A Lad an' a Lamp

Fascinated by the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp, the gang gather together with several gasoline and kerosene lamps and lanterns and a few electric lamps hoping that by rubbing them vigorously, a genie will appear. Thanks to a series of coincidences—not least of which involves a friendly stage magician—the kids become convinced that they have succeeded in invoking Aladdin. But their excitement turns to dismay when Stymie believes Spanky has transformed his kid brother Cotton into a monkey (chimpanzee).

Cast

The Gang

• Matthew Beard
  as Stymie
• Dorothy DeBorba as Dorothy
• Bobby Hutchins as Wheezer
• George McFarland
  as Spanky
• Dickie Moore as Dick
• Bobbie Beard as Cotton
• Georgie Billings as Georgie
• Dickie Jackson as Dickie
• John Collum as Uh-huh
• Bobby DeWar as Our Gang member
• Henry Hanna as Our Gang member
• Pete the Pup as himself

Additional cast

• Donald Haines as Toughie
• Harry Bernard as Officer / Store proprietor (scene deleted)
• Dick Gilbert as Officer / Dick, construction worker
• Jack Hill as Audience member / Officer
• Florence Hoskins as Cook's girlfriend
• James C. Morton as Officer
• Lillian Rich as Introductory narrator
• Philip Sleeman as The Magician
• Charley Young - Fruit vendor
• Jiggs the Chimpanzee
  as himself
• Harry Bowen as Audience member
• Efe Jackson as Pedestrian
• Jim Mason
  - Audience member

Cast notes

Bobby Hutchins returns to the fold after missing Hook and Ladder, Free Wheeling, and Birthday Blues.

Critique

Despite a sequence in which Spanky enjoys a free meal at a lunch counter, courtesy of a trained monkey, A Lad an' a Lamp has been criticized as containing racist humor that seems inappropriate when viewed in the 21st century. For this reason, A Lad an' a Lamp has been withdrawn from the "Little Rascals" television package.^[3] It is currently available in its entirety on VHS and DVD.

See also

• Our Gang filmography

References