''Alfalfa's Aunt'' is a 1939

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, the 176th entry in the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' (''Little Rascals'') series originally created by

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

. Produced by

Jack Chertok Jack Chertok (July 13, 1906 – June 14, 1995) was an American film and television producer perhaps best known to modern viewers as producer for the 182 black and white episodes of ''The Lone Ranger''. Career Born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Russi ...

for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and directed by

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics ''Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive backgro ...

, the one-reel short was released to theaters in January 1939 by MGM.

Plot

Alfalfa's Aunt Penelope sends the Switzers a telegram that says that she's coming to visit. She has given up her pursuits of being a sculptor and has turned to writing murder mysteries. Just before Alfalfa's parents leave to attend a meeting that night, Penelope reads Alfalfa's father John a page of her story, which is written in the form of a letter: ''"Dear X,'' ''I have discovered that only my nephew stands between me and the Switzer millions! So like the others, he shall die in agony - tonight - at the stroke of nine!"'' After John and his wife Martha go out and leave Alfalfa in Penelope's care, Alfalfa stumbles upon the page that Penelope read to John. He becomes horrified, believing that his own aunt is plotting to murder him. He tells Penelope that he is going to bed and then summons the gang to help prevent him from being murdered. While dumping out poisons in the bathroom, Porky causes a sudden loud, long noise, which leads Penelope to believe that the house is being burglarized. Eventually, Alfalfa's parents return home and the gang proudly tell the adults that they saved Alfalfa from being killed by his aunt. Angered by the insanity and misunderstandings, Penelope decides to pack up and leave immediately ("How can an author write in a madhouse like this?!"). The entire situation is explained and all the misunderstandings are cleared up. Before Alfalfa is given a chance to apologize to his Aunt Penelope, John rewards him with a dollar bill just for getting rid of her.

Cast

The Gang

Carl Switzer Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

as Alfalfa Switzer *

Eugene Gordon Lee Eugene Gordon Lee (October 25, 1933 – October 16, 2005) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies as Porky from 1935 to 1939. During his tenure in ''Our Gang'', Porky originated t ...

as Porky *

George McFarland George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in the ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' shorts were later syndicated ...

as Spanky *

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People * Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress * Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian * Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress * Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist for ...

as Buckwheat * Gary Jasgar as Slapsie * Leonard Landy as Leonard

Additional cast

* Barbara Bedford as Martha Switzer, Alfalfa's mother *

Marie Blake Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. He ...

as Martha's sister and Alfalfa's Aunt Penelope. * William Newell as John Switzer, Alfalfa's father

Reception

''Alfalfa's Aunt'' is considered one of the better ''Our Gang'' shorts produced after Hal Roach sold the series to MGM in mid-1938; the post-Roach era is generally considered a subpar era for the series.

References

External links

* * * {{Our Gang 1939 films 1939 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by George Sidney Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Our Gang films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films