Variety (Dec 1929)

"VARIETY'S" LONDON OFFICE 8 St. Martin's Place, Trafalgar Square FOREIGN SHOW NEWS CABLE ADDRESS: VARIETY, LONDON Temple Bar 5041-5042 Germany Trying for VaudeviDe Comeback^Marx Fomis Trust Berlin. Dec. 17. First serious effort to bring back vaudeville in Germany has been tindertaken by Jules Marx, of the BerUn Scala and Plaza. He has organized a ''trust" or community of Interest of a string ct leading theatres and has under- taken to administer them In a way that may make two-a-day Vaude- ville a real competitor of the picture houses. ' ^ . , Uouses In the combine Include impng others the Berlin Scala and Pla^a and houses In Lelpsig, Man- heito, Hanover, Magdelburg, Ham- burg and Vienna. . Many in the trade here believe that the new organization points the way to a: definite comeback of the oldfer form of specialty entertain- ment. ■ ETHEL WALTERS^ FAVOR Will Work for Lou Mftchelt: and $300 at the New Plantation Paris, Dec. 17. Although Ethel Waters got from .160 to 250 pounds ($1,250) a week In London, when she opens here for liou Mitchell (colored) at the new Plantation next month, she will draw only around $300 and no per- centage. Doing it as a favor to Mitbhell plus the desire to play Paris. Eddie South comes over In April for Mitchell and iBilly Pierce iB sending other talent here from time to time. Mitchell's quick lunchery on the Rue Plgalle' was the first American restaurant of its type, and ig still the' fdvorite wind-up haunt in MoAltiilja,artre, although Mitchell apldf 6t(t a highly lucrative busi- !!nesS''t6 whites. He. came over 12 years ago, with a colored band and has^befen here ever since. Yersatile Four the current attraction. • Mitchell now has a downstairs all night quick-lunchery, in. the - same building housing his Planta- tion, which he Id operating for Paul Santos, the local nlte club king. . The ninth spoke In the Santos* String opens next spring on the Champs-Elysees with an eye to 'American trade. Lee Weiler, . American, and Harry Reichenbach's cousin, is associated with Santos on everything in an executive capacity And' as a business partner. 4 U. S. ACTS REGISTER; PALLADIUM BIZ IS OFF Santo's Paris Clubs Sold to English Co. 'r. Paris, Dec. 17. Paul Santo, the Parisian night ielub mogul controlling a dozen, swank resorts, has sold out the whole group to Huntley, of iffunt- ley-Palmer's . British biscuit com- pany. Santo will continue in charge of operation for the new owners, the Paris company being called Etab- llssement SantolinI, that being Santo's real name. Clubs involved include the famous Perroquet de Paris, Enibassy, Palermo, Eagle, Plantation and Tienda. London, Dec. 17. Palladium (vaudeville) held its worst second house . last night (Monday) in months despite an above average bill. Drop in busi- neses, of course, attributed to the usual pre-holiday lull. Three American acts in-the line up and all did well. Diero, piano accordionist, i-elylng too much on high-brow selections,, nevertheless made them Mike it while Chilton ahd , Thomas, dancers, were an emphatic hit. Man's intricate routine, delivered nonchalantly, was the high spot. Helen Johns' Glorious Girls were well received despite being no novelty here due to the, preceding Bonjohns of Babe Egan. Show's closing act, Three C'resso Brothers, also scored- Strong • man turn which practically held house in- tact. Another American act to click was Powers" Elephants, making their first appearance in English vaudeville, at the Coliseum. Vic Palace Holdmg Vaude? Alhambra's Films a Factor London, Dec. 17. Latest intimation Is that the Vic toria Palace will continue playing vaudeville, at least until the end of February. Proffered reason is that the legit production listed for this house is not ready, but the inside bunch believe that the Alhambra is more than a little responsible. In that the Alhambra has been wired for pictures, the boys are flg'uring that .the Vic Palace stands a good chance of re-establishing it sfelf as a vaude proposition. No surprise if this vet house now definitely retains its former policy. Sinjin Quits London, Dec. 17. St. John Ervine, of his own vol! tion, Is through as a critic. He was on "The Observer." His retirement Is to write biogra phies, although he will keep in touch with the theatre by doing weekly articles. Belgrade Goes Foreign Belgrade, Dec. 17. J'psip Kulundjutch, producer at the'State theatre here, has sched- uled an entire season of Anglo- American plays. _ He has already done "Trial of Mary Dugan," "Abie's Irish Rose" to current and the next piece will be "Journey's End," CONTINENT TO BRITAIN London, Dec. 17. Moore and Lewis arrived a few days ago from dates on the Con- tinent, They are this week In Glas- «ow with Palladium, Holburn Em- Ptre and Coliseum, London to fol- low. • : PEAESONS' DAUGHTEE p,, . London, Dec, 17. i-Tiadys Cooper, wife of Sir Neville