Uncle Tom's Uncle

Uncle Tom's Uncle (1926)

** (out of 4)

Bland Our Gang short has the kids in Mickey's barn trying to put on a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The only problem is that Uncle Tom (Joe Cobb in blackface) keeps getting in trouble by his mother so the play is constantly being put on hold. I'm sure there are many out there that would be up in arms about this play being done by white kids and having one of the kids in blackface but this part really didn't bother me. If you've seen enough of these early pictures you simply understand that's how ways were back then and we can't change them today. The biggest problem with this film is that it's simply not funny and there really wasn't that much imagination put into it. The entire running gag has Joe's mother getting onto him for not picking up the yard so he is getting called away from the play. The only problem is that nothing funny happens when he's called away. The next gag has local kids throwing lettuce at Mickey when the play goes down but again it's never funny. Also, am I the only one who thinks the real Mickey wouldn't have allowed kids throwing stuff at him?