Variety (April 1932)

40 VARIETY E LA PIE Tuesday, Api-tt 26, 1932 O] lllll on RuthMDrris Week's Gallery of LaiHBs-^--^ The ladles o£ th la week's fllm re leases are a competent gracious group, given Uttle opportunity to register beyond story material. Sylvia Sidney fares best In 'The Miracle Man' because; she's a warm, ~'gy ; ' iipa tttetfe—act r c ga -eapatale of es^ tablishlhg a definite personality in a briefly written part. Her maker up has Improved! eyes enlarged by studied application of pencil and shadow,, face softened by a looser hair airangemetit that Is flattering. Florence Mcklnhey makes a favor- able. Impression as a yo.uth£ul. con- tender for utisophlstlc^ted ihgenue " parts. 'SympKony of Six Million' asks of- Irene l>unne and Anna. Appel that they bie very tender, sympathetic and glveii . to infinite isoirrow . and groping after the finer things of life. Miss Dunne likes to represent a 'soul'; . she has the voice for it and. the tender understanding manner- Anna Appel's spulfulness is not,so studied. - It creeps. out through matter-of-fact, every-day sort of delivery,, eiirlched by deep humor and the amusliig. sing-song of ac- curate Jewish dialect The ladles of 'Are You Listening?' a^re 'types,': each one representative of a different reaction to life in a big town. Madge Evans, well made up and appropria:tely costumed, is the nice girl, untouched by metro- politan wlc.kedness and. greed. Anita Page, too artificial to be con- vincing, is the cagey flapper who commercializes every mlsrstep. Joan Marsh Is the small-town belle who flnds out about cocktails and night-clubs and goes very haywire Indeed. The Misses Page and Marsh ma,nage to collect some flashy clothes on their nocturnal excursions and modiel them with confindehce In every inch of fox fur and every glittering rhine- stone. -/ 'Virginia Bruce Is the polite, un- impressively groomed' heroine of •SkyTBride'—the bride of the title being an aiplane, not a lady. The script doesn't care much about rpmance, and Miss Bruce Is merely a stooge for an attempt at love In- terest. Louise Closser Hale Is too good a trouper to be bad In any- thing; biit she. comes as near .lt as possible in the tole of a wistful, weeping boarding bouse keeper. Field Day for Capitol Girls . Life has been very kind to the Chester Hales. They work hard, week after week, plodding, la.borlng through all kinds of exacting routines, and suddenly they com.e 'to the theatre a;hd find themselves on the sanie bill with Johnny Wels- muUer—actually within smiling arid talking distance of the lateist broad- shouldered knockout of the cinema. And—just In pase that's not enough to make any, girl happy—they may also stand In the wings and feast their eyes on Smith and Dale. But that is not all th6. good for- tune that 'Dive In' holds for the Capitol line-up. They have almost aq much fun as th9 Roxyettes pre- tending that they represent oranges In a thickly treed California grove, ilats are enormous, orange pom- poms worn at a rakish angle, dresses are daln test tiered net g;uaranteelng graceful swirls to their dance routine, fivenlrig gowns worn later' are well fitted; satins, smartly belted in bro'vvn. renuttefeted-with deliberate attention to prolonged vowels and final con- -sonants»-l^^qicea^ni.yst_Jia:-raiscd to a reedy pitch to'go singing out to the back: rows of a cinema palace. A girl just qan't be bothered think- ing about what's happeriirig tp .her hips. The Rasches don't give a darn. . They!d ra,ther be actresses than dancers any. dayi: Evelyn Hoey has her own style of syncopated cdoch to Illustrate how the gong Is kicked around In old. Chinatown, Voice arid, delivery blue aa blue can be, she chooses a sweetly modish gown of soft white georgette, with a pialdeniy princess line and a slim skirt that falls to a modest inch below the ankle, v . Tamara Geva, all Jet and tiny rhlnestones to personify a note, that has skipped off from a mad Jazz piano, cooches In the modern mode, angularly, smartly,: every dance posture typifying the flawless tech - nique of a talented, acconipllshed dariseuse. Did You Know That— The Jack Warners gave a summing pwty tty 60 people last Sunday... Peggy Fears "plans a trip t«"TIonywood... ,Oh, those- •chil¥on--neffllgeesr ^trf-' Garbo's In 'Grand Hotel',.., Louis D'Arclay ■ seeiris"to have deserted the stage permanently for interior decorating,. .John