Variety (Nov 1931)

VARIETr VAWE HMSE BCVIEWS Tneaday, NovenAcr 3,1931 BENNY MEROFF ORCH (16) Staoe Band 18 Mins:; Full Palaea Eienny MeroR haa: been dolne a marathon Jn Cblcago, dividing the last Ave years between the Gra- nada, Chlcaeo, and another Windy City house. . This is his break-In In the east aside from several try- out weeks around the metroi>olitan district. Introduction ot Meroft to' the Palace crowd was particularly tir- ing. He had to go on at 6:20, after Cantor and Jessel had murdered the audience, with nearly three hours of laughter.' To record that MerofTs act came throtigh flying is the simplest way to fix its class and auallty, the status of a stage band being what it is at this late day. ' Turn.'opens unostentatiously with MerofC leading .quietly and the boys playing 'I Qot'Bhythm' In an ar- rangement ' heavy on brass and capitally paced. Music Is remark- ably' well varied In this flexible Jazz unit, because of the ability of the bandsmen to. switch to a great variety of instruments. Arrange- ments are excellent' both for Jazz and non-syncopatlon. Boys sing nicely and the biitflt has some excellent low comedy, be- sides the personnel being made up of good looking youngsters. . And several of them develop neat spe- cialties; Notable is the trombonist, introduced as 'Walter,' who does what amounts to a musical' sper olBlt^, -with trombone imitations of < a starting train and the blowing of one of thoso 'Asleep in the IJeep' cellar notes, bnllt up' witli good, comedy by-play. Finally MerofC is a mine of spe- cialty in .himself; playing a vast number : of instruments, putting over a snccessloh of dance bits, In^ chiding a startling trick of falling into splits, and for the feature giv-. ing'a capital impersonation of Ted \^I<ewls. hat twirling and alL The MerofC click under a handicap at the Palace opening was a composite of all .these things, and besides Cantor's high pressure selling of the number, both in his prfltiminary Introduction and in his arrange- ment tor a flnish. The flnish is blended into the show's after-piece, with Cantor coming on to black up at a side tablet,'keeping up a running fire of gaggin while thti band plays, and then going Into a solo number which cues all the rest of the bill for a wh66ped-up finale. Rush. MA KENNEDY and What-«-Man Hudson (1) 'Modern Topical Message' (Talk) 20 Mins.) 'Three RKO Golden Gate) San Franolseo RKO nabbed 'Ma' Kennedy and her new husband, 'What-a-Man Hudson for four weeks of coast time opening here at $2,000 for the week on top the regular weekly RKO unit. Ma and Man are here, but up to now they heidn't affected the box office much one way or the other. Maybe it's the heat. Ma and her partner gave 'em a 'modern topical message,' what ever that Is. It was considerably dltCerent than the act provided them what with Pa klnda reticent about talking and Ma proving to be one of show biz' champ ad lib- bers. Ma had a lot of fancy ideas she wanted to straighten out, she said, but^hen it came right down to unraveling 'em It worked out that she loved the whole world, even 'vaudeville people and their little families traveling with them.' And as for prohibition, quoth Ma, now there was a question she wanted to settle, and the best way to do that was to have all the American people vote on it, Not a mention of Almee, so far, Ma was a little nervous, hitching at her dresS klnda like she was wearing a tlgb*. girdle, but she cer talnly could rd lib. She was the straight woman; Pa was Just the stooge with only one or two lines, but each a laugh. Jack Fo33' was the capable in terrogator. Bock. LUCKY MILLINDER (17) Band 27 Mins., FmII (Special) 86th St. Colored band with added special ; ties holding Uttle in entertainment value. Outstanding is a four-way challenge tap by the Four Blazers, and moat ot this has been done to deat'i lu .vaude this year by other hoofers. The band, like most colored out flts, plays undeniably' .sharp.' This ■Is truo moie v/lth the reeds than thd brass. Lucky (And How) Mil Under, as he bills, himself, is Just that His statement that 'you are now about to hear the. St. Iiouls Blues played like never before' is also a boomerang. That speech takes in too much territory. Clara Tonfrnsend of the support singa in a higU thin voice and at- tempts a dance.. Jesse Cryor Is an- other specialist. The act Is Just cnend and nothing else. EarU JANET READE Singer 12 Mills.; One . Palac«' Musical comedy player who has been in semi retirement since her marriage, and is recruited for this run show, hieaded by Cantor and Jessel, apparently for her . value Ini foiling through the comedy inci- dents of the m. c'ing pair than for her single contribution, which is of the simplest. She iappeiaxs. alone No. 3, Jack Kerr presiding at the piano,, Does one mild number and then does a torch song. Qolng Into her tlilrd selection,. Cantor and Jessel Inters rupt and the act turns into a rib- bing session. .For the rest of the show Miss Reads is in and out for bits. Her value for this pupose Is that she is a svelte and flashy platinum blonde' and performs the difficult feat of. taking a lot of pretty se- vere Joshing without once ; losing her commandlnir poise. A score of torch singers could do as 'well in a sln^a act, but it takes a lot of knowing how to troupe for the lar- ger eirect She. oontribntes enorm- ously to the fun of the afternoon, and somebow at the ^same .time re- tains an air ot elegance. Her hot'stepping for this flnale, tops off a notable bit of entertain- ing. Rush. ANATOLE FRIE0LAND'8>SH0W BOAT* (11) Revu* 30 Mine.; One and Full (Special) Jefferson ^ Another Friedland-produced re-' Tue along rather pretentious lines, involving considerable cost and holding a group ot 11 people whose versatility stands out. Marty May, with his cwn two-act preceding, works in *Show Boat' as m. c with the two attractions going together on bills. Good all-around .enter- tainment, both acts consuming to- tal ot 46 minutes. 'Show Boat' gains its UUe, if U- tles mean anything, from a set opening and a promenade corner of the boat later, where tables lend at- mosphere tor that chnmmy getrto- gether thing ->/hen all the girls get a crack at specialties. This- sequence Is a little long and some girls get the best of it from May. Feg^ Kay didn't even get a- chance tor a bow,' though over very strong In her cdmedy number. Another girl .does a classic on the piano. .That's 'ver^ satiUty' for line girls!' May is very much in evidence at all times. He displays an easy-go- ing manner, being an ideal m. c for a re'vue of this type. Allen Starling ot radio does the singing, all 4tf it excellent, while Gus Artell acta as silenced stooige throughout, ex- cavating laughs here and tbere. One sequence is given over to a costume splorge and it's swell. Jean Carroll. May'e able aide in his own act, does a song and dance In the middle of the act, making the bUl in high. Heartily receptioned down here. Cftor. LAMARR, BOICE AND FEHU Comedy Singlqg 16 Mini. ■ S6th 8L Aa It stands, act can't exi>ect to get far. The two girls, Helen Bolce and Margie IiaMaiT, are In need of a third man, with another comedian. FehU wearlne: Bwallow-tolls, work- ing stitCly and. singing when .he shouldn't, holds the others back. Miss Bolce's weight alone Is com- edy, but neither the present setup, routine or material permltis.her to do what she might. Her talk se- quence with. Miss XaMarr Is the bright spot of the act, although the material oh a whole is pretty lack- lustre; ' Miss Bolce's efforts as a comedienne -when' she appears to have natural talent in that direction, seems restrained for some reason or other, but a dance bit and a flop dig up a fair laugh. Miss lAMarr is around for looks, but appears able to handle talk okay if there's any '«Lorthwhlle talk to use. A love'scene between Fehl,. doing a film director, and Miss LaMarr mild in a comedy way. Sim- ilar love stuff with the big girl fiz- zled when it mlgbt .ha've sizzled. ' Closing Infective and clumsy, three carrying off with special lyrics following love scenes. UTp here the muffled mitt wasn't enough, so Sat- urday afternoon the trio' catno back for an enooro, anotber tliree-way song affair, equally as weak. Cliar. THE CRANTOS Perch Act 7 Mine.; Full Audubon Trio of aien, apparently Germans, fn a brief routine of difficult perch tricks holding attention from the first. One man on a sort of U- shapied upright or short shoulder perch performs a la equilibrist as he is supported by:an understander who ascends. and descends a lad- der. A head stand by one of the Crantos supported on the regula- tion perch i>y another also well done. Other upside down balances are maintained under similar condi- tiona For a finish there is a two- high pole balance 'with perch bal- anced from right shonlder ot the third. The duo