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If not the funniest of the silent Our Gang comedies, Seeing the World is certainly one of the most famous. James Finlayson is cast as the gang's schoolteacher, who manages to win a trip to Europe in a local contest. Gathering the kids together, Finlayson leads them on a whirlwind tour of Naples, Pompeii, Rome, the Vatican, Venice, London, and finally Paris, where the trip nearly ends in disaster atop the Eiffel Tower. The location sequences in Europe were filmed during a vacation taken by star James Finlayson and director Robert McGowan. Combining business with pleasure, the two vacationers hired local kids in each city and dressed them to look like the Our Gang youngsters (from a distance, of course); then, upon returning to Hollywood, McGowan matched the European scenes with studio mockups using the real Our Gang troupe. As a result, audiences were convinced that the kids actually visited the capitals of Europe, a deception still virtually undetectable. As a bonus, the film features cameo appearances by two other Hal Roach contractees -- comedian Stan Laurel and writer-director Frank Butler, both cast as very proper Englishmen. Seeing the World was originally released on February 13, 1927; unfortunately, most available prints are choppy and incomplete.