Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"Teacher's Pet" is a 20-minute black-and-white short film from 1930, so this one is already over 85 years old. And still because of the young cast, some of the protagonists (including Jackie Cooper) still lived until way into the 21st century. By now you probably realize this is another Rascals short film and the main antagonist / main (grown-up) friend in here is once again Miss Crabtree, a recurring character in these old sound films played by the fairly stunning June Marlowe. Nonetheless in terms of the story I found it underwhelming to say the least. Director is McGowan, writer is Walker like many other times with these Our Gang films. And like most of the others, this one is also really overrated here on IMDb. Even if you are a fan, there is no way one can make an argument that this is on the same level quality-wise with stuff like Network, No country for Old Men or On the Waterfront. Anyway, as for the contents here, there was not as much animal action as in other Rascals films, just one scene basically. The story is about the kids (one in particular) trying to prank Miss Crabtree, but of course that's not gonna happen. I give it a thumbs-down. Even at under half an hour, it dragged quite a bit in my opinion.

This Hal Roach comedy short, Teacher's Pet, is the one hundred first in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the thirteenth talkie. This is the one that really showcased Jackie Cooper's charisma as a child actor and would eventually lead him away from the series into starring exclusively in feature films. He leads the gang in playing pranks on the new teacher they find out is named Miss Crabtree who they think is someone-well, certainly not pretty as she eventually turns out to be as played for the first time by June Marlowe. I'll just say that this short is one of the most charming of the series with just the right amount of laughs to offset whatever sadness one may feel about doing something so cruel to someone as beautiful as this new teacher. So on that note, I highly recommend Teacher's Pet. P.S. This film marked the debut of one Matthew Beard who'd eventually be called Stymie in the series but here is called Hercules. It's also the first in the series to open with what would become the theme song-"Good Old Days" by LeRoy Shield. And it would be the first in the series to have "talking opening credits"-that is, a couple of ladies-Beverly and Betty Mae Crane-would announce the title and production credits instead of them being printed on screen. They'd do this also for subsequent Our Gang shorts School's Out and Love Business. And Richard W. Bann-co-author of the book "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang"-provides nice commentary on disc 2 of The Little Rascals Collection DVD during this short.

A wonderful Our Gang short that certainly deserves the accolades heaped upon it throughout the years. A warm, heartfelt, humorous look at a boyhood crush between student and teacher. Jackie Cooper shines as the young student smitten by new teacher Miss Crabtree. June Marlowe, while not a great actress, is endearing and lovely as the new teacher. A well told and well acted short that is rightly looked at as one of Our Gang's best.As much as this short is noted for introducing Marlowe and Matthew Beard to audiences as well as being one of three shorts to use spoken word opening credits and for introducing the "Good Old Days" opening theme, what is equally important is it's recognition as a time capsule. A wonderful look at the more simple times that have longed since passed. The dirt road leading to school. The beautiful eucalyptus trees lining the road. The one room school house. A snap shot of more simple days. What also helps this short is how it was filmed. A soft focus, almost haze-like approach that really conveys the feeling of a warm, late summer day when school was back in session. Classic!

Teacher's Pet (1930) *** (out of 4) Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe) is the new teacher at the school where the gang goes and they plan on making her first day miserable but she has her own plan to get the group's affection. This here is certainly one of the better shorts in the Our Gang series up to this point. The majority of the charm has to go to Marlowe in her first appearance as Miss Crabtree. She has a few spots where her line reading isn't very good but she's attractive enough and charming enough to keep a smile on your face. Jackie Cooper is also very good in his role as the one who has a crush on her but is too embarrassed to say anything. Chubby and Dorothy get a very good sequence where she's constantly dubbing what he says and Wheezer is on hand for one of the highlights in the film. There's plenty of nice laughs throughout this short as well as some nice usage of the sound effects.