Life, 1916-11-30 · page 12 of 42
Life — November 30, 1916 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early silent film economics and celebrity culture. The top image advertises "Mr. Grasshopper's Great New Dance"—a film where the title character supposedly earned $100,000 for dance rights alone. The satire targets the absurdly inflated salaries and hype surrounding silent film stars and productions during the 1910s-1920s boom. Below is a separate humor piece titled "Dialogue and Cast" featuring a "Careful Lady" who warns against leaving a parrot with a goldfish. The joke plays on the parrot's tendency to swear—a common comedic trope of the era. The sketch appears to mock theatrical casting conventions and domestic mishaps, with accompanying illustrations of interior scenes. Both sections exemplify Life magazine's satirical approach to contemporary entertainment and society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
M"GRASSHOPPERS : PERS: GREAT NEW DANCE THE PoETRY oF MOTION | FIVE REELS be INTOXICATING” BEWILDERING AR ACTION, FOR THE PICTURE RIGHTS OF THIS DANCE ALONE The Ant: AND THAT FOOL GRASSHOPPER MADE MORE MONEY LAST WINTER THAN I'VE SAVED IN A LIFETIME, Dialogue and Cast A CAREFUL LADY (From the Louisville Courier-Journal) “ Never leave the parrot in the room with the gold- fish.” very well, mum,” “The parrot is hopeless. But I don't want the goldfish to learn to swear.” N acting the above dialogue the part of the Careful Lady obviously will fall to Mr. Hughes. Chairman Willcox will do the servant; R. T.- Crane, A. C. James, G. F. Baker, Jr., H. P. Whitney, Mr. Harkness, Mr. Mackay and others will do for the goldfish. But who will be the parrot? Listen at the wire! Was that a voice from Oyster Bay? “COME QUICK, HENRY. WE'RE P NG A VOLCANO, N exchange asks: “Can an actress make a good wife?” “poN'T ROTHER ME, JANE. 1 KNOW JUST HOW A VOLCANO If she’s a good actress she probably can. FEE