Pete Smith
Born Peter Schmidt in New York City, Pete Smith got a job after graduating business college with The Player magazine and later with Billboard magazine. That led to his being hired as a publicist for Famous Players-Lasky and Artcraft Pictures, and he was later appointed publicity director at Paramount Pictures. Director Marshall Neilan hired Smith to be the publicist for his own production company, and Smith left New York for Hollywood. After Neilan's company closed, Smith freelanced for a short period before being hired by MGM in 1925 as the head of its publicity department, a position he held until 1930.
The job that really brought him recognition, however, was his producing, writing and narrating a series of shorts known as "Pete Smith Specialties" for MGM. The one-reelers covered just about every subject imaginable, from the animal world to the latest technology to how to handle annoying patrons in movie theaters, all delivered with Smith's trademark wry, bemused narration. Many of the later shorts were written and directed by actor Dave O'Brien, using the name David Barclay. Sixteen entries in the series were nominated for Oscars, and two of them won. The series came to an end in 1954, though there were enough made to continue releasing into 1955.
Smith's later years were plagued by bad health, and he spent more and more time being hospitalized. In 1979, with his health deteriorating rapidly, he committed suicide by jumping out of the window of his ninth-floor hospital room. He was 86 years old.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 0.3488 |
| Birthday | 1892-09-04 |
| Place of Birth | New York City, New York, USA |
| Also Known As | Peter Schmidt , |
1936
Killer Dog
5.563/8
A dog accused of murdering sheep is brought to trial.
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Killer Dog
1948
Let's Cogitate
7.5/2
Short film covering a variety of topics that folks may have wondered about.
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Let's Cogitate
1949
Those Good Old Days
8/1
Life in mid-century America is humorously compared to life at the turn of the century. Subject covered are keeping accurate time, proposing marriage,...
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Those Good Old Days
1943
Water Wisdom
9/1
This Pete Smith Specialty shows water-safety and life-saving techniques taught by the American Red Cross to advanced swimmers.
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Water Wisdom
1939
Marine Circus
6/2
This Pete Smith Specialty offers a look at Marineland of Florida, featuring the various marine life on display there.
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Marine Circus
1933
Throttle Pushers
9/1
Highlights the fast-paced and dangerous world of professional auto racing.
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Throttle Pushers
1947
Neighbor Pests
0/0
Narrator Pete Smith talks about the different kinds of neighbors that can be pests, and how to deal with them.
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Neighbor Pests
1954
Film Antics
6/2
An amusing short film that looks at human and animal babies.
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Film Antics
1933
Menu
5.4/15
A chef helps a housewife cook a duck dinner that will not give her husband indigestion.
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Menu
1933
Inflation
10/1
An attempt to explain the economic cycle of inflation and unemployment.
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Inflation
1937
Romance of Radium
6.321/14
Romance of Radium is a 1937 American short film directed by Jacques Tourneur, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This short film tells the story of...
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Romance of Radium
1934
Strikes and Spares
6.313/16
This short features professional bowler Andy Varipapa. He first shows the correct way to grip a bowling ball and the proper form for delivering the ba...
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Strikes and Spares
1934
Goofy Movies Number Seven
6/2
This comedy short contains a "Wotaphony" newsreel and a short film from Super-Stupid Pictures entitled "The Downfall of Thaddeus G. Blotto, Esq." As t...
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Goofy Movies Number Seven
1937
Penny Wisdom
6.286/14
A Pete Smith Specialty short on saving an important dinner after the household's cook suddenly quits.
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Penny Wisdom
1937
Friend Indeed
7/2
Pete Smith tells the story of 'Sparky', a German shepherd dog trained to lead his blind master, a country doctor who lost his sight in a fire, and now...
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Friend Indeed
1937
Pigskin Champions
0/0
The Green Bay Packers teach football tips.
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Pigskin Champions
1938
The New Audioscopiks
6.667/3
A Pete Smith short that deals with the newly-created 3-D process.
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The New Audioscopiks
1938
Fisticuffs
7.5/2
This Pete Smith Specialty short showcases former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer with various sparring partners in the ring. Slow motion is used...
