Mickey in School: Early Rooney, Pure Classroom Chaos

Alright, so 'Mickey in School' is one of those old-school shorts. Is it worth watching today? Yeah, probably, especially if you get a kick out of seeing cinema's early days or want a quick look at a baby-faced Mickey Rooney before he became *Mickey Rooney*. If you need deep narratives or super polished filmmaking, you can probably skip this one. But for a short dose of innocent mischief, it’s kinda sweet. 😌

The whole thing is basically Mickey, played by Rooney, just trying to survive a school day. And by survive, I mean finding every opportunity to cause a ruckus. The plot, if you can even call it that, revolves around him and his pals getting into scrapes with their teacher, who, bless her heart, seems to have the patience of a saint.

There's this one scene, pretty early on, where Mickey is supposed to be doing arithmetic. He’s just utterly failing at it. You see his little brow furrowed, then he glances around, and that’s when you know trouble is brewing. He then tries to cheat off a girl next to him, Delia Bogard, who just gives him this *look*. It’s a tiny moment, but it tells you everything you need to know about Mickey’s approach to academics. 😬

The classroom itself is a character, almost. Full of kids, all in their proper little desks. The camera often feels like it's just observing the chaos, not really directing it. You get wide shots of the whole room, which makes the spitball fight later on feel even more expansive. Like it’s not just Mickey, it’s *everyone*.

The gags are pretty standard for the era. There’s a bit with a rigged chair, obviously, and a very dramatic chalkboard incident. What really struck me, though, was the teacher’s reaction shots. She goes from exasperated to resigned so quickly. You can almost feel her thinking, 'another Tuesday.' One reaction shot of her after a particularly loud *bang* lingers just a beat too long, and it becomes funny in a knowing way.

One kid, I think it was Jimmy Robinson, has this really distinctive laugh that cuts through the silent film. It’s not really a laugh track, more like a sound cue. But it feels so genuine, like he’s actually amused by the on-screen antics, even though it’s all staged. It adds a weird layer of realism to the whole silent movie thing. 🤔

The pacing is… well, it’s a silent short from back then. Sometimes a scene will just hang for a moment, letting you take in the set or a character’s expression. Then suddenly, it's a frantic chase out the schoolhouse door. It’s not smooth, but it has a charm to it. You really feel the urgency when Mickey finally tries to make a break for it after one prank goes a little too far. The way he scrambles out of the window is pretty neat.

Billy Barty pops up for a very brief appearance. blink-and-you'll-miss-it, truly. It’s just neat to spot him in such an early role, even if he's not doing much more than being one of the many kids in the classroom. You kind of wonder if he was already dreaming of bigger things. ✨

There’s no grand message here. No deep themes of childhood or education. It’s just a snapshot of a mischievous kid in a classroom. And sometimes, that's enough. It’s not trying to be anything more than a bit of fun. And it mostly succeeds at that. It leaves you with a little smile, probably because you remember some of your own school hijinks. Or maybe just because you’re glad you’re not that teacher. 😅

Didja notice?

• The chalk dust in some shots is *really* visible.
• One extra kid in the background is wearing a hat indoors the whole time.
• Mickey's little smirk when he thinks he’s getting away with something is classic.
• The school bell sound effect feels surprisingly loud, given the rest of the film is silent.
• The way the teacher points her finger at Mickey, almost like a weapon.