Life, 1899-03-09 · page 12 of 20
Life — March 9, 1899 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 192 The main cartoon depicts a theatrical scene titled "Is the Game Worth the Candle?" showing an actor in period costume performing what appears to be a dramatic duel or combat scene on stage. The illustration critiques a theatrical production, likely a dramatization of Alexandre Dumas' work (referenced in the article "A Paraphrase of Father Dumas"). The accompanying article discusses the casting and performance quality of a stage adaptation, praising the musketeer character but critiquing other performances as overly theatrical or poorly executed. The satire targets both the production's artistic choices and actors' interpretive decisions. The smaller cartoon on the right, captioned "First Turret! That Indian Seems to Have an Awful Load On," appears to be a separate humor piece about colonial or military themes. The page satirizes Broadway theatrical productions and acting quality of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Paraphrase of Father Dumas. FPcourse he must have been a great man,” sald the be-dlamonded tady In the front of the box, “or his name would never have been handed down tn bistory."? Which shows that Father Dumas was a better historian than bis critics would have us beileve, since even the creatures of bls imagination have be- come bistorical characters to some persons. Even to those who knew that d’artagnan never lived, he is more or less a real being, bat a per- son whom Mr, Sothern does not realize, pleasant and agreeable as is his rendering of the part. This is a gentlemanly and refined Gascon, to sult the taste of the matinée girl, and not the rotlick- ing biade whom Dumas pictured, nor answering the description— 18 THE GAME WORTH TRE CANDLE? Cat-whlakered, eyed like falconeta! Great pomp of plume hides and offsets Hotes in those hats they wear askew. Cat-whlskered, eyed Ike falconets, ‘They drive the snarling mob and hew. Doubtless the musketeer as Mr. Sothern presents him ts a pleasanter person soctally than he of Richelleu’s time, but the Ideal of the Dumas reader Is more fighter than a lady's man. How- ever, in virility Mr. Sothern’s d‘artagnan 1s quite suMctent for Broadway stage purposes, and he manages to get the advantage In all the fights in which he engages, even tn the thrilling one with a woman who overtops him and gives him a very lively tussle for the middle-welght cham- plonship at the end of the fourth act. The casting of the piece 1s excellent, and for the first time In this country we see the immortal Athos, Porthos and Aramis adequately por- trayed. The actor who impersonates Porthos must have been born for the part, and looks as though he might really accomplish some of the feats of strength and appetite for which that hero 1s famous. The unpleasant Friton 1s also well portrayed, and the Richelien adds to the already large collection a very robust picture of that foxy prelate. We are accustomed to our Richetiens rather attenuated, and to see one quite rotund and Impostngly Delsartean In bis methods has all the charm of novelty, at teast, ‘The women figure more prominently in this than in former dramatic verstons of “The Three Musketeers.” Miss Warren, as Anne of Austria, gives @ portrayal adequate to the requtre- First Tourist: twat INDIAN SEEMS To HAVR AN AWFUL LOAD ON. “Yes. ME MAS EVIDENTLY FOLLOWED KIr- LING'S ADVICE, AND TAKEN CP TRE WuITE man’s BURDEN. comichooks.c