Film comedy, Part II: the Hal Roach short films of the late 1920s-1940s.

Many of us who watched these kids were amazed at how smart they were--at least, in getting over on adults. Even more intriguing: the natural way these kids interacted--and for one item alone, they were decades ahead of their time because there was NO racism in their friendships. And the kids on the set were smart: they could memorize their lines (in short sequences), and the film still continued to record them and the action. They were also quite familiar with movie stars of their time, including Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

They were the Little Rascals, and they had several incarnations. To me, these are some of the better, richer, and amusing moments of their films. Among them, several stand-outs for their body of work: Jackie Cooper, Matthew "Stymie" Beard, Allan "Farina" Hoskins, Norman "Chubby" Chaney, and the hardest-working little kid ever, George "Spanky" McFarland.