Our Gang Follies of 1936

This Hal Roach musical comedy short, Our Gang Follies of 1936, is the one hundred forty-first entry in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the fifty-third talkie. While Mike Fright and Beginner's Luck were comedies with music in them, this one is mostly a musical with some comedy involved. Alfalfa is still in his "drugstore cowboy" mode when he once again sings, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" at the beginning but does the first of his crooner songs when he also warbles "The Object of My Affection" to Darla on stage, of which this is Ms. Hood's OG debut though she's addressed as Cookie here. She also has a number, "I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again", looking very cute in the process and-judging by the looks of the boys in the audience-getting some swoons! So with Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Porky, and now Darla, this nearly completes the Our Gang most of us are familiar with. We only have to wait for the arrival of Butch, The Woim, and Waldo to really round out the gang...So, yeah, I highly recommend Our Gang Follies of 1936. Oh, and also, this is Scotty Beckett's last regular appearance in the series though he'll return as another character in the later M-G-M-produced only entries.

Instead of a typical sort of Our Gang comedy, this one is a musical variety show...which probably explains why I didn't like it very much. Quite simply, seeing very young kids singing and dancing is something I can do without (it was bad enough having to watch my own kids in pageants when they were young!!). Lots of singing (most of it not very good--and you know it's bad when Alfalfa is NOT the worst of these acts) and dancing was occasionally punctuated by a bit of comedy--mostly provided by cute little Porky--who was the best part of this film. Also enjoyable was the drag act near the end. Seeing Spanky, Scotty and the rest in gay 90s outfits was something! What, I am not sure...but it was something.

By the way, this film was the debut of series regular, Darla Hood--a girl that was so incredibly cute that you wonder if she was the product of some unholy scientific experiment.

The Our Gang puts on music and dance show. Alfalfa decides to break into the adult opera world. Of course, its absurd because his " Barber of Seville" well is not good. Alfalfa refuses to sell out with his peers. Of course, he dreams about the future where all doesn't go well. It's adorable to see Darla, Spanky, Buckwheat, and the Our Gang act like children and later as adults. If Alfalfa sells out, he could make big bucks. I love Darla playing Cupid in a musical number. Spanky is there as a club owner and the host of follies. This is a great short film. It's fun watching kids in these films. You hope they had as much fun and were treated well.

This short, and the related short done two years later is a classic example of The Little Rascals at their most self-expressive.

Moreover, as in many of their shorts, these youngsters relied on the stretch of their imagination to put on the show. I am not sure I would have charged admission, even a penny, and since the setting was in a residential area, the Rascals probably should not have, either. Nevertheless, this is one the their 'feel-good' shorts.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Spanky is producing the OUR GANG FOLLIES OF 1936 in the backyard barn and the rowdy neighborhood kids have all assembled for the promised entertainment. But when the featured specialty act - The Flory-Dory-Sixtet - fails to appear, Spanky must take drastic action...

Lots of music in this funny little film. Highlight: Buckwheat & the monkey. In her Rascals' debut, Darla sings `I'll Never Say Never Again'; Alfalfa warbles both `She'll Be Comin' Around The Mountain' & `The Object Of My Affection.' That's Leonard Kibrick as the mean kid on the front row.