Doin' Their Bit

This M-G-M musical short, Doin' Their Bit, is the two hundred eighth entry in the "Our Gang" series and the one hundred twentieth talkie. For the last time, Froggy's Uncle Walter Wills (this turned out to be his last film overall) persuades the gang to put on a show, this time for U.S. service men stationed in Greenpoint. This all-kiddie revue starts out entertainingly enough with boys dressed in military uniform marching in dance step with Janet Burston later doing a cute number called "I Love a Man in a Uniform". Then there's an awful sketch with Spanky as a superior officer bemoaning how dumb Private Froggy is with his replies-even worse when you can't understand half what he's saying with that voice of his! The final number "Allies on Parade" with a young woman singing it while the kids are wearing the flags of the countries united with America in the war effort and walking by her is an okay morale booster for the time period. So on that note, Doin' Their Bit is worth a look for any Our Gang completists out there. P.S. This was the first series entry directed by Herbert Glazer. Unlike the other OG directors, these entries were the only films he'd make as such.