Life, 1921-05-12 · page 13 of 36
Life — May 12, 1921 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early silent film conventions. The two main illustrations parody common movie archetypes: **"The Ford"** depicts a slapstick car-chase sequence with exaggerated explosions and destruction—mocking the physical comedy and vehicular mayhem typical of silent comedies. **"The Old Father"** caricatures aging actors in melodramatic theater-derived performances, showing an exaggerated pose suggesting overwrought acting style. The verse notes he "used to Act" in old plays but now delivers unconvincing performances in films. The accompanying poem by Robert E. Sherwood mocks both the formulaic nature of silent movies—filled with "Raisins, Yeast," "comic Fil-lums"—and outdated acting techniques that audiences found laughable on screen. The bottom comic strip, "Take the Witness," appears to show slapstick courtroom chaos, extending the satire of film violence and theatrical excess.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
fhe Cinema Primer Verses by Robert E. Sherwood The Mo-vie Ford is filled each Night With Rai-sins, Yeast, and Dy-na-mite, So that it gets (as I’ve heard sta-ted) In-de-cent-ly in-e-bri-a-ted, And reels through Reels of co-mic Fil-lums De-signed to please the Janes and Wil-lums, Who chuck-le when it does its Tricks Through slip-p’ry Streets and Walls of Bricks; And how they Shout when this poor Fliv-ver Goes Plung-ing Head-long in the Ri-ver! I can’t see why the Cen-sor Boards Per-mit such Cru-el-ty to Fords. Drawings by John Held, Jr. theO)d Father He used to Act, in by-gone Days, In “Y’ain’t-done-right-by-Our-Nell” plays, And when this type of Dray-ma passed, It seemed we'd done with him at Last; But now, with un-a-ba-ted Zeal, He spouts that Line in ev’-ry Reel. . He has just one Trait to com-mend— He’s sure to Die before the End; Yet, when I think how man-y Sighs I’ve heaved while watch-ing his De-mise, I’m moved to bel-low lus-ti-ly : “Ye ham, ye ain’t done right by ME.” “TAKE THE WITNESS” comicbooks.com