Let's Talk Turkey (1939) User Reviews

How To Carve A Turkey

[krorie · 6/10 · 20 July 2006]

This is a typical Pete Smith Specialty with Dave O'Brien, who later provided much of the slapstick, sorely missed. By the time "Let's Talk Turkey" was released, Pete Smith's voice had become readily recognizable to movie goers. Though narrating with somewhat of a nasal twang, Pete's delivery was highly entertaining, as distinctive as Howard Cosell's a few years later. Pete's scripts were light, breezy, and at times whimsical. The specialties he produced over the years covered a wide range of subjects and topics. They were welcomed by theaters across the nation as popular fillers between features or before a major feature as selected short subjects (one-reelers lasting about ten minutes each).

"Let's Talk Turkey" begins with a demonstration of how to carve a turkey properly. Informative and educational from a cuisine point of view, this part of the specialty is serious instruction. The rest of the short features how not to carve a turkey demonstrated by a newly wed who has been ordered by his new wife to serve the turkey to his in-laws, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and baby brother, who just happens to be the bully, Butch, who got his jollies from tormenting Alfalfa. He looks the part of a bully but has no lines to speak. His facial expressions say it all. This part of "Let's Talk Turkey" is good for a few chuckles.

Certainly not on a level with Laurel and Hardy shorts, the Pete Smith Specialties, including this one, were entertaining little tidbits to watch when returning from the concession stand and settling down for the main feature. They were much better than the Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) one-reelers released during the same time period. G'bye now.

Pete Smith makes a turkey out of a Foodlebean

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 13 December 2006]

Pete Smith's shorts are usually amusing - occasionally they are really funny (particularly the ones starring Dave O'Brien - best remembered for being turned into a homicidal maniac in REEFER MADNESS). Smith's delivery is a little bit a trial after awhile - he had this nasal voice which made him sound like a wise-guy (a vocal habit that is shared by one newsman in the New York Metropolitan area at least). However, the situations are usually clever and fairly simple. Here it is how to properly cut a turkey at Thanksgiving or any other occasion.

First we see an expert who does a lovely job at carving a turkey, turning it on it's side and then carefully, studiously, carving it in a scientific manner (for example, removing bones that are impediments to carving, and also shaving succulent slices off legs and wings). After five minutes of watching this, we watch a newlywed couple cooking and cutting a giant turkey for the wife's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew ("Little Otto" - played by "Butch" from the "Our Gang" comedies). It is obvious that the three in-laws have little use for the newlywed husband ("Mr. Foodlebean"), and are hostile just looking at him. All three watch as he wrecks the turkey, and the stuffing, and knocks bottles over - well you get the picture. He lives down to their expectations. If not as funny as the ones with O'Brien, this one certainly has some nice moments of growing frustrations (and one moment dealing with the stuffing and "Butch's" face that is priceless - for a change his nasty looking expressions are merited!) Certainly an amusing, trifling comedy.

Should've Looked At This Before Thanksgiving Dinner

[boblipton · 6/10 · 26 November 2020]

I just got home from Thanksgiving dinner with my nieces and a cousin, turned on the TV to Turner Classic Movies, and discovered this. If only I had seen it before I left! I might have performed like the professional carver, instead of the Dave O'Brien character, played by William Newell... if my family had not learned, decades ago, not to allow me near sharp objects.

The expert makes it look easy, but then Newell, rejoicing in the character name of Abner Poodlebean or some such, makes a hash of it..... quite literally, since a hash is something that is hacked up like that turkey.

Where is Dave O'Brien when you need him?...

[Doylenf · 20 November 2011]

I was expecting a much funnier Pete Smith Specialty short, the kind that usually featured Dave O'Brien and his skillful stunts and comic timing.

At least I was intrigued by the demonstration at the start of how to properly slice a Thanksgiving turkey, cutting it at the right angle and removing sections of bone that are in the way, etc. Fine and dandy.

Then we view the comic aspects of such an undertaking but with little really laughable results. It's all too obvious, having a sour looking table of relatives watch while a man makes mince meat of a turkey by cutting and struggling with it in as messy a way as possible.

The only real chuckles come from watching the expressions on the relative's faces as they accept the plates offered them, especially the bratty looking youngster who gets a piece of turkey skin on his face.

But the script needed a real funny man like Dave O'Brien to show us the wrong way to carve a turkey. He'd probably add additional funny stunts to the script. Then at least we'd have some genuine chuckles.

Instead, we have one of the weaker entries in the Pete Smith series.

One of the duller shorts ever made

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 21 December 2006]

How incredibly dull can you get when an entire MGM short is about the correct way to carve a turkey?!?! Well, believe it or not, that's pretty much the entire plot of this,..."turkey"! The film starts with the narrator introducing some guy who is an expert turkey carver (wow--imaging putting THAT on your resume!). He quickly dispatches the turkey--not that this is in any way interesting. Then, a boob is asked by his wife to carve the turkey and he completely over-exaggerates how "tough" this is by ripping the turkey to pieces and completely ruining the meal! The narrator makes some supposedly funny comments as this occurs and that's really about it! Even Laurel and Hardy or the Three Stooges weren't this stupid! And talk about beating a bad idea for a plot to death! Don't bother with this insipid film--there are so many better ones out there!

Smith and His Turkey

[Michael_Elliott · 27 November 2009]

Let's Talk Turkey (1939)

** (out of 4)

A rather bland Pete Smith short is pretty simple in terms of both execution and story. We have a "turkey carving expert" show us the correct way to carve a turkey so that not as much meat gets thrown away. We then see an average Joe asked by his wife to cut the turkey but of course everything goes wrong as he's nervous, doesn't know what he's doing and of course is given a dull knife. The Pete Smith series from MGM offered countless good films but sadly this here isn't one of them. There's really nothing funny here as the writing is just way too simple and constantly giving us the obvious gags, which the viewer will see coming from a mile away. When you do finally see them, since you expected them, they don't get a single laugh. The sad thing is that a pretty good looking turkey is wasted and not a single laugh comes from it. The first part of the film showing us the proper way to cut a turkey is mildly entertaining but in all my years on Earth I've yet to see anyone else cut a turkey like this.