New-York tribune. [volume], January 21, 1917, Page 3, Image 37

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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CHAPLIN AND SHAKESPEARE, ECCENTRIC COMEDIANS
B) ROBERT C. BENCHLEY Illustrated by ALBERT LEVERING
HUMOR
THE comic supplements and Charles
Peabody Chaplin ?are fair game
these days for any one who
ssaati to register his disgust at horse?
play and whitewash as comedy acc?s
?vories. Any right minded person will
?.row purple with disapproval when con
?ronted with a comic strip showing
?azink Boys impaling their grand
tnts on a picket and will shake hia
?sT?vely when bi ought face to face with
the undeniably popular endorsement of
a movie featuring a ?swinging door, cus
fard pie, and a padded policeman. Such
things indicate a fatty degeneration of
the national sense of humor, say th*?
esthetes. And so they do.
But let no one complain of the slap
rttt unadvisedly. m thinh
Sail I
m of tiic kick-and
ouch school of ?satire. I "'??"
simply giving up the Funny ?Section cl
hia paper, or leaving the theatre when
"Keystone" is flashed on the screen.
"Hie man who would shut "komedy" out
from his life altogether must be pre?
pared to abandon what may be one of
his most cherished poses, an attitude
*Mch gives him standing il nmu
iron of the
for hia laugha
ron the Bard
?*? Avon, if I may be allowed the nick
tome, that much of our low-brow merri
ftfnt of to-day springs.
A gentleman sat in front of me at
"Hie Merry Wives of (Vindsor" last
v,eek who could hardly contain himself
'hen ftardolph landed ;i : ?ron?? left on
1 alstnff's i.tomach, thereby causing hin:
*? brliow and blow out a 1 I o
*l|ds from the pot of sack he 'ah> drink?
lnt>. It was simply too delicious a bit
^ fan for the gentleman to bear, and
he clapped his knee and looked at hi
companion as if to say, "After all, when
ran you find Buch genuine humor as h
.Shakespeare?" Had he asked me tht
question, I should have told him that hi
could find the same thing two block.*,
down, where there was a reel In
motion showing a waiter with a
make-up something less offensive than
Bardolph'fl who, at that very mo?
ment, was executing the very same
? n Mio stomach of a police?
man who was drinking a mug of beer,
and with exactly the same delight?
ful results. And yet it wouldn't take a
very sporting man to bet that the gen?
tleman in front of me would leave the
moving-picture house in disgust at such
an exhibition of crassness.
Now, of course, there are no stage di~
roctions in "The Merry Wives of Wind?
sor" which say : B. I ikes FoX
staff ii/ ttomach, eau n to blow
Thai is the work <>r the producer
knows what the public wants.
Likewise the various blappings and
humpings and trippings which mark the
entrance and exits of the low comedy
characters. One can imagine the di?
rector of a Shakespearian production
standing down In the pit at a rehearsal
and saying:
"Now, you two page-boys over there
by the door. Don't stand there? doing
nothing. Hit each other! First Pa go
bite Second Page-boy and Second
Page-boy pull First Page-boy's nose!
Kick him! That's right! Throw beer
at him! Fine! Now, remember that !"
Any jury would acquit Shakespeare
of this pari o the perfori I ut no
lager would d I hing
like Falstaff's laundry monologue,
which ?Shakespeare undoubtedJy admit?
ted was "a little thing of my own." If
those in the audience who applauded al?
most every line of that speech as de?
livered by Mr. Wise were to hear
the same lines from a t?arn of soft
shoe dancers as patter-talk they would
each one v rite a i their favorite
pap? r i" ? '?i* ' "'I lie
Fifth of ' American
Patriots.'*
There is the spologisl who says that
Shakespeare wrote for his age. So do
the writers of the Komedy Reels, for
ages four to eight, inclusive. And yet
there must have been some mild oid
gentlemen of Shakespeare's time who
shook their h? ad >; FaU ' mes ?
and aaid lo <
I.nt tl \u 1 were
the
spout his low-brov lin< i' the cooler."
