Life, 1927-08-04 · page 22 of 40
Life — August 4, 1927 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from Life magazine (circa 1927, based on theater references) contains theatrical reviews and satirical commentary on Hollywood filmmaking. The main satire is the "Private Showing" section—a humorous dialogue among Hollywood studio workers critiquing a film they didn't work on. Each department blames others: the scenario writer faults the script, the director questions who hired the "director," the actor brags he could "make a watch" (succeed despite bad material), the cameraman claims a blind person could do better, the wardrobe department notices anachronistic costumes, and the title writer dismisses the dialogue as "chestnuts" (old jokes). The joke satirizes Hollywood's internal dysfunction and mutual finger-pointing—everyone blames everyone else rather than taking responsibility. Separately, the page announces Life's successful campaign to close "Abie's Irish Rose," a popular Broadway comedy that apparently ran for 271 weeks. Robert Benchley's closing quip about mosquitoes and campers lying together is abstract social commentary on unlikely peaceful coexistence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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, More or Less Serious barr Constant Wie. Maxine Elliot i! The Desert Song. Casino one of the late season's better Follies of 1987. New Amsterd The Mating Season. Selwyn—No. view The Play's the Thing. | Henry Miller's Grand Street Follies. 1 M ok Blinn in a tril inar which tur ate Neig e Barker. Walter H Crime. Times Sq br k ft t , The Road to Rome. c A The Spider. by which the The Squall. | Forty-f Tommy. Eltinge—Clean ani Eye and Ear Entertainment Comedy and Thee L te That Allez-Oop! Ear! Carroll—To be reviewed later, sof 1997. Shubert —T Abie's Irish Rose. Re A big ial The, Circus Princess. | Winter ( ei MeCor Rang Tang. Royal rev Rio Rita. Ziezseld—Sor Comedy from Ada May Bert Whecier Private Showing (Hollywood Studio Employees View a Film They Did Not Work On) SCENARIO WRITER: You can't make good pictures from bad ‘scripts. Director: I know — but who called that guy a director? Actor: If she’s an actress, I can make a watch. Cameraman: A blind man could do better with a Brownie. The Dramatic Department of “Life” takes great pleasure in amnouncing the successful cul- mination of its campaign to close Abie’s Jrisl Rose.” On August 6th this comedy twill Warprose Deprt.: 'J’ever see such clothes? Ser Dresser: They didn’t have clocks like that in those days. Titte Writer: A lot of chest- nuts, end nominal rin of ta hun- dred and sebenty-one fveeks. We rest on our sfvord and afuait the tocsin for a fresh crusade. (Time Lapse) Apvertisements: A CROWNING ACHITEVEMENT—AN AR- TISTIC TRIUMPH, Tue Pu —oh, P. » such good pro- logues. . K. M. O: E. interesting event of the millennium will be the spec- tacle of the mosquito and the camper lying down together. Robert Benchley. Let’s go to a movie whatever's at the comicbooks.com