The Last Laugh: How Comedy Archives and Remixes Humanities

1930s: "Food Fighters" - Tomatos Another Day

Tomatos Another Day (1930) perhaps unknowingly made its contribution to the archive of humanities. Directed by James Sibley Watson, Tomatos Another Day is an example of a comedy film archiving the comedic sensibilities of a time period. In this case, a number of artists, studio heads, and audience members were turned off about the emergence and execution of the “talkies.” Silent film star Mary Pickford felt that “It would have been more logical if silent pictures had grown out of the talkies instead of the other way around.” 

Tomatoes Another Day not only archives a certain population's sentiments about the talkies, but also archives 1930s comedy sensibilities. After the film’s initial release was a failure, Watson later speculated the underwhelming reception to the film was attributed to the fact that a more well-known comedian actor did not star in the film. He stated Tomatoes Another Day, “was not appreciated by the audience. They didn’t get it. Harold Lloyd directed by Sennett might have brought it off.” Audiences attending the original screenings may have also been expecting a typical melodrama, ironically, a genre that Tomatos Another Day was initially lampooning. Audiences may not have been as put off if they knew the film should be viewed under a different context.

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