Variety (Sep 1930)

62 LEC1TIMATE y;^dnes4*yv September 17^ JL930 OUT-OFaWN REVIEWS BROWN BUDDIES Atlantic City. N. J., Sept. 16. A g^^ood' humdred 'black and tkh Jamboree headed by Bill Robinson Ins- at the present time from wise gags to straight burlesque hoke, in- cluding a female Impersonation on a' coiich by Victor Moore. Ultimate trend oC the show Will and labeled "Brown Buddies" ellpped be away from the pompous light into the Apollo l?wt evening. . . opera atmosphere and into a, gentle It starts out as a musical comedy, satire. Cast as a whole Is well bal- shlfts to tbe battle front of France, anced. with Jane Aubert l\aylng the where a Y. M. C. A. entertainment I edge on Danielle Bregls in an Inter- hut enables a series of skits, music esting duel for popularity. Score la and ballet at which these Afro-New | good, especially _the male cliorua Torkerg do pretty well by themr selves, as long as they keep dancing. The entertainment is wholly in- dividual. Sometimes that is ordi- nary, and then again quite amusing. At present It Is far too generous and could easily stand about an hour of cutting. Next to Robinson, who is as nimble as ever up and down his tapping steps, there' is a swift and numbere, .with-"To the. Navy an* the King" in the first act topping everything. There are a couple of waltz numbers that may be popular sellers fn view of the returning trend to the waltz, Bntlre production has been made with a lavish hand and despite the old familiar book, has speed. It is clean as a whistle except for a spot or two that are certain to be cut peppy chorus that can match any Even the Cohtlnenttit bedroom spots group of pale-face chorines. From | i^ave been handled with' the_same traitor! ' Hollywood: Setit, 16. The Flnkelsteiii AAis/apart- meiit biitld^ii^. Is up in arms. The pwher thoughtlessly tnr st&lied Utur:(>by beds. ^ PUYS ON BROADWAY the eight musical contributors there are to be found three or four tune- ful numbers, . carried chiefly and capably by Ada- Brown. Adelaide Hall Is also featured, but does nothing out. of the ordinary. The piece lackd evidence of a, first-class show) humor for ihstaiice, and particularly ■ direction. A few new' sets might brighten it up, too. Altogether an average, Harlem op^ra. weintrdiub. ' naive discretion that made ■ Dona hue's performance In "Sons o' Guns", such a hit It'looks ad If Connolly has puUed a repeat. lAhhey. Mon Depute Et Sa Femme '(^C'pngrasshnan'and His V/ifo") " - - ' Paris, Scpty 4.. ■ Goinedr In three acta. Presented at the Hathurln?, Paris, Sept. 2. Authorecl »oBert Bddet. ' Produced 1»y the Oronlmn The^tral, which nuja , the Theatre • des Uatli^rini. ™ . ......Pletre Plnalr .Iiuclpn pallamapd' :FeridnJols ..., .1.'. .i'...C(ranKe ,,..Cqtty Marle-Loufsd Berger PaBcallfliF. The Barian. l|Ia,cb«rer.,. Albert Victor ( I • » » • Boston, Sept. 10. Musical romance In two acta and ale, scenes, Pcqduced by Bobby .Connolly .and I.Sl™nco^ ArOiur Swaktetrdm. America^ IJooit: by The Barortesr; Jack DoQobife. < 'Scow by --Alt>ert '.Slrmay'l _ , and Arthur Schwartz, American, premiere LThp. Princess, at 'Sh^btrt, sept. 15.'14.40 top. ' f Eugenie Boron Sigman Raymond Walbum Lieutenant .....John Kanej very good comedy with plenty ' ..Jane A^S^i of amusing situations. Despite .Martlne Lestac .-..Edith tirnede Marie*. • D»t.]r wc»iia«uv« i * ...,— Wanda Navarre Jane Aob^rtJ Of amusing , , . ^ ^ Albert/Chutr ^.Victor• Moore^ Prerich locale, it might be ^urned Princess Elaine. CdtU T<iteUt...i •••••iKw?r«''^r5lfj5l2'hnto an amusing play; for Broad ioanoft...,.........;.:..::iio^»"DuSbM^ As presented.here, but poorly Christian the 6econdi..:a«orge OrotomUnj received .owmg ,to the cast> which Aldde"'^ . -. ... ^ - , Att^orne^ L«u.'A ;""T'",7."