Thundering Fleas (1926)

Truly Dreadful Film

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A different way of telling a story

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is probably the earliest Our Gang film short I've seen and it provided double the pleasure with a handful of Hal Roach regulars in support. Oliver Hardy in particular had a fairly significant role as a neighborhood cop, victim of a flea infestation that causes him to ditch his trousers and paint on a new set when one of the gang absconds with them. There was also the creative use of animation added to the live action, as the story introduces Garfield the Flea, starring act of 'Professor Clements Trained Flea and Insect Circus'. That was another first for this viewer, at least going this far back.I didn't recognize most of the Our Gang group in this one. My familiarity with them hearkens back to the Spanky and Alfalfa days, and I never caught this one as a kid growing up. But the antics are pretty much to speed with what I remember, as the kids wind up creating havoc in the most innocent of ways. You know, I can't help thinking that with the interracial component of these pictures, we would have a lot more tolerant society if everyone watched these before they started attending school.One last observation - I've come up with a little game for my family to holler out whenever someone spots a reference to Coke in a picture, and this might be it's earliest placement in a film that I've seen yet. There's a rather large advertising sign on the side of a building that you can't miss - 'Coca-Cola' in the distinctive trademark font one easily recognizes. For an instant, even though it's a black and white film short, you imagine seeing it in red.

As we well know fleas are not solitary creatures and the kids of Hal Roach's Our Gang Comedy Troupe have amassed quite a collection of the bugs. They can't resist being part from them for any length of time so they even bring them to a wedding they're invited to. Do I have to describe what happens when they get loose?This particular Hal Roach Our Gang short subject is noted for the presence of a pair of his adult comedy stars. Charley Chase is a wedding guest and Oliver Hardy plays a policeman. But these two are distinctly in support of the kids.Trying to spot them is half the fun of watching this short subject.

Thundering Fleas (1926) *** (out of 4)The Our Gang kids help a flea trainer try and find his missing fleas but when they don't find the main one the trainer gets upset and lets them keep the ones they did find. This doesn't work out too well because the kids take the fleas to Mary's sisters wedding and soon they get loose and cause everyone to start scratching. This is one of the better Our Gang shorts thanks in large part to some nice animation but also some fine supporting performances by Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson and Charley Chase. Hardy shows up in a funny bit as a cop and Finlayson plays the preacher. Chase is the guy at the wedding wearing the large mustache and he has a funny bit. The mixing of animation and live action was certainly in its early days here but I enjoyed what they did. Most of the animation deals with the tracks done by the fleas including riding a bike and we get several animated clips of the fleas getting on the Gang's dog. The stuff at the wedding with everyone scratching themselves as pretty funny but there's no question that the main reason to watch this is for the supporting players and the animation.

This is a very early Our Gang comedy, yet oddly when the film begins it says it stars James Finlayson and Charley Chase. Chase is barely in the movie at all and beneath a huge mustache it's hard to see that it's him. Finlayson does have a much larger role, but it's really the kids who are the star of this trifling comedy.The kids are somehow interested in collecting fleas for their own flea circus. At the same time, one of the gang's sisters is getting married so they all tag along for the free food. Unfortunately, they bring along a jar filled with fleas. Given the premise and title of the film, it's not a spoiler to say that the fleas get loose and cause the wedding to be a disaster--with everyone itching like crazy. Not exactly subtle humor and not terribly funny.In a small role, look for a pre-Laurel and Hardy solo performance by Oliver Hardy as a cop. It's not much to speak of, but if you're watching the film anyways, look for him.