Danny Kaye plays an unfortunate patient who goes to an eye doctor who proceeds to blind him. Really funny idea! The humor is supposed to be in Kaye's dialect as he is being tortured by the doctor. I was appalled by the entire film. This was the first Educational two-reeler I ever saw and it put a bad taste in my mouth concerning the studio. Not only was the film cheap looking, but it was unfunny. No wonder Kaye never wanted to discuss his early short subjects. Since that time, I have seen a good amount of Educationals. Educational said that their shorts were "The Spice of the Program". This film marked the end of the road for Educational. The films had been distributed by Fox and Fox finally dropped them. The Educational silents of the 1920s look good, but by the 1930s, they really started to look cheap. Kaye's other Educationals, while not great, are better. Bob Hope made his film debut in an Educational short which is just a tad better than this one. Some of the Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon Educationals are pleasant. The Ritz Brothers' "Hotel Anchovy" is a scream. It proves that while Educational was cheap, they were not inept at making funny comedies.
Review of Getting an Eyeful