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Fisticuffs
1938
Three on a Rope
9/1
This short looks at the sport of rock climbing. A team of three men ascend a rock wall on Southern California's Tahquitz Rock (also known as Lily Rock...
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Three on a Rope
1945
Guest Pests
7/2
An examination of the problem of the house guest who has overstayed is welcome, and how to get rid of him.
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Guest Pests
1954
Out for Fun
9/1
A tense businessman seeks to find a relaxing pastime but proves himself inept at golf, duck-hunting, and model plane building.
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Out for Fun
1932
Swing High
7.091/11
Swing High is a 1932 American Pre-Code short documentary film directed by Jack Cummings. In 1932, it was nominated for an Academy Award at the 5th Aca...
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Swing High
1949
Super Cue Men
8/1
Pete Smith special about billiard.
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Super Cue Men
1939
Double Diving
10/1
An exmination of the sport of championship diving.
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Double Diving
1942
The Tree in a Test Tube
5.167/18
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are stopped by narrator Pete Smith for the purpose of showing the audience how much wood and wood by-products the average...
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The Tree in a Test Tube
1936
Hurling
9/1
A short film showing the Irish contact sport known as hurling, which is similar to, but much rougher than, American football.
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Hurling
1947
Diamond Demon
7.75/4
The unusual talents of Johnny Price, a minor league baseball pitcher and trick artist, are showcased in this Pete Smith Specialty. Among other talents...
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Diamond Demon
1940
Stuffie
10/1
A little dog must learn to become friends with a big dog.
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Stuffie
1937
The Grand Bounce
7/5
A man writes a check for $1,000 to cover a gambling debt. The problem is that he doesn't have enough money in his bank account to cover it. The check...
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The Grand Bounce
1939
Let's Talk Turkey
6.5/2
It's Thanksgiving. Newlywed husband Abner Poodlebean faces the turkey his wife has prepared: she wants him to carve it at the table in front of her sc...
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Let's Talk Turkey
1939
Set 'em Up
10/1
Five years after he narrated STRIKES AND SPARES, Pete Smith returns to the subject of bowling with two pros: Andy Varipapa, who threw some trick shots...
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Set 'em Up
1939
Radio Hams
8/2
A "Pete Smith Specialty" - a fairly serious look at radio hams in the usual jokey format. Shows aircraft using morse code.
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Radio Hams
1931
Trader Hound
6.5/2
Trader Hound, a dog who walks upright, wears human clothes, and speaks English, is in darkest Africa with a young sheik who is looking for adventure....
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Trader Hound
1943
Fala: The President's Dog
7/2
Fala was the famous Scotch Terrier owned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his last two presidential terms.
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Fala: The President's Dog
1943
Hollywood Daredevils
0/0
A "Pete Smith Specialty" short that looks at legendary movie stuntman Harry Woolman planning and rehearsing stunts for films.
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Hollywood Daredevils
1936
The Jonker Diamond
4.667/6
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 Wins...
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The Jonker Diamond
2002
Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story
7/1
The story of the short film from the beginning of the movies in the 1890s, when all movies were shorts, through the 1950s when short subjects virtuall...
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Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story
1949
We Can Dream, Can't We?
0/0
Humorous look at fantasy gadgets like ketchup in a tube, tilting book shelves, etc.
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We Can Dream, Can't We?
1954
Ain't It Aggravatin'
6/2
This comedic short looks at human foibles that lead to major aggravations.
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Ain't It Aggravatin'
1934
Goofy Movies Number Six
6.333/3
A comic short filled with fake news and a fake movie trailer made up of clips from silent movies.
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Goofy Movies Number Six
1934
Goofy Movies Number Ten
8/1
This entry in the "whole show on one reel" series begins with a do-it-yourself overture for which the narrator asks the audience to hum any song they...
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Goofy Movies Number Ten
1934
Goofy Movies Number Eight
7.5/2
In this eighth installment in Pete Smith's Goofy Movies short films series, clips from silent films are given comedic narration.
