Judge, 1929-02-16 · page 19 of 36
Judge — February 16, 1929 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the formulaic predictability of early 20th-century theatrical melodramas. The central section mocks how playwrights relied on the same tired plot device—a romantic triangle involving a husband, wife, and lover—to guarantee commercial success, regardless of artistic merit. The repeated phrase "The Husband, The Wife and The Lover" functions as a jingle, emphasizing how mechanically this plot was recycled. The text argues audiences will tolerate mediocre performers and poor production values so long as this love-triangle drama appears on stage. The accompanying illustrations show two silhouetted figures (likely representing the generic husband and lover) quarreling over a woman's affections—visualizing the interchangeable, formulaic nature of the stock scenario. The bottom section includes unrelated comic quips about lawyers and airplane safety, typical of Judge's miscellaneous humor. The "peep-show" reference appears to mock vaudeville or burlesque entertainment alongside legitimate theater.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Infernal Triangle What do you need for a popular play? The Husband, The Wife and The Lover. Write in these réles and) your opus will pay The Husband. The Wife and The Lover. The Wife's in the arms of some fair-headed boy When Hubby who left on the sleeper for Troy Returns unexpectedly—then you'll enjoy The Husband, The Wife and The Lover! As old as the hills yet productive of thrills, The Husband, The Wife and The Lover Are always a part of theatrical bills The Husband, The Wife and The Lover. The Stage could dispense with the coy ingénue, The singer, the dancer, and acts from the zoo: As long as the audience surely will view The Husband, The Wife and The Lover! Antik L. Lirpmann If a lawyer ever swallowed his words, he'd get indigestion, There’s danger in being forced down in an airplane, but we won't begin to worry until a person can be forced up in one. JUDGE WE'RE PULLING SOME A STUTTERED THE Foreign sahib like to see peep-show like U. S. « hotstuf’? This way, plizs. ni’, what insect least food?” demanded the chief bug-crafter of the Kibitzer Patrol. “The moth, it eats holes!” attested Tenderfoot Nuss- baum, tiisting a tourniquet. Mortar, stop pestleing your Papa , only real ves on the or I'll give you with the belt in the boom-boom! comicbooks.com