School's Out (1930) User Reviews

It's am awfully cute little film

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 27 November 2006]

This is a pretty adorable short featuring the Little Rascals and I'm not usually a fan of their films. This film is not among the earlier Rascals films (they were silents) and this was done well before Spanky and Alfalfa joined the group.

The breakout star among the kids was Jackie Cooper--who later went on to great stardom. However, I was surprised to see that although Farina played a very stereotypical Black child (in this film, talking about wanting to eat watermelon as well as the fact that his dad is in and out of jail--two awful stereotypes), he was actually the highest paid member of the group at the time according to IMDb--so I guess he had the last laugh! Also featured is "Chubby" Chaney--a very, very sad individual indeed. Although he was very, very obese and appeared to be about 8 or 9, he was actually 16 at the time this was made and died a few years later of some glandular condition!!

As for the plot, Jackie is concerned that now that summer vacation is approaching, their beloved teacher might not come back next year--since she's pretty and probably plans on getting married. About the same time, the teacher's brother is in town and the kids mistake him for her boyfriend and play some mean tricks on him to try to chase him away and keep her single! The whole routine is awfully funny and considering how cute the kids act, you can't help but like this film. Unlike many of the later films that had a lot of action, this one is slower paced but much higher on the charm scale.

Awkwardly hilarious

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 1 February 2016]

"School's Out" is an American black-and-white short film from over 85 years ago starring the Little Rascals gang. The most prominent cast member today is probably Jackie Cooper briefly before his first (and only) Academy Award nomination. 1930 was already sound era and this one is, as so many other times, about the kids and their teacher Miss Crabtree's romantic relationships. Her brother is in town and the gang mistakes him for a love interest. Consequently, they do what they can to sabotage her in his eyes. It's an okay watch for 20 minutes, but not for much more. The first half was really not that great, but the classroom scenes near the end with the teacher asking all these questions and the kids trolling her with their responses was pure comedy gold. Very awkward, but very hilarious at the same time. I recommend the watch. Thumbs up.

Our Gang at school

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 6 July 2017]

SCHOOL'S OUT is an Our Gang short with a little more plotting than usual. The set-up features the kids at school, where they give some very amusing answers to the teacher's questions. At some point they spot a guy who they suspect to be Miss Crabtree's boyfriend, so to stop him stealing her away they play a prank on me. As with the rest of this series, this is a harmless, energetic little comedy that gets by on the sheer charisma of the child actors.

Good Fun

[Michael_Elliott · 23 December 2008]

School's Out (1930)

*** (out of 4)

Our Gang short plays out like a sequel to Teacher's Pet. When a man comes to the school asking about Miss Crabtree, the gang fears it's a man wanting to marry her and take her away. To try and make him change his mind they start telling lies about her but what they don't know is that this man is actually her brother. This is a pretty good short but it's certainly not as good as the previous film as there aren't as many laughs here. The highlight is a wonderful sequence where Miss Crabtree gives the class a history quiz but they keep giving dumb answers after buying them from a classmate. All of the group get some nice stuff with Jackie Cooper once again taking most of the good stuff. There is a rather off color remake made towards Farina that doesn't play too well today but overall this is a pleasant film. The joke about Lon Chaney and one of his famous movies is well done as well.

And so are Miss Crabtree's secrets.... well sort of.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 14 November 2019]

The sweet Miss Crabtree had probably the only story arch outside several other adult recurring characters as her character had an introduction, a story middle, and an even bigger plotline here as her students, desperate to keep her, tell a complete stranger looking for her all these wacky lines. "That woman sure knows how to chalk up!", Farina says, and Jackie Cooper warns him about her "mean temperature". They steal his clothes while he swims in the local pond, but are forced to confess when Miss Crabtree mentions her brother visiting. She breaks down sobbing when they confess the truth but a twist awaits. June Marlowe is rather weak as Miss Crabtree, acting like a schoolgirl and overdoing the reactions to the silly oral test answers then having a n unbelievable breakdown. The book where those answers come from isn't exactly subtle in its intentions. Still, one of the more popular episodes with the original talkie cast. Stymie Beard makes his second appearance, preparing to replace Farina.

