Variety (December 1954)

Wedntffltlay, December 15 , 1954 REVIEWS 61 House Reviews *Palaee, N. V. Church A w “ lc ' Bobb V jerry Bergen (2), Park A Cltf- tnrd ’Pigment' Markham A Co. \ 41 'Roberto A Alicia, Wally Dean, Prof Haller’s Wild Animals, Jo Lombardi House Orch; "Passion" iRKO), reviewed in Variety Oct. 6, ’34. Outside of three serviceable acts and a flashy animal windup, this is a generally dull bill. There must be a better way' of putting an eight-act layout together than tak- ing the grab-bag route. There’s a good ace-deuce punch in the Church A Hale tapology and juggler Bobby Jule. Former, a mixed duo, are smart operators oozing perfection itself on the paired work, displaying poetry-in- niotion rhythm, and in individual deportment. Gammy Miss Hale has looks besides and pard Church is a smooth hoofer with a versatile book. Jule Is a dandy manipulator with lotsa props and a light touch that adds humorous fillips. He has speed, a repertoire that's interest- ing to watch and nice presentation. Jerry Bergen, in the trey, is. from the old vaude shelf. Coat- tailed, diminutive buffoon is in the misfit-misfiddlee groove that bor- ders on the panto. Also handles Swiss bells, xylo, etc., as fulcrums for unfinished symphonies, has a rather odd approach to laugh-rais- ing and is a bit undisciplined be- >ond the act character itself. Un- billed tall femme, whose major ap- pointments are apparently intend- ed to meet the little fellow at eye level, is on in exaggerated oriental garb for a quickie vocal to his an- tics. Just a fair turn. “Pigmeat” Markham A Co. is a too frequent returnee in courtroom capers spotted fifth. It’s loud, fun- ny In an antiquated fun-poking sort of way and, let it be said here and now, is a distinct dis- service to the Negro race and ques- tionable whether it’s appreciated even on the Apollo time. Up ahead are Park A Clifford, a worthwhile standard combining vo- cals and aero, some of the latter a good deal more difficult in the merging than appears on the sur- face. Employ a piano effectively as a base for tricks. They give a literal lift to the proceedings. Rob- erto Sc Alicia take their flamenco stepping into offbeat, vague paths not especially articulate in a vauder. Wally Dean, berthed next-to- closing, needs the benefits of more original style and material. He’s got a good thing going in brassy instrumentation under his trench- coat, but. this is a quickie that comes a hit late in the fray to earn him overall positive reaction. In closing slot is Prof. Keller and his ensemble of mixed wild animals. It's an imposing array borne in a huge cage (about 30 feet) and the showmanship values are in accent, especially when the trainer makes with the "hypnotic” eye in the individualized subjuga- tions. Has couple of good tricks, too, such as the charges walking a rope and pedestalled plank. The way Keller talks to them in Eng- lish to cajole and coax 'em (some- times 1 if ireful tone done straight) is an unusual aspect of the flashy turn; that and the intro speech to the customers building up the dif- ficulty of handling a mixed group in one arena, and urging delay on the applause for fear of upsetting the beasts, etc. Act has a fine ele- ment of suspense about it and the prof carries it all off with an air of authority. Jo Lombardi is kept busy throughout on the showbacking and the expertness is obvious. Trail. tomers are pretty Indigo and should be dropped, particularly in contrast to the well-mannered de- livery of her male partner. The Revellaires (4) follow for a 1 neat session of vocalizing (New Acts). The Jdggling Colleanos (Jimmie, Phillip, Kitty, Winifred), brothers and sisters, are on for one of the fastest of acts, with rings and clubs, with this third-genera- tion family group easily evidenc- ing why they’re a Rlngling Bros, centre ring act. Finish has Nina de Paris, shape- ly blonde, on for some graceful dancing with the fans, with a switch to unusual strobolite effects, all over on disciplined ballet dancing and novelty to hefty ap- plause. Ambling In and out throughout the acts as emcee is Savoy for some nonchalant patter, mainly based on sour sex stories that don’t go over. McStay. Empire, Glasgow Glasgow, Dec. 10. Anne Shelton < with Hal Chamb- ers at piano), Sid Milltoard A Nit- wits (9), Freddie Sales, Peter A Sam Sherry, Alexander’s Dog Re- vue, Dunn A Grant, Bobby Dowds Orch. Casino, Toronto Toronto, Dec. 10. Revellaires (4)( Juggling Col- leanos (4), Kay A Aldrich, Nina de Paris, Harry Savoy, Archie Stone Orch; "Sleeping Tiger" (Indie). % This is a 70-minute stage pack- age in which the toppers, judging from, audience reaction, are a jug- gling team, The Colleanos; and a \ocal foursome. The Revellaires •New Acts), with two of the other turns so lurid in spoken material * s . to draw gasps from an other- wise sophisticated audience. Proceedings open with Harry Savoy as emcee for a lazy delivery of patter that should be