Dave O'Brien

Making-of documentary about the 1933 musical, 42nd Street.

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Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

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Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.

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In this western, a young man tries to walk the straight and narrow, but he is impeded by his past. The trouble begins when the young fellow flees his family's Texas dirt farm and becomes an outlaw. He is advised by one of the desperadoes to return home. The boy does, and with hard work, makes the farm successful. Harvest time rolls around. He is just about to celebrate when the outlaws ride up and force him to help them pull a local bank job. He refuses and kills the gang leader and his brother. Meanwhile, the boy's past is revealed to the town banker. Seeing that he truly has gone straight, the banker forgives him. The boy marries and lives with his lovely bride upon his land.

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Ma and the kids head out to help Pa's brother Sedgewick with the his farm in Mournful Hollow, Arkansas. Things get tighter when a couple of bootleggers rent Sedge's barn to manufacture moonshine. With Ma and the kids, the bootleggers get their pay.

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The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie studio and featured interviews with MGM stars and explanations of how movies were made. Later, the format changed to show edited versions of MGM films.

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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 "David Barclay", O'Brien also directed many of the Specialties. Clips from previous films highlight O'Brien's work.

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Harry Horseknuckle tries to figure out what to do with some strange and unwanted gifts.

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A humorous look at some typical housework troubles that may arise. A Pete Smith Specialty short.

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An unsold pilot about a clumsy, unemployed dopey guy with a wife living with his in-laws.

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

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A boxer desperate for money falls in with a shady promoter.

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This comedic short looks at human foibles that lead to major aggravations.

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A Pete Smith Specialty shorts series entry. Dave demonstrates a variety of household items and furniture which, while modern, is much more trouble than the progress is worth.

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A pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.

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This Pete Smith Specialty short shows, humorously, the disastrous results when people save their money in unsafe places.

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A variety of fanciful innovations in "future" T.V. sets, including a model with a built-in stove, and a number of highly interactive models. And of course, even with dozens of channels, there's nothing on...or more accurately, there's nothing but the same Western.

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A Pete Smith specialty.

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Pete Smith does his usual mocking observations while the overweight Maxine Gates goes through the trials and tribulations of losing weight. The agony of enduring the dieting and weight-losing programs and exercises is compounded by the usual food-and-sweets temptations.

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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.

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

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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 indoor radiators make that pounding noise? Why do mammals yawn?

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In this "Pete Smith Specialty Short," advice is given on how to deal with certain common pests.

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Life in mid-century America is humorously compared to life at the turn of the century. Subject covered are keeping accurate time, proposing marriage, waking up in the morning, and going to the movies.

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

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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.

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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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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-law.

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In this Pete Smith Specialty short, answers are sought regarding some things people may have wondered about.

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Narrator Pete Smith talks about the different kinds of neighbors that can be pests, and how to deal with them.

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In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a husband endures the trials of being married to a wife with irritating traits.

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

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This short film presents an unusual Beverly Hills store called the Patio Shop, where trash is turned into art.

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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 size measuring terms and protocols, race track gambling lingo, harness racing lingo and training techniques, Lipizzan stallions, and non-horse terminology using horse words. In-between the questions, other horse facts are presented and shown, including hapless novice equestrian Horace trying to saddle, mount and ride a horse.

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Harry Horseknuckle tries to figure out what to do with some strange and unwanted gifts.

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A humorous look at some typical housework troubles that may arise. A Pete Smith Specialty short.

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An unsold pilot about a clumsy, unemployed dopey guy with a wife living with his in-laws.

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

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This comedic short looks at human foibles that lead to major aggravations.

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A Pete Smith Specialty shorts series entry. Dave demonstrates a variety of household items and furniture which, while modern, is much more trouble than the progress is worth.

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This Pete Smith Specialty short shows, humorously, the disastrous results when people save their money in unsafe places.

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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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A Pete Smith specialty.

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Pete Smith does his usual mocking observations while the overweight Maxine Gates goes through the trials and tribulations of losing weight. The agony of enduring the dieting and weight-losing programs and exercises is compounded by the usual food-and-sweets temptations.

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The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.

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In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, women battle for bargains in a department store.

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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.

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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.

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

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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 indoor radiators make that pounding noise? Why do mammals yawn?

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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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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.

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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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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-law.

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In this Pete Smith Specialty short, answers are sought regarding some things people may have wondered about.

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In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a husband endures the trials of being married to a wife with irritating traits.

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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.

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

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This short film presents an unusual Beverly Hills store called the Patio Shop, where trash is turned into art.

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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 size measuring terms and protocols, race track gambling lingo, harness racing lingo and training techniques, Lipizzan stallions, and non-horse terminology using horse words. In-between the questions, other horse facts are presented and shown, including hapless novice equestrian Horace trying to saddle, mount and ride a horse.

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