Life, 1928-12-07 · page 30 of 64
Life — December 7, 1928 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the cynicism and phoniness of 1920s Hollywood social conventions, particularly Christmas card-sending among film industry figures. **The Main Cartoon:** Two characters ("Moe" and "Joe," likely representing generic Hollywood types) complain bitterly about mailing Christmas cards to people they despise—naming figures like "Ham Ginsberg" and others at studios like "Superb Productions" and "Magnificent." The joke is that sending cards to people you hate is obligatory career networking, a wasteful charade. The punchline: they admit they wouldn't send a card to their actual friend Manny, because "he's a white little guy"—the one person they genuinely like doesn't *need* a card to remember them. **Secondary Content:** "The Dog and the Cat" makes a joke about physical resemblance (a Pekinese dog resembling someone named Harold). "Cart Before the Horse" is an unrelated poem about a fountain pen. The satire targets Hollywood's hollow professionalism and the absurdity of obligatory social rituals masking actual contempt.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
abn, — BasesaLt Fan: Slide, you rummy—SLIDE! Hollywood Idyl “HELto, Moe.” “Hello, Joe.” “Howzit with you, baby?” “Not bad. Howzit with you?” “Aw, I been mailin’ out a lotta Christ- mas cards to a lotta mugs. It’s the bunk.” “Yeh, it burns me up—wastin’ good stamps once a year wishin’ a Merry Christmas to a lotta apes that you hope’ll choke.” “Yeh, gummin’ up the mails sendin’ cards to thugs like Ham Ginsberg an’ Nate Zipser!” “Yeh, that whole mob over at Superb Productions is arsenic to me.” “Yeh, an’ that bunch over at Mag- nificent—Louie Carter an’ Mike Kelly— they'd cop Santa Claus’s beard right off Tue Doc anv THe Cat “Look at the cute little Pekinese Harold gave me to remember him by.” “Wonderful! How in the world did he ever find one that looked so much like him?” Page 44 — \ | his pan if they only got the chanc’t.” “Yeh. Herb 2A fiebaum over at Allied Producers has prob'ly got a mortgage on the reindeer.” “But a "s got to keep dishin’ out the banana extract to them’ bandits?” - “Yeh. Sendin’ ‘em Christmas cards is good publicity for a guy.” “Yeh, it keeps ‘em from forgettin’ a guy’s name—the dirty tramps!" “Say, Joe, are you gonna send a card to Manny over at Acme Pictures?” “Naw. I don’t hafta. Manny's one white little guy—I like him. I don't need to send him no card.” “Naw. A guy'’d be a chump to send Christmas cards to his friends.” “Well, gimme a buzz over at the club sometime.” “Yeh. If I don’t buzz you, buzz me.” “So long, Moe.”” “So long, Joe.” Robert Lord. CART BEFORE THE HORSE My fountain pen’s a work of Art, The finest thing that’s on the mart. It has a wonder point of gold, Which lasts a life-time, so I’m told. It’s always at my beck and call; jIt never clogs or leaks at all. | But here’s what hits me with a wham: |The stuff I write’s not worth a damn! Dave Murray. Wuar this country needs is a good wife-sent cigar. comicbooks.com