aloft perform sev- eral tricks, one 'with their heads down and only support being a one- foot or ankle attached to top of pole by small rope loop. Act had to take several bows up- town. Warfc. CHALLENGE REVUE' (12) Daiice Flash 27 Mine.; ' One and Full (Special) Jefferson Produced by Harry Carroll, this revue contains Joe Wallace, Sylvia Carol. Three Crosby. Brothers, Three Moderns, Mills and' Pola, Frances Black and EiUeen Healy. Wallace Is perhaps the last m, c. left around from the nightmare pe riod of show business. Everything will be okay when it's 100%. Notb Ing funny about this lad and his material is very goreonzoia. Sylvia Carol sings and plays the piano in fair style. The outstanding bit Is by the' Crosby brothers.' Everyone but Miss Carol hops the buck. It's tap, tap, tap, from betilnnlng to end. All the steps the wavy haired boys with the big bot- tomed pants have done in vaude for tw6 years are again trotted out. The Crosby boys happen to stand Out in a tap because of the .7oet and Peasant' overture novelty an gle. ' Otherwise there Is Uttle enter- tainment value In this act. True, there Is a mob of people on the stage. There are also mobs on the Broiix express. Earl. DOROTHY WAHL (1) Songs '. 13 Mins.; One Royal Dorothy Wahl, assisted by an un^ billed girl pianist, is a singing; single who does four numbers, of which three sound like specials. Miss Wahl has a long, vaude past, but like many of the standards of the so- called good old days haa forgotten styles change in entertainment In vaude the same as In clothes. She picks her way too carefully along the tunes In an age that demands speed. . Brighter material and less dc liberateness in delivery may help Miss Wahl. Earl 4 FLASH DEVILS Dancing, Singing 12 Mins. State, N«!W York Four colored boys in taps and doubling Into supposed harmony singing. Singing is 'way off and dancing only so-so. One of the four, a young fellow who sings a solo, also does very well In a solo dioncing bit, but he's so much better than his partners that he makes then look worse than they are. Act opened here, but okay dencer for small housef^ if the boys lay off the Yocal stuff. Kauf. LOS OVIDUS <8) Acrobatics 8 Mins.; One (Special) Jefferson The dancing angle Is only a sug- gestion at the beginning, but with the dance muslo continuing through the act and the three men now and 'then giving slight vent to It be- tween tricks, it has its other vlttnes In this instance. While a little un- polished, aero act looking and work- ing like an import, it delivers. Men. as Spanish dancers, do hand to hand, head balancing and endurance xontintis. In order to lend novelty to - what otherwise would have been a hand-to-hand feat, a short perch Is' used to separate, understander supporting all with one mitt.. Closed elght-acter here and well liked. Char. NICE, FLORIO AND LUBV Comedy Acrobatics 10 Mins.; Two Hippodrome Another of the two men and wom- an combos doing comedy acrobatics and tap dancing, which seem to be flooding vaude of late. Here is a hard working trio, with the .inen in particular taking some falls in doing an eccentric dance a la drunks. It's old stage stuff, but pretty well done by the male seC' tlon ot this outfit. The woman flashes nothing un- usual. Her stepping is along con- ventional fast lines. As a knock- about turn it holds up. - Hark. NEW ACTS Joe lAne and Pearl Harper are readying a new act of three people In which they will be supported by Slim Gaut (Rome and Gaut). Five people flash produced by Irv Ing ■yaites Including Made White side, Lynn Burno, Al Brower and Frances Pepper. Tom Jergens ahd Marie Wayne. Archer and Mcljliibb, . ... Dick Reltberg and Joe Rcmpls. Peggy Bernler and Billy Tayloi" two-Oct. PALACE Show started 10 minutes late Saturday, and by S o'clock the ofllce might as 'well have closed those eight-week options . on the acts. Prom getaway to the flnish at 6:46, it 'was a continuous parade of laughs and applause, with Biddle Cantor the drum major, and Georgle Jessel sec- ond In the line ot march. This first vaudeville bill In hlstoiy booked for a run was stamped as.a click trpm the seta'way. Flist show had Its rough spots, but thq running called only for cut- ting and trimming around the edges; the meat was there.. Originally it was laid out as a $16,000 program, but In the end It ran over 116,000, the most costly en- tertainment ot the kind ever assem- bled, made so by .Cantor's t8,fi00 sal- ary, the largest snm ever paid a single performer for a week ot work In vaudeville. Justifying, the out- la^, when the curtain rose On the flrst performance., there was $14,000. In the till as advance sales for the initial week, ai^d tickets were .on sale for the second stanza; pre- miere audience occupied every seat- in the house, and nothing had been Sold but standing room' since 1:46. Standees were, banked five deep, and they used tapes to keep aisle heads 0|>en. - Cantor, by 'way ot statistics, holds the Palace box-offlce high meu-k on his appearance at the Palace last Christmas 'week, ranners-up to him being Clayton, Jackson and Durante. On salary figures the Matx Bros, draw $10,000, but this envelope lis cut four ways. Palace can better $36,000 on the week. On Cantor's second week it went to $41,000. For that date he drew down $7,700, or seven g's net. Schedule ot eight weeks for this layout is based on the performance ot the- bill grouped . around XjOu Holtz, but' that show was booked in for only a week, and its extension to two months was entirely unfore- seen. Show, thep. Is a Palace natural. It has everything, that it takes, which means that it is rich'in the special quality of comedy and the special sort ot familiar atmosphere that the Palace clientele goes for. Circumstance that Cantor.cmd Jes-. , who are here teamed in an epochal vaudeville venture, were kids together In Que Edwards acts plenty ot years ago would be an In- teresting angle anywhere^ but at the Palace it is something ot thrilling import, and the pair cM>itaUM its sentimental value for everything It's worth. As for the performance devised by this most poptdar ot musical com- edy fun-makers, and this most quoted of Broadway after-dinner 'wits, It was a hurricane ot laughter, even in the tmflnlshed state In which it was revealed to the'flrst audleYice. It Is made up ot material familiar in kind, but with its own flavor and appeal. A sample to fix its aptness for the Palsice Is the Introdoctoiy gae ex- change between the pair. Eddie scoffs at . Georgle'a sentimental songs, charging Georgle sings 1^ Mother's Eyetf In a way to ttake jronr heart Meed, and at the aune time his mother . Uvea only tight blocks away and Georgle hasn't been .to see her In two months. . Retorts Georgle quickly: Teah, and you! Tou're all over the stage, all hot 'n' bothered with "When I Get Yoii In the Vestibule," and at the same time your wife's the most discontented woman In Hollywood.' This didn't lose anything from the tact that Mrs. Cantor was in a stage box. Anyhow, that's the kind of stuff that makes up the show, and the Palaceltes hug it to . their bos- oms—gags that assume the custom- ers out front are In the know and Invite them Into the family circle. The pair have a session together, Separately, and together again, the performance being a continual rib- bing wrangle which from time, to time Implicates everybody else on the bill. In especial Janet Reade (New Acts), former musical com- edy player, now seml-retlrrd as the wife of Walter Batchellor, the agent. Bliss Reade does some swell tronp- Ing on her own, and when she gets In the line of fire of the, two clowns, proves she is' a trooper who can take .lt. A stunning, 'Willowy plat- inum blonde who can submit to all manner of roughhouse and come out of It. still a stunning platinum blonde putting over torch songs. It calls for a medal for- distinguished public service or something. Benny Meroff (New Acts) also calls for a tribute. New to the east after doing more than five years as m.c. and band leader in Chicago, he found himself in a spot, set to go on considerably after 6 in the after- noon before an audience which had laughed itself into a state ot ex haustlon, Cantor gave him a great introductory send-ofC, but when the drop in 'One' flew, ho and his boys were strictly on their own. And they made the grade on merit, go- ing their full 20 minutes and com- ing to the flnish with colors flying and, for the rest of their natural lives, members In good standing of the Palace elite. That leaves the present company accounted for, with the exception ot George N. Burns and Grace Allen spotted to open the second part, ex- cept for a brief introductory ap- pearonce o£ Cantor, another nirty situation for a cross-tnlklng pali', and onother case oC the players bc- ing well u» to the sUuatlon. p.b hold to their tried and aura Jj^ though much of the material aJS^S to he new Cor this oeaSton.