/.'Vv^VV.V.Dor5theii'-Jim^^ a fair characterization of Pago.. Dnke Ulchaie ^ Conservative politician; other is 1 Iiucien Callamand, who steals the It looks as It Bobby. Connolly has show. He is the Industrialist who put over another musical BmaEth. j goe^ for politics in a most con No.thlng I? left df the original,£!ng- vincing manner.- llsh produ<itI<in except the sfcele.ton, , story is that of two polttlc^si of ' the plot aha thred numbers, competing for a seat In Ifarliament Jsick Donahue has beeii - laboring I provincial constituency. One with the book trying to Americanize I coming' up for re-election Is a noble- it, and at this writing he wishes he man who owns an estate; the other, had started with nothing. Still the opposlUon tliket. Is an in plenty to dp and sp ba* ;C3oni^lly,J^uatHaII«t with a factory. The ^fJ^.** shapes up like New York has ?i . secretary who is "Within two or three .weeKs. . . . his wife's lover. He eventually Jilts *he storr Is nothrng much, hav- beisome the boy, friend of the Ing to do^to a couple of Mediter- j^-^^ , ,, t, mistress, a Parisian ran^ prinqipAlltlcs and a.princess I • ■ ■ . from, one country who has been In THAT'S GRATITUDE (Continued from page 60> works with him she cftn't help but get somewhere. Scene where Craven ilnds him- self outliving his welcome at the home of the man whose life he slaved , and up against It for dough, is a capital bit of real humor and sentiment: Novel business between Craven and moss, Alexander is a good de- staU. Alexander, the engaged youjig man, wants to break off an Impend- ing wedding with Delia Maxwell, unattra;ctive though' talented, so he can woo laelfa, the prettjr sister but dumb. He offer^ Craven a. scheme worth real money,Delia Is ^worked up. over stage career, and If ^he co.uld get^stai^ted .would thrpw up the idea of piarryihg the good looking 'Wii- liaih. (Alexander). Not to' perniit others In'thii room to get Wi8^.'-the two comihunleate in pantomlnb. ■ Wlndup'^iai- the scheme worlto'and when Delia returns she's beautlRied; marking some expert makeup work, and an accomplished > slngev in Craven's . rocul show- ' She's t.he town's .offlolflil, herpinie,, thahka to CrayenJ Family, if all' wrought' .up and 'happy and yduiig North aliho'st \6 sorry he gave her the' <ilri ' But gratitude take's the' bid SOcko again,'When Delia, the girl whom Craven Was expecting to mtirry, sud- denly beats. lt out with the former chorus boy and leaves them -all flait. Then old mian Bfaxwell siidd^aiily appreciates Craven agiain after hav- ing let him down and blurts out, 'That's Gratitude,*' for a Hhish. "There's, a bit of ..a theme song .sung by .lytyrtle Clark (Delia), but not Important In melody,. George Barbler supports a capi'tc^ anl^mated. role alongside Ctuveh's'easy acti'nig gait. Pair- furnish effective con- trast. Barbier'd is ti nerVous role while Craven's a gentlet slow one played wltu perfect urbswlty. .Helen Ifehrmann made a comedy bit count. , , lifalda .Reade did extremely well with another minor rble.' Except- for prolog, setting Is the same throughout. actreds. ^ - , i _ •ocAAAi* I „„ 1 lAst act Is In the nobleman's sured for $260,000, by an American , „^ ,jhe secretary o'!f«"StHtt*.v^?A»ifS^^ with the actress from hl^h^ iii3« * the»-«^ and the Jilted politician's °A"J2^i?,.^n hr^«* out In h-rU^lte becomes the mistress of her ™f.t «^?^o?r™n« ni?v hv husband^ opponent, and the Con- ™»i^v.nV » V«r«i™pr i^mar'^ Ue'-vatlve nobleman is re-elected. SeTfo'"tL%a%urof wSrrch'^a' ?