Eight rare early silent comedies from the classic Our Gang (The Little Rascals) series produced by Hal Roach, with new restorations and scores by ClassicFlix.
The Production: 4/5
ClassicFlix has included eight of the first nine silent-era Our Gang (The Little Rascals) short comedies. Synopses based on their liner notes. Please note the runtimes of each short includes brief restoration notes and credits.
Our Gang (1922) [20:50] – The gang befriends a rich kid, and later helps save a store owner who is behind on her rent from being evicted. This was the first production, but third release due to reshoots, which add a somewhat disjointed nature.
Fire Fighters (1922) [22:02] – After scuttling a bootlegger’s haven, the gang start their own fire department converting the newly found moonshine still into part of their fire engine. Even in this short, all the aspects of the Our Gang formula are in place, though there’s a lot more focus on animal hijinks, including a bizarre scene with “drunk” farm animals shot in slow motion.
Young Sherlocks (1922) [21:52] – After stumbling into a meeting of the Mystic Jesse James Juniors, Ernie recounts the tale of how he and Jackie became detectives and thwarted a kidnapping.
One Terrible Day (1922) [19:08] – In order to get positive press coverage, a rich socialite gives a picnic for needy children – but she gets more than she bargained for when Ernie, Mickey, and the rest of the gang show up.
Saturday Morning (1922) [20:52] – Despite their Saturday morning being filled with such dreary requirements as chores and lessons, the gang finds enough time to elude their parents and set out on the high seas as adventurous pirates.
The Big Show! (1923) [21:37] – Cash-strapped and unable to sneak into a local county fair, the gang put on their own carnival complete with exciting rides, wild animals, and a rousing moving picture show.
The Cobbler (1923) [21:57] – A genial cobbler lets the gang hang out at his shop, and then takes them out for a picnic in his new car when he comes into his back pension.
The Champeen! (1923) [21:01] – Needing quick money after he gets caught snitching some apples, Ernie goes headfirst into the fight game as a boxing promoter.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
ClassicFlix’s efforts to remaster and restore the 1929-1938 Our Gang talkie shorts has been well-noted, with the well-received six volumes (and compiled complete set). The first volume of silents is no less extraordinary. These films do not survive with any complete pristine 35mm sources, some not in 35mm at all. Pieced together from archival and collector elements, these are sterling examples of a careful touch applied to relatively ancient films.
Our Gang, the first short, is made up of a melange of half a dozen different prints. Some footage is from an improperly made print with an intermittent “double exposure” defect and I noticed one brief shot taken from what appears to be analog video. One Terrible Day probably has the “worst” overall print quality, with a more damaged and dupey appearance. The rest of the films are generally quite lovely to look at. The image is incredibly stable, grain isn’t tampered with, and the worst damage has been removed or at least lessened. Given that ClassicFlix initially considered the films that survive on 16mm only worth releasing on DVD, I’m happy they opted for Blu-ray after all. While not pristine, I think viewers will be surprised by how much detail and contrast has been pulled out of even the films taken from 16mm show-at-home prints.
Frame speed appears to be 24fps and the films are framed at either 1.33:1 or 1.37:1, depending on the elements used. The encoding is top-notch, with a bitrate averaging around 32mbps and a BD-50 has been used for the contents.
Audio: 5/5
In addition to the impressive visual restoration, ClassicFlix has also commissioned new piano scores for all eight short films Our Gang, Fire Fighters, The Big Show, The Champeen, and Saturday Morning have scores performed and composed by Phillip C. Carli Young Sherlocks, The Cobbler, and One Terrible Day feature scores performed and composed by Ben Model. Presented as lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo tracks, these sound excellent. As these are silent films, the scores also fit the images wonderfully. Carli and Model are excellent silent film composers whose work is featured on many other releases (Model even has his own micro label Undercrank Productions).
Special Features: 2.5/5
While not packed with supplements, ClassicFlix has included a few extras of note.
The Pickaninny (1921) [16:23 HD] – Derived from a 16mm print and restored in 2K with the same level of quality as the main short films. While pre-dating the “Our Gang” series of shorts, this features Ernie Morrison (Sunshine Sammy). Piano score by Ben Model.
Restoration Comparison [3:45 HD] – A few before and after comparisons showing the immense work into digitally restoring these shorts.
Preview of Upcoming Rascal Silent Volumes [7:46 HD] – A collection of silent clips from raw scans of other Our Gang silent films. Even without any stabilization and cleanup, the raw 4K scans look quite impressive.
The inner print of the case features notes and credits for all of the shorts, as well as disc production credits.
It would have been nice to have a few commentaries, but I’m still thankful for these being on Blu-ray at all in any sort of quality.
Overall: 4/5
Even in these early films, the formula that would make Our Gang/The Little Rascals one of the most endearing comedy series is already in place. ClassicFlix has done an amazing job restoring these films from surviving film elements and included excellent, appropriate musical scores.
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