Beginner's Luck (1935)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This comedy classic is in my top 5 favorite episodes of the Our Gang Series.I'll start with my Granddaughter Sami who recently had her first ballet recital. At the moment of truth froze up and ran off the stage into the comfort of her Mother's arms. When the show was over I said to my Daughter-In-Law, "Sami Froze up like Daisy Dimple!" Of course my Daughter-In-Law replied, "Who Is Daisy Dimple?" Hence my review begins now! Spanky the new leader of the gang due to the departure Of Wally Albright and his limited contract, Performs in front of his Mother's friends reciting Shakespeare. Spanky projects his prose perfectly to the delight of his wannabee stage Mother. Spanky's reward? Mother is entering him in a talent show. Show business is not to Spanky's liking as he practices to the company of his talking parrot as the gang member's show up at his window.The only way out is to have Spanky flop on stage with the help of his gang and an endless supply of Pellets and spit balls. On with the talent show as Spanky dressed in full Michigan State apparel(A ROMAN SOLDIER)we'll do everything in his power to bomb on stage. Ironically Spanky was picked to go first by the Master of Ceremonies Tom Herbert but his pushy Mom (Kitty Kelly) who bears a striking resemblance to actress Barbara Stanwyck protests that you Don't have a talented actor the likes of Spanky to go on first. Some of the Acts were entertaining to watch .Honorable mention to The Hawaiian Dancers and the Cabin Kids and most importantly the Arizona Nightingales featuring a young freckled Carl Switzer who makes his first of many appearances in the series as the the High pitched off key singer Alfalfa! Now it's time for our cu pie faced Dancer Daisy Dimple to perform and try to win the cash prize of $10.00 but she choked in front of a bewildered audience and all those eyes!! Spanky comforts the crestfallen girl and claims he'll win her the money for her ballet costume. Spanky wants to go out to the audience to tell his friends not to ruin his act and that he want's to win after all. Instead Spanky's Mom intervenes and goes over to the rowdy troupe and tells them that her son wants to win. Spanky from the Stage winks at them and the gang is confused so the gang sticks with the original plan of abuse and spitball to the disdain of out toupee d Pianist James Morton seated between the stage and the arsenal. Spanky goes on and the rest of the short is sheer pratfalls combined with howling comedy with a grand finale of Grandmother Mae Wallace pulling up the final curtain to a ripped dress. Great episode to show your grand kids if they failed on stage.

"Beginner's Luck" is another "Our Gang" short film and like most of these it runs for slightly under 20 minutes. The original is black-and-white, but there is also a colored version out there. The director is Gus Meins ("Babes in Toyland" starring Laurel and Hardy) and he made this film 5 years before his suicide when he was accused of sexually abusing several boys. This puts his work with the Gang into a slightly dubious light. Anyway, this short film here is probably neither among the most famous nor among the least known Our Gang films. Spanky is the star this time and his mother wants him to win a talent contest. The film starts of nicely, but as it goes on, it quickly turns into a talent contest with several participants who really have nothing to do with the movie series. Spanky's big final scene in-stage is also not as funny as I hoped it would be. What do we learn from this movie? Maybe that soccer moms already existed 80 years ago. But that's it. Not too interesting or funny of a watch and I don't recommend it. Many better Our Gang short films out there.

This is a rather cute little Our Gang short, but I also found it unsettling as it was clearly a case of art imitating life. It all begins with Spanky doing a recitation for his mother's friends. Clearly, the mother is an obnoxious mother of a kid who just wants to be a kid! Later, she enters him in a talent show--when all sorts of hijinks ensue--some of which is pretty cute.As I say, it's a case of art imitating life because I have read Leonard Maltin's book about the Rascals. And, unfortunately, a lot of the kids had pushy parents just like Spanky's in the film. It made the laughs a little less funny when I realized the writer for this short was probably influenced by the kids' real life folks! By the way, speaking of obnoxious folks, this was Alfalfa's first film with Our Gang. While cute in the films, he and his family are a VERY sad example of the sorts of pushy behavior and monstrous egos that were all too common with child actors. Read up on them when you get a chance--it's interesting but very, very sad.Also, in this film you hear a child poorly singing "Honolulu Baby"--the tune that was popularized in the great Laurel & Hardy feature "Sons of the Desert".

This Little Rascals short is the funniest one of all of them. It involves Spanky being entered in a talent show by his somewhat overbearing mom, while her own mom disapproves. The acting, story & outcome are classic, and anyone who has watched this on television growing up remembers it fondly. I think the whole gist of this was to highlight overbearing stage moms, and this film did it perfectly. You see good acts, not so good acts etc, but the film never loses its zest. Spanky's mom in the film, the pretty Kitty Kelly, gives a standout performance which, judging from the comments here, is unforgettable. No need to divulge the fate of Spanky's mom here. If you've seen this, you know. If you haven't, find it. You'll love it.