=S^oor' "Sft that has called for her. All ends 7»th such a generally poor cast, happily for-everybody but Donahue. ^miTve Its chance. Is^ obviously the who had to adapt the book: prematureness of the season, when American production is something everybody puts on revivals or cheap else again. It looks like $200,000 productions meant to last for a few up to now, with plenty more to bo weeks until the real season opens, spent. It Is carrying a male choirus Proof of this is that rehearsals of 48. and about the same number for the next.play to be produced at of girls, with about 125 railroad the Mathurins are already In prog- tlckets to buy. The Albertlna Rasch rfeas. This will be "Mon Heretier." ballet is running away with the by Prince Antoine Bibesco. author show: their .first number Is staged] of. "Ladies All." and .^stumed so artistically as to stop- the perfqrmance. ^cehically and in costunie Inves- titure, the show is all set. and the production'bpfening night was Only 35-minutes'too long, most of which} A Farewell to Arms Philadelphia, Sept. IS Grrtest Hemingway's best-selling "A Farewell to arrives toward the end. One of the awelterlnff firsi;, nighters ventured 'the Idea that maybe that guy .would Tun away wlth'- the show. Anyhow; :he is squirting > stuff around the :place—c.urtaln, ' What the author had in mind was not evident^ -unless it was- to - con-> trast the humans In this ..cheap rpontlns- houflp with th9.hues, that infest it. A. frowsy Jlandl^dy^ her nlecis and seyen roomers are the principals." The "gu^ts" have the privilege of cooking breakfast In the dirty, kitchen Aghlfch Is the plays sole acene.^ Adjoining Is the. bath- room, with a window In the kitchen w&ll* . Frequent trips of nearly all jcon- cerned' into that retreat is signal- ized by the electric light, discerned through the glass of the window. Maybe those presenting this play believe they were placing realism on the stage. No doubt they have dbne that. But they failed . .en^ tlrely as far- as lentertainment > Qr diversion goes. Cheapness and filth dominate the whole affair. The "Vanderbilt Revue" Is 4ue Into the 'Vanderbilt in about six weekd. But ""Writh Privileges" can hardly last 'tintll then. It should close Saturday, In fact should nevdr' have been put on. J6ee* Sweden and Talkers WITH PRIVILEGES Comedy drama la three acts pre&ented at the Vanderbilt Sept. U by Hymao Adler and Philip Gertoa; written by Buth Welty, Roy Haderave; staged by Hehrr-Stlllman. Sarah Heppleby '..Harlqr HUot Carl Weatcott ; Roy 'Hargravc Aleppo IHonel Jay Btander Mary Rhodes June Justice Mr. Relsner ..........Frank Manning Rachel Stein Joan Maidl.win Miss Furst MMdelliie Qrey Mahlenheim Mosa Flelslg Pedro Saul Z. Martell BxtermlDator. Thomas V. Morrison A play strongly suggestive of ver mln. Could have been called "'Vlirith Roaches." and it is. accprdlng to the lines. Not so many pla,ys in so far, None could have been less worth while than "With Privileges." Some dirty cracks, also ' cracks for roaches to nest in. Several men- tions of an exterminator and he will be cut from talky dialog in the novel, "A Farewell to Arms," second act, where the plot has been reached the stage last night at the taken too seriously. The comedy .ghubert. havlnir been dramatized Will have to be buil.t up a. lot. rang- Are You Hnir<< Yuu Are INSURED? Let us look over your POLICIES— It may prevent a heavy loss! INBCRANCR! of every drsriptloi INSURANCE that INSORKS Conault us as you would your Doctor or Lawyer. JOHN J. KEMP . / Established since 1910 _^ , ' 651 iffth Ave., N. Y. C. ' 'Phones: Mattay Hill I Shubert. having been dramatized by Laurence Stalllngs. co-author of "What Price Glory." Although, at first blush, that last reference might seem superfluous, the Stalllngs-Anderson war play-is mentioned for one particular rea- son. That piece concerned the raucous and profane and rowdy side of war. Hemlngwy's story has the same war as a background, but is more Interested in the personal lives that are affected by it. Stall- lngs' dramatization disregards the ^ar almost entirely, save as a background, and Interests itself with the central love story. "A Farewell to Arms" has every chance of being a solid hit. It is Intelligent, extremely well-acted and close enough to the original to at least arouse Hemingway ad- mirers to Interest, whether It be criticism or praise. Scenes of the story have been taken over by Stalllngs and even long passages of dialog, but much of the original spirit of the novel has been altered in its dramatic ver- sion. The love-story of Liie.ut. Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley, the nurse, has been main- tained almost In its entirety, the only changes being in locale and surrounding circumstances. The end of the story has been especially altered. The first two acts are pretty much unadulterated Hemingway. The acting of Glenn Anders is of immeasurable' value. Elisha Landi, English, imported by Al 'Woods, Is an attractive and emphatic nurse Catherine. One of the biggest features was Crane 'Wilbur, called in late Satur day afternoon. He plays Rlnaldl fellow-offlcer and doctor,. with feeling and an understanding. Rest of the cast is exceptionally able. The staging by Rouben Mamoul ian deserves a particular hand. "A Farewell to Arms," as given here, was filled with dialog of the frankest kind. Some of them are almost certain to be deleted by the local censor. Some may-^and should be—cut anywhere. Others fitted in smoothly with the story and the characters. Cuts in the hospital and hotel love scenes between hero and heroine should not be touched They are tenderly and gently handled. Here is a discerning dramatiza tion of a book that probably should never have been dramatized, with the eKclsIon of a couple of scenes (particularly the visit of the Amer lean vocalists to the hospital) It sliould be a New York possibility, not as a smash but as a moderate success. Waters. (Coiitinued from pa^e. 6) in. onO' of the' Stdckholm. dailies about the. publicity given thls pic-: ture in Cpp^hagen (see 'Jirarlety*". July jJO, paiffe 6) ,for itai crqei war scenes n^aking people faint. In- stead of hb^pitki- stretchers'' arid nurses uded t6r exploitation in the' Copenhagen'theatre, Stockholm'-the- atre provided smelling salts In caae of emergency; "Whether |t was due to the severe Swedish censprshiPi or. the crowd/. VP to 90,% men,,that .a|t7 tended the'premiere show, the 'plc- itiure here caused no commotion ^ouse packed for premiere- and sold out ever since. "The audience' ut- tered approval of the picture when leaving the theatre. It is rather in- teresting, although picturing the cruel and wrong side of life,' In which genre the dermans are exn perts. Sound of tlie roaring guns ii^ade One. feel afraid the little thea tre would collapse, but the dialog came fortii clea^ and distinct. . "A . Romance of. Rio Grande" (Fox),, released .at the Astoria (860 seats. 'W. E.) and the RIalto (600 seats, "W. B.>, in the re-scored ver sion, with dialog substituted by music. Songs in Spanish. Cut-In Swedish titles., Story and action ac- claimed. Going fairly strong In 2d week "Th9 Parade of the West" (Uni- versal), released at the Orion (400 seats, Piacent),' with part dialog, songs and sound effects, and cut-in Swedish titles. Appreciated espe dally by the younger males, but 'Westerns, however gpod. at present not popular enough to draw crowds or get bookings In the big houses here. ' 'Burning Up** (Paranoount), re leased at the' Red Ijantern (500 seatSi Nordlsk Tonefllm), In the re scored version, with music and sound effects and'cut-in Swedish titles. Sound here still like fire- works going ofC. . Turned down by local reviewers as mediocre Amerl can product', but is really a produc tion above Average. "Speedway" (Metro), released at the Metropol-Palais (6&0 seats, Vf. B.). 