Variety (Dec 1931)

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32 VAJUETY VA»E HMISE REVIEWS TuesdajTt December 22, 1931 JACKIE MERK£L Mentalist 10 Mine.; One' Downtown, L. A. It someone grabs this kid and buUds an. act around him he Should be an ace b. o. attraction, As. is, young Merkel Is lost In Oi haphazard routine of answering simple ques- Hons that take the bite out of his work. Though claimed only four years told, Merkel flashes the correct answers back to his- father, who works in the audience, at a speed that would make some of the stand-, atd mental acts run for cover. He Whips out the aAswers as fast as the old man aaks the questions. ■What system they use can't be ttetected in their work, though If the father can't pronounce;a word neither can the .child.. Father speaks With a German dialect tho.ugh the Idd uses perfect English. Youngster gives the serial num- bers of watches, names both given and family, auto numbers and makes, in fact anything that the audience wants to know the kid Will tell them. Father's audience work has him asking the boy the same type of questions over and over. Kid seems absolutely lacking In discipline. Between questions he sits In a chair and blows raspberries at the audience or talks to the. or- ohestra leader, which might be a frame.. When caught, before his exit he told the leader not to start the exit music untU he had finished bis.bows. With proper handling the young- 'ster should be a great attraction. !rhe old man has had him at all the studios trying to make an ac- tor out of him. If.he'd get a line on stage presentation and routining his son would be a great meal ticket for the family, child labor laws ner- JtUng. Call. LESTER ALLEN (3) with Frank Wheeler, Peggy Hoover . Singing, Dancing, Comedy - ' 18 Mins^; One 86th 8t. Strong vaude material, well, pre- sented and sold. I«ster Alien re- tains Some c^ the routine that he carried when with Nellie Breen, but in his present attraction it is blended, into 18'minutes of: enter- tainment, that can't miss anywhere. There iare three people, but some- times It appears a third isn't in the setup, with only . Allen . apd Miss Hoover bowing off at the finish and Frank Wheeler doing stuff tliat's typically Lester, . At no time are the two men on the stage together. Wheeler opens with' Miss Hoover in a song bit, Alleii quickly follow- ing with the girl In the kid plaid dress-ribbon bit he has previously done. Another number carried over by Allen is the comic full dress-over- sized shoes number. It's excep- tionally well sold, gathering quite a few laughs along the way, Mlsa Hoover, an eyeful, has a- number about the middle, Well exe- cuted and another toward the -end. Spotted third on a four-act show with Kate Smith headlining. Char. PRANK HARCOURT (4) Comedy 16 Mine.; Full e. O. H. Looks very much like Harcourt Is a burlesque comedian who der elded to get laughs for his material Instead of filling in between strips. He gets them. It's a fast turn of low comedy, and although not for A houses, ought to' be good for naborhooders. Harcourt is a. dead pan worker ttnd hak with him two good looking straights and a girl. Both lads warble .and the girl handles her taps neatly. All three are good at building up to Harcburt's clowning. Starts with Harcourt's two .lads Sresaed as marine and army re- cruiter, respectively, with the comic the bait Both want him to Join np and he finally does. Not too much new in the gags, but they're up-to-date and well enough handled. Kauf. TUCKER, SMITH and SIBLEY Comedy, Singing 10 Mine; One Jefferson Up to now this was Tucker and Smith In. a comedy plano-vloUn turn. With Miss Sibley, an eyeful, added to make it a trio, the laugh value of the act has been built up and the routine diversified with songs. In penultimate &t this grind Operation and held the assignment completely. Miss Sibley Interrupts the two men' In their clowning musical number. 'Between piano biz of Smith and the girl, coming on as a vamp, laughs from Al Tucker's inability to get ' Into his violin solo are doubled. Miss Sibley has a good voice and idellvery,. but poo^ diction. She brings the turn to Its finish with a pop favorite of one of the radio crooners. Char, SARGENT AND McGOWAN . Cbmedy, Singing 14 Mint;; One Jefferson' Mixed double that. easily with- stands the demands of No, Z spot in houses of this type and a little bet- ter. Some outtlnis in the routine Is advisable, with room.for that In the last stanza of the act, done do'wn here as an encore that wasn't pre- cipitated by applause. Miss McOowan early in the rou- tine displays a fine voice, but could leave.out the coloratura bit toward the last, 'With team confining them, selves to the jazz double, that takes them into the bows. 