Kiddie Kure

Out of the 52 MGM-produced shorts from 1938-43 there might be 5 worthy of spending your time on--- and this is one of them. It's also significant as being the last of 61 appearances Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer made in the series. He was 13 and was well-known for causing expensive pranks on studio grounds and speculation among film historians tends to lean to him being more trouble than he was worth. But he went out on a high note... Kiddie Kure is one of the best scripted and acted entries of the overwhelmingly dismal MGM years. The plot centers around a hypochondriac (nicely acted by veteran character actor Thurston Hall) who's out to sabotage the gang's scheme to retrieve a baseball that they've crashed through his window. During a wild chase through his home he discovers the pills his doctor has been describing, apparently for years, are candies... because Alfalfa's younger brothers have eaten them. It's a little sad that more of the MGM Our Gangs weren't as enjoyable as this one... the studio had all the marbles but didn't know how to use them when it came to comedies. Fluke or not, Kiddie Kure proves it could be done.