Reviews & Ratings for
Love Business More at IMDbPro »

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
What can I say? other than that I absolutely adore this movie., 17 September 2003
Author: Kieran Kenney from California

Yes. I have a deep love for Love Business. It is arguably the most

charming of all the Our Gang shorts. And I've seen so many...

This one hits upon the romantic fixations that kids develop for their

teachers. There's nothing bad about it here. In a film like this,

Miss Crabtree and Chubby Chainey can kiss without fear of a

lawsuit. June Marlow, a now mostly unremembered actress who

was both very beautiful and even more talented, brought to life the

character of the schoolteacher Miss Crabtree in many Our Gang

films (the very last was Readin' and Writin'), and her character was

loved by all who were taught by her. All her male students had

fairly innocent crushes on her. Sounds like a slice of real life, don't

it?

Well, in this one, Miss Crabtree takes a room at a boarding house

owned by the mother of one of her smitten students, the timelessly

wonderful Jackie Cooper. His little brother Wheezer knows all

about it, and how! Chubby is busy down at the local movie house,

demonstrating his courtly love-making technique to a cardboard

cut out of Greta Garbo, when he finds out where Miss Crabtree is

shacked up. A date is aranged between the two of them. That

scene is very memorable, as well as the scene before it where

Marianne (another adorable little actress) tells Miss Crabtree that

she is also in love with Chubby. Miss Crabtree says, "Oh, well

then, I'm your rival." to which Marianne replies "Well, I don't know

anything about rifles!"

The date is a sequence that is suprisingly charming. When I first

saw this movie, I was probably 6, I didn't think anything was wrong

with it. I still don't to tell you the truth. Some great lines come out

of that scene too. "Don't call me Norman. Call my Chubsy-Ubsy."

"Miss Crabtree, there's something lying heavily on my heart." "Oh,

Chubsy Ubsy, there's gonna be something heavy on your nose!"

"Miss Crabtree, I hate to see you living as a chamber maid. Marry

me, and live like a queen." He says it just like he means it, too.

There's integrity for ya.

Another scene worth mentioning is the dinner, where a soup is

serves with mothballs accidently mixed in. The faces Marianne

makes are unforgattable.

The magic and beauty of these films was that, even though these

kids fought bad guys, fires, built amazing contraptions out of

household appliances and outsmarted adults, the movies saw

them for what they were: normal little kids. Exceptionally talented

kids were the actors, but they seemed to play themselves. In the

scene where Chubby blushes in front of Miss Crabtree (who can

blame him?). They feel pain, jealousy, oppression, anger, love

and excitement, and it rings true when you see it in their eyes and

heare them speek it with such integrity as one rarely hears. The

kids are indeed nothing but real kids, and that's a beautiful thing.

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
You Gotta Love "Love Business", 29 July 2000

Author: Scritzy from Greenville SC

One of my all-time favorite "Our Gang" shorts, starring the inimitable Jackie Cooper, the ever-engaging Mary Ann Jackson and the hysterical Norman "Chubby" Chaney. Jackie, in love with Miss Crabtree, is worried when she comes to board at his mother's house; how will it be to have the object of his affection under the same roof? Kid Brother Wheezer is delighted, however, telling Miss Crabtree, "Now Jackie can sleep with YOU and call YOU tootsie-tootsie and moonie-moonie." (Jackie's dreams of Miss Crabtree have been disturbing Wheezer's sleep.) Adding to Jackie's distress is Farina's contention that Jackie will have to "slick up" since the teacher is living with him. (Stymie demurs, proclaiming, "I wouldn't wash MY feet for NOBODY!")

Jackie's problems become worse when Chubby shows up to give Miss Crabtree flowers and candy and tells her, "Don't call me Norman, call me Chubsy-Ubsy!" When she kisses him, he bounces up and down, yelling "Whoopee!" But when he begins to court the fragile beauty, saying, "Oh, Miss Crabtree, there's something lying heavy on my heart," Jackie appears, threatening, "Oh, Chubsy-Ubsy, there's going to be something lying heavy on your nose!"

It is always poignant to watch a film like "Love Business," knowing what history had in store for those adorable kids: Chubby died at age 18, Wheezer at 20; Stymie became a druggie (but cleaned up his act in adulthood and was a well-loved character actor until his death); June Marlowe (Miss Crabtree) got Parkinson's disease; and even Pete the Pup got bum-rapped because he was a pit bull. But tragedy cannot dim the luster of the "Our Gang" films because, for the most part, they were so well-done.

