Variety (Sep 1931)

Tiiesday,' "Scplcinjb'cr 29, 19ZT YAUllE HOUSF REVIEWS VARIETY 43 STATE Loew'B 'Spanleli CamlvaV pr^en- iatlon unlt Is hero In lieu o£ tjipe T^at on the picture bouse route. TChen Buffalo lammea to straight Dlctures one show baa to be out ot liiclc, and thlfl lsjt. current State date. la the unit's flrst on Broadway, Its openlner bav- ln« been at the Paradise Instead of ftt the CapltoL At the State U looks Uhe a flash act with padding, differ- ent from the- Usual, but mostly In length. While superior to the aver- age vaudeville product In mounting and appearance,. much of Its flash seems to have been eliminated for tils engagement. Tills need not set i. precedent nor lead to a new departure; because 'spanlBh Carnival's' week here Is Burely accidental and hot Hkely to happen again. Picture house unite as flash acts on four-act vaude bills don't rate their.-cost. In picture bouses It'e different, for there they comprise th<j whole show. . ;r , Here^the modified unit closes.tbe ■how anil' follows three standard acts.' Llazeed Arabs, Jean Gralhese and the Thfee Swifts are up ahead In that order. Band'went up on the stage for. the last act only, although It played the Swif ts' bow mve^a be^ hind the drop , to prevenit a wait. Llaaeed Trotipet hjow composed of IS mi^cd tumbler's, appears to haye the top persQuriei: among, acrobatic tunis in vaude.. The three women and to men flII up a stage during their fast pyramid building and bounding. A false conception of comedy harms the act, jiist as.lt bos hurt other fiwobatlc tiirns, with the half minute or so of comedy, attempt used as a stall between the tumbling and a 10-hlglL. suiiport by one un- deratander. If the Ua^eeds get right' down to business and cut what doesn't' belong, • they'll bave' a much, faster.opening act. The' comedy .arid, singing of Miss Grariese and her;wop comedy-as- sistants get their usual returns with what has been, for a long .tlm6 a very rollable act.. - Here their take the deuce, again ^hotvlng versatility In filling most any position. The Swifts, with the laugh side of their 'juggling now embellished, which adds a lot,: could have taken an en- core. •Carnival' carries . no m. c. The Ulent' walks on- cold. - Bob Carney and Jean,, mixed teams, and John Pope Jones, colored baritone for- ■ merly with the Norma Thomas Sex- tet, are the recognized members. But for these turns the unit sticks to Its Spanish theme; 'Line of 12 girls has the usual &ree chances—start, ' midway and finish..' The set; behind the band- stands looks like , a cutout. Space here, or lack o( It, probably booted ft posing finish. . Unit member who Is on most often Is a tbe-dancing girl who looks well and dances pleasaritljr. Her first Is an Interpretive creation before a drot), with two men, dressed as CloWns; assisting. - A polite cooch by the~glrls Is followed by a seml-Hoc- tor to 'Blue Indigo,' and later on Bhe's the ceriter 6( the finale picture. Jones .sings Ifandalay,' which needs Imagination to attain status in a Spanish 'UiUt, biit this singer Justifies Its piqice. It cinched Jones' . return for a spiritual, for which he dons a frock coat and white wig In what Is announced as a lyrical Im- pression of Harrison's Lawd In 'Green Pastures.' • Cdrtafey.. and Jean . were good enough on their dancing to square the-wasted comedy moments. Dead silence that met Carney's introduc- tory, talk was enough to discourage the average comic, but that this . couple know tlieir hoofing will eveatually slide them across ' Is shown, in the confident manner In which they wade through the rest of the. chatter. There ought to be some material' around aomewhere for a good dancing couple who could draw laughs if they had something to provoke 'em. 