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Remember Spanky doing "Friends, romans, countrymen..."?
Volume 1 in the Little Rascals collection features four of the Our Gang comedies from the Hal Roach-MGM years, at least one of which is a certified classic while the rest are at least well above-average. Leonard Maltin introduces the two-reelers, although I am not exactly sure why. It is not like the Rascals are performing Shakespeare (just a speech from one play).

Actually the central character in "Fly My Kite" (1931) is Grandma (Mrs. Margaret Mann), who reads the gang pulp stories, gives them friendly advice, and even puts on the boxing gloves to spar with them. But her son-in-law Dan (James Mason; no, not that one) wants to send the old lady to the County Home so he can move into her house with his new bride. But then it turns out Grandma has some gold bonds now worth $100,000. Dan wants to steal the bonds but Grandma has tied them to the tail of Chubby's kite. This one features Farina, Chubby, Mary Ann, Stymie, Wheezer, and Pete the Pup, as well as some fun stunt work by Grandma's double.

In "Honky Donkey" (1934) Wally's mom sends him home with chauffeur Don Barclay, but the lad wants to meet with his friends at a vacant lot, where they have made a merry-go-round powered by Algebra the mule. Chased from the lot the Barclay drives the gang (and their mule) to the mansion where Algebra engages in predictably but hysterical destructive behavior. It seems Algebra will only move if you sneeze, at which point he chases the offender, and only tops if he hears a bell ringing (Remember, this is supposed to make sense to KIDS). One of the nice touches by director Gus Meins is how he uses Spanky and Scotty to react to the antics of Barclay and the mule. This one also features Stymie, Tommy and Buckwheat.

"Beginner's Luck" (1935) is the classic two-reeler where Spanky is entered in a local amateur contest where he will recite Mark Antony's funeral oration from "Julius Caesar." Of course, Spanky knows "all actors are sissies," and gets the gang to promise to heckle him big time. But then he meets Daisy Dimple (Marianne Edwards), who wants to win so she can buy a new dress. When she gets stage fright Spanky decides to win so he can give her the money. This sets the stage for one of the great scenes in "Our Gang" history, as Spanky has to put up with the verbal and spitball assault from his friends and the frantic attempts by his mom to get her little darling off the stage.

A fitting companion piece to that classic is "Reunion in Rhythm" (1937), where the gang stages a musical show for the Adams Street Grammar School class reunion. The entertainment consists of Darla singing "Baby Face" to Porky, Spanky leading a chorus line singing "Broadway Rhythm," Alfalfa singing "I'm Through with Love" after failing to impress Georgia, and Buckwheat trying in vain to recite "Little Jack Horner." There is some introductory footage of an actual Our Gang reunion, which is rather awkward; but we do get to see "Stymie" with hair.

This is a solid first volume and if the idea here is to parcel our one classic along with several above-average Little Rascal comedies, that is certainly going to work. ... Read more

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Jackie has a big crush on the new teacher, Miss Crabtree
Volume 3 in the "Little Rascals" collection is quite different from the first two because the first three episodes focus on Jackie Cooper's infatuation with his new teacher, Miss Crabtree. "Teachers's Pet" (1930) finds the gang upset on the first day of school that their beloved Miss McGillicuddy has been replaced by a new teacher which the horrible name of Miss Crabtree. Of course she is a beautiful young blonde (June Marlowe) who happens to pick up Jack and Wheezer on the way to school. They proudly reveal some of the stunts they have for their new teacher: sneezing powder, red ants and a mouse. Fortunately, Miss Crabtree is not only good looking, she is pretty smart too. "Teachers' Pet" is a different type of "Our Gang" comedy, in that there it relies on the story rather than gadgets and action. This one has Jackie, Farina, Chubby, Wheezer, Echo, and Hercules. A fitting companion piece, "School's Out" (1930) is the next "Our Gang" comedy made but now it is the end of the school year and Jackie is passing around a "partition" for school to stay open all summer. Seems he likes Miss Crabtree a lot, which is why Jackie's crush makes him chase off the stranger who is asking after her. Jackie is not going to let this team get married and run away (but it is only her brother). There is a nice bit here involving a Miss Crabtree trying to give the kids a quiz. jackie, Farina, Chubby and Mary Ann have most of the action in this one.

Jackie's love for Miss Crabtree continues to get the better of him in "Love Business" (1931). But now he has some serious competition. Miss Crabtree is now a border at Jackie's house and when Chubby shows up to propose marriage the insanely jealous Jackie sabotages his friends every romantic effort (Chubby had been practicing on a cutout of Greta Garbo). What is interesting here is that Miss Crabtree plays along, actually kissing him when he tells she is pretty; I sure do not remember my teachers being like this. But the fun here is between the romantic rivals, Jackie and Chubby.

