Life, 1925-01-15 · page 21 of 36
Life — January 15, 1925 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a theater review page from Life magazine's "Confidential Guide" section, listing Broadway shows with brief critical assessments. The large cartoon shows a portly, well-dressed man hugging himself contentedly, captioned "Ralliff Returns to America with the Chauvinsuiris" (likely a play on French theatrical terminology). The reviews cover serious dramas ("Desire Under the Elms," "They Knew What They Wanted"), comedies ("Abie's Irish Rose," "Peter Pan"), and musicals. The tone is gossipy and sardonic—the magazine calls "White Cargo" merely "good-enough," notes "Bluffing Bluffers" is "pretty terrible," and makes a running joke about "Abie's Irish Rose" having endless success despite judges' disapproval. The cartoon appears to mock a returning theatrical personality, suggesting pompous self-satisfaction. Without identifying the specific figure, it captures the page's overall tone: witty, theatrical, and mildly contemptuous of both performers and audiences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
More or Less Serious The Bully. Hudson—Minus four. Carnival. Cort—To be reviewed next week. Dancing Mothers. Marine Elliott’ s—Some ing about the young folks and their elders. Dawn. Eltinge—Something more about the 1ag_ folks. Desire Under the Elms. Gree Intensive passion on a New England fai at first. getting much below t ward the end. The Heart Thief. Earl Carroll---To be re wed later High Tide. Longacre—To be reviewed Ladies oi the Evening. Lycewm—The girl ho was saved from sin for a Belasco pro: ion. My Son. Nora Baycs—Mildly agreeable. Old English. Ki George Arliss in a vivid characterization but a somewhat repeti us play. Othello. Shu you know what. | Processional. Garrick —To be reviewed later Silence. Netional!—H. B. Warner as the old crook in a good old-fashioned melo: ch Village it — Walter Hampden in — na, Simon Called Peter. Broadhurst — That novel dramatized. They Knew What They Wanted. Klaw Billed as a comedy, but, thanks to the a ing (Pauline Richard Bennett Glenn Anders), possessing a poignancy which makes it richer than a comedy usually What Price Glory? Ply annes thought of the wa play White Cargo. Daly's—A good-enough play but Hy not one that you would expect to ron long as this. Comedy and Things Like That Abie’s Irish Rose. Republic—The_judges have taken the answers to Atlantic City for 2 rence and may: not be back until spring. In the meantime, the play is having a certain nominal success, Blufing Bluffers. mbassador—Pretty ter rible The Firebrand. Morosco— Highly enter taining amorous exploits of Benvenuto Cel lini, personified by Joseph. Schildkraut. Grounds for Divorce. Empire—) without Ina Claire, but with her ood deal The Guardsman. Booth—A couple of splen did performances by Lynn Fontanne fred L h The Habitual Husband. Forty-Lighth St. —Reviewed in this issu The Harem. Belesco—Lenore Ulric lend ing a good performance to a play dealing with this sex business, Is Zat So? Thirty-Ninth St.—To be re viewed later, The Little Clay Cart. Neighborhood—We are going to have a standing comment for these Neighborhood productions: “Worth the trip to Grand Street.” Milgrim’s Progress. Iallack’s—Mr. Louis Mann, and you know what that means. Minick. Bijou—A play of family life which rings true. New Brooms. Fulton — Frank Craven in his own play. Peter Pan. Knickerbocker—Marilyn Miller in what used to be our favorite play. Pigs. Littl—You can’t go very wrong on this if you want gentle amusement Quarantine. Henry Miller's—One of those mixed-up honeymoons, with Helen Hayes and Sidney Blackmer. The Sap. Apolle—Raymond Hitchcock in a pretty thin ‘play, but still Raymond Hitch cock, The Show-Of. Playhouse—A year old and with every prospect of being much older. Owing to the time it takes to print Lire, readers should verify from the daily newspapers the continuance of the attractions at the theatres mentioned. The Way of the World. Cherry Lane— Kid Boots. Sciwyn—Eddie Cantor doesn't Restoration comedy for those who like to seem to be worried as the seasons go by, have it restored. so long as he has this. The Youngest. Gaicty— Pleasant and a Lady, Be Good! Liberty—One of the best, bit, vamue, with Henry Hull and Genevieve with the Astaires, Walter Catlett, and Gersh: obin. win music. Madame Pompadour. 2, score that is different. Eye and Ear Entertainment “Music Box Revue. one since the first, with Fannie Brice head Annie Dear. Times Square—Billie Burke d Ernest Truex in a musical version of ‘Good Gracious, Annabelle.” Artists and Models. Astor—Ho-hum Betty Lee. Forty-Fourth St.—In the ing the cast. in revival. just. s6-00" Clase, Rose-Marie. Jmperial—One of the solid Chauve-Souris. Forty-Ninth St.—To be Musical hits of the year reviewed later. Seeniaya Ptitza. Frolic—Reviewed in this The Grab Bag. Globe—When you've said issue. Wynn” you've said enough for most Topsy and Eva. people. Duncan Sisters. I'll Say She Is. Casino—The Marx Broth Ziegfeld Follies. ers are good for eleven hundred laughs. usual, Will Rogers, What more do you want? any show. BALIEFF RETURNS TO AMERICA WITH THE CHAUVE: Beck —A Rox—The best My Girl. Vanderbilt—Fair_ enough. t Patience. Provincetown—The old favorite Harris — The As for comicbooks.com