1952 diet culture roasted before roasting was cool.
Pete Smith does his usual mocking observations while the overweight Maxine Gates goes through the trials and tribulations of losing weight. The agony of enduring the dieting and weight-losing programs and exercises is compounded by the usual food-and-sweets temptations.
Acting
Maxine Gates commits to physical comedy despite the mockery.
Direction
Dave O'Brien keeps it moving before you can process the meanness.
Director
Dave O'Brien
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Pete Smith narrated over 200 short subjects for MGM, essentially inventing the sarcastic documentary narrator archetype later perfected by shows like The Office.
Maxine Gates specialized in 'heavy' roles throughout her career, often the butt of jokes—this was practically typecasting as punishment.
US
