"A stranglehold on the butt-end of the cue is a fine way to get yourself all in a dither."

Fun entry in the Pete Smith series of shorts from MGM. The high school basketball team has just won a big game and star player Homer (Doodles Weaver) is being carried around on the shoulders of his schoolmates. But when billiard expert Charles C. Peterson shows up, the kids unceremoniously dump poor Homer to go learn some billiard tricks from the master. So Homer tries to outdo Mr. Peterson at billiards with humorous results. 

The pool table Mr. Peterson demonstrates his tricks on doesn't have any pockets. I believe this is because he's playing a different version of billiards than the pocket pool most of us are used to. I guess the point is to have the balls bounce around the table but I'm no expert. It's interesting to watch Peterson make the trick shots but, as always, the best part of a Pete Smith short is the funny sarcastic narration by Smith himself.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

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The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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A lesson for college students in billiards from trick shot expert Charles C. Peterson.

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