Moan & Groan, Inc.

Moan & Groan, Inc. (1929)

** (out of 4)

A cop (Edgar Kennedy) tells the gang that they should dig for gold to get over their boredom. The kids end up in a house, which is rumored to be haunted, which it really isn't but it does have a creepy old man in it. The sixth sound short in the series falls back to a pretty weak level as the laughs are pretty hard to come by here. The biggest problem, once again, is the screenplay that really doesn't offer too many chances to laugh as it seems for the most part that everything is just extended to the point where nothing happens and things get boring very quickly. The best gag is when a balloon gets stuck to the back of Kennedy but outside this he doesn't even bring too much to the film.

This is the sixth of the Little Rascals sound films. It is a very silly and ineffective one. That is because the producers decided to take their eyes off the children and try and involve too many adults. They also used a hopelessly corny story, which is really ridiculous. In this film, the local policeman Officer Kennedy is introduced as a kind-hearted man who loves children and likes to look after them. That is OK, and Edgar Kennedy who plays the cop is very good. He tells the gang that when he was young he dug with a shovel to try to find treasure, so all of them rush off to do the same. They choose for their site an old abandoned 'haunted house'. They go inside and start digging the earth foundations. Pete the Dog joins in, spraying Wheezer with the dirt he kicks up in his burrowing. Where the film goes wrong is in having a 'lunatic' vagabond secretly living in the house, who howls like a ghost to scare people away. He lives in a space between the walls, accessed by a secret button. The children eventually come face to face with, and interact with, the madman, and he insists to Farina that he will give him a turkey dinner. He serves an invisible turkey to Farina, who is scared and pretends to eat it. One good bit of the film is that he also throws imaginary pieces of the turkey to Pete the Dog, who is sitting on the chair beside him, and Pete 'catches' them and pretends to eat them too. For some unknown reason, the madman is portrayed as a wild-haired German who speaks with a strong accent, and who counts in German. None of this makes any sense at all, of course. The madman is played by a genuine German actor, born in Berlin, named Max 'Davidson' (his real surname is not recorded on IMDb). Davidson went on to appear in 197 films in his career, retiring in 1945. The moaning and groaning of the title of this film are those of the 'ghost', i.e. the madman. This film was an unfortunate lapse in the series, since its 'geniuneness', which comes from the interactions of the children with one another, is sacrificed for a silly haunted house story which ruins the mood and the point of the Little Rascals films altogether.

This Our Gang short is notable for its two guest stars. Edgar Kennedy appears as, appropriately enough, Kennedy the Cop. And, although he's almost completely forgotten today, the Jewish comic Max Davidson appears in the film as a crazy old man. I say 'Jewish' because in most of his films, Davidson's shtick was playing an extremely stereotypical Jewish man. Sadly, Davidson isn't given a whole lot to do in this film other than to act crazy--which was a waste of his considerable talents (he could be VERY funny).

Nice Officer Kennedy is a friend to all the kids. He tells them that when he was a kid, he and his friends liked to go look for buried treasure. So, the Gang heads over to a nearby haunted house to dig for treasure in the basement. However, instead of actually being haunted there is a crazed but harmless nut-job living there--who takes considerable pleasure in scaring the kids. Eventually, Kennedy comes to the rescue, but the nut takes extra efforts scare Kennedy.

All in all, a very contrived and not particularly inspired film. It lacks subtlety and isn't all that funny. Plus, Davidson's nutsy performance really dominates the film...and that's not such a good thing.

There isn't a lot of depth to this Our Gang short and it's a very simple plot. Still, it is enjoyable and a rare chance to see a Max Davidson film, as most of them no longer exist.

The kids are told by Officer Kennedy (Edgar Kennedy) to stay out of a house reputed to being haunted. However, when he also tells them about the fun he had as a kid looking for buried treasure, the kids can't resist going to the spooky old place. There, a crazed but apparently harmless guy (Max Davidson) messes with their minds as well as Officer Kennedy.

The film is silly and enjoyable...no more, no less. Plus, I did enjoy seeing Petey eating the invisible turkey! If you want to see it, I found it on YouTube....as neither the Our Gang nor the Max Davidson DVD sets contain this short.

"Moan & Groan, Inc." is the first Gang film without veterans Joe Cobb, Harry Spear, and Jean Darling. Jackie Cooper makes his biggest appearance in the Gang to date to take up some of the slack from the departures, but he has not emerged as the leader of the Gang yet.

The Gang, against Kennedy the Cop's wishes, go digging for treasure in an old house. Unknown to them, a crazy man (played by Max Davidson) is living there and proceeds to playfully scare the kids. It's up to Kennedy the Cop, who's scared himself, to help rescue the kids.

A funny early talkie entry in the series. Screen veteran Edgar Kennedy makes his first appearance with the Gang as Kennedy the Cop. Another screen veteran, Max Davidson, makes the most of his only appearance with the Gang. Davidson had a series a few years earlier with Hal Roach, but with ethnic humor on the way out, his series was cancelled. A funny film throughout. 7 out of 10.