i-earson, became the mother of a daughter Dec. 12. Violinist Craze ^'ew Amsterdam, Dec. 17. Yirf?. ' .Menuhlm, violin concert ▼"tuo.so, 13 Holland's newest craze Joel London Holdings All Offered for Sale London, Dec. 17. Solly Joel, who controls the Globe here under a 55-year lease, has pub- licly offered the property for sale subject to existing tenancies. Manager also has offered to dis pose' of his heavy holdings in the Drury Lane. "Abie" Delights Serbia Belgrade, Dec. 17. "Abie's Irish Rose," retitled "Thrice Married" was produced at the State theatre here and is a rousing succiess. Nikola Goshitch played Solomon Levy with his characteristic skill Audiences decided the Anne Nichol's play doesn't go Very deep into the problem of intermarriage, but voted it great entertainment. The Jewish population here Is greatly concerned with the inter- marriage problem. "PRINCE" AT MARIGNY Paris, Dec. 17. As soon as Volterra recovers from his illness, the deal for "Student Prince," iii French, will be cohsum matedv -Volterra'went-to London to view the English version of the operetta when stricken. "Prince" will follow the Max Dearly comic opera at the Marigny HAREY WELDON LOW London, Dec. 17 Little hope is held, out for the recovery of Harry Weldon. His condition makes It doubtful that he will survive the week. WILL MAHONEY in Earl Carroll's "Sketch Book," 44th St. Theatre,, N. T. C. The New York "Times" said: "Chief of Mr. Carroll's performers la the Blipping, sliding, tumbling Will Mahoney, who sings with rare low comedy merriment and whose dancing is constantly menaced by the law of grs^ylty." • Direction RALPH G. FARNUM 1560- Broadway SEQUEL TO "CAPTIVE" RAPS LOUNGE LIZARDS Paris, Dec. 17. Edouard Bourdet, author of "La Prisonnlere" ('!The Captive") a sen- sation here and banned in the States, has delivered another smash in his play "Le Sexe.Faible" ("The Weaker Sex") at the Theatre Michodiere. New;. pie6e Is a biting satire on the 3'oung generation of boys trained for marriage to wealthy women and they are pictured as glorified and legalized as well as socially successfull parasites. Play sparkles with brilliant dia- log. Victor Boucher heads an ex- cellent cast, supported by^ Pierre Brasseur, Josq Noguero arid Per- nand Fabre. Discreetly adapted the piece would have a good chance to click oh Broadway. Boucher plays a Ritz head waiter, the hostelry of that name filing a protest against the use of Its title and a replica of its lobby which makes one of the play's scenes. Play also rather broadly hints at certain AustrO-Hungarl9,n person ages and protests are looked for from that quarter. Both details are probably designed as publicity dodges, recalling the Roumanian ministry's protest which "recently helped another current attraction. Social Satire Makes Good Berlin Start Berlin, Dec, 17; "Humrher House," by the recently deceased Herrmann Unger, has been produced with good results at the Schiffbauer theatre here. Play Is a bitter lampooh on the jniddle classes and would never get past the American cerisors, but here it was received with favor, due In large part to a colorful perform ance. Cochran Has Guitrys London, Dec. 17. C. B. Cochran Is to bring the Guitrys, Sacha and Tvonne Prin temps to London In June. Guitry is writing a revue for the engagement, in which • Mme. Prin temps will sing and dance. ZMAS CIRCUS ON London, Dec. 17. Bertram Mills' annual circus running for six weeks during the holidays and later, starts at Olym pia hall Dec. 20. -^A^new-^feature^this -yeaPr--l3^the^ Hanneford Family. ^ Ted Trevor Recovers London, Dec. 17, Ted Trevor Is out of the hospital after four months In bed, result of a crack^up on the Brooklands motor racetrack, where ho was driving a speed car. He is scheduled for the juvenile role in a West End production. 'Variety' 2 Thursdays Next week "Variety" will be out in Greater New York on Thursday (26). Due to Christ- mas falling oh Wednesday. Thursday of the following New Tear's week also will be circulation day for "Variety" in New York. Distribution elsewhere un- changed either week. THAT MINK COAT STORY MADE INTO BERLIN PLAY Berlin, Dec. 17. The Berliner theatre has been en- gaged for the production of "Mon:- sieur Gaston," farce by Max Wolff, made out. of a funny story current in New York: several years ago. Action has to do with a mink coat presented to a married wom- an by her lover.' Woman pawns it and tells husband she found the pawn ticket, asking him to redeem it for her.