Joseph Dietrick

3D film showcasing the Mousketeers, produced for the Disneyland Resort.

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.

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 ways. Examples are: a large herd, such as of reindeer, moving as one; slow motion footage of fast moving animals, such as racing greyhounds, especially when they do something unexpected; mothers and their newborn offspring doing what comes naturally; animals placed among special props; animals placed in human situations; combining the exciting and dangerous, such as the running of the bulls in Pamplona and the bullfights to follow; placing animals that are not natural companions together; and placing animals in the situation of a challenge, such as a bunch of bananas just out of reach of a hungry monkey. Many of these elements are combined into the final sequence of a steeplechase race.

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

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

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

In this short film, champion fisherman Ernie St. Claire tries to catch a large salmon in Oregon's Rogue River.

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

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.

This "Pete Smith Specialty" features narrated clips of acrobats and stunt performers who earn their living in unusual and exciting ways.

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

A boy trains his new golden retriever for duck retrieving competition, much to the chagrin of his first dog, a lovable but untrained mutt.

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.

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

With Pete Smith providing dry off-screen commentary, we watch some serious fishing: a marlin caught near Catalina, a hammerhead shark caught then wrestled in a small rowboat near Baja, the largest (721 pounds) great white shark caught to date in California waters, Chinook Indians catching salmon at Celilo Falls in Oregon - each with his designated place on the river where his ancestors stood, and, last, a crew on a boat off Mexico hoisting and hurling tuna using unbarbed hooks (baited only with a feather) as fast as they can as long as the school is there - backbreaking work - but a $25,000 catch.

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

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.

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 diaper on his child fastest wins), a fireman's ball (two teams of fire fighters use high-pressure water hoses to move a large ball to score goals), and a basket race (men run a footrace while balancing a "tower" of ten baskets on their heads).

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.

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 radiators make that pounding noise?; Why do animals yawn?

This Pete Smith Specialty short shows newsreel clips of people performing strange stunts. Among those featured are a motorcyclist driving through a pane of glass, a car being driven up a ramp and crashing on top of other cars, a human loop-the-loop, and a man who has a cannonball shot at his abdomen at close range.

In this Pete Smith Specialty, cameraman Charles T. Trego films water skiing champion Preston Petersen, as he and two unnamed female skiers perform various tricks and feats of skill in their sport.

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

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.

In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short film, a homeowner experiences a series of mishaps while taking a day off from the office.

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.

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

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

This Pete Smith Specialty short demonstrates the uses of micro- and macrophotography. We see extreme closeups of the mechanical workings of a tiny wristwatch, the surface of a cat's tongue, and several insects. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-Reel.

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

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

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

Young couple Joe and Mary Thompson love each other and their children despite the struggles that they have that are typical of most young couples early on in their married life, such as the basics of trying to make ends meet. But after Joe leaves Mary and their inner city life, she finds an unpostmarked envelope under their apartment door with her name written in Joe's handwriting. It contains a letter explaining why he left. It has primarily to do with his feeling that another part of his life was being left behind for his married life, that other life which consists of a want to travel, especially sail the south seas. The actual impetus to leave was inadvertently fostered by Mary through the birthday present she bought for him. So what actually did happen to Joe and will he ever return to his loving wife?