'Star- Witness' (WB) here after the Winter Garden, and one of the few^lnstancee of a Warner film play- ing this house. Picture, and stage MOW played to a frail house at the iuflt mat Saturday. • Bige. EMPIRE, PARIS _,,. . Paris, Sept. i2. . with Jeane.tte MacBonald boad- •""ng, the manag'enient could have «yed the balance of the overhead. Audience paid a scale tiled to 80c M tee this film girl, and despite the «ce that the Three Weire Bros., *no. fpUowed. are worth looking at, •™*ed when she finished. House ^rds were broken, and proof was J American sh'owmahBhlp 5.^?^ in Paris, part of the show included SL„">novated8, cyclists; LltUe S;"»> a comedian; Drury and 5*?on, danceYs; Sorbler, a Come- S!5?,.*wonipanIed by two pianos; £rTO^^ Ergl, jumping SSI'*1? Peeroff, juggler. Mere serS-. ST .those who, unable to re- frnm «u l"" had to bo present tttwi^l!'' ^^elnning. Opening intcr- ov^ t^"^ Dedzo Hitter In his ■Vfreon?*' '"'''o does a personal Thi match. llKhf»? vMacDonald,'staged and aier .Pyjf'"ttncl3 A. Mangah. man- top issr. *^aramount presentations Am^H*""- ^'^ ""an 25 minutes, tncl &T\'s voice and appenr- *°«e Clicked rlglit away, and kt a I^ter performance when Clievaller was in the audience ;she called him on the stage. .For .ono number ilangan used a pram stage, the same as lie will In- stall next year . In. the Ambassa- deurs restaurant. Miss MacCon- ald's French accent, was quite sat- isfactory, and her dosing humiber, .'March of the Grenadiers,' from the Picture liove Parade,' made a sure- fire - finish with. a chorus of uni- formed girls behind her.. Despite the act.running almost a half hour Miss MacDonald orily did around seven, minutes. Welre Brothers, dancers, are much better than most of the. Bm- plrels hea.dllners, but were lii a tough spot. iTOiTii RKO, L. A. X«s Angeles, Sept. 26. Production padding which some- times, becomea. tawdry. Is ' an im- pprtant defect In the RKO's east- ern-booked unit, but a. diligent and cbri^Inupua, application >to comedy by Stiiar't alnd Lash, carrying top billing,, compensates for this In some measure. The unit despite some high points Impresses generally as Inferior;-■ ' , John Steel;' thia tenor, has second billtn'g atid delivers three numbers, Including an inevitable Irish medley, with restraint, for satisfying re- sults.: He appears again almost Im-' mediately as-an uhblacked colored pr'eaofaer singing condemnation to a group of:, roisterers, in ".a- X^rlem cafe set.Involving, other acts on- tlte blll, this .'Harlemania,'thing has a$'4t8 climax a -fall down'. a stalr- ■wtay . by pne girl; The minute it started . anyone could guess It 'nrouldn't mean a thing but it's billed as an,.fict. :For more .p.f, the. aforementioned- production . padding there's . the eteht-plece . H^lei). John's ..band; 'which is. mediocre as an orchestra iii closing spot but appears before that iq.a cute.drum eorps military ri>utihe and even before that sLs.a 'jcborus line, with dolls' beads fast- ened' ^ its' Ihillvi^udl fanhies. This .latter roiitlhe,' in which the . girls don't even attempt to. Imitate d real chorus by trj-lng tb lift a leg, is used as support' for. dances' by Georgie Tapps and is called 'Georgie Tapps' Revue,' His -eccentrlo arid swift toe-tapping .vfUl be very worthwhile iwhe'n.h'e is' not forced to sing, in addition.' ' ■ The Stuart and Iiash act is on arid off 'from start to' finish, pre dominated by Lash as m. c. With 130 much-time to fill, this two-man hoke arid'.crossfire act can' be ex cuised for bringing In some ancient buslrieds, tor ' without its - steady support this unit would h^ve died at' birth. . The boys- are generous about everything, giving all. they ha-ye to the - audience and each other. When one wants to be coiiiic the other pla^^s' straight. ' Second-ruri booking of "Rebound' (Pathe), which previously played the Certhay- to $1.B0 top. Is a- de- parture for the RKO. Business only average . Friday afternoon, and a.verage doesnit mean what It did once. Bang, Paramounlt, Newark