. . . is concocting the first recipe for Rice Krispies Squares, but then these juvenile delinquents reveal their True Colors: Poisoning their too-trusting Southern Neighbors in the USA by spiking their theatrical confection with "Tabasco Sauce" and "Lux Soap." Of course, the earlier wild rumors that Our Gang is set and filmed in Hollywood should be put to rest once and for all by A TOUGH WINTER. (Ask yourself, has Los Angeles EVER had one single "tough winter"?!) This episode begins with one of Canadia's trademark ramshackle Junker vehicles lurching drunkenly through many feet of snow, as the messy miscreants pelt each other with frozen flying spheres. Then the scene shifts indoors for a boring Racist interlude featuring some illiterate dude. (This outrageous spoof from Canadia of America's original dance kings would have been edited out of any U.S. film product in a New York minute!) Finally, the remainder of this endless 20 minutes consists of the brats coating the interior of the typical sort of sordid hovel found in Canadia with pounds and pounds of hot black tarry sludge. (Though such damage would result in a total insurance write-off for any American domicile, it was probably featured as the "cutting edge" centerfold in the next issue of Canadia's Better Home and Gardens Magazine.)
9 Reviews
At first it looks like this "Little Rascals" outing . . .
tadpole-596-91825614 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Long unseen
Goldwyn29 August 2002
This was shown on TV until the mid-1970s as my sister and I used to watch it on a local independent station. My sister used to think Stepin was mentally retarded because of the way he talked and acted. I can see how his characterization would be considered offensive. It was unseen after that until 1997 or so when Cabin Fever put it out on VHS. I bought a 16mm print of it from the company that owned the film rights back in 1992 and had it duped to VHS just so I could see it again. The funniest part is when Stepin has Farina read him a letter, explaining that he went to night school and couldn't read until it was dark. There's also a hilarious bit where Stepin uses the taffy that's all over everything to assist him in pulling off the four gloves he wears on each hand.
"A Tough Winter" has some funny and some uncomfortable moments
jimtinder6 August 2002
Rounding out the 1929-30 all-talkie "Our Gang" release schedule, "A Tough Winter" features two storylines. First, Wheezer and Mary Ann, home alone on a wintry day, decide to make some taffy. Little Wheezer relays the directions to Mary Ann from a radio cooking show. The problem: Wheezer relays information from different shows and Mary Ann ends up putting soap in the mix! Funny moments occur when the rest of the Gang shows up to pull the taffy - and end up getting it all over the house!
The second storyline deals with Stepin Fetchit, a neighbor/handyman of the Gang, and his interactions with the Gang.
"A Tough Winter," to my knowledge, has never been shown on television, although it is available on home video. The reason for this is the Stepin Fetchit characterization which shows a shifty, sly, and slow-moving character. "Our Gang" producer Hal Roach called Fetchit a "skilled comic" and used this "Our Gang" entry as a pilot for a Fetchit comedy series that never saw the light of day. Understandably, Fetchit's characterization is offensive to many people today, which explains why the film has been shelved.
Although there are some funny moments both with Fetchit and the taffy, "A Tough Winter" is a plodding and meandering effort. If one positive came out of this film, it was that the Hal Roach Studios grew confident and experienced in making talkies. The sound in the film is good, and some of the sound effects used are very funny. For this reason, this film in part paved the way for the excellent 1930-31 "Our Gang" films.
3 out of 10.
The second storyline deals with Stepin Fetchit, a neighbor/handyman of the Gang, and his interactions with the Gang.
"A Tough Winter," to my knowledge, has never been shown on television, although it is available on home video. The reason for this is the Stepin Fetchit characterization which shows a shifty, sly, and slow-moving character. "Our Gang" producer Hal Roach called Fetchit a "skilled comic" and used this "Our Gang" entry as a pilot for a Fetchit comedy series that never saw the light of day. Understandably, Fetchit's characterization is offensive to many people today, which explains why the film has been shelved.
Although there are some funny moments both with Fetchit and the taffy, "A Tough Winter" is a plodding and meandering effort. If one positive came out of this film, it was that the Hal Roach Studios grew confident and experienced in making talkies. The sound in the film is good, and some of the sound effects used are very funny. For this reason, this film in part paved the way for the excellent 1930-31 "Our Gang" films.
3 out of 10.
Winter taffy makes them daffy.
mark.waltz14 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
While mom is away, the kids will play, and in the middle of winter, being stuck inside, they're bound to get into all sorts of trouble. Mary Anne overhears a recipe for taffy about to be given on the radio so she has Weezer give her the directions while preparing to make the sweet treat. of course, running back and forth to give her various ingredients, he inevitably begins giving her ingredients for other food items and before long she has an inedible confection that the local kids react to in hysterical ways.
