GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

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

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

tavm Having been on an Our Gang kick again, I found out that YouTube has a series of Five Little Peppers movies that featured Tommy Bond and Edith Fellows-who had previously appeared in a couple of the Little Rascals shorts: Birthday Blues and Mush and Milk which Bond also was in. It's Fellows who's the main star here as the oldest of the siblings who takes care of the house when the widowed mom is off at work. Bond is far from his bully Butch character in OG that he still occasionally portrayed during this period which is refreshing to see. While this was mainly a drama, there are some humorous touches reminiscent of The Little Rascals like when Edith and Tommy are riding in a makeshift boat or when Tommy and a little brother are comparing which one has the bigger measles! I don't want to reveal any more, just that I very much enjoyed Five Little Peppers and How They Grew and looking forward to the rest of the series entries...

JohnHowardReid A very minor comedy for the kiddies' market, distinguished only by the unbilled appearance of Bruce Bennett as Kolb's chauffeur. Henry Freulich's pleasing photography shows far more skill than Charles Barton's totally routine direction. No less than five people contribute to the writing credits and one would think that with all this talent paving the way, the end result would be a script that would have been way, way more interesting. Instead, as other reviewers have commented, the plot is obviously stacked and lacks all spontaneity. All told, I'd give this movie an extremely generous four marks out of ten and I have written about it here solely because the sequels are so much more entertaining.

rpniew I remember reading the novel as a child and becoming thoroughly entranced by it. Over the years I remembered it fondly; in the Nineties, when similar-themed films like "The Secret Garden", "A Little Princess", and "Little Women" were released, I thought a film version of this book would fit in nicely. I was unaware that a film version had already been produced. When I saw it listed on TCM a couple of weeks ago, I made a point of getting up early and watching it. I was first shocked to see --- gasp --- a car. Modern clothes (by 30s standards)! Although the film was certainly watchable and had its charm, it was clearly not the book I remembered. Someday someone will film the novel accurately.

longrush The craft of fiction is a matter of physically stacking the cards. The art of fiction is doing so in a manner that no one notices that the cards have been stacked. The problem with this movie is that it is easy to see just how the writers went about working the deck. It lacks all spontaneity.There is a nice gauzy late-depression (1939) feel to it. "Grapes of Wrath" it isn't. There's a poor family of five children and a mother (no father even though one reviewer remembered one) who works hard to keep it all together. The stove smokes in their humble but clean kitchen. There's little food in the pantry. Not far away lives a hideously wealthy old man with his grandson. By contrivance, they are put together, and after a series of near disasters (I never believed there was real jeopardy), things are put aright in a warm and fuzzy way. You sort of knew that this wasn't going to be a tragedy when you saw all those cute kids.The acting is of the present day sitcom variety, i.e. not very good, litotes for bad. But there is one exception. The little girl, youngest of the children, is marvelous. Too often very young actors sing-song their recited lines. Not so here. What ever became of her? This is a rather nice movie to watch when you're not feeling well. It passes the time while not requiring a thing from you.