Shivering Spooks

Shivering Spooks (1926)

*** (out of 4)

Fun our Gang short has the kids (minus Mickey Daniels) in their secret cave when the opening collapses on them and they must find another way out. At the end of the cave they manage to get into a room where a medium is performing a fake séance. Soon the bad guys are trying to get rid of the kids by using various haunting techniques. SHIVERING SPOOKS is perhaps one of the most controversial films in the series as there are many jokes aimed at Farina that most people are going to be offended by. The entire film has all the kids in peril but little Farina gets the most abuse including the kids forcing him to enter a certain place even though it could kill him. Another sequence has Mary telling him a story about ghosts and he asks why there aren't any black ones and she replies that you wouldn't be able to see them at night. Those familiar with these silent movies will know that in 1926 this type of humor is what people wanted so when viewing them with eyes today it's important to remember that this film was simply made in a different era. The rest of the film is actually pretty good as we get various laughs with the kids trying to avoid all the ghosts that keep stalking them. One running gag has Joe losing his pants with kids trying to hold onto him and this includes a rather cute sequence with him and Farina trying to get away from a ghost.