Judge, 1924-12-27 · page 11 of 35
Judge — December 27, 1924 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation of "The Shows" Page This page from *Judge* magazine reviews contemporary theatrical productions with satirical commentary. The top two illustrations show scenes from "Close Harmony" and "The Magnolia Lady"—films or stage productions of the era. The humor operates on multiple levels: The "Close Harmony" joke plays on suburban monotony (people in Elmhurst live and die identically). "The Magnolia Lady" caption makes a mild double entendre about a sweater shrinking. The larger text below critiques a production called "The Harem" (likely a burlesque or sexually suggestive show). The reviewer—writing with mock self-deprecation—defends low-brow entertainment against moral censorship. He's ironically addressing the "Y.M.C.A. eyes" (conservative audiences), arguing that bawdy humor needn't pretend to artistic merit. The satire targets both prudish moralism and pretentious critics who dismiss popular entertainment. This reflects 1920s tensions between emerging permissiveness and lingering Victorian propriety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Wanda Lyon and James Spottiswood in “Close Harmony” Suburbanite—Yeah, people and die here in Elmhurst. Belle—How do you tell the differ- ence? live y . Robert's aHersOs Skeets Gallagher and Ruth Chatterton in “The Magnolia Lady” You Skeets—Please don't ery, know how this sweater shrinks! dear. that have made a mountain out of a Fanny Hill, but this one wins the purple It is, in many respects, the most b ly outspoken sex farce that these vener- able Y. M. C. A. eyes have engaged derby. in many years in the local theater. That much of the exhibition is funny only a hypocrite or professional moralist would deny. But I should warn you, perhaps, that the fun is distinctly of the smoking-car order. -, I have nothing against ar humor, so please don’t think Tam doing any high-hatting. Tam a fellow of low tastes, as T have often confessed to you, and I care not what makes me laugh so long as it makes me laugh. I appreciate that, critically, “The Harem” is ecighth-rate stuff and that, artistically, it isn’t worth the powder to blow it up with, but just the same its bawdy (Continued on page 28) comicbooks.com