'St. Louis Blues' special and a couple pops ore oke. Considerable talk is sandwiched between vocal numbers and a: guitar solo by Sargent. All of it clears nicely, with team exhibiting ability m the selling. Over fair. Would stand better chances of a hand if trimming down on the vocal matter toward the ehd Char. . JEROME and MARSH Dancing, Acrobatics 7 Mint,; One ^ Jefferson Acrobiatic In essence, this act In dudes Enough dancliig and novelty to keep it away from that label. Re celved strongly down here on open ing show Friday night, it's an o. k. buy for the average nelghborhood- ers, Man opens with a soft shoe acro- batic number, girl. topping with v/hat starts out to be a violin solo displaying little mastery of that In Btrument, but turns Into a mongrel dance number. Including high kick- ing, splits, etc., with the violin still at work. In an acrobatic way the male member shoulders most of the work but keeps sufficiently away from the conventional! to attract special no tlce. Impression of reading a pa per In the subway, somersaults to head and back to feet, and on close going through a hoop on a fllp-fiop, mokes plenty different. Girl's a glira getter. Char. EVA CLARK Singing 9 Mine.; One G. O. H. There's an Eva Clark, slngei*. mentioned In the files who came out of the Zlegteld Follies and worked with a band. This can't be the flame girl, or not likely. Present Eva Clark has a soprano that's just a little too sugary and has very little stage poise. Start- ing With a seml-classlcal piece, she wanders Into pop tunes, all with ^e same high pitch and none with nuch enthusiasm or personality. Liooks more than anything like a newcomer needing advice on choice of songs. Miss Clark's looks are In her favor and with modifications she might make the grade. Kauf, FLYING BLUE STREAKS Roller Skating 7 Mine.; Full Stage Jefferson Three men,- one doing the fancy toller stuff. All three in on thrill spins with one of the boys In a head whirl that's a corker.' Clrcusy In general aspect, but all tlie spins and holds executed cleonly and without upsets. Closed the Jert show and proved strong enouph' to ~ Id 'em. Hark. , PABLO Magioiun 7 Mins.; One RKOr L. A. Mexican youngster with good looks who has been playing clubs and smallles around- here for some time gets his break on the locally bbokad four acta. Confines himself to two tricks, the disappearing clga- rets and producing countless packs of cards. In the former trick, he tips It by lack of control of the lighted cigaret, but opening day nervousness might have caused this. . Pablo has a great pair of hands for handling a pack of cards and manipulates them In good style, sometimes producing ds many as three decks at the same time. Needs a little more experience. ' CaV: ROAMEftS QUARTET Son^s 6 Mine.; One RKO, L. A. On the air for the past year, this singing combo needs a few pliiying dates to get Into vaude atmosphere. Should land somewhere. Pleasing of voice arid with pip arrangements, they handle both pop and cor.qert numbers In great style. No attempt at comedy, just straight singing, but of the type that calls fop plenty o£ applause. Thelt three numberis, with special arrangements were 'Lady Ih Spain,' 'OU Man R;ver' and "Way Down South,' latter with an arrangement that brought out everything the qunrtet Imd. Call, STATE Very few changes at the State ex- ceittlhi? the weekly show since the house opened nearly 16 yiars ago. It's standard at. all times on policy, a/feature of Lioew operation that sets that chain quite apart from others, and. probably has much to do with the steadlnfifSs of business. It's perhaps rbutlnb, but a good routine, ' People who patronize Loew thea- tres, either the State br neighbor- hoods, can only seldom expect changes in policy. They know what to expect week in week out, with little fiuctueCtlon, 0Ven In the show. LoeWs as ah operator is the least experimental of all. chains.. Going along praotlcally year in and year out, the State and' many other Loew Operations, either combination or straight pictures, have