Movie Pests is a 1944 short film (10 minutes) directed by Will Jason.
It is one of the 150 or so "Pete Smith Specialties" produced and narrated by Pete Smith for MGM. In this one Smith examines the subject of annoying people at the movie theater. The short begins with a shot of three people in a jail cell as Smith muses that a lot of people would like to see the annoying folks at movie theaters chucked into prison. The short then proceeds to show how the annoying people (a married couple and a single man) bother their fellow patrons. The married couple argue over where to sit, blocking the view as they stand and talk. The husband carelessly sticks his foot out in the aisle, tripping one patron, and puts his knees up on the back of the seat in front of him, bothering another. The wife wears a gigantic hat and takes off her shoes. The single man makes a huge amount of noise cracking peanuts and manspreads his way across three seats. Finally, the other patrons of the movie theater take revenge.
Tropes:
- Born in the Theater: When the husband puts his knees on the back of the seat in front of him, Smith says "If anyone in this theater is doing this right now, please please desist."
- Movie-Theater Episode: Examining all the many ways in which irritating people bother other moviegoers. The single man bumps into people when taking his seat because he won't take his eyes off the screen.
- Narrator: As usual with a Pete Smith short, no dialogue, just him narrating in a snarky manner.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The short ends with Smith deciding that jail would be too merciful, so instead the other patrons of the theater take their revenge. The married couple that keeps moving around are chained to their seats. The husband who sticks his foot out gets it stomped on. The man behind the lady with the hat whips out some scissors and cuts the feathers off.
- Title Drop: "Most people feel like jail would be too good for some movie pests."
- The Worst Seat in the House: Naturally, the wife wears a big hat with gigantic feathers that obstructs the view of the man behind her. He asks her to take off her hat and she does...revealing that she has a huge bouffant hairdo that still blocks his view.
