Short Subjects

Short Subject films were a common part of the movie going experience in the United States from the earliest days of film until the 1960s.

In the early days, nickelodeons showed only short films. By the 1920s, a movie viewing would usually include short subjects in addition to the feature film. There were several categories including comedy, cartoons, newsreels, travelogues, and documentaries.

In addition to those by Chaplin and Buster Keaton, some of the best known shorts were Laurel and Hardy, Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies, The Three Stooges, and Pete Smith Specialties (although there were a great many others).

Shorts began declining during the depression when movie studios started exercising greater control over what theater owners could show. This decline was more or less continuous until they virtually disappeared.

However, many short subjects, especially comedies and cartoons had a second life on television, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s.