Judge — September 18, 1920 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Satirical Film Parodies Page This Judge magazine page satirizes famous historical and literary figures through movie actor impersonations. The title "Famous People Do Some Movie Imitations" indicates these are caricatures of actors mimicking iconic figures. Labeled subjects include: - **Stonewall Jackson** (Harold Lloyd) - Civil War general - **Socrates** (Tom Meighan) - Greek philosopher, shown with a poison cup reference - **Shakespeare** (Ben Turpin) - English playwright - **Ibsen** (Billy Russell) - Norwegian dramatist - **Darwin** (Marie Dressler) - Naturalist The satire mocks both the serious historical figures and the actors' presumed overacting in their film portrayals. The exaggerated poses and costumes emphasize how cinema trivializes serious history. This reflects 1920s-era concern that popular movies were reducing great cultural figures to mere entertainment spectacle.