Life, 1920-07-08 · page 33 of 40
Life — July 8, 1920 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page promotes **"Lightnin'"** — a stage play (later film) about a California-Nevada border hotel. The plot synopsis describes a classic melodrama: a villain-lawyer attempts to swindle the elderly proprietor Bill Jones and his wife through fraud and a divorce suit, but is exposed and defeated by an honest man named John (called "Lightnin' Bill"). The satire is gentle morality-play fare typical of early 20th-century theater: the West's rough justice triumphs over civilized corruption; honest men defeat scheming lawyers; virtue is rewarded. The page is primarily **advertising** — three separate pitches for commercial products (Graflex cameras, Whiting-Adams brushes, varnish) surround the plot summary. A brief exchange at bottom ("Forestalled") is a joke about honesty in social interaction, likely unrelated to the main story. This reflects Life's dual nature as both satirical publication and advertising vehicle.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Lightnin’”’ of DILL JONES and his good wife for n years have had a 1 hotel with this peculiar trait: It stands where California meets Neva¢ So that one half of it’s in cither state. Among the Jones's guests there is a villain, <q A lawyer with a heart of Blamey stone, r] And, judging by his speed, one fears he ev will in bd The second act have everything they own, Thomas (that’s the crook’s But just as cognomen } Attempts to gral the property, he meets John Marvin, whose sole mission is to show men Thomas that the West won't stand for cheats. s Like Old Bill, on honest John’s advice, refuses To give the place away, but Mrs Believing Mr. Thomas honest, To separate from Bill till he Jones, ooses atones. The villain hires a sheriff with a hobby -H For pinching folks on any old com- plaint. John laughs; lobh Are in } for while parts of the hotel vada, other portions ain't. The day arrives when in the court at Reno ~The villain Ma Jones for 5 divorce. (Although her home’s in her name there can be no Disposal made except by this recourse.) brings But just as Mother's on the brink of ruin, Who comes to court but John and Lightnin’ Bill! And what, with John’s aid, Lightnin’ doesn't do in Exposing thieves nobody ever will He saves his home, and Mother cries until he Agrees to be her partner once ai John wins the old folks’ Milly, And everything is quite as right as rain. GRAFLEX CAUGHT—and in every detail. smashing, tearing effort of bone and sinew. One can almost hear the Tt is equally effective for making pictures of average subjects, with Graflex was not made for speed pictures alone. a certainty that is only possible the Graflex way—landscapes, marine views, birds and insect studies—fully timed negatives in light thought impossible for photography—pictures on cloudy or rainy days, indoor or outdoor portraits—through the whole gamut of subjects that have a trace of appeal. Eastman Kodak Company Folmer & Schwing Department Rochester, N. Y. Catalegue free at your Dealer's or by mail. oa NEVER MIND WHO CONTROLS THE RAILROADS IT'S THE BRUSH THAT CONTROLS THE FINISH~ WHITING-ADAMS THE KING ~ Oval Chiselled Varnish Brushes Liat nly regarded Raliroads, on ere panels and best work~ JOHN L. WHITING =, J. ADAMS CO., Boston U.S.A. dhe Regarding this rec (In case there st any controversy ting of the plot, Nursie I'll say 1 saw it long ago, with My memory is faulty lik M as not.) k Connelly, BRUSHES by Car Manufacturers and Forestalled ILL Did you tell Bragger what you thought of him? Gitus for Wustrated Literature I didn’t get a He was nee. eaeeeae aeration: y tell me what he thought of comicbooks.com