Bear Shooters (1930)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Amateur movie with Big budget

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

"Bear Shooters" is a 20-minute live action short film from 1930, so this one is already over 85 years old. It is a black-and-white sound film and if you read the names McGowan, Roach and Walker you maybe realize already that here we have another film about Our Gang / Little Rascals. Chubby, Wheezer and Farina are on board among others and Jackie Cooper is in it as well. And of course the biggest animal actor from its era is on board too. I am talking about Pete the Pup. In general these rascals short films were pretty animal-focused. You read in the title that the gang goes bear hunting and they encounter a gorilla on the way and are basically trying to be safe from the big ape all the time. Admittedly, there was very little story here for a film, even if it only runs for a third of an hour. And the comedy was hardly convincing either. This must be one of the worst Rascals films I have seen. Then again, I am generally not too big on them and I don't think their work has aged that well. The cuteness aspect is eventually all there is to these films. And of course, by today's standards, this simply isn't enough. Thumbs-down from me. Don't watch. Oh yeah and don't be fooled by the photo. No Laurel or Hardy in here, just the kids.

Released just prior to the time many experts feel the Our Gang series really hit it's stride, this is a pretty entertaining little number that is fondly remembered from watching it on TV during my childhood. The gang, including one time only member Leon Janney, wants to go camping and shoot a lot of bears. Janney must take along kid brother Weezer who has the croup. Lot's of fun situations arise as the gang reaches it's camp site. There are also a couple of moonshiners there who try to scare off the kids but as we know, these resourceful youngsters have no fear in fighting off the enemy and quickly turn the tables on the moonshiners in very funny fashion. All in all a pretty satisfying short that benefits from nice outdoor scenery.

"Bear Shooters," an "Our Gang" film from early 1930, contains many tried and true comedy elements from the series. The film is also notable for featuring a one-shot character, never to be seen again.The Gang endeavor to go on a bear hunt. The have guns and weapons of various sizes, shapes, and accuracy! They go in their wagon of questionable stability to a creek. They stumble across a bootlegger's territory; the bootleggers decide to put a scare into the kids. Will the bootleggers be successful, or will the Gang have the last word?"Bear Shooters" is a middling early talkie in the "Our Gang" series. The film contains enough laughs to see it through, but the plodding of early talkies such as this makes the film somewhat difficult to watch. Fortunately, with the previous release of "When the Wind Blows," the Hal Roach studio began to use background music in the films, which helped to move the films along. Before long, the background music became almost as famous as the films (particularly in this series, and in Roach's "Laurel and Hardy" films). Music is present here, and it does help.Curiously, Leon Janney is added to the Gang as "Spud," and takes the lead in this film. This is Janney's only appearance in the series; he's good, but his character certainly doesn't add much, and the fact that Janney was thirteen when he made this film also added to his one-shot appearance."Bear Shooters" is a pleasant but unimportant entry in the series. 6 out of 10.

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.Wanting to become BEAR SHOOTERS, the Gang goes camping. Unfortunately, they settle on a spot occupied by a criminal hideout...A very funny little film. Highlights: the `gorilla'; Chubby's limburger cheese. How would you like to grease Wheezer?