Of Pups and Puzzles

1941 0h 10m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 8

WarDocumentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

This short film shows how the war department utilizes a Ph.D., a chimp, and three dogs to help design aptitude tests for men applying for work.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

John Nesbitt
Narrator (voice)
Eddy Chandler
Foreman (uncredited)
Mark Daniels
First Job Applicant (uncredited)
William Forrest
Psychologist (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Sidney
Writers: Julian Harmon
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

85 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 Jackson Rose. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Nesbitt and Eddy Chandler and Mark Daniels carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0033969 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Sidney directs. Jackson Rose behind the camera. Adrienne Fazan 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.
285 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by George Sidney, shot by Jackson Rose. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Adrienne Fazan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6John Nesbitt and Eddy Chandler and Mark Daniels carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0033969 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jackson Rose
Editing: Adrienne Fazan
Runtime: 10 min · 0h 10m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Of Pups and Puzzles (1941)

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

CinemaSerf2025-07-10
★ 6/10
There’s something of the Pavlov’s dog to this short feature that illustrates quite amusingly that an initiative test is likely to provide a better candidate for a job than just randomly selecting one based on what they might look like. Whilst that latter technique might work better if you want a lumberjack, it’s not so effective when you need a problem solver or someone who can focus when all hell is breaking loose nearby. This isn’t just an analysis of how people deal with these tests, but we also see three dogs using associative theory to assess the likelihood of food coming and there’s a scene stealing chimp that best combines it’s wits with it’s innate nimbleness to get the banana. Is this a serious documentary or is it a spoof? I don’t know, but with a quickly-paced narration and some wet feet, it’s worth ten minutes.

Production companies