George McFarland

Directed by Robert F. McGowan The Best of The Little Rascals in 3D 1931 - 1938

Recapture the magic of Hal Roach's in this delightful musical comedy compilation released to theaters in 1959 and featuring classics from the peak period of the most popular movie series of all times. Darla Hood makes her Our Gang Debut in their neighborhood musical revue, singing "I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again," and is designated their entrant in a radio station singing contest, but fails to show up on time. Alfalfa goes on in her places, performing his unforgettable rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love," while Spanky turns into a pint-sized Fred Astaire when the Adams Street Grammar School stages a musical show.

Join all you favorites--Spanky, Buckwheat, Alfalfa, Darla, Butch, Froggy and more--in a jam-packed special covering more than twenty years and 200 episodes of Hal Roach's inimitable brand of childhood magic. This fascinating video offers insight into the Gang's personal lives, as rare footage follows each member's career through the joys and misfortunes that went along with being one of America's most beloved kids. See how the series began in 1922 and changed after the first all-talking release in 1929, why Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney never made the Gang, a fifteenth anniversary reunion, and clips from their only feature.

With the Gang aching to hit the gridiron, team captain Spanky’s got to play Little Papa and mind the baby, while Pete is framed by Wheezer’s hateful stepbrother, Sherwood, and sent to the pound in Dogs Is Dogs. Sherwood’s dog kills a chicken, so he blames Pete, but Wheezer and his sister Dorothy have the last laugh; then Spanky and the Gang try to impress the daughter of Mr. Jones, the new truant officer, by Sprucin’ Up.

The Little Rascals answer the call as volunteer firemen in "Hook and Ladder" with Dickie as "Chief", then get snubbed after saying "Hi Neighbor" to the new kid on the block, so they build their own fantastic fire engine. In the silent "Sundown Ltd.", the Gang learns the danger of playing in the railroad yards as thy duke it out with Toughy, their rival for Mary's affections, and manage to run their hand-made train right off of the tracks.

Stymie, Spanky and the Gang have to save Pete from the dog catcher's gas chamber in "The Pooch", while Spanky and Alfalfa headline the school pageant with a pair of midgets mistaken for children on "Arbor Day". In the 1923 silent "Derby Day", the Gang is selling hot dogs and lemonade outside the racetrack when Mickie hits upon an idea of holding their own race--between a mule, a horse, a cow, a doh, a goat and a bicycle.

The gang's all here - Our Gang, that is, with Spanky, Alfalfa, Jackie, Farina, Scotty, Buckwheat, Chubby, Stymie, Wheezer, Dickie, Tommy, Mary, Pete and more in uncut versions of some of their funniest episodes. A magic lamp turns two adults into new arrivals at the Happy Home Orphanage in "Shrimps for a Day," while the Rascals show a thief how to "Fly My Kite" when he tries to send their beloved Grandma to the poor farm. The Gang is snubbed after saying "Hi Neighbor" to the new kid on the block, and Spanky has "Beginners Luck" during his debut on amateur night, before they mistake a hungry "Kid from Borneo" for Uncle George.

The Gang goes on a camping trip as "Bear Shooters" in which Chubby greases Wheezer with Limburger, then puts on a floor show in a barn to try to sell a reluctant Froggy some lemonade in "Waldo's Last Stand". The silent "Dogs of War!" depicts the great battle of Kelly's tomato patch waged by "Stonewall" Jackie and "Private" Farina, then the Gang tries to get wok in the movies, driving director Harold Lloyd to distraction.

A tiny alien lands in the small town Aurora in Texas in the times of the Wild West. He flies around in his spaceship and checks out everything. While the kids are fascinated, their parents are rather sceptic and afraid. Ms. Peabels, teacher and new owner of the local paper, smells a good story and brings the alien into the headlines. When the governor hears of the rumors he sends a ranger to take action. Written by Tom Zoerner

The Most Memorable Adventures from the "Our Gang Comedies" aka "The Little Rascals", Narrated By Jerry Lewis, Music by Nelson Riddle.

Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.

