Variety (Nov 1931)

32 VARIETY REVIEWS tntedajf ^foyember 24, 193! ED LOWRY Master of Ceremonies Songs and Talk Audubon Ed Xiowry Is now permanent m. c. at tho Audubon at 168th street and Broadway. When: the Skouras. Bros, took over the house and decided upon a stage band policy they booked Lowry direct. To the Skouras bOys Ed Lowry Is perhaps better known than any. other per- former in. the biz.: Wliea they were flgurlng on an m. c. Idea, at thejr St. Louis house they obtained Low- ty. He stuck with them and right In St, Looey too for three years. That set Lowry In right with them so it was a natural conclusion that Ed would get the flrst Call in the New Tork scheme of the Skouras policy. Hence- the Audubon assign- ^letat.' ' Lowry playd.no musical Instru- taients during his stage play but he does sing. a little,. dance a little, Bprlng gags-and make Introductions of all the acta and directs the stage band when not otherwise occupied. Lowry's main asset seenis to be his Infectious personality.. He has an Ingratiating ismlle, an,o{(ehfaced ex- pression Ideal. for modern m. c. porkers and he 16 on the stage for. at least 66 minutes, the running time of fhe Audubon show. As It was his first day at the Audubon .t^hen caught the running tlmb was 'expected to be reduced to keep the last show from running until after midnight . ■: ' Lowry seems to be further ad- vanced than any other vaiide m. c seen hereabouts due to the Injection In the bill of a comedy blackout in which he was assisted by Sophie Tucker, the headllner for the open- ing Skouras week. This comprised a travesty on do- mestic life where the husband is out late and the wifey calls up a boy friend and fills . In the time until Jhiibby returns for ah amusing home Welcome. Just tt bit of levity but Indicative that more will follow during Low- FY's regime at-the house. ' Lowry peps up a. show more through that dynamic personality than anything else, yet he knows ihuslc and gags and sings, so looks like plenty of glory and applause for him uptown. Jfark. HARRIS TWINS AND LORETtA Dance Novelty 10 Mins.: One and Full eeth St. Two boys, astonishingly 'alike In i&ppearance, and a pretty brunet girl, said to come out of a presen- tation unit. Wherever they come from, they qualify for a spot In any- body's theatre. ' One of those newr comers who flish Into view and are made oh the .ipot. Qualify as stand- ard material as they sta.nd. No. 2 on this program. Boys In tuxedos appear without parade and go Into a 'mirror* bit So Identical Is their appearance that they need no mirror prop biit face each other and go through simultaneous ges tures that create the efCect Only a minute of this and then 'a pre dslon routine mixing flrst-rate acrobatics and holding, to the pre clslon efCect with remarkable ac- curacy Into somersaults, front-overs and cart-wheels that click with the tap outline like clockwork. Girl Is on for a capital session 'of legmanla, with front and back kicks that go the. limit . and ofl again as 'drop In one flies to spe clal set 6n' full and boyj stripped to gladiator garb. An Instant of flrst-rate hand-to-hand work by boys and ground tumbling. Girl comes back stripped down also to a minimum of clothes, and the three go Into ian- adagio that meias- ures with- the best - cis might be expected of two class ac<-obats and a girl who can make a contortion solo dance Interesting on merit. Act was very big here. Rush. bo. Better If he dropped them and did something with his piano player and the vocal trio. With bis personality.. there's a place for .Coslow in vaude, but not conducting his present band or singing the choruses of. songs that are are as out of date as the pic- tures they were featured In. Call TOM DONNELLY and Cc (6) ' Talking, Singing, Dancing . . 13 Mine.; Full (Special) Aeadeniy Agreeable flve-people flash (2 m. 3 w.) that's worthy for the better class neighborhood combination stands. A little tightening, with possible chopping of running time, plus strengthening of the talk, will place act out front in the flash divi- sion. Donnelly shoulders most of the talk, acting somewhat in the man- ner of an m.c. After a gag with one of the girls Interrupting him on opening, he slides Into a song dou- ble with another, with that girl top- ping in a high-kick acrobatic spe- cialty of fair merit. ' Routining all along is smooth,-with people brouGfht on in the least awkward manner.' A team stands out in ia collegiate dance double. ,The girl, doing rub- ber, is