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Life, 1929-01-25 · page 30 of 36

Life — January 25, 1929 — page 30: what you’re looking at

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Life — January 25, 1929 — page 30: Life, 1929-01-25

What you’re looking at

This page contains a **chewing gum advertisement** (left) and **movie reviews** (right). The cartoon depicts a flirtatious dinner scene where a woman playfully complains that a man's gum is stuck to her chair—a comedic setup for Clark's "Teaberry" gum brand. The ad includes a contest offering $25 for readers to complete the missing final line of the jingle. This represents early 20th-century interactive advertising, where companies engaged consumers through competitions. The right column reviews current films, including "The River" (directed by Frank Borzage, starring Charles Farrell). The reviewer critiques the film's attempt to adapt a novel for screen, noting two awkward resuscitation scenes that provoke unintended laughter. The review praises Farrell's innocent portrayal and the moral redemption plotline, where a woman's love "cleanses" the protagonist like a river cleanses. Both sections reflect 1920s entertainment culture and advertising strategies.

📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Say, dearie! please come up for air! My gum’s on the rung of yourchair. I hate to annoy But, listen, Big Boy— The TEABERRY flavor'’s still there!” W $ You can get from an: IN 2 CLARKS Chewing Gum Dealer FREE "Tantalizing Teabe blanks, each containing « ” TANTALIZING TEABERRY ™ with the last line mis: . Fill in that missing line! Mail us tbe blan! wi Pay $25 for each last line that we publish. If Clark Brothers Che: winning last line is duplicated, each person submitting the duplicated line will be paid $25, All entries must be mailed on or before the date indicated on the blank. Get your” Tantal- ising Teaberry” blank today. Try CLARK'S TEABERRY GUM for "last -line” inspiration. wing Gum Company Pittsburgh, U.S.A. s ws THE 4 4 4 Bpernies / 4 4 *CLARK'S Teaberry Gum...a céfferent Flavors at that time with anything that had pic- tures. (They were Peter Newell's, if we remember correctly.) Today there seems to be something lacking in it as entertain- ment. All the characters are there and well-represented, too. Blanche Ring as Elizabeth, Jack Hazzard as Capt. Kidd and Hal Forde as Raleigh, but something else seems to be needed, if anything else could be needed in a show which had Blanche Ring. It is all very well to sit at “The Houseboat on the Styx” and muse on days gone by, but, unless everyone in your theatre-party is going to do it, you are not going to be very popular for sug- gesting it as a place to go. Even “Polly,” which brings the young English star named June over here, is a re-hash of the old “Polly With a Past” and, while it makes up into a very nice show, it isn’t anything that you haven’t seen twenty times since you had measles. Of course there is no reason for working up anything new when big laughs can still be got by slapping a dowager on her bare back or rehearsing a proposal of marriage, and when a big round of applause can be counted upon as soon as rain begins dripping out of the pipe along the back- THE MOVIES “The River” Tr you promise not to laugh at the wrong time, I promise you will be entertained by “The River.” In directing the pic. ture Frank Borzage attempted to follow the story of the novel by Tris tram Tupper. The result proves that a description which may be read quite cas ually becomes a problem when presented on the screen. Two scenes deal with resuscitations— one from freezing, the other from drown ing, and the methods employed are not in the Boy Scout Manual. You are likely to laugh in nervous desperation (if you are in mixed company) or because you are reminded of a story (if alonc). Fore warned you should be forearmed. Charles Farrell gives an excellent por- trayal of the terribly innocent boy of the great outdoors who is subjected to the high-powered vamping of Mary Duncan. They are stranded in a shack during the first freeze of the season, and by the end of Winter you still don’t know whether or not Charley will weaken. The interest in this ticklish situation is preserved by the adroit manipulations of Mr. Borzage, who again proves that he is one of our most resourceful directors. He makes Far rell’s innocence seem so real that you actually feel sorry for the boy at times Imagine. Charley certainly had the cour- age of his convictions, but in his weakened condition he should be a set-up for the next vamp he meets on the screen. However, this boyish purity regenerated Miss Duncan, and here we find the simile which accounts for the title of the picture: Love, like the river, cleanses all! This movie is not recommended as @ feature of the benefit to be staged by the Ladies’ Aid Society, but if you are broad- minded and want to see Charles Farr do a fine piece of work, remember— There’s always “The River.” by Harry Evans drop. So long as audiences applaud old gags, a producer would be a fool to work up anything new. So there we are! The reaction from the modern musical shows brings us back to the old ones, and, with the exception of a rip-snorter like “The Red Robe,” the old ones won’t do. How about just Aalf a reaction, to the days of “Oh, Boy!” and the other little Bolton-Wodehouse and Kern shows at the Princess? Next week: “What is Wrong with the Theatre.” comicbooks.com