Life, 1929-05-10 · page 20 of 44
Life — May 10, 1929 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early Hollywood film production around the 1920s-30s. The top cartoon mocks a slapstick silent film scene where actors perform dangerous stunts (a car crash with "HONK" sound effect). The dialogue between Producer, Director, and others reveals the chaos of early talkies—the newly introduced sound films created technical nightmares, as the microphone placement interfered with action scenes. The middle cartoon, titled "Peeking Behind the Scenes," shows a burglar seeking a "Beware of the dog" sign, satirizing Hollywood's absurd production values and the gap between reality and cinematic illusion. The bottom illustration depicts a film director attempting to manage massive crowd scenes (5,000 horses, 2,000 camels, etc.), poking fun at studios' extravagant, logistically chaotic spectacle-driven filmmaking.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ing a short skit featuring Ukulele Luke when the set caught fire from one of the Vitatone wires. Propucer: Oi, mek it then a noose rill: “Herroic efforts from movie star save lifes end propitty in Hollywood conflag—conflag—fre.” Hey, Lovie, write a sob title. Director: Okay. (Goes about work, but again returns after short period). Say, chief, while we were recording the crackling flames, the guy with the mike got right outside the bathroom of Al Goalzem, and now the song he was ‘singing runs all through the flames. Propucer: Phooie, we can’t let the public have for nothing Al's voice in a noose rill. We'll have to mek it a fool length fillum. Hey, Looie, write a scenario. (Several days elapse. Then:) Director: Say, chief, we were right Mrs. Smythe-Vandersmythe-Smythe of Park Avenue says: 1 am never without a Borzoi book. Peeking Behind the Scenes As a Stupendous Talkie Production Is Produced Propucer: Go mek a short feature what we can senwitch in between. Director: Okay. (Obeys, but re- turns after short while much per- turbed). Say, chief, we were just shoot- The Scotch engineer takes a Turkish bath in the middle of the Chinatown se quence when—you know that circus that was playing over on the next lot? —well, one of the tents blew down and 5000 horses, 2000 camels, 59 cle- phants and 22 monkeys come running right across in front of the cameras with their 400 keepers chasing them and a bunch of about 632 kids chas- ing the lot. Propucer: And they all got in the picture—5o00 horses, 2000 camels, 59 elephants, 4oo men, with monkeys and children? Director: Yes sir. Propucer: Hey, Looie, think up 2 title for a EPIC! —Rodney S. Reed. “Where didja get the black eye?” - and I says that I was only waitin’ for a street car.” Burctar: Have you got a “Beware of the dog” sign outside? No! “Yes, yes,—go on...” I've a good mind to sue you! “Well, this here was in Venice....” comicbooks.com