carried and swung around by the man in an eftefctive manner. Donnelly's bUck with Its frills fol- lows. Neat specialty. A rumba gag applies for the.fln- ish, with the company slhgihg and riimba-lng out the old-time meller stunt with Vllllaln, heroine, etc. This leads to curtains with one of the girls topping it all on in a brief acrobatic bit • Appeared second on a six-act show here and before a crowded house gathered plenty of applause. Char. GREAT LEON (3) Magician 10 Mins.; Full Hippodrome' Leon, vet magician, does a series of : eyei-foolers, ' yet novel and smoothly performed. A number of magical feats during the short' time he Is on the stage are per- formed without wasting any time: Only for L'.s closing bit does Leon make an announcement' say- ing It is his most difficult feat It an Illusion In which a girl is supiMsedly burned In a meshed box and then reappears in a glass case containing water and sealed down. Fast' smooth and good anywhere. LEWIS and ALTEE and Co. (6) Dances 16 Mine.; Full 86th St. Mixture of near classics and modem tapping forms this dancing turn headed by Ben Lewis and Joe Altee. The Four Pearls . do some routine work along .artistic linesi while the Floyd Sisters' take care of double dance tapping. Standout is tho Joint hoofing of Lewis and Altee. There is a stair dance by the. team for a finish, with nothing new or novel here other than giving the boys something to use as a closer. The turn pleased, but the audi- ence didn't part with much ap plause. Might have been the. almost deserted theatre. Mark. RKO UNIT, t (Chester, New York) Conventional four-part vaude show running less than an hour and, for all Its variety, a little skimpy. The diversity of the show Is derived basically from the fact that the four acts are of different types, but as In this case, maybe that isn't so much variety after alU Three are esspn- tially of the sight type. . The four-acter runs 62 minutes. .That means here and elsewhere the program around will have consider-, able room for filling but unless the picture gets plenty beyond the' avisr- age length.: Support of four-act bills In down- town or neighborhood houses can't be. strpng unless the shows display more than the average length. That must come to make up for the de- ilectlon of an act or two from the policies of old days when audiences were accustomed to at least five and, in ^jnany cases, six-act per- formances. . Else the regulation intacts of RICO need' at least one outstanding at- traction. The new setup for the rood, as playing up here doesn't have that Nearest to an attraction, is 'Sun- klst' Eddie Nelson, long standard. Nelson is a good performer, ■ man- ages to please his audience and with, his clowning more than gets by, but he'isn't a sock act Other ' three are I>eno and Ro- chelle, dancers;. Ray Hiiling. and Seal, and the Royal Uyeno troupe. On paper it looks like an even less exciting show than - it is on the s't'age'.' • . ' None of the four acts Individually are ismall-tlme. Together they make up a show that runs smoothly and evenly, striking, a medium average of entertainment value. It's a show that won't send the folks out quar- reling, yet it won't have them grip- ping their seats or falling out of them from laughter.' ' Deno and Rochelle open. Act has weakness In Kathryn Black, single dancer, whose numbers alternate with those of the name team, but in Deno and Rochelle's work that handicap is strongly competed against The racketeer dance, a modem version of the Apache, Is the act's highlight and sends it across for a nice applia.use display. Huling is spotted second with his padded beal; act Always a great performance by the pihnlpedic per- former, but too much Is too much.- Also It all makes, repetition, with Huling a wiser showman if he'd cut out that meaningless Vent'riloquisni and hula hula bits as ah. encore. The hula -hula, similar to the Gllda Gray impression shortly after the opening, could .be combined. Nelson, in his finest fettle Up here Thursday night worked up laughs in leading up. to his trick cornet and dmm clowning - bits. '. Audience started to have a little fun with Sunklat' by suggesting he try the harp and organ when called upon to suggest Instruments he play. Re- cently in another date Nelson Intro- duced Rath Bros., who followed him. Up here, with Uyeno Troupe tailing, he Intros that act.and works a cou pie bits In it One is. a hand-to hand try that gets a mild laugh or two. ; Uyenos (7) in their fast