General Spanky

During the War for Southern Independence, GENERAL SPANKY mobilizes his forces to defend the local women & children against a Yankee invasion.

In 1936, Hal Roach decided it was time for his popular OUR GANG kids to branch out into occasional feature-length films. With the big success of Shirley Temple in two Civil War period movies in 1935 (THE LITTLE COLONEL, THE LITTLEST REBEL), it was only natural that Roach would look in that same direction for his GANG. Although given a rather lavish production and distributed by MGM, GENERAL SPANKY was not a critical or box-office success. The little GANGsters would henceforth stick to short subjects.

Although he's given top billing & the title role, George ‘Spanky' McFarland is rivaled throughout the film's first half by little Billie ‘Buckwheat' Thomas. Here were two of the finest young actors to ever appear in American movies. With all the experience of old, seasoned pros, these two gamin could steal scenes & hearts with equal bravado. A constant joy, without a false note between them, they provide the essential reason for watching the film today.

Phillips Holmes gives a quiet, gentlemanly performance as Spanky's adult protector. Nearly forgotten now, Holmes was a fine actor who died much too soon, during World War Two. Genial Ralph Morgan is especially good as a sympathetic Union general - his scenes with Spanky are quite amusing.

Other OUR GANGers appear midpoint into the movie, most notably Carl ‘Alfalfa' Switzer; he gets to warble ‘Just Before The Battle, Mother.' Even pretty Rosina Lawrence (the GANG's schoolmarm) shows up to play Holmes' beloved.

Irving Pichel is particularly slimy as a cowardly cardsharp turned vindictive Yankee captain. Bumbling Willie Best & feisty Louise Beavers play Miss Lawrence's slaves.

It should be noted that there is racism in the film, not unusual for Hollywood of that era - but almost completely missing in the original series of OUR GANG shorts.

Fans of 19th Century music will enjoy paying attention to the soundtrack, which is a long succession of ancient tunes.

Spanky and his friends all decide to play army as the country is embroiled in war. His friends designate him their general and he leads them on a rather funny encounter with real Union troops! In addition, they help a nice Southern officer escape a hanging--a hanging orchestrated by a total jerk.

It's not hard to believe that Hal Roach Studios decided to give little Spanky from the Our Gang comedies his own feature film. After all, for his age, he was a dandy actor...and cute as a button. However, in hindsight, their choice of material was a bit on the grotesque side. It's not that setting the story in the South during the Civil War was necessarily a bad thing, but the whole slavery issue is very weird when you see it today. After all, in this film you see lots of black slaves standing about and singing for joy, as they apparently love their lot in life!! And, when Buckwheat (who is a runaway slave) begins to cry because he wants to have a master, too, it's just too much! If it weren't so evil, it would be comical. It's sad. Because without the racial insensitivity, the film is very good. The kids in the film are all good actors and Buckwheat really is quite adorable and effective in the film.

Rather surreal...that's for sure.