immedi- ateiy cleaned up. This brings on Ray Sc Aldrich for combined eon- Jortos and balancing work, plus knockabout that is interpolated with the hoydenish, breaking-up- lue-act routine that is okay on tnayhem and balancing dexterity. Rut the girl’c asides to the cus- Anne Shelton, established Eng- lish chirper, heads this thin lay- out which is obviously Intended as a fill-in prior to teeing-dff of Christmas season fare. Miss Shelton employs a calm as- sured style in chirping born of years of experience, and offers a pleasing songalog of old and new hits. Opens with "I’ve Got The World On A String,” then into cur- rent hit "If I Give My Heart To You.” Attempts impersonation of various British dialects in comedy tune but is n.s.g. with the phoney Scot diaftet, and scores better with Cockney and Lancashire twang. Freddie Sales, English radio and stage comedian, offers a new act as_a film studio starlet in first seg- ment of bill, but needs to sharpen this though it has much comedy potential. After Intermission, he returns to score solidly with quick- fire patter into which he draws the customers. Comedian is garbed in bright yellow cap and socks, and has clever line of gabbing. Peter A Sam Sherry, two broth- ers, are versatile in dancing, song and musicianship, but average in quality. Dunn A Grant, mixed two- some, raise laughs with knock- about aero work in which the distaffer gets the better of male J tartner. They get bright support rom the crazy-style comedy band of Sid Mill ward A his Nitwits, decked in antique-looking wigs and engaging in much musical lunacy. Alexander’s Dog Revue is a fair- ly intriguing line-up of various pooches, best feature of which is their costuming. With them is a monkey which clicks in series of skillful back somersaults. Gord. FRANCES BERGEN Songs 30 Mins. Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans Frances Rergen (Mrs. Edgar Bergen), making her debut as a pitery thrush, garnered slick re- action at break-in. There were few who didn’t root for the luscious strawberry blonde, an ex-Pow«!rs model. Bathed in a baby spotlight and garbed in a dazzling gown of lace and apricot tulle that grabbed gasps from the femme ringsiders. Miss Bergen sang all mood and manner of song and the end result was a delightful melange of melodic souffle. Vocally. Miss Bergen has thin but pleasing pipes, but her voice is backed by a sense of rhythm and salesman- ship that blend to make her stint exciting. Miss Bergen has material that stands out. Songalog shines with good pacing and showed that plenty of work went into polish job. Evelyn Love Cooper con- trived the special material of fine satire that bulwarks the turn. Some production fillips also add to the appeal of each tune she warbles. Looker w r on heavy mitting with original tunes like "High Time,” "I Like It,” "The Language Song” and "You Can’t Make Him Over.” Songs were smart, clever and tuneful, and she extracted full meaning from the lyrics. It’s the attention to words aa well as melody that provides a large por- tion of Miss Bergen’s impact. Singer also generated plenty of enthusiasm with ballad and rhythm tunes that included "Hey There," "I’m in Love.” "Cuddle Up a Lit- tle Closer,” "Got World on String” and "Sitting on Top of World.” It was in these happy tunes that her personality was best projected. Her small talk between numbers has the quality of being impro- vised and her informality seems genuine. Her mood of friendli- ness is transmitted to her listen- ers. Supper clubs should be Miss Bergen’s immediate goal. Although she lacks an outstanding voice, she has all the qualifications as a bis- tro belt bet: beauty, personality, charm, poise and show business savvy. She has plenty to be happy about at thia stage of her career. Danny Deane's orchestra gave excellent backing. Liuz. 4 COINS Songs 14 Mins. Boulevard, Rego Park, L. I., N. Y. The Four Coins, who are riding a rising Epic disking, have come into the Boulevard, while the platter is on the upbeat. The cus- tomary procedui;e for Those with a record is to start the personal appearance tour while there’s a chance of building. Many would better equal their record reps if they could get a little seasoning before goining on the pezsonal ap- pearance route. This situation applies to the Four Coins. On their first stand in the metropolitan N. Y. area, they impress as a likeable group with a good knowledge of funda- mentals in harmonics and projec- tion,’ but a few more weeks in the hinterlands might have taken off the rough edges and given them a more polished mien. They Impress as serious kids with a lot of drive and a desire to please. Some of their harmonics show a lot of discipline and yet some of their drive seems to be dissipated by movements made only for the sake of not standing still, and have little relation to the theme of the number of the style they’re attempting. In their bid for hep stylization, they do virtually