Variety (March 1932)

Tuesday, March 1, 1932 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 29 ROXY New TorK, Feb. 29. With 'Cheaters at Play' (Fox) on flpreen the Roxy currently needg more tiian that added scenic thjee- Sieler 'Tragedy of Everest/ and IVed Wiring's Pennsylyanians to Keep Its "head up. The 'Light Cavalry' overture Is a mt comfed for a Fred, Waring, whose Idea Is to alternate the classic with ♦he lazz. while the reversion to the flleht stuff, rather than, those costly names, hasn't worked out aensatlonr -"presentation Is captioned 'breams,* hrlntrine on the chorus Vlo two giant twin beds. After the ballet and Roxyettea ensemble stuff, which fea- tureB EvtUyn Nalr, Bert Nagel's lellne specialty dovetails Into a lu- minous paint dance flash (credited to A Strobl), which reminds of those Disney SlUy Symphonies, with their eerie stepology formatlonsi Effect was somewhat marred by the lumi- nous paint veering around to the black portions, so that faint outlines, were visible during the sequences when' the blackout should liavie transpired. When working far up- atag**tHls was corrected. Finale, 'I>ream of Aphrodite/ was an undersea baljet Idea featuring Patricia Bowman, Val Gueral, Aion Tomarbff, Vilery Stretshnev and botli dance ensembles. Waring hit his stride with a lyric ^tlre on 'Rhapsodle Iii Blue' after the brtnodox Von Suppe overture. Rest of the show waS In the conr- ventlonal sequence, wUh A. J. Farmentier and Charlotte Tauber at the organ, the scenic and Fox Mo- vietone newsreeL lAttfer was strong- est on the SIno-Jap stuft, although whoever Is doing the voicing—evi- dently synced o". the New Tork end —could make his diction better. Abel. MASTBAUM Philadelphia, Feb. 26. House doesn't need .any stage names to draw with Joe E. Brown's (iFNX 'Fireman, Save My Child/ on the screen. However, It. has a revue offering that will do a great deal to odd to the pleasant glow left by the picture, with enfertainin'erit value that beats most of the headline n^mes. Combines Imaginative stag- ing of the highest order, With plenty of comedy, and Introduces one nov- elty that will make jaded presenta tlon house audiences sit up. Offering called 'Garden of Allah,' with set to represent Moroccan gate and girls on for atmosphere. Male chorus (8) III foreign lejglon outfits ebants 'Live for France,' line girls on next for dance with cymbals. Caught at second show on opening day dance was rough and spotty. Especially notlcealble because chorus is In a class high above average. Trouble may have been In orchestra pit, timing broken beat of Oriental music. Two other numbers ok.- Ben Blue, on next, putting over tils comedy smoothly, also acting as sort of m. c. Works with '-ood-look- Ing femme and usual stooge, and spaces, his stuff throughout the re- vue, so that none of it is wasted. Well-knOwri Russian dance and 'Dy- ing Swan' went over big. Three rhythm dancers,; Negro hoofers, went through routine for a good hand, followed by Ben Blue, who introduced Llllia.. Shade, singer of torch songs on Ethel Merman or- der. Has a personality of her own and striking appearance, her Jet black hair and vivid Hps reminding one of Evelyn Brent. Slim, graceful, a stunning dresser and, most Impor- tant, has a real voice. 'After Tou"ve (Sone,' followed by 'Minnie, the Moocher,' to which she exits effec tively from a darkened stage with spotlight from wings. Novelty presentation mentioned Is Javanese dance by Salami and Michi. Production gives them top- notch support, Javanese set draped with l^gures, dance by ballet, and orchestra superb In musical accom- paniment. As ballet exits, figure Is disclosed sitting like Buddha on altttr. four hands visible as female partner Is behind sitting figure. She Ig not seen until both leave altar to do a dance on . stage. Otherwise, movement is confined to graceful, perfectly timed manlpulaitlon of the hands. A. really artistic piece of work and fan example of the better things that presentation houses can . offer. Something distinctly new, it kept a large afternoon audience quiet until the end and received, strong, ap- plause. Credit : to Roy. Le Prinz, production manager. Act closed by Llazeed Troupe of acrobats,; fllling stage with whirl- wind tumblers of every size and showing strong-man balancing feats. Mixture of nationalities in bill not as noticeable as It seems here. _ Milton- Charles sings 'Save the Ijast l>ahce for Me/, mentioning Philadelphia author./ Given a neat production, showing church steeple on drop, and spot revealing grace £ul Av^Uz behind screen. Also makes the audience sing, his Infer inal manner so effective that he can get the customers to talk , right up to. him In a lighted house. Quiet 'ftyle. has won him a following that Is a real asset. . Ma.