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And I understand that, too, when you’re selling them as children’s entertainment. And they pulled a handful of them from release altogether. 1922īut the real culprits are The King Brothers, who own the television rights and who in the seventies or eighties edited them for racial sensitivity. Hal Roach’s Little Rascals: (from left): Jack Davis, Allen ‘Farina’ Hoskins, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Hal Roach Sr., Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb, Ernie ‘Sunshine’ Morrison, c. And then the people who finally did put out a DVD did it on the cheap. I think it was Hallmark Video that managed to put the first two video cassettes that I’d hosted on one DVD, but only included the introduction for the first one. And then they were released in scattershot fashion. They did not release them on DVD and neither did anybody else for quite a while. And unfortunately, they were no longer in business when the DVD era arrived. They were backed by some larger company with deep pockets and expected it to sell 100,000 units in that entire year and ended up selling 100,000 the first month.
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The company that put them out was called Cabin Fever, long gone at this point.
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I will say that as recently as 25 years ago when they came out on VHS for the first time … I think it was 1994 and I hosted those, which was one of the greatest gigs ever. It’s debatable - I’m trying to maintain my optimism. But does it feel like ‘The Little Rascals,’ like so many things, is sort of fading away to time? Hal Roach’s Little Rascals, (from left): George ‘Spanky’ McFarland, Billie ‘Buckwheat’ Thomas, Eugene ‘Porky’ Lee, Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, Darla Hood on-set, ca. When people tell me, “My kids won’t watch anything in black and white,” I’ll say something like, “Have they seen The Three Stooges?” “Oh, yeah.” “Do they ever watch I Love Lucy?” “Oh, yeah, they love Lucy.” “Well, then they have watched something in black and white.” There’s always something I can point to that refutes the absolutism. Is it frustrating that there’s this generational thing where people won’t watch anything in black and white? Hal Roach’s Our Gang Comedies, Jean Darling, Jay R Smith, Jackie Condon, Joe Cobb, Allen Hoskins, Harry Spear, Jannie Hoskins, 1927 And I debated whether I should have Jessie meet him I thought it would just be too strange for her at that young, young age to equate this older guy with the cute little kid she was watching all the time. Spanky McFarland was in town and we saw him at some gathering or something and had a nice chat with him. When my daughter was five we’d already started showing her The Little Rascals. 3RD DEGREE!, Bert Convy (l.), with (l-r): Tommy Bond, George ‘Spanky’ McFarland, Sidney Kibrick from ‘Our Gang’/’Little Rascals’, 1989-90, (c)Burt and Bert Productions/courtesy Everett Collection Just as a fanboy, that must have been pretty amazing. And then writing the book and getting to meet so many of them, not to mention Hal Roach. That’s one reason I can say honestly they really are a part of my life. To the point where, of course, I would run out of new ones to see and I was watching the same ones over and over and over again to the point where they were deeply, and remain deeply, embedded in my consciousness. I teach at USC, I have a big, big class and I try to explain to them that I watched The Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy every single day of my life growing up. How significant in your life are The Little Rascals? LITTLE RASCALS, Petey, Spanky McFarland, Bobby Beard, Tommy Bond, Dickie Moore, Dorothy DeBorba, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, 1933 It’s regarding the latter that Do You Remember sat down with Leonard Maltin for a conversation in which we discuss the enduring nature of Our Gang and a bit of its history. Through it all, though, he has remained a fan of classic comedies like Laurel and Hardy and, of course, The Little Rascals.
THE CURSE OF THE ORIGINAL LITTLE RASCALS MOVIE
Born December 18, 1950, in New York City, he’s a renowned critic and historian and has written a number of books, including The Great Movie Comedians, Of Mice and Magic: A History of Animated Cartoons, Leonard Maltin’s 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen and Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Film Fandom. One thing that needs to be said is that Leonard lives and breathes film, and has for most of his life. They tell the entire story of Spanky, Darla, Alfalfa, and the rest of those kids who have entertained generations of viewers in the pages of The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang. Bann - literally wrote the book on the subject. When it comes to The Little Rascals, Leonard Maltin - along with Richard W.