stuck to a fairly straight' course; Innovations in theatre operation, sometimes dls- turbine to regular patronage and confusing to the general public, Ore usually left to the others. Lbew's' Is always content to let its. competi- tors, juggle policies around, some-. ^Imes changing so often the fans cannot keep up. Byen Iii times of depression its contentment on oper- ation seems practical. The State, currently has six acts, but -sometimes chisels down to .five when playing a big name or having a heavy. picture on the spools. Pictures in this Broadway combi- nation do. not often pull eiirpi-ises tor- its followers. Always it's either a Metro,. Paramount or IJA picture,- programs which the' chain has been using right along without switching around on product. Same Is true of other Loew houses and film bookln(r. This week there-'s 'Rich Man's. FoUy (Par), with George Bancroft on the white square. ' It probably is doing some drawing among Loew fans. Stage show has nothing es- pecial to attract. Tet Saturday afternoon In face of Christmas shopping, spring weather and other drawbacks, house was near capacity. It's probably more because going tb Loew theatres and knowing-just about what to expect than because the current show Is dragging money from all direc- tions. It's strictly a habit, but a good one for the chain operator. And Loew's.ls not trying to change any tastes overnight. A«new bar- gain matinee is among one of the latest moves on policy. From 10 a.m. tb noon (excepting' Sundays) the tariff is a quarter, while on Sat- urdays 3BC; ! Vaudeville bill offers considerable variety, more than will be found on most shows. Bert Gordon occupies the top spot, next to closing, and wasn't In-best fettle Saturday after- noon. Routine is slightly switched around. Gordon, whose mugg and Tid accent have always been his blggrest assets, has both, in evidence, but on. the accent he is laying less stress than before. It's a mistake. Noble Slsele Is on the end with his hot band of 11 pieces. Slssle's numbers and solos by band mem- bers make up for the absence of specialty people who aren't missed. The colored entertainer, who made his biggest name in 'Shuffle Along,' Is still using, that 'Dream of the. Big Parade,'.-with a dramatic Interlude that's effective, but much too long. Fourth proved just the spot for the bill's flash, a fast dancing pro- duction, Betty Jane Cooper and the Ldthrop Bros., while just ahead was the proper fit for A, Robins, com- edy-novelty act. Robins Is billed as the walking music store. Grocery and hardware stores could be added. Both third and fourth spotters did nicely. Three Ryans, No. 2, came out stronger at the matinee, reaping a swell hand after bringing on an PETTET and DOUGLAS Songs, Dances, Chatter 10 Mine.; One Hippodrome Small-time material and a deucer. Same spot here on fast bill. How- ever, the' novelty If there Is some In the fact that one of the pair Is midget of miniature proportions may lift it for the better class nelghba Stuff used is nardly new and re- action depends mostly from the midget end. Has no punch outside the novelty tinge. Opens with the taller of the two lugging a sea bag to the front centre and for yodel. When he opens the bag out jumps the midge. Then son>e cross-fire, as both clad In sailor' suits with the notlceable-angle that each has his pants pressed dlf r ferently. Midget also sings solo and duets, a tap with the big boy after a solo dance by himself. . Sha)ii. DAWN SISTERS Songs and Dances 10 Mine.; One and Full Jefferson Dawn Sisters run alons familiar 'sister act' turns of this type, with dancing the background. On the singing end the slaters are so-so, and wlien topping oft theit songs with dancing gave evidence of la- borious breathing. The Dawns got their best results at the Jeff on a traveistied b'sUet dance in which they' bump each other around, Sfnrk. announced, younger brotbei* (looking- like ii midget) for an Irish favorite. The Ryans, with their neat har- mony work and style, remind of the Biltmore Trio, Rhythm Boya and similar crooning combinations. Op.ener, Ed -an^ Jennie Rooney, long around, .to start showing oft. State folks took to their slick tra- peze routine with fervor. With Christmas around the cor- ner Loew houses are presenting Conrad Nagel, making a stage tour for the circuit, In a trailer 'wishing Loew patrons a merry Xmas. Nag'el leads up'to It with