When I first saw this obscure film--the ONLY feature of the Our Gang kids--I was expecting a feature-length version of one of their shorts, so naturally I was quite unhappy with GENERAL SPANKY. Watching it again after many years, I find it more strange than unsatisfying. There are a lot of excellent elements in the film, yet other parts of the film are cringe-inducing or surreal. Producer Hal Roach managed to take Laurel and Hardy from the world of comedy shorts to the world of features with great success, so it's not surprising that he would want to take the Our Gang kids from shorts to features. My only question is...why a Civil War vehicle, with Buckwheat as a slave! The box of the MGM/UA video states the Roach was inspired by the success of Shirley Temple in THE LITTLE COLONEL to cast Spanky, Buckwheat, and Alfalfa in an "Old South" setting, but Our Gang's brand of comedy is much different from Shirley Temple's. Interestingly, Hal Roach returned to the "Old South" setting a few years later, when he teamed Oliver Hardy with Harry Langdon (Stan Laurel refusing to re-sign his contract with Roach) in ZENOBIA, another strange film. Perhaps Roach was inspired to cash in on the GONE WITH THE WIND phenomenon with ZENOBIA? Since Mr. Roach was from New York State, it's interesting that he would buy into the "romantic Old South" mythology. In any event, as I said above, there are some excellent elements in this film. Buckwheat Thomas and Spanky McFarland are fantastic, charismatic performers who can easily carry a feature film on their own. Buckwheat, in particular, is quite moving, when he is looking at a birthday cake while incredibly hungry, and since he's never seen a birthday cake before, he thinks the cake is on fire, and because he is hungry, he starts to cry. The underrated Phillips Holmes (best known for the 1931 adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's AN American TRAGEDY), who reminds me somewhat of Onslow Stevens, is quite impressive as Marsh Valient, the Southern Gentlemen who takes in Spanky and Buckwheat. Holmes' scene with Spanky where the two of them discuss the nature of war was quite moving and still has a necessary message today (it reminds me of Oliver Hardy's speech on racial equality in ZENOBIA). Ralph Morgan turns on his gruff charm as the Union general who refers to Spanky as "General" and treats him as a peer throughout the film--the effect is somewhat surreal. Irving Pichel is superb as the arrogant and sleazy Union officer Simmons. On the whole, however, GENERAL SPANKY is such a strange experience, I don't really know what to make of it. Any serious Our Gang fan should see it, and people attracted to weird cinematic misfires might find it interesting also. It's still available cheaply from its early 90's VHS release. I've never been much of a fan of Alfalfa, and fortunately he doesn't appear in the film until half way through, and soon after he does his patented "off key singing" routine. It has not gotten any better with age. Fortunately, the film belongs to Spanky and Buckwheat, and they do a great job.

Hitherto to this feature, the longest Our Gang film was a three reel silent short called "Spook Spoofing". A 73 minute feature is a drastic change from their usual territory, but it is a worthwhile effort none the less. Here the comedy comes in contrast to drama, with a storyline that has more to do wih the adults than the Rascals. The Civil War setting is successfully recreated, and Spanky & Buckwheat make a good team. Not a film to introduce one to The Little Rascals, but one to enjoy after being exposed to their classic shorts,

The Our Gang series of shorts took place in more urban settings, and there were few overtly racist moments in those shorts - all the kids were playing together, in the same spaces, going in and out of the same doors, in and out of each other's homes, and no reference made to segregation or Jim Crow, etc. There was stereotyping, for sure - the black American kids, the Italian kids, the Asian kids, the fat kids, etc. But the lack of those overt racist moments is probably why these shorts have translated well enough for modern viewing.

But this full-length feature throws all that out the window: here is a story set in the South and presenting enslaved black Americans as happy, sweet simpletons, treated wonderfully by their owners. It's not "Birth of a Nation" bad - more "Song of the South" bad. There's even a conversation 10 minutes into the movie between two slave owners, bragging at how well fed and cared for their slaves are. Buckwheat, here an enslaved child, overhears the violence these owners say they would do on a re-captured runaway slave, and as he is run-away, he is terrified. It's supposed to be a funny moment - but to any halfway caring human being, knowing what really did happen to re-captured run- away slaves, the incredible violence and humiliation that was all too real, it's painful now to watch this scene, to watch this reality made light of. It would be like watching an old movie making fun of the Holocaust. Lots of other cringe-worthy moments as well, like Spanky proudly proving he's a "Southern Gentleman" to Alfalfa by showing off "his" slave, smiling happy Buckwheat.

So, why did I give it a 7? Because it is a PERFECT example of how, 70 years after the Civil War - and beyond - the myths of the happy slave, the genteel white slave owner, the "noble" and brave fighters for the Southern "cause" and the boorish, cowardly Northerners was/is perpetuated in the USA, this time with the overwhelming cuteness and charm of Spanky and Buckwheat, probably the two most popular members of the Little Rascals (they were always my favorites).