Second Childhood

This Hal Roach comedy short, Second Childhood, is the one hundred forty-forth entry in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the fifty-sixth talkie. A rich old woman who's celebrating her 65th birthday is grouchy to her servants. Then a toy airplane stumbles into the house and Spanky arrives to retrieve it. The elderly lady demands 75 cents for the damage to her vase but Spanky instead offers to work for it with help from the gang. I'll stop there and just say the transformation of the grandma character is a sight to see here. Zeffie Tilbury-who previously appeared in Laurel & Hardy's The Bohemian Girl which also featured Darla Hood-is quite a joy as the cantankerous-turned-childlike-old lady. So on that note, Second Childhood should really please any Our Gang fan out there. P.S. This was the third consecutive OG ep to feature Darla with blond hair since she probably had just finished TBG and hadn't time to change back to her natural brunet color. Ms. Tilbury was legally blind by this time and had to be guided off-set. And this was Gus Meins' final OG short as director, graduating to features afterward before committing suicide on August 1, 1940 under pressure of scandal.

Zeffie Tilbury is a very welcome addition to "Second Childhood". She plays a grouchy old lady who is so nasty she can't even enjoy her birthday. But, when Spanky accidentally breaks her vase and offers to help clean up the yard to pay for it, a strange transformation takes place and the once-grouchy lady begins to experience her second childhood.

This is simply a joy to watch. Tilbury is very captivating and the plot is a delight. It's hard to adequately describe it and do justice to it--just see this one and enjoy.

According to IMDb, Miss Tilbury was actually blind but hid it quite well. Naturally, in the stunts they used a stuntman but it's not all that easy to notice and I like the idea of the filmmakers using a disabled woman and making allowances for her.

Oh, and my comment about 'Dr. Spanky'--well see this short and see Spanky dispensing medical advice--yes, medical advice!

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

A rich & lonely lady begins her SECOND CHILDHOOD on her 65th birthday when Spanky, Alfalfa & the Gang show her how to loosen-up & enjoy life.

A funny little film, with a spry & humorous performance by English actress Zeffie Tilbury as Grandma, who actually turned 73 the year this was produced. Highlight: Alfalfa, Spanky & Grandma singing ‘Oh! Susanna'.