Newark, Sept. 26. The bouse was jammed the open ing with a crowd still standing at 9:60. They f<iund the lobby now finished with pretty new acces- sories. They also found a nice bill with 'Silence' the feature, which they applauded and five lively acts, headed by .Harry Carroll's 'Chal- lenge ReVue,' Perhaps thiey found- too iriuch tap dancing and wondered, at the same gags used by Masters and Grayce and the revue, but even so they had nothing to kick about. George Stanley's Georgia Crack- ers using four smlleless men. and a ceaselessly smiling girl, all dressed Oddly, fomented much laughter. They played various, musical Instru merits, sang,, dfui.ced and with a pa rado' as a band 'closed to acclaim. Masters and Grayce, comedy, made things hum. Miss Grayce. amused , by her grimaces and strdnge postures, they made a f.e^y cracks, and did knock-about danc- Irig. Th'e high point was Masters lofting four golf balls into the au dlence with no.castualtles.. . . Acting rituch in thei manner of the old burlesque comlo without, the vulgarity, Eddie Dale gagged his way. With help of his company of three he staged two blackouts. A man and girl did clever dancing (all taps!) All joined in th.e finale for a train bit which registered. Joe Wallace combined with the Carroll Revue and clo'wned as nias- ter of cerdriidnlcs.; He was no great howl, even pulling the Paul Revere story, but luiother brought a rouna of applause. • Sylvia Carroll at the piano, and also sang once. The ensembles u.scd six girls and four men. They appeared as spe- cialties with Eileen doing a tap, and the Three Moderns, girls In acror batlo skirts, singing ind dancHig to a fine reception. Fr.mccs Black In acrobatic dancing that was liked, and Mills Pola tapping out some tricky stuff. , Genevieve Tlghe did some nice one-leg bits In her tap while .the Three Crosby Brothers crafllicd across In a dance rendition of the •Poet nnd Peasant' overture. Wal- laeo Imlt.Ttcd Ted I^wla and plenscd. The whole net ii-SPd minutes. PALACE, CHICAGO Chicago,-Sept. 26.' Saturday afternoon's prognostica- tion on {he. follo-vrlng. ^iday-nigbt total this week runs to a cbriservar th e $21,000. It's that £ype. of a show. A passable, at best, film, "Big Gamble' (RKO-Pathe) combines -with a vaude bill that while It g.bt over fairly well Is no model to hoist up for emulation. Bigger and .better movement hOfl reached the hat-.tliro-wlng guild. There, were five sets of bonnets in simultaneous inotion as the.show got under stearii with the Five EI- glns. By sheer augmentation, the familiar became the unusual. On' top. of which the performers work- fast arid dress neatly. From their iirst ballad and tliere- after Freda and. Palace were' se- cure. But, unfortunately, a.wide, stretch of ineffectual endeavor pre- ludes tliat ballad. Only a standaird act would have such a' weak first five- minutes: because only a starid- ard act would 'be allowed to get away with-It. For a time It looked like they were going to put a criinp in the show and tliat the third act ould have to sweep "up the pieces, Long befpre -'^fbiiy: - Pastor was lifting - vaudeville' out of the beer garden onto the rostrum; comics of uncertain gags discovered that , a ballad, touchingiy rendered, could alibi everything; Freda arid Palabe simply'proved it again.- But there- after they-got better as comedians .s6 between the" Imprbven^ent In humor and another , ballad they ac- tually riianaged to defer the cue for the' next turn, ' ' IsTo disparagement Is liiterided by stating that tlie chief advantage'of 'Porcelain Romance' is" Its brevity.. Hovlh^r ifor.public: exhibition a dis-' play of ..group adagio, ,'the display. Is made,' completed. In o'ne lengthy rbutlrie and -when the tricks arc 'done the act sensibly ends. No at- tempt to : divide Into a series-of numbers, all-repeats on each othier, as so often happens with adagio turns. As the pivotal dl-vertlssmerit of the bill, .'Porcelain Romance' had the requisite speed, directness, and ability to arouse audience enthusi- asm. ■ . - ' Thereafter . cam* the hQfcum, Frank .lilbuse 'administered the tonic. 