The Kid from Borneo

If given the difficult task of choosing the very best of the Our Gang comedies "The Kid from Borneo" would certainly be in the running. In this short, Dickie, Dorothy, and Spanky mistake a wild-man from Borneo for their uncle George. This wild-man has a taste for candy, so when he sees Stymie snacking on candy he pursues the gang, shouting "Yum yum, eat 'em up" the whole way. Of course the gang thinks he wants to eat them. The highlight of this film has to be Spanky's kitchen encounter with the wild-man. The scene is proof that Spanky was a child actor of amazing comic ability. Some of his reactions are so subtle yet hilarious you would think he had spent years studying the great comic actors of the time.

This Hal Roach comedy short, The Kid from Borneo, is the one hundred twenty-second in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the thirty-fourth talkie. In this one, the uncle of Spanky, Dickie, and Dorothy is supposed to come to town with a traveling sideshow. The mother is anxious to see him again but the father, not so much. The gang ends up going to the place the show's at but they miss him and sees this child-like man who loves candy but is mistaken for Spanky's uncle and also a cannibal...Okay, the fact that the "uncle" is black and primitive in characterization may give one pause watching today but otherwise, this was one of the most hilarious shorts in the series yet especially when Spanky and Stymie are involved! So on that note, I highly recommend The Kid from Borneo. P.S. This was Tommy Bond's second appearance in the series but the first in which he has lines.

The gang goes to a circus sideshow to visit Dickie and Spanky's uncle George, mistakenly believing he is "The Wild Man from Borneo."

I watched this as part of a Super-8 movie event, so the version I watched may have had a few minutes clipped from the film (though with the full film being eighteen minutes, I doubt very much was removed).

There were some good jokes that stood the test of time, and got me cracking up. There is some issues with racial content, but honestly not as bad as you might think (at least what I saw). By no means did I get the impression that everyone from Borneo was a cannibal or wild. This is not really any more or less racist than anything else coming out in the 1930s.

The best part is definitely when the younger kid (Spanky?) is feeding the wild man from the pantry. While obviously edited, it is amusing to see the bottomless pit that is the cannibal's stomach.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the kitchen-refrigerator scene where the "Wildman" eats the eggs & everything else. Spanky is in high form. Hal Roach was a real genius. The ending could have been a little better, though. Would have liked to seen it run a little longer, as well. Although a little short thats what these were designed at. Personally do not see anything "Politically incorrect" about it. Folks are just too sensitive now days. See something wrong where nothing is. Movie is an accurate depiction of those times. Totally innocent & very entertaining fare. Especially interesting is the historical perspective - carnival sideshows & living conditions during that time.

For me the "Our Gang" shorts of this era were far superior to "Little Rascals" MGM episodes of the late 30's & early 40's. "The Kid From Borneo" AKA-Uncle George, who Spanky's father referenced as "the black sheep of the family" is an absolutely hysterical episode, as Spanky and Dicky are mistakenly convinced that Bumbo, the wild man of the circus, is indeed their uncle!

Spanky McFarland was, hands down, the best kid comedic actor of all time. His scene with Bumbo in the kitchen, when Spanky is offering food from the icebox to Bumbo (which includes eggs, shell & all, tabasco, vinegar, wine, a hunk of bolongna and about 2 dozen wienies) is priceless Bumbo continues to shove it in, to Spanky's amazement. A wonderful chase scene throughout the house, Stymie as always is a riot as a drunken Bumbo chases the kids with a knife, yelling "yum, yum, eat em up!" Throw in the rest of the gang, plus Petey the Pup and the wonderful musical score they had in the episodes from this period and this might be the funniest episode in the series! Totally un-PC!!!