Strikes and Spares (1934)
0h 8m | PG-13
This short features professional bowler Andy Varipapa. He first shows the correct way to grip a bowling ball and the proper form for delivering the ball down the alley. He then performs several trick shots.
Director: Felix E. Feist
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Comedy
Video: 720p
Cast
Pete Smith
as Narrator (voice)
Andy Varipapa
as Himself - World's Greatest Bowling Fixture
Buster Brodie
as Little Bald-Headed Man (uncredited)
Ray Turner
as Pin Boy (uncredited)
Reviews
Did you know that ten pin bowling shoes have one rubber sole and one leather one? Well that’s just one of the plethora of explanatory comments we learn from Pete Smith in this idiots guide to the intricacies of the bowling alley. Thanks to the assistance of local expert Andy Varipapa, we learn a little of the technique involved in keeping the ball out of the gutter as it hurtles along towards the pins, too. Realising, thankfully, that this might make for quite a boringly repetitious feature, we now see one poor hapless fellow who couldn’t hit a barn door with a shovel have a go before the accomplished Mr. Varipapa demonstrates some quite impressive, if perhaps a little chauvinistic, trick shots that marry precision with a bit of flair. This production is also a little more sophisticated with a little more on-screen animation and even some slo-motion replays to guild it a little. There’s plenty of pith from Smith and it’s an easy watch.