The Our Gang Collection (aka The
Little Rascals/1938 – 1944/Warner Bros. Archive Collection DVD Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Shorts: B
Yet
another collection of the The Little
Rascals original theatrical shorts have been issued, but this time, it is
under the Our Gang name and comes
from the original MGM film materials from the Warner archive. The
Our Gang Collection offers all 52 sound shorts MGM made between 1938 and
1944. These were the final classic
shorts and became staples of television for years.
They also
tend to be some of the best-remembered shorts by fans, including those who grew
up with the Eddie Murphy spoof on Saturday
Night Live in the early 1980s and who were lucky enough to enjoy the Mego
action figure line (including vehicles and playsets) MGM licensed with The Wizard Of Oz to the company in the
mid-1970s when syndication of the shorts were at an all-time high.
It also
reminds us what good performances these child actors were giving at the time;
truly fun comic performances that fly in the face of much childish,
pretentious, would-be acting we get in film and on TV today. No precocious cardboard kids here.
These may
the shorts without Hal Roach, but these are as classic as any of them and fans
will be happy Warner made these available.
The shorts, with “///” indicating the change of year, include:
DVD One 1
(1938 - 1939): Little Ranger, Party
Fever, Aladdin's Lantern, Men In Fright, Football Romeo, Practical Jokers///Alfalfa's
Aunt, Tiny Troubles, Duel Personalities, Clown Princes, Cousin Wilbur
DVD Two
(1939 - 1940): Joy Scouts, Dog Daze, Auto
Antics, Captain Spanky's Showboat, Dad For A Day, Time Out For Lessons///Alfalfa's
Double, Big Premiere, The, All About Hash, New Pupil, Bubbling Troubles
DVD Three
(1940 - 1941): Good Bad Boys, Waldo's
Last Stand, Goin' Fishin', Kiddie Kure///Fightin' Fools, Baby Blues, Ye Olde
Minstrels, 1-2-3 Go!, Robot Wrecks, Helping Hands, Come Back Miss Pipps
DVD Four
(1941 - 1943): Wedding Worries///Melodies
Old And New, Going To Press, Don't Lie, Surprised Parties, Doin' Their Bit,
Rover's Big Chance, Mighty Lak A Goat, Unexpected Riches///Benjamin Franklin,
Jr., Family Troubles
DVD Five
(1943 - 1944): Calling All Kids, Farm
Hands, Election Daze, Little Miss Pinkerton, Three Smart Guys///Radio Bugs,
Dancing Romeo, Tale Of A Dog
The MGM
holdings give Warner the rights to use the Our Gang name and part of this split
happened because of TV and also because of other issues too lengthy to go
into. However, despite some limits in detail
and softness from these 1.33 X 1 transfers and the format, the prints are very
clean; the kind of materials that ensure a solid HD future for these shorts as
well. White specs and other flaws are
minor, making these as good as we have seen anywhere.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono is also good for its age and as good as we’ve heard them, but
I believe there could be a little more room for improvement when a lossless
track is available. Sadly, there are no
extras, but this is a pleasant surprise and the best these will ever look on
DVD. Hope the older shorts get the same
treatment.
You can
order this and other Archive releases at this link:
www.warnerarchive.com.
- Nicholas Sheffo
