Good Cheer

The Hal Roach Studio was located in Culver City...near Hollywood. So imagine my surprise seeing so much snow in this Our Gang short!

The weather is awful and times are tough. To earn money, Mickey and his buddy sell headed bricks to folks to stand on in the snow storm. They later use this money to get things for their poor friends....but also end up finding some faux Santas along the way.

This is a nice short film--filled with nice Christmas messages and kindness. Worth seeing...just don't expect rib-tickling humor but more of a holiday lesson on niceness.

Good Cheer (1926)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

It's the day before Christmas and various poverty stricken kids are going to wake up in the morning without any gifts. Mickey decides to try and raise some money selling hot bricks but later that night a group of bootleggers are dressed as Santa trying to pass off alcohol but the real Santa shows up to give the poor kids a hand. This Our Gang short isn't a masterpiece but it's pleasant enough of a time-killer if you're a fan of the series. WHile there aren't any major laughs here I thought the idea was a rather interesting one and even better was the snowstorm that happens throughout the 20-minute running time. I'm not exactly sure where this film was shot. If it was Hollywood then the snowstorm is rather amazing to watch because of how realistic it looks. If it was shot somewhere on location so that the studio could use the bad weather for an effect, well, it worked. I really couldn't take my eyes off of this beautiful snow storm, which seemed to be packing a large punch. Again, I'm not sure how or where it was shot but it's certainly a beauty to look at. I also enjoy the way the spirit of the real Santa shows up to help out and I think the message it sends is a pretty good one. No one is going to mistake this for a classic but it's certainly worth viewing.