Fightin' Fools

This M-G-M comedy short, Fightin' Fools, is the one hundred ninety-sixth entry in the "Our Gang" series and the one hundred eighth talkie. After Tubby (Joe Strauch, Jr.) accidentally splashes most of the water out of the pond when diving in, the gang discover that their clothes were tied in knots by a rival group. So they start a war using various food as weapons. Other than what I described in the beginning, some undercranking, and some of the weapons, this wasn't a very funny short but it sure beats having yet another Our Gang short teach a lesson, that's for sure. So on that note, Fightin' Fools is worth a look. P.S. This was Leonard "Percy" Landy's last appearance in the series. He's one of the few from the gang still alive today. And this was the only appearance of Strauch in the series. He had long been Spanky's stand-in and was starting to also appear in Gene Autry westerns as Tadpole. Oh, and he was also a native of my birthtown of Chicago, Ill. He died on May 31, 1986.

Fightin' Fools (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Our Gang short has the boys swimming at a local pond when another gang of kids take their clothes and tie them in knots. The gang then rivals the other to a challenge in a junk yard. This isn't one of the group's best films but it was still pretty funny especially an early gag with the boys making Tubby dive into the pond only to have him do so and then drain it. Most of the violence comes from the two gangs shooting rotten fruit at one another but this too brings some nice laughs. I really enjoyed Tubby in this film but apparently this was his only appearance in the series. A young Robert Blake is here as well.

Silly short of the "Our Gang" type, has "Spanky" and his gang fighting another neighborhood gang, launching weapons of fruit by having a chubby boy step onto a rocket launching see-saw. Tomatoes and other veggies go flying as the boys show their prowess at wartime games.

Interesting to note how young Bobby Blake (later ROBERT BLAKE) was here, doing his best to avoid getting hit by some of the "weapons".

Although this one has the advantage of looking crisp and clear in B&W photography superior to the old "Our Gang" shorts by Hal Roach, the plot is non-existent, paper thin stuff that garners hardly a chuckle.

Summing up: Pretty lame stuff.

Fightin Fools reminded me of an Our Gang silent named Dogs of War. Same idea: 2 groups of kids sitting in their bunkers, hurling food-related weapons at one another.

The difference is that in Fightin Fools, the Our Gang kids had a motive to fight. Slicker and his cronies were "makin' their lives awful" by knotting their clothes as they went for a swim! (don't you hate when that happens?) The battle itself is rather engaging, and the weapons are pretty clever --- particularly when Slicker kept tossing Limburger cheese at the Gang (phew!)

This was the only Our Gang short which featured Tubby (who up until then, served as a stand-in for Spanky). Naturally, his bulk is used for comic purposes. When he jumps in a swimming hole, he leaves it high and dry. During the battle, he jumps onto a seesaw-like contraption, shooting watermelons in the air towards Slicker and company. The sound effect accompanying the flying watermelons (a slide whistle) is particularly cool, as are most of the sound effects in this short.

Another nice aspect of this short is that this isn't one of those teaching-kids-a-lesson deals. In fact, no adults appear in this short (how's THAT for an MGM rarity?)

Incidentally, this was Leonard's last short. I know, "Leonard who?" You know, the kid who follows the gang around, doesn't say a whole lot, has red hair and freckles, and wiggles his ears from time to time. "Ohhhh, THAT Leonard!"

A fun short!