Life — August 23, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Triangle A La Moderne or The Heart of An Iceman" This is a domestic comedy sketch by Marian Deitrick about marital tension. The plot involves **Melissa** (a housewife) and **Owen** (her husband), with **Horace** (an intruder) arriving unexpectedly. The humor centers on **mistaken identity and jealousy**: Owen has been shot and is acting suspiciously, which Melissa interprets as infidelity. When Horace enters through the pantry door, Melissa assumes he's Owen's lover, creating farcical confusion. The "iceman" reference in the title likely alludes to the common "iceman" trope in period comedies—a stock figure used to suggest illicit affairs. The sketch satirizes both marital paranoia and the melodramatic domestic scandals popular in early 20th-century humor.