A film of two halves, the first of which sees a tiny Mickey Rooney (then McGuire) defending his friend Hambone in a court of law before it turns into possibly Rooney's first 'let's put on a show in a barn' picture. The see-saw song act is pretty impressive, but the acting and singing will hurt your ears, and the humour just isn't funny.
2 Reviews
Not as good as the 4.5 rating would suggest.
planktonrules15 January 2024
Hambone stole dog--stereotype
minstels.
On IMDB, a rating of 4.5 is very poor. However, the 4.5 for "Mickey's Mix-Up" seems incredibly charitable, as it's a pretty terrible film.
The short is part of the Mickey McGuire series which starred Mickey Rooney and ran from the silent era into the early talkie era. It was one of many series which attempted to capitalize on Hal Roach's "Little Rascals"...and the McGuire films were he most successful of these imitators. Some of them are pretty good, but quality and laughs-wise, the Roach offering was better.
"Mickey's Mix-Up" is like two shorts crammed into one. The first part is a surreal courtroom scene in an adult court--with children playing all the roles save the judge and his bailiff. It wasn't funny and I am pretty sure a bunch of folks today would blanch at the notion that a black child is on trial for stealing...which he clearly did. Then, suddenly, the short switches locales and it is a talent show...most of which is either offensive (it begins with a minstrel show) or dumb.
Overall, this is a film which often falls flat and lacks the charm of the Little Rascals/Our Gang comedies. It also doesn't feature Mickey Rooney at his best...as he had yet to really hone his craft. It's a curious but not especially good film.
On IMDB, a rating of 4.5 is very poor. However, the 4.5 for "Mickey's Mix-Up" seems incredibly charitable, as it's a pretty terrible film.
The short is part of the Mickey McGuire series which starred Mickey Rooney and ran from the silent era into the early talkie era. It was one of many series which attempted to capitalize on Hal Roach's "Little Rascals"...and the McGuire films were he most successful of these imitators. Some of them are pretty good, but quality and laughs-wise, the Roach offering was better.
"Mickey's Mix-Up" is like two shorts crammed into one. The first part is a surreal courtroom scene in an adult court--with children playing all the roles save the judge and his bailiff. It wasn't funny and I am pretty sure a bunch of folks today would blanch at the notion that a black child is on trial for stealing...which he clearly did. Then, suddenly, the short switches locales and it is a talent show...most of which is either offensive (it begins with a minstrel show) or dumb.
Overall, this is a film which often falls flat and lacks the charm of the Little Rascals/Our Gang comedies. It also doesn't feature Mickey Rooney at his best...as he had yet to really hone his craft. It's a curious but not especially good film.
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