Life, 1921-10-20 · page 25 of 34
Life — October 20, 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page imagines famous historical figures as characters in silent films. The cartoons parody period movie titles and scenarios: - **"Demosthenes to More Pie"**: A comedic take on the ancient orator - **"Charlemagne & American Wallop"**: Charlemagne in a slapstick scene - **"The Sorceress of the Nile"**: Queen Victoria and Anthony Comstock (a real anti-obscenity activist) in an Egyptianrome drama - **"Lucretia Borgia"**: The Renaissance poisoner depicted as a scheming character - **"Plato in the Terror of Whiskey Hill"**: An action scene with the philosopher The humor relies on the incongruity of dignified historical figures in melodramatic or comedic movie plots. This reflects 1920s-30s fascination with both cinema and historical drama. The page mocks both overwrought movie titles and the gap between historical importance and entertainment value.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
October 20 Queen Victoria ard ANTHONY Comstock hm “he SORCERESS of Ze NILE” Drawn by Ellison Hoover If Some Historical People Had Been Movie Actors’ comicbooks.com