Quicker'n a Wink

1940 0h 10m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 16

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates stroboscopic photography, which he helped develop. This process allows us to see in slow motion what happens during events that occur too fast to be seen by the naked eye. Examples shown here include a bullet in flight as it shatters a light bulb, the moment of impact when a kicker kicks a football, and the motion of a hummingbird's wings as it hovers.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Pete Smith
Narrator (voice)
Harold E. Edgerton
Himself

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Sidney
Writers: Buddy Adler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 10-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

86 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Sidney, shot by Walter Lundin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Philip W. Anderson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Pete Smith and Harold E. Edgerton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0032960 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Sidney directs. Walter Lundin behind the camera. Philip W. Anderson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 10-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
286 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by George Sidney, shot by Walter Lundin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Philip W. Anderson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Pete Smith and Harold E. Edgerton carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0032960 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Walter Lundin
Editing: Philip W. Anderson
Runtime: 10 min · 0h 10m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Quicker'n a Wink (1940)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, One-Reel

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

George Sidney

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-11-17
★ 7/10
I do like Pete Smith's narration style, and here it's at its borderline sarcastic best as he tries to explain the scientific theories behind the new slo motion stroboscope or "flicker box" which uses light that flashes up to 2000 times per second to help capture the perfect focus when manipulating the speed of action photography. We see that to good effect as a phone book gets targeted by a golf ball, a cat laps up it's milk and we even see the precision with which a pencil penetrates the wafer thin side of a bubble before the astonishing imagery of a bullet being tracked from a gun barrel to shatter a glass light bulb. Imperceptible to the naked eye, but clear as "a Californian morning" for us here. The gist is maybe laboured a little as once we've got the point as the imagery repeats itself a little too much with milk and humming birds, and the denouement in the dentist's chair takes slow motion (and accompanying audio) just a tad too far for those of us with a sensitive disposition! If science were taught at school with this degree of amiable light-heartedness then maybe we'd remember more about it! Good fun.

Production companies