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Roamin' Holiday Released:
June 12, 1937 Skip
episode synopsis and go directly to commentary "The Little Rascals" and Little Rascals characters © and TM King World Productions, Inc. This website based in part upon a television series distributed by King World Productions and Turner Entertainment Company / MGM. Spanky and Alfalfa are both wheeling their new baby brothers up and down the walk in Spanky's front yard. They are flanked dutifully by Buckwheat and Porky, who are serving as sort of baby bottle caddies. Alfalfa and Spanky are none too happy about the baby-minding detail. Darla pops her head out of an adjoining house, and tells Spanky that he and Alfalfa will have to take dancing lessons: "Mom said so" (Note: This line would seem to indicate that in this episode, Darla and Spanky are actually siblings—a relationship that, as far as we know, is not seen in any other Rascals film.) The dancing thing puts the boys over the edge, and in the following sequence, we see them running away from home, joined by Porky, Buckwheat, and Pete. They stop at a small general store run by a sixty-ish, kindly husband-and-wife team, Hiram and "Ma" Jenks. The boys are attracted by the pastries and other goodies in the store window. Seeing that the Jenkses are playfully feeding a dog some kind of chop, Spanky and Alfalfa decide to ask the Jenkses if they could spare something for their dog Pete. Ma Jenks wraps up some goodies, which, the boys find out after they sit down to eat, is dog biscuits (after all, they did say it was for their dog, didn't they?) Buckwheat and Porky, meanwhile, have a plan of their own. They locate a huge dog (which, unbeknownst to them, really belongs to the Jenkses) and bring him into the store to try to get their own "dog" treats. Alfalfa and Spanky, glumly gnawing on their dog biscuits, try to dissuade the two little ones, to no avail. In a priceless scene, perhaps the high point of the Buckwheat/Porky partnership, the guileless youngsters charm Hiram Junks into surrendering all sorts of pies, cakes, and other snacks (even chewing gum) for the dog. Even though Alfalfa and Spanky doubted their plan, Buckwheat and Porky share all their goodies with the two older boys. As the four are chowing down on the steps outside the store, Ma and Hiram overhear them bragging about how much their lives have changed for the better since they ran away. Anxious to teach them a lesson about the dangers of such behavior, Hiram decides to put on his constable's hat and arrest the boys for a series of infractions, including "desserting, dog-napping, false pretenses, Habeas Corpus, and five counts of frequency". Hiram dresses the boys in hastily-painted (by Ma) prison stripes and sets them to breaking rocks in the back. After a while, the Jenkses decide the boys have learned their lesson, and Hiram gets the car around to drive the boys home. But the car backfires, and the boys, thinking they are being shot at, make a break for it, scattering in different directions. Spanky and Alfalfa wind up hiding in a large wicker basket. A rooster lands on top of the basket and starts plucking at Alfalfa's cowlick, which is sticking through the top of the enclosure. Eventually the rooster manages to relieve Alfalfa of his "personality". Immediately after the cowlick-ectomy, Alfalfa and Spanky make a run for it, the wicker basket still over their heads as they scramble out of the barn. They knock over a bee hive, just as they run into Buckwheat and Porky, who have fled the doghouse. The bees start attacking the four boys, who frantically run in the direction of their houses to the soundtrack strains of "There's No Place Like Home" in the background as the episode fades to black.
Commentary Most of "Roamin' Holiday" takes place in a picturesque, bucolic setting that recall the gorgeous outdoors scenes from the Jackie Cooper/Miss Crabtree era earlier in the decade. Usually when a Little Rascals episode involves a "change of pace" setting, it is a success, and this outing is no exception. Equally effective is the casting of the versatile Mae Wallace and Otis Harlan as "Ma" and Hiram Jenks (his friends call him "Hi Jenks"...hi-jinks...get it?) Wallace appeared in several Little Rascals and Hal Roach films in the thirties. In "Beginner's Luck", she played Spanky's grandmother, who tried to discourage her daughter from forcing little Spankster into performing in the talent contest. This couple is genial, patient, generous, and have the ability to laugh at themselves and at the gentle mischief organized by their new customers. It is unlikely that the Jenks General Store makes a huge profit—Alfalfa and company seem to be the village's only visitors—but what they lack in business acumen the couple makes up for in kindness. It
is this kindness that starts off the chain of events forming the
episode's nucleus. The kids are hungry after their long runaway
trek and vie to get freebies from the Jenkses. As usual, Buckwheat
and Porky use their wiles and personalities to achieve objectives
that the older and more self-assured Alfalfa and Spanky cannot.
In the highlight of the episode, Buckwheat and Porky corral a large
dog (really belonging to the Jenkses) and bring him into the store
so they can get some food for "their pet". The interplay
between the Jenkses and the two little schemers is absolutely delightful.
For instance, when Hiram asks Buckwheat what flavor pie "their
dog" likes, Buckwheat half-answers, half-asks "Apple?"
in a manner so guileless that it has to be seen and heard to be
fully appreciated. The performance of all four actors in this scene
contains not a hint of self-awareness or pretension. As the episode progresses, the main point of interest is the scene where Alfalfa and Spanky hide out under a large wicker basket and an ornery rooster immediately starts tugging at Alfalfa's cowlick, which has popped out of the top of the wicker enclosure. As the rooster tugs repeatedly, Alfalfa's reaction shots of pain are very believable. Again, we propose the same question we have for scenes in "Our Gang Follies of 1938" and "Three Smart Boys": Was there an off-screen crew member who decided to lend a little authenticity to the scene by really inflicting some physical distress on Alfalfa, in this case tugging on his cowlick? (which, while shaped with a generous supply of Vaseline, was always Alfalfa's real hair) "Roamin
Holiday" is a neat little change of pace episode that, for
some reason, is not widely-known by many Little Rascals fans (we
don't know why; there is no reason for the episode to have been
censored or excluded from TV packages...) 4 cowlicks (out of a possible 5) |
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"The Little Rascals" and Little Rascals characters © and TM King World Productions, Inc. This website based in part upon a television series distributed by King World Productions and Turner Entertainment Co./ MGM. Episode commentary © 4alfalfa.com |
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