Variety (Oct 1931)

HOLLYWOOD SCREEN-STAGE-RADIO BROADWAY Pabllihed Weaklr at 1K« Weal «(tb 8t„ New York, N. br'Tuletr. Ins. Annual mbcoripUon, |«. Blngla eoptea. It cents, ■nttred u aecond-olua matter December la. IMS, at tbe Poet Office at New Tork. N.. T.. ander the act ot March t. lS7t. coPYBianr. usi, by vabubtt. ino. all sionTs besbbtbo yOL. 104 No. 4 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1931 72 PAGES RockefeDer Influence Lookd For Reinvigorating Mef s Baflet Some of the most famous Russian 4ancers ore dancing; In cellar places in New York; dancers who are to 'the dance world what the Barry- niores are to the drama. ' Swoboda'and Jurleva are danclns at Kretchman's on 14th street. Swoboda was ballet master of the Chicago Opera for two years and -ttance producer for 'Chauve-Sourls' ' Abroad. His former partner was ;43elser. Jurleva was ballerina with lihe Paviowa company. Oavrllov, once premiere star ot Uie Dlashalleft Ballet, and his wife, Strelska, are dancing at the Russian Village, formerly the Sadko. ■ At recent Met opera house audi- tions famous ballet dancers flocked In droves seeking jobs In the ballet that pay t3E a week. It Is said that the Met ballet Is too more likely to appreciate the fine ' talent olambrlng at its doors than any other place In New Tork. The jballet for the Met, following the tra- ditions of Italian opera, has always' , been considered of little Importance or significance. . Russian dancers who have got- ten a niche in the New York stage world were merely those who got there first. There Is not room «nough for the rest The Rockefeller Interest ' Yet Russian dcuicers believe that l>allet dancing Is on the up. Hopes are even entertained of a change and rejuvenation in the Met ballet >when that opera site is changed to Radio City. It Is thought that a ■ (Continued on Page 40) ' Beer? The way certain soft drink stocks, ' heretofore gilt-edge,.' have been reacting downward Is sieen by coast economists as being Wall Street's reaction to the probabilities ot light wines and beer. RELIGION ffiEA SAVES RADIO PROPHETS fS AMATEUR LEGITS PUYING IN CHURCHES A plan' to give stage beginners a chance to work has been worked out by an actress, Alvlna Michel. A group of beginners has been organ- ized to play churches. The church secures the audience through sell- 'ng the tickets with a percentage ot the sale, 30% for big churches and B0% for smaller ones, turned over to the group. Eaich tunateur Is guaranteed $6 and carfare. 'Enchanted April' Is the play Blven most frequently so far. Most heginnoris scoH at the Idea and the *B guarantee until they have tramped about the theatrical dis- trict for months. Then they want the $6 jobbing work. Nile Football Again Easton, Pa., Oct. 5. Night football has been started by Muhlenberg College. Games are played Saturday nights instead of the afternoon. Sport is very popular in the Le- high Valley. Theatres in Allon- town, Bethlehem and Easton arc elfected. Draw about 10,000 per game. Theatres are reported feeling the Ught gi-ld competition wherever it holds forth. Loa Angeles, Oct. E. Radio fortune tellers who are willing to inject a smattering ot re- ligion In their air star-gazing can go on the air locally. Agitations against the seers and tear of the Federal Radio Commis- sion has all stations abiding by the new code, by which they sell' the future-lookers' as gospel deliverers. So far aa>the radio stations are concerned it's one of those things. The town will fall for every type of mystic, bosh with no trouble at all selling time to the gazers. Currently there are quite a few former air fortune spielers among the unemployed, still besieging the stations where they're told toVget themselves ordained before coming again. Rellglous-minded attitude of the air controllers has now only eight rajahs on local programs where around 30 spieled a' few months ago. JAZZ BAND STOPS WILD RUN ON A BANK Davenport, la., Oct. 5; ■When panic-stricken depositors started a run this week on the Union Sa'vlngs & Trust Company, a $30,000,000 Institution, William Heuer, president. Installed the Hay- makers, a woe jazz band, on the mezzanine floor to entertain the customers while tellers counted out their money. It was the second day ot a run on the bank. Band, with other en tcrtalners, coupled with announce ment of deposits during the day ot a million dollars, routed the la.st ot the doubting depositors and the run petered out before noon of the third day. Suspension ot the second big downtown bank, earlier In the week, precipitated the crisis. 