Party Fever

Party Fever is the second of 52 MGM-produced Our Gang shorts and the first one directed by future famed director George Sidney, whom the studio had assigned to learn his chops. Metro had bought the series upon the conclusion of a 12-year distribution deal with Roach (which had ended with the Laurel & Hardy feature Block Heads) and brought over the entire cast (temporarily minus Spanky who was on loan out to RKO for Peck's Bad Boy of the Circus; he'd return with the following production). Party Fever ranks among the best of the MGM efforts---the MGM production values shine in this 3-way fight for the affections of Darla. Alfalfa and Butch try to top each other while Waldo has other ideas. The quality of the first five MGM Our Gang shorts should have promised a bright future for the venerable series, but it wasn't meant to be. The sixth MGM short, Practical Jokers (also directed by Sidney), was a huge letdown and plowed a path of mediocrity that most of the remaining entries would be hard pressed to achieve. The sad fact is the series just got worse and worse, with a rare entry that displayed a spark of originality. As Roach's kids outgrew their roles, MGM brought a parade of less-talented and far more obnoxious newcomers on board that only exacerbated the humorless scripts. Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas would remain the sole Roach survivor until the bitter end. Unfortunately, these mostly-awful MGM versions are what people remember. After riding on the tide of it's 21-year fame, MGM would pull the plug after Dancing Romeo in April, 1944.