Life, 1923-09-20 · page 21 of 36
Life — September 20, 1923 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical feature mocks the predictability of 1920s theater by cataloging hackneyed opening lines that immediately signal a play's genre. Each example—"Not a word to anybody. No one knows we're married" (bedroom farce), "It's been a hard day downtown, Margaret" (love drama), "Good evenin', Miss Ellen. Somehow, you look just like your dear mother" (sentimental play)—represents tired theatrical clichés audiences would recognize instantly. The accompanying cartoons (titled "The Gripping Melodrama") appear to depict an exaggerated, overwrought performance style typical of period melodramas, reinforcing the satire's point: theater-goers could predict entire plots from opening dialogue alone. The humor targets both playwrights relying on formulaic writing and audiences who accepted such predictable entertainment as normal. It's gentle mockery of commercial theater's standardized formulas.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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