As a short documentary reel, Catching trouble is just as well made as any other. With the exception of a few questionable cuts (which are quite common with older films during the editing process) this short is as competent of other shorts of the day. Nothing special, but not bad.
It seems as though the largest problems that people have with this film have nothing to do with this film specifically, but with the time period it was shot and with the angle of the narration. I'm sure that if Ross Allen were portrayed as a horrible human being, it probably would've gotten a much higher rating.
This short documentary contains scenes of animal cruelty (at least, what counts as animal cruelty now) and that's pretty much it. I don't see how any previous reviewers found anything racist about this film. The only way that race could have been an issue with this film would have to do with Allen's Seminole Indian guide. The narration introduced him as Allen's "Faithful Seminole Indian guide" exactly. I see nothing racist in that statement because it most likely wasn't racist at all. The narrator introduced him as such in the same context as "his partner" or "his companion"-- it was not a statement about ownership and anyone that thinks otherwise needs to stop abusing the race card because it's doing more harm to their own credibility than good.
The most controversial part of this short, however, is the subject matter itself-- capturing animals. While it may seem cruel, it wouldn't make any sense for Allen to actually cause any real harm to the animal. He made a living from wild animals and I'm pretty sure that a zoo would frown upon receiving a wounded animal because it makes them look bad. Not to mention that his methods were simply the methods of the time. One needs to stop and think if it would've been any less cruel to use the extremely harsh and dangerous tranquilizers that would've most likely been used. I think it would be a hell of a lot less cruel to catch a wildcat in a bag than to use a tranquilizer dart that would most likely have been filled with a dangerous and addictive substance like heroin.
The only part of this short that I actually found myself cringing at was the bear cubs that Allen was capturing. While the very thought of that struck me as despicable, the blood-curdling cry of the cubs as Allen was attempting to bag them was heartbreaking. This was the only part of the film that I found difficult to watch. I managed to sit through it after reminding myself that at least the cubs were going somewhere that they would be taken great care of. With that in mind, the only truly offensive part of this film is the thought that those cubs most likely never saw their mother again, which is heartbreaking, but it happens. During that time, the narration does strike some color commentary that comes across as quite insensitive, but I'm sure that this was done because the footage seemed shocking, and it would be a good idea to keep the audience from being too appalled.
It was a pretty good documentary, and the MST3K version of it is pretty damned hilarious. This documentary will most likely only be shocking to those that don't realize that there was worse happening to animals at that time, and there still is much worse happening to them now, so save your PETA-induced shock for actions that really ARE cruel. Ignore any claims of racism with this one as well, because the ones that make this claim are so naive that they think any mention of anyone's heritage and occupation is racist-- not every mention of race is racist and the reaction to this documentary is a perfect example of the overreaction that makes white people paranoid and all others roll their eyes in disbelief that white people chastise themselves when it's not even necessary.
It seems as though the largest problems that people have with this film have nothing to do with this film specifically, but with the time period it was shot and with the angle of the narration. I'm sure that if Ross Allen were portrayed as a horrible human being, it probably would've gotten a much higher rating.
This short documentary contains scenes of animal cruelty (at least, what counts as animal cruelty now) and that's pretty much it. I don't see how any previous reviewers found anything racist about this film. The only way that race could have been an issue with this film would have to do with Allen's Seminole Indian guide. The narration introduced him as Allen's "Faithful Seminole Indian guide" exactly. I see nothing racist in that statement because it most likely wasn't racist at all. The narrator introduced him as such in the same context as "his partner" or "his companion"-- it was not a statement about ownership and anyone that thinks otherwise needs to stop abusing the race card because it's doing more harm to their own credibility than good.
The most controversial part of this short, however, is the subject matter itself-- capturing animals. While it may seem cruel, it wouldn't make any sense for Allen to actually cause any real harm to the animal. He made a living from wild animals and I'm pretty sure that a zoo would frown upon receiving a wounded animal because it makes them look bad. Not to mention that his methods were simply the methods of the time. One needs to stop and think if it would've been any less cruel to use the extremely harsh and dangerous tranquilizers that would've most likely been used. I think it would be a hell of a lot less cruel to catch a wildcat in a bag than to use a tranquilizer dart that would most likely have been filled with a dangerous and addictive substance like heroin.
The only part of this short that I actually found myself cringing at was the bear cubs that Allen was capturing. While the very thought of that struck me as despicable, the blood-curdling cry of the cubs as Allen was attempting to bag them was heartbreaking. This was the only part of the film that I found difficult to watch. I managed to sit through it after reminding myself that at least the cubs were going somewhere that they would be taken great care of. With that in mind, the only truly offensive part of this film is the thought that those cubs most likely never saw their mother again, which is heartbreaking, but it happens. During that time, the narration does strike some color commentary that comes across as quite insensitive, but I'm sure that this was done because the footage seemed shocking, and it would be a good idea to keep the audience from being too appalled.
It was a pretty good documentary, and the MST3K version of it is pretty damned hilarious. This documentary will most likely only be shocking to those that don't realize that there was worse happening to animals at that time, and there still is much worse happening to them now, so save your PETA-induced shock for actions that really ARE cruel. Ignore any claims of racism with this one as well, because the ones that make this claim are so naive that they think any mention of anyone's heritage and occupation is racist-- not every mention of race is racist and the reaction to this documentary is a perfect example of the overreaction that makes white people paranoid and all others roll their eyes in disbelief that white people chastise themselves when it's not even necessary.