pranks to play on her to get her to leave. However, Jackie meets the new teacher and doesn't realize it's her--and he's infatuated with her! Won't he be surprised when he goes to school! But what about all those nasty pranks?!

Jackie Cooper has his best opportunity to shine as a member of Our Gang in this one. And, quite frankly, he's adorable and very good in the lead. Also, this film is important because it marks the first appearance by Stymie Beard's--who would eventually replace Farina and become one of the more beloved members of this ensemble cast. It also gives Wheezer a chance to upstage them all in his small appearance near the end. Overall, one of the more entertaining episodes of Our Gang--and one well worth seeing. It's sweet and fun from start to finish.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

It's pretty Miss Crabtree's first day as teacher at the Gang's school. Jackie, Chubby & Farina have plans to make her day miserable (red ants & sneezing powder), but she has plans of her own that just might turn the tables on the Rascals - especially her new TEACHER'S PET, Jackie.

A funny little film. Wheezer, Dorothy & Stymie (called `Hercules' here, this was his first OUR GANG appearance) are especially good. Highlight: Chubby & Dorothy's echo dialogue. This was June Marlowe's first appearance as Miss Crabtree.

The Little Rascals plans to give their new teacher a hard time fall apart in the face of her kindness. A typical example of the Little Rascals shorts that were so popular in the '20s and '30s, apparently an era in which it was considered perfectly acceptable for a young child to climb into the car of an adult who is unknown to them. The acting from the little cast members is simply awful, and most of the humour is derived from what most viewers today would consider highly offensive stereotyping

Teacher's Pet (1930)

*** (out of 4)

Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe) is the new teacher at the school where the gang goes and they plan on making her first day miserable but she has her own plan to get the group's affection. This here is certainly one of the better shorts in the Our Gang series up to this point. The majority of the charm has to go to Marlowe in her first appearance as Miss Crabtree. She has a few spots where her line reading isn't very good but she's attractive enough and charming enough to keep a smile on your face. Jackie Cooper is also very good in his role as the one who has a crush on her but is too embarrassed to say anything. Chubby and Dorothy get a very good sequence where she's constantly dubbing what he says and Wheezer is on hand for one of the highlights in the film. There's plenty of nice laughs throughout this short as well as some nice usage of the sound effects.