Life, 1926-01-14 · page 14 of 40
Life — January 14, 1926 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct elements: **Top Section ("A Lesson in the Charleston"):** A theatrical sketch mocking drama critics and Shakespearean actors. The "First Critic" and "Second Critic" debate whether a production of Shakespeare is worthwhile, with one dismissing it as "not good enough." The satire targets pretentious theater criticism and the gap between critical standards and popular entertainment. References to the Charleston (a 1920s dance craze) suggest contemporary audiences preferred modern entertainment to classical theater. **Bottom Illustration:** Shows two well-dressed men on a city street with pedestrians and urban scenery. The caption reads: "Main Street? Yeh, this is Main Street. Now, who was the humorous guy told yuh my name was Babbitt?" This references Sinclair Lewis's 1922 novel *Babbitt*, satirizing American small-town conformity and materialism. The joke appears to play on mistaken identity or assumptions about "typical" Main Street characters.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
12 Through the Ages Scene: Alley Theatre, Lond of the first pe r possessing a cigarette. IRST CRITIC: How now, Friend Aleck! What thinkest thou of it Secoxp Critic: Ods blood! What thinkest thou? First: Nay, nay! ning. ‘Twas I fir SECOND outside the Globe rmance of “The Mer Enter, two Critics Be not o’ercun asked haply aye. But t th’ openings Aye, r “twas thou first ask Marlowe and Beaumont and Fletcher “en my turn, ! Why ‘tis but a one, ha’ done Ss my conceit scurvy piece, Srcoxp: So do we now accord. Me- thinks ‘tis not e’en “adequate First Nay, nor “good enough,” neither. A murrain on first nights! Seconp: Thou saidst it! A scourge on all dramaticks! And, prating playwrights wi nought to do save spatter ink o'er fatr too, on all varlets 0° “MAIN Now, STREET? VEN, THIS 1S WHO WAS THE HUMOROUS GUY MY NAME WAS BABBITT?" A LESSON IN THE CHARLESTON white parchment and keep honest folk fro’ their beds! First: Ay irk the Sem Srcoxp Twould , thinkest thou not? By'r Lady, I had not thought on that! This—hast thy pro- this Shylock is but a sorry churl, methinks Fixst (hopefully): Haply he m wed an Irish lass ere curtain falls a but to the pl: gramme—ayc MAIN Methinks (twas when I a stripling) there was a piece, nd of that nay! Yon wit for that. A nit-wit! How foul something o” that sort Nay, speare lout hath not the A dull clod! ! Fixst now Seconp Shake- A zany Thou sj There sounds Wilt go Nay I am o'erfed wi’ rantings and railings and all manner 0” blockish, doltish, lack- icks! Do thou the Bull's Head, there to indite a scant critique and tipple sooth! bell’s clamor. inside? Secoxp by my halidom, nay! ined, maggot-pated and I now repair ight o° sack. Well does that consort with Away! Will Shakespeare, sdropping, eds to get all lushed up Tip Bliss bursts i AD: hours, Son: Are there any better ones than those now in use? You ought to keep better comicbooks.com