Guest star Stepin Fetchit really doesn't provide any plot, only some light comical buffoonery, supposedly the handyman, checking on the electricity, and the kids discovering that the refrigerator now plays the radio, a vacuum cleaner is a telephone receiver and flames come out of the sink while water comes out of the oven. It's a hysterical mix-up that was also in a Laurel and Hardy short (also by producer Hal Roach), and is even more deliciously exaggerated here. This is a lot of fun and well worth seeing even if Stepin Fetchit's antics might be offensive to some nearly 90 years after this was made. It's impossible to deny his artistry because his movements are flawless, and there's something graceful and ingenious behind his every step.
Guest star Stepin Fetchit really doesn't provide any plot, only some light comical buffoonery, supposedly the handyman, checking on the electricity, and the kids discovering that the refrigerator now plays the radio, a vacuum cleaner is a telephone receiver and flames come out of the sink while water comes out of the oven. It's a hysterical mix-up that was also in a Laurel and Hardy short (also by producer Hal Roach), and is even more deliciously exaggerated here. This is a lot of fun and well worth seeing even if Stepin Fetchit's antics might be offensive to some nearly 90 years after this was made. It's impossible to deny his artistry because his movements are flawless, and there's something graceful and ingenious behind his every step.
A Tough Winter with Stepin Fetchit is an interesting curio of the "Our Gang" series
tavm8 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This Hal Roach comedy short, A Tough Winter, is the ninety-ninth in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the eleventh talkie. Bascally a showcase for black comic Stepin Fetchit who gets special billing here, we see him going to his shack where the gang hangs out. Farina retrieves a love letter from the mail for him and is told by Stepin to read it since he can't read it during the day as he goes to NIGHT school. It happens to be from his sweetheart in Tennesse so now Farina has to have his ears stuffed with cotton since it's too hot for him to hear! In another room, Weezer relays instructions to Mary Ann of making taffy from the radio but because he keeps running back and forth to the kitchen, he misses the lady announcer's segue to rice pudding and Spanish tamale confusing Mary Ann with additions of Tabasco and Lux! After the concoction is completed, Jackie and the rest of the gang help themselves with the awful tasting but very sticky substance as everyone gets stuck on the walls as a result. As they all try to clean the mess, Stepin works in the basement on various pipes and electrical outlets that mixes variable appliances' functions such as a telephone that vacuums, a vacuum that rings, and a refrigerator that plays music! The End. What I've just described portends the meandering nature of this "Our Gang" short that served as the pilot for a potential Stepin Fetchit movie short series. It's just as well that it never took place as Fetchit's characterization of the lazy Negro was amusing only in small doses and would be considered highly offensive today. Many of the scenes I've just described are good for some laughs though the final sequence was so confusing that the results were just too blah for me. So in summary, A Tough Winter is a curio worth seeing at least once. By the way, Stepin's real name was Lincoln Theodore Perry.
White kids are fascinated by this episode.
thejcowboy2230 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Ask most fans about Hal Roach comedies the question, Which was the most obscure,unusual and racist portrayal of Black people on the screen ? The episode of TOUGH WINTER comes to mind. Lincoln Theodore Perry/Black comedian Stepin Fetchit jumps right out at you in every scene with his slow whiny voice and all those gadgets he uses on his horse drawn wagon. Most kids are curious why a grown man would act like an inept fool at any cost. Farina plays the straight partner for Step and their timing is impeccable. The love letter scene complete with Dancing rooster is downright hilarious. Under the command of Step,Farina is ordered to put cotton in his ears so he can't hear what he's reading and for a very good reason, Step went to night school and can only read at night! The scene shifts to Mary's house where our freckled girl has a brain- storm. Make taffy on a cold wintry day in Southern California.Yes this is the only episode of Our Gang where it's snowing in it's three decade run of the series.Younger cu pie pie brother Wheezer is chosen to listen for cooking instructions from the radio and passes the information on by leaving the room at every pause. Problem is that the announcer is on to the next recipe which also includes a soap commercial.The Taffy comes to a boil and its time to pull. Mary summons the Gang inside her home.The Taffy ends up everywhere except poor Chubby's stomach which he purges under the sink. In comes our Hero Stepin as he enters Mary's home to a funny scene of his four sets of winter gloves sticking to the wall.Then things go from bad to worse as he tries to do some plumbing he learned at that same night school.The stove has running water and the Vacuum is the telephone.One part that seems to stay with you is that song Stepin sings as he walks toward Mary's house about his girl from Tennessee.All in all I'm sure by watching this episode of Our gang you can be sure that race relations would be sent back at least 60 years yet it's extremely entertaining.
I can see why this one is rarely seen...
planktonrules28 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This short is included in the Our Gang DVD set--the most comprehensive collection of their shorts available today. While it lacks most of their silent films, it does include their sound ones--including this rarity. Why is it rare? Well, because of the incredibly offensive character played by Stepin Fetchit--and it IS incredibly offensive and gross.
The first portion of the film is a very slow bit where Stepin and Farina Hoskins talk. As for Fetchit, I have never heard him talk slower or more addle-brained--and he's the epitome of the type of black character white folks loved to laugh at during this era. Apparently, dehumanizing a black guy was great fun. While I am not the most politically correct sort out there (for instance, I think the "Amos 'n Andy" TV show has been unfairly maligned and I am NOT in favor of anything impinging on our right to free speech), I can understand the studio's withdrawing the film from general circulation. Plus, on top of this, it just isn't funny.
