Menu (film)
Encyclopedia
Menu is a 1933 short comedy film
directed by Nick Grinde
, produced by Pete Smith
, and filmed in Technicolor
. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1933
for Best Short Subject (Novelty)
. This could be considered a "prequel
" to the MGM short film Penny Wisdom
(1937), also produced by Pete Smith.
, as the narrator, diagnoses John's stomach trouble as a "simple case of bad cooking." As the scene transitions to Mrs. Omsk in a disheveled kitchen, Smith's diagnosis is offered confirmation. Frustrated with her attempts to follow a cookbook on "How to Stuff a Duck", Mrs. Omsk throws down the book and beats the frozen duck, which surpsingly quacks each time it's beaten.
Smith decides to help the inept Mrs. Omsk by conjuring up Bizetti, a Master Chef, to show her how to cook. Unable to work in such messy surroundings, Bizetti accepts Smith's offer to tidy up by reversing the scene back to the spotless, organized kitchen before Mrs. Omsk's culinary attempts. Smith's uncanny film-editing magic of replacing the old frozen duck with a better one surprises Mrs. Omsk and excites Bizetti, who cleans the duck, stuffs it and sews it up. As the duck cooks, Bizetti shows Mrs. Omsk how to fix her husband's favorite dessert, baked apples.
Smith then causes Bizetti to disappear, leaving Mrs. Omsk alone again in the kitchen and all prepared to satisfy her husband with an appetizing meal.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Nick Grinde
Nick Grinde
Nick Grindé was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 57 films between 1928 and 1945....
, produced by Pete Smith
Pete Smith (film producer)
Pete Smith was a film producer and narrator of "short subject" films from 1931 to 1955....
, and filmed in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1933
6th Academy Awards
The 6th Academy Awards were held on March 16, 1934 at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Will Rogers and Rogers also presented all of the awards....
for Best Short Subject (Novelty)
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
. This could be considered a "prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
" to the MGM short film Penny Wisdom
Penny Wisdom
Penny Wisdom is a 1937 short comedy film directed by David Miller and produced by Pete Smith. The film won an Academy Award in 1938 for Best Short Subject ....
(1937), also produced by Pete Smith.
Plot
The scene opens with John Xavier Omsk drinking some bicarbonate of soda in the privacy of his office. Pete SmithPete Smith (film producer)
Pete Smith was a film producer and narrator of "short subject" films from 1931 to 1955....
, as the narrator, diagnoses John's stomach trouble as a "simple case of bad cooking." As the scene transitions to Mrs. Omsk in a disheveled kitchen, Smith's diagnosis is offered confirmation. Frustrated with her attempts to follow a cookbook on "How to Stuff a Duck", Mrs. Omsk throws down the book and beats the frozen duck, which surpsingly quacks each time it's beaten.
Smith decides to help the inept Mrs. Omsk by conjuring up Bizetti, a Master Chef, to show her how to cook. Unable to work in such messy surroundings, Bizetti accepts Smith's offer to tidy up by reversing the scene back to the spotless, organized kitchen before Mrs. Omsk's culinary attempts. Smith's uncanny film-editing magic of replacing the old frozen duck with a better one surprises Mrs. Omsk and excites Bizetti, who cleans the duck, stuffs it and sews it up. As the duck cooks, Bizetti shows Mrs. Omsk how to fix her husband's favorite dessert, baked apples.
Smith then causes Bizetti to disappear, leaving Mrs. Omsk alone again in the kitchen and all prepared to satisfy her husband with an appetizing meal.
Cast
- Pete SmithPete Smith (film producer)Pete Smith was a film producer and narrator of "short subject" films from 1931 to 1955....
- Narrator (voice) - Luis Alberni - Bizetti, the Master Chef (uncredited)
- Una MerkelUna MerkelUna Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928...
- Mrs. Omsk (uncredited) - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
- John Xavier Omsk (uncredited)