Life, 1928-05-24 · page 21 of 38
Life — May 24, 1928 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several humorous vignettes satirizing 1920s American social behavior and attitudes: **Main article** (left): Arthur Kober describes fellow ship passengers traveling to Europe, including chorus girls collecting "French Francs" (a double entendre suggesting both currency and romantic conquests), a mysterious motion-picture actor traveling incognito, and a wealthy American from Pittsburgh heading to Paris—with the joke that he'll damage Franco-American relations so badly that Coolidge will need to send Lindbergh to repair goodwill. **Cartoons**: 1. "Parachute Jumper"—depicts an awkward moment when someone notices a man in a coffin, suggesting the jumper's dangerous occupation. 2. "Insurance Agent Is Routed"—a student pilot applying for life and accident insurance comically lists his imminent activities: a "Suicide Party," racing-car driving, and stunt flying with war wounds. The agent flees in horror—the applicant is clearly uninsurable. The satire targets wealthy Americans abroad, reckless youth culture, and the absurdity of asking insurance companies to cover obviously high-risk individuals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
collecting trinkets and baubles and con- tents—boy, the contents they've been col- Jecting! These r, homeless waifs who are traveling alone miss their Broadway Johnnies and, instead, have decided to surround themselves with French Francs. ‘And how they're succeeding! In addition to this troupe of chorus girls who are traveling alone, we have on board a motion picture actor who is traveling incognito under the name of Ramon Novarro Samaniegos. 1 haven't been able to find out who he is. I’m sure he is not Jackie Coogan, because Jackie Coogan once had long hair. Mr. Samanic- gos was one of those who performed at the ship’s concert. No, he did not show us his left profile, his right profile, his full-face, or any other views of his classic features, but he sang — and sang very well. He keeps himself hidden in_ his stateroom and comes up after two o'clock in the morning, when no one is in the smoking room—no one, that is, but the ten chorus girls who are traveling alone. We also have on board what the French call “ta reech Amairicain.”” He comes from Pittsburgh and is headed for Paris, When he gets there, Coolidge will have to send Lindbergh back again to re- store the previous good will. We had our farewell dinner about two nights ago. Special menus were distributed with the words “Farewell Dinner’? em- bussed on the cards. ‘Farewell Dinner!” As an old theatergoer who has been watching Harry Lauder make farewell appearances for the last fifty years, 1 wasn't fooled. I ran into Eleanor Shaler and you could have knocked me over with a feather-bed. She, too, is going to appear at the Ambassadeurs in Paris. However, she is not a chorus girl and she is not traveling alone. Well, as they say on Broadway when a female impersonator asks for more coffee—that’s all for the nance. Arrive Koper. “WANTED FEMALE — impersonator; dance and produce.” —Reno- (New.) Register and Tribune. Ir stems to us that this is altogether too much to ask, even of a female impersona- tor. must — sing, THE MASHER “Wuere ya goin’, Joe?” “Over to th’ barber shop to try an’ pick up a date.” Tourist: Hmmm! Traffic victim? “T Hear Jones let you in on the ground floor of his business.” “Yes, and then the bottom fell out of it.” EMBarrassincG Moment IN THE LIFE OF A Parachute JUMPER Po ys An Insurance Agent Is Routed “Yes, sir! I'm anxious to take out a life policy, also accident and health! Fill out the blank? Why, certainly! “Ummm. How do I answer this one? You see, I'm a student pilot, and make my first parachute leap next Sunday! No, I couldn't possibly postpone it, be- cause Saturday night the boys are giving me a big ‘Suicide Party’ at the club, and we've ordered twenty cases especially for the occasion, After the party I'm go- ing to drive my racing car down to the airdrome so as to take off early with “Hairbreadth’ Murphy, the stunt flier, you know. Gosh, I hope the old heart will stand up under that jump, and_ those wounds from the war won't start acting up. But you never can tell! How about a little shot of... Hey! Come back: here! I thought you wanted to sell me in- surance! Well, if you insist you must BOscas” Tom F. Barry. Tuere is now a Religious Book- of-the-Month Club. If you were cast awa} on a desert island, what ten best boo! clubs would you subscribe to? comicbooks.com