As for the rest of the film, it really has nothing to do with the first portion. Wheezer and the gang decide to do some cooking and end up making a mess. After a while, Fetchit just wanders into the film and offers to help the kids clean up so 'Mary Ann won't get a whipping'. But, instead of helping the plumbing, electric, telephone and gas all get mixed up--complete with lots of sight gags--some of which are mildly funny. However, none of it is good enough to merit looking past the nasty parts. And, considering how much of it is cringe-worthy, I suggest you try another one of their films.
The first portion of the film is a very slow bit where Stepin and Farina Hoskins talk. As for Fetchit, I have never heard him talk slower or more addle-brained--and he's the epitome of the type of black character white folks loved to laugh at during this era. Apparently, dehumanizing a black guy was great fun. While I am not the most politically correct sort out there (for instance, I think the "Amos 'n Andy" TV show has been unfairly maligned and I am NOT in favor of anything impinging on our right to free speech), I can understand the studio's withdrawing the film from general circulation. Plus, on top of this, it just isn't funny.
As for the rest of the film, it really has nothing to do with the first portion. Wheezer and the gang decide to do some cooking and end up making a mess. After a while, Fetchit just wanders into the film and offers to help the kids clean up so 'Mary Ann won't get a whipping'. But, instead of helping the plumbing, electric, telephone and gas all get mixed up--complete with lots of sight gags--some of which are mildly funny. However, none of it is good enough to merit looking past the nasty parts. And, considering how much of it is cringe-worthy, I suggest you try another one of their films.
Mister Stephen
tedg28 April 2007
I've mentioned Stepin Fetchit in several film comments recently, for films that had an offensive black stereotype. These are generally 30s films and the stereotype is of dull, slow, shuffling subservient "boys." I thought I owed it to myself to actually see the man at work.
And its a shock. Those other black actors were successfully playing the stereotype. But not this man, at least not here. This could be an anomaly because it is the only film from the era in which he is billed as himself. Sure he plays a type: someone so lazy he rigs a device to hold his arm when signaling a turn in his cart. Someone who can't read, and who seems stupid, even retarded. But in every motion, he's winking at the audience, he's letting us see the actor's timing, the process of creating the doofus.
The overall effect is the opposite, its of an intelligent, noble, skilled man goofing on us all. Its particularly clear here because he isn't the only incompetent in the frame. All the "Gang" (but one, the pretty rich girl) are as on the periphery of lucid living as his character. There's a story parallel to his, where the kids make taffy and make a huge mess.
He simply walks into the mess in a sort of glee, and use the sticky stuff on the walls to save a hundredth of a motion in removing his gloves.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
And its a shock. Those other black actors were successfully playing the stereotype. But not this man, at least not here. This could be an anomaly because it is the only film from the era in which he is billed as himself. Sure he plays a type: someone so lazy he rigs a device to hold his arm when signaling a turn in his cart. Someone who can't read, and who seems stupid, even retarded. But in every motion, he's winking at the audience, he's letting us see the actor's timing, the process of creating the doofus.
The overall effect is the opposite, its of an intelligent, noble, skilled man goofing on us all. Its particularly clear here because he isn't the only incompetent in the frame. All the "Gang" (but one, the pretty rich girl) are as on the periphery of lucid living as his character. There's a story parallel to his, where the kids make taffy and make a huge mess.
He simply walks into the mess in a sort of glee, and use the sticky stuff on the walls to save a hundredth of a motion in removing his gloves.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
Lesser Short
Michael_Elliott23 December 2008
Tough Winter, A (1930)
* (out of 4)
Our Gang short has Stepin Fetchit playing a handyman who hangs out with the gang while they try to make taffy on a wintery day. This is a pretty poor short without much of anything going for it. There are pretty much two stories going on with the first half dealing with Fetchit while the second deals with the gang making a mess with the taffy. Neither one works and I can only recall one time laughing and that's a scene where Mary Ann gets taffy on her after it blows up. I was somewhat surprised to see how much screen time Fetchit got and his brand a humor is certainly not going to work on everyone in this day and age. I don't mind his performance but it just didn't make me laugh here. The kids too are also quite tame but you can't blame them as there really isn't any evidence that the screenplay was trying to be funny.
* (out of 4)
Our Gang short has Stepin Fetchit playing a handyman who hangs out with the gang while they try to make taffy on a wintery day. This is a pretty poor short without much of anything going for it. There are pretty much two stories going on with the first half dealing with Fetchit while the second deals with the gang making a mess with the taffy. Neither one works and I can only recall one time laughing and that's a scene where Mary Ann gets taffy on her after it blows up. I was somewhat surprised to see how much screen time Fetchit got and his brand a humor is certainly not going to work on everyone in this day and age. I don't mind his performance but it just didn't make me laugh here. The kids too are also quite tame but you can't blame them as there really isn't any evidence that the screenplay was trying to be funny.
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