The final episode, "Spooky Hooky" (1936) offers up an entirely different set of Little Rascals: Buckwheat, Porky, Spanky, Alfalfa, and Von the Dog. However, school is still the common denominator, because the circus is coming to town and Spanky has a plan to get them out of class. Irony abounds, not only in that the plan almost backfires big time, but in that fiction comes true in the end. This is only a one-reeler from Roach Studios and the gang's teacher, Miss Jones (Rosina Lawrence) is not as cute as Miss Crabtree, but it does teach the lesson that honesty is the best policy. So, overall, Volume 3 is another first rate collection of Little Rascal comedies, even if they do try to convince young kids that school is an okay place to be during the day. ... Read more

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Hopalong Cassidy Returns
Apple-eating killers, great costumes for the female villain (a different, dazzling costume for almost every scene) and the equally lovely California Sierras make this Hopalong Cassidy adventure one of the best of the 60 films made during the '30s and '40s. It was so good in fact that Harry Sherman and his crew recycled the plot elements in another fairly good Hopalong titled, Wideopen Town. Although Hopalong Cassidy Returns is by far the better of the two, not only by virtue of being first, but also because more money was spent on the production and it shows.

The dark-haired Miss Brent in satin and sequins plays well against the shimmering, silvery haired William Boyd. Their final scene in the movie is worth waiting for, if not for the emotional content then for the lighting and photography. You won't see another like it in the series. ... Read more

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Action aplenty in the Hills of Old Wyoming
This 1937 Hopalong Cassidy film was filmed on the Chiwaue Indian reservation in Wyoming and is an excellent B grade western oater - with a slow buildup leading to the usual rousing climax. Ranchers in the area are losing cattle to rustlers and the Indians are being blamed but in fact the chief crook is the deputy agent on the tribal reservation, Andrews (Morris Ankrum),who is trying to incriminate the tribe he is supposed to be helping. Hoppy (William Boyd) is alert to Andrews crooked ways but is soon in big trouble after this outlaw snatches the crooked half-breed, Lone Eagle, from Hoppy's camp and murders him in an attempt to foment trouble for Cassidy and between the ranchers and Indians. Hoppy, Lucky and Windy are captured by Chief Big Tree (played by Chief John Big Tree) but Hoppy is given a chance to prove his innocence whilst his friends remain captives. Cassidy manages to steal the deputy agent's rifle and carries out a ballistics test to the the satisfaction of the Chief.

Then follows the mandatory chase and action scenes so typical of the genre. This movie was the first of 27 for Russell Hayden ,as Lucky Jenkins, replacing Jimmy Ellison who had moved onto other things after playing Hoppy's side-kick Johnny Nelson in the first 9 Cassidy films, commencing in 1935. Hayden, who started in film production work, is generally regarded by Cassidy afficionados as the best of Hoppy's young 'pardners'. The outdoor scenery of this Cassidy film is great, as usual, and by this third season of filming William Boyd had already acquired international recognition as Hopalong Cassidy, with one Australian cinema manager being quoted as saying the Cassidy films were amongst the most popular Hollywood drawcards of the time - and it kept getting better for Boyd. Although these films may lack the worldly sophistication of current films there is a wholesome quality to them and they have to be judged in the context of their time. The 66 Cassidy films, produced between 1935-48, were still being played into the 1960's -that is tribute enough to Bill Boyd's durability and charisma as the greatest knight of the sagebrush-Hopalong Cassidy. ... Read more

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Law of The Pampas
Please note that this release is a pirated copy and infringes on the copyright holders rights. U.S. Television Office, Inc.

The only "Official" version is that released by U.S. Television Office, Inc... Also available on Amazon. The U.S. Television Office, Inc. version is of the highest quality and full length.

Don't be ripped off by an inferior issue. Those copies for sale by U.S. Television Office are from the original 35mm Fine Grains. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Law of The Pampas
Please note that this release is a pirated copy and infringes on the copyright holders rights. U.S. Television Office, Inc.

The only "Official" version is that released by U.S. Television Office, Inc... Also available on Amazon. The U.S. Television Office, Inc. version is of the highest quality and full length.

Don't be ripped off by an inferior issue. Those copies for sale by U.S. Television Office are from the original 35mm Fine Grains. ... Read more

Description

Trail Dust - Hoppy, mindful of the famine threatening the country, persuades other ranchers to combine their herds and offer them at a fair price to a relief committee sent to buy cattle to feed a starving population. Cassidy leads a collective cattle drive, but greedy profiteers set out to sabotage his efforts, and they'll kill any man brave enough to stand in their way.

Borderland - A mysterious bandit, known as The Fox, has been leading raids on both sides of the Mexican border and Hoppy is asked by the United States and Mexican officials to penetrate the criminal's operations by posing as a bandit himself. Hoppy pretends to be evil, and even does bad things to his sidekicks in order to accomplish his objective. Later joining the Fox's gang, Hoppy is able to blow their cover, reveal the Fox's identity and, although badly wounded, capture him at gunpoint. ... Read more