Spanky

For the most part, this short featuring the kids from Our Gang is unfocused and seems more an opportunity to reuse the footage from Spanky's screen test than anything else. It seems that many clips in "Spanky" were taken directly from this--such as the scenes where he's chasing bugs with a hammer. Apart from this, you'll see a very young Spanky get into lots of trouble as he destroys the kids' play as well as throws his father's (Billy Gibert) hidden money out the window! All in all, Spanky played a really destructive brat in this one...but he was so cute that you enjoyed it anyway and could look for the lack of a clear plot.

While this is a pretty good short, hold on to your seat and breath deep when you see the play. After all, all the white kids are in black-face to do the story "Uncle Tom's Cabin"! Funnier (and less offensive) is when Stymie's sister drops out of the play and Stymie is drafted to play BOTH roles--that of Uncle Tom and Topsy the female slave!