01" FLIIT Chump and Smart Money Both Go to Reno's Es- tablished Business Firms —No More 600 Divorce Decrees Monthly — An- other Carnival Time for Next Summer Hoped For REASONS UNKNOWN Reno, Oct. S. The clatter of chips, the clicks of ivory roulette balls and the bounce of galloping . dominoes under the brilliant ' lights of Reno's 20 gambling casinos are passing out of the hilarious picture that kept Reno in the spotlight since early last April. From now until the snows clear from the highways next spring, this little village, with the big rep is (Continued on page 68) . League of Nations and Red Cross Joining for One B^ Peace Pictore Geneva, Oct. "6. International Red Cross may be- come a picture producer for one anti-war flim. Move is being con- sidered as a result of the I. R. C. receiving a request from the League ot Nations for a feature along those lines. Film, if made, will hammer espe- cially on the gas angle, pointing out its cruelty and harm. Nitery's Pipe Organ The majestic music of a pipe or gan has been warmed up- In a night club and delivered hot off the con- sole at Connie's Inn. Records fall to uncover any other Instance ot pipe notes bounding around a Har- lem nltery. One or two dancehalls toyed with the idea ot Installing such an in- strument, but installation expense huUlfled the taxi dancers' chance ot prancing to less blatant melodies, Thomas 'Fats' Waller, colored, will be at Connie's console, doubling from the orchestra. Organ, pur chased two years ago, had been silent until two Weeks ago. That's Economy A house manager driven to economical desperation by home ofllce Instructions, or-' dered the bird seed cut down 'for the canaries in the lobby. Palace s $15,000 Vaude Bill with Cantor-Jessel; Figure I Mos. Rim Peanuts and Science . Chicago, Oct. B. Prof. Ray Foster Moulton, the University ot Chicago as- tronomer in charge of conces- sions for the 1933 World's Fair, has ruled against peanuts la the shell. Only dejacketed pea- nuts will b« sold on the grounds. Employing scientific reason- ing on all concessions the pro- fessor hais estimated that If oiie out of ftve bought peanuts and there were. 1,000,000 visitors daily the shells from this many peanuts- would form a moun- tain of debris that would take eight porters four hours daily to dispose of It all of them bad a given I^ Q. RO.BESTCRmC. SAYTEXFEMMES Dallas, Oct. E. After several years' industrious campaigning against vice films, and otlief plots, too, the femme clubs in this pious burg have reached an astounding conclusion: 'box ofBce rules the film choice.' The dames are serious; actually prepared a formal report (for pub- lic announcement) that 'box .office receipts determine the kind of pic- tures which producers want to make.' Which the pa[>es promptly pub- lished. . , MYSTERY NOVE SOLD WITH SOUND ON DISC New book gag is that developed by Robert M. McBrlde In connec- tion with, the Cortland FltzBlmmons mystery yarn, 'Seventy Thousand Witnesses.' Talking machine record goes with each book, containing the story's opening chapter, a murder oh a football field during a game. Record has all the sound and liolse Incidental to a football game, and it's supposed to put the reader in the right atmosphere. Record ends with the commis slon ot the murder, from where the book carries it on. Nealy's Reno Tab Reno, Oct. 6. Another venture In the publica- tion of a tabloid newspaper Is about to be launched by Nealy 'Vanderbllt, Jr., If ho can scare up sumdcnt lo- cal dough to finance. His idea Is that a hot weekly dubbed 'The Ileno Tab' will get over with lii.s name at the masthead and a personally con- tributed column. A specially selected vaude bill tor the RKO Palace, New York, to open Oct. 31, with Eddie Cantor and Georgte Jessel the big cards, is ex- pected to remain at .least two months in the circuit's ace house. Total weekly salaries of the abts win be $16,000. Addition of Jessel to the record salary Palace program is at the re- quest ot Cantor. Cantor Is receiv- ing $8,800 for. the week and $3,600 more rides for Jessel. It Is the reg- ular variety stage show salary foe each ot the heaidllners .with Can- tor's slightly higher upon this re- turn engagement.' Previous visit of Cantor to the Palace brought Cantor two house records In the Palace's top grosses, iand how Cantor has another to data In salary. Cantor's salary, though, win be exceeded when the Marx Brothers appear at the Palace shortly at $10,000 for a week, with- out figuring three Marxes to one Cantor. Biggest' gross the Palace ever played to was $45,000 and drawn by (Continued on page 43) No Crawford-Fairbanks Babe, Warns Papa Metro Hollywood, Oct, 5. Opposition has already manifest- ed itself at Metro to the printed de- cision of Joan Crawford and Doug-- las Fairbanks, Jr., to have an heir. It's unoflflclally reported that sev- eral top execs are against this Idea of the screen couple. Execs feel that Miss Crawford's necessarily long layolC from the. screen at this time would hurt her present Al stand with exhibitors. Aura of a mother around the ac- tress also might have a bad effect at the box office because of type of roles she plays, It Is pointed, out. Metro feels the couple should wait. As reported In a chatter column, the pair think a baby would hel|| stop the constant rumors they are going to separate. A Gig by Elite Dallas, Oct. 5. Prom a Kaiser's olficor to gigolo, that's Frledrioh Wlihelm von Ger- gersfeld's luck. Fritz doubles as an entertainer and giggy In a Juarez honky tohk for hia bread and butter. He's exiled from Germany ond was re- fused entrance Into the U. S. RICHY CRAIG, Jr. HELD OVER 3rd WEEK RKO PALACE. NEW YORK] aa "Master of Ceremonies" Mr. IIABKT, A..ROMM i