Life, 1923-05-03 · page 7 of 40
Life — May 3, 1923 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical comic strip depicting a man's increasingly desperate daydreams about money as he experiences a series of domestic crises throughout the day. Each panel shows him thinking of a dollar bill while facing escalating troubles: a burst pipe, a family argument, bathroom problems, and interrogation by a District Attorney about murder accusations. The satire critiques how financial anxiety dominates the mind of an ordinary man dealing with everyday catastrophes. The title at bottom—about paying twelve dollars for two melodrama tickets—suggests this entire narrative is itself melodramatic exaggeration, mocking both working-class financial preoccupation and the absurd plot devices of contemporary melodramatic entertainment. The recurring dollar-bill imagery emphasizes how money concerns overshadow even serious legal jeopardy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
8:30. “The Poisoned Plumbing.” Crash. A hot-water faucet comes through the window. Old Man Snarle picks it up - and reads, “Your last bath will be your last.” District Attorney is grilling young Frank Carson. “YOU killed Luther Snarle. I heard your threat and I found your overshoes in his bathroom. He was electrocuted and you wore these overshoes for insula- tion while you tested the current!” 9:00. “Marry my daughter! No! I hated your father and I hate you! Get out!” “Mr. Snarle, I'll make you regret those words.” District Attorney, just enter- ing, hears this threat. 10:35. Bathroom again. Dark. “Darling, the real murderer will come back here to-night for his cravenette which I found here. Sh-h-h-h! I've got him!” Screams! GUNSHOT! 9:25. Bathroom. “I'll take this bath if it kills me. Nobody ever GOT me yet. HELP!” He sinks into his bath, and others break down door. “It looks like murder!” ed 11:00. “I'm dying. I'll tell all. The District Attorney, changed Old Snarle’s will and made himself the sole heir. We tapped the pipes and turned alum into his bath. He was so tight he shrunk to death. I assisted. I am the Assistant District Attorney.” Picture of a Man Who Has Paid a Speculator Twelve Dollars for Two Tickets to a Melodrama comicbooks.com