Variety (December 1907)

VARIETY 11 Una Clayton and Company. "Juanita." 26 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). Pastor's. Una Clayton and Company are in the field with a Spanish-American playlet, an idea made popular in the legitimate through Mr. Itelasco's ''Hose of the Rancho." It may have been the play, or the popularity of it that suggested the idea to Miss Clayton. At any rate it 13 safe to say that Frances Starr, "The Rose" in "Rose of the Rancho," has been used as a model by Miss Clayton in her por- trayal of the Spanish girl. Miss Clayton has undertaken a difficult task. She plays a dual role of twin sisters of opposite temperaments, the one, Juanita, a quiet, winsome little creature simply put On earth to be loved; while Carita, the other, is a typical fire-eating brand of the Latin race, of the sort most popular in fiction. Of course, there is the American engineer (Francis Morey) who falls in love with Juanita, not knowing of the existence of the sister, and is loved in return by the gentle one, but is heartily detested by Ca- rita, who refuses to like anything or body not Spanish. The gentleness of Juanita followed by the heated outbursts of Car- ita, who the American thinks is the same girl, have that gentleman on the run. Ray Voungerman plays a Spaniard. lie loves Carita and believes the American is also in love with her. The coming together of the two is supposed to supply the action of the piece. Everything i,s explained to the satisfaction of everybody at the finish. Miss Clayton does very well as Juanita, but does not impress as high-strung Ca- rita. The playlet is given plenty of at- mosphere and as pretty a stage setting as has been seen in the varieties. With five or six minutes out, the action quickened, and much needed improvement in the playing of the men. the piece would be well suited for vaudeville. Dash. Zamloch and Company (1). "Spiritua Mistergoria" (Magic). 2i Mins.; Full Stage. Pastor's. "Spiritua Mistergoria," whatever that may be. in all probability refers to the main portion of Zamloch's entertainment. It consists of "cabinet" work without the cabinet. A small wooden disk placed on a wooden table, a snare drum and a hat borrowed from the audience are the prin- cipals in the experiment. Zamloch work t s in the audience while "the three spirits" (as he calls them) answer various ques- tions. Three taps by the disk or drum signify "yes," and one tap, "no." The hat tips a like number of times to indicate the same replies. This part of the ma- gician's entertainment is the least fa- miliar and the most interesting. The drum and tlie hat do their part nicely, and are a bit puzzling, but the wooden disk is the sticker. There is a short pro- jection in the center of the disk upon which it balances, how it taps becomes the question. Zamloch places the table in the aisle and it works as well there within a foot of anv auditor as it does on the stage. An assistant, quite a comedian in his own way, dresses in evening clothes and manages to gain laughs through de- liberation that is funnv. It could become even more so. Dash. Lamont's Dog and Monkey Drama. 11 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). Keeney's. Lamont's act is an out and out copy of Charles Barnold's. There is a story sup- posed to go with the proceedings, a synop- sis of which is printed" on the program. It would take a lot more than is told on the program to keep track of things. When the "drunk" appears you are sorry. There may have been "drunken" dogs shown before Mr. Barnold presented his, and there certainly have been several ex- ploited since, but there is still to be seen one within nailing distance even of Bar- nold's. Lamont's "drunk" walks out of the saloon and leans against a lamp post. Tho "monk" policeman here comes in ; also the patrol wagon. As soon as the dog spies the wagon, it jumps in and the "monk" slowly follows, the effect being entirely lost. There are several other incidents all quite as badly executed. This act could not have passed even had there been no Barnold. Dash. Lyons and Parks. Musical, Singing and Dancing. 13 Mins.; One. Union Square. Lyons ami Fark,s have framed up a fairly entertaining specialty which scores in its present form through the youthful- ness of the boys. The younger of the two has a sweet voice, rather of the freak or- der, singing several numbers pleasingly, but wears a girl's dress at the opening, appearing very awkward in it. lie is a bright clean-cut looking little chap, as is afterward shown when he changes to the boy's costume. It would be better were the girl idea dropped entirely. The older boy plays the harp beautifully, accom- panying in all the numbers. Neither seems to be at home on the stage, and could stand coaching, the younger boy especial- ly needing instructions as to the use of his hands. The dressing also could be im- proved. Dash. Herbert Ingrahm and Frankie Campbell. 15 Mins.; Can Appear in "One." American. Ingrahm and Campbell, from the West, had their first Eastern .showing at the "Ted Marks' Sacred and Educational Con- cert" last Sunday. ^Ir. Ingralim is well knoAvn as a composer of popular songs. lie should, in a short time, become equal- ly well known as a singer of them. In- grahm delivers his songs in much the same manner that Bert l'it /gibbons does, tak- ing the laughs as he goes along, not de- pending upon a catch line or even the song itself to any great extent. He made "I'm Married Now" (which he wrote) sound like a new selection. Miss Campbell sang but one number, and was on the stage only four or five minutes. She is a fine looking woman with a beautiful contralto voice. During Miss Campbell's song, "I'm Perfectly Dissatisfied." a corking new "coon" lament, Mr. Ingrahm works in some funny comedy bits on the piano. The pair hurt their act by descending to "plug- ging" one of Mr. Ingrahm's ballads for a finish. The ballad is all right in itself, but neither is cut out for this style of song. It would be better to drop the selection, leaving