Judge, 1929-01-19 · page 22 of 36
Judge — January 19, 1929 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes 1920s movie theater culture through two pieces: **Top cartoon:** Shows a bank teller opening and closing accounts—a visual pun on "opening an account and withdrawing the same," depicting the repetitive, mechanistic nature of banking transactions. **"The Movie Market" article:** A character named Pearson describes three theater tiers to a visitor, mocking cinema's class stratification: 1. **Mammoth Cinema**: Absurdly luxurious (4,000 seats, military-uniformed ushers, orchestras, acrobats)—satirizing pretentious "high" cinema 2. **Intellectual Movie House**: Mockingly "cultured" offerings (avant-garde shorts, Russian films about vodka, Grieg overtures) aimed at would-be sophisticates 3. **Dockside theater**: Cheap, rundown venue showing old comedies and Westerns The satire targets both cinema's artificial class divisions and Americans' desperate social climbing through entertainment consumption. The bottom cartoon jokes that New Yorkers expect underground subway travel—the *real* entertainment spectacle—for just seven cents.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE How it feels opening an account and The Movie Market » to take in a rson after din- ner, “1 can briefly describe to you what the town offers. First, we have the Mammoth Cinema. Four thousand seats. Attendants uni- formed like Field Marshals in the Imperial German Army. No parking space within half a mile Goldfish and = gilded Venus de Milos in lobby. Hundred-piece orchestra with acrobatic come- dian conducting. News reel with sound, showing Boston Water front Fire at Ten Below Zero, Japanese Steamer on Rocks off Californ Mrs. Coolidge Wel coming Girl Scouts at White House and Maternal Police Dog in Wichita, Kansas, Mothering Brood of Sparrows. Gypsy Stage Scene with music by Victor Her- bert. The Ten Dancing Gold- berg Girls. Feature Film show- ing Triumph of Virtue, acted by former chorus girl with fourteen- t lamps and masculine breast- er with permanent wave. Organ recital by % organist. “Or, if you'd like something more Mental,” continued Pear- son, “we have the Intellectug Movie House. Coffee and cigs rettes in the lobby. Girl ushers ithdrawing the same, wearing velvet trousers and tams. Mod vars in rear of orchestr: nistic furniture and samo- Three piece string ensemble. Short reel entitled ‘Dance of the Machine >, showing platters and spoons bouncing against a dark velvet background. Colored travelogue of Southern Alsace, photographed by Pathé in nineteen twelve. Five minutes of screen wise- cracks by the management. Two months-old news reel. Feature picture photographed in’ Russia, showing triumph of Vodka. Portly dowager playing rdle of vet- headstrong young Whiskers, wolves and yy. Droshkies, drunks and desperadocs. Maniacs, matricide and malnutrition. Tears, tuber- culosis and travail. Overture by Grieg, with one violin out of tune Paune! “Or, if you still haven't: made up your mind,” added Pearson, “we have an old-fashioned fifteen- cent admission house. Down by the docks in the factory district. No atmosphere. No ventilation Tin-panny piano. Custard Pie comedies. Western thrillers. Old Tom Mix resurrections. — Rin- Tin-Tin revivals. Bill) Hart’ in his heyday. ics of the Great Open Spaces taken out of the Film Storchouses. Chewing gum on seats. Wailing babies—" “Enough,” I said; “in fact, plenty. “Phone over to the Gar- ticlds we'll play a rubber of bridge. —Artuvr L. Lirpaans What New Yorkers will expect in the subway for a seven- cent fare. comicbooks.com