User Reviews

Anyone interested in golf may find it worthwhile to watch this dry commentary on the sport from the early '30s, one of the Warner Bros. Vitaphone shorts featured at the time.

The entire short is devoted to a demonstration of how to swing a golf club before attempting to hit the ball. The posture, the steps, the hip movement, the overhead position, the downward thrust--all detailed graphically.

It's a short devoted to good form in golfing, demonstrating that the back swing stores the power while the down swing provides the well directed blow. If the transition from up swing to down swing fascinates you, this is your sports short.

Famed golfer Bobby Jones gives a taught, nine minute lesson on how to swing a golf club. Couched in a simple history lesson on golf, this short moves along very quickly. After it is explained that the modern game was essentially started by men whacking a feather-filled bag with a small hockey stick (I wonder if they had a name for a 24 shot bogey back then), Jones then gives his own coherent ideas on the down swing.

Things haven't changed much since Bobby's day, as far as form goes. He explains eloquently, with slow motion visuals of his swing, what to do, and not do. I don't think Tiger Woods could explain it any better. The equipment has surely improved, but apparently, a good down swing has not.

This is an extremely well made instructional short for 1933, considering that "talkies" had only been around for a few years.

How to Break 90 #4: Downswing (1933)

** (out of 4)

The fourth film in this six-part series features Richard Arlen, Andy Horn, George Olsen and Martin Zahn sitting in the locker room with Bobby Jones who then gives them some information on the proper downswing. This fourth film is certainly the weakest so far and like some of the pictures in the "How I Play Golf" series, this here is just a tad bit too dry. I think having fun celebrities along added to the charm of these pictures and the best ones had the famous actors really playing it up and adding some fun. This one here is missing all of that and instead we're given a brief narration about one of the earliest golf games between Scotland and England. This here is somewhat interesting but the sequence of the game is pretty lame as are the ghosts sitting in listening to Jones. Overall fans of the series will still want to check it out but I think the main interest will be for golf fans interested in hearing from Jones.