Came the Brawn (1938) User Reviews

Wrestlemania With The Little Rascals

[Ron Oliver · 7/10 · 28 May 2000]

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Waldo, as the Masked Marvel, is to wrestle Wildcat Alfalfa for the possession of a new football. It's here CAME THE BRAWN, however, when Butch takes Waldo's place so he can beat-up Alfalfa himself (something to do with Darla's affections). Things are likely to get mighty serious for our skinny hero, mighty fast...

A few laughs in this little film. Alfalfa is funny, as usual. Once again, Darla's fickleness is a bit wearying.

A marked improvement...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 3 February 2012]

This Our Gang short begins with a poster featuring Alfalfa versus the 'Masked Marvel' in a wrestling match. However, Alfalfa is a total wimp--so weak that even Porky can beat him! So, Alfalfa convinces the nerdy Waldo to don the mask and wrestle him.

Shortly after, Alfalfa gets in an argument with Butch and Alfalfa acts tough to impress Darla. Butch decides to then sneak in and don the mask himself--so he can whoop Alfalfa and win the prize--a brand-new football. Can the Alfalfinator survive against the Marvel?! Despite a very simple plot, I actually was surprised how much I liked this one. Not surprisingly, Porky and Buckwheat come to Alfalfa's aid and the ending gave me a chuckle. Not brilliant but much better than a typical Our Gang film from this later period. Plus, I really liked the very end of this one.

Came the Brawn marked the first time Darla would have three boys she'd be pining for: Alfalfa, Butch, and Waldo in the Our Gang series

[tavm · 8/10 · 3 January 2015]

This Hal Roach comedy short, Came the Brawn, is the one hundred sixty-sixth entry in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the seventy-eighth talkie. "Wildcat" Alfalfa is a wrestler who is being matched with "The Masked Marvel". Truth is, he's only doing this in order to impress Darla who's rejected Butch after dressing in his silly Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit which she wanted him to dress in before! It's Waldo, who we initially see tripping as he reads and walks, who's playing the opponent of Alf but not for long...This marked the first time a rivalry of three was presented to Darla of Alfalfa, Butch, and Waldo in the Our Gang series. This would continue well into the M-G-M-only produced entries a few shorts down the line. This was another funny one directed by Gordon Douglas with plenty of fun from Porky, Buckwheat, and Spanky as well. Speaking of whom, this would be his last appearance in the Roach entries as his contract would lapse and he'd be absent from the next five eps by which time, distributor M-G-M would take over production. Meantime, he'd appear in the feature Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus. So on that note, Came the Brawn is highly recommended.

Long before the first Super Bowl half-time show . . .

[pixrox1 · 7/10 · 16 May 2018]

. . . a "wardrobe malfunction" strips frequent bullying victim "Butch" of "Our Gang's" wrestling championship as the CAME THE BRAWN episode winds down. (Close followers of Current Events should note that it might be a mere coincidence that "brawn" and "bullies" are cheek by jowl here, since Today's "Coke Bully Boys" and their "brawny paper towels" had yet to hook up in Butch's day.) Sounding a lot like "I'm-with-Her," Little Rascal "Alfalfa" vows "I'll never speak to another girl as long as I live," with his crush "Darla" proving as fickle and capricious as the Rust Bell States' distaff voting bloc. While "Buckwheat" smirks, "A pair of pants in the hand is worth . . . " (perhaps this is one "Little Rascal" aphorism that is not worth repeating). If you watch CAME THE BRAWN after 2 AM, chances are that you'll have forgotten most if not all of it come dawn. However, as irrepressible Shakespeare fan "Waldo" might whisper to Darla, "Life is short, but it turns out to be a lot briefer once you join Our Gang."