This M-G-M comedy short, Cousin Wilber, is the one hundred eightieth entry in the "Our Gang" series and the ninety-second talkie. The title character is Alfalfa's and he's nervous about introducing him to the rest of the gang. But Wilber ingratiates himself to them when he suggests a benefits package to increase membership in the All for One Club. Kids are soon lining up to pay. Then Butch and Woim muscle in...It had been four years since Scotty Beckett had been in the gang when his last appearance in the series was in Our Gang Follies of 1936. Those years in feature films seemed to have made him even more of a presence in inheriting the new role of a more charming version of Waldo. Nice reference to another of Alf's relatives a few shorts back at the end. So on that note, Cousin Wilber is worth it for series fans in seeing a former gang member play another character. P.S. This was Gary "Junior" Jasgur's final appearance in the series. He died on August 22, 1994.
Review of Cousin Wilbur
Cousin Wilbur
(1939)
Cousin Wilber marked a return appearance of Scotty Beckett in the Our Gang series
16 January 2015