Such critics probably professed to find
the real humor to their taste in Chaucer.
Far be it from an unpretentious piece
like this to say that Launcelot Gobbo Is
not funny. Equally far to say that he
is funny. But, those who can scream at
his twitting of his blind father ought at
least to be able tc get a giggle from a
comic strip in which Winifred Weenix
pulls the crutches oui fro n under her
blind aunt, [fon?: i funny, the other is
You don't have to I""1? up the notes ?n
the back of the Rolfe edition to find
that out.
Let us say that you are at a moving
picture show. You don't often go, bul
. it is Interesting orae in a while. ?
(??ally the educational films and the i
weeUies. And then, too, the audience
is so fascinating to watch. Before you
are aware of it a Vogue Komedy is an?
nounced and you are caught like a rat
in a trap. It deals with a fat plumber
who has arranged a clandestine meeting
with the wife of an exceedingly jealous
waiter, -hist as the fat plumber ha
laken the buxom w ife on hii knee s
nd of era ? ? : ., is hean i
nouncing the advent of the furious
waiter-husband. After sufficient rolling
of the eyes and trembling of the knees
to convince the most backward intelli?
gences in the audience that the fat man
is terrified, he is hustled into a clothes
hamper and the janitor is called to carry
it to the laundry. Enter jealous hus
d, who nulls down five pictures and
h?s ? I ? ?
; ip| ?? i ?? c hi v' f faitl Ic .
Close-up <d' the dothes-hamper going
down in the dumb-waiter.
The next scene is laid in the laundry
and is full of punch. Zipl Comes the
hamper down a chute, and, Splash ! into
a tank, from which the fat plumber
emerges, in due course, dripping and
blowing. Great facial expression and
i ?ntinuous applause.
You edge your way out, ?llod with a
great sadness. As you turn foi
disgusted look before making for the
you see the fat plumber again,
dressed up as an old woman, being
kicked and whipped and mauled about
the scene by the infuriated waiter.
r such an exhibit '?? "<>l air
you would
to wall I the ' .. - ?me, b il j ou mu?:
hurry, for yon have to dress and go OUl
that evening to "The Merry Wives of
Windsor," a treat to which you are look?
ing forward with genuine pleasure, for
you are always sure of a good laugh at
FalstafT's antics, especially in the
?n Mistress Ford's
"ii.? wh ii
- d a.
It would fair tc
say that this seen Jar to that in
the movies which was so offensive, for
in the Shakespearean production Ford
enlivens the comedy of the thing by call?
ing the old lady a witch, hag, baggage,
polecat and ronyon. The Board of Cen?
sors would never lei thai "ronyon" get
bj in t lie m">\ ie i.
On with the
chai
m in "Henrj the
lcu i h" ! < last as i'isiol in the scene in
the Boar's Head Tavern, with Doll Tear
sheet as a foil and an assortment of
tables, chairs, pots of sack and a sword
or two, and he would have the entire
English department of any university
fiat on their backs with laughter?pro?
vided they didn't know who he was.
If some company could only combine
kespeare and Chaplin, with the in
genuit) i lern Shakespeai
.
ration in the way
ibber hose, mortar and fish ponds,
what a reel could be mad"! A laugh
from start to finish !
The Terrible Thunder of War
The first *run has be,en fired.
U hen the Pn ? Idi n< promised
vention last August tha
he intended to light lor them, some o?'
them were so unemotional as to won?
der just what he meant.
The pause from September to Jan?
uary seemed rather long to some.
But a great offensive takes a long
time to prepare.
Th?** other day the first blow was
i truck.
The President asked the ***jffl*af"
pickets to come in and warm Unir f* el
battu: hymn
He has asked the- suffrage pickets to come m
and warm their feet.
Yes, the champion of frit-edt-wn bids the drrrma
of battle beat
For to give your life for Ii">?erty Is ("ecoron?
and sweet.
So he Bated the suffrage p?<-!,-.*;??, to com?- in and
warm th?-ir '?
