This season consisted of mainly silent films, but the first five talkie Our Gang comedies were added to the mix throughout 1929 as theatres updated their capabilities to present the new “sound on disc” featurettes.The Little Rascals
One of the longest running and most beloved series in movie history came to DVD on Oct. 28, 2008 with a massive boxed set containing more than 80 classic short subjects. It's been argued about since, with some fans complaining that some of the shorts lack restored credits or have been imperfectly mastered. We'll leave that argument for another day and just talk about the series itself.
Producer Hal Roach famously created the series of 2-reel comedies in 1922 after watching a gang of kids playing in a lot near his studio. The series was originally billed as Hal Roach’s Rascals, but become popular known by the title of the first film (released in late 1922), Our Gang. Among the most popular kids from the silent days were Sunshine Sammy, Farina, Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb, and Jackie Condon.
Beginning with the 1927-1928 season, the Our Gang shorts were distributed by MGM (earlier films were released by Pathe). In all, 88 silent 2-reelers were produced by Roach before the series went “all-talkie” in 1929. A total of 80 sound short subjects in the series were made by Roach from 1929-1938, when he sold the series to MGM outright, and those are the 80 films in the new set. Metro then produced another 52 shorts before discontinuing the series in 1944. In all, there were 220 Our Gang shorts and one feature film produced during the series' 1922-1944 existence.
In the late 1940s, Roach reacquired the Our Gang films he’d produced to re-release them theatrically and for possible sale to television; he could no longer call them Our Gang (MGM retained the rights) and so retitled them The Little Rascals. Here’s an overview of the series, the kids, and the best titles in the new collection. Most seasons ran from late summer to late spring (most theatres weren’t air-conditioned in those days) and consisted of eight 2-reelers, with exceptions as noted.
1928-1929 Season
This season consisted of mainly silent films, but the first five talkie Our Gang comedies were added to the mix throughout 1929 as theatres updated their capabilities to present the new “sound on disc” featurettes.
The kids this year including Joe Cobb, Allen “Farina” Hoskins, Bobby “Wheezer” Hutchins, Mary Ann Jackson, Jean Darling, and Harry Spear. Newbies added to the Gang included Jackie Cooper and Norman “Chubby” Chaney”.
Among the highlights this year were Railroadin’ (the kids are trapped on a runaway train) and Boxing Gloves (Joe vs. Chubby for the heavyweight champeenship). Both of them have long segments, incidentally, that are still silent. Following the final film of the season, Bouncing Babies (released in October of ’29), Joe Cobb, Jean Darling, and Harry Spear were all released from their Hal Roach contracts.
1929-30
The Roach technicians and the Gang were becoming more confident with sound, but this year’s output is a pretty weak group of shorts highlighted by the blossoming of Jackie Cooper as the series’ star player; his ongoing attempts to romance first Mary Ann and later Miss Crabtree are a real treat. It’s also nice to see Edgar Kennedy in his reoccurring role as Kennedy the Cop.
Best shorts of the season include Shivering Shakespeare (the Gang’s rendition of Quo Vadis, which wasn’t written by Shakespeare); The First Seven Years (Kennedy gives romantic tips to Jackie, lovesick over Mary Ann), and When the Wind Blows (Jackie is locked out of the house at night, and Kennedy thinks he’s a burglar. This is the only Our Gang film directed by James W. Horne). The season finale, incidentally, is called A Tough Winter and guest stars notorious African-American comic Stepin Fetchit in what amounts to a pilot film for a Fetchit series that was never made.
1930-31
The kids from the previous year were all back with the addition of two talented and charming newcomers, Dorothy “Echo” DeBorba and Matthew “Stymie” Beard. This is the first really, really good season of the sound era, with just about every short a gem. This 
is the season Wheezer’s puppies are trained to run to the bell (Pups is Pups), Jackie Cooper battles “Chubbsy-Ubbsy” for the affections of Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe), the new schoolmarm (Teacher’s Pet, School’s Out, Love Business), and the Gang pitches in to help kindly ol’ Grandma (Helping Grandma, Fly My Kite).
At the end of the season (Fly My Kite, May, 1931), there was a huge change in the Gang’s roster, though. Jackie Cooper had quickly become too bag for Roach to afford to keep, and he was gone, joined by Farina (who had appeared in more than 100 Our Gang films during his tenure), Chubby, and Mary Ann. They’d all be missed, but as usual, talented kids were coming along and needed space to develop.
1931-32
Another pretty good year for a Gang in transition; highlights include Shiver My Timbers (blustery sea captain Billy Gilbert and Miss Crabtree conspire to teach the kids not to play hooky from school to become pirates), and my all-time favorite Our Gang film, Dogs is Dogs, in which Stymie makes ham and eggs talk and Sherwood falls in the
well. The fifth film of the season, Free Eats (released in February ’32) introduces li’l 3-year-old George “Spanky” McFarland, who was rushed into a featured role in the next short, Spanky, as the Gang puts on an hilarious adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin starring Stymie as both Uncle Tom and Topsy. Tommy Bond and Wally Albright, both of whom would serve the series well, were added to the roster as the year rolled on.
