A few years back, in "Rushin' Ballet," Spanky and Alfalfa disguised themselves as young ballerinas to discourage Butch and Woim.
OK, so much for the reference. Now, as to "The New Pupil" ---
The idea seems to be the following: if someone breaks a lunch date with you, get your revenge by humiliating them. That seems to be the case with Darla who feels slighted when Spanky and Alfalfa break that promise with her. So, with the help of Sally, the boys are cajoled into playing tea party, dressed up as the homeliest pair of young girls you'd ever see!
It's a good story, and seeing Spanky and Alfalfa play along is priceless. At one point, when the boys are given babies, Alfalfa is asked what he(she) feeds his(her) baby; he answers: "Oh, I give her some milk, a couple of hamburgers, and once a week a little..." (then is inspired by seeing a bag of fertilizer!). Pretty funny. Later on the boys sing "Go To Sleep My Baby," a song which, as many Our Gang aficionados know was sung by Alfalfa five years ago in "Little Papa."
A couple of things don't make sense though: why would Spanky and Alfalfa waste time going after a girl who's not interested in boys? Also, if Sally isn't interested in boys, and Mickey isn't interested in girls, why would they hang out together near the end of the film??
Bit of trivia: Froggy makes his first appearance in this Our Gang short (although, for some reason, he's called Harold by the teacher).
Juanita Quigley does an excellent job in her role as Sally. She would later be seen in "Going to Press." It's a shame she didn't do more Our Gang shorts. Given the general downward slide in the quality of these films, it couldn't have hurt.
OK, so much for the reference. Now, as to "The New Pupil" ---
The idea seems to be the following: if someone breaks a lunch date with you, get your revenge by humiliating them. That seems to be the case with Darla who feels slighted when Spanky and Alfalfa break that promise with her. So, with the help of Sally, the boys are cajoled into playing tea party, dressed up as the homeliest pair of young girls you'd ever see!
It's a good story, and seeing Spanky and Alfalfa play along is priceless. At one point, when the boys are given babies, Alfalfa is asked what he(she) feeds his(her) baby; he answers: "Oh, I give her some milk, a couple of hamburgers, and once a week a little..." (then is inspired by seeing a bag of fertilizer!). Pretty funny. Later on the boys sing "Go To Sleep My Baby," a song which, as many Our Gang aficionados know was sung by Alfalfa five years ago in "Little Papa."
A couple of things don't make sense though: why would Spanky and Alfalfa waste time going after a girl who's not interested in boys? Also, if Sally isn't interested in boys, and Mickey isn't interested in girls, why would they hang out together near the end of the film??
Bit of trivia: Froggy makes his first appearance in this Our Gang short (although, for some reason, he's called Harold by the teacher).
Juanita Quigley does an excellent job in her role as Sally. She would later be seen in "Going to Press." It's a shame she didn't do more Our Gang shorts. Given the general downward slide in the quality of these films, it couldn't have hurt.