Grady and Bobby Lee run moonshine for Uncle Jesse, who prides himself on his old-school moonshining methods, and refuses to buckle in to the 'big business moonshine' of Jake, who controls these parts for New York mobsters

A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.

This serious Pete Smith Specialty series entry encourages industry to hire people with disabilities to help with the war effort. As a boy, Ben Helwig was blinded in an accident while playing baseball. He eventually acquired a guide dog and now works in a defense plant.

The Our Gang gets splashed by mud from a passing car and so using some cleaning fluid to get rid of the mud; they unknowingly created a bad odour among themselves.

After Buckwheat tells the gang he's seen a big monkey, Spanky, Froggy and Mickey decide to teach him once and for all not to lie. What the gang doesn't know is that the monkey is real, and hilarity will ensue.

A grown-up Jane Withers is joined by a whole slew of former child stars in the lightweight Republic musical Johnny Doughboy. Withers capably essays the part of a teenaged movie star who tires of the spotlight and runs away from Hollywood. Adopting an alias, she joins "The Junior Victory Caravan", a group of youthful USO performers. She also pursues a romance with much-older playwright Henry Wilcoxon, only to be (deliberately) disillusioned by the man. Among the juvenile favorites making cameo appearances in Johnny Doughboy are Bobby Breen, Baby Sandy, Butch & Buddy, Cora Sue Collins, Robert Coogan (Jackie's brother) and ex-"Little Rascals" George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.

The Our Gang kids are running their own newspaper and are determined to get the big scoop by learning the identity of the leader of a gang of bullies.

The gang prevails upon old-time minstrel impresario Walter Wills to help them stage a fund-raising musical show.

Our Gang's dog, Rover, gets to audition for a movie studio.

The Our Gang kids worry that Darla's new stepmother will be an evil stepmother like of fairy tale fame.

On Mickey's birthday, Miss Pipps, the school teacher, serves cake and ice cream during school hours. Sour old Mr. Pratt, head of the school board, stumbles on the festivities and has Miss Pipps fired. The Our Gang conspire to save her job by inviting all the parents to a special meeting. There the gang stage a melodrama, with Mr. Pratt portrayed as Simon Legree. The parents react by demoting Mr. Pratt to janitor. They appoint kindly Mr. Swanson, the current janitor, to head the school board. And of course they reinstate Miss Pipps as school teacher. Sometime later, in an act of forgiveness, Miss Pipps and the gang hold a birthday party for Pratt who is then humbled by the experience.

While playing baseball, Mickey runs into the street to catch a fly ball and is struck by a car. When the gang visit him in the hospital they are appalled to find the ward populated by many other children injured in automobile accidents. The Our Gang kids resolve to do something about the problem, and thus the "1-2-3-Go Safety Society" is born.

Mickey's parents are constantly quarreling because his mother serves hash every Monday night. The kids decide to put on a radio skit to try to get them to stop fighting.

Our Gang member Alfalfa comes face to face with his wealthy lookalike Cornelius.

To impress Darla, Alfalfa drinks a concoction of Butch's "dynamite" brew.

Rich 'Old Man' Bill Morton is a hypochondriac. After bringing new sugar pills to Bill Morton's house, his physician, Doctor Malcolm Scott suggested to Bill Morton's wife that adopting a child might help cure Mister Morton of his delusions. After overhearing their conversation, Bill Morton quickly invited the "Our Gang" members, (as they were at the front come to the door, offering to work and pay for a broken window pane, that had just occurred) to a lunch, in order to sour his wife's thoughts of adopting any children. Then, the unexpected occurs as Alfalfa's two twin little brothers, Tisket and Tasket got to Bill Morton's medications' table, they ate up a majority of them, leading Bill Morton to call his physician, Malcolm Scott back to his house, immediately! When, Doctor Malcolm Scott return to Bill Morton's house, he laughs at what he hears and then tells Bill Morton they are worthless sugar pills, teaching a lesson to Bill Morton he is not sick at all.

The gang is going fishing and wants to get an early start, but they end up causing all sorts of problems for the passengers of a city bus.

The Our Gang kids put on a circus in the barn to raise money to help Porky's family pay the rent and avoid getting evicted.

