..........For Today's Surprise Quiz !
THIS IS ANOTHER in the very long line of specialty shorts that were "Produced and Narrated by a Smith named Pete !" The series was well known at the time of this release and very popular. Years later, during the reign of the Baby Boomer Generation, we even had a PETE SMITH THEATRE on television in the local Chicago market. We believe that it was broadcast over NBC affiliate, WNBQ (now WMAQ), Channel 5 on your dial.
THIS ENTRY INTO the series was comic, though in a more subdued strain. Rather than the raucous and slapstick variety that Mr. Smith and Dave O'Brien usually dished out. If such a thing is possible in a PETE SMITH short, subtlety was the operative. The laughs, which didn't seem to approach the threshold of the belly-laugh, were confined to chuckles and snickers.
BEING THAT THE current time was that of our (USA) active participation in the many fronted World War II, the characters and situations were appropriately chosen to reflect the great conflict. Among the uncredited actors used to perform the snippet scenes depicted were regular Dave O'Brien and "Skipper" himself, a very young Alan Hale, Jr.
THE PART OF the film that was the quiz featured all questions that were relative to the inventions of modern warfare and in having us guess just when the first prototypes were produced. There were also some words about service jargon and the highly specialized terms that military service, as well as just about any and all walks of life have developed.
OVERALL AND WITH all things considered, we found this to be a very amusing and worthwhile short, over 3/4 of a century after its production and initial release.