Boxing Gloves

Farina and his partner have started a backyard boxing business, but they can't sell any tickets because they only have babies like Wheezer doing the fighting. So, when they see Joe and Chubby about to have a fight, they take full advantage of this and encourage them to duke it out in their boxing ring. The problem is that Joe and Chubby aren't very tough kids and don't seem to want to fight. And, during the fight they keep avoiding each other--Chubby is afraid and Joe doesn't feel mad enough to fight. Eventually, though, they get the hang of it--thanks to Joe having his hair mussed.

While you won't notice at first that it's one of the Gang's earliest sound films, it becomes apparent during the fight when the sound cuts out for a bit--and it's pretty obvious. It also represents the first appearance in these films by Jackie Cooper--though his part is rather small. As far as the quality of the film goes, it's amazingly limp considering the subject matter. There's barely a laugh and it's certainly not among the better films of this series.

Another reviewer indicated that this was a curiosity, and it sure was! When I first watched "Boxing Gloves," I turned the sound way up on the tv, thinking that there might be something wrong with the soundtrack. The large stretches without sound during what surely would have been very noisy sequences are very unsettling...some clever director should make use of this technique! A very entertaining episode.

Our Gang made a very easy transition from silent to sound in 1929 with some of their best shorts being made in the early sound era. Our Gang made its "all-talking" debut in April 1929 with the three-reel "Small Talk". Note that this is before many of the larger studios went to sound, and yet the children are much more natural in their performances than their adult counterparts. That's because the theory behind Our Gang from the start was for the children to behave as naturally as possible.

The acting by these kids is terrific, but this is what is known as a part talkie, and if you don't know that you'll keep playing with the sound thinking something is wrong. It is not. Here the Gang goes outdoors for a boxing match between two rivals, and outdoors was a place early sound equipment could not easily follow. Thus when there are close ups of just a few kids talking, even outside, you have true synchronized sound. Sound effects are added at certain other points outside to give the illusion of truly synchronized sound. However, for the long shots of the boxing match itself with a crowd of the kids making noise, these scenes are silent film with no crowd sounds even dubbed over.

Realize this and just sit back and enjoy the short and I think you'll like it.

This Hal Roach comedy short, Boxing Gloves, is the ninety-first in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the third talkie. A partial remake of the silent The Champeen, this one has Joe and Chubby fighting over Jean when she asks for a soda pop which gives Farina an idea to put them in the boxing ring. I'll stop there and just say that while the beginning with the repeat of the soda pop running back and forth gag from the previous short I mentioned was again handled well, the boxing scenes aren't as funny especially when those scenes are absent of any crowd noise since this was a part talkie at best. I guess some of the technical problems of doing sound pictures hadn't been ironed out yet. Of note is the fact this marked the first series appearance of one Jackie Coooper who's at the beginning demanding his money back because of the initial fight between toddler Wheezer and another one his age which is lackluster. Jackie will eventually take the leading role in the gang. Directed by Anthony Mack, Robert McGowan's nephew. On that note, Boxing Gloves is still worth a look for any Our Gang completists out there.

Boxing Gloves (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Fat Joe and Chubby agree not to fight over girls and that promise lasts a few seconds until one walks by wanting a soda. Farina sees them fighting and decides to put them in his boxing ring in order to make some money. This is the first of the sound Our Gang shorts that I really liked and this one here benefits from a nice screenplay as well as better technical qualities. It seems the quality of this early sound features finally went over well as there aren't any annoying glitches or performances due to the new technology and this makes for a more pleasant film. The screenplay here also has a narrative for the first time out of the first four shorts and it's a very good one. We get all sorts of nice and funny action with the two fat kids running around having their pants ripped and fighting. The boxing match contains plenty of laughs as the two kids think the other is going to fall down in the second round but the thing just keeps going. Jackie Cooper makes his first appearance here.