tumbling, rlsley and balancing did nicely when caught One of the rlsley feats is slick. The Road to Reno' (Par) is the longle on the screen. Dressing In a film way are Clark and McCullough In a two-reeler, 'Scratch as Scratch Can' (Radio) and Pathe News. Dave Teitlebaum, in the pU, tried a medley of pops and classics for SAM COSLOW ORCH. (14) 20 Mins.; full (Special) ' R. K. O., L. A. Sam Coslow has been out hc'i' since musical talkers were in and out of vogue. Most of his, time has been spent at Paramount, where he wrote theme songs. Coslow evidently has the piiiturc .hug. Ho has based his act on what 'He did In pictures, tlio mistake that picture people usually make when they take to the stage. Result Is the band Is mainly a background for Coslow's singing. Were It not for d male vocal radio trio, 'The Three Cheers, the act would be as flat as a pancake. Testerday's song successes are not unlike yesterday's news. ' A good example was the Three Cheers stopping the act with their version of 'Vuba on His Tuba,' not a Coslo.w number. That should be the tlp-bjr. Orchestrations are ordinary and the band i^ neither hot nor sweet Coslow hope's to take this act kaat. Bands are out unless unusual .•and the Coslow name is not strong enough to hold up his present com- IRVING O'DUNN (2) Comedy . 15 Mins.; One Jefferson O'Dunn is a throwback from the present trend of young comedians of'today's vaude. He represents one of a great number , of boys wlth.no style or manner of delivery, who hope to crash some way or other, O'Dunn has no material except three or four indigos. His flrst laugh was the' button Tipping gag, with O'Dunn placing his hands' over the. front of his trousers lii defense from the girl button-puller. Another was the ref crence to his family that sings In the bathroom because there is no lock on the door. After the last one, O'Dunn re marks that he'll make good. ; Two young girls assist In the comedy at tempt. Acts of this calibre only clog up the books. Earl, JOE HERBERT (3) Songs, Comedy 18 Mins.; One Jefferson Joe Herbert has one thing he can bank on for thei average neighbor hood theatre; a pair of' boisterous pipes, with, which he blasts, his way through pop songs for what results arc drawn in the body of the act Bringing on an extra stooge for the last minute saved the act' from light finish. Two stooges and ai blonde g^rl all unbilled. One stooge plays mouth organ and the girl Indulges In pointless talk with Herbert, She also, dances. Dialog seems to be Imitative, like most vaude today. Earl, excellent results. He has a, better than average band aggregation to be found In combination houses. Business between 60 'and 76% . of capacity on rainy Thursday evening. CUfJNINGHAM & CLEMENTS (3) Dances 12 Mins.; Full (Special) Fordham Cunningham and Clements is a team of dancers, supported, by the O'Connor Twins (boys) and Flo Duane. The twins in addition to being neat tappers and offering double routines all the way also play musical instruments effectively. One plays the violin and the other a cornet and follow with a sdx duet' with some tapping as they play the latter instruments,^ Miss Duane is a specialty dancer, nothing new or unusual ln her rou- tine, biit. pleasing. The featured dancers, man ' and woman, go through a varied series of modern steps and top it with some fast whirling. As a whole, an entertaining act. Malk. . PALACE (4TH WEEK) <r- . (2d Review) In three weeks the Palace's $18,- 000' Cantor-Jessel vaude bill has grossed above $106,000. The first gross was over $30,000, a Palace record for a non-holiday week. Next two weeks compiled a grand total' that surpasses &nythtng in the the- atre's records.' That $106,000 means a profit of around $26,000 for the circuit, well over the Palace aver- age pace this year bt $4,000 weekly profit At the Saturday matinee, the flrst performance In the bill's fourth week, the side boxes werei a bit ragged in the recr and the cus- tomary standees absent 'Twas the weather,. probably, with summer also playing a repeat date in New York. The layout.ls known as the Can- tor-Jessel bill for several reasons, sonie of which are: Cantor's salary is higher thaii all the other acts' combined. Jessel's is the second . highest; and GeorgliB is asking tor more. Cantor and Jessel. are using each other OS' stooges, and how could anybody flop with Cantor or Jessel as a stooge? Cantor and Jessel manage to make this bill the strongest enter- tainment, 'within the memory of Palace-goers, Including