The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 16, 2025

Fans of the erstwhile Our Gang series may have thought ClassicFlix had completed their survey of the franchise once they released The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection, a great set which aggregated their prior standalone releases. But Our Gang and/or The Little Rascals was such a long lived creation that it actually spanned both the silent and "talkie" eras, and the previous releases from ClassicFlix concentrated on the sound side of things. Now in what looks like ClassicFlix is prepared to continue digging into (as evidenced by both the Volume 1 on this disc and a preview of "upcoming attractions" included on this disc as a supplement), the label is offering its first batch of what its website states is its intent to restore and release as many of the silent shorts that have survived. A statement on their site reads:

Of the 88 [silent] shorts, at least four are completely lost, while several others remain only in fragment form. If Volume 1 sells well, we'll continue to release subsequent volumes with the same level of restoration.

There's an undeniable sweetness to these early shorts, and they of course have considerable historical value even if some of their repetitive schtick and comedic tropes can become apparent in "binge" viewing. As I mentioned in many of the reviews of ClassicFlix's release of the sound shorts, one of the most refreshing things about the entire series was its relatively naturalistic acting by the kids, but also the kind of profound way that interracial friendships and collaborative "shenanigans" are shown. That's perhaps especially notable considering how early some of these silents were, when Jim Crow and rampant racism were still very much in evidence. That said, there are probably some questionable characterizations and plot developments at times, and the inclusion of a supplemental short called Pickaninny may be a prime example.

This first set includes the following shorts:

Our Gang (1922). This first volume of silents is notable for having cobbled together what is advertised as the longest version ever released of the very first short, Our Gang from 1922. This first effort introduces the wonderful ensemble approach, while also addressing a kind of socioeconomic subtext both in terms of the more hardscrabble "rascals" and a Richie Rich type, but also how they help a downtrodden store owner. As some of the technical information imparted both in prefatory text cards and on the inner print of the keepcase sleeve disclose that I'm sure will be of interest to many, this had to be " Frankenstein-ed" together out of an array of different elements, including several "cutdowns" (i.e., excerpts for even shorter fare releases that utilized sections of longer pieces), in an example of the effort that has gone into this release to provide fans with a more complete version.

Fire Fighters (1922). This film introduced one of the most popular rascals, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, and features some fun bits involving the gang starting their own fire department. This was restored from a 16mm print in the collection of Jon C. Mirsalis.

Young Sherlocks (1922). One wonders if perhaps Buster Keaton may have seen this effort, which came out a couple of years before his own Sherlock Jr.. There's no "meta" element here, of course, but it's another fun outing with the kids preventing a kidnapping. This was restored from a 16mm print in the collection of Robin J. Cook.

One Terrible Day (1922). As the liner notes mention, kind of interestingly this was the fourth short to be produced, but was evidently the first to be released theatrically for wide exhibition, and in a way it's easy to see why, as it once again "pits" the often rambunctious kids against a patrician type, in this case a rich socialite who wants to highlight her supposed work with needy kids. This was restored from a 16mm print in the collection of Richard W. Bann.

Saturday Morning (1922). The kids play hooky, albeit this time from weekend chores assigned by their parents. This was restored primarily from a 16mm print in the collection of Robin J. Cook with main titles and some additional footage from a 16mm print in the collection of Jon C. Mirsalis.

The Big Show! (1923). One of the things several of these first Our Gang silents frequently employ is animals in addition to kids, in both "special effects" sequences like one involving an errant fish but also of course with regard to recurring characters like Pete the Pup, and they're on tap again here, as the kids decide to put on their own carnival. This was restored primarily from a 35mm nitrate print held at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with some additional footage from a 35mm nitrate dupe negative preserved at the Library of Congress.

The Cobbler (1923). This is kind of a sweet little palate cleanser without much of the veritable Sturm und Drang of many Our Gang shorts, as the kids befriend a cobbler (played by Mickey's real life father Richard Daniels) and get treated to a picnic when he comes into some money. This was restored primarily from a 35mm nitrate print preserved at the Library of Congress, with a 16mm print used from the collection of Jon C. Mirsalis to fill in a brief, 3 cut section.

The Champeen! (1923). Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison is on hand having to become a supposed boxing promoter after an attempted theft goes awry. This was restored from a 16mm Kodascope print in the collection of Jon C. Mirsalis.

The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of ClassicFlix with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in slightly different aspect ratios varying from 1.33:1 to 1.37:1. I've indicated some basic provenance for the shorts in the descriptions above, but the bottom line is this a probably unavoidably widely variant looking release. Most of the transfers were sourced from 16mm, and it's probably therefore none too surprising that I'd most likely rate one of the transfers culled from 35mm, The Big Show!, to be the all around best looking presentation in the set. The 16mm material can be relatively sharp and decently detailed at times, but there's quite a bit of damage on display, as can be seen in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. That said, this is another near heroic effort on the part of ClassicFlix to rescue some of these shorts from the vagaries of time and tide (and/or vinegar syndrome). The brief restoration demonstration included on the disc as a supplement may admittedly reveal that not all signs of age related wear and tear could be eliminated (or even in some cases significantly ameliorated), but some really amazing improvements have been effected here, and I can't imagine fans of Our Gang not being generally very well pleased with the overall look of this first set of presentations. I will say that the preview of "coming attractions" included as a supplement offers some raw scans of 35mm material that looks really fantastic.

The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All of the shorts featured in The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One have DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks offering solo piano scores by either Philip Carli or Ben Model. Model's name may be familiar to readers of my reviews from his own Undercrank Productions label, where he also provides accompaniment to silents. Both of these players offer enjoyable scores; I personally preferred the Model offerings. Fidelity is fine throughout.

The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Pickaninny (HD; 16:23) was Ernie Morrison's first starring role.


• Restoration Comparison (HD; 3:45)


• Preview of Upcoming Rascal Silent Volumes (HD; 7:46)

The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents - Volume One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

ClassicFlix continues to impress with its curation of The Little Rascals, and this first volume of silents offers some really appealing shorts that show considerable care and effort have been taken in restorations of sometimes quite badly damaged elements. Recommended.