Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator

If you're looking for a plot, look elsewhere. This isn't exactly The Phantom Empire. It’s a breezy, odd little look at guys in very short shorts doing stuff on a horizontal bar.
Is it worth your time? Only if you’re a fan of vintage sports clips or just want something playing in the background while you fold laundry. If you hate anything that doesn't have a dialogue-heavy script, skip it.
You’ve got Pete Smith narrating, and he’s doing his usual thing. It’s that fast, punchy, slightly condescending voice that makes everything sound like a joke. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s just loud.
He really tries to sell the intensity of these swings. At one point, I swear he’s just narrating the physics of gravity.
The whole thing feels like a relic. There’s a strange charm to the grainy film stock. You see these guys launching themselves into the air with absolutely no padding underneath. It’s terrifying, honestly.
Compared to the sheer chaos of The Big Game Hunter, this is surprisingly tame. It’s just repetitive motion and upbeat music. It feels like it belongs on a shelf next to Nifty Numbers in some forgotten archival box.
It’s not trying to be high art. It’s just trying to fill ten minutes of screen time. I’m not sure who exactly this was for back in the day, but here we are, still watching it in the future. 🤸♂️
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