Movies: Pete Smith

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....

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...

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 scowling family, and Abner has no idea how to proceed. The film's narrator has us cut away to the kitc...

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

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 person carries....

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. Included in this film are paddle boats with outboard motors, two people using a single pair of wat...

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 machinery are misused and safety warnings are ignored....

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 upon whom objects fell) when he played hapless characters throughout the series. Under the pseudonym "D...

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. With their native guides, they are searching for a lost princess, Nina T-Bone. After sleepless mosqu...

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....

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

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 virtually disappeared from theaters....

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 has to depend upon the dog to lead him in his daily rounds. 'Sparky" was the dog who was responsibl...

This comedic Pete Smith Specialty short examines the folly of using "home remedies" for various ills....

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 was written on Friday afternoon, but cannot be cashed before the following Tuesday. The check is use...

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

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 include clips of the effects of heavy rain, of early attempts to fly, of an auto race with a spectac...

Highlights the fast-paced and dangerous world of professional auto racing....

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

A dog accused of murdering sheep is brought to trial....