^a work throughout thTwrt ot th^ performance in bits and bincko.rr.' Miss AUen beinv paruculu^ ,J^^ able for foHlng.^^^^^^^ Aside from the passing of verh.i brickbats between Cantor and sol, probably the funniest thJni^l with Miss Read^ spotted smR 2 the proceedlnirs, and a rlotoS iS 0* clowning that deserves a spot. Girl Is an actor-struck f^JS who applies to . Cantor f!» iSKS stenographer, confessing aftS ^ Ume;th8t she Is Jessel's girl ftiL.« which leads to a boisterously elSS wresUiiw match, with Eddie nS? Ing good Jn the A^lk ^Mtr& the tag line of the totteriSff%5g do you think of j«^ «»Ply from the noiriiHl Miss Reade, 1*nsyl' ""wji^ Wt a:t the afterno*. show ot Cantor doing a few Vrust a Gigolo' was olt\'f ^{^5 Another bit that buUs-eyed wsa brought la three or four nlu>ta *rom ttte audience and iSfS contusing the issue lurtlw "\riS dumbdora suggesUons. A nS3 lengthy ^ ^ bit with CtotoTSS JeMel ndjdas up Scotch^SSt Mtk Yiddish phrases and bothte u5 drareed at the afternoon 1»^S but tvas better at night jSm^S' era! other blackouts wewi^Sli^ sock laughs. In the ^te^'5 process a blackout w^ellmlnitS having to do with a flock ofloveS emerging out of the closet aid a man on horseback bringing up the 1,1 ^^®„r^'* opens the blu with Ms familiar Juggling specialty, ana Siu*^ ^„ occupied by the Three Rhythm Dancers, colored trio. Finale is blended into the flniA of the Meroff band turn, with Can. tor making up In blackface and ga«BJng as he goes, and then going Into a step, with the i«st of tlwhm on for the climax, also for a sur- prise when they are in Uackfiua and Miss Reade breaking into a hot. "wriggling strut. » This estimate ot the show as a promising cleanup is based on a rough flrst performance. In whieh shape it looked fool proof, inth trimming, shaping and polishiag it wiU be vasUy better, and that mean that It will have as much BcUd ea^ tertalnment as any musical in towiL and could become the talk ot the season and an attraction that conU run almost Indeflnitely. Ruth. ■ 86TH STREET The bookers nearly forgot the B6th the flrst split; sending in aafaov tluit's a . long 'Way from-what tbk house demands. Morton Downey h: among the tour acts and ought to draw something on the sbraagtb «( his radio following, but aioand him ifs water la the milk. And the shoir plays as thouA without snlietancfb Downey, wasn't luring *em at the flrst Saturday matinee, nor was tlie ptetnre, 'Road to SlngaporeT (WB), despite that a few drops ot rain threatened bum weather all after- noon. About one-fourth of tU lower floor filled. That's probably the worst this house can see on a Saturday. Halloween Saturday (31), prep- arations for that, or the football season may have chiseled, but noth- ing like that will have to take tte hlame It stronger stage shom aren't Alpped Into RKO's TorkviOe halt.;and-halt operation. Downey Is In penultimate on tk* four-act exhibit, He does five num- bers along about the same Hoes as when last in vaude, using a mUw next to the plano^ from ^Ich he sings a couple numbers. Audlenee appeared plenty eager for Downey. . but failed to respond as expecte^ To that may be ascriljed the layout of the songs. Downey insisting on doing 'Carolina Moon,' although the folks wanted 'Wabash. Moon' aad several others. The Irish tenor asked them what they'd like, but he stayed away from demands eirtpt for 'Smiling Irish Eyes,' with thit netting him fine retuma 'Caroll» Moon,' done by Downey on tlie Camel hour (mentioned) let down. SUU dotng. that novelty the eth«r songster says he does at high cla*9 wakes, he tops that In a big w*y with 'Just One More Chance,' bs- other oldie. Perhaps and probaW Downey w^uld do better if keepW away from the song cemetery. Sammy Lewis and Pattl Mm™ with their Ave people entry, ^O""! Downey, dragged themselves throusn 20 minutes. Many portions of w» act takes the hurdles nicely, much of It through obvious and u«f- necessary padding lays right oo'W and dies.. This act needs speed am cuttloff. latter bt which will proauw the former. , First two attractions cive ^ show a slow and urieventful start Piochl Sisters (3) with a mo"' ? brother, have a flashy rislcy o"" tumbling turn, but make tlic njw take of frying" to wrocl: it !»' stalls and moments in which some tiling is promised but nothine dei'> pred. Several times one of the B (Continued on Page 38)