Snow Gets in Your Eyes

Ski competition in a department store in New York City? That's what this short is about and you'll have to see to appreciate the transition from outside ski slopes to the department store ramp, which is handled with skill.

The plot of this musical comedy two-reeler is simple: A guy who sells sausages at the department store is enamored of a salesgirl who works down the aisle from him. Hoping to impress her, he takes ski lessons so he can win the competition. Sandwiched between the light comedy sketches are two delightful musical treats, "Girl Wanted," and, would you believe, "The Harlem Yodel!"

The real stars of the show are the wonderful Dandridge Sisters, Dorothy Dandridge, Vivian Dandridge, and Etta Jones, each uncredited. The beautiful Dorothy Dandridge was to go on to a highly successful movie career including a nomination for the Academy Award for her role in "Carmen Jones," not long before her tragic death from a drug overdose.

The title is derived from lame yet harmless attempts at slapstick humor, centering on Charles Judels as Schlitz and Chester Clute as King Winter who gets fake "snow in his eyes" when he attempts to introduce the competition. "Snow Gets in Your Eyes" came out over a decade before the popular hit tune, "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes," dominated the nation's musical charts and thus is not a parody of that song but rather a pun on "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," from the 1933 musical, "Roberta."

Snow Gets In Your Eyes is cover-your-eyes awful! However, it's the kind of awful that still manages to retain a tiny bit of charm and curiosity for the viewer. From the ridiculousness of the premise to the flat acting to the uneven direction, there's not much to warrant a recommendation. But "not much" does not mean nothing. With the way traditional gender roles are treated, as well as the portrayal of minorities, a good deal of this short film is unintentionally hilarious! If you watch it during a lazy day, it's worth 20 minutes of your time.

Virginia Grey was a long time favorite of MGM's Louis B. Mayer, she appeared in dozens of MGM films and was at one time briefly linked with Clark Gable.

She gets a chance to star in her own short subject here with a pair of forgotten romantic rivals, all working in a department store. It's wintertime and the store is sponsoring a ski jumping contest in the store. One very nice set was built for this.

In any event her two rivals, Roger Converse and Hudson Shotwell get to jump to win a store prize and the fair lady's hand.

Charles Judels is the officious store manager who backs the wrong horse and ends up hanging around so to speak.

The short subject crammed a few musical numbers in its running time including three by the Dandridge Sisters before lead Dorothy went out on her own.

It's a pleasant 20 or so minutes with a few laughs also at the store manager's expense.

This isn't a great short, but it's mildly entertaining, and there is a ~3 minute song and dance number called "Harlem Yodel" that is actually really great, which features black musicians The Dandridge Sisters along with the Cats and the Fiddle, and it's actually quite good and definitely the highlight of the film. The other musical number that precedes it is a bit of a throwaway. The plot isn't terribly interesting, but the indoor ski jump in a department store (which is a central part of the story) was pretty unique.

Described as a short musical romance, "Snow Gets in Your Eyes" is short on romance and short on music, though the Dandridge Sisters appear briefly. The comedy also comes up short. This is a rather uninspiring twenty minute film that revolves around an indoor skiing competition which includes no suspense or prodigious talent.

Really there is not much to recommend this film. No laugh out loud moments, no tear-jerking scenes, no hum-worthy melodies.