7.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Lad an' a Lamp remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Is this worth your time today? Only if you have a soft spot for weird, chaotic 1930s shorts.
If you love the classic Our Gang kids, you will find some great physical comedy here. If you get easily uncomfortable by very outdated, cringey racial stereotypes, you should definitely skip this one. 😬
So the kids find an old lamp and think it is magic. Stymie rubs it and wish his baby brother, Cotton, was a monkey because Cotton is crying too much.
Naturally, a real runaway monkey from a street performer shows up and climbs into the baby carriage. Cotton just wanders off to eat some fruit. 🐒
Stymie actually thinks he turned his brother into an animal. The panic on his face are so real, it is almost sad to watch.
Matthew "Stymie" Beard was easily the most talented kid in this entire troupe. His facial expressions when he thinks he ruined his brother's life are incredible.
Spanky is also here, but he is still a tiny toddler in this one. He spends most of the short wearing a giant helmet that looks way too heavy for his neck.
I also kept watching Pete the Dog. He has that classic painted circle around his eye, looking totally exhausted by these kids.
Honestly, Pete's reaction shots are better than most modern actors. He reminded me of the tired pup in The Dog and the Thief, just totally done with human nonsense.
The whole watermelon gag is... rough to watch today. Its a reminder of how different (and worse) things were in 1930s comedy writing.
But if you can look past the outdated stuff, the pure physical comedy is still pretty funny. The scene where the monkey starts throwing things around the room is pure, unscripted madness.
It just sort of ends. No big wrap-up, no lesson learned. Just 17 minutes of kids yelling and then the screen fades to black. 🤷♂️
