Life, 1919-05-08 · page 27 of 46
Life — May 8, 1919 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a vaudeville performer pitching his act to a skeptical producer. The performer confidently claims their sketch "can't fail" because it features patriotic elements: "a song about home and mother" and "the star-spangled banner." The producer's skeptical response—"What makes you so sure our vaudeville sketch will make a hit?"—sarcastically undercuts this assumption. The joke targets wartime sentimentality in entertainment. During the WWI era (suggested by the text references to "war" and "French war orphans"), producers and performers relied heavily on patriotic themes and sentimental appeals to guarantee audience success. The cartoon mocks this cheap theatrical formula—the notion that merely waving the flag and invoking "home and mother" automatically creates entertainment value, regardless of actual talent or originality. The surrounding text confirms this was theater review season, listing numerous Broadway productions competing for attention.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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