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Goofy Movies Number Eight
1939
Take a Cue
10/1
Despite the school just having won an important basketball game, its students are more interested in one of its teachers, namely Charles C. Peterson,...
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Take a Cue
1933
Goofy Movies Number One
6/4
The first part of this short is a "Metrophony" newsreel. It contains actual newsreel footage with humorous commentary (e.g., a flotilla of gondolas is...
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Goofy Movies Number One
1953
Things We Can Do Without
7.333/3
A Pete Smith Specialty shorts series entry. Dave demonstrates a variety of household items and furniture which, while modern, is much more trouble tha...
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Things We Can Do Without
1950
Did'ja Know?
5/4
This short looks at the following questions: How would you act as an expectant father? How many greeting cards are sold in the USA each year? Why do i...
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Did'ja Know?
1934
Goofy Movies Number Four
4.667/3
This entry in the series starts with a "Wotaphony Newsreel," which contains feature stories with humorous commentary. Then we see "Passions of Horse P...
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Goofy Movies Number Four
1934
Goofy Movies Number Five
10/1
In this short, Pete Smith provides comedic narration over silent film footage.
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Goofy Movies Number Five
1933
Handlebars
6/3
A humorous history of the bicycle since 1819.
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Handlebars
1940
Wedding Bills
8.5/2
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 fo...
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Wedding Bills
1941
Third Dimensional Murder
10/1
A 3-D short subject in which the narrator goes to a creepy old house in search of his missing aunt. There he encounters the Frankenstein monster, a wi...
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Third Dimensional Murder
1934
Goofy Movies Number Two
7/4
A satire on movie newsreels combines with humorous narration of silent screen footage in this one reel comedy short.
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Goofy Movies Number Two
1934
Goofy Movies Number Three
5.667/3
This "complete show on one reel" starts with Super-Stupid Picture's "The Heel of a Nation", in which the narrator tells a humorous story while the aud...
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Goofy Movies Number Three
1934
Goofy Movies Number Nine
8/2
This comedic short presents a series of nonsensical news stories, in a "Wotaphony Newsreel". The reel's feature, "The Curse of an Aching Husband", tak...
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Goofy Movies Number Nine
1936
Let's Dance
7.5/2
Choreographer Dave Gould and his students demonstrate various tap dancing steps. Also featured are an adagio and Russian sword dancers.
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Let's Dance
1937
Candid Cameramaniacs
9/1
Short comedic subject on the history of photography from the daguerrotype to modern amateur photographers.
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Candid Cameramaniacs
1937
Bar-Rac's Night Out
6.667/3
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a raccoon spends the night looking for food for his family. After his encounters with a skunk, a frog, and a menac...
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Bar-Rac's Night Out
1946
Sure Cures
5.667/6
This comedic Pete Smith Specialty short examines the folly of using "home remedies" for various ills.
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Sure Cures
1936
Wanted - A Master
6.75/8
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 deadli...
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Wanted - A Master
1951
Fishing Feats
10/1
With Pete Smith providing dry off-screen commentary, we watch some serious fishing: a marlin caught near Catalina, a hammerhead shark caught then wres...
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Fishing Feats
1955
The Fall Guy
7.5/2
In this final entry in the Pete Smith Specialty series, Smith pays tribute to actor and stuntman Dave O'Brien, who took many falls and spills (and upo...
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The Fall Guy
1944
Movie Pests
6/9
This Pete Smith Specialty short takes a humorous look at the inconsiderate pests whose annoying habits make enjoying a movie impossible.
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Movie Pests
1946
I Love My Husband, But!
10/1
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a wife endures the trials of being married to a husband with traits that drive her crazy.
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I Love My Husband, But!
1939
Weather Wizards
7/3
Modern meteorology and a hard-working government weather team put their science and organization to work as a cold front moves from Alaska toward the...
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Weather Wizards
1940
'What's Your 'I.Q.'?': Number Two
8/1
Questions and answers on various subjects, from Lady Godiva to the Panama Canal.
