User Reviews

Although it is not called that, this Pete Smith short subject is all about Found Art, constructing items from junk and trash, like the Watts Tower in Los Angeles. It's given a movie twist by presenting it as a paying hobby of former B director Harry Lachman -- he had been uncredited since 1942 but would reappear in 1953.

The effort is eked out with occasional slapstick by Dave O'Brien For the era, it's clearly a piece about oddities, although magazines like POPULAR MECHANICS always carried articles on how to do things like turning old coffee cans into patio furniture. Between Pete Smith's sarcastic narration and Barclay's pratfalls, it's an amusing short subject.

Treasures from Trash (1946)

*** (out of 4)

Pete Smith narrates this short, which is part documentary and part comedy. The basic summery is just what the title promises you as we see how some people can take trash and turn it into something special. We're introduced to Harry Lachman, a man who happens to own a specialty shop and we see him take trash and turn it into art. The comedy segments feature Dave O'Brien playing the beloved idiot he always plays who tries to create his own art but of course fails. The "comedy" is what you'd expect from a Smith-O'Brien comedy as there are a lot of falls and bruises. This certainly isn't among their best work but I think fans of the duo should laugh enough to make this worth sitting through. The documentary aspect is what I found most interesting not because of the "art" but because of who is doing it. Lachman won't be remembered by too many today but film buffs should remember him for directing movies such as THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE, THE LOVES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE, several Charlie Chan films and then his final film DR. RENAULT'S SECRET, which was released three years before this. I found it interesting to see what the director did once his career was over and it's certainly rare that we're given such insight to someone who most have forgotten.