Judge, 1920-09-25 · page 23 of 34
Judge — September 25, 1920 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page reviews a film adaptation of "The Lady of the Lamp," featuring George Gaul as "Arthur White," an Emperor of China who smokes opium. The satire references Thomas De Quincey's famous *Confessions of an English Opium-Eater*, comparing the drug's effects in that literary work to those depicted in the film. The top scenes show Arthur White in the Emperor's court with Chinese princesses during his opium-induced fantasy. The bottom scene depicts actress Eileen Wilson as Princess "Tien Tao," a character victimized by a marauding Manchu warlord. The joke appears to be that White's opium dream conjures an elaborate Oriental fantasy scenario, only to have reality intrude when his hallucination ends and he discovers a "modern substitute" for the fantasy princess. The satire mocks both the film's melodramatic orientalism and the fantastical logic of opium-fueled narratives.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FLICKERS FROM “THE LADY OF THE LAMP” ee tt nee DeQuincey’s “Coxressions” DIscLose NO REACTION PROM OFIUM AS KOM AS THAT sTaceD IN “THe Lavy or tue Laue,” ix wiicn Grorce “Artuur Wuite,” necomes AN Evrexor a Tere WE IS HAVING TEA WITH THE PRINCES RIGHT STANDS ONE OF THE ATTENDANT PRINC hell Here 1s Erreex Winson (tne Princess “T'ten Tao”), as suc 1s pRoUGHT TO THE EMPEROR IN A CONVEYANCE ELEGANT ENOUGH, BUT NOTHING LIKE A LIMOU- sinc. SHE 1s THE VicTIM OF A MARAUDING Mancuv, set “Axtuux Wuire” FINDS HER MODERN SUBSTITUTE WHEN HIS OPIUM DREAM ENDS