Judge, 1917-11-10 · page 17 of 28
Judge — November 10, 1917 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page collects witty one-liners from contemporary theatrical productions, presented as "smart bits"—clever dialogue meant to amuse readers. Each caption pairs a photograph from an actual play with a quoted line of dialogue. The humor relies on period stereotypes and social commentary: a French-Canadian woman's wariness of police reflects immigrant anxieties; ethnic generalizations about American, English, and Irish behavior appear casually; a model's impractical nature is mocked; a diva's arrogance is presented as foreignly unreasonable (note the affected accent). The romantic exchange about an inn with mosquitoes and poison ivy trades in gentle, somewhat corny nostalgia. These are largely *character* jokes—the comedy derives from who says the line and what it reveals about their type, not from wordplay or narrative complexity. The page essentially advertises these theatrical productions while demonstrating their "clever" dialogue to Judge's readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| SMART BITS FROM CURRENT PLAYS The French Canadian lass whose lover is“ wanted” by the authorities is wary of the beguiling policeman: “Michael Devlin, a long time ago my father said to me “American look out, de loud talk; English, bullhead; Irish, de worst of all—what you call, kiss de Blarney stone!"”” Lesore Unricn ond Wittarp Mack in “Tiger Rose.” Eloise, the model, is of the opinion that pulchritude should be practical: “What's the use of having a perfect figure if you can’t take it out to eat?” “There you-a-go! Every time you open your mouth you make an exposure of your mind!” Rotu Terry and Leo Cariiio in “Lombardi, Ltd.” “Don’t you remember the Inn at Lake Wis the Inn on the lake, the porch on the Inn, the summer boarders on the porch, the mosquitoes on the summer boarders—and the New England dinner, and the old New England eggs—and you and I together in the moonlight!” “ And do you remember how we nestled in the poison ivy!” Jutsmetre Day and Sam Harpy in “The Riviera Girl.” Gina Ashling, prima donna, who believes in the divine right of unreason- ableness, flouts her impresario characteristically by arriving at the opera house late “Oh, there’s plenty of time. They can hold the curtain.” “Some night zay will not hold ze curtain, and cet weel be your feeneesh!” —Manyorte Rastpeau and Grorce L. Roman in “Eyes of Youth.” comicbooks.com