a nicely-dis- guised plug of Loew theatres, Metro pictures, etc. H-M. news, • - Char. RKO, t. A. Los Angeles, i>eb. IT. Current show at the Thursday evening performance displayed, a muchly stage-struck Herman Tim- berg. With his four stooges he consumed 40 minutes of the run- ning time of the show. When tbld that few picture agents see the RKO shows he probably out to 20 minutes. That's what he's been doing along the route. Locally booked' for acts are Rich- ard Walley, juggler; Alphonse Berg, gown creator; Pablo, nqeiglcian, and the Roamers, male quartet. -EUist-^ em unlt'is made, up of Swan and Lubllle, 'dancers; Lassl.ter Bros., hoke comedians; Harrington Sis- ters,- harmony singers, and Tlmb^rg. . Wally opens with a fast line of billiard ball juggling. Does all his catching in small bags attached to his bade and sides. Makes some hot three-ball catches. Nice opener. Alpbonse Berg next with his familiar figure-draping. Berg's act has not changed in 10 years. Pablo (New ; Acts) followed. His work consists of card manipulating 'and the' disappearing cigaret trick. Manages to sell them both. Roamers (New Acts) next. In four numbers they displayed about: the best blended voices heard here In many moon's. Stopped the pro- ceedings and encored, . Swan and Lucille, first of the eastern acts, failed to make ah im- pression In the six minutes allotted. Act would fall totally flat were it not for an unbilled tap dancer,' who takes up more than half of the time with some great hoofing. Swan and Lucille are content with two short adagio bits that were neither Olass nor sensational. Lasslter Brothers with theU: clowning were welcomed in this spot on a bill that so far was minus laughs. Hoke dancing of the pair caught oh from the start Working easily, they gathered in plenty of laughs and closed strong. Harrington Sisters next In kid dresses;, sang three numbers in close harmony. Girls sold what they had and were content to let it go at that, though they 'could have encored. - Herman Timberg closed and for a while it looked as though he were on for the night. First putt of his act was drawn out to the limit Not until he picked up his fiddle to accompany the girl blues singer did he. make an impression. By that time he had been on for 20 minutes. Three male stooges feed him. Then there's the. girl, who has plenty of torrid looks and a voice. 'Man In Her Life' (Columbia), the feature, with Pathe News Clips hlso in. Business better than usual on Thursday, opening day. CaU. JEFFERSON Vaude of the old type where com- edy acts predominate and had them laughing Instead of gawking is on tap at the Jefferson. Pour shows as usual ^Saturday forced the first vaude blU on pretty early, but be- fore It was. over the house was holding downstairs. Woman- (Par), didn't look like a 14th street drow. The vaude section was a laugh-get- ter on paper 4nd proved even more »°, ''Lthe running. Layout Included Ai Trahan, Gloom Chasers (Col. Snoopnagle and Budd), Bobby Barry and Danny Duncan. Dawn Sisters (New Acts) opened the show. Not much away from the old path, With closing bit a llfesaver. Mildred Mickey Peeley in a song cycle followed, She was well re- ceived, though closing number Is heavy for the 14th streeters. Bobby Barry started the first of the laugh brigade with his familiar style,-and closed strong with a char- acteristic Barry dance. Danny Dun- can found big favor with his old turn, which Is of broad farcical con- struction but well handled. Duncan works hard all the way and gets a lot out of his funny walks, 'Red Hot Man' hit the i4th streeters hard. The Gloom Chasers from CBS (radio) went even better here than in other RKO houses. Everything the two men did got laughs and ap- plause. An unqualified hit all around. Trahan bowled them over from the start, and once he grot Into the burlesque wrestling bit with Miss Cameron, the liouae wouldn't let him go. ■Closing were the roller skaters, Flying EUie Streaks (New Acts). OUay. Mark. PALACE/CHICAGO Chicago, Dec. 19. : This Is a bLCtter vaiide line-up than the Palace has vlalbned in some weeks and appeara capable of re- taining the equilibrium of the box ofiQce despite the expected pre-holi- day lethargy. AVord-of-mouth com- ment likely to do the trick, - Once, more the women gather th* big places in the billing and on the stage. There was nothing bigger for instance, than the Watson Sis- ters, nothing