'William Haines rather popular here and plcture.liked for.tuh and speed. Now In 3d. week. "The LOve Parade" (Paramount) stlU going good. "When the new season started, around Aug. 1, this picture released in the French ver slon, with Chevalier and Catherine MacDonald singing in French, At present at thO Imperial (700 seats^ Nordisk Tonefllm). Picture Is now In Its 23d week irt Stockholm, still drawing well oh' account of its Eu- ropean appeal and Chevalier. "The Hole in the Wall" (Para mount's 1st Swedish version, and Swedish-made picture, "For Her Sake." playing 5th and 3d week, respectively, to sold-out houses. 1st. Offender Protest (Continued from page 69) which was supplemented with a statement that the League is pro- tecting the allotments for the pub« 11c-In the box offices, and the faiu lire of-the brokers .to get satlsfac tipn.re their claim that-the theatres are not. allotlng theu the full per. centage of tickets called for in the rules, adds to the present gloom of the brokers. Some say the League would like to aee most of the 16 agencies go .out of business, leaving ' the. field to four or five survivors. • Whether that can or will happeii without the rapid growth of gyp or Independent agencies remains to be seen. It appears to depend on the swing of tha public to the box offices direct To date that Is ap- parent. ThA brokers are waiting for a . couple of smeish hits,to. co'me along, they want to see how. a high tickef . deifiand. will affect the .rules, or if it will. Also to find ovit how the pro? ' ducer of a costly .production will ' react. ,, Up to now, however, the Ticket League has been ,a .boomerang to Several leading, agencies. ACcBrlde's is an example, that agency sold' close' to 260 tickets' nightly for one ! musical last seajsqn. Under the i>res'. ent percentages IbtoBt-ide's would hot.. igj^t tnor'e than 100 tickets regularly allotted to it from 'thO. sattie' th«i- ' iitA McBrlde's gets the bi^ share of all allbtmeicta, tiut fhe box ofiliie' swing and competition, if it lasts. ' piay cut that'^gehcy*fe'salt!S of hioro than a 1,000,000' tickets last seadon ' ias much as 60%, A point to be 'settled is'the ^le of balcony tickets for shows in de- mand. Leaigue is mostly concerned with the lower floor, bat allotments of balcony tickets sold at a pre- mium are to go through the League^ which gets Its percentage. Leblang's Aid Joe Leblang In addition to cut rating and being of Invaluable >ald' -. to some managers (who frankly, say < so) also sells balcony tickets for ; hits at 50 cents oyer the box ofliee .. price. There lA a reported attempt ' to keep Leblang's'from g^etting bal- , cony tickefs because not of the "If:. accredited broker^.'^ -Facts appear to be that Leblang sells morei bal- . cony tickets than all -the other agencies combined. : He. isn't greatlr' concerned about balcony tickets' ■■ which he can sell at 60 cents pre-- ' mlum. If he doesn't get them his' patrons will be sold other ticke'ta '■ at cut rates. But It Is pointed out It lia much better for the theatres t#j have Leblang sell tickets for which the house gets the full (2.60 (bal> cony rate) than for him to' dispose . of 13 tickets for USO. An alert showman, managing a hit, said he could sell Leblang 20» balcony tickets nightly outright and with no return, and Intended doing so. If allotted to the accredited, brokers he stands the chance .of having a bundle thrown back into , the box of&c^ at 7:30, too late to dispose, of. Real angle from Leblang Is that he would rather sell at cut rates to help the weaker attractions. Sell- ing tickets for a hit is no trick, his people say. VOVK SINGING OB SPEAKINft VOICE HAS GREATER POSSmitlTIES My Suoceaaful.Pupils QDEBNIE SMITH. MARIO CHAU- LEE, BAI,rH EBROI,I<B, BVBV MORTON. Etc. Recommend my -vocal methods LIONEL R0B8ARTE HOTEL WOODWARD. NEW TOBR Tel. Cinder. «000 PAUL WHITEMAN Boohing Exclusioely Through H'ts Own Office 1560 Broadway New York City JAMES F. GILLESPIE Personal Representatioe TRIXIE FRIGANZA Permanent Address, 1530 Formosa Ave^ Hollywood, Calif. .1,1.