Alfalfa "trades in" his whining baby brother for another baby--who turns out to be a midget criminal.

Alfalfa's weird aunt Penelope pays a visit. She's working on a murder mystery novel, but Alfalfa thinks she's trying to murder him. It's up to the Spanky and the gang to save him.

In an effort to impress Darla, Alfalfa tells her that he's a famous bear trainer. Little does he know that Darla's father owns a circus - and a bear costume. It's time for everyone to uncover the "bear facts".

Spanky and Alfalfa plot to play hooky so they can go fishing, by pretending that Alfalfa is sick and Spanky should stay with him while the parents are away. But Spanky's mom, knowing the truth, turns the tables by insisting they also watch Spanky's little brother. But taking care of little brother turns out to be more difficult than they expected.

Butch has been playing practical jokes on the gang, but now they get their turn.

Spanky and Alfalfa wants to do a show based on the "Aladdin's Lamp" story with Darla in the cast, but Darla doesn't want to participate.

The kids go to the hospital to visit Darla, who's recovering from a tonsillectomy. Chaos soon ensues.

The gang promises to keep away from girls on St. Valentine's Day, but Alfalfa can't resist Darla.

The gang puts on a musical show at a reunion for some of the former Gang kids.

Alfalfa and Butch are competing in an amateur radio contest, and Butch tries to fix it so that he will win.

Alfalfa gives up being "King of the Crooners" to sing opera, but a nightmare of being under the thumb of an evil producer sends him back to his roots.

Alfalfa tries to back out of a fight by pretending to be incapacitated.

When the caddies at the local golf course go on strike, the gang steps in to earn some money.

Orphaned shoeshine boy Spanky is working on a Mississippi riverboat during the Civil War. There he befriends young runaway slave Buckwheat. After wronging a vicious gambler, Spanky and Buckwheat are forced to jump ship. Finding solace at a nearby house, the two are picked by Marshall Valiant for an important mission. This inspires Spanky to organize the local kids to form a small army of their own.

Alfalfa and our gang try to win fifty dollars on a radio contest.

The gang help Scotty and his grandfather after an obnoxious lunch counter owner forces them to move their lemonade stand.

A lonely, rich, hypochondriac is celebrating her 65th birthday in the same manner in which she observes the other 364 days of the year by complaining, berating her servants, taking her pills and grumping about everything around her, including the sunshine. A toy airplane comes flying through an open window and breaks a vase, and when its owner, Spanky, comes in search of it he is informed he will have to pay seventy-five cents for the broken vase. Spanly has never seen six-bit, much less having it in his pants, so he offers his and his friend's help in cleaning up the yard in exchange. Before the kids are through, they've given the old lady a new outlook on life.

The gang puts a phony absent note on their teacher's desk so they can go to the circus, then have to get it back when they find out that the class was going on a field trip to the circus anyway.

A well-established tale of a long-running feud between two mountain clans.

The "Our Gang" kids stage a production of "Romeo and Juliet," but the show is threatened when leading lady Darla walks out on star Alfalfa.

Truant officers mistake 2 midgets for members of the gang.

In this musical, a songwriter goes to court to claim the rights to his song that was stolen by an unscrupulous music publisher. He brings his girlfriend with him. Also going to court are the Jubilee singers, hillbillies, and some cowboys and Indians who demonstrate that the composer wrote his song by rearranging four folk tunes. He wins his song back and $50,000 in damages. Songs include: "Heading Home," "Roll Along Prairie Moon," "Tender Is the Night," "You're My Thrill," "I'm Bound for Heaven," and "The Army Band."

The gang's treasury is entrusted to Spanky, who accidentally gets it mixed up with his father's money.

The gang tries to dissuade their teacher from geting married.

The gang wants Spanky to come out and play football, but he has to make sure his baby sister is asleep first.

A circus wild animal trainer searches for the son who was taken away from him by a meddling relative years earlier.

Spanky's mother's pushes him to join a local theater amateur night.

A new truant officer moves into the neighborhood, and everybody wants to get friendly with his daughter.

