With the departure of Wally Albright from “Our Gang” after the filming of Washee Ironee in late 1934, producer Hal Roach temporarily shifted the focus of the series back to George “Spanky” McFarland as he had done a year before when Dickie Moore left the “Lot of Fun”. That all changed with the talent show-themed short Beginner’s Luck (1935) where one competitor wouldn’t win first prize… but he would soon win fame as one of the most popular “Little Rascals” performers in the franchise’s history.
The youngster making his Our Gang debut in Luck was none other than seven-year-old Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, whose comical countenance—including a lard-assisted cowlick, a face smothered in freckles and a singing voice that was the dictionary definition of “off-key”—was put to use for maximum mirthmaking in such classics as Teacher’s Beau (1935), The Lucky Corner (1936) and The Pinch Singer (1936). Alfalfa’s unpleasant warbling was also a highlight of Our Gang Follies of 1936 (1935), the short that spoofed 1930s musical comedies and solidified the core of Our Gang for the next five years with the introduction of Darla Hood.
The Little Rascals – The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5 contains the next 12 Our Gang sound shorts produced by the Hal Roach Studios: Anniversary Trouble (1935) to Arbor Day (1936)—with each short newly scanned and restored from the original Hal Roach 35mm film elements.
A must-have for any true Our Gang fan, Volume 5 features the talents of George “Spanky” McFarland, Scotty Beckett, Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas, Matthew “Stymie” Beard, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, Darla Hood and Eugene “Porky” Lee.
For thoughts on The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5, please check out my piece on The Video Attic here.
For additional thought on The Little Rascals, check out the reviews of Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 and Volume 4.
SHORTS
1935
- Anniversary Trouble
- Beginner’s Luck
- Teacher’s Beau
- Sprucin’ Up
- Little Papa
- Little Sinner
- Our Gang Follies of 1936
1936
- The Pinch Singer
- Divot Diggers
- The Lucky Corner
- Second Childhood
- Arbor Day
Video Quality
The Little Rascals continues its tremendous run on Blu-Ray in its original 1.38:1 thanks to the valiant efforts of ClassicFlix with a brand new 1080p master from newly scanned and restored 35mm film elements. Anyone who has any experience with the previous volumes will know what to expect here, but even newcomers can see the really rough state that these shorts were in through the special features. Thankfully, the restoration process has yielded some very impressive results that makes you grateful to be alive in a time of such advances.
There are varying levels of greatness in terms of video quality throughout these twelve films thanks to the different challenges provided by each short. There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the gang’s clothing and within the various backgrounds. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within each film’s composition. The black-and-white photography sparkles in high definition with natural grain largely intact outside some moments where print clean-up caught some grain in the crosshairs. So many hours have been put into cleaning this material up as much as possible, and for the most part the efforts are spectacular with only a very small amount of nicks and scratches still present. The contrast is well defined with only brief moments where you can imagine the source material was especially damaged. Black levels are fairly deep with no overwhelming occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. ClassicFlix continues to do the work which earns them the appreciation of film fans around the world.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that works hard to reproduce this material in the most pleasant way possible when factoring in the place in early sound recording. Admittedly, this track presents with a noticeable amount of age related wear and tear including some hissing and crackles that date back to the source elements. Dialogue and background noises are mostly represented in harmony, but there are a few instances where sound effects overtakes the dialogue. Fidelity is the most inconsistent part of this soundtrack, but once again this can be forgiven given the source elements. What music is featured can occasionally present as a bit brash or hollow, as well. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them. ClassicFlix has provided the best track possible for this one considering the limitations of the source.
Special Features
- Restoration Comparisons: A five-minute video which gives some background information on the restoration efforts undertaken by ClassicFlix and a demonstration of the material before and after being cleaned up. Once again the difference is miraculous.
- Trailers: Trailers are provided for The Little Rascals, Volume 1, The Little Rascals, Volume 2 – Lovesick, The Little Rascals, Volume 3 and The Little Rascals, Volume 4. These are all available on Blu-Ray through ClassicFlix.
Final Thoughts
The Little Rascals does not miss a step throughout these twelve shorts from 1935-1936. Every volume thus far has provided a portal to a time long ago filled with endearing performances and gut-busting gags. The introduction of some iconic figures in the show’s history is enough to make this volume stand out, but every volume has a history like this to make them an indispensable part of your collection. ClassicFlix continues its sterling output with this fifth volume on Blu-Ray which sports a top-notch A/V presentation. If you are a fan of classic shorts, you owe it to yourself to support these efforts to preserve film history. Plus, they are just a blast to watch! Highly Recommended
The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5 is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: ClassicFlix has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