those who have been going to the Palace'since it opened 18 years ago. Cantor and Jessel make it a grand entertainment despite constant use of bad gags, old bits an'd revamped blue stories. They captivate 'their audience quickly and ,never let go. After awhile they need only to lift a finger, and do those laughs start rumbling up from the abdomen? With the lead team Is a support bin that really supports. It doesn't look like something that was booked with a budget, though It was. Serge Flash, Three "Rhythm Dancers, Burns and Allen and Benny Mer- off's orchestra—all yaudevUUans and all landing by themselves with their own specialties. Plus Janet. Reade,. the only non-vaudeyllUan on the show, who's In not so much for her two-number vocal specialty as for her expert foiling for Cantor and Jessel. In Its fourth, week the show Is hardly changed. Cantor and Jessel switch a line now and then; Miss Readp has dropped her piano iacr coiiapanist to appear alone in 'one'; Benny .MeroH Is.dancing again; bis. ankle Injury sustained In the sec- ond day of the run having healed. Everybody knocks the' audience, cold, from Flash's juggling opener, to the company's round-up closer. Flash and the colored dancing trio are one-two smacks on the enter- tainment button. Then come Cantor and Jessel In their first brother in- terlude. By that time the audience Is Btreitched out, wrapped up and ready for the cleaners or anything that comes along. They scream at Cantor and ."essel talking Yiddish with a Scotch dialect even those who don't understand What Is said. They weep and reminisce right along with them whien Cantor and Jessel weep and reminisce about the good old days with Gus Ed- wards. . A running.lesson In showmanship in all of the Palace bill. Constant suggestion that this wouldn't be a bad permanent policy for the Palace —just dig up 62 Cantors and Jes- sels a year! B<ire. THE ARLEYS Perch 7 Mins.;' Full Jefferson There* have' been several ^ perch acts with the Arley name, most ot more than two people. This mixed team Is probably from the Arley family. They work smoothly , and neatly.. Woman does all the perch work, with the man holding her on his shoulders for two tricks and via the waist belt for 'the finish. The woman Is not small, but car- ries average weight nicely propor- tioned. She must make considerable load for the man to balance, as he appears'quite slight In size. - This makes for some of the success of the team. They laifded solidly hero opening the shOw. Earl. LYRIC Hard to figure possibilities here considering the budget and the quality of entertainment. Acts work at a minimum salary to grab a spot for showing new material near enough to hope for a look from the RKO mob. House depends upon drop-In trade and perhaps a faint hope of resurrecting the old Ameri- can Roof clientele. This week's bill is a hit-and-miss arrangement, loosely blended with out much regard for pattern. Most of It small time, but a bargain at the gate of 35 cents for Saturday matinee when caught. They call it eight acts, which included a. sister team worked into the Jack Kneelahd band number closing. It. probably couldn't be done for the outlay except for the 'show' angle, for there are 37 people con- cerned in this layout, and It does make a numerical flash regardless of the average entertainment doHv cred. Saving grace is a certain vigor o£ comedy, rhaln item, in that department being the always de- pendable Jean Bedlnl, who*has n three-part turn running.close to 25 minutes. This Is made rup of a bit ot burlesque magic, the' sketch ro hearsal bit from burlesque, and the deathless plate breaking o£ the old ncdlnl and Arthur days. Latter episode was the backbone of this particular performance. Jack Kneeland and his orchestra likewise do nearly half an hour and make a commendable display for the admission prlpe'. with 11 pieces, nearly all brasses. A couple of in terpolated specialties, namely tho Eaton Sisters, tap and toe dancers and nloe-Iooklngr girls, and tenorin* 0|f Tommy Long, introduced as ■ radio singer, who also saxophones la the orchestra. One other turn stands out a* > possiblUty. but only Mter the n«. • ent act has been revised, Tljat il Jack Hanlon Co. Hanlon has doi» some work hereabouts as a dan^nS juvenile In musical comedy and f™ vaude has acquired four girls. 