Tin Hoss

With the success of Hal Roach's Little Rascals series which begun in the 1920s, many other studios decided to copy his idea--creating their own gang of lovable ragamuffins which starred in short films. However, most of these films were rather poor imitations--mostly because they lacked originality and decent writing. This is definitely the case with "The Tin Hoss".

When the short begins, the gang is called to the clubhouse. Why, exactly, they really never say. You soon learn that their rival, a big fat kid, has made his own railroad and so the gang decides to beat him up and destroy the train.

The problems with this film are many. The biggest is that the gang of kids seem rather mean and cruel--unlike the Rascals. Their rival didn't seem like a bad kid and the gang seemed like jerks--creating little connection with the audience. Add to that some cheap and unfunny jokes (such as making fun of the black kid by showing him eating watermelon and a stupid scene where they get the fat kid to eat plaster of Paris) and you have a silent short that is amazingly unfunny considering it's supposed to be a comedy.