''Two Too Young'' is a 1936 ''
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 ...
''
short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Gordon Douglas.
Produced 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 ...
and released to theaters by
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 ...
, it was the 147th ''Our Gang'' short to be released.
Plot
During a slow day at school, Alfalfa spends penmanship class writing a note to Spanky, informing his pal that the two "little kids", Buckwheat and Porky, have firecrackers and that Spanky should think of a way to relieve them of their possessions. Alfalfa delivers his note to Spanky via paper airplane, and as soon as recess begins the two boys stop Buckwheat and Porky at the door and offer to trade a magnifying glass and a water pistol for the firecrackers. When Buckwheat and Porky refuse their offer, Spanky and Alfalfa sneak into the janitor's office and borrow his clothing to disguise themselves as an adult. Spanky sits on Alfalfa's shoulders and also cuts Alfalfa's
cowlick
A cowlick is a section of human hair that stands straight up or lies at an angle at odds with the style in which the rest of an individual's hair is worn.
The most common site of a human cowlick is in the crown, but they can show up anywhere. Th ...
off to use as a mustache (Alfalfa, upon learning Spanky has shorn him of his trademark: "I'm ruined!").
Telling the little kids that he is a
G-man
''G-man'' (short for "government man", plural ''G-men'') is an American slang term for agents of the United States Government. It is especially used as a term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
''G-man'' is also a term ...
, the ersatz Spanky-Alfalfa "adult" succeeds in extracting the firecrackers from Buckwheat. Spanky and Alfalfa fail to make an escape, however, without giving away their disguise. Undaunted, Spanky discards the disguise and begins attempting to light the firecrackers with his magnifying glass. Buckwheat gets even with him by sneaking into the classroom and ringing the teacher's bell, bringing recess to an early end. As everyone heads inside, Spanky has Alfalfa stuff the firecrackers in his back pocket, and Porky picks up Spanky's magnifying glass, which he had left discarded on the ground as he headed back inside.
Back in class, Miss Lawrence calls on the children to recite their recitations, but it turns out that Alfalfa is the only one willing to recite. He stands to recite "
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...
," revealing the firecrackers in his back pocket. Using the magnifying glass, Porky trains the light on Alfalfa's pocket, setting off the firecrackers so that by the time Alfalfa reaches the "Cannons to the left of me/Cannons to the right of me/Volleyed and thundered" verses of the poem, his backside is on fire. Alfalfa runs around the classroom with smoke and flames trailing him, and then outside where he puts his rear out in a washtub full of cold water. Steam comes blasting out of the water and it boils due to the heat of his seat. With his mouth hanging open and his eyes closed, he dunks his blistered rear end into the cold water over and over again. As he’s awkwardly reveling in the pleasure of being extinguished, he slowly opens his eyes and turns to see his entire class and beautiful young teacher staring at him in his private moment of ecstasy. Alfalfa is totally humiliated and blushes, but keeps on dunking because it just feels too good to stop. Even as the camera pans away from him you can still hear his heated bottom dunking in the water. The entire class laughs hysterically at him as the sounds of his butt splashing continue, and the screen fades to black.
Cast
The Gang
*
Eugene Lee as Porky
*
George McFarland as Spanky
*
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
*
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
Additional cast
*
Harold Switzer
Harold Frederick Switzer (January 16, 1925 – April 14, 1967) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series as an extra. He was the older brother of gang member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, one ...
as Kid bumping into 'G-man'
*
Rosina Lawrence
Rosina May Lawrence (December 30, 1912 – June 23, 1997) was a British-Canadian actress and singer. She had a short but memorable career in the 1920s and 1930s in Hollywood before she married in 1939 and retired from entertainment. She is best kn ...
as Miss Lawrence
Classroom extras
John Collum
John K. Collum (June 29, 1926 — August 28, 1962) was an American child actor. He appeared in many ''Our Gang'' films of the 1930s as the character Uh-Huh.
Career
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Collum was the son of Hal Roach's casting director, ...
,
Rex Downing
Rex Haddon Downing (April 21, 1925 – November 18, 2020) was an American actor as a child and youth.
Early years
Downing attended Hollywood High School.
Career
Rex Downing started his film career in several Our Gang comedies, but his roles t ...
, Barbara Goodrich, Paul Hilton,
Sidney Kibrick
Sidney Henry Kibrick (born July 2, 1928) is an American former child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects film series, over a ten-year period from 1933 and 1943.
Kibrick was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on ...
, Dickie De Nuet, Donald Proffitt, Joe Straunch, Jr.,
Jerry Tucker
See also
*
''Our Gang'' filmography
References
External links
*
* {{tcmdb title, 823339, Two Too Young
1936 films
American black-and-white films
1936 comedy films
Films directed by Gordon Douglas
Hal Roach Studios short films
Our Gang films
1936 short films
1930s American films