Pete Smith

In this short, members of the California Water Bugs club demonstrate new ways to get thrills when water skiing.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we see how real-life investigator Jo Goggin used a motion picture surveillance camera to gather evidence and disprove a fraudulent insurance claim.

The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.

An examination of the problem of the house guest who has overstayed is welcome, and how to get rid of him.

This Pete Smith Specialty shows newsreel footage events that live up to the title. They include, among others, a diaper derby (the father who puts a diaper on his child fastest wins), a fireman's ball (two teams of fire fighters use high-pressure water hoses to move a large ball to score goals), and a basket race (men run a footrace while balancing a "tower" of ten baskets on their heads).

In this Pete Smith Speciality, the audience is asked a series of multiple-choice questions on various subjects.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, two lion cubs escape from the zoo and go on an adventure.

A "Pete Smith Specialty" short that looks at legendary movie stuntman Harry Woolman planning and rehearsing stunts for films.

A dog accused of murdering sheep is brought to trial.

An off-camera narrator takes us through various scenarios of "just suppose". First we watch what would happen if a private detective behaved at home as he does in the movies; it's a ticket to a domestic disturbance. Next, a son gets to treat his father the way his father treats him. In the third episode, to a shopkeeper's chagrin, a man shops for a hat the way a woman does. In the final sketch, we suppose a household in which the man gets pregnant and has a baby, while the mom, clueless about little children, is the one with the career.

This Pete Smith Specialty short showcases former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer with various sparring partners in the ring. Slow motion is used to illustrate how Baer uses his skills.

A "Pete Smith Specialty" - a fairly serious look at radio hams in the usual jokey format. Shows aircraft using morse code.

This short film focuses on a day in the life of a Hollywood talent scout assigned to cast animals.

This Pete Smith Specialty short focuses on the young men who have signed up for the U.S. Army. The film uses the analogy of the speed, accuracy, and teamwork of sports and how these qualities are translated into the weapons training of American soldiers. We watch target practice by Army personnel with shoulder weapons, mortars, and various artillery pieces.

With Pete Smith providing dry off-screen commentary, we watch some serious fishing: a marlin caught near Catalina, a hammerhead shark caught then wrestled in a small rowboat near Baja, the largest (721 pounds) great white shark caught to date in California waters, Chinook Indians catching salmon at Celilo Falls in Oregon - each with his designated place on the river where his ancestors stood, and, last, a crew on a boat off Mexico hoisting and hurling tuna using unbarbed hooks (baited only with a feather) as fast as they can as long as the school is there - backbreaking work - but a $25,000 catch.

An amusing short film that looks at human and animal babies.

A humorous look at various circus and other acrobatic feats. One of the "Pete Smith Specialties" produced and narrated by "A Smith named Pete."

A dog living in a junkyard learns that all stray dogs will be exterminated by 3 o'clock that afternoon, so sets off to find a master before the deadline.

Another in the long series of "Pete Smith" shorts from M-G-M in which William Newell meets and falls in love with Sally Payne, and begins to budget for their plans to get married. His budget, alas, does not include nor anticipate the plans of Sally and her parents. This short was reissued in June of 1950 to be shown as a trailer with 1950's "Father of the Bride" and some sources think this short was made for that express purpose and date it as a 1950 film.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we take a music quiz, plus survey various unusual musical instruments.

The unusual talents of Johnny Price, a minor league baseball pitcher and trick artist, are showcased in this Pete Smith Specialty. Among other talents, Mr. Price can throw two (and, in certain situations three) baseballs simultaneously to different people. The catchers can be side by side, with one high and one low, or standing on the pitcher's mound and second base while Price throws the ball from the catcher's position. He can even perform these feats while suspended upside-down.

Short film covering a variety of topics that folks may have wondered about.

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara is a 1935 American comedy short film directed by Louis Lewyn. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 9th Academy Awards in 1936 for Best Short Subject (Color). It features a young, pre-stardom 13-year-old Judy Garland singing "La Cucaracha" with her two sisters (billed as "The Garland Sisters"). In the film, Hollywood stars participate in a Mexican-themed revue and festival in Santa Barbara. Andy Devine, the "World's Greatest Matador," engages in a bullfight with a dubious bovine supplied by Buster Keaton, and musical numbers are provided by Joe Morrison and The Garland Sisters. Comedy bits and dance numbers are also featured.