Follow up to "Teacher's Pet" hits the mark

[jimtinder · 9/10 · 31 January 2005]

Jackie, who has a crush on his teacher, Miss Crabtree, is afraid that she will get married and leave the school. When a strange man comes around the school asking for Miss Crabtree, Jackie and the gang are convinced he's going to marry her. They tell the stranger several stories about her -- saying she puts red stuff on her lips, has two sets of false teeth, one wooden leg, two husbands, and twenty-one kids. Unknown to the gang, the man is actually Miss Crabtree's brother! What will happen to the gang when Miss Crabtree finds out?

"School's Out" is a sequel to the Little Rascals film "Teacher's Pet," and is a fine follow-up for Hal Roach and company. The laughs are constant throughout the film, and the kids are so natural that you would swear you are watching a real situation. The feelings they display are genuine; they truly love their teacher and don't want to see here go anywhere.

Much of the dialogue in "School's Out" is hilarious; Roach dialogue writer "Beanie" Walker deserves the credit. Some lines slipped past the censors! When Miss Crabtree is driving the children to school, they are steadfast in saying they will never get married. Farina says, "I'm not getting married, and I'm raising my children the same way!" Mary Ann states, "I heard my mother say she made my father marry her!" Out of the mouths of babes...

Miss Crabtree's brother is played by Creighton Hale, an actor with greater silent screen credits than talkies ("The Cat and the Canary" is perhaps his most famous silent role). Most of his talkie career went unnoticed in uncredited roles. This appearance, and his two later Rascal roles in "Big Ears" and "Free Wheeling," are undoubtedly his most familiar talkie roles. He displays enough feigned surprise at the gang's comments about his sister to warrant laughter.

If you loved "Teacher's Pet," you'll love "School's Out." A finer comedy sequel would be tough to find in any decade. 9 out of 10.

I've Seen It About a Hundred Times

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 12 April 2018]

Watching this put me back to my long ago childhood. There were afternoon children's shows that used the Little Rascals as fillers, killing fifteen to twenty minutes. They reran the ones they had over and over. I have to say that they were gentle and funny, with neat characters. While there was a lot of racism in some of the comments, African American children were regulars. This one didn't use the more recognizable ones (especially Spanky and Alfalfa) and was more coarse. I enjoyed that. It probably portrayed the lives of little kids very well.

A Worthy Follow-Up

[Corr28 · 9/10 · 12 April 2009]

A film that is a worthy and wonderful follow-up to the classic "Teacher's Pet". This one is played for more laughs then the proceeding short but retains it's charm and it's warmth. Here, the kids already smitten with their new teacher Miss Crabtree, fear she will get married and leave them. In walks a handsome young man inquiring about Miss Crabtree's whereabouts. The boys take this as an ominous sign and leap into action to "protect" their beloved teacher.

Again, this one has more chuckles then the first but is also nearly as endearing and memorable. Once again, that soft focus, haze-like filming approach is used to great effect eliciting a warm, summer/spring feel to the proceedings. Well done!

From the mouths of babes (please excuse the cliche) . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 19 December 2017]