Thank God for films like "Love Business," in which the teacher can kiss a kid and not get sued, where a woman can serve mothball soup and not even make anyone sick, and where a schoolboy rivalry over who loves the teacher doesn't result in a showdown with assault weapons. That kind of innocence doesn't exist anymore. But though it's so very innocent, "Love Business" is also so very, very funny.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Did You Know??, 16 June 2005
Author: deeshawn4 from United States

This wonderful Hal Roach short was originally (and timely) released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on Valentine's Day in 1931.

Was the last of three Our Gang comedies made using the 'Talking Title' girls announcing the opening credits.

'Love Business' was released the same day that 'Dracula' with Bela Lugosi was released to theaters by Universal Pictures in 1931.

May Wallace, who played Jackie, Mary and Wheezer's mom in this film was well into her fifties at the time it was made.

Jackie Cooper did only two more Our Gang films after this one before he went into features.

Farina was now ten years old, had been with the gang for nine of those ten years, and was to date the longest running player in the series. His place would soon be taken by the youngster who steals most of the scenes from him in 'Love Business'--little Stymie Beard.

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Gettin' Mushy With The Little Rascals, 11 June 2000

Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Jackie & Chubby have LOVE BUSINESS on their mind: they both are infatuated with their teacher, Miss Crabtree. When they each try to declare their passion on the same evening, things get a bit complicated...

A very funny little film. Highlights: Chubby & Dorothy's dialogue; eating the moth ball soup. The inimitable Stymie also has some choice moments. That's June Marlowe as pretty Miss Crabtree.

This is the film that provides the famous shot of Chubby kissing `Garbo'. Sharp-eyed movie mavens will recognize Charley Chase & Thelma Todd in the large movie poster behind Chubby.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Funny, Charming Our Gang Entry, 16 April 2009

Author: Corr28 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Yet another wonderful short in the Our Gang series with Miss Crabtree. Here, the lovely young teacher rents a room at Jack's house. This really makes our young hero happy until rival Chubby shows up attempting to court Miss Crabtree. Many funny scenes like the "moth ball soup" sequence and Jack's attempts at disrupting Chubby's romantic endeavor. The kids, as usual, are wonderful, funny and believable. Miss Crabtree is charming and Jack's younger brother Wheezer really plays it for laughs. This was the last of the three Our Gang shorts to use the spoken word opening credits sequence. It's really too bad as it added a very nice touch to the series and gave it a real distinctive feel.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Fun Short, 23 December 2008
Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY

Love Business (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Our Gang short has Jackie's crush on Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe) growing and growing but things take a turn for the good when she rents a room in his parent's house. The good vibes quickly go away when he learns that Chubby plans on asking her to marry him. This is another winner in the early part of the series and once again a lot of its charm comes from Marlowe. While I wouldn't say she gives a good performance I do this she's awfully cute in her role and manages to be quite charming as the teacher all the kids have a crush on. There are many funny moments in the film including one around the dunner table where moth balls have fallen into the soup. Another funny scene, and the highlight, happens when Chubby comes calling with flowers and candy. Matthew 'Stymie' Beard steals the film in his few scenes.

Pretty cute..., 2 December 2011

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It's funny, but in all the early talking Our Gang comedies there is a character I either love or hate. Wheezer was one of the youngest kids in the group and as a result, he couldn't read lines and had little real acting talent. Sometimes the directors were able to get adorable performances or completely wooden ones where he could barely say his lines (such as in their previous film "Helping Grandma"). Fortunately, "Love Business" is one of the boy's better films and as a result the entire picture came off very well.

In this short, Jackie, Mary Ann and Wheezer are siblings. In all the Our Gang comedies, the family compositions changed dramatically--with the kids having brothers and sisters in some and are only children in other shorts. Jackie is infatuated with his teacher, Miss Crabtree and Wheezer enjoys tormenting his older brother over this. But pesky Wheezer is even worse when he finds some old love letters and sells them to Chubby--who also is smitten with Miss Crabtree. Later, after practicing how to woo his teacher, Chubby comes over to see her and win her love--and Jackie is there to make sure he fails! When Jackie's mother overhears Chubby's ardent advances on his teacher, she recognizes his lines--as the letters were HERS from many years ago! In the end, however, Wheezer is so adorable that Mom just can't bring herself to punish the little skunk.

Aside from the creepy notion of boys in love with their teacher (it used to be cute in 1931 but with some of today's bizarre headlines about sexual abuse the plot idea doesn't age well), the film is fun. The children's performances are much better than usual and the story works well. The director deserves much credit for eliciting such nice acting from the kids--it probably wasn't easy.

By the way, the GOOFS section on IMDb says that Miss Crabtree's hand is drawn. This is not so. While the hand is obviously not correct (she's holding the candy with her fingers and then suddenly in the closeup it's in the palm of her hand), the hand appears to be an extra's hand--not a drawn one.

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