Life, 1920-07-01 · page 49 of 56
Life — July 1, 1920 — page 49: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon mocks early Hollywood's obsession with acquiring source material and its cynical approach to storytelling. A movie mogul, frustrated that scientists won't respond to his wireless message to Mars, instructs his scenario editor to search the globe for new stories because "the public demands novelty." The satire works on multiple levels: the absurdity of contacting Mars for scripts, the studio's willingness to send employees on year-long wild-goose chases, and the punchline—after all that expense and effort, the studio simply produces derivative adaptations of classic literature (Cervantes, Poe, Dumas) anyway. The implied critique: Hollywood claims to seek originality while actually mining existing works, and filmmakers will go to ridiculous lengths (literally planetary outreach) to justify recycling old material. The editor's journey around the world yields nothing new; the studio defaults to proven classics, revealing the entire enterprise as performative rather than genuinely creative.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The End of The Search “IT’S no use,” said the great scientist. “I've worked the wireless for six Thours. I am positive Mars will not an- swer.” “What was the wording of the mes- sage you sent?” asked the motion-picture magnate. “Perhaps we did not offer enough money.” followed instructions very carefully, sir.” the scientist replied respectfully. “Here is what I sent hurling through space, just as you wrote it.” The movie king glanced at his generous inter- planetary offer: HIGHEST PRICES PAID FOR OLD PLAYS, stories, EvC. WHAT HAVE you? With = KINDEST = REGARDS, = Surer- Suakesreare Fitat Co, Max Gotv- rans, Pres. A man of action, the movie king dis- missed the scientists, dried his eyes and summoned his chief scenario editor. e simply got to have new ma- he said. “T tell you what you do. You've been working pretty hard. This will he a kind of vacation. Go home and pack your suitcase. To-morrow you Lift Corns out with Fingers Afew drops of Freezone loosen corns so they peel off a ‘Apply a few drops of Freezone upon a tender, aching corn or a callus. The Soreness stops and shortly the entire Jcorn or callus loosens and can be lifted off without a twinge of pain. Freezone removes hard corns, soft corns, also corns between the toes and hardened calluses. Freezone does not irritate the surrounding skin. You feel fo pain when applying it or afterward. A small bottle of Freezone costs but 2 few cents at drug stores anywhere. -| refreshing and rejuvenating man’s physical and mental NO'S—-FRUFT_SAL DERIVATIVE COMPOUND. Ly \ SS As the brook \ was created a thing of natural service for exhilarating, faculties,—so too, Eno springs from Nature’s bounty. Eno is unsurpassed for slaking thirst) but it does more —it stimulates digestion and makes for better health, is a natural corrective, purifies the blood, prevents biliousness, headache and the many other ills of constipation. A dollar and a quarter for a large bottle—Eno will be found as refreshing and pleasant and beyond monetary con- sideration as other gifts of Nature. | At All Druggists Prepared only by J. C. ENO, Ltd,, London, S. E.,. England Sales Agents: HAROLD F. RITCHIE & €O., Inc., New York, Toronto, Sydney AL CRY Sfgrecable Gfperient— leave for a trip around the world. I writers of like calibre. But no word came want you to spend a year searching for new stuff. The public demands novelty, aad we're going to give it to them. Search | China and Madagascar and all them jungle or lonely glacial places. But don’t give up until you get it.” One bright morning the movie king For more than a year quict, the hushed was personally the trans- quiet of expectancy, pervaded the great formation of the comp from the intrepid chief scenario editor, save an occasional report that he had safely escaped from this or that fevered a. *s car barn into Super-Shakespeare studios. Now and then the thousands employed there kept things going half-heartedly by productions of stuff ly Cervantes, Poc, Dumas and popular the private office of a millionaire banker. He had just finished approving the make- up of the extra who was to play the rdle of the millionaire. A cablegram was comicbooks.com