it to some one who could do the song justice. The act in its present shape should command time. Hash. Moving Picture. "A Tale of the Sea." 13 Mins. Colonial. "A Tale of the Sea" is a "faked" pic- ture, and one of the kind which should be kept out of vaudeville theatres. It has to do with fighting and cannibals, especially the latter, and this sort of thing impresses the youthful mind. If a picture must be "faked" it /should either have good amus- ing or instructive qualities, not scenes which cause children who see it at mati- nees to curl up in their beds at night fearing some dreadful savage, such as in the picture might be lurking around. This is the greatest fault of pictures which bear the home-made mark, and will eventually lead to a revolt against them. No sensible discrimination seems to be made in favor of the children who enjoy these subjects best. "A Tale of the Sea" is of a man out of work who secures a seaman's berth on an ocean freighter:* While at sea, the mate whips a cabin boy. The amateur seaman whips the mate, and is chained below decks. The cabin boy releases him, both escaping from the steamship in a lifeboat, landing upon a sandy shore. Exhausted they fall asleep, but when the cannibals run along the beach, the boy may be seen to dig in the sand, and laughs until Che signal comes, when both jump up in the midst of the man-eaters. In the savages' camp, a phonograph saves them from a barbaric feast, and they again escape. For the fin- ish the seaman is shown returning home to find his family has been increased by one during his absence. ^The elapsed time of the picture is not given. Sime. Moving Picture. "The Mines of Decauville." New York. The series shows the methods of mining coal in a widelv known French district. The win»le process is seen, from the drill- ing to the loading of the coal for transit and its manufacture into coke. The pic- tures are unusually clear in detail, and are mechanically almost perfect, but it would require a lecturer to make the subject matter clear. Whole sections of the reel are incomprehensible. Toward the end a steel mill is shown, and here several bril- liantly light effects are displayed, the mol- ten metal appearing as streaks of blinding lights against the dark moulds. As bits of detached photographic art the pictures are pretty and interesting, but the lack of meaning robs them of force. Many per- sons left the house while they were being exhibited. Hush. OUT OF TOWN. Maisie Scott. Songs. Tremont, Boston. Maisie Seott. making her first American appearance, is a fine looker, a good char- acter dresser, a-bully singer and quite mag- netic. One or two of her songs, however, are a bit too densely English and don't "get over" very well. With a new reper- toire she ought to score over here em- phatically. Her act is absolutely clean, full of ginger and interesting. Ernest L. Waitt. DE VEAUX ON THE SITUATION. Harry De Veaux, national president of the Actors' National Protective Union, made the following statement this week to a Variety representative in response to a request for his views on the present vaude- ville situation. "There has never been a time in the his- tory of the theatrical profession when the artist, male and female, has been con- fronted with a condition existing to-day. While the many arguments going the rounds create a subject for gossip, the large majority are fearful of the future and seek a form of remedy that will meet with the approbation of all. "I have never doubted it would be neces- sary for the artist to be placed face to face with a situation that has taken five years to develop, and I have always feared that when the expected happened it would find the artist unprepared to meet the situ- ation. "The actor realizes that in the natural development of the times the theatrical managers have reached the stage of prog- ress where their mutual interests are con- centrated, and they hold resistance to con- templated plans with absolute indifference. "I do not wish to give an impression that active resistance is at this time ad- visable or necessary, but I do believe that it is imperative the artist should con- centrate his forces, and by organization and interchange of ideas, arrive at a peace- ful and sensible solution of the intricate problem involved. " 'Advanced Vaudeville' has created an- other condition which is a topic of interest to native talent. With but a few vaude- ville theatres In this country compared tc the large number in England and on the continent the present importation and the future arrivals portend a situation not fit all to the liking of the American artist (•(impelled to bide his- time and await a vacancy. The supply of talent being larger than the demand, and no competition existing, the American artist must accept the best terms offered, or invade the foreign field, taking the chances of making a suc- cess among strangers. "Too many artists' associations are not conducive to ultimate success by any in- dividual order. The strength is distributed and the methods foreign to one another. "To be ultimately successful the mere formation of an individual association is not sufficient. There must be a power behind Sufficiently strong to create respect. This power can only l>c obtained by show- ing a disposition to oe willing to assist those whom you desire to have at your back as the bulwark of your defense. "Eventually the awakening will come and then it will be apparent to all that an affiliation and understanding between all employed in the theatres must be effected to ren soTWrtory and effectually con- trol the situation. "When affairs are in this shape the manager and the artist will understand one another better and each will work to the best interests of all concerned. The artist will see the light in the very near future. He will then be guided by good, cool com- mon sense, and not be misled by fancy dreams." The Murray Sisters were compelled to leave the bill at Hammerstein's on Tues- day, Victoria Murray having contracted a heavy cold.