Roamin' Holiday

This Hal Roach comedy short, Roamin' Holiday, is the one hundred fifty-sixth entry in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the sixty-eighth talkie. Not wanting to spend another minute caring for their infant brothers, Spanky and Alfalfa-along with Porky and Buckwheat-decide to run from home and go to Jenksville where there's a store they encounter to try to get some treats. First, Spank and Alf try with their dog but they only get dog biscuits. When Pork and Bucky find a dog, they actually get what they want since the pet belongs to the store owners! Then they find out where they came from...This was another funny OG short with plenty of funny stuff to recommend it. One of the store owners was played by May Wallace, a Roach veteran who appeared in several films with OG, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel & Hardy. This was her last appearance in the series. Her last film was Zenobia, also produced by the studio. She died on December 11, 1938. So on that note, I recommend Roamin' Holiday.

Spanky, Alfalfa, Porky and Buckwheat run away from home to a strange town called "Jenksville" (which is as surreal as anything you'll find in the Twilight Zone) where the local constable and shopkeeper decides to "teach them a lesson."

Better than the "teach those kids a lesson" shorts of latter years, because this short is just so easygoing. Porky and Buckwheat are indeed adorable and steal every scene they're in. Alfalfa has a funny scene where the punchline is "He's got it! My personality!" Darla has a very short cameo where she seems to be playing a pesky little sister instead of her usual leading lady role!

This meandering, easygoing film feels like they might have made it up as they went along...and it's funny. Buckwheat and Porky are especially cute, even for them, and Spanky and Alfalfa are their usual skillful selves. The shopkeeper has some pretty harebrained ideas about educating children, but in spite of it he and his wife both manage to be warmly likeable.