<!tbaum orchestra keeps tip the PxcellftTice of the bill with a molo- cilous overture called 'Romance of the Rivers.* Watett, PARAMOUNT, N. y. New York, Feb. 27. In less than a week after close of its %2 run at the Criterion, 'Broken Lullaby' (Par), formerly known as 'Man I Killed,' Is shunted in here for a w'eek.at de luxe scales. It's briiefclearahce between the two runs arid for Criterion is riar-. rowing down of protection until It hardly means anything. • .If this becomes habitual, the pub- lic will eventually feel It may as well wait a week for a picture, since by then It may tie out of .*2 and Into the pop houses. Protec- tion .becomes something, of the past With such quick dating of pictures bri top of prior runs. Moreover, Criterion is only aci'oss the street from the Paramount, with advance on latter starting be- fore the J2 run is. cool. No other organization aside ifrom Paramount Publlx, which has done it before during the past;.yearV is sliavlhg down protection so far. While 'Broken Lullaby* proved a dlsappolnter at $2, It it likely to. churn the box ofllces up here. It has the advantage of a $2 run) good sock notices on that, and the word .of mouth which may liave accrued so far. Business Saturday afternoon In- dicated picture was exertirig^ some box office pressure! Along with a good; though not outstanding, stage show that ought to be eipoken of kindly, buslneiss may arid should top the house average by a nice margin. York and King, vaudeville stand- ard, share w'ith Alexander Gray (shortened here to Alex Gray), the value of the unit at the b. o. Grray, formerly in musical comedy* later in pictures for Warner Bros, and at present on the air for Chesterfield) will lu|:e a certain percentage. . Stage interlude Is known as 'Time Goes On,' It was, assembled by iSoris .Petroff and in most respects as been admirably, built, with the vairious acts nicely unified into an entertaining whole. . York arid King dp riipst of their seasoned routine from vaudeville and Chic York doubling as ni.c. for the old-time quadrille and waltz number in full. He also introes Warren Boden, kid ban joist, whose Rachmaninoff Prelude, in C sharp minor oh tha,t Instrument Is his strong forte. The opening is old New Englarid in winter, with snow effects. A mixed ensemble. In '98 toggery, start the unit ofCi with York arid King following in part of their act. They're in a sleigh for atmosphere, but later step to 'one* to do one of their song numbers. Team might not have been ex- pected to appear to as good ad- vantage here as In yaude, particu- larly with their act split up, but such is not the case. Farther down on the show they return for another stanza, with Miss King, the perfect clown, work- ing up as niany laughs as she ever did. in the two-and-'plenty-riiore-a- day. Her burlesqued coloratura and dance specialty landed solidly. Three Riley kids followed, wind- ing up to a good hand with their tap routines, including the military on direct conclusion. Rlleys work lr\ one, permitting setting of stage in full for Gray. Finish Is built up for the singer, Madeline Killeen, prima dOnna, and the ensemble preceding In a num- ber that Imparts a romantic touch, with the girl looking for a sweet- heart. The ensemble work here Is partlcula.rly enticing. Gray comes on. doing 'Without a Song' first. In connection with his second 'One Alone' from 'Desert Song" (musical) In which he appeared. Miss KlUeen Works with him, stage meanwhile filling up for the finale. The Petroff show runs 34 min- utes, about; the conventional time, but could be tightened up,a little in spots. Rublnoff, the conductor mechan- ique, doing the pop number 'Home' as various modern composers would have written. It, and Parfl^Jjount News fill out. . Char. IMPERIAL, TORONTO Toronto, Feb. 26, With 'Shanghai Express' into the ImiJerial this week, stage prez. means nothing as far. as draw, timely Par product being the fea- ture that ma^e a record matinee, had the standees jamming the rear at the start of the last show and bids fair to hang up an attendance record. ' , ■ , „ Stage bin, however, Is pleasing. Back-stage Idea . embodied this week idea that clicks. Line-up on In two before theatre-rear drop, . Johns, In tails and toppers, ^ go through stick and whlte-glrve drill as Vina Zolle wcirblea, {?peeay num- ber, aided by pit-band, with girls easing off In a high-kick routine. Webster and Marino trail In a sock comedy bit full of hat-slapping and back-kicks. Then into a syn- chroriized eccentric that scored. Biz of trying to. keep in a travelling spotlight