Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28 (1 Viewer)

[dana martin]

Patrick
actualy that is on the old Cabin Feaver releases as well, in the same manner, and we know how well that turned out, and yes they did use pete the pup then as well, but i like it, the only thing i think differently is instead og just showing the kids that they had on the cover they could have used something like the cover of Maltins book,

 

[Ethan Riley]

Just pre-ordered it; and I hardly EVER do that!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I would put high hopes into this set.

The people involved with the Cabin Fever (RCI) set seem to be
involved with this set as well.

I would presume at least the same masters are being used as
were on the former CF releases.

This is not public domain trash that has been released on other
collections. This should be the real deal as far as a quality Rascals
release.

 

[ColbyCo82]

The art work is so-so. I cannot say I like it, but I don't dislike it either. I'm just sad the gang from 1929-1931 didnt make it. Chubby, Weezer, Jackie, Mary Ann...thats my favorite group.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

What do those '29-31 shorts fall under. Is it those Laughsmith
is working on or just the silents before it?

Maybe I am wrong, but I thought those characters were found
on the Cabin Fever releases which this new set is replicating.

 

[Brent S]

You are correct. Laughsmith is working on a selection of silent-era films.

This 80-film set of '29 - '38 will indeed include the early "talkies" with Chubby Chaney, Farina Hoskins, Wheezer Hutchins, Jackie Cooper, et. al., as well as the 'Spanky, Alfalfa, Porky, Buckwheat, Darla and Butch' comedies.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I agree that the best ones were in the Wheezer-Stymie era, through the time when Spanky first joined the group. But the vast majority of Baby Boomers, when they think of "The Little Rascals," think of Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat and Porky, and their faces on a cover will get more attention than Wheezer and Mary Ann.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

O-tay - it's Preordered!

 

[dana martin]

actualy i remember the weezer and jackie cooper ones better,

 

[ColbyCo82]

Yea, I just meant I was sad that Jackie or Weezer or Chubby didnt made the cover. For some reason Cabin Fever only released the talkies from 1929's "Small Talk" onward. They did release a handful of silents, but didnt really go back even though they probably own the rights to MGM released silents of 1928 and 1929. It might be because they didnt want to comission new soundtracks...but im sure many of these had vitaphone soundtracks that still might exist.

 

[Eric Peterson]

I prefer the early incarnations with Jackie, Wheezer, Chubby, & Stymie, but for whatever reason, the later bunch has had a more lasting appeal. They should have somehow included both groups on the cover art, but this will in no way keep me from owning this. The only thing that might is if the transfers turn out to be medicore and if they use the same sequencing as the VHS tapes. I want to watch all of the shorts in their proper order without having to change discs every 20 minutes.

 

[David Weicker]

Regarding the cover art, it is fine, but like a lot of the others, I prefer something more like the Maltin book. Especially since it had Scotty on it. My favorite episode is First Round-Up. IMHO, the teaming of Scotty and Spanky was never beaten.

I am so thrilled this is coming out. Speaking shelf-wise, the new packaging will allow me to free up quite a bit of space. I have the six CF discs, plus five more that I created by converting the LD versions. One box vs. eleven cases - a no-brainer.

If the quality at least matches the CF versions, I will be happy, but I think I agree with Eric's wish that these be presented in chronological order. As a fan, I like all the eras, but my mood tends to want to watch a particular era in one sitting. I realize the casual fan is probably better served by the random sampling that the original CF organization presented, but I'm not a casual fan.

Looking forward to a Halloween marathon (my boys will definitely pester me to show them Hide and Shriek - their favorite episode)

David Weicker

 

[Mike*HTF]

I agree these definitely should be presented in chronological order.

I hope similar progress is being made with the silent set due from Laughsmith - the schedule has been pushed back so often, I'm a bit concerned.

 

[Steve...O]

I found this in the L&H google groups. Unfortunately the author did not provide an attribution so I unable to provide credit to the proper source. I'm not sure I like how these are referred to as "episodes" and a "show", but otherwise this looks like a very attractive package.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Extremely good news about the 10 silents being included...could these be some of the copyrighted silents that won't be on the Laughsmith set?

 

[BrianRi]

Amazon price has dropped and is currently $54.99 (%39). I'd pre-order pronto because I can almost guarantee that price will soon go higher.

 

[Mike*HTF]

I understand your concern about the language, Steve.

I wondered why the title wasn't Our Gang instead of The Little Rascals - which I understood to be the TV re-release title.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, more people know this as THE LITTLE RASCALS, which makes more sense from a marketing standpoint. Even Leonard Maltin's indispensable book was titled "THE LITTLE RASCALS (the life and times of Our Gang)".

 

[ColbyCo82]

As far as I c tell, only 5 silent Our Gang Comedies have recieved an "official" release from Cabin Fever and its legal heirs (Hallmark etc.).

VHS Only
1. Derby Day (1923-Pathe)
2. Dogs of War (1923-Pathe)
3. Big Brother (1927-Pathe)
4. Cat, Dog, & Co. (1929-MGM)

DVD Only
5. Dog Heaven (1927-MGM)

If the above story is true, then we should probably expect these shorts and five others. I really hope they are from the MGM period and they ultilize original vitaphone scores when possible. However the box art clearly states "80 Original Theatrical Shorts" If 80 is the actual number, then no silents can be included. The orginal cabin fever box set included 84 shorts...4 were silents and the rest were talkies. I hope a press release comes soon and straightens out this confusion.

 

[Brent S]

Disc introductions by Richard W. Bann, Dickie Moore, Jerry Schatz (aka Jerry Tucker) and Jean Darling.

Shorts are in chronological order.

10 bonus features... which include 3 silent shorts:

- Dog Heaven (1927)
- Spook Spoofing (1928)
- Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (1928)

New bonus featurettes:
- The Story of Hal Roach and Our Gang
- Rascals and Racial Issues
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Dickie Moore
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Jean Darling
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Jerry Tucker
- Catching Up with the Rascals: Annie Ross
- Memories of Spanky