Small Talk

This Hal Roach comedy short, Small Talk, is the eighty-ninth in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the first talkie. Yes, this was the first time movie audiences heard Our Gang speaking lines. Many of their recent previous silents had sound effects but this one was full of them whether it's the children playing instruments, various animal sounds, or the alarms of police and fire fighters. As a result, one is amused if not laughing heartily. And the story-Wheezer is adopted by a rich woman but he misses his orphanage pals especially sister Mary Ann-is perhaps a bit too maudlin for a kids comedy. Still, because of its historical status, Small Talk is at the least, worth a look. By the way, on the DVD collection I saw this on, Richard W. Bann-co-author of "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang"-does a nice intro about the series. And now all the sound Hal Roach-produced series entries I'm reviewing-that I hadn't previously-will be from this disc collection.