Mighty Lak a Goat (1942) Online

Short Subject units existed primarily to 1) train and assess contract talent and 2) to provide low cost theatrical filler for major studios' theater chains.

Errh, except in the case of Our Gang. Incredibly, Hal Roach shuttered shorts production in 1938, officially stating they were no longer economically viable (for the real reason read his IMDb bio). The one exception was Our Gang, which the bean counters at Roach's (soon to be former) distributor saw as having some life left in it.

Unfortunately, the series which was so well crafted and nurtured at Roach's boutique studio unraveled quickly at Metro. At Roach it was treated as their signature product, under the aegis of Louis B. Mayer it became just another assignment. I've seen every one of the MGM Our Gang one reelers and 90% of them don't hold a plug buffalo nickel compared to the earlier Hal Roach shorts. MGM for all it's strengths, couldn't grasp comedy and Our Gang had some unique challenges that the studio didn't handle very well--- as the kids aged they were invariably replaced with less talented (Bobby Blake), even obnoxious (Janet Burston) substitutes. Unfunny moral lessons quickly replaced gags. Although MGM was able to ride the 20+ year run of the series for 5 years after buying it from Roach but, aside from a handful of exceptions, these final 52 shorts were awful. Mighty Lak a Goat happens to rate as one of these rarities--- it's actually watchable. The plot's simple: The gang gets splashed by mud from a passing car and Froggy uses some cleaning fluid to clean them off--- but it has an unexpected side-effect, it makes the kids reek. They become outcasts at school and there's a nicely done gag in a movie theater where the actors in a serial react to their funk. For a modern audience, there's an added surprise of seeing a young Ava Gardner in a brief shot as a the theater cashier. She was married to Mickey Rooney at the time and Mickey's dad, Joe Yule, Sr. appears in the theater audience.

MGM Our Gang's probably should be rated differently than the Roach shorts--- the first 4 they made rival their predecessors but things quickly sank. Mighty Lak a Goat would be no better than a mediocre Roach entry, but judged against it's MGM peers (especially against the later most dreadful ones), it's extremely good. 6/10. It's unfortunate that these MGM entries are what most people today connect with Our Gang; try to see the 1932-37 Roach productions and compare for yourself!

This M-G-M comedy short, Mighty Lak a Goat, is the two hundred tenth entry in the "Our Gang" series and the one hundred twenty-second talkie. After Froggy recites his speech concerning famous American hero, Patrick Henry, to the gang, they all get splashed with mud after a speeding car happened to be passing by. So Froggy takes them to his house and uses his unique cleaning solution to tidy them up. Problem is, they all now have a strong smell that causes them to be banished from the bus, school, and also cause both the theatre patrons and the actors on the screen to run away! This was yet another M-G-M series entry that refreshingly avoided the moralizing and war propaganda of these latter-day shorts. Good use of undercranking for both the bus speeding away and likewise the children when the gang finally arrive at school. But Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann are right when they point out how better this would have been if some silent-comedy wackiness-like flowers wilting or people leaping in the air-had been used as well. Still, the results are a little better than average and there's the special treat of seeing not-quite-a-star Ava Gardner at the box office immediately closing her shift after smelling the gang. Robert Blake later recalled her hubby at the time-resident M-G-M young adult Mickey Rooney-directed her in that one scene. Rooney's dad, Joe Yule Sr., also appeared as one of the audience members. So on that note, Mighty Lak a Goat is recommended.

One of the better MGM shorts has the kids trying to clean their clothes before school after being splashed with mud. they manage to come up with a means of doing it but it makes them stink to high heaven as a result. The end up getting thrown off a bus, out of school and their attempt at going to the movies is a disaster.

Its a funny film. Sure you're going to guess where its going (if you don't guess the movie house bit you haven't seen enough movies) but you really won't care. the film moves along at a good clip and manages to sell its jokes with ease. Having seen most of the MGM shorts in a relatively short time recently I can honestly say this is one of the best.

As I typed in the title's Subject/Summary, I strongly wonder who the "adult rascal" was, that drove by them and splashed the mud on Spanky, Froggy, Buckwheat & Mickey, as they were about to go to school. Also, Froggy was practicing Patrick Henry's personal quote, (in the early 1770's decade, before Thursday, July 4th, 1776), and his personal quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" I strongly believe it was a crew member, as if he or she was about to go look for a breakfast meal. To me, "Mighty Lak a Goat" would have been much five to ten more popular, if Spanky MacFarland did not act in the next short, that was his final short, at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, "Unexpected Riches" was the very last "Our Gang" short of Spanky.

Of the last 52 MGM-produced "Our Gangs," "Mighty Lak a Goat" HAS to be THE best and funniest.

Of course, the best part of the short was when Mickey, Spanky, Buckwheat, and Froggy decide to go to the theater and see, as the movie poster Spanky reads proclaimed, "Detective King in Episode 33: "Don't Open That Door!" A murder every 2 minutes. Spine-tingling! Chilling! Delightful!"

The early portion of "Don't Open That Door" was funny when Tess, the villainess, answers the door after the police knock, and says, "Well! This is a fine time to wake a person up!"

Then the officer, noticing her feet, asks, "You sleep with your shoes on, huh, Tess?"

And, the piece de resistance comes when the murder victim on-screen awakens after smelling the gang in the audience and asks, "Tell me! What is that horrible smell?" Then Tess points to the audience and says, "It's coming from out there!" after which the on-screen actors hide.

Then after the police remove the gang from the theater, the actors come out of hiding and say:

Murder victim: "They're gone."

Tess: "Thank goodness."

Officer: "Now let's pick it up from where we left off!"

It was surprising to discover, however, that according to Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann's 1992 "Little Rascals" book, "Mighty Lak a Goat," despite its sure-fire script and direction, FAILED at the box office, posting a net loss of over $2500. After five more shorts lost money, MGM finally decided to pull the plug on "Our Gang" a year-and-a-half later; with a few exceptions (e.g. "Calling All Kids," "Tale of a Dog"), the quality of the series did indeed plummet as it turned to educational plots (of course, one reason for that is because World War II was in progress).

As for Spanky McFarland, he appeared in the film following this one, "Unexpected Riches," and then bid "Our Gang" farewell.

"Mighty Lak a Goat" gets a perfect 10 in my book!