every- thing but swing a long keychain. They’ll find their metier after more time on the circuits. At the moment they are a good quartet still to reach their performance peak. One of their number throws in an occasional sax bit, which adds a different note to the proceedings. Their tunes seem to be the driv- ing variety with more change of pace needed. Jose. THE REVELLAIRES Songs 18 Mins. Casino, Toronto The Revellaires, a colored vocal quartet, inevitably face some similarity to the Mills Bros, and Ink Spots, W’ith the first tenor also possessing a trick falsetto voice, but the foursome ha6 a song style and mannerisms of its own. In dinner jackets, this tall quartet has plenty of harmony values and disciplined volume effects, plus lots of palm-slapping and campus calisthenics. At two mikes, they open with a rousing "If There’s Anybody Here from My Home Town”; a subdued spiritual styling of "Some- body Bigger than You and I,” which has just been released under the Burgundy label; a bouncy "Get Set,” with plenty of finger-flutters; a cheerful burlesque of "Sh- Boom”; and a wham finale of "Shake, Rattle and Roll.” Foursome (Jimmy Bryant, bari- tone; Bill Duncan, 1st. tenor; Joe Irby, 2d tenor; Bill Robison, bass) have lots of showmanship savvy, a neatly diversified repertory, and were over to top^audience response when caught. McStay. DINAH KAYE Songs 15 Mins. Black Orchid, Chicago A former band vocalist in Scot- land, Dinah Kaye has already made a slight impression in the U. S. on Label X and in several appearances at minor nightclubs. In her first major engagement, she sells an admixture of American tunes and Scotch ditties which are S iven the Yankee treatment. She 11s the bill amply as a supporting act. She is striking in a glittering strapless gown, and she delivers with the knowhow of a seasoned band warbler. A wavering rhyth- mic style and strong throaty voice distinguish her yield, as does a general theme of the scarcity of good men. Intros and between-numbers patter Is all times warm and casual, and therein lies much of her appeal with the crowd. Les. Night Club Reviews Continued from page M Hlverftlde, Reno suits and stay in these even when doing Kirsten Flagstad. Jugglers have pretty well satu- rated this room with every con- ceivable trick and Vivianne A Tassi simply add a touch of sex to the arrangement. They do some in- terchanging of flying objects and that’s about It. George Moro puts equal effort into all shows so that the River- side is always bookended with at- tractive routines. An authentic Ozark jig ia Is made feminine and cute while Bill Clifford sings "County Fair.” To wrap up the show, the Starlets charleston, et. al.. through a flapper era num- ber, finally being joined by the Bernard Bros, for the payoff. Mark. Ruby Eoo’s, Montreal Montreal, Dec. 8. Charles Trenet (with Fred Lein- hart); Roger Joubert; no cover or minimum. Since the agreement ending the American Guild of Variety Artists and the American Federation of Musicians’ hassle became effective, the managements of Ruby Foo's is the only one in Montreal to take any sort of definite step towards bettering their entertainment jpolicy. As a teeoff for the belated sea- son, they’ve brought in Charles Trenet. Getting Trenet to work the room was no great problem as he was out on $25,000 bail in Mont- real following his contract wrangle with the management of the mu- sical. “Hello, Paree,” which folded in Wilmington Dec. 4. Despite frequent showings around Montreal in past years (mainly in the east end), Trenet is still a master of the French ballad and topnotch composer of material that is standout in any company, both lyric and musiewise. His performance in Ruby Foo’s Starlight Room is no exception and solid business has greeted this offhand krtist throughout the en- gagement. Warming up in quiet fashion, Trenet (with only his own songs, of course) impresses with his glib manner and assuredness, reprising all his waves and intro- ing several new items that are cincheroos in this bilingual town. With Trenet, the language barrier is seldom apparent as he switches from one tongue to another with ease, and his simple but descrip- tive French lyrics keep attention at all times. Pianist Fred Leinhart backs Trenet handily and house 88’er Roger Joubert does interlude sets. Neal. I versatile pipes of headliner Phyl- lis Branch. i Miss Branch has magnetic pres- ence, a wide vocal range and whip- ' like control of her voice. Her Afro- I Cuban chants are excitingly vi- brant, and her versions of “Cum- bancherb” and "Babalu” pack a wallop. She’s equally adept for diction on calypso ditties like "My Man Is Good” and "Out the Light” j»and Indicates she can work com- fortably in any mode of song. Count Daville, a good-looking chanter who accompanies himself on guitar, essays four tunes in- tensely, one of them "My Dinero’* which he cleffed himself. Lady Tina Marshall grinds out sex in a brief costume and