Judge, 1924-06-21 · page 9 of 36
Judge — June 21, 1924 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Historical Close-Ups: Judge Magazine Satire This page contains two comedic dialogues parodying famous literary lovers—Cleopatra/Antony and Romeo/Juliet—reimagined as 1920s characters speaking in period slang. **The satire works by:** Transplanting classical tragic figures into modern vernacular. Cleopatra becomes a flapper rejecting "movie guff," Romeo complains about waiting at a automat, and both couples bicker like ordinary 1920s couples rather than doomed lovers. The dialogue mocks both the original melodramatic source material and contemporary 1920s affectations (bobbed hair, Macy's references, "Mineralava" beauty products). **The club waiter cartoon** above jokes about dyspepsia—offering a toothpick to someone who ate poorly, a common 1920s digestive concern. **The bottom illustration** (captioned "Plot—The young lady just stated that she dropped her ring") appears to show swimmers in water, likely a visual non-sequitur gag about misinterpreting statements. The overall effect: affectionate mockery of both classical literature and contemporary 1920s popular culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Historical Close-Ups Cleopatra and Antony Cleopatra Now don't start kidding me just because I'm only sixteen. Kid you, kid? Not a chance. you're the razziest little {ntony Honest. that ever played hob with my fiery pash and I Cleopatra vamp Now cut the chatter. Did- wt [tell you T fed Caesar to the crocodiles ‘coz he started that same line of mush? {ntony—Oh! You pip of a little Turk. you Cleopatra—Vurk nothin’! Pino pure Egyptian. PIL have you know.wrapper an” all, Nix on the blended) stuff for this little Queen. Oh! T just can't help. spill- ing over when T see them green lamps of Intony yours. Cleopatra—Say now, Vil bat vou one if you don’t lay off that movie guff fntony—But T love you and Cleopatra—Go on—gimme the story of your life like Caesar did. Tell it in chap- ters. Say! Is all you Eyetalians crazy about specch-making? Oh, Cleo! You've got) Mur- Fatima and all them other brands chewed to a frazzle and I Cleopatra—Say, did't T tell you not to eo pulling that stuff? (Sig 1 slave Ho, without! Intony ad. Helmar. Fetch me a couple of asps. Romeo and Juliet Romeo— that hand Juliet O would I were a glove upon Cut out the ham talk no one listenin’ in on you. there's Get down to earth. Why did you keep me waitin’ at Joe's for? LT hurt me mitt in the and got held up. Romeo. automat Club Waiter (to dyspeptic member who has lunched off a glass of hot milk) — Toothpick, sir? Julict—Kid, you're tT hand it to you for bein’ tell little Momma Make it good and snappy. Romeo it caught in the dinkus tryin’ to puta piece of pie back in its Julict—Woly Montague! But you ought got to riginal. Now how you done it. Plot—The young lady just stated that she dropped her ring. to be writin’ captions for Mack Sennett. With your imagination you're wasted here. Romeo—And how about you? some lyre-bird yourself, Psi to tell the world your real you get off, ch? Juliet biped You're Tf Twas where'd You rummy! You horse-eyed vou had a permanent Mineralava on your dial, you do. you matinée idol vamp, you ought Juliet—Back to Macy's basement with you. As "Ss Juliet Capulet sure as) my nam Romeo: Juliet Capulet Juliet Capulet hot one! Theresa Flana- gan vou mean. Juliet—Y ou ferret-faced fantom, T hope vou croak. Romeo—If T do, you'll croak with me, you shellac-faced doll. HL croak we'll both do a Woodlawn féte yourself out of that bobbed-minded vamp? See? Langh will vou, vou tote *How do you keep your figure so trim and symmet 7 “T pad the other hip.” comicbooks.com