Rascals (1938)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Theatrical Release: May 20, 1938

DVD Release: April 15, 2013

Director: H. Bruce Humberstone

Not Rated

Review by Richard Rey

Little Miss Mischief (Jane Withers) is up to her shin-kicking antics once again, this time as Gypsy in the Depression era comedy Rascals. While the movie’s goofball slapstick gags are entertaining enough, it fails in its cupid love story plot.

Gypsy life is a merry one: pick-pocketing, knife-throwing, palm-reading and song-singing. It’s also terribly unpopular within the structure of society as the film opens on shots of the caravan in an excitably violent food fight against the locals. Along for the ride is Tony (Robert Wilcox), a disenchanted average Joe that joined the boisterous band after the love of his life “made a fool out of him.”  When a beautiful brunette suddenly faints just outside of camp, the mischievous child ringleader, Gypsy, is more than happy to adopt her as one of her own, affectionately calling the amnesia-stricken stranger Ronnie (Rochelle Hudson) –gypsy for lady. The genial girl has high hopes as she plays cupid to the two grown-ups with adult problems. Unfortunately, love isn’t in the air for Tony who sees right through the strangers alleged illness. In fact, love isn’t in the air at all in this romantic comedy whose plot quickly folds in on itself like bent tarot cards.

The relationship arc of the pair is so incredibly short-lived that it’s something only a child could conceive (all the more suitable since the narrative plays out from Gypsy’s perspective). Still, for adults, this sprouting relationship hasn’t the screen time to ripen and blossom into something flowery and organic. Instead, we are left with classically glamorous Hollywood smooch scenes typical of that period in cinema history.

The gypsy band is the gem of the film, particularly the music that may have been a better fit on Broadway. All of the theft is done for a worthy cause, be it to survive starvation or to raise funds for an operation to cure the lead love interest’s memory loss. The clowning includes hilarious shenanigans from a midget and the constantly comedic liberator of Gypsy, Gino (Borrah Minevitch). As a whole, it all seems to be a happy-go-lucky time around the campfire where love’s flames are quickly extinguished.

For Withers fans, another strong turn from the legendary child-actress as the convincingly innocent troublemaker who dances, sings, and plays instruments will make the movie worth a watch; however, the occasional stereotyping of African-Americans and the mentally-ill may turn some viewers off.

In the end, the fortuneteller rose-tinted glasses will have you cheering for this quirky band of jovial jokesters, but rest assured that after the crystal-ball hokum comes the unpleasant surprise: a stolen-watch and wallet; and that, my friends, is un-fortune-ate.

The 20^th Century Fox DVD release contains a one-option menu that only allows you to play the film. While there are no chapters per se, the movie has been cut up into 10 minute increments in case you do want to skip. The picture quality is satisfactory, though it does contain some occasional spots. Grainy images and sound pops during the opening credits show the difficulty had in the restoration process.

[Rating: 2.5]