nifty chassis. Sultry gal warbles one tune, and wiggles and wags her way out of it in exotic terp. Joc-a-bodi Danc- ers, a pair of muscular lookalikes. dish up a couple well-fashioned primitive productions, working in synch most of the way. Whole lineup appeals for costuming and polished execution, and colorful finale ends in a salvo. Al D'Lacy and his gypsy string orch show- back deftly and handle the in- terim terp chores. Les. ■•lei Radlaaon, Mpli. Minneapolis, Dec. 11. Felix Knight, Don McGrane Orch (8); $2.30 minimum. Quagllno’s Sc Allegro, London London, Dec. 1. Leslie (Hutch) Hutchinson: Thn Claytoii and Tibor Kunstler Orchs; *4 .65 minimum. In Just over a year Hutch (as Leslie Hutchinson is always known and billed) has been the sole cabaret attraction at these twin niteries for six months and now he’s back again for another ex- tended, run which takes him into the New Year. It’s an unique feat and as there’s no visible sign that he’s outstaying his welcome, it may well be repeated in 1955. A veteran cabaret performer who has mastered most of the tricks of his trade, Hutch has be- come the fave of chi-chi society. Although his rich baritone voice does full justice to his carefully chosen songalog, much of his new wave of popularity is undoubtedly due to the success of one number: his parody of "Let’s Do It” and this has been allowed to grow and grow until it now fills almost half his act. The customers, apparently, cannot have too much of it. Myro. Bine Angel, ( HI Chicago, Dec. 7. "Calypso Jamboree," with Phyl- lis Branch, Count Daville, Lady Tina Marshall, Joc-a-bodi Dancers ( 2 ), Al D’Lacy Orch (5); $3.50 minimum, no cover. A favorite here, Felix Knight is back for the fifth time. Robust tenor again provides an enjoyable two-week vocal interlude, for an enthusiastic response. With an ar- resting personality and his Metro- politan Opera background, Knight finds the going good. Dramatic fervor and humorous overtones, an the occasion demands, along with exceptional vocal ability, distin- guish a performance which local cafe society finds very pleasant. While Knight offers several un- familiar numbers and one chuckle- some original . selection, his rou- tine comprises mostly surefire pop perennials. Distinctive arrange- ments and interpretations make them standouts. Interesting intro- ductions and a few amusing stories vary the proceedings acceptably. Especially good are "Bohemian Fiesta,” "Mattinata," "Nothing Like a Dame” and "Philosophy/ At opening-night dinner show, with the room filled, Knight did 10 num- bers and finished to begoffs. Don McGrane and his music scintillate backing up Knight and playing for guest terpers. Rees. Em Rose Roa|e, Paris Paris, Nov. 30. Freraa .Jacques (4), Les Guar- anis (6), Maia Angelo (2), Les Asses (2), Rose Rouge Orch (5); $3 minimum. Jean Fardulli has packaged his best revue to date in this intimate room, one of the country’s main ports of calypso. Layout unwinds at a neat pace with plenty show- manship and a tasty balance; of song, dance and comedy—the lat- ter, per usual, coming through on the entendre and sometimes out- spoken calypsonian lyrics. But the real impact derives from the rich, Though attendance at this pre- viously SRO club has fallen great- ly in the• last year, the return of the Freres Jacques (4) now gives this its packed aspect of yore. Be- cause it vacillates, Nico has sold his controlling interest in this cave spot, and has given up the idea of producing another revue, based on Pierre Daninos "Carnets De Major Thompson,” as planned. As it stands, the club presents a nicely- rounded vaude show with enough offbeat aspects to please those look- ing for the unusual in nltery fare, and helping maintain the atmos- phere of- this club. Faeres Jacxgues are in fine form and clever miming to thefr well- chosen songs makes this a most pleasing act, with an hour of songs not enough for the crowd. In their black tights, multicolored jerseys and assortment of moustaches and hats, they sachay into such bits as the medium who is frightened by the tail of a cat, a crowd at a foot- ball game in which they play mob and players, the story of a man who swallowed a clock, and many more specially cleffed numbers. Finely- blended voices and caperings make them standout. They head for Canada and the US. after this stint. Les Guaranis (6) are a staple here in their authentic South American songs and dances, and bring color and lilt into this show for fine aud response. Maia Angelo is a stalwart, sepia artist from the "Porgy And Bess” troupe trying her nitery wings, and this intense songstress shows enough spark to be pegged under New Acts. Les As4es (2), which means the Aces, give out with a good patter routine. Primarily in the chansonnier cat- egory, this clever patter goes over with the hep crowd. Rose Rouge Orch <5) supplies okay listening music, since there is no dance space available. Tabs stay at usual $3 top. Mask.