Best Short Films, 1937

Awards presented March 10, 1938

The nominees were ... 
(Cartoon) 

• Educated Fish, Paramount 
• The Little Match Girl, Charles Mintz, producer 
• The Old Mill, Walt Disney, producer 

(Color) 

• The Man Without a Country, Warner Bros. 
• Penny Wisdom, Pete Smith, producer 
• Popular Science J-7-1, Paramount 

(One-reel) 

• A Night at the Movies, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 
• The Private Life of the Gannets, Skibo Productions 
• Romance of Radium, Pete Smith, producer 

(Two-reel) 

• Deep South, RKO Radio 
• Should Wives Work? RKO Radio 
• Torture Money, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 

And the Oscar went to ... 
(Cartoon) 
The Old Mill, Walt Disney, producer. 
One of the most celebrated of the Disney Silly Symphonies, The Old Mill was in part a test of the Disney Studios' multiplane camera, which was designed to move layers of images at differing speeds to provide a three-dimensional effect. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, with a score by Leigh Harline. 



(Color) 
Penny Wisdom, Pete Smith, producer. 

Produced and narrated by Smith, this tale of the kitchen mishaps of a housewife called on at the last minute to cook dinner for her husband's boss features Hearst newspaper columnist "Prudence Penny" (real name: Leona Malek), who saves the day. Directed by David Miller, who would eventually graduate to such feature films as Sudden Fear and Lonely Are the Brave.  

(One-reel) 
The Private Life of the Gannets, Skibo Productions.
Originally produced in Great Britain in 1934 and directed by biologist Julian Huxley, this documentary short received an award at the Venice International Film Festival in 1935 and was picked up by 20th Century-Fox for American distribution.




(Two-reel) 
Torture Money, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 
An entry in the MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series dealing with insurance fraud. The cast is made up of many familiar character actors, including King Baggot, Raymond Hatton, and Jason Robards -- the father of the Oscar winner.