Goofy Movies Number Two

First, it's the Wotaphony News, a made up newsreel section. They are basically skits. They're broad and relatively unfunny. The second section is The Perils of Arsenic Annie, a silent film with added sarcastic narration. This has much more potential in the Mystery Science Theater way. The writing is not really sharp enough but this concept could work.

In 1934, MGM produced ten shorts in the "Goofy Movies" series. This is the second. It's a burlesque of newsreels, with a cut down movie from the 1910s, with Pete Smith offering a commentary in his snarky style. Your enjoyment of it will depend on your appreciation of 1930s humor, and of Pete Smith.

I enjoy Smith a lot. He entered the movie business as a writer for movie magazines, then went to work for Paramount as a publicity man. He worked for Marshall Neilan for a while, but by 1925, he was head of publicity for MGM. With the coming of sound, he switched to narrating MGM shorts and producing them for the company. He picked up two Oscars for best short subjects through his retirement in 1954. He died in 1979, 86 years old.

The greater part of each GOOFY MOVIE consisted of the movie cutdown, in which Pete's comments offered a silly plot for the goings-on and he pointed out the actual foolishness of the movie. Unlike similar efforts from Warner Brothers, his points are accurate and his voicing offers a lot of humor in itself.