Party Fever

This M-G-M comedy short, Party Fever, is the one hundred seventy-first entry in the "Our Gang" series and the eighty-third talkie. Waldo asks Darla to go to the Strawberry Festival but Darla mentions Alfalfa and Butch fighting about doing the same thing with her. Waldo then tells them of a contest for junior mayor of Boys' Week, saying the winner gets Darla's hand. Well, I'm sure this is gonna go well...This was another funny entry from Our Gang's new home of Metro especially when the ending is revealed. This was also the first one directed by George Sidney. He initially did well with these shorts. But then, the kids were by this point veterans so it's not as if they didn't know how to perform in front of a camera...

Waldo asks out Darla Hood to the Strawberry Festival, but Alfalfa and Butch had already asked her. Waldo suggests a competition for Darla. There is a story in the newspaper where a boy is supposed to be appointed Mayor for One Day.

This is an Our Gang short. The premise is very manufactured and a little awkward. It does get to some fun situation comedy. I never saw the balloons coming, but it's a fun silly concept. I like it for Our Gang. The premise does lead to a very good ending. I saw it coming after a little while although I was expecting an unknown character to come in as a banker's son.

Alfalfa and Butch, in order to win Darla's heart, decide to participate in a "Boy's Week Mayor for a Day" race. Butch has a gigantic marshmallow roast, and Alfalfa tries to do skywriting with a homemade balloon rig.

The second of MGM's shorts, it's just as fun and charming as a Hal Roach short. There's not much in the way of belly laughs, but some of the Roach shorts were also that way. It carries itself on a group of kids who still seem believable (with the exception of a pair of twins which MGM ill-advisedly added to the cast). Tommy Bond has some funny scenes as Butch, and is somehow extra funny being bashful in front of Darla, in contrast to his usual tough-guy persona.

The punchline is also funny and somehow telling about society. Definitely worthwhile and a fun way to spend ten minutes.

Party Fever is the second of 52 MGM-produced Our Gang shorts and the first one directed by future famed director George Sidney, whom the studio had assigned to learn his chops. Metro had bought the series upon the conclusion of a 12-year distribution deal with Roach (which had ended with the Laurel & Hardy feature Block Heads) and brought over the entire cast (temporarily minus Spanky who was on loan out to RKO for Peck's Bad Boy of the Circus; he'd return with the following production). Party Fever ranks among the best of the MGM efforts---the MGM production values shine in this 3-way fight for the affections of Darla. Alfalfa and Butch try to top each other while Waldo has other ideas. The quality of the first five MGM Our Gang shorts should have promised a bright future for the venerable series, but it wasn't meant to be. The sixth MGM short, Practical Jokers (also directed by Sidney), was a huge letdown and plowed a path of mediocrity that most of the remaining entries would be hard pressed to achieve. The sad fact is the series just got worse and worse, with a rare entry that displayed a spark of originality. As Roach's kids outgrew their roles, MGM brought a parade of less-talented and far more obnoxious newcomers on board that only exacerbated the humorless scripts. Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas would remain the sole Roach survivor until the bitter end. Unfortunately, these mostly-awful MGM versions are what people remember. After riding on the tide of it's 21-year fame, MGM would pull the plug after Dancing Romeo in April, 1944.

In this MGM short of the Our Gang series, Alfalfa and Butch vie for the title of Boy Mayor for a Day of the city. The winner gets to take Darla to a party. The boys notice the methods of real politics, and Butch gets an upper hand when he offers all the kids free marshmallows. Alfalfa tries to outdo him with sky writing from a balloon ascent. He gets a dozen or more balloons filled with helium and takes off.

On the announcement day, the boys are dumbfounded when the mayor announces the winner - Waldo. When Waldo walks up to accept the keys of the city with Darla on his arm, he thanks the major, Uncle Frank. It's an early lesson in the politics of the day.