Movie Name |
Character |
Release Date |
Overview |
Inflation |
Narrator (voice) |
1933-06-15 |
An attempt to explain the economic cycle of inflation and unemployment…. |
Romance of Radium |
Narrator (voice) |
1937-10-23 |
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 … |
Penny Wisdom |
Narrator (voice) |
1937-04-10 |
A Pete Smith Specialty short on saving an important dinner after the household’s cook suddenly quits…. |
Friend Indeed |
Narrator |
1937-12-28 |
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… |
Pigskin Champions |
Narrator (voice) |
1937-08-14 |
The Green Bay Packers teach football tips…. |
Three on a Rope |
Narrator |
1938-02-19 |
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… |
The New Audioscopiks |
Narrator |
1938-01-16 |
A Pete Smith short that deals with the newly-created 3-D process…. |
Fisticuffs |
Narrator (voice) |
1938-08-27 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short showcases former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer with various sparring partners in the ring. Slow motion is used … |
Swing High |
Narrator (voice) |
1932-11-12 |
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… |
Diamond Demon |
Narrator (voice) |
1947-02-01 |
The unusual talents of Johnny Price, a minor league baseball pitcher and trick artist, are showcased in this Pete Smith Specialty. Among other talents… |
Let’s Talk Turkey |
Narrator |
1939-10-28 |
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… |
Radio Hams |
Narrator (voice) |
1939-05-19 |
A “Pete Smith Specialty” – a fairly serious look at radio hams in the usual jokey format. Shows aircraft using morse code…. |
Set ’em Up |
Narrator |
1939-10-06 |
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… |
Did’ja Know? |
Narrator (voice) |
1950-05-06 |
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… |
Bar-Rac’s Night Out |
Narrator (voice) |
1937-02-27 |
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… |
The Jonker Diamond |
Narrator (voice) |
1936-03-27 |
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… |
Ain’t It Aggravatin’ |
Narrator (voice) |
1954-02-06 |
This comedic short looks at human foibles that lead to major aggravations…. |
Goofy Movies Number One |
Narrator (voice) |
1933-12-23 |
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… |
Goofy Movies Number Two |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-02-24 |
A satire on movie newsreels combines with humorous narration of silent screen footage in this one reel comedy short…. |
Goofy Movies Number Three |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-03-24 |
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… |
Goofy Movies Number Four |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-05-05 |
This entry in the series starts with a “Wotaphony Newsreel,” which contains feature stories with humorous commentary. Then we see “Passions of Horse P… |
Goofy Movies Number Five |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-06-06 |
In this short, Pete Smith provides comedic narration over silent film footage…. |
Goofy Movies Number Six |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-07-28 |
A comic short filled with fake news and a fake movie trailer made up of clips from silent movies…. |
Goofy Movies Number Seven |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-09-18 |
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… |
Goofy Movies Number Eight |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-10-06 |
In this eighth installment in Pete Smith’s Goofy Movies short films series, clips from silent films are given comedic narration…. |
Goofy Movies Number Nine |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-11-03 |
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… |
Goofy Movies Number Ten |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-12-01 |
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 … |
Things We Can Do Without |
Narrator (voice) |
1953-12-05 |
A Pete Smith Specialty shorts series entry. Dave demonstrates a variety of household items and furniture which, while modern, is much more trouble tha… |
Third Dimensional Murder |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-03-01 |
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… |
Menu |
Narrator (voice) |
1933-09-23 |
A chef helps a housewife cook a duck dinner that will not give her husband indigestion…. |
Handlebars |
Narrator (voice) |
1933-08-26 |
A humorous history of the bicycle since 1819…. |
Strikes and Spares |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-10-20 |
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… |
I Love My Husband, But! |
Narrator (voice) |
1946-12-07 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a wife endures the trials of being married to a husband with traits that drive her crazy…. |
Movie Pests |
Narrator (voice) |
1944-07-08 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short takes a humorous look at the inconsiderate pests whose annoying habits make enjoying a movie impossible…. |
Sure Cures |
Narrator (voice) |
1946-11-02 |
This comedic Pete Smith Specialty short examines the folly of using “home remedies” for various ills…. |
Wanted – A Master |
Narrator (voice) / Dog (voice) |
1936-12-26 |
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… |
Fishing Feats |
Narrator (voice) |
1951-12-22 |
