Good Bad Boys (1940)

Deciding that a life of crime suits them, the gang gets mixed up with a real burglar.

Director:

Edward L. Cahn

Writers:

Hal Law, Robert A. McGowan

Stars:

Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Bedford, Margaret Bert

Cast

Credited cast:
Hugh Beaumont	...	Judge's aide
Barbara Bedford	...	Alfalfa's mother
Margaret Bert	...	Slicker's mother
Robert Blake	...	Mickey (as Mickey Gubitosi)
Byron Foulger	...	Mr. Stephens, store proprietor
Al Hill	...	Burglar
Leonard 'Percy' Landy	...	Leonard
George Lessey	...	Judge Kincaid
George 'Spanky' McFarland	...	Spanky
Leila McIntyre	...	Mrs. Wilson
Roger Moore	...	Court official (as Joe Young)
William Newell	...	Alfalfa's father
Harry Strang	...	Banker
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Alfalfa
Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas	...	Buckwheat

Storyline

After Alfalfa's father wrongly accuses him of bad behavior, Alfalfa decides to go into a life of crime. He gets the rest of the Gang to join him, all except for Spanky. But Spanky sees a chance to keep Alfalfa and the Gang out of trouble and at the same time help him with a chore. He tells the Gang he knows a house that is perfectly set up for robbery. In reality, Spanky has promised the house's owner to help her by carrying off some junk items. But after "robbing" the house, the Gang gets tangled up with a real burglar and ends up in front of a judge.

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Plot Keywords:

children | our gang

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Genres:

Family | Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 September 1940 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$20,466 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

where are the gags in this short???

OK, let's see.....

Mickey wants to steal a Venus De Millo statue, but Spanky says it's no good because its arms are gone (he he)

Alfalfa suggests they steal a piano. "Now, where are you gonna hide a big thing like that?!" Spanky cracks. (ho ho)

Buckwheat is so nervous as he makes off with a tambourine, he can't stop shaking it. When told to get rid of it. he throws it on the ground, with a "snip and a haircut" rhythm (ha ha)

Buckwheat is told to whistle if the cops come. He whistles at the sight of a dog. Why? "P-p-police dog!" he says. (Uh...ok)

When the Gang is hiding, an unseen skunk is nearby. When the kids smell it, they think the police are using tear gas to get them to surrender (Right! Ha!)

Well, you get the point.

Even worse than the relative lack of gags is the fact that this short is really REALLY blatant as it drives home a lesson: not just to the kids who intended to commit a crime, but to the parents for not listening to their kids. MGM has been guilty of teaching-a-lesson shorts before, but this!?

Oh, well, even the worst films have at least ONE good moment and here it is: at the end, the kids are proud to be on the straight and narrow, when all of a sudden, they hear a "police siren" headed their way, and they all run; it turned out to be a siren on a boy's bicycle zipping by. That was pretty funny (though not as funny as the kids' forced laughter would indicate).