Life, 1927-01-20 · page 15 of 34
Life — January 20, 1927 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a **Cinema Glossary** defining film industry terms, alongside two unrelated comic sketches. The top illustration labeled "Over Her Head" depicts a woman with an exaggerated expression, satirizing silent film acting conventions—specifically the overwrought "emotion" style defined in the glossary. Below that, "Life's Minstrels" shows two brief comedy sketches. The first involves dialogue about Prohibition enforcement (arresting someone for "whipping his daughter"), a topical reference to the unpopular Volstead Act. The second sketch, "Débatante," depicts wealthy diners debating oyster consumption, mocking high-society pretensions. The bottom section, "No Stopping Him," presents a brief joke about someone returning from Florida "like a hurricane"—likely referencing 1920s Florida's boom-and-bust real estate cycle or hurricane damage, though context is unclear. These are light satirical commentaries on contemporary American culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tsen e of ocial sea- itted rin only the 1 to g in the d to said. own 1 his “yon peo- t of cory get way red. atter y in cool. the s of mur 1 up sions wed Life Cinema Glossary ADAPTATION: The process of transforming a short story, novel, or play into such a motion picture that the original author can never again face his friends without peril. All-star cast: A group of performers, none of whose names is important enough to merit electric lights. Caption: A poetic or comic paragraph inserted be- tween two scenes with the sole intention (invariably successful) of distracting the attention of the spectators from the film itself. Emotion: A manner of facial contortion faithfully duplicated by a performer after the director has shown how it is achieved. Epic: Any film whatso- ever dealing with early American life. | Obscure etymological origin. Be- lieved by many to be con- traction of “epidemic,” espe- cially in view of its pop- ularity soon after the ap- pearance of “The Covered Wagon” and the numberless imitations following it. Foreign importation: A film brought over from a European country, gener- ally, which proves a finan- cial failure because intelli- gence and subtlety have gone into its creation and because its appeal is directly to the adult mind. Mob-scene: An agglomer- ation of struggling un- knowns arrayed as peasants or soldiers or members of a historical assemblage, used in a picture at skilfully timed intervals so that it may be advertised as a super-spectacle (which see). Pathos: The exclusive, grimly capitalized posses- sion of two-reel comedians advanced to full-length pro- duction. Ser-appeal: The triumph of matter over mind. Sine qua non, Verb, sap. Or what have you? Super-spectacle: A concerted effort on the part of cos- tume experts, research workers, and a conscientious director to prove that nothing is so dull as authentically reproduced actuality. World-premiére: The first appearance, generally in New York, of a picture that no sane person in any other part of the universe has the remotest desire to witness. Simonetta. OVER HER HEAD No Stopping Him “LT OW did the boss come back from Florida?” “Like a hurricane.” The Fisherman (who has taken up radio): 1 GoT HONOLULU LAST NIGHT AND YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD THE — STATIONS THAT GoT away! Lire’s Minstrels “NAR. INTERLOCUTOR, can you tell me why they arrested that Prohibition officer for whipping his daughter?” “Why, no, Mr, Bones, why did they arrest the Prohi- bition officer for whipping his daughter?” “Because he of all men had no right to lick 'er.” After the audience has revived sufficiently, Mr. Perry Garic will render that beautiful song (requested by the Flappers), “Oh, That We Two Were Kneeing.” Débutante: ou, MY DEAR, 1 WOULDN'T TAKE OYSTERS TO- DAY—THERE’S No “R” IN WEDNESDAY. comicbooks.com