With Pete Smith providing dry off-screen commentary, we watch some serious fishing: a marlin caught near Catalina, a hammerhead shark caught then wres… |
The Fall Guy |
Narrator (voice) |
1955-06-04 |
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… |
Weather Wizards |
Narrator (voice) |
1939-04-08 |
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 … |
‘What’s Your ‘I.Q.’?’: Number Two |
Narrator (voice) |
1940-08-08 |
Questions and answers on various subjects, from Lady Godiva to the Panama Canal…. |
Equestrian Quiz: What’s Your I.Q.? No. 11 |
Narrator (voice) |
1946-05-18 |
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… |
Roping Wild Bears |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-02-10 |
Wild bears that bother livestock are captured with ropes and shipped to zoos…. |
Seeing Hands |
Narrator (voice) |
1943-07-03 |
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 … |
Water Trix |
Narrator (voice) |
1949-11-05 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty, cameraman Charles T. Trego films water skiing champion Preston Petersen, as he and two unnamed female skiers perform var… |
Fancy Answers |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-11-01 |
In this Pete Smith Speciality, the audience is asked a series of multiple-choice questions on various subjects…. |
Aeronutics |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-04-26 |
This Pete Smith Specialty is a humorous look at a student’s first flying lesson, in a propeller-driven biplane…. |
I Love My Wife BUT! |
Narrator (voice) |
1947-04-05 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a husband endures the trials of being married to a wife with irritating traits…. |
A Wife’s Life |
Narrator (voice) |
1950-09-01 |
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, average housewife Mrs. George T. Hardnose’s day is recalled…. |
I Love My Mother-In-Law But… |
Narrator (voice) |
1948-02-07 |
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… |
Cash Stashers |
Narrator (voice) |
1953-08-29 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short shows, humorously, the disastrous results when people save their money in unsafe places…. |
Camera Sleuth |
Narrator (voice) |
1951-04-28 |
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… |
Sports Oddities |
Narrator |
1949-12-31 |
A Pete Smith Specialty showcasing athletic stunts…. |
The Man Around the House |
Narrator (voice) |
1955-01-01 |
A humorous look at some typical housework troubles that may arise. A Pete Smith Specialty short…. |
Just What I Needed |
Narrator |
1955-04-15 |
Harry Horseknuckle tries to figure out what to do with some strange and unwanted gifts…. |
Snow Birds |
Narrator (voice) |
1932-08-20 |
This Pete Smith Sports Champion short visits Southern California where it quickly moves from orange orchards to the mountain snow playground at Big Pi… |
Wrong Way Butch |
Narrator (voice) |
1950-09-02 |
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… |
You Can’t Win |
Narrator (voice) |
1948-05-29 |
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short film, a homeowner experiences a series of mishaps while taking a day off from the office…. |
Do Someone a Favor! |
Narrator (voice) |
1954-04-10 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a friendly do-gooder’s good deeds backfire…. |
Hollywood Scout |
Narrator / Chimp (voice) |
1945-04-14 |
This short film focuses on a day in the life of a Hollywood talent scout assigned to cast animals…. |
Acro-Batty |
Narrator |
1942-03-28 |
A humorous look at various circus and other acrobatic feats. One of the “Pete Smith Specialties” produced and narrated by “A Smith named Pete.”… |
Donkey Baseball |
Narrator (voice) |
1935-03-02 |
This short film highlights the odd 1930s fad of playing baseball while riding donkeys…. |
Just Suppose |
Narrator (voice) |
1948-07-17 |
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… |
Reducing |
Narrator (voice) |
1952-03-22 |
Pete Smith does his usual mocking observations while the overweight Maxine Gates goes through the trials and tribulations of losing weight. The agony … |
Gettin’ Glamour |
Narrator (voice) |
1946-02-02 |
This Pete Smith Specialty comedic short details the troubles the average woman faces with maintaining beauty and fitness…. |
How to Hold Your Husband – BACK |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-12-30 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty comedic short, we see various ways a wife may unintentionally hold her husband back…. |
Fine Feathers |
Narrator |
1933-11-18 |
A look at colorful (and mostly imported) birds, ranging in size from hummingbirds to storks…. |
Rough Riding |
Narrator |
1954-12-11 |
This rare Technicolor entry in the Pete Smith Specialty series shows various events at a rodeo in Casper, Wyoming… |
The Camera Caught It |
Narrator |
1954-10-09 |
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 … |
Water Sports |
Narrator (voice) |
1935-10-26 |
This short film showcases water sports activities such as sailboat racing and surfboard riding, including Christian Peterson doing a human surfboard a… |
Animals in Action |
Narrator (voice) |
1955-05-21 |
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 … |
Athletiquiz: What’s Your I.Q.? No. 12 |
Narrator |
1947-01-11 |
The audience is asked questions about sports facts and records involving tennis, wrestling, swimming, golf, and cycling…. |
Have You Ever Wondered? |
Narrator (voice) |
