In this 1933 musical comedy, the round-eyed, sweetly leering comedian Eddie Cantor stars as Eddie, a bookish drifter who is run out of the small town of West Rome for speaking truth to the petty martinet of a mayor.
The television audience got to watch it all live: the cross-eyed canvassers holding ballots up to the light under the big round magnifying glass, searching for signs of intent.