Life, 1927-04-21 · page 20 of 39
Life — April 21, 1927 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains sports and humor commentary circa the 1920s-30s. **"The Gallic Menace"** satirizes American anxiety about French tennis dominance, specifically the Davis Cup competition. It references real players: LaCoste, Borotra, Cochet, and Brugnon (France's famous tennis team) versus American champions Tilden, Johnston, Chandler, and Williams. The joke mixes sports anxiety with bridge card-game references—suggesting Americans worry more about losing at cards than tennis. **The middle illustration** appears to show a baseball or sports collision scene with comedic exaggeration. **"The Third Degree"** is a lawyer joke: a reporter interviews a famous lawyer, asking what he "wormed out of you"—implying lawyers extract money from clients rather than information. **The final joke** mocks Chicago politics, suggesting a "100-per-cent Chicagoan" shoots straight with guns but not with votes—a cynical jab at political corruption. The overall tone reflects 1920s-30s American sports obsession and cynicism about politics and law.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gamelight (With Apologies to Mr. Rice) The Gallic Menace bs HAT chance,” writes in Wk “has the United States of re ig the Davis Cup?” Well, France with LaCoste, Borotra, Cochet, Brugnon and a few more won't exactly be a set-up. Not ex- Still, you're not going to find Q nation bowling over Tilden, Johnston, Chandler, Williams, and a few more with any consum- mate ease. Not by a long shot. * % # Oh, a hole in one sure is worth a good shout, And a couple of nifty parades. But at two in the morning, my boys, what about Six or seven redoubled in spades? * * # From where we sit it sure looks like the Giants for a walk in the National League, but if anybody thinks the Pirates are going to play possum he’s got another guess com- ing. And if you ask our candid opinion we'll tell you that anybody who can't see the Cardinals had bet- ter take a quick trip to the oculist. ee # ’ There wouldn’t be any bleacherites if it weren't for the bleachers. 8 Philip Smelter writes us: “What do you consider the fastest of all games? How about basketball?” Yes, basketball isn’t exactly an old ladies’ tea party. Not exactly. But how about squash? And you don’t find anybody who knows about it claiming that ice hockey uffering from in- somnia. Furthermore, polo, tennis, and boxing can move right along at a nifty clip the way we see it. * * # Of all sad words of tongue or pen Thesaddest are: “I’mtrapped again.”’ Parke Cummings. The Third Degree JuRst REPORTER: I inter- viewed that famous lawyer to-day. Seconp Ditto: What did he worm out of you? A 100-PER-CENT. Chicagoan is a man who shoots as straight as he votes, * comicbooks.com