1947-12-13 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, answers are sought regarding some things people may have wondered about…. |
Bargain Madness |
Narrator (voice) |
1951-07-04 |
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, women battle for bargains in a department store…. |
Harnessed Rhythm |
Narrator (voice) |
1936-06-06 |
This Sports Parade series entry follows the life of Dixie Dan, a harness racehorse, from birth through age three…. |
Victory Quiz |
|
1942-05-09 |
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…. |
Calling All Pa’s |
Narrator (voice) |
1942-10-24 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a new father experiences the trials and tribulations of fatherhood…. |
Dogs ‘n Ducks |
Narrator (voice) |
1953-06-27 |
A boy trains his new golden retriever for duck retrieving competition, much to the chagrin of his first dog, a lovable but untrained mutt…. |
Lions on the Loose |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-05-24 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, two lion cubs escape from the zoo and go on an adventure…. |
Crashing the Movies |
Narrator (voice) |
1950-01-28 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short shows newsreel clips of people performing strange stunts. Among those featured are a motorcyclist driving through a pa… |
Fish Tales |
Narrator (voice) |
1954-03-13 |
In this short film, champion fisherman Ernie St. Claire tries to catch a large salmon in Oregon’s Rogue River…. |
Ice Aces |
Narrator (voice) |
1948-11-06 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Ice Capades practices with ice skating favorites of the time…. |
Musiquiz |
Narrator (voice) |
1952-02-16 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we take a music quiz, plus survey various unusual musical instruments…. |
Heroes at Leisure |
Narrator (voice) |
1939-02-02 |
This short film focuses on a group of lifeguards from a Southern California beach during the off season…. |
Microscopic Mysteries |
Narrator (voice) |
1932-10-18 |
This short film takes a look through a microscope’s lens at insect life…. |
Flicker Memories |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-10-04 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, clips from several unidentified silent films are woven into a story, with humorous commentary by Smith…. |
Army Champions |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-10-11 |
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… |
Now You See It |
Narrator (voice) |
1947-03-20 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short demonstrates the uses of micro- and macrophotography. We see extreme closeups of the mechanical workings of a tiny wri… |
Audioscopiks |
Commentator (voice) |
1935-12-26 |
After the audience is instructed how to use the 3-D glasses they received, demonstrations of three-dimensional films are presented. Various objects mo… |
Quicker’n a Wink |
Narrator (voice) |
1940-10-12 |
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates stroboscopic photography, which he helped develop. This process allows us to s… |
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara |
Narrator (voice) |
1935-12-07 |
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… |
Marines in the Making |
Narrator (voice) |
1942-12-26 |
This short film shows U.S. Marines in training at a number of unidentified bases, with a focus on hand-to-hand combat…. |
Groovie Movie |
Narrator |
1944-02-19 |
A boogie-woogie piano introduces what purports to be a jitterbug lesson, starring prize winner Arthur Walsh, his partner, and then later various other… |
Safety Sleuth |
Pete Smith – Narrator |
1944-11-25 |
Demonstrates how accidents happen when proper safety devices are neglected…. |
The Domineering Male |
Narrator (voice) |
1940-03-30 |
This Pete Smith Specialty short looks at the notion that a man chases a woman till he catches her. Who’s really chasing whom?… |
Color Scales |
Narrator (voice) |
1932-04-23 |
This humorous short film shows various species of tropical fish at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California…. |
Treasures from Trash |
Narrator (voice) |
1946-06-08 |
This short film presents an unusual Beverly Hills store called the Patio Shop, where trash is turned into art…. |
Trained Hoofs |
Narrator (voice) |
1935-10-12 |
This short film focuses on how racehorses are trained…. |
Football Thrills of 1940 |
Narrator |
1941-09-20 |
Pete Smith narrates some of the most spectacular college football plays from the 1940 season…. |
Football Thrills of 1944 |
Narrator |
1945-09-08 |
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… |
Seventh Column |
Narrator (voice) |
1943-07-31 |
This humorous short film shows how carelessness and accidents can harm the war effort, and steps on how to avoid them…. |
Equestrian Acrobats |
Narrator (voice) |
1937-08-14 |
This Pete Smith Specialty showcases the Cristiani Family, a circus act. They mount and dismount moving horses and perform acrobatic feats while riding… |
Pro Football |
Narrator (voice) |
1934-09-22 |
This MGM Oddity features the 1933 National Football League champion Chicago Bears. The team demonstrates various plays, which are shown first in real … |
Badminton |
Narrator (voice) |
1945-12-08 |
Two expert badminton players demonstrate how the best play the game, including some slick trick shots. Meanwhile, befuddled bungler Bellamy B. Birdbra… |
Wild and Woolly |
Narrator (voice) |
1931-11-07 |