5,r«:' dancing speclallstB and a Bon» pianlste. All are agreeable loowS young people and, like Hanlon, sten: pers of quality. Trouble with tK turn is that It la one of those throiS? together affairs which tries 4^ achieve production flash but doem?' Young; people would be betteroff with a clean-out, unpretentlou. dance turn offered on its dakcw merit The •production* stuff u «' chill, cohsisUng of a spectacle idei- One of the girls, tricked out as w Indian maid, does a story panto in dance to Hanlon, all dressed uo a« an Indian chief, with an attempt to suggest redskin atmosphere by » few pieces of flat scenery. .Remainder of the program is lust small-time flUers. opening with th» Four La Pearls, four-man casUiw turn using twin cradles and a' trampoline and doing the usu^ aerial feats well enough but with, out special distinction. Feature in a double In the air from catch w catch. *• "f Six Crackerjacks are flve colored hoofers and acrobats and a colored irirl who steps and also sings a bal. lad which is out of order; People work hard to got over the darktowH frolic and manage to work up soma enthusiasm . with their finish a ' frenzy of acrobatics like the finale of a troupe of Arabian acrobats. George Hunter, former m.c„ es. says a monolog single, the.'talk b*,! ing routine aiid made lip of stand- ard stuff, mostly about 'my girl,'etc Talk was flat before this 'eaS crowd, but Hunter's agreeable bari' tone made him friends. Works seml-stralght and without comedy makeup, Bedlnl interpolated het» for an interlude that livened up the proceedings and then, next to dos- ing, which was no spot for it the William Ebbs ventrlloqulal novelty. Idea is the familiar type of ven- trlloqual dummy': talk exchanges, plentifully sprinkled with mild ga^ and then, for the isurprlse finish, it is disclosed that the ghost voice really belongs to the midget Ebbs, concealed in the table lamp. Weak- ness of the act is that while the idea is attracUve, the talk does not stand up. To deliver' properly tho dummy talk should be good enough to stand up on its chatter. As la, act sacrlflces Interest with Its dull' talk before the. surprise climax. No fllni feature, biit a succession of shorts, most of them comedy, alfd Universal newsreel, to complete the show. Bill does four a day, with a girl barker doing a continuous bally in the lobby, to coax the casual& Saturday afternoon lower floor waa better than two-thirds occupied for the three-hour running, time. RutK HIPPODROME Not a highlight or outstanding turn current, but a smooth bllL Framed along conventional lines, it shapes up stronger than average. Orantos, three men In perch and acrobatic work, open. Have a strong and flashy set of routines that earns them a big hand. They go through various acrobatics while perched on a pole, supported on the shoulder ot the understander. For finish, latter supports his partners as they stunt on the pole. Mack, Harold and Bobble are a fast youthful acrobatic danclilg combination. Included Is some In- cidental patter that Isn't as funny as the'dance routines of the trio. Olrl Is cute and ct&ver. Boys drift from duo dance work to comic acro- batics, the latter doing the scoring; Joe Herbert Is letting his assist- ants do the work in his new turn. Uses a mixed team of stooges. Boy earns the biggest hand'and appears to be the same fellow, or If not the some has emulated the style ot the stooge who worked with Lou Holts at the Palace. Herbert himself sticks to straight singing with a good voice. His asslsta-nts are given more time than he and tend to over- shadow him. Girl, besides foiling for crossfire ■with Herbert has a comedy song number and winds up with a toe dance. ' Poodles Hanneford here again in his comedy equestrienne turn. Its especially good'for matinees. . • Madeline Patrice has a good voice and Is a clever violinist, but would Do more effective In her warbling If sne didn't try to be dramatic. During her opening song numbef, one e«- pects a partner to come out any minute and Interrupt her for com- edy, It's that overdone. She poses, too', w'hich Isn't for vaudeville. .M'ss Patrice has the nece.s.sary roqulsiie for a violinist and song.strcss. ' The house-wrecking turn ot w"- lle. West and McGlnty played wltn Us usual smoothness. Since wsi seen, another man, making .'O"'" all? ha.s been added to the act. Com- edy songs of Burns and l^"*^^" found favor, and the boya we™ called for two encores. Tl>clr nnJu •bit somewhat blue, but iuiW- ^ group of comedy lyrics to pen <-»nea opens. All comedy tunes fo""."',' „ Great Leon (New Acts), m.iu'ician, closed with a fast routine "f •A Dangerous Affiair' (('"" ture.