and another, synchronized nut dance , that clinched their act and had the customers pounding. Flash setting for end of first half, this a garden scene with oblique staircase, balcony, statues, etc., and gorgeous purple night effect. Bal let back on In fl^me-crlmson gowns for restrained cross-formations and high-kicks In slow tempo. Con- stance Evans, blonde and person- able, out for acrobatic, solo, making entrance down staircase. Into flips and back-bends, wltb^ fan-,dance, line-up behind tor groujplng. Regis- tered. ■■ Harney and Connors trail for a. combo nut-travesty on Interpretive, dancing and hand-to-iiand feiats, Falls funny and; pair went over nicely, Ten-riilnute sag In speed with Bob Hall, before the traveller and trying too heavily to sell a show that had already sold Itself, Plug for the pit-band and requests for harids proved. annoying. Adr monitions to be cheerful In spite of depression, bread lines and busi- ness conditions, singling out of 'you people out . there' removed the happy appreciation bf what , had been, until HaU*s appearande, a very enjoyable offering. Ballet out again In full stage for finale. Girls In hoop-skirts into a restrained number. Doff skirts Sls lights change with set into an Afri- cari village and lights transforming linerup into the semblance of danc- Irig' natives. Tempo chariges to- a hot can-can' with Jungle-dln. In-; creased. by band-clappera Not a novelty but a rousing finish that had the audience beating : their palms. All In all, but for the Hall sag, a pleasing entertainment,. but 'Shanghai Express' on the riiarqueia Is the cause of the boxroffice line- ups; McStay. CAPITOL New York, Feb. 26. ' How completely the Broadway de luxei's have turned to the specialty type show Is .forcibly Illustrated at the Capitol In this week's arrange- ment, when an animal turn, and not an especially elaborate one. takes one of the few full-stage spots with a special set of drapes In a spot that would represent the No. 3 . In a vaudeville bill. There are only two' other strictly specialty turns In the running, and both work in 'one,' while the full space "is reserved , for eriseinble dances either for the house line or for the 12 American Steppers, a Supplementary girl line group work- ing as a turn in addition to the Chester Hale regulars who are resi- dent. . ■ ■ It isn't an especially Inspiring frameup, entirely lacking in popular nariie lure and playing poorly as to entertainment pattern. It*s no fault of the people concerned, but rather to the fact that the program doesn't build to a crescendo. House may have figured that the feature—'Ar- sene Lupin' (M-G) with the two Barrymbres-^wbuld turn the boxof- fice trick regardless - of the stage doings. ; No: 2 Is a dliatlnct letdown on the Candreva Bros., on In 'one' and dis- closing the six boys all playing cor- nets varied with mild stepping as they play. Spotting six male cor- net players to follow a jaazily staged girl number Is not the best of Judgment. Brothers finish with a straight rendering of the Siextet froria 'Lucia,' which didn't help naat- ters much, even if the volume of six brasses did evoke a little, burst of applause. Situation of a bill progressing quietly wasn't remedied whe:i the stage went to full for. the following number, to show the stage draped as a glorified circus tent in white satin with red tririimlngs and a wealth of spangles as an appropri- ate enough setting for Lbyalta Arabian Stallions, which turned- out to be a group of eight or ten poodles tricked out with horses' heads and going through the familiar trained horse routines in a circus ring. Fin- ish has nice leaps by a variety of pooches, with mild comedy inciden- tals. Turn .entirely all right for reg- ular spotting, but rather out of or- der In the middle of a deluxe house layout on Broiadway. Back to the full stage for the re- turn of the American girls In im- pressionistic sailor uniforms for an- other line bit and extremely well done, with the Hale girls backing up the visitors. Bacit to 'one' for Tyrrell and Fawr cett, comedy acrobats, and smart, smooth, workers In their field, to hold up the next-to-closing position, which ia plenty assignment for a male team. If the trick of filling the niche could be done by such a turn, these boys would do it, for they accoriftpllsh all that Is possible by their tra,vesty arid their wlcked- looklng falls. But the Important spot calla for something more in line with the pretensions of such a house and such a location. • The finale does something to re- deem a weak specialty blending by working :up a gobd bit of spectacle involving the Stepper.s, the house line and the Candreva boys supply- ing impressive trumpet accompani- merit. Curtain is on the display of a posed woman's figure symbolizing something or other ' Igh on the back stage, the pageantry . supplying something of the punch the rest of the show lacked. Overture, Phil Spitalny gue.