1-2-3-Go! (1941) User Reviews (10)

dbborroughs is right

[Moax429 · 5/10 · 15 July 2013]

Yes, I agree with dbborroughs' comment 100%. This seems like the sort of thing that should have been shown at an elementary school assembly produced by AAA rather than in a cinema.

Especially when - according to Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann's 1992 "Little Rascals" book - you consider this was the 200th (!) film made in the "Our Gang" series, it *could have* been something funnier, such as the upcoming "Going to Press" or "Mighty Lak a Goat" (my all-time favorite "Our Gang" short).

About the only two scenes I thought were funny was when a girl was getting ready to cross the street and as she was looking both ways she seemed as if she was bouncing her head on her shoulders while she was counting aloud, and of course Froggy's closing speech he gave in a high voice so as not to ruin any more microphones.

For those reasons, I give "1-2-3 Go!" a 5.

1-2-3 Go! is an educational Our Gang short that's not completely without humor

[tavm · 4/10 · 29 January 2015]

This M-G-M educational short, 1-2-3 Go!, is the two hundredth entry in the "Our Gang" series and the one hundred twelfth talkie. Yes, I said educational, as this one seemed nothing more than a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the benefits of looking both ways before crossing the street. See, Mickey-in trying to catch the baseball-gets hit by a car while running in the street and gets his legs broken as a result. When Spanky and the rest of the gang see him and other kids who were hurt the same way in the hospital, Spanky forms the 1-2-3 Go Safety Society as we see both kids-one of whom is Giovanna Gubitosi, or Jean Blake, Mickey's sister-and adults practice crossing the street by saying those numbers before doing so. Okay, to paraphrase Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann-authors of the Our Gang filmography book, before M-G-M took over the series, these would never have been mistaken for classroom films and Our Gang's only connection with the mayor, who supports their cause here, would only a few years before have been a baseball accidentally breaking his window! Whatever funny stuff there is in this one is courtesy of Froggy especially at the end when he attempts to speak to a national audience on radio but when he uses his unique voice, the microphones blow out! So he uses a more normal voice for the remaining intact one before...oh, just watch 1-2-3 Go! (though I don't really recommend it) if you want to find out!

An educational short from the Our Gang group belongs in the class room not in the theater

[dbborroughs · 3/10 · 25 September 2009]

After Mickey is hit by a car when he chases a fly ball out into the street the gang starts up a club and a campaign to make sure that everyone is safe and safety conscious.

Preachy Our Gang film that is more the type of thing that you'd show in school to teach kids to be safe rather than something you'd run in a theater to entertain an audience. Its not a bad film, but why on earth would anyone actually watch it? I did because I'm going through the DVDs of the MGM Our Gangs and it was just one of many. Other than that I don't see the point. A nice try, but I wish it were more entertainment and less lecture.

The decay of a once-great comedy troupe

[Jordan_Haelend · 2/10 · 14 November 2005]

I think the best way to describe this film is --you should pardon the expression-- "pedestrian." It's fairly typical of the dross that came out of the MGM film-mill.

As long as the Gang was doing its thing for the Hal Roach Studios, the quality remained high, primarily because Roach understood children and knew how to work with them. Once the transfer to the mammoth MGM complex was affected, the kids appear to have been treated as mere product themselves, which must have been demoralizing.

The stories became duller, too, and concentrated more on moralizing lessons than humor (see the ghastly "Robot Wrecks," if you doubt.) The later works simply are not funny.

Rounding-out the disaster was the loss due to natural attrition of some key figures: Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, and Tommy Bond. Froggy Laughlin and Mickey Gubitosi simply had shoes too big for them to fill, and expecting the whining Freddie "Slicker" Walburn to replace Bond was an impossibility from the outset.

This film was a part of a sad slide into oblivion for a once great comedy troupe.

Where's the laughs?

[jbacks3 · 1/10 · 28 December 2004]

It's inconceivable to imagine an unfunny Hal Roach Our Gang. After Hal sold off the series to his distributor MGM in May, 1938 it soon became harder to find anything to laugh about. Somewhere along the way MGM decided to supplant comedy with moral lessons and/or--- even worse--- education! No one ever went to see an Our Gang installment to do anything other than laugh and, unfortunately, comedy was the one true weakness in the MGM machine. In this dismal entry, Mickey Gubitosi (the now incarcerated Robert Blake) gets hit by a car and the gang goes off on a pedestrian safety crusade called the "1-2-3 Go Safety Society." Worthy cause or not, this is not what Our Gang is all about. It's also painfully apparent that Spanky had outgrown his role in the series at this point. This one's nearly as bad as the MGM shorts could get... unfortunately the series would fumble through 3 more years of garbage that would rival 1-2-3 Go!

1-2-3 Stop for crying out loud.

[kpetnews · 1/10 · 21 June 2007]

There are maybe two "gags" in this short. And to spare you from having to watch it, the "best" one is when Froggy drinks a sedative meant for the laid-up Mickey.

But the important thing is that "the Our Gang" has created a safety society where horrid little children say "1 2 3 Go" before crossing the street. Soon the stuffy, unlikable adults are doing it too. At the end, there is even a "Nationwide Broadcast To Honor Our Gang Originators Of The "1-2-3 Go" Safety Society." I'm sure all of America tuned into to listen to THAT.

It's really sad to see Spanky, now far too old for this, speechifying and reciting dialogue that no one outside of MGM-land would ever say. It makes me want to run into the street WITHOUT counting to avoid it.

pathetic excuse for a comedy

[LittleRascal-15 · 1/10 · 13 September 1999]

I am a huge fan of Our Gang/Little Rascals. As soon as Hal Roach sold Our Gang to MGM they shorts got more boring and more duller. 1-2-3 Go is a perfect example. Who would've thought that an obnoxious and annoying boy like Mickey Gubitosi would grow up to be Robert Blake. It astounds me! 1-2-3 Go is based around that Mickey gets hit by a car and the gang learns that alot of kids are injured by car hits. So the gang starts a 1-2-3 Go Safety Society. It's educational and boring. There were cute moments, actually 2. But I give 1-2-3 Go 2.5/10

1-2-3- Go (1941)

[Kai6869 · 10/10 · 25 January 2008]

What a great learning tool for young children. Mickey gets run over by a car when he runs into the street chasing a ball.Spanky and the Gang are upset and realize the situation could have been avoided. They then form the 1-2-3 Go society. The 1-2-3 Go society is aimed at teaching children to look both ways before crossing the street. This Our Gang short teaches young children it also allows young children the perils of chasing a ball into the street.The main character is Mikey (Robert Blake). Mikey survives the accident with a broken leg. A great Our Gang short for children to watch. I highly recommend this Our Gang short as a tool in teaching young children. Its funny this is one Our Gang short I remember very well.

This is another of those educational Our Gang shorts!!!!!!!!

[bandcrsh · 11 August 2003]

This was a pretty good short, it's so sad to see little kids get hurt by being hit by cars, but, I'm glad Mickey Gubatosi is alive and well. Getting hit by cars is the worst thing that could happen to a kid. I give this episode 8 out of 10.

1-2-3 Go is among my top 4 favorite M-G-M Shorts, after 'Carl Switzer' ("Alfalfa") was Replaced By 'William McLaughlin' ("Froggy")

[63x927is58401 · 10/10 · 15 August 2009]

"1-2-3 Go"'s humor to some, maybe weak, but it is very informative on being aware how where you walk or run, as a pedestrian. In the closing scene, after Mickey was asked to speak, he suggested "Froggy" was better at making short speeches, on the lesson they learned, after two or three microphones, busted because of his "Popeye, the Sailor" voice, he made the speech in his regular voice. Then he immediately said "Fooled you!", in his "Popeye, the Sailor" voice then that microphone exploded, also, in humor. There was another short that "Froggy" did not talk like his "Popeye, the Sailor" voice, all the time, it's title is 1942's "Surprised Parties". In this one, he spoke and dressed as if he was a girl! Learning that Spanky & the gang of Rascals were creating a surprise party, and temporarily removed him from "The Gang", (just to keep it secret, to him). When he heard of this, he messed up everything, on purpose, thinking it was for someone else and he decided to dress and try to look and act like a girl, to watch his schemes and tricks "Backfire", on everyone else! Then, when he finally realized it was for him, he let all the "ACCIDENTS", that he created, happen to him, on purpose!