This comedy classic is in my top 5 favorite episodes of the Our Gang Series.I'll start with my Granddaughter Sami who recently had her first ballet recital. At the moment of truth froze up and ran off the stage into the comfort of her Mother's arms. When the show was over I said to my Daughter-In-Law, "Sami Froze up like Daisy Dimple!" Of course my Daughter-In-Law replied, "Who Is Daisy Dimple?" Hence my review begins now! Spanky the new leader of the gang due to the departure Of Wally Albright and his limited contract, Performs in front of his Mother's friends reciting Shakespeare. Spanky projects his prose perfectly to the delight of his wannabee stage Mother. Spanky's reward? Mother is entering him in a talent show. Show business is not to Spanky's liking as he practices to the company of his talking parrot as the gang member's show up at his window.The only way out is to have Spanky flop on stage with the help of his gang and an endless supply of Pellets and spit balls. On with the talent show as Spanky dressed in full Michigan State apparel(A ROMAN SOLDIER)we'll do everything in his power to bomb on stage. Ironically Spanky was picked to go first by the Master of Ceremonies Tom Herbert but his pushy Mom (Kitty Kelly) who bears a striking resemblance to actress Barbara Stanwyck protests that you Don't have a talented actor the likes of Spanky to go on first. Some of the Acts were entertaining to watch .Honorable mention to The Hawaiian Dancers and the Cabin Kids and most importantly the Arizona Nightingales featuring a young freckled Carl Switzer who makes his first of many appearances in the series as the the High pitched off key singer Alfalfa! Now it's time for our cu pie faced Dancer Daisy Dimple to perform and try to win the cash prize of $10.00 but she choked in front of a bewildered audience and all those eyes!! Spanky comforts the crestfallen girl and claims he'll win her the money for her ballet costume. Spanky wants to go out to the audience to tell his friends not to ruin his act and that he want's to win after all. Instead Spanky's Mom intervenes and goes over to the rowdy troupe and tells them that her son wants to win. Spanky from the Stage winks at them and the gang is confused so the gang sticks with the original plan of abuse and spitball to the disdain of out toupee d Pianist James Morton seated between the stage and the arsenal. Spanky goes on and the rest of the short is sheer pratfalls combined with howling comedy with a grand finale of Grandmother Mae Wallace pulling up the final curtain to a ripped dress. Great episode to show your grand kids if they failed on stage.

This Hal Roach comedy short, Beginner's Luck, is the one hundred thirty-fifth in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the forty-seventh talkie. Spanky is pushed by his mom to go on stage at a talent contest. He really doesn't want to and his gang plans to sabotage it that night. But Spank changes his mind when a girl-who wants the dress she's wearing that she can't afford-gets stage fright. This was quite a funny short making fun of untalented kids and their stage mothers of which Spanky's is played by Kitty Kelly. Among the acts: a girl unenthusiastically singing "Honolulu Baby" with girls dancing to it the same way, The Cabin Kids-an African-American singing act-performing "Dinah" entertainingly, and Tom and Jerry, the Arizona Nightingales-who are really Harold and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, in their first Our Gang appearance, performing "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" nicely. Alfalfa and Spanky have a memorable first meeting as they're not friends yet. So on that note, Beginner's Luck is highly recommended.

Noticeably absent from all other comments I've read are these two: 1. The script doesn't make even a reference to Spanky's dad, and; 2. Kitty Kelly's (Spanky's mom) "shocking" experience when stage hook meets blown foot light socket.1. Where's Dad? Surprisingly for a '30s Roach short, the presence of at least a disinterested father in contrast to such a matriarchal mother figure was absent. Was Spanky's mom divorced/separated? Did dad pass away? Was he in the audience that fateful "talent" Friday night? Or was he just a busy guy at work and play so to stand clear of mom's equally boorish treatment of him (like son)? Without a father figure figuring into the script, it leaves the Rascals rescue crew (and Spanky's live-in grandma) to stand in for daddy. In the end. it was a rather hyper-matriarchal decision of director Gus Meins to leave dad completely out of the picture. Even a henpecked buffoon of a dad would've been comical!2. Static Cling-on. Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but Gus Meins really put some production value into this sight gag very near the marquee climax. So, consider this possible setup that the director may well have thought of, though not entirely clear...Question: Could the enormous amount of static electricity stored in Spanky's mom's dress following the "shocking socket" scene also account for why the rather dull-tipped metal curtain hook managed to so relentlessly snag onto her dress hem in the end?Well, gang, chew on these two for awhile as I look forward to your comments! Also, which if any Rascals and Stooges stunts have you tried to publicly duplicate? Candid Camera, anyone?

I have found this short to be very strange,cruel,disturbing and really sets a poor example.I have also thought it to be very predictable as well.Knowing the rascals shorts one can see once Spank tells the girl he is going to win the prize for her and his mother has spoken to the gang to try and stop their planned assault what is going to happen.Spanky's mother runs afoul of the MC who is a real hard boiled type after he selects her son to open the show and she tells him "My son is too much of an artist to open a show".The MC decides to hold their act till the finale but doesn't tell them.From this point on the MC is nothing but pure obnoxious to Spank and his mom.When the little girl runs offstage the audience erupt with pretty wild laughter at her expense you know how cruel they are.Spanky has done a good deed by offering the prize after he wins and his mom also has done a good deed by agreeing and giving the girl and great big smile.Spanky's mom also does another good deed when she says she will talk to the gang.When Spanky starts off everything goes wrong,the act is now a comedy .His mother pleads with the MC but he won't take him off and is violent when she tries to run on stage.The good Samaritans have no allies at all even his granny is laughing at him.Granny then takes matters into her own hands and asks to raise the back curtain saying "Here's where we stop the show" and proceeds hiking the curtain as it snags the mother's dress and is taking it up with it.Grandma can be seen laughing hysterically as the audience joins in as it sees whats happening.What is going on with her-she is stripping her daughter in front of this wild crowd.No one comes to their aide and Spanky has to see his mother humiliated like this.Spanky tries to protect his mom and puts a theater board in front of her to hide her ,the audience laughter hits near riot level as she has her head on top of a large dog art work board.This is pure sadistic and cruel and way over the top .Very disturbing to see an adult woman and one of the kid's mother get this type of treatment.Once that prop goes into place you know the mother is degraded.It sets a bad example laughing at their misfortune.