This Sports Champions entry visits a rodeo and highlights the three main events: bronco busting, bull riding, and bull-dogging steers…. |
Desert Regatta |
Narrator (voice) |
1932-09-17 |
In this Sports Champions entry, power boat racers use specially designed outboard motor boats in a race on California’s Salton Sea…. |
Water Bugs |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-08-16 |
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… |
Studio Visit |
Narrator (voice) |
1946-05-11 |
This humorous Pete Smith Specialty short looks around various studios on a film lot…. |
Sportsman’s Memories |
Narrator (voice) |
1944-04-22 |
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… |
Aqua Antics |
Narrator (voice) |
1942-01-24 |
In this short, members of the California Water Bugs club demonstrate new ways to get thrills when water skiing…. |
Olympic Events |
Narrator (voice) |
1932-03-05 |
This short film presents several athletes preparing for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California…. |
Cuban Rhythm |
Narrator (voice) |
1941-06-21 |
In this Pete Smith Specialties short, two professional dancers beautifully demonstrate the rumba and conga while actors humorously display some incorr… |
Curious Contests |
Narrator (voice) (as a Smith named Pete) |
1950-11-11 |
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… |
Anaesthesia |
Narrator |
1938-07-09 |
An examination of the history of anesthesia, from ancient Egyptian times to contemporary times…. |
Dexterity |
Narrator |
1937-01-16 |
Beautiful women allow men to crack whips and throw horseshoes at their heads…. |
Football Thrills of 1937 |
Narrator |
1938-09-10 |
A review of the 1937 football season…. |
Grid Rules |
Narrator |
1938-10-15 |
Shows how the game of football developed, and how its rules came to be…. |
Hot on Ice |
Narrator |
1938-10-22 |
How the game of ice hockey is played, demonstrated by the hockey team at Loyola University…. |
Man’s Greatest Friend |
Narrator |
1938-11-19 |
An examination of the role played by dogs over the years in scientific research…. |
Poetry of Nature |
Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
1939-06-17 |
Pete Smith takes a humorous look at the wildlife that lives among the California redwoods…. |
Bowling Tricks |
Narrator(voice) |
1948-01-10 |
A demonstration of trick shots by champion bowler Andy Varipapa…. |
Killer Dog |
Narrator (voice) |
1936-08-29 |
A dog accused of murdering sheep is brought to trial…. |
Those Good Old Days |
Narrator |
1949-04-16 |
Life in mid-century America is humorously compared to life at the turn of the century. Subject covered are keeping accurate time, proposing marriage, … |
Water Wisdom |
Narrator(voice) |
1943-11-27 |
This Pete Smith Specialty shows water-safety and life-saving techniques taught by the American Red Cross to advanced swimmers…. |
Marine Circus |
Narrator |
1939-03-11 |
This Pete Smith Specialty offers a look at Marineland of Florida, featuring the various marine life on display there…. |
Throttle Pushers |
Narrator(voice) |
1933-04-01 |
Highlights the fast-paced and dangerous world of professional auto racing…. |
Double Diving |
Narrator |
1939-01-14 |
An exmination of the sport of championship diving…. |
Super Cue Men |
Narrator |
1949-01-29 |
Pete Smith special about billiard…. |
Hurling |
Narrator |
|
A short film showing the Irish contact sport known as hurling, which is similar to, but much rougher than, American football…. |
Trader Hound |
Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
1931-04-08 |
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. … |
Let’s Dance |
Himself |
1936-01-04 |
Choreographer Dave Gould and his students demonstrate various tap dancing steps. Also featured are an adagio and Russian sword dancers…. |
Penny’s Picnic |
|
1938-12-17 |
1938 short film starring Prudence Penny…. |
Neighbor Pests |
Narrator |
1947-05-03 |
Narrator Pete Smith talks about the different kinds of neighbors that can be pests, and how to deal with them…. |
Let’s Cogitate |
Narrator (voice |
1948-12-25 |
Short film covering a variety of topics that folks may have wondered about…. |
Wedding Bills |
Narrator (voice) |
1940-11-13 |
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… |
Take a Cue |
Narrator (voice) |
1939-08-12 |
Despite the school just having won an important basketball game, its students are more interested in one of its teachers, namely Charles C. Peterson, … |
Penny’s Party |
Narrator |
1938-04-09 |
Prudence Penny and Gwen Lee give more cooking tips in Technicolor… |
The Tree in a Test Tube |
as Interlocutor (voice) |
1942-11-19 |
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… |
Candid Cameramaniacs |
Narrator |
1937-12-11 |
Short comedic subject on the history of photography from the daguerrotype to modern amateur photographers…. |
This Is a Living? |
Narrator (voice) |
1953-10-10 |
This “Pete Smith Specialty” features narrated clips of acrobats and stunt performers who earn their living in unusual and exciting ways…. |
The Grand Bounce |
Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
1937-05-22 |
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 … |
The Great Morgan |
Narrator in ‘Badminton’ (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited) |
1945-01-01 |
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… |
Manhattan Melodrama |
Racetrack Announcer (Voice) (uncredited) |
1934-05-04 |
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…. |