bigger even In laughs and results. Showing next to th» finale, the gals put their heads to- gether and came through with tba audience's risibilities securely under control. They haven't changed their fundamental routine i ihuch. There were some new gags'and a number of old ones, but garnlahed with the Watson sauce they served' their purpose well.' Gave 'eni a chance to come back to wish tb» house a happy holiday. Miss L«o Morse, as she is listed, was the other lady, of the afternoon. I,oca| RKO office made much'effort to plant this appearance In the minds of the Chicago citizens as a 'personal' viewing, figuring"on cap*' turlng the radio etay-at-homes. Miss > Morse tonsUed her way- through a string of pleasantly pop- ular tunes; and left 'em happy. Sho opened with her' radio signature- ditty, and from, the answering echo from the auditorium this crowd rec- ognized it from the off-beat. Mlsa Morse can do trloks with that Ibw contralto. voice of her; and she wrapped it-around the-ears of the-- first show mob to capture a winning session. , -One other girl had-a comfortabla' time of it. That was Nayan Pearce, who, with Jay Velle, tossed her way' through a deverly .staged modern- istic danoe turn. Several of the ideas, awaken memories of other and for-' mer dance notions lamped In this' house, but the recollections of simi- larity doesn't Injure the effective- ness of the current rhythms. There, is the st>eak-easy sequence', for in- stance, and that underseeu!) bit con-' cernlng the mermalden, the webbing, and the villainous octupus. They all' hit familiar crevices in the con- sciousness, but Miss Pearce makes up for it.- Lady here has several new Ideas herself In dancing, using her body more than her pins. She man- ages to become particularly heated' In a series of dance moods, wherein' she's perched up on a platform un- der an overhead spot, while Velfe accompanies , her with piano and pipes. Throughout Velle la more of a-alnglng than a dancing partner, using his vocal calisthenics to lead into Miss Pearce'a' rhythmic gyra- tions. One unbilled dancer fills In a "tvalt cleanly on his short song, and straight hoofing bit All assembled, they managed an able closing se- quence to the line-up. Harry Savoy, deuce, unnecessari- ly vexed himself with the Imp'resslon- that he. wasn't getting over so weU. and was surprised at the finish tb find the audience appreciative^ The early crowd here didn't double up oyer the gags, mainly because many - of them were repeats and because Savoy doesn't know where to draw the oft-color line. Large moment of . the turn is Savoy's closing number, which was entirely out of his com- edy character^ It's his Impression of John' Barrymore in one of the 'Richard HI' soliloquies. Delivered straight, and the house liked It bet- ter than the gaga Ltazeed Arabs are too much like other Arabian, tumbling and pyra-. mldlng arrangements to get an au- excited. Their main claim to distinction is having a new high of 12 performers nose-dlvlng and som-. ersaulting at once. •Sut^ender" (Fox) feature. Busi- ness coming along steadily at close of first show: - • Wii|tergarten» Berlin Berlin, Dec. 6. December bill agalii confirms the repute of the Wintergarten. No weak point—most varied program— applause. Wally Marcelly and Mario de Costa start the evening. These con- tortlbnlsts seem to enjoy the most uneasy postures. A Russian troupe, the Bolgarotts, in whirlwind dances with Bojgaroft, jr., doing 60 turns In 20 seconds. Pleasant number is the boy jug- gler Paolo. Harmonious in his movements, quiet, he Juggles chiefly with balls. Sam Barton has to fight with misfortune and his bike. Everything prevents him from coming to the point These Involun- tary difficulties make the public roar with laughter. There Is his success. His bike finally falls to Pieces—laughter. . Lulslta Leers, trapeze, does thrlll- fng performance. More than 100 muscle grinders, without interrup- tion. Bedini- Tafani Family, acro- bats, has Paolo, the boy juggler. With his two smaller brothers he assists his parents In the Ictfrlan games. A disciplined family, flrst- class acrobats. Russian ballet does a Fashion Show through centuries on toe tips. Dancers are charming and dance vei-y well. Satl and Russo, duo, with Italian and Spanish songs, and the Barracetas, musical clowns, enter- tain. Applause aind laughter showed the satisfaction of the public. Maomts.