The sun., 1919-06-01
ny GEORGE HAssBLL.
u "Gooa Morning. judge"

LAUGH Is uescfipeu py stan-
n lard dictionary as q convulsive
4 \ sound caused by merriment. Hid
den within the one word. convulsive.
Is the greatest secret OF iaugh-produc-
ing-suddenness. the unexpected But
there are other underlying secrets. and
they are numerous and varied. Some
enc has declared q hearty laugh the
rarest experience Of man. He IL right.
SS,sE:a is drama the world over; trag-
edy is tragedy, but comedy is - well.
whatever the victim IL willing to ac-
eept as such. It Is the most uncertain
commodity that the theatrical mana
ger has to sell. No one has been able
satisfactorily to explain the reason. 1t
has neither definite form nor formula,
yet. like the piano, one can play any
thing on Il II he know how. Other
wise q mess OF discord win be pro-
duced.
An example Of the problems pre-
scented by comedy is found In this SIM
pie experiment. Tickle one person in
the ribs and he will lose all control
Of himself and writhe in paroxysms.
Tickle another person in precisely the
same manner and he will turn CLASSY
eye upon you. Tickle yourself and the
experiment is devoid Of sensation. yet
suffer another to tickle you and you
will shout with laughter. why? And
It is Just as difficult to answer the
why's arising from q discussion Of
stage comedy.
There was a speech in Francis Will
sons play when knights Were
Bold" that told the whole story:
"oh. my noble lords and ladies',
Testing isn't joke"
The millionaire who has enjoyed
every advantage OF education and Gull
ture. who has seen everything that
travel may offer and who might be
expected to be both blase and sophis-
ticated, may laugh himself into hys-
terics over the antics of a slapstick
comedian. while his studious, serious
minded clerk Is bored and can only
get a laugh out OF Sheridan's keenest
shaft OF wit or Shaw's polite pleas
antries. Which brings home the fact
that 1t IS the audience and not the
evenings entertainment. There are
three fundamental types of comedy
underlying all stage entertainment
the pungent. the oily and the unctu-
Gus acrobatic. I should say that Al
Jolson typifies the former and also
that his treatment Is the most daring.
Comedians OF his school frankly tell
their audiences that they are r.
resistibly funny and carry the audi
ences with them throughout the even
ing. I should say that Charles Chap
lin typifies the unctuous acrobatic
comedian, whose keynote Is surprise.
] belong to quite a different school
OF comedy. I recognize the fact that
i am lazy. But the people that laugh
with me are lazy too.
As I understand comedy, the people
who laugh with me do not want to
be disturbed. They accept the char
acter as I do-a sincere old bird,
this Magistrate in Good Morning,
Judge" He is bubbling over with
exuberance. but he does not fully rec
ognize It. and the caution incident
30 his station stops him. He is Q
hypocrite. but only to the extent that
we are all hypocrites. He is fooling
himself and that Is why he is funny
He is real In fooling himself, lust as
real as you are when you say to
yourself, I'm take a drink; I don't
want it, but feel a pain"
His wild young stepson recognize.
q truth and expresses 1t bluntly wher
he says: You're a sporty boy, but
lS
the comedy. To be funny the char.
acter must be played with sincerity, the
character carrying the audience with
him through perfectly logical combi-
nation Of circumstances into a situa-
ton that is a living horror to him. That
II is horror to him, that he ha,
walked into the situation led by 6
child and fooling himself all the tim,
Is the very essence Of lazy. oily com
edy, and the climax Is reached wher
he commences to realize tho situa,
ton In the court scene. Its horror
sweeps him out Of all semblance o.
reason or mentality; he gropes with
q suffocating cloud Of fact and sue.
lcumbs to 1t. He "goes out" stran,
CLING. and in the moment that he col.
lapses the height of comedy is
reached One smile would utterl,
ruin the situation. but when he strug
giles for air and falls, Hopping like
a fish out Of water, the audienc,
shrieks with laughter. The audienc,
is sympathetic: it has placed itsel
IN his position and therefore the au
dience Is In Mysteries Of laughter.
1t may be said that this method o
earning a laugh Is crude. So It is
Just as crude as the oil painting OF (
mother bending over a child in tn,
cradle. Seen at the proper distance
under the proper lights and with tn,
benefit Of a shadow box the paintin.
brings tears to the eye OF the beholder
but scrutinlzed at a distance Of a few
feet 1t is a blotch. Tho comedian
handles a given subject in q broa,
way. taking full advantage of toning
lights, music, &C, and IL he carries hi
audience with him he sweeps them OF
their feet with merriment. He know
he is acting as no person in real lif
would, but therein lies the foundation
for his laughs-the unreal, the unex
pected, with a shadow box of the rea
provided by the sincerity OF his acting
Judge Needles in Good Morning
Judge" is an innocuous old fossil, VIII
has outlived all the wild oats days
has been surrounded by influence
SUMMER RESORTS.