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'What's Your 'I.Q.'?': Number Two
1946
Equestrian Quiz: What's Your I.Q.? No. 11
8/1
A series of questions testing one's knowledge of fun facts about horses and equestrian in general are asked. The questions deal with horse age and siz...
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Equestrian Quiz: What's Your I.Q.? No. 11
1934
Roping Wild Bears
7.5/2
Wild bears that bother livestock are captured with ropes and shipped to zoos.
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Roping Wild Bears
1941
Fancy Answers
7/2
In this Pete Smith Speciality, the audience is asked a series of multiple-choice questions on various subjects.
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Fancy Answers
1943
Seeing Hands
6.25/8
This serious Pete Smith Specialty series entry encourages industry to hire people with disabilities to help with the war effort. As a boy, Ben Helwig...
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Seeing Hands
1949
Water Trix
6.333/6
In this Pete Smith Specialty, cameraman Charles T. Trego films water skiing champion Preston Petersen, as he and two unnamed female skiers perform var...
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Water Trix
1941
Aeronutics
7/1
This Pete Smith Specialty is a humorous look at a student's first flying lesson, in a propeller-driven biplane.
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Aeronutics
1947
I Love My Wife BUT!
7.5/2
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a husband endures the trials of being married to a wife with irritating traits.
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I Love My Wife BUT!
1950
A Wife's Life
6/1
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, average housewife Mrs. George T. Hardnose's day is recalled.
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A Wife's Life
1948
I Love My Mother-In-Law But...
7.5/4
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a series of vignettes illustrate some ways that mothers-in-law irritate, and/or cause problems for, their son-in-l...
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I Love My Mother-In-Law But...
1953
Cash Stashers
7.5/2
This Pete Smith Specialty short shows, humorously, the disastrous results when people save their money in unsafe places.
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Cash Stashers
1951
Camera Sleuth
7/2
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we see how real-life investigator Jo Goggin used a motion picture surveillance camera to gather evidence and dispr...
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Camera Sleuth
1955
Just What I Needed
0/0
Harry Horseknuckle tries to figure out what to do with some strange and unwanted gifts.
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Just What I Needed
1949
Sports Oddities
9/1
A Pete Smith Specialty showcasing athletic stunts.
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Sports Oddities
1932
Snow Birds
6.5/2
This Pete Smith Sports Champion short visits Southern California where it quickly moves from orange orchards to the mountain snow playground at Big Pi...
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Snow Birds
1955
The Man Around the House
0/0
A humorous look at some typical housework troubles that may arise. A Pete Smith Specialty short.
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The Man Around the House
1950
Wrong Way Butch
6.5/6
This Pete Smith Specialty short was produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor. Using humor, it shows what can happen when tools and ma...
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Wrong Way Butch
1948
You Can't Win
4.8/10
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short film, a homeowner experiences a series of mishaps while taking a day off from the office.
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You Can't Win
1954
Do Someone a Favor!
7.5/2
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a friendly do-gooder's good deeds backfire.
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Do Someone a Favor!
1935
Donkey Baseball
6/2
This short film highlights the odd 1930s fad of playing baseball while riding donkeys.
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Donkey Baseball
1942
Acro-Batty
8/1
A humorous look at various circus and other acrobatic feats. One of the "Pete Smith Specialties" produced and narrated by "A Smith named Pete."
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Acro-Batty
1945
Hollywood Scout
8/1
This short film focuses on a day in the life of a Hollywood talent scout assigned to cast animals.
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Hollywood Scout
1945
The Great Morgan
6/3
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 unrelate...
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The Great Morgan
1948
Just Suppose
7.5/2
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 a...
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Just Suppose
1941
How to Hold Your Husband - BACK
7/2
In this Pete Smith Specialty comedic short, we see various ways a wife may unintentionally hold her husband back.
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How to Hold Your Husband - BACK
1946
Gettin' Glamour
0/0
This Pete Smith Specialty comedic short details the troubles the average woman faces with maintaining beauty and fitness.
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Gettin' Glamour
1952
Reducing
5.5/2
Pete Smith does his usual mocking observations while the overweight Maxine Gates goes through the trials and tribulations of losing weight. The agony...
