Like many other sports, badminton is easy to pick up and get familiar with but it's very hard to be a pro. This short from the mid 40s shows how whether you're just starting out at the activity or are a seasoned veteran, badminton is an inexpensive way to experience the intensity of a one on one game. The narrator says how setting up a court for the game in your backyard is a pretty simple task, unless you're one person: Belamey B Birdbrain. As he tries to use a pickaxe to dig holes for the net frame, he accidentally punctures the pipes running under his house. When playing badminton, it's important to keep proper posture in mind. If the projectile approaches the right side of a player's body, you use a forehand stroke to hit it away. If it approaches the opposite side, you hit it with a backhand movement. If it goes dead center, you scoop upwards with the racket. Meanwhile, Birdbrain tries using a jackhammer to continue building the court in his yard. As he tries hammering down one of the posts for the net, the other end of the metal bar inexplicably comes up through the second hole. Two greatly skilled players then take the court, Ken and Joe, and they play against each other. While watching the ferocity of the ensuing match, you realize that badminton isn't just about reflexes, but deception as well. After winning one match, Ken starts off the subsequent match strong and hits the birdie as hard as he can, forcing Joe to be on his guard. He then lures Joe in close by just lightly hitting it over the net twice in a row, but then smashes it as hard as he can with no warning. Joe is caught off guard, and the match is Ken's. Oftentimes the two players will try to hit the birdie at the opposite end of the court from where their opponent is standing, so they'll have to sprint across the court to hit it in time. Ken eventually wins the game after Joe fails to hit the birdie back when it goes towards his midsection. This short was alright. As I've made clear many times, sports aren't my thing, but I can appreciate the strategies and thinking that players must use when participating in a lot of them. The final badminton match showed how intense this seemingly unexciting game can be when both players are highly competent. The way both of them manage to parry each others serves with an equally forceful one is reminiscent of Medieval warriors blocking each other's sword attacks. If Star Wars is your thing, it would no doubt remind you of a lightsaber duel. While this film won't tell you how to play the game on anything except a casual level, it was interesting enough for something I am usually devoid of interest in.
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nickenchuggets13 November 2023
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boblipton1 June 2020A Smith called Pete offers the audience a look at badminton in the person of two of the contemporary leading players playing a match, with Ben Blue as a hapless home owner trying to build a badminton court. The players offer what looks like a well played and interesting match -- assuming you're interested in badminton, which I'm not -- and Ben Blue runs through some physical humor gags. He was highly esteemed by MGM, which kept putting him in movies as the hero's sidekick. I think he's mediocre.
Pete, of course, offers his usually mixture of snarky and admiring comments, which I enjoyed. For some reason, this Pete Smith Special only turns up as part of the short feature, THE GREAT MORGAN. Since a lot of that movie is made out of out takes from other movies, perhaps this was a Smith piece that wasn't released.