Rich boy Waldo gets his clothes dirty playing football with the gang just before he has to go to his mother's society party. The gang tries to help him clean up.

Miss Madeline Fane is a famous California screen star who has been devoted to her baby son Michael since her husband's death the previous year. One morning she awakens to find Michael has been kidnapped. After a day, she calls in the police, who instantly begin an all-out search.

Jeanette and Eddie get married, but their wedding night is a fiasco. First, their wedding guests follow them, resulting in a police chase, then the guests show up at their apartment, disrupting the building. Then, a rowdy sailor friend of Eddie's shows up, accompanied by a squad of even rowdier buddies and an enormous vengeful mosquito.

The kids try to raise money to buy a doll for Marianne.

The gang decides to build their own fire engine.

Charley finds that he got more than he bargained for when he takes a job as a kindergarten teacher.

Thelma wins a screen test with a Hollywood studio, but trouble ensues on the train trip out there.

Spanky's parents take their reluctant boy to get his portrait taken by a prissy photographer.

The gang goes to a circus sideshow to visit Dickie and Spanky's uncle, mistakenly believing he is "The Wild Man from Borneo."

In this brutal prison drama a hen-pecked husband is sentenced to prison after getting caught with his hand in the company till. He is sent to a high-rise facility in LA. It seems the fellow was only following the instructions of his domineering, constantly nagging wife who, as soon as he is put away, takes up with a more successful businessman. This causes her new lover's ex-lover to get insanely jealous and kill the conniving wife.

Spanky's parents are trying unsuccessfully to get Spanky to spend a peaceful first night in his own room.

While the rest of the gang goes fishing, Spanky gets stuck babysitting.

A foreword warns against the peril of yellow journalism, and the story illustrates it by following events in the upstate New York town of Cornwall after prominant financier George Ferguson is killed. Two types of New York City journalists descend on Cornwall, one interested in facts, the other in getting sensational "news". Mrs. Ferguson is known to have been friendly with a local banker. The Fergusons quarrel the evening he is killed (by "burglers", his wife tells the police later), and she is arrested, spurred on by the "bad" journalists, who also manage to badger the banker's wife into the hospital. Meanwhile, young Bruce Foster runs the Cornwall Courier, and shows the big city reporters how to dig out real news while they attempt to subvert justice for their own ends.

While staging a play, Spanky finds his father's hiding place for the family "fortune."

The gang trades places with a group of orphans about to take a train ride.

The gang, while playing firemen, come upon a real fire.

The gang tries to save Petey from the dogcatcher.

Stymie takes Dickie for a ride in his runaway car and cures his stiff neck.

Spanky, Buckwheat, Porky and all of the Little Rascals at their hilarious best! All films in this fantastic collection have been fully-restored and are presented here in beautiful COLOR! 1. Fly My Kite, 2. A Lad an' a Lamp, 3. Kid From Borneo, 4. Hi Neighbor, 5. Hide and Shriek

Our Gang is a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively natural way, as Roach and original director Robert F. McGowan worked to film the unaffected, raw nuances apparent in regular children rather than have them imitate adult acting styles. In addition, Our Gang notably put boys, girls, whites and blacks together as equals, something that "broke new ground," according to film historian Leonard Maltin. That had never been done before in cinema, but has since been repeated after the success of Our Gang. The first production at the Roach studio in 1922 was a series of silent short subjects. When Roach changed distributors from Pathé to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1927, and converted the series to sound in 1929, the series took off. Production continued at the Roach studio until 1938, when the series was sold to MGM, continuing to produce the comedies until 1944. The Our Gang series includes 220 shorts and one feature film, General Spanky, featuring over forty-one child actors. As MGM retained the rights to the Our Gang trademark following their purchase of the production rights, the 80 Roach-produced "talkies" were syndicated for television under the title The Little Rascals beginning in 1955. Both Roach's The Little Rascals package and MGM's Our Gang package have since remained in syndication, with periodic new productions based on the shorts surfacing over the years, including a 1994 Little Rascals feature film released by Universal Pictures.

A documentary about child actors in Hollywood, exploring their history from the early days of film.