. . . into glass jars, breathlessly narrating to himself their "Battles to the Death." As an alleged grown-up, Mr. Smith gleefully narrates anthropomorphic accounts of one bug fight after another here in MICROSCOPIC MYSTERIES. Some of Pete's Friday Night at the Fights accounts seem to be almost coherent; others skew wildly out of control as the empathizing Mr. Smith gets carried away on the floods of his own emotions. For instance, at one point Pete lets loose with "You cannot have your fuzzy couch, and eat your caterpillar, too." Watching this exercise in Micro-Sadism unfold on its small but vicious scale, one cannot help buy yearn for someone to yell, "Oops, we just shrunk Pete Smith!" Then Pete's final comment--no doubt dripping with irony--of "Sweet dreams" would be turned on its head, as the viewers chortled watching Mini-Pete having "Battles to the Death" with the black spider, poisonous centipede, scorpion, wasp, ant lion, tarantula, and Jerusalem cricket. As Mr. Smith says, "Each insect has a deadly enemy." In the case of Mini-Pete, that would probably amount to All of the Above.
7 Reviews
As a boy, Pete Smith no doubt kept putting mismatched bugs . . .
oscaralbert10 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This film will strike viewers as one big misfire . . .
cricket304 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
. . . as no humans get involved in several insect-to-insect battles, other than the irritating vocalizations of the ubiquitous voice-over dude. If titled as MICRO MADNESS and using some stop-action animation plus special effects to picture people like The Rock or that Tomb Raider Lady blasting away at these bugs with Tommy Guns, Bazookas and Assault Rifles, it doubtless could have been a huge hit in movie theaters, instead of prompting paying patrons to demand their money back.
A close-up view of microscopic insects...
Doylenf4 May 2009
It's springtime and the insects are out.
Get that microscope ready for a look at a variety of insects chewing away at leaves and each other in fierce battles to the death.
Throughout this little epic, we see ants, beetles, spiders, wasps, caterpillars, scorpions, tarantulas--you name it--each finding a predator to have for lunch.
Not the kind of film you want to watch while having your lunch, but it is a fascinating close up and personal view of nature's tiny insects all devouring each other in nature's own cruel way.
Photographed in crisp B&W photography from 1932, with a dry commentary, it's worth a watch.
Get that microscope ready for a look at a variety of insects chewing away at leaves and each other in fierce battles to the death.
Throughout this little epic, we see ants, beetles, spiders, wasps, caterpillars, scorpions, tarantulas--you name it--each finding a predator to have for lunch.
Not the kind of film you want to watch while having your lunch, but it is a fascinating close up and personal view of nature's tiny insects all devouring each other in nature's own cruel way.
Photographed in crisp B&W photography from 1932, with a dry commentary, it's worth a watch.
needs color
SnoopyStyle17 June 2023
Pete Smith is the narrator. Insects are the subject matter and there are lots of variety. It's a lot of fighting and eating.
Smith's narrator has that old timey sarcastic take on the life and death battles. He made a career of these shorts. This is obviously filmed by placing these insects into the terrarium and letting them go at it. The footage is great. It's clear and the battles are compelling. It's in black and white and that's its fatal flaw. This needs color. Quite frankly, Pete Smith could have done groundbreaking work if he connected with one of the early color film experimentalists. Both sides would have benefited.
Smith's narrator has that old timey sarcastic take on the life and death battles. He made a career of these shorts. This is obviously filmed by placing these insects into the terrarium and letting them go at it. The footage is great. It's clear and the battles are compelling. It's in black and white and that's its fatal flaw. This needs color. Quite frankly, Pete Smith could have done groundbreaking work if he connected with one of the early color film experimentalists. Both sides would have benefited.
I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. Demille
boblipton2 February 2021
A Smith called Pete offers some snide, poetic remarks about the struggle of tiny insects in a peaceful-looking field.
There's some good microphotography -- which is just what it sounds like: pictures of tiny things -- here, offered in natural-looking settings. No cameraman is credited. That makes me think that the director, Hugo Lund, handled the camera. A Google search turned up 18 people by that name, including an actor in a 1983 movie. No Hugo Lund has any other credit. Well, life is full of tiny mysteries.
There's some good microphotography -- which is just what it sounds like: pictures of tiny things -- here, offered in natural-looking settings. No cameraman is credited. That makes me think that the director, Hugo Lund, handled the camera. A Google search turned up 18 people by that name, including an actor in a 1983 movie. No Hugo Lund has any other credit. Well, life is full of tiny mysteries.
Of all the billions of people known to reside . . .
pixrox113 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
. . . on Planet Earth, MICROSCOPIC MYSTERIES mentions just ONE of them by name: "Clark Gable." Otherwise known as would-be Confederate blockade runner "Rhett Butler," Mr. G. proved himself to be no clean-cut "Clark Kent." The overwrought narrator of MICROSCOPIC MYSTERIES must be near-sighted, since he refers to this "Lost Cause" in the context of The Crickets. Rhett was no "Big Bopper," let alone a "Buddy Holley." NOBODY "drove their Chevy to the levee" the day that this MISFIT died. However, just because he sported ears somewhere between an insect's and DUMBO's does NOT give a deluded commentator the right to demean crickets so cavalierly. It's bad enough that folks are covering these Brothers of Jiminy with chocolate and chowing them down. (Though at least this is better for the environment than gorging on Whoppers and McNuggets!) However, to associate Nature's tiniest chorus boys with lazy Racist traitors is totally uncalled for on the part of MICROSCOPIC MYSTERIES!
Decent Short
Michael_Elliott13 May 2009
Microscopic Mysteries (1932)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Early Pete Smith short takes a look at various insects under a microscope. Included are various forms of spiders, worms, scorpions and various other insects. This type of short would be made through the decade as well as future decades as technology would get better and there's no question that the film is somewhat dated but it's important to keep in mind when this was being made. With that said, this 9-minute short is fairly entertaining with some nice visuals of the insects. It's also worth noting that Smith is quite good even though he isn't in that same mode as what we'd see in future shorts. He certainly keeps the film moving with the fun natured narration.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Early Pete Smith short takes a look at various insects under a microscope. Included are various forms of spiders, worms, scorpions and various other insects. This type of short would be made through the decade as well as future decades as technology would get better and there's no question that the film is somewhat dated but it's important to keep in mind when this was being made. With that said, this 9-minute short is fairly entertaining with some nice visuals of the insects. It's also worth noting that Smith is quite good even though he isn't in that same mode as what we'd see in future shorts. He certainly keeps the film moving with the fun natured narration.
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