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Reducing
1947
Athletiquiz: What's Your I.Q.? No. 12
8/1
The audience is asked questions about sports facts and records involving tennis, wrestling, swimming, golf, and cycling.
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Athletiquiz: What's Your I.Q.? No. 12
1935
Water Sports
7/1
This short film showcases water sports activities such as sailboat racing and surfboard riding, including Christian Peterson doing a human surfboard a...
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Water Sports
1933
Fine Feathers
7/2
A look at colorful (and mostly imported) birds, ranging in size from hummingbirds to storks.
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Fine Feathers
1954
The Camera Caught It
0/0
A man looks at stacks of canisters of film on shelves. He pulls out a few to show real-life events caught on camera. He pulls out spools of film that...
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The Camera Caught It
1955
Animals in Action
0/0
The profession of capturing animals in action on celluloid is both an art and science. Some of the most exciting footage can be obtained in different...
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Animals in Action
1954
Rough Riding
7/1
This rare Technicolor entry in the Pete Smith Specialty series shows various events at a rodeo in Casper, Wyoming
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Rough Riding
1947
Have You Ever Wondered?
7/1
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, answers are sought regarding some things people may have wondered about.
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Have You Ever Wondered?
1951
Bargain Madness
7/2
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, women battle for bargains in a department store.
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Bargain Madness
1953
Dogs 'n Ducks
0/0
A boy trains his new golden retriever for duck retrieving competition, much to the chagrin of his first dog, a lovable but untrained mutt.
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Dogs 'n Ducks
1942
Victory Quiz
6.333/3
A short film where viewers are given 10 or 15 seconds to answer questions about the United States and its involvement in World War II.
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Victory Quiz
1942
Calling All Pa's
7/2
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a new father experiences the trials and tribulations of fatherhood.
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Calling All Pa's
1936
Harnessed Rhythm
5.5/2
This Sports Parade series entry follows the life of Dixie Dan, a harness racehorse, from birth through age three.
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Harnessed Rhythm
1941
Lions on the Loose
7/1
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, two lion cubs escape from the zoo and go on an adventure.
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Lions on the Loose
1950
Crashing the Movies
8/1
This Pete Smith Specialty short shows newsreel clips of people performing strange stunts. Among those featured are a motorcyclist driving through a pa...
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Crashing the Movies
1948
Ice Aces
7.5/2
This Pete Smith Specialty short provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Ice Capades practices with ice skating favorites of the time.
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Ice Aces
1952
Musiquiz
5.5/2
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we take a music quiz, plus survey various unusual musical instruments.
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Musiquiz
1954
Fish Tales
7.5/2
In this short film, champion fisherman Ernie St. Claire tries to catch a large salmon in Oregon's Rogue River.
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Fish Tales
1932
Microscopic Mysteries
7/2
This short film takes a look through a microscope's lens at insect life.
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Microscopic Mysteries
1939
Heroes at Leisure
9/1
This short film focuses on a group of lifeguards from a Southern California beach during the off season.
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Heroes at Leisure
1941
Flicker Memories
5.75/4
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, clips from several unidentified silent films are woven into a story, with humorous commentary by Smith.
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Flicker Memories
1935
Audioscopiks
5.692/13
After the audience is instructed how to use the 3-D glasses they received, demonstrations of three-dimensional films are presented. Various objects mo...
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Audioscopiks
1947
Now You See It
6.6/5
This Pete Smith Specialty short demonstrates the uses of micro- and macrophotography. We see extreme closeups of the mechanical workings of a tiny wri...
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Now You See It
1940
Quicker'n a Wink
7/16
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates stroboscopic photography, which he helped develop. This process allows us to s...
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Quicker'n a Wink
1941
Army Champions
6/7
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 t...
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Army Champions
1935
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
6/13
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 Awar...
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La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
1942
Marines in the Making
6.375/8
This short film shows U.S. Marines in training at a number of unidentified bases, with a focus on hand-to-hand combat.
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Marines in the Making
1944
Safety Sleuth
0/0
Demonstrates how accidents happen when proper safety devices are neglected.
