Life, 1927-07-21 · page 23 of 38
Life — July 21, 1927 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a multi-scene comedic treatment of *Robinson Crusoe* by Robert Benchley, styled as a silent film scenario with intertitles and sight gags. The humor relies on **Irish ethnic stereotypes** popular in 1920s American comedy: characters are absurdly clumsy and accident-prone. Young Rob walks into a tree while reading; Mary is so "Irish" other girls turn "green with envy"; her father Roger is "so crooked he crossed the equator eight times"; her grandfather needs only eggs to have ham and eggs (implying poverty and simplicity). The jokes are physical and pun-based ("you were so green"). The satire targets both the source material's adventure narrative and the conventions of silent film comedy and slapstick—the format itself parodies how gag-writers and title-card writers translated literature into silent comedies. The exaggerated character descriptions mock how ethnic humor was deployed in entertainment of this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life **Tsland Irish’’ = Being a Comedy “Treatment” of Defoe's “Robinson Crusoe’ in the Best Manner of the and Title Writers By Robert Benchley ROB” sO HAD ] SUBTITLE: YOUNG * CRUSOK WHO) WAS WARM - HEARTED HE HRARTBURN Scene 1, MAIN STREET OF DOVER, ENGLAND. BACKGROUND OF TREES AND OLD-FASHIONED EDIBLES. (FADE IN. Rob Crusoe, swin street, so intent on reading a that he walks into a tree, to whieh he a izes and continues reading and walking, COPY OF “THREE MEN IN A) BOAT.” (CLOSE UP.) 2. SUBTITLE: MARY MA- LONE, THE VILLAGE BELLE, WHO We SO IRISH THE OTHER GIRLS TURNED GREEN WITH ENVY. Mary, walking in the other direc tion, sees Rob and looks at him with evident scorn, She, too, walks into the tree and apologizes. ‘This brings Rob and Mary together, Ape gizing to each other, SPOKEN : TITLE: SORRY; “EM ITHOUGHT YOU WERE A TREE, YOU WERE SO GREEN!" Mary smiles and looks the other Rob smiles and looks the other Therefore, neither of them sees the other and they beth pass by, Rob walking into and Mary walking into a store where she buys three yards of gingh thinkiryg it is Rob. (FADE OUT.) way. way, too, vond Scene 2. LIVING - ROOM, MARY'S HOME. BACKGROUND O} FAUCETS AND OLD THINGS. (FADE IN.) % SUBTITLE: MARY'S HOME LIFE WAS JUST ABC : AS) PEACEFUL HANDED DRIV} RACE DOWN A RIGHT HANDED DRIVEWAY. (FADE IN:) Mary is setting the table for sup- per. buttons set the wrong way, suggest- She has on a topcoat with the Gag-Men lets the In water ing poverty. She p s slide into the sting just plain carelessness SUBTITLE ROGER MA LONE, AN TRISH SATLOR, WHO WAS SO CROOKED TIE HAD CROSSED THEE EQUATOR RIGHT TIMES Roger Malone, Mary's father, is Be. washing his hands at the sink, and Te on hearing the butt dro it inte the water glas rage and throws. the She shakes her finger at he it drops off table and kin in his fit, sot it i off ‘Then he hay ne} to tuck his maph head) thre cloth, upsetting SCENE BACKGROUND INTERIOR OL ROB'S HOM} 6. SUBTITLE: THIEL CRUSOE, ROB'S FATHER, WHO NEEDED ONLY SOME EGGS TO HAVE HAM AND EGGS, 11 HE HAD SOME HAM Thurlow Cr, butterin RLOW sand wiches for yesterday's he spreads the | from thumb off his thumb, he off the goes on for fifty feet bread with his « and. star his father with a te r He then takes down as Rob enters the wall and aims it at the old man r oy vA ‘ calendar hang " we CALENDA SHOWING = MONTH WITH DATE FOR OPENING OF HUNTING e SEASON MARKED IN PENCII ROB’S FINGER SHOWS PRES ENT (Please turn to page 2b) comicbooks.com