'Originally a. Chlcagoan hav Ing as the comedy waiter In various local cabarets led hundreds ot un- suspecting customers to the .-wrong table Libuse -was welcoined as one. well i«membered.. Libuse' works hard^. but without strain, .-which Is the ideal modus operandi for slap-, stick. Hfl clicked solidly. Five, alumni of Rozy's Gang closed the bin with a, cargo of rcr flnement. , Included .are Harold Clyde Wright, bBritone and an nouricer; Adelaide de Loca and Del- la Samollofl, the lady songbirds: John Griflin, Irish tenor, and Allen Parado, who provided the musical foundation on the pianoforte. Wright did rWarching Home,' a dramatic number well fitted for baritoning and a standby with Roxy since it originally was < Introduced by Douglda Stanbury. 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling' put John Grif- fin across easily. This upstanding younger brother of Gerald Griffin Is a good-looking tenor with an en- gaging smll^ and pleasant manner to go with his voice, an effective combination of assets. AW four of the singers got to- gether for' the quartet from 'Rlgo- lAffA* -on<4 no-ain fnr -^fr.tnr Mcrbert'a letto' and again for Victor Herbert's Zing, zing' chantey as a curtain. Main, floor empties on the Sides confirmed the moderate gross an- ticipations. Land. JEFFERSON Bill opening Saturdaj^ was top heavy with hoke, iri fact It was near all ^ke, Iri an eight-act lay out five depended' entirely on low comedy to get over and that Is quite art average for any vaude bill. Biz hoids -up nicely with the. first show filling the downstahrs portion, but not to standee proportions as on previous Saturdays... No name of any special significance here, so the house gave all'the billing and lobby flosh- to the picture, 'Caught Plastered' (Radio) which adds still more hoke- to the bill. ' The show OS it, ran comprised Ishikawa Bros., Betty a,nd Tommy Wonder, Worpec, Pige and- Henri, Alan Reno and Gang, Heller and Riley, Killeen and Henning, Bobby Pinkus and Macail King. All ap- pear under New Acts except the Ishlkawas, Heller and Riley and Pinkus. . . _ ^ ' . The Ishlkawa Bros, have been In vaude rnaiiy yeaJs and while their routine is much along their old line of Japanese acrobatic and rlsley work they have a new drop that is colorful and the men them- selves are dressed more In the American mode, in that tliey wear Western long pants and llttlo coats of green. The Japs got away 810^11; and one of their feats was omitted completely. FIrilslied up strong to good applause. Betty and Tom Wonder, Werner. Pago and Henri, Alan Reno and Dang, followed- in that order (nil Now Acta) then Ildlcr and RlU-y. Thi.s pair did very well cfpo'-lally With their fiy chatter and Miss Hel- ler's singing; Riley has a glib, non-^ clmlaht style and has several gags that border on the blue. Killeen and Hcnnlng (New Acts) stopped the flow of hoke. but Bobby Pinkus following stepped right Into it again and so fast with his low clowning nnd awkward falls that he was sure(lre all the w-ny. Ho is given able assistance by his fcmmC partner, Isnbelle Dwan. Pinkus is an agreeable, hardworking type of hokester who mixes patter with his comedy falls. Closing is Macall King (New Acts) recalling the Ia:t6 Lillian Leit.z.el both. In. stature and type of work In midair. JfarJIc.. ACADEMY stage show takes up 84 minutes, ■with the four acts preceding . 'the F. '& M. unit using 60 xhlriutes. 'Once Upon a Time' Idea was shot in here to substitute'for 'Broken Dolls' Idea.