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Safety Sleuth
1944
Groovie Movie
6.333/6
A boogie-woogie piano introduces what purports to be a jitterbug lesson, starring prize winner Arthur Walsh, his partner, and then later various other...
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Groovie Movie
1940
The Domineering Male
8/2
This Pete Smith Specialty short looks at the notion that a man chases a woman till he catches her. Who's really chasing whom?
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The Domineering Male
1932
Color Scales
7.5/2
This humorous short film shows various species of tropical fish at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California.
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Color Scales
1946
Treasures from Trash
7.5/2
This short film presents an unusual Beverly Hills store called the Patio Shop, where trash is turned into art.
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Treasures from Trash
1935
Trained Hoofs
9/1
This short film focuses on how racehorses are trained.
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Trained Hoofs
1941
Football Thrills of 1940
0/0
Pete Smith narrates some of the most spectacular college football plays from the 1940 season.
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Football Thrills of 1940
1945
Football Thrills of 1944
6.5/2
Pete Smith would make a "Football Thrills of...." each year as part of his Pete Smith Specials. 1944 was in the midst of WW II and most of the college...
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Football Thrills of 1944
1934
Manhattan Melodrama
7.038/79
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.
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Manhattan Melodrama
1943
Seventh Column
8/1
This humorous short film shows how carelessness and accidents can harm the war effort, and steps on how to avoid them.
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Seventh Column
1937
Equestrian Acrobats
10/1
This Pete Smith Specialty showcases the Cristiani Family, a circus act. They mount and dismount moving horses and perform acrobatic feats while riding...
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Equestrian Acrobats
1934
Pro Football
8/1
This MGM Oddity features the 1933 National Football League champion Chicago Bears. The team demonstrates various plays, which are shown first in real...
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Pro Football
1932
Desert Regatta
6.333/3
In this Sports Champions entry, power boat racers use specially designed outboard motor boats in a race on California's Salton Sea.
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Desert Regatta
1945
Badminton
9/1
Two expert badminton players demonstrate how the best play the game, including some slick trick shots. Meanwhile, befuddled bungler Bellamy B. Birdbra...
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Badminton
1931
Wild and Woolly
9/1
This Sports Champions entry visits a rodeo and highlights the three main events: bronco busting, bull riding, and bull-dogging steers.
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Wild and Woolly
1953
This Is a Living?
0/0
This "Pete Smith Specialty" features narrated clips of acrobats and stunt performers who earn their living in unusual and exciting ways.
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This Is a Living?
1941
Water Bugs
10/1
This Pete Smith Specialty showcases a group called the Water Bugs. Its members devise new ways to experience thrills on the waters of California lakes...
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Water Bugs
1946
Studio Visit
5.333/3
This humorous Pete Smith Specialty short looks around various studios on a film lot.
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Studio Visit
1944
Sportsman's Memories
0/0
Filmmaker Pete Smith is very protective of the trophies and other mementos associated with his films that are located in his office at the studio, but...
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Sportsman's Memories
1942
Aqua Antics
7.5/2
In this short, members of the California Water Bugs club demonstrate new ways to get thrills when water skiing.
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Aqua Antics
1932
Olympic Events
10/1
This short film presents several athletes preparing for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
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Olympic Events
1941
Cuban Rhythm
7/1
In this Pete Smith Specialties short, two professional dancers beautifully demonstrate the rumba and conga while actors humorously display some incorr...
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Cuban Rhythm
1950
Curious Contests
10/1
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 d...
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Curious Contests
1938
Hot on Ice
8/1
How the game of ice hockey is played, demonstrated by the hockey team at Loyola University.
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Hot on Ice
1938
Grid Rules
9/1
Shows how the game of football developed, and how its rules came to be.
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Grid Rules
1938
Penny's Party
8/1
Prudence Penny and Gwen Lee give more cooking tips in Technicolor
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Penny's Party
1937
Dexterity
9/1
Beautiful women allow men to crack whips and throw horseshoes at their heads.
