General Spanky

This is a cute film starring Spanky, Alfalfa and Buckwheat from the "Our Gang" comedies. Set in the South during the Civil War, it may seem a little odd to see Buckwheat as Spanky's slave, but this film is as charming as the best of the shorts with the same cast. This was the only Our Gang feature film, and I highly recommend it over The Little Rascals remake from 1994.

Hitherto to this feature, the longest Our Gang film was a three reel silent short called "Spook Spoofing". A 73 minute feature is a drastic change from their usual territory, but it is a worthwhile effort none the less. Here the comedy comes in contrast to drama, with a storyline that has more to do wih the adults than the Rascals. The Civil War setting is successfully recreated, and Spanky & Buckwheat make a good team. Not a film to introduce one to The Little Rascals, but one to enjoy after being exposed to their classic shorts,

General Spanky (1936)

** (out of 4)

By 1936 Hal Roach was attempting to shut down his short productions and making Our Gang, Charley Chase and Patsy Kelly (among others) join the feature ranks. This film attempted to put the kids on the map of features but it's also clear that it was a pet project for the top-billed George "Spanky" McFarland. In the film, a Southern gentleman (Phillips Holmes) takes in Spanky and his "slave" friend Buckwheat. Soon the children are in the fields playing war as the Civil War is breaking out and the kids end up getting mixed up with real Yankee soldiers. GENERAL SPANKY is a rather controversial movie today because of its subject matter and the way it shows slavery to be something blacks needed and wanted. I'm really not sure what the mindset was in 1936 but it's clear Hollywood really hadn't changed their ways and wouldn't for nearly another two decades so that's important to remember when watching this thing. As far as the controversy, I would never blame anyone for being offended at the idea that blacks enjoyed being slaves and we're constantly going around with smiles on their faces. What's even more disturbing in this film is some early stuff where Buckwheat loses his master and cries about it before walking around a boat hoping someone will become his new master. There are countless stereotype jokes aimed at blacks but I think the idea of a black child needing a master is probably what's not going to sit well with many. What didn't sit well with me was the poor screenplay, which really doesn't try to do anything and I do find it easy to see why Roach and his features didn't work well for anyone. I think the biggest problem is the screenplay never seems to be too worried about being funny. I thought it did a good job at showing the South just before the Civil War but the majority of the jokes just fall flat. Check out the long-winded scene where Spanky is being fed fried chicken while Buckwheat is under the table and wanting a few pieces. Spanky sends them down but the dog gets them instead of Buckwheat. This entire sequence has zero laughs because the scene is told so poorly and the timing is off so bad. Another scene that doesn't work is when the kids are playing war not knowing that the real soldiers are coming down on them. The stuff with the gunpowder I'm sure was meant to be funny but it wasn't. It's a shame the screenplay is such a mess because the performances are actually pretty good. McFarland is as cute as ever and fits his role just fine as does Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. GENERAL SPANKY, rightfully or wrongly, will probably always be looked down upon for its subject matter but even if you can get past that you're left with a pretty bland comedy that feels overlong even at just 71-minutes.

The film starts with promise because there is more interaction between Spanky and Buckwheat, but as the film progresses, the two boys have fewer scenes together. This slows the pace considerably. Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas gives a very strong performance in his early scenes. When he is left behind on the riverboat, his fear and abandonment are palpable and his tears are truly heartbreaking. When he goes from man to man asking for help and is repeatedly rejected the viewer really begins to wonder if this is a comedy or not. Watching a children's birthday party through a picket fence is another moving moment. As another reviewer mentioned, I was also worried about the big dog choking on chicken bones! Once Spanky and Buckwheat are in Marshall Valiant's home, Spanky tends to interact mainly with the adults and the chemistry of the children is essentially lost.

The Old South/Huck Finn-type setting really doesn't do much for the plot except allow the children to be out of doors a great deal. Ralph Morgan is the most engaging adult, but then the other roles really don't have much substance to them. Louise Beavers manages some funny moments with a Yankee soldier towards the end.

The villains aren't really villainous enough and the lovers not intense enough. Yet, I do think it's worth viewing if you're an Our Gang enthusiast, if for no other reason that the odd curiosity of the whole piece. I give it seven stars because, while not a great movie, it kept me engaged the whole time and curious as to what would happen next.

When I first saw this obscure film--the ONLY feature of the Our Gang kids--I was expecting a feature-length version of one of their shorts, so naturally I was quite unhappy with GENERAL SPANKY. Watching it again after many years, I find it more strange than unsatisfying. There are a lot of excellent elements in the film, yet other parts of the film are cringe-inducing or surreal. Producer Hal Roach managed to take Laurel and Hardy from the world of comedy shorts to the world of features with great success, so it's not surprising that he would want to take the Our Gang kids from shorts to features. My only question is...why a Civil War vehicle, with Buckwheat as a slave! The box of the MGM/UA video states the Roach was inspired by the success of Shirley Temple in THE LITTLE COLONEL to cast Spanky, Buckwheat, and Alfalfa in an "Old South" setting, but Our Gang's brand of comedy is much different from Shirley Temple's. Interestingly, Hal Roach returned to the "Old South" setting a few years later, when he teamed Oliver Hardy with Harry Langdon (Stan Laurel refusing to re-sign his contract with Roach) in ZENOBIA, another strange film. Perhaps Roach was inspired to cash in on the GONE WITH THE WIND phenomenon with ZENOBIA? Since Mr. Roach was from New York State, it's interesting that he would buy into the "romantic Old South" mythology. In any event, as I said above, there are some excellent elements in this film. Buckwheat Thomas and Spanky McFarland are fantastic, charismatic performers who can easily carry a feature film on their own. Buckwheat, in particular, is quite moving, when he is looking at a birthday cake while incredibly hungry, and since he's never seen a birthday cake before, he thinks the cake is on fire, and because he is hungry, he starts to cry. The underrated Phillips Holmes (best known for the 1931 adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's AN American TRAGEDY), who reminds me somewhat of Onslow Stevens, is quite impressive as Marsh Valient, the Southern Gentlemen who takes in Spanky and Buckwheat. Holmes' scene with Spanky where the two of them discuss the nature of war was quite moving and still has a necessary message today (it reminds me of Oliver Hardy's speech on racial equality in ZENOBIA). Ralph Morgan turns on his gruff charm as the Union general who refers to Spanky as "General" and treats him as a peer throughout the film--the effect is somewhat surreal. Irving Pichel is superb as the arrogant and sleazy Union officer Simmons. On the whole, however, GENERAL SPANKY is such a strange experience, I don't really know what to make of it. Any serious Our Gang fan should see it, and people attracted to weird cinematic misfires might find it interesting also. It's still available cheaply from its early 90's VHS release. I've never been much of a fan of Alfalfa, and fortunately he doesn't appear in the film until half way through, and soon after he does his patented "off key singing" routine. It has not gotten any better with age. Fortunately, the film belongs to Spanky and Buckwheat, and they do a great job.