^t-con- ducting; is in two parts—'1812'. for a heaw musical opening and a jazzy rendering of ^Was That the Human Thing to Do?' for a contrasting bit of levity to top it o« and give a c6ntra.st. Bunchuk returns to the baton next week. Rush, EMBASSY Superior program Cukrently at tiie Embassy, Best camera study of Rockefeller In sound and most com- plete picture of the Shanghai isitu- atlon. Geneva matter Is also cov- ered in detail, with real coloring afr forded by Chinese and Japanese' representatives. This is bne of the first times that John D. has consented to talk vol- ubly for sdurid, and he riot only does but adds a bit .of singing. Embassy audience Is Inclined to laugh when John D.i in answering Sir Malcolm Campbell's query about conditions in America, points skyward, saying: We are hoping/ John D. sits while a minister in the group renders - an unaccom- panied solo titied 'God Will Take Care, of. You,' ' He arises and leads the chorus when his favorite, 'Passr inig By,'is reached. The latest Shanghai materiar Is outstanding antbng that so far ex-: hibited. Filled with human interest, it covers everything from a spy tied to a pole awaiting execution to an old. refugiee falllrig in the street from weight of her pack. Here and there a corpse Is seen, while all the tloie soldiers are scatteririg about taking, pot shots at. an Invlslblie enemy. ■ Russia, Ja:pan and China take their turn at Geneva, This episode is the most interesting so far shown bri this subject. As a,fOllow-up, an F-H camera catches Breunlng In Berlin for another Interview, In which he statea Germany today Is not in a position to defend herself. King Levinsky and his sister get laughs When the scrappier Is Inter- viewed. Senator. Wagrier helps the Hearst newspapers by endorsing a Wash- ington essay contest the pubHshiBr Is sponsoring. Where the . Luxer used Unlver- sal's silent version of Hoover on Washington's birthday, the Em- bassy has the meat of the speech In sound. Cat and dog shows always pro- vide a cackle. Mereer of the same in Paris and Beriin accomplish the expected. ' An old clip on Tokyo boys fenc- ing, is revived, and the yearly L. A- Waiters' marathon, bobs up again. Interesting views of the remote control facilities of New York's new subway are Included iW the pro- gram, i Florida conies In for Its outboard races in both theatres, but the Em- TRANSLUX Cameramen for air reels got bn« of their best brieaks for a spectacle at the Lakehurst field vlrhen the Akron , swooned to the Extent of fracturing Itis tail fin. The boys evi- dently were all set for the usual takeoff when the unexpected hap- pened. Clip is. ai wow, sInceV It shows the crowds fleeing and the : air bird bearing toward the lensi. Paramdunt's views were used at the Xiuxer, with a follow-up which Fox overlooked—an Interview with the ship's commander as to what.lt was all about. These girls who sell themselves In marriage to any man who will sap- port an in-law are becoming a IltUe boresome to newsreel patrons. A comely Albany mlsS this time goes through the routine for Pathe. : The way Chl^k Meehan demon- '. strates tlie new game before 9 Pathe camera ther. won't be mucb excitement in watching football next fall. All: of the old plays which gave the game so much color are re- vived by Chick just to give the fans a last look. Paramount's Shanghai material Is ciit down, in the Luxer* but Incom- ing Japanese troops, street hordes and U. S. detachriientis s^rriylrig from Manila suffice. Both houses have Hawaiian fleet manuvers which are exceptlorial pic- tures. Pathe wisely allows riaore footage on this subject. ' Paramount is a. week behind on. Schwab's, birthday^ but makes up for this wltli a scoop on the jtfbslerio:' leade^iB'return to India. Pathe is ahead of them, all bit th<>\ De Valera election., it shows x3n>wds : In Ireland rioting and dtstirigulshes a couple of good street brawlfl^: while F-H goes into its vault for a speech De Valera made on one of his visits to the U. S,. - Universal gets first views of the Kansas City grain elevator flre arid. explosion. Both newsreel theatres tare show- ing Sir Campbell breaking his own recbrd bri the Florida beach speeid- way. Waly. bassy adds a clip for measure on grirls. Those F-H cameramen down In Florida are getting their focus more and riibre off the faces. Work entailed In Literary Di- gest's prohibition poll is Indicated by employed and mailbags. Waly. MICHIGAN