- idktter unit was previ- ously schbduied to'be here this half but was booked elsewhere.. Trailer exDialnS the substitution.' Four acts used lack pace.. .Emlle Boreo. featured, I's the only, party with pep and snap. Otherwise the bill drags a bit, for which theirc should be no reas'on':slnce-each act Is essentially good. - Perhaps .th^' freedom given the actd, permitting them to take as riiany encbres as they want. Is to blame for retarding the pace. - ' Lester and ' Irving Trio, strong-■ man act, a nice opener. Two boys and one girl.. Both bbys begin, by using the girl for their lifts and then go to two-riian-feats. ■ Have a snap finishing. Mt, wherein the. till boy lifts the other chap arid the-girl atthesame-tlme. - Bernard Weber, Songster, follows -vrlth a medley -of pops and standard tunes, -uses some, of the familiar Victor Herbert songs, arid also sings PagllaccI* In Italian. . Latter tune doesn't' fit Weber's high tenor, ana orchestra drowns him out durlrig tlie rendition. Voice Is best. for Irish tenor airs -arid pop . ballads. For finish, Weber asks house to Join him .in the song, 'Moon Over, the Mountains.' Latter, bit should be omitted. If. they. won't sing, with him here, they won't:.sIrig with him anywhere, and It: just makes .him look, foolish. .. .1 ■Irving Newboff and- Co. shouldn't permit their act to run over 12 min- utes. Did 16 here. School teacher- pupil crossfire is . along familiar Unas, some of which warrants lau^s. Majority- of the patter flat. Uses two stooges, white and colored, for cbmedy. Colored boy rounds .out with, dances-and good. After- an absence of soriie tlriie from, vaudeville, Emil Boreo returns more, - Continental than ever.. His material is devbted - entirely, to for- eign songs, mostly. Frerich. .Doesn't do one song in Engllsh.- As usual,. It's his. delivery, that puts him and his stuff over. Uses comedy and novelty French eong^ Does e^ dramatic impersonation of Sarah Bernhardt, followed by "La Marselllals* that just doesn't belong. An imitation of Chevalier dolpg « familiar French air closes. Flavor of Boreo's material Is. rather top Continental for neighborhood iaudl ences. May be oke for Broadway picture bouses, where' they get smarter audiences, but not for nelghbs. _^ 'Once Upon a Time* unit is a fast moving bit with some fine scenic effects. Three full stages used, one to show the Danube River while a trio- warbles 'Blue Danube Waltz"; second is an African scene from 'Minnie the Moocher'; finale Is Jin outstanding piece, a huge prop Dinosaur moving about the stage In lifelike fashion. For a finish a girl Is clasped between the jaws of the Dinosaur as the prpp .animal rears Its head. . Rac. Ellis and La. Rue Is- the first act used; Team does an exlilbltion ballroom.' Iii the final number,.trio, two boys and a slim isirl, put over a smart adaisio. Blossom Sisters have the stage to themselves for comedy -warbling .and dancing. One of the girls Is a per- sonable lass and an oke comedienne. A porody Spanish bit, comedy Songs and dances, complete the act. Marion Belett and Lll Lamb do their regular, act in this'unlt, hav- ing the spot to themselves. Good comedy act. • Boy is. lanky and girl quite short Slapstick comedy, helped by the high kicks and dim cult splits of the youth, while the girl rounds out with.a series of spins. 'Spider" (POx) feature. Hollywood Shoris!, (Conltnued from piipo 23) pitcher, then Dl pay you back rlgli< awny. . This man who makes tlie cowboy^ - pitchers is a -wonderful, man, very, good looking with a small boll oni his chin Which .will fade away In no time.. He never made no pitchers before, just cbriiing In. from Okla* homo, where he made a lots o4 money selllrig blankets to Indians. All Indians vt'ear blankets, ma, - but guess' nobody thought of selling . them before. • ; i been out to dinner with him ti .. couple^ of times, and no funny stufL honest; ' He' has a big cor, brtiria new,, and I~ feel kind of asbamtt when Ot sees me getting Into it, hW still without a job. But be won't talk, ma: ; I got to close because I'm tajdner another riding lesson today. It'f lots of fun, .oney your mussles ^es-: stiff. i.'iToii'll be proud of riie wheql: - Cm a star in cowboy pitchers. - ■>•' Please don't get mad- about th* ■ riibriey, ma. I- knelt down ■ and'.';' grayed to-find but'wh'at to do whetf j the money corile, and I saw a- blS . sine in gold: letter's on the -wall: which sed; Be a cowboy pitcher.stOr, Ma, It's a sine from Heven and I got tb follow it, . J • Honest, riui. Xiove,. mat- ' i' Blsie, ' '-. 