| Menu | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nick Grinde |
| Written by | Thorne Smith |
| Produced by | Pete Smith |
| Starring | Pete Smith Luis Alberni Una Merkel |
| Narrated by | Pete Smith |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 10 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Menu is a 1933 Americanpre-Codeshortcomedy film directed byNick Grinde, produced byPete Smith, and filmed inTechnicolor. The film was nominated for anAcademy Award at the6th Academy Awards in 1933 forBest Short Subject (Novelty).[1][2] This could be considered a "prequel" to the MGM short filmPenny Wisdom (1937), also produced by Pete Smith.
The scene opens with John Xavier Omsk drinking somebicarbonate of soda in the privacy of his office.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 surprisingly quacks each time it's struck.
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 in the oven, 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.