- Husband returns with a moth eaten coat, and it is dis- closed later that he redeemed the good one and jpresented it to his own mistresis. / Play has a new ending in a court proceeding which brings a second mink coat for the wife and all ends happily. Pretty slight material and would have served better for a musical comedy book, for which purpose it was originally planned. mNDERPUL NICHT' OFF ROYALTY-EXEMPT UST Vienna, Dec. 17. If the Austrian Parliament had not enacted a new amendment to the copyright law, extending pro- tection to owners of miaterlal and their heirs for an additional two years beyond .the original .30-year, period,.Mrs. Adela Strauss, widow ofr Johann Strauss, the "waltz king" would have, been deprived of all royalties oh the Shubert pro- duction of "A Wbnderful .Night," current at, the Majestic, New York; Piece is a reviyar of the Strauss work' "Die Fledermaus," copy- rights on which expire at the end of December. Mris. Strjiuss made complaint , tha,t the Shuberts wouldn't wait even that long to Stage, the revival. Since the new enactment the Shuberts are making royalty set- tlements with, the widow. As a result of the istrauss trout»ie, both Austria'and Germany are pro- posing new copyright laws, identlcai In intent, operative at the same time and .both guaranteeing copy- right protection for 50 years. CochFan On Swaff Southampton, Decj 17. Just before boarding the "Levia- than'' tonight CTuesday) ,for New York, Charles B. Cochran had his say about one Swaffer and that Swaffer saying In "Variety" of Dec. 4 that Cochran's "Bitter. Sweet,'' at His Majesty's, had fallen off Ih business. "Tain-t so," said Cochran. "Not a single unsold seat since the com- mencement of the-run. Show's orig- inal buy with the agencies expires Jan. 4, and they have renewed for 12 weeks. . "Tell Swaff to get his Information from me On a,nything, and he can't go wrong." Paris Critics' Peeve Paris, Dec , 17. Lothar's comedy "Le Loup Garou' Is a risque but amusing faree from Vienna, done at the Coumartin, Paris. Plot: A prudish young man Is Invited to the country home of an elderly copntess. She becomes Interested In him and, does everything to lure him Into a rendezvous. Unlnten tionally she has an advenjture with a valet Instead, while the young prof, marries her niece. in the cast are Pierre Stephen, Marcelle Yrven and Simone Dulac. Paris critics passed up the produc- tion unanimously, taking umbrage at the management' for Inviting them to a matinee several days after the premiere. Jane Marnac's New Play Paris, Dec. 17. Jane Marnac's production of "The Shanghai Gesture'" opens at the Apollo here Dec, 20. At that time the revival of "Trial of Mary Du gan" will be transferred from the Apbllo to the Amblgu. "Mary Dugan" ran a whole sea son at the Apollp and was closed while it was In full stride to make room for "Street Scene" which flop ped sadly. "Mary Dugan" was then revived as a stop gag during - the Dreparatlon of "Shanghai Gesture." ^ Vienna's Guignol Vienna, Dec 17. The Municipal Burg theatre, here saw the world premiere of "I^han toms," two one-acters somewhat In the mode of the Grand Guignol of ^ariSr^wr 1 tten^by=G e rha r d^ Hail p t-^ mann. The first is a grewsome medieval theme and the second a satire on the fourth dimension. Attraction met a mixed rieception from the conservative Burg theatre audience Fowler and Tamara at Kit Cat London, Deo. 17. Having played a fortnight at the Piccadilly hotel. Fowler and Tamara opened at the Kit Cat restaurant. NEGRO TROUPE IN EGYPT Firs.t Colored Musical There—Open : in Cairo—Corhpany .of 40 Paris, Dec. 17; Colored road show, '•Louisiana," headed by Louis Douglas, opens In Caii'o at the Kursaal, Dec. 31, for tWo weeks, and then goes to Alex- andria. It's the first colored m!u- sical in that territory. Gino. Arbib, general manager of the Transvarlety agiency, himself an Egyptian by birth> is taking the company out fpr the Initial weeks,. the. Itinerary thereafter embraclns Syria, Constantinople, Buchareist, B.udapesth,' Trieste"' and Vienna. Troupe numbers 40, i^ndon Hits Survive Christmas Dullness . London, Dec. 17. Business |;enerally is poor at the box-pfflce, although the, group of solid hits Is practically unaffected by the pre-hollday.. tslump. Th^y. are all sold oiit. for Boxing night. This is normal.and usual, but a remarkable thing is thd fa6t that there has been an unprecedented advance sale for Christmas eve. • "Typhoon" Well Received . London, Dec., 17. Revival of '.'The TypKoon" at thei DuchesEl theatre here last week wa.s splendidly acted;and enthusiasm of Its reception was undeniable. Den- nis Nellson Terry Is starred. In spite of favorable start, how- ever, feeling here Is that gloomy nature of the play Is against It. HEADING BOAB SHOW London, Dec. IT. Sigbletto Brothers, minus the, Swanson Sisters but with.a com- pany of three, open at the-Holborn Empire (vaudeville)* Dec' 23 with the Palladium to follow. After playing the latter date the act heads a roadshow of 30 people for a tour of Gener.'il Theatres' houses. • INDEX Foreign Pictures Pjcture Review .... Film House Reviews Vaudeville .......... Vaude Reviews . ^. •. Bills ..... Times Square Editorial 'VVomen'.s Page ..... 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