64,000 Speaks (Continued from pog(e 1) boost In cost to the patron. One speak on the Westchester shore has an orchestra combination and spe claltlcs, with the owncjr coming down to New York now and then lo pick up special added attractions, They're never advertised, but the folks who attend get more than they mlgllt have in opposition drinklcs, Speak patrons often tip the spc r:lialty entertainers or orchostrao -vvlth that helping to defray over hcdd for the propriolors. :-T Hblllrwbod, April'la. .- D^r'Mai■ :'.' .!. 'Why klnt I heard from you3 Dbn'J- bje fibre about the-.money, because .>S > giot enough trouble already. -Don'ti '' be mad','ma,. I-got'so much.trbubl^;;' That man yhb vfO^ going to maki$ nAe a. CO.wbby pitcher star, bis noma- : Is jed Russell,: lies:« fake. . Heii > gping around'-with another girl now - and she thinks,'sh<ls going to be th<> star in th6 pltclier. .',0, if She 'ones^ j,' knew before she makes a foolls^-^ mistake. But donit think I.did'mtu And before ho Ic^t me flat I bad a seen with" Ot about blln. I wa0 'gping. out of the Itotise' to get Into Jeds car and I.btimped into Ob ..H^^ said, hello dorit be iriad. at me 6t»- : tmd Ot looked at me a long tlme> arid said, maybo I made a mist«iki» ' about you.' I said -what do ywa ^: mean, !at)d he sald .y|[{ur' blef car! Is.', 'waiting for yoii -whlle.I.trtorip tltcj. streets looking for work. Ma,-1 got • so mad I.left him have-It on tiie -• cheek; arid h^ just starM at me an4 '■ -walked tiyray. 0, ; lMa, . ' And, that same day Jed -was driv- ing along and he- told me be waS sbrry but the pitcher stuff If off. I started'to 'ctT> already all -worked ' up>. about. Ot,'and ast him-what about him. and'me. ^He said th^,' was off too, and wheri^ I cried bardeir :-. he told me to shut up and stopped, ttie car and pushed--me but, right'- on .tJbwer Wireet in front of Coluitf^- Ua studio. Hbs a snake ..ma,-and f know It now that I fbund out about the other girl thinking shes golncf to 'be In the. pitcher. 'Worse yet X ' found out at Tec Art that Jed alnf even; rented a stick bf :wood thereh let alone a set. I can ride pretty good now, mi, but what the belli The money'ii. almost all gone and i taavent got no..' no friends or. nothing. If you can please send me buss fare again I . promise lU get on the buss and come' home. Please nio^ dont bo ■ma.il, telegram me again . wItK . moriey,- - All ni^n are bums arid'you are iaC'., wom'an..too,' i.ia. 'Give my loy'e tgi father dear. • You must belp me, msit ■ Love, Btsie. • Hollywood, April 18, Dear Jia; . i Please telegram jne money, motheif^ dear. Nothing Is happenlrig and -I. dont like' Hollywood no more. PoorOt looks so hungry and tired but he won't talK, Get m'e out'©if here for the bake of your own flesb and blood4 Love, : ' . . Elsie' ; Hollywood, April 21. m O. ma, you got to help met Mrs.. IBentlo Is suing Mr. Bcntle the hiim,' for divorce arid she said awful things about hliri and me and. the papers Is full of it. Ma, reporters keep coming: to my room 'and . 'when 'I' won't talk they get fresh. The land- lady said If this kept up shes gbln^ to throw mo out. even if I do owe a( lot of room rent. Ma, the shame of the awft;! Uej| Mrs. Bentle said in her dlvorcijl.' thing about me. I am ruined, .ma« Take me home ma because It keepM getting worse. Send me buss faM| ijcfore I cant stand it no lonso', III die. Love, , Blsi0> 1