Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, December 1921 · page 35 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #28 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* satirizes the film industry's exploitation of crime and criminals for profit—while simultaneously condemning such exploitation. The text describes three cases where studios or promoters attempted to capitalize on real crimes: Beulah Binford (victim of a crime film), a Wisconsin student who killed his girlfriend, and Marie Edwards (who shot Senator Lyons). The satire's point is the hypocrisy: major film companies publicly claimed moral outrage at "crime exploitation" and refused to distribute such films, yet they simultaneously pursued similar projects for profit. The underlying critique targets both the film industry's mercenary opportunism and the wider public fascination with sensationalized crime. The tone suggests moral judgment on all parties—promoters seeking profit, studios competing while claiming principles, and the public's appetite for such material. No specific cartoons or illustrations are visible on this text-heavy page.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 33 police closed Madison Square Garden when it was scheduled to show there. Even in those early days of picturedom, movie companies of any standing were bitterly incensed against promoters who wanted to make money by exploiting crime. The tragic figure in this case was Beulah Binford herself. When the picture failed to bring in receipts she was left alone and penniless in a strange city. She went from studio to studio asking for work, but despite the fact that she was beautiful, no one wanted to take a chance with her. Finally the Republic Film Company, of New York, gave her a job sorting papers in their office. She went through countless hardships in the city. What has become of her, we do not know. A few years later, in Wisconsin, a boy student killed his sweetheart in a lonely wooded section not far from the state university buildings. The case was never proved to have been premeditated murder and he was not given a prison sentence. A well known New York syndicate writer, a woman went out to Wisconsin and tied up the boy's services for pictures. She then hastened back to New York to sell the contract for a profit. Every picture company in New York turned down her proposition to star the boy! After Marie Edwards shot Senator Lyons a year or so ago in California, she visited