Frank Morgan is hired to put together a movie using odds and ends from the MGM vaults. He does so by splicing together a string of completely unrelated short subjects and musical numbers, interspersed with a repeated loop of a scene from some melodrama. (Contains in their entirety the shorts, "Musical Masterpieces," "Our Old Car," and "Badminton," as well as clips from other projects)

In this short, members of the California Water Bugs club demonstrate new ways to get thrills when water skiing.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we see how real-life investigator Jo Goggin used a motion picture surveillance camera to gather evidence and disprove a fraudulent insurance claim.

This Pete Smith Specialty shows newsreel footage events that live up to the title. They include, among others, a diaper derby (the father who puts a diaper on his child fastest wins), a fireman's ball (two teams of fire fighters use high-pressure water hoses to move a large ball to score goals), and a basket race (men run a footrace while balancing a "tower" of ten baskets on their heads).

In this Pete Smith Speciality, the audience is asked a series of multiple-choice questions on various subjects.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, two lion cubs escape from the zoo and go on an adventure.

A dog accused of murdering sheep is brought to trial.

An off-camera narrator takes us through various scenarios of "just suppose". First we watch what would happen if a private detective behaved at home as he does in the movies; it's a ticket to a domestic disturbance. Next, a son gets to treat his father the way his father treats him. In the third episode, to a shopkeeper's chagrin, a man shops for a hat the way a woman does. In the final sketch, we suppose a household in which the man gets pregnant and has a baby, while the mom, clueless about little children, is the one with the career.

This short film focuses on a day in the life of a Hollywood talent scout assigned to cast animals.

This Pete Smith Specialty short focuses on the young men who have signed up for the U.S. Army. The film uses the analogy of the speed, accuracy, and teamwork of sports and how these qualities are translated into the weapons training of American soldiers. We watch target practice by Army personnel with shoulder weapons, mortars, and various artillery pieces.

With Pete Smith providing dry off-screen commentary, we watch some serious fishing: a marlin caught near Catalina, a hammerhead shark caught then wrestled in a small rowboat near Baja, the largest (721 pounds) great white shark caught to date in California waters, Chinook Indians catching salmon at Celilo Falls in Oregon - each with his designated place on the river where his ancestors stood, and, last, a crew on a boat off Mexico hoisting and hurling tuna using unbarbed hooks (baited only with a feather) as fast as they can as long as the school is there - backbreaking work - but a $25,000 catch.

An amusing short film that looks at human and animal babies.

A humorous look at various circus and other acrobatic feats. One of the "Pete Smith Specialties" produced and narrated by "A Smith named Pete."

A humorous look at various circus and other acrobatic feats. One of the "Pete Smith Specialties" produced and narrated by "A Smith named Pete."

A dog living in a junkyard learns that all stray dogs will be exterminated by 3 o'clock that afternoon, so sets off to find a master before the deadline.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we take a music quiz, plus survey various unusual musical instruments.

Short film covering a variety of topics that folks may have wondered about.

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara is a 1935 American comedy short film directed by Louis Lewyn. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 9th Academy Awards in 1936 for Best Short Subject (Color). It features a young, pre-stardom 13-year-old Judy Garland singing "La Cucaracha" with her two sisters (billed as "The Garland Sisters"). In the film, Hollywood stars participate in a Mexican-themed revue and festival in Santa Barbara. Andy Devine, the "World's Greatest Matador," engages in a bullfight with a dubious bovine supplied by Buster Keaton, and musical numbers are provided by Joe Morrison and The Garland Sisters. Comedy bits and dance numbers are also featured.

Re-enactment of how the 726-carat Jonker diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 by the family of Jacobus Jonker; how it was sold to Harry Winston; and how it was cut by Lazarre Kaplan.

Re-enactment of how the 726-carat Jonker diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 by the family of Jacobus Jonker; how it was sold to Harry Winston; and how it was cut by Lazarre Kaplan.

In this short film, champion fisherman Ernie St. Claire tries to catch a large salmon in Oregon's Rogue River.

A chef helps a housewife cook a duck dinner that will not give her husband indigestion.

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a friendly do-gooder's good deeds backfire.

In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, average housewife Mrs. George T. Hardnose's day is recalled.

In this Pete Smith Specialties short, two professional dancers beautifully demonstrate the rumba and conga while actors humorously display some incorrect techniques for those dances.