Judge, 1936-04 · page 10 of 36
Judge — April 1936 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Club Fantastic" — Judge Magazine Satire This page satirizes the nightclub boom of the 1920s-30s, a period when clubs proliferated rapidly despite Prohibition. The cartoon depicts a shabby nightclub operating the same way as upscale competitors—offering elaborate service rituals (hat checking, table seating near orchestras, breakfast in bed) to make patrons feel important. The satirical point: Charlie Redpath proposes opening a nightclub based on this simple principle—that customers enjoy *feeling catered to* and special, regardless of actual quality. The humor mocks both: 1. **Club owners**: operating identical, gimmicky establishments 2. **Patrons**: believing themselves unique when receiving identical treatment 3. **The service economy**: reducing hospitality to theatrical gestures The dialogue emphasizes this absurdity: why hire staff just to say "no" to customers? Because customers *enjoy being pestered* by attentive service. The editor's caption ("leave it here today, come get it Thursday") adds dry commentary on editorial deadlines, typical of Judge's format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Judge anyone club any- way. can you tell me that UU bite. Charlie, why is it?” 1 leciding that [ might just ur the whole thing and er They want to do Fe that they haven't been doing all my idea red Charlie.” I ry club is already try ing to give them something differ now.” “T know, but my to be run low comes into my club eck girl says to him *Chy your hat, Sir? and he say He knows he can do it ace is going to way. Then he starts Wl the head waiter says ‘Would you like a table near the orchestra, Sir? and he » EM find one wl I want it.” Do vou get the vs idea ou mean a fellow can do just as he likes? Then why have any 1 one & k him se thing ou could save a lot of “You've got to have them, that’s vo" to everybody and the more people [can have pestering him the better he will like it (Page 24, please) “Hey, Joe, this guy out here wants his breakfast in bed!” The Club Fantastic M' friend Charlie Redpath prob- IVA ‘ably gets more brilliant ideas than any two ordinary the other n t 1. For instar t when we were sitting in he s Idenly straightened th, shook himself like a person t of a trance. “By Golly he said. “Ed, old into the night club b 0 ms in it if you do it r t even take vou in a part “Charlie.” T said, “Do you realize that the whole town is cluttered up with »s now and half of them are starv- ing to death ? “That's just it.” he continued, * every one of them operates on the | | principle. They may have kin ¢ or food and maybe the ere is a little different but t just the same. Why is it that Editor—Yes, leave it here today, and come get it Thursday. 8 principle i comicbooks.com