1932-33
By this time, the Our Gang series was really clicking and the stories were getting better and more imaginative. Free Wheeling is a classic, with rich kid Dickie anxious to get away from his overbearing mother and play with the poor kids, who have built a very impressive taxi. Birthday Blues is another 
one of those laugh-out-loud Our Gang shorts; this time, Dickie and Spanky are baking a birthday cake for their mom, and their miscellaneous ingredients cause the stove to pulsate and say “BWEE-BWAAB!” A Lad an’ a Lamp gives the kids magic wishes (sort of), and Fish Hooky is a delightful short set at an amusement park and featuring the return of former Our Gang kids Mickey, Mary, Farina, and Joe. Finally, there’s The Kid from Borneo: Spanky’s Uncle George turns out to be the carnival wild man (“Yum! Yum! Eat ‘em up!”) in possibly the funniest Our Gang short ever. At the close of the season (following Mush and Milk, released in May ’37) Dickie Moore, Dorothy, and Wheezer were let go by Roach.
1933-34
An unusual season inasmuch as only 6 Our Gang shorts (instead of the usual 8) were produced. As usual for the period, Spanky is the star, trying to figure out what a shipping clerk does (Bedtime Worries) and battling a prissy photographer (Wild Poses, guest starring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy). The great Hi’-Neighbor introduces a foil for Spanky, li’l Scotty Beckett; this short, which has the kids build a fire engine for a race, is one of the best. You’ll also love The First Round-Up, with the Gang on a camping trip that only Spanky and Scotty are prepared for. This is also the year that a li’l scene stealer named Billie Thomas assumed the role of Buckwheat. He’d quickly supplant Stymie, and be around through the end of the series in 1944.
1934-35
A year of transition for the team. Wally Albright and Stymie left during the season, and the amateur show musical Beginner’s Luck introduced Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer. A good if not great series of shorts resulted, including Mike Fright (with the Gang’s rendition of "Man on the Flying Trapeze"), Washee Ironee (Wally wants to play football, not practice violin), and two of the best Our Gang shorts ever, Mama’s Little Pirate (the Gang is trapped by a giant in a cave) and Shrimps for a Day (a pair of friendly adults are turned into children by a magic lamp). The pretty good short Teacher’s Beau, incidentally, was written for June Marlowe to make a comeback as Miss Crabtree, but she turned down the part. What a shame!
1935-36
This was to be the last season to feature the Gang in 2-reel comedies, which were getting more expensive to produce and were being squeezed out by double features. In fact by this season, Roach was out of the short subject business EXCEPT for the Our Gang films; Laurel & Hardy had been moved exclusively to features and Charley Chase had been let go. MGM loved distributing the Our Gang as supporting featurettes as part of its program, though, and insisted that the series continue.
Highlights this year include Little Sinner, with Spanky playing hooky from Sunday School to go fishing (this short introduced a new Gangster, Eugene “Porky” Lee), Our Gang Follies of 1936 (the last regular Our Gang appearance of Scotty Beckett and the first of Darla Hood), the hilarious Divot Diggers (the Gang and their chimpanzee go golfing), The Pinch Singer (Alfalfa croons “I’m in the Mood for Love”) and Second Childhood (Grandma goes roller-skating).
1936-37
With this year, the Gang’s core lineup was set for the remainder of the series: Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Darla, and Porky, with foil Tommy “Butch” Bond and his pal, “Woim”. The new agreement with MGM promised 12 new 1-reel short subjects (about 9 minutes each) and in return MGM promised to finance and distribute an Our Gang 
feature film, which turned out to be General Spanky (released in Dec. 1936), a misfire Civil War picture that failed to capitalize on the popularity of similar Shirley Temple features. Now the property of Warner Bros., General Spanky is not yet available on DVD.
There are a lot of good comedies this year, including Bored of Education (which won the series its only Oscar), Two Too Young (the kids play with firecrackers at school), Pay as you Exit (Alfalfa and Darla as Romeo and Juliet), Spooky Hooky (breaking into school at night), and Hearts are Thumps (the He-Man Women Haters Club). Reunion in Rhythm (intended as Our Gang Follies of 1937) brings back a few older retired kids for a cameo appearance, including Mickey, Mary, Joe, and Stymie.
1937-38
The final year of the Hal Roach Our Gang era contains some of the worst short subjects he ever produced, but there are some worthy entries. Fishy Tales is Butch at his most menacing, Framing Youth gives us Alfalfa trying to sing with a “frog in his throat”, and Mail and Female brings back the He-Man Women Haters. Best of all is Our Gang Follies of 1938, a surprising return to the 2-reel format that has Alfalfa the crooner trying to be an opera singer; a fantasy sequence gives us the most lavish musical production the Gang had ever done.
With the release of Hide and Shriek in June, 1938, the Hal Roach Our Gang/Little Rascals series ended. It should be noted that there is one other sound Our Gang appearance not included in this set; the Gang had a cameo in the 1931 all-star short The Stolen Jools, which also featured Laurel & Hardy.
Over the years, the Gang has had a spotty record on DVD releases, so this new collection is especially welcomed. Hopefully, its success will pave the way for similar boxed sets featuring Thelma Todd, Charley Chase, Laurel & Hardy, and other Hal Roach comedy stars.