Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 48 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This gossip column satirizes Hollywood's scandalous reputation versus New York's dullness. The piece mocks film industry parties and their attempts at propriety following the **Arbuckle scandal**—a reference to Fatty Arbuckle, a major silent film star accused of rape in 1921, whose career was destroyed by the accusation. The anecdote describes a party where a guest consumed illegal alcohol (referencing **Prohibition**, enforced by "Mr. Volstead"), became violently ill, and nearly caused a scandal. The guests panicked, fearing newspaper exposure similar to the Arbuckle case, which had been a major scandal. The satire targets Hollywood's hypocrisy: stars pretend respectability while engaging in drinking and wild behavior during Prohibition, yet desperately fear public exposure. The final paragraph hints that screen actors' past indiscretions might surface if they travel abroad, suggesting widespread secrets in the industry.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 47 Knickerbocker Spice NEW YORK is so dull in comparison with the Hollywood film colony, with its mad quest for joy at any cost, that we are rather ashamed to present the more or less dull events of the month. The once-so-gay film parties—alas—are very circumspect these days. Although a recent one nearly resulted in newspaper headlines. It seems that the affair was given in honor of a star on a visit from the coast. Said star's younger brother brought along a feminine friend who imbibed the stuff that Mr. Volstead thought he had absolutely prohibited. Prob-ably it wasn't *exactly* the stuff, for the lady be-came violently ill. With memories of the Arbuckle episode before them, the guests hastily departed. The visitor recovered but the party was as ruined as the heroine in the old-time melodrama. * * * MOST of the screen players seem to be planning to go abroad. Nobody can tell exactly when one's letters or telegrams or something may be unearthed after some