. . . comes the most direct Honesty. By this, people mean that a film offering focusing upon children, such as MGM's SCHOOL'S OUT, may give a more direct opportunity for The Truth "to out" than a bladder-busting four-hour feature film directed at adults (such as MGM's own purely mendacious GONE WITH THE WIND). Note that SCHOOL'S OUT boasts a running time of less than 21 minutes, to boot. Another way in which SCHOOL'S OUT is far superior to GWTW is in it's franker treatment of male\female interactions. Zero is about the right score for MGM's so-called "epic picture's" faithfulness to its source material (a hernia-inducing novel allegedly written as the sole lifetime literary output of someone named Ms. Mitchell or something). In the movie version of GWTW, all but one of "Scarlett O'Hara's" kids turn up MIA (I could use the "A-Word" in conjunction with them, but I do not want to get anyone's nose out of joint). Surely "Our Gang" producer Hal Roach had a philosophy along the lines of THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE when it came time to film HIS live-action theatrical shorts, however. Good for Hal, I say. As for an example of how SCHOOL'S OUT beats GWTW for frankness, one only need to listen to Wheezer crowing about how Jackie Cooper can now sleep with Ms. Crabtree herself, rather than having young Jackie keeping his little brother up all night by mauling HIM as a surrogate for their fresh young instructor. Good folks may take exception to Ms. C.'s brother splashing all the young primary school girls such as Mary and Dorothy when he dives Au Naturel into the pond adjacent to his "sister's" school for the purpose of Skinny-Dipping DURING SCHOOL HOURS! "Goodness, such a thing would NEVER be tolerated in America," they might object. Either such naysayers would be oblivious to the fact that the Our Gang series constitutes Mr. Roach's long-running string of documentary shorts exposing the problem of Juvenile Delinquency in Canadia, or they simply do not care for such geographical distinctions. Delinquent or not, Our Gang's always ready to come and bail viewers out of their doldrums. Maybe the character of Big Jack from School's out REALLY is Ms. Crabtree's "brother," and maybe all the little female students somehow were not exposed to his junk. Examination of all 15 statements or themes included in SCHOOL'S OUT should reveal a lot of Truth in any case.

Protectin' Teacher With The Little Rascals

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 28 April 2000]

An OUR GANG Comedy Short

SCHOOL'S OUT for lunch when Miss Crabtree's brother comes looking for her. Mistaking him for a possible suitor, the Gang quickly develops plans to get rid of him...

A funny little film. Highlight: Question & Answer time. June Marlowe plays pretty Miss Crabtree and Creighton Hale appears as her brother Jack..

Always specify "June" when you say, "Marlowe"!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 6 March 2018]

Director: ROBERT F. McGOWAN. Screenplay: H.M. Walker. Photography: Art Lloyd. Film editor: Richard Currier. Music: Leroy Shield. Sound recording: Elmer Raguse. Producer: Hal Roach.

Not copyright by Hal Roach Studios. Released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 22 November 1930. 2 reels. 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: The lovely Miss Crabtree (played by the absolutely winning June Marlowe) has a brother. Unfortunately, the kids mistake him for a possible suitor and plot to discourage him in case he marries the sweet Miss Crabtree and takes her away.

COMMENT: Thanks to those delightful Crane Twins, I now know how to pronounce "Raguse". It doesn't rhyme with "goose" after all, but with "Caracas". Elmer Raguse, king of Caracas! Well of Roach Studios anyway, during these early days of talkies. And, mind you, by those humble standards, this is a not a bad effort. True, Master Cooper is obviously an "actor", but the rest of the kids seem agreeably natural even when rattling off some of the witty rejoinders in Walker's smile-a-minute screenplay.

School's Out is a worthy follow-up to the previous Our Gang short, Teacher's Pet

[tavm · 9/10 · 18 October 2014]

This Hal Roach comedy short, School's Out, is the one hundred second in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the fourteenth talkie. After the printed title of "Our Gang Comedies-Hal Roach presents His Rascals in School's Out" and Beverly and Betty Mae Crane mention the production credits, we see Jackie passing a petition to the rest of the gang to continue school for the summer as he's afraid Miss Crabtree-who he has a massive crush on-will get married like the previous teacher and leave her job. I'll stop there and just say that while there might be some uncomfortable stereotypical humor-Farina mentions looking forward to some watermelon, his dad is in jail, and the cover of a Minstrel joke book is shown-this was a mostly harmless and very funny short and it's almost as good as its predecessor, Teacher's Pet. Once again, June Marlowe is very charming as Miss Crabtree. So on that note, School's Out is highly recommended.

School's Out review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 11 June 2020]

Jackie Cooper leads the Little Rascals troop in their efforts to derail what they mistakenly believe is their teacher Miss Crabapple's potential husband (Creighton Hale). A decent entry in the long-running Hal Roach series. The kids are cute - but June Marlowe as their beloved teacher is far, far cuter in all sorts of different ways.