User Reviews

Pete Smith does another spoof narration in various film clips. First, it's Wotaphony News. Then it's Passions of Horse-Pistol Pete. The subject matter is actually serious and the spousal abuse is rather disturbing. I'm more fine with spoofing the train robbery. The acting on the train tracks is just ridiculous and worthy of spoofing. The spousal abuse is still problematic.

In 1934, MGM released ten "Goofy Movies", mostly consisting of "Wotaphony Newsreels" -- a parody of Vitaphone newsreels from competitor Warner Brothers -- and a cut-down silent from the 1908-1914 era with Pete Smith's sarcastic voice-over on them: in this case "Super-Stupid Pictures presents PASSIONS OF HORSE PISTOL PETE, a Bilious Production."

I usually have little patience with parodies of this type. People always make fun of the style of twenty years before, and what they make fun of may well survive the people who make fun of them. However, Pete Smith, who started out as a publicity man and wound up narrating and producing shorts for MGM for twenty years, including a couple of Oscar-winners, is a very funny man with a sharp eye for the flaws of an era and a delivery to match. And is that Mae Murray in the female lead? Heavens to Betsy! As Pete might say.

Goofy Movies Number Four (1934)

** (out of 4)

The MGM/Pete Smith "Goofy Movies" series was certainly very hit and miss. The ten-film series would feature Smtih's narration added over silent film clips to tell some sort of fake story or provide a fake newsreel. I know a lot of silent film buffs hate this series but I'll laugh at whatever's funny but sadly very little in the series was funny. As usual, we start off with a "Wotaphony Newsreel" and then head onto the main feature. The (fake) feature here is "Passions of Horse Pistol Pete", which is a Western spoof that's never too funny. I couldn't make out any of the silent film clips they were using here but this fourth entry isn't nearly as bad as some but at the same time there's really nothing good here. I guess the best thing I can say about this film is that it at least wasn't boring. The thing never made me laugh but at the same time it at least kept me mildly interested. The newsreel clip shows a woman inside a burning building and a couple men come off with a weird ladder to try and reach her. The attempted comedy comes from them running the reel in reverse and showing the woman coming out of the window and then going back in. Not funny.