Life, 1924-07-17 · page 12 of 36
Life — July 17, 1924 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces typical of Life's humor: **Top cartoon**: Shows three men carrying an unconscious or limp figure. The caption mocks Hollywood's approach to creating movie "champions," suggesting the film industry manufactures stars rather than discovering genuine talent. **"Sufficient Unto the Evil"**: Gardner Rea critiques comic writing that always ends with someone killed. He argues this represents lazy problem-solving—that flinging a character out a window is easier than genuinely resolving conflicts. The piece advocates for more sophisticated humor that addresses real problems people face. **"The Thief of Time"**: A brief joke about an employee fired for chronic lateness, who claims he "couldn't get down to business"—a pun on time management. **"Back to Normalcy"**: A cartoon about a New Jersey fisherman who caught a bass containing a bottle of Scotch—likely a Prohibition-era reference to bootlegging or smuggled liquor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* WIFE = CASTE OMY Manager: A FINE-LOOKIN’ HASH HE'S MAKIN’ OF YER FACE! HOW D'YER SUPPOSE YE'RE EVER GOIN’ TO LAND A JOB IN THE MOVIES WHEN YER GET TO BE CHAMPION? Sufficient Unto the Evil “T'VE noticed all those comic pieces you fellows are writing nowadays always end up with somebody getting killed,” began Pest, as he walked into my study and interrupted my writing of “comic picces.” “It's the crime wave.” “Nonsense,” said I, patiently; “it’s not a wave, Pest, it’s a twist. And its effectiveness lies in its being a simple exaggeration; a sort of wish fulfillment. It actually rep- resents what the majority of suffering humanity would like to do to the sort of busybody who runs rampant in the humorous sketches to which you refer. The type of man who incessantly goes about, criticizing. ” “T criticize.” broke in Pest, belligerently. “You do,” I said. “When I sce a man doing something I know’s dumb, I feel it my duty to tell him so.” “You do,” I said. “And that’s why I'm telling you these comic pieces you write are deplorable. I insist on your finding some other way of settling your problems besides throwing a man out the window. I insist as a moral-minded——” “Oh, Pest!” “—right-thinking——" “Pest! Pest!” “——hundred per cent" “But when such a solution suffices, Pest, why bother?” And I threw him out the window. Gardner Rea, The Thief of Time ‘I HEAR Al Knight was fired for always being late to work.” “Yes, he told me he just simply couldn't get down to business.” . Longing (Written After a Visit to an Exhibition of Modernist Paintings) ] WANT to go to a scalloped iste With three palms placed just so: One is tense as the finger of fate, The second writhes like muffied hate, While a breeze bends the third one low. My love shall ride an ocelot Adown flamingo strands. Chrome yellow is my lady fair, And emerald green her fluid hair That's bound with purple bands; One leg is fully five feet long, The other only three; One jointless hand points to her chin— The whole of her should be limned in With technique broad and free. T'll stand on my head in a saffron surf With my feet on a dappled sky. And though it may seem arduous We'll hold the composition thus Till one or both do die. Herbert J, Mangham, Back to Normalcy UST when it seemed that something was missing this summer, our newspapers relieved the situation by pub- lishing a story about a New Jersey fisherman who caught a bass which proved to contain a quart bottle of Scotch. UTILIZING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES comicbooks.com