AllMovie

Fascinated by the story of Aladdin's magic lamp, the Our Gang kids gather together every electric light fixture in the neighborhood, hoping that by rubbing them vigorously, a genie will appear. Thanks to a series of coincidences -- not least of which involves a friendly stage magician -- the kids become convinced that they've succeeded in emulating Aladdin. But their excitement turns to dismay when Mathew "Stymie" Beard believes that he's transformed his kid brother Cotton (Bobby Beard) into a monkey! Despite a marvelous sequence in which Spanky McFarland enjoys a free meal at a lunch counter, courtesy of a trained monkey, it cannot be denied that this film contains a great deal of casually racist humor that seems tasteless when viewed today. For that reason, "A Lad an' a Lamp," originally released on December 17, 1932, has been withdrawn from the "Little Rascals" TV package, though the film is available to home-video collectors.