Of the last 52 MGM-produced "Our Gangs," "Mighty Lak a Goat" HAS to be THE best and funniest.
Of course, the best part of the short was when Mickey, Spanky, Buckwheat, and Froggy decide to go to the theater and see, as the movie poster Spanky reads proclaimed, "Detective King in Episode 33: "Don't Open That Door!" A murder every 2 minutes. Spine-tingling! Chilling! Delightful!"
The early portion of "Don't Open That Door" was funny when Tess, the villainess, answers the door after the police knock, and says, "Well! This is a fine time to wake a person up!"
Then the officer, noticing her feet, asks, "You sleep with your shoes on, huh, Tess?"
And, the piece de resistance comes when the murder victim on-screen awakens after smelling the gang in the audience and asks, "Tell me! What is that horrible smell?" Then Tess points to the audience and says, "It's coming from out there!" after which the on-screen actors hide.
Then after the police remove the gang from the theater, the actors come out of hiding and say:
Murder victim: "They're gone."
Tess: "Thank goodness."
Officer: "Now let's pick it up from where we left off!"
It was surprising to discover, however, that according to Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann's 1992 "Little Rascals" book, "Mighty Lak a Goat," despite its sure-fire script and direction, FAILED at the box office, posting a net loss of over $2500. After five more shorts lost money, MGM finally decided to pull the plug on "Our Gang" a year-and-a-half later; with a few exceptions (e.g. "Calling All Kids," "Tale of a Dog"), the quality of the series did indeed plummet as it turned to educational plots (of course, one reason for that is because World War II was in progress).
As for Spanky McFarland, he appeared in the film following this one, "Unexpected Riches," and then bid "Our Gang" farewell.
"Mighty Lak a Goat" gets a perfect 10 in my book!
Of course, the best part of the short was when Mickey, Spanky, Buckwheat, and Froggy decide to go to the theater and see, as the movie poster Spanky reads proclaimed, "Detective King in Episode 33: "Don't Open That Door!" A murder every 2 minutes. Spine-tingling! Chilling! Delightful!"
The early portion of "Don't Open That Door" was funny when Tess, the villainess, answers the door after the police knock, and says, "Well! This is a fine time to wake a person up!"
Then the officer, noticing her feet, asks, "You sleep with your shoes on, huh, Tess?"
And, the piece de resistance comes when the murder victim on-screen awakens after smelling the gang in the audience and asks, "Tell me! What is that horrible smell?" Then Tess points to the audience and says, "It's coming from out there!" after which the on-screen actors hide.
Then after the police remove the gang from the theater, the actors come out of hiding and say:
Murder victim: "They're gone."
Tess: "Thank goodness."
Officer: "Now let's pick it up from where we left off!"
It was surprising to discover, however, that according to Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann's 1992 "Little Rascals" book, "Mighty Lak a Goat," despite its sure-fire script and direction, FAILED at the box office, posting a net loss of over $2500. After five more shorts lost money, MGM finally decided to pull the plug on "Our Gang" a year-and-a-half later; with a few exceptions (e.g. "Calling All Kids," "Tale of a Dog"), the quality of the series did indeed plummet as it turned to educational plots (of course, one reason for that is because World War II was in progress).
As for Spanky McFarland, he appeared in the film following this one, "Unexpected Riches," and then bid "Our Gang" farewell.
"Mighty Lak a Goat" gets a perfect 10 in my book!