Oh, My Operation

Oh, My Operation (1931)

*** (out of 4)

George Burns is in the hospital recovering from an operation when he gets into an interesting discussion on why he had the operation in the first place. From here the nurse (Gracie Allen) decides to try and teach him a few things.

OH, MY OPERATION isn't the greatest film that Burns and Allen made but it's certainly an entertaining one and one that their fans will enjoy. What works best about the film is once again how Allen can come across as so dumb and not catch the various insults being thrown her way by Burns. There were several very good gags done throughout the short and there's also a funny bit between Burns and his doctor who explains why you need to operate on a person in order to see if they need an operation.

When the story begins, George (George Burns) comes upon a man lying on the pavement...presumably a victim of a traffic accident. However, while he's offering help to the guy, an ambulance arrives and takes GEORGE to the hospital. If you think that's dumb, wait until you see the hospital and it's goofy staff. The doctor is a complete incompetent and soon operates on poor George...'just to see if he needs an operation'! Things go from bad to worse when George's new nurse is Gracie (Gracie Allen) and the usual weird banter occurs.

This film is pretty typical of the Paramount shorts the team made during the early 1930s. But, fortunately, it does offer a bit to differentiate it...the dopey ambulance and the even dopier doctor. This helped make the film more fun as not all the pressure was on Gracie to carry the picture. Funny and enjoyable....an one of their better shorts.

By the way, this film featured one of the most tasteless jokes I've ever heard. It's about twins and triplets and is awful...but I did find myself laughing.