Judge, 1922-04-15 · page 35 of 36
Judge — April 15, 1922 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a promotional piece for *Film Fun* magazine (arriving April 10th), styled as a silent-film melodrama. It's not political satire but rather self-promotional advertising disguised as entertainment. The "plot" features Harold Lloyd (the famous silent-film comedian) as the hero and Dick Sutherland as a villain threatening to throw Lloyd down a well unless he surrenders his copy of *Film Fun*. Lloyd refuses, breathlessly listing the magazine's appeals: jokes, photography contests, fiction stories, an article by Walter Prichard Eaton, and gossip about actors. As he faces death, he makes a final pitch to readers to buy the magazine themselves for twenty cents. The humor relies on silent-film tropes (melodrama, intertitles, over-the-top stakes) to comedically exaggerate *Film Fun's* desirability. It's essentially meta-advertising: using the very medium the magazine covers to market itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WELL! WELL! WELL! A Photodrama in 13 Reels THE FILM FUN READER... . . . . . HAROLD LLOYD THE VILLAIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . DICK SUTHERLAND SCENE—Anywhere. Time—April 10th. (That's when FILM FUN comes out!) THE PLOT—The VILLAIN is after the paper (FILM FUN) and threatens to throw the HERO in the well if he does not give it up! But our HERO stands firm and asks, “Why do you want my FILM FUN?” Sub-title— “I WANT TO READ THE JOKES!” “Well, Well, Well,” says Harold. ‘And for what other reason?” Sub-title— “I WANT TO TRY SOME OF THOSE PRIZE CONTESTS!” “Indeed!” says our FILM FUN Reader. Sub-title— “IT’S A CONTEST FOR AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS!” “Ts that so! Anything else?” Sub-title— “THERE’S A NEW GAME!” The VILLAIN starts to carry out his threat, but our HERO does not flinch. Sub-title— “AND THE FICTION FILM STORIES!” Sub-title— “AND THE SPECIAL ARTICLE!” BY WALTER PRICHARD EATON! Sub-title— “ALL THE GOSSIP ABOUT THE PLAYERS!” The situation is tense, but our HERO still holds out. The VILLAIN tries one more. Sub-title— “I’VE GOT TO READ FILM FLAWS AND INFILMATION!” ~ But our HERO faces death calmly and just as he goes over the edge of the well cries: Sub-title— “BUY A COPY YOURSELF! IT’S ONLY 20 CENTS!”