Judge, 1924-10-25 · page 13 of 36
Judge — October 25, 1924 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Front" - Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page reviews theatrical productions, mixing drama criticism with vaudeville humor. **"The Front"** discusses a play by Lonsdale (likely Frederick Lonsdale, a real playwright), which the critic Jean Nathan dismisses as derivative hackwork—old material recycled to exploit managers. He criticizes its melodramatic plot elements (ambitious men, victimized daughters, murder) as suitable only for burlesque comedy. **"The Shawl"** features three separate comedy sketches from stage/film performances: - Daly Murphy's "Top Hole" joke: trivial wordplay - Ed Wynn in "The Grab Bag": crude innuendo about a date trying to extract value (squeeze lemonade) from a girl after buying her a drink - Nydia Westman and Wallace Ford in "Pigs": a driving accident joke where dimmed headlights caused hugging a curve—the punchline suggests reckless driving causes most accidents The page exemplifies early-20th-century entertainment journalism mixing legitimate theater criticism with slapstick and suggestive humor typical of Judge's satirical tone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE FRONT Jean Nathan hat that the estimable Lonsdale brewed this nonesuch in his non and shrewdly dug it up out of the old trunk to hornswoggle the man- agers out of a bit of easy money. It is precisely the kind of play a young man writes during his novi- tiate. Lonsdale doubtless — vouchsafes hi a covert wink over it in the y night before he piles into bed. And well he may. For the materials out of which it’ is fashioned—the ambitious old rooster who sacrifices his daughter to a dope- fiend and dipsomaniae in order to advance himself in the world, the sly murder of the brutal and « husband by the he off and the like—such mat Bozo Snyder and a couple of large s need only seltzer siphons to become a rattling good burlesque show. Godfrey Tearle is the leading actor in the relic. I have yet to see this personable gentleman give a performance of any quality. (Continued on page 24) Daly Murphy—“Top Hole” “It’s a gift!” Ed Wynn in “The Grab Bag” “He's the kind of a fellow that buys a girl a lemonade and then when he gets her home tries to squeeze it out of her!” “Robert VattarsQo Nydia Westman and Wallace Ford—*Pigs” “How did the accident happen?” “Why, Edimmed my lights and was hugging the curve.” “Yeah, that’s how most accidents happen.”