betrpit, Feb. 26. iShow. titled 'Pent House Blues/ with the song as the thenie, is staged very prettily. The continuity misses and the show runs very slow, but gets going with Block. arid Sully. Show-introduces a newcomer to the stage of the Michigan In a half-way sort of an m.c. The boy, who seems very young, is named Frank Par- rlsh. The only other act beside Block and Sully is the Four Vander- bilts. . Parrish has a legitimate squawk. As used here he sings a couple of sorigs, bne of which is too slow, and gets no chance to do anything but look cute, Fronv the Publlx stand- ard for rii,c.'s he should be sensa- tional, as he plays several instru- ments and has a nice voice. But as presented here he muffs any chance at getting across. With a voice that is very likeable but weak he has trouble in being heard past the first few rows, Publlx used Bob Nolan with a mike on the stage, and this boy could well benefit by. the same treatment. Show opens with Parrish sitting in 'one' with one of the best lookihig girls from the line. While he sings 'Perit House Serenade/ the Brenkert effect creates an optical illuslbn as the elevator shadow" in the center of the drop is mbvlrig up as in a shaft. Very well executed. At the conclu- sion of the song the drop goes up to reveal the pent-house setting, with the bands on the stage and the line into a routine. Without any Introduction the Four Vanderbllts cut In a comedy number arid several straight. Nice entisrtalnment, but failed tp get any superlative degree of applause. The Foiir . Vanderbllts off and back to sing a chorus to Introduce line in. a routine with, masks on the back of the head arid the familiar reverse nuriiber. ■ : Up to this part of the show there Is nothing to pep things up. With the advent of Block and Sully, part of the entertainment loaia Is rem edied. But even a surefire act like B, and K, needs a build-up. They, had no trouble scoring, but it . took them a little while to wake them up after the preceding business. The usual last-minute ehseriible closed 45 minutes of what could be called only a fair show. Show suffers from very similar troubles to those experlenoed last week. It lacks a Bp.'irk and .tpeed. This week the mariagenient could economize a little due to the. picture, 'Shanghai Bxpres.s/ Biz fair." " Lee. FOX,. BROOKLYN ' Brooklyn, Feb. 27. Fast moving and pleasing stage show current. Art Jarrett, featuired single, opens the flesh entertain- ment cold even before the orches- tra has a chance to. warm up the audience toward the stage element with an overture. This was done on the premise that since there Is a lot of warbling in the F. & M. Idea 'Black . and White/ it. would be better for Jarrett to open first and spot the overture between the. singer and the Idea. However, It does not work ouL , Jarrett, brought east by CB3 after building a rep for himself in Chicago, Is In on a four weeks' booking at $750 per, with F.&M. holding an option of four weeks for $1,000 per. This is Jarrett's second week at this house. Radio singer won't disappoint on the stage In looks. He is a youthful good look- ing chap and possesses loads of personality. His voice is unusual, as is his style of delivery. Jarrett has a high tenor which frequently tur.nis. into a falsetto on the high notes. .He uses plenty of 'stuff' on his songs along ha-cha-cha and boop-boop lines; Ether vocalist did three numbers here, all of them pops. Encored, acconipaiiylrig him- self on the banjo. Jarrett stuck to the mike from start to firiish, as his. is a voice that, needs amplification. Was on about .10 minutes'. • After a ■ aeyen-minute overture under the baton waving of Freddy Mack, F.&M.'s 'Black and White' Idea took, up 3!? minutes. Featured In the Idea is George Dewey Wash- ington, CJifton, and- Brent, Dolly Kramer, llose Glcsby, Marie La Flohir and Margaret Alice Head. Since no; credits are given In. the theatrCi either by votal arinouncer ment or by annunciators,, the girla cbiild not be identified by name, Iridlvldua!'.y only two acts, Wash- ington arid Clifton and Brent, stand out. Otherwise this unit. Is com- posed entirely of girlie group num- bers. Unit opened before a black drop with one girl sinf;lng Liszt's 'Lieberstraum' and eiglit girls do- ing a spring dance," An acrobatic dancer was introduced toward the latter part of thl.<< number,' This bit !«• Only fair but i.s promoted by the co.sturiilngr liK.iitlTig effects and the u.se of the acrobatic d.incer. Clifton and Tirent, two young boy.v trouppd on iipxt and had the. stage for thprn.<(Plvp3 with rough lioiipe routines mainly. Boys man- age to . .sr(upeze in some : comedy (Continued on page 30),