? ? ? ?
bal one of our rontemp*
raries Is angry about th?* .suffrage pick?
ets?at least, it ?says they are "silent.
silly, offensive, petty and monstrous."
ARE WOMEN PEOPLE?
By Mice I hier Miller
Q._What is the difference between
?The New York Times" and the
suffrage pickets?
A.?The pickets are silent.
To ?\nger
O Angrr. Temper, I scfc of .?s> If-Control.
\\ bat pit falls i' ' '*d path yon It
rial!} for ?'
! ' 'I ?'
J ? .1, r .. t?l ? ?' ?is
Is the sohitiun of BsMM ?sSBpici qu'.st ?ui!.
While In the ?Jdrrly yon oft induce
Insomnia ?and nervous indigestion.
Once more, -das, "The Time*" ts in a rage:
Once more, although white paprr is erpensiv.
Ttiirkly it .sows its ta)tct?wsl. p igfl
With words liki sfen
Mi-?
pen
? ? ? ?
Our enjoyment of ant i suffrage lit
erature?and we do enjoy it?is some?
times mitigated by a certain confusion
of mind.
For Instance, Anti-Suffrage Notes
No. 135 opens with two paragraphs
describing disorders and murders in
Chicago, "Where Women Vote."
We ran understand fhc object of tha'
?. bul the san i end w?th a
ibilanl deacriptidu o? a murdi i
Japan, where women do not vote. The
only cause of rejoicing in this crime
.seems to be the fact that it was com?
mitted by a woman.
? ? ? ?
Tin pressions of an Ant I Sneech
as, Iridie?, jem whose pi*-"
' ? -pend Muir wr.-.lth and '??
I "ding tacts te harta and res
1 ithrr rrirnir??rrs ?-?f your s- ?;.
We have some delightful n**.i
hfaet con?lstcnt with our vi**w?
A young girl, as ?re predicted.
i>f a muroVr ?vas com i^t?-!
jtee.
M . !
'?, i i . ? low and una]
I'hcv W? : \rrv happ? .
# ? * *
Where Women Have Indirect Influence
Only
If a year ago last October the women
of New Jersey had won the vote, they
alone would be held responsible by the
anH?s for the present conditions in the
ton State Prl
If i r mg in
.
women, wh] '".'hing thai
goes wrong in other states due to
indirect influence of women?
If the indirect influence is so potent,
why is it never held responsible?
Wo should like to know from the
N'mv Jersey Association Opposed t'>
Woman Suffrage why prison
? rri'ole in a
Didn't the indirect influence work?
Or didn't the ladies who possess it
take enough interest to use it? .
VULGARITY
Scene ; A street in Venice.
Enter Embroglio with a seltzer boU
tie. to Craahius, knoekhtg
(6 of ichitcuash.
How now, I'rashius!
( ,-,. /' . I low now. yourself! (Kicks
him into o high dudgeon.)
Km.: Bring you good news from
Glandular?
Cr.: Good news, f faith I (Pushes
him into the wall of a castle, which faUs
and buries him.)
Km. (From the ruins): B'r Ia^dy, an
ill much further driven,
'(?11 a kidney-bean.
from whsjoce
you with that custard
Cf.: So further than your worship's
bridge-work. (Throws it at Embro?Uo's
mouth. Hits it.)
Em. (Blowing custard): A pox on
such a spiteful act
f Enter Townspeople, Ilautbeyye, Alar
rutns, Sad ToreW -, piixhing hire Ertin
i i >? *>,.] o i'?. jrou **ousjab***M -
Is \ ? i a sie? ping i bb\\
That privacy's disturbed at will?
Townspeople, etc. (Shouting): We
want Universal Military Service!
(Turn hose) on Embroglio and Crash
im. Terribly slow curtain.)
This is just a rough sketch, of cours**.
A much fin-T thing could be done with
more hose. Rut th? essentials
? **iHin would
of ^baik'-speare's
extra <<'? could not help but be
enchanted. Ai d between the two classes
ycji. could ? -usily fiil the house.