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Dexterity
1938
Man's Greatest Friend
8/1
An examination of the role played by dogs over the years in scientific research.
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Man's Greatest Friend
1938
Anaesthesia
7/1
An examination of the history of anesthesia, from ancient Egyptian times to contemporary times.
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Anaesthesia
1938
Football Thrills of 1937
10/1
A review of the 1937 football season.
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Football Thrills of 1937
1938
Penny's Picnic
8/2
1938 short film starring Prudence Penny.
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Penny's Picnic
1939
Poetry of Nature
0/0
Pete Smith takes a humorous look at the wildlife that lives among the California redwoods.
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Poetry of Nature
1948
Bowling Tricks
6.5/2
A demonstration of trick shots by champion bowler Andy Varipapa.
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Bowling Tricks
1941
Memory Tricks
7/1
A few different methods that are supposed to help with memorization are presented
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Memory Tricks
1939
Culinary Carving
7/1
A Pete Smith Specialty explaining the finer points of meat carving, shown by an expert.
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Culinary Carving
1944
Home Maid
7/1
Wartime housekeeping tips by a home-economics pro who comes to the aid of a bumbling, vertically challenged husband and his statuesque bride.
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Home Maid
1953
The Mosconi Story
0/0
Tells the story of young Willie Mosconi. From growing up with his father's pool hall downstairs to his first US Championship.
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The Mosconi Story
1942
What About Daddy?
7/2
The trials and tribulations of a husband as his pregnant wife gets closer to the delivery date.
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What About Daddy?
1940
Spots Before Your Eyes
9/1
After their mother remarries, two brothers cause chaos at their Aunt's home.
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Spots Before Your Eyes
1940
Maintain the Right
7/1
Under Pete's Smith's narration, this one-reeler tells the story of the training of three new recruits in the Canadian Northwest Mounted. When they tir...
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Maintain the Right
1939
Football Thrills of 1938
7/2
The annual compendium of highlights from last season's major intercollegiate gridiron classics.
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Football Thrills of 1938
1940
Social Sea Lions
7/1
A "Pete Smith Specialty". Three sea lions gatecrash the kitchen of a beach house, steal some goodies, then go on to cause chaos at the party.
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Social Sea Lions
1940
Please Answer (I.Q. #3)
9/1
A Pete Smith Specialty. A documentary that explains the answers to questions about Portuguese man-of-war fish and the Rosetta Stone, among others.
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Please Answer (I.Q. #3)
Football Thrills of 1939
0/0
A Pete Smith Specialty. The annual compendium of highlights from last season's major intercollegiate gridiron classics. Reliving past games of Notrè...
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Football Thrills of 1939
1941
Penny To the Rescue
7/1
A Pete Smith Specialty. Chef Prudence Penny gives hints on cooking.
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Penny To the Rescue
1942
Football Thrills of 1941
0/0
A Pete Smith Specialty. The annual compendium of highlights from last season's major intercollegiate gridiron classics.
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Football Thrills of 1941
1943
Football Thrills of 1942
0/0
A Pete Smith Specialty. The annual compendium of highlights from last season's major intercollegiate gridiron classics.
Watch Now
Football Thrills of 1942
1944
Football Thrills of 1943
0/0
A Pete Smith Specialty. The annual compendium of highlights from last season's major intercollegiate gridiron classics.
Watch Now
Football Thrills of 1943
1946
Fala at Hyde Park
9/1
The second "Pete Smith Special" dealing with Fala, the pet dog of the late-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died long before the release of this s...
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Fala at Hyde Park
1946
Football Thrills No. 9
0/0
A Pete Smith Specialty. Classic high spots from last year's football landmarks.
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Football Thrills No. 9
1947
Football Thrills No. 10
8/1
A Pete Smith Specialty. The annual compendium of highlights from last season's major intercollegiate gridiron classics.
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Football Thrills No. 10
1947
Surfboard Rhythm
9/1
A Pete Smith Specialty.
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Surfboard Rhythm
1950
Pest Control
0/0
In this "Pete Smith Specialty Short," advice is given on how to deal with certain common pests.
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