All Films

Western Jamboree

1938 • 56 min • United States of America

Knowing that is contains valuable helium gas, a gang of bad guys first tries to purchase the ranch which Gene straw-bosses. When that fails, they lay a hidden pipeline to snag the gas.

Hunky and Spunky

1938 • 9 min • United States of America

A short film about a mother and her son, she teaches him life skills later on the son gets niked by a man so the young donkey can be his work slave and his mother saves him. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with the UCLA Film and Television Archive in 2013.

Ruins of Palmyra and Baalbek

1938 • 10 min • United Kingdom

World Window #8: Ruins of Palmyra and Baalbek

My Irish Molly

1938 • 56 min • United Kingdom

Binkie Stuart, a child star whose career briefly flourished before the outbreak of war in 1939, takes the titular role in this heart-warming musical charting the adventures of a little orphan girl in the difficult days of pre-war Ireland. Starring alongside Hollywood siren Maureen O Hara in an early role, Britain's answer to Shirley Temple plays a spirited young girl left in the clutches of a cruel guardian aunt.

Goonland

1938 • 8 min • United States of America

Popeye sails to Goon Island in search of his Pappy. He finds the place populated by the imposing, but ugly, goons, and a "no humans" sign. His imprisoned pappy at first ignores him, but when Popeye is caught by the goons and carried off, his can of spinach lands near Pappy and it works just as well on him as it does on Popeye.

The Eight Hundred Heroes

1938 • 53 min • China

800 Chinese soldiers guard the important warehouse district against the invading Japanese Army. Re-imagination of a famous (bordering on legendary) episode from the battle of Shanghai: 800 soldiers of the 88th regiment against what feels like the whole of Japan’s Imperial Army - think Thermopylae, Chinese version. A splendid, visually amazing gem which, in its own way, is also a last stand: of silent cinema, Shanghai style. (iffr)

I Yam Love Sick

1938 • 8 min • United States of America

Olive is reading a romance novel and munching on a gift box of candy from Bluto when Popeye drops by. She's too absorbed to notice him, so he feigns illness. The doctors are at a loss for a cure.

The Sneezing Weasel

1938 • 7 min • United States of America

When Mama hen takes her chicks out to get breakfast, little Wilbur is soaked in a sudden rainstorm and comes down with a head cold. Mama puts him to bed, then goes back out to get the doctor. A conniving weasel, seeing Mama leave, disguises himself as a doctor and comes calling on the unattended chicks.

Cassidy of Bar 20

1938 • 56 min • United States of America

Hopalong Cassidy, boss of the Bar 20 ranch in Texas, rides down the Camino Real in the New Mexico cattle country near Alamogordo, in response to an urgent message from his lifelong sweetheart, Nora Blake, who is in serious trouble. Before he and his saddlemates, "Lucky" Jenkins and "Pappy", can reach her ranch, they are stopped by Clay Allison, a cattle-rustler who is in almost complete control of the district, and wants to extend his holdings by seizing Nora's cattle and driving her out. Seeing Cassidy as a menace to his plans, he has him arrested on a trumped-up charge. Cassidy and his pals shoot their way out of the trouble and reach Nora;s ranch where they learn that Allison's henchmen have murdered her foreman, Tom Dillon, and Allison has sent for a crew of outlaws on the Texas border.

Hollywood Handicap

1938 • 10 min • United States of America

A group of stable hands is given a race horse when its owner retires from the business. They raise money to run the horse in the Hollywood Derby at Santa Anita race track. Many Hollywood personalities attend the event.

The Watchmaker Monkey

1938 • 10 min • Argentina

El Mono relojero is a 1938 Argentine animated short film directed by Quirino Cristiani. It is the only film from this director that exists up to this day, since all his other productions (including the first two animated feature films, El Apóstol (1917) and Sin dejar rastros (1918), as well as the first animated film with sound, Peludópolis (1931)) were lost in a series of fires at the facilities where the negatives and copies were stored.

Music Made Simple

1938 • 8 min • United States of America

Benchley fills in for a music critic on a radio show. His performance is less than stellar.

Gunsmoke Trail

1938 • 57 min • United States of America

Learning of Walters' inheritance, Larson kills him and assumes his identity. When Larson's men try to kill Walter's niece Lola, Jack Lane breaks it up. This leads to a showdown with Jack outnumbered by Larson and his gang. Having saved Loma's life earlier, he has Fuzzy ride for him and his men.

A Boom Through the Valley

1938 • 52 min • Norway

An interesting look into 1931, a year of unemployment and misery in the forests of Norway. The movie is important as both film history and social portrayal. We get insight into working conditions class differences between loggers and forest owners. Based on the events of the Julussa conflict the movie depicts early labour organization, unity and strike.

Rolling Caravans

1938 • 55 min • United States of America

The strip is being opened to settlers and as everyone heads for the starting line, Thad and his outlaw gang are ready. Learning Rankin has a treasure map, Thad steals it. When Breezy attempts to recover the map he is captured by Thad. With Breezy tied up, Thad heads out to claim the treasure plot.

West of the Santa Fe

1938 • 57 min • United States of America

US marshal Lawlor (Starrett) takes on a gang of cattle rustlers headed by Taylor (Dick Curtis). His reasons are partly personal: Conway (Edward LeSaint), the cattle-baron father of Lawlor's sweetheart Madge (Meredith), has been murdered by Taylor's minions.

The Dog and the Cat

1938 • 12 min • Soviet Union

This is a story about the origin of hostility between a cat and a dog. Based on the ballad of Hovhannes Tumanyan.

Cleaning House

1938 • 8 min

Mama has everyone working on spring cleaning, or so she thinks; in fact, everyone's slacking off in various ways. The Captain is the only one to get caught and face her wrath, though. To escape, he fakes illness, but the boys catch him at it. Mama calls the doctor; the boys intercept him and impersonate him. They get revealed, but so does the Captain, and Mama puts him to work doing everyone's job.

Riding the Rails

1938 • 6 min • United States of America

Betty Boop goes to work on the subway (Trample 'Em R.R. Co.); Pudgy the Pup follows her and gets more ride than he bargained for.

Colorado Trail

1938 • 55 min • United States of America

In this western a traveling gun ends up in a small town and rescues an important rancher. Out of gratitude the rancher hires him to protect his land and cattle from his violent rival. It is revealed that the gunman is the son of the ruthless rival; he therefore, loses his job and finds himself entangled in the midst of a range war. He must eventually face his father when the bad guy takes over the only trail to the market.

Painted Desert

1938 • 58 min • United States of America

A cowboy and a bandit face off over possession of a valuable mine.

Big Chief Ugh-Amugh-Ugh

1938 • 7 min • United States of America

Big Chief Ugh-Amugh-Ugh is looking for a squaw. Meanwhile, Popeye and Olive are wrestling with their recalcitrant mule and Olive accidentally lands in the Indian camp. Popeye catches up to her. There's an unfair fight, and Popeye is about to be burned at the stake. He drops his spinach, but it cooks and pops into his mouth.

Rio Grande

1938 • 58 min • United States of America

No relation to the 1950 John Ford classic of the same name, Rio Grande is yet another rubber-stamp Charles Starrett western from the Columbia assembly line.

South Sea Sweethearts

1938 • 6 min • Netherlands, United Kingdom

Animated cinema advertisement produced for Horlick's by George Pal.