Not that many have survived the ravages of time, but Fox Films had an active and prosperous short subjects department and in the 1920s they turned out a lot of fine slapstick comedies under the supervision of George Marshall, best know for his direction of such action classics as DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. This "Our Gang" knockoff was one of them -- produced by Marshall, that is, not a fine comedy.
A couple of the issues are that it is clearly imitative, with the fat boy, the Irish kid and the active dog. However, instead of the gentle, often reminiscent comedy of the Roach series, this one handles the cast as a junior league comedy troupe. All the stereotypes are out in force and the characters are cut short to get to the gag.
Anyway, the story consists of the kids seeing the story of Noah's Ark chalked on the blackboard, so they decide to set up their own ark. The jokes are good and the execution is first rate -- Fox could afford to outspend the Roach, Sennett and Christie studios simply by giving Marshall's unit access to the props department and the second tier adult comics on display were more than competent. The result is a good comedy, if not up to Our Gang.
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