Men in Fright

OUR GANG may have ended its run at MGM ignominiously, but it didn't start out that way. In fact, I think the seven series films Metro made in 1938 are a bit better than the seven Hal Roach made earlier that year, and the best of them - in fact, probably the best of the whole MGM crop - is MEN IN FRIGHT, a funny, nimble romp made before the children's acting became painfully forced and those Sunday School lessons started seeping in. It's not just a fine MGM OUR GANG entry, it's a fine short, period.

Our Gang visits Darla at the hospital after her tonsillectomy. They have their misadventures. Alfalfa gets tricked into switching places. He gets accidentally gassed and goes crazy. The boys pig out and end up with tummy aches. It's general fun and general chaos from Our Gang. It's ten minutes. It's general fun for the family.

If there was ever a film that proved what an amazing young comedian Carl Switzer was, this was it.

While in the hospital visiting Darla, Alfalfa gets mistaken for tonsillectomy patient and is dragged off to surgery. However, before anything can happen, little Gary Jasgar unleashes some laughing gas in the elevator and Alfalfa goes nuts! His is a tour de force of wildness, as he does a Tarzan imitation on a gurney, impersonates a newborn baby, complains that the floor is full of holes, and swings on a chandelier.

The other kids are still very natural in their acting (with the possible exception of the too-cute Darla and Porky shouting out his name at the top of his lungs). You can tell MGM's gloss is creeping in, as the kids seem to work extra hard in hitting the proper marks, and dialogue is looped in whenever the kids can't say it themselves. However, this can be forgiven, as this short has more laughs than several of the Hal Roach shorts. In addition, we're treated to a bonus bit of Hanna Barbera animation. Definitely worth watching once even for the non-Our Gang fan.

The gang goes to the hospital to visit Darley, who is recovering from a tonsillectomy. Their plans quickly go awry and the gang finds themselves in the same hospital.

1938-"Men in Fright" 1939-"Cousin Wilbur"-had it not been for the acting credits, I would have thought this Scotty Beckett playing Alfalfa's Cousin Wilbur and in the mid 30's playing Spanky's witty sidekick were two different people. 1940-"Kiddie Kure"-Alfalfa's swan song. He more than compensates for his deliberate, underachieved acting in most of the other MGM shorts. 1941-"Come Back Miss Pipps" 1942-"Going to Press" 1943-"Election Daze"-the kid who taunts Froggy in his election speech is cute. Janet Burstyn is at her best. In this short, the Gang shows they have fully recovered from the loss of Spanky. 1944-"Tale of a Dog"-last of the Our Gang shorts to be produced. Director Cyril Enfield, after a poor start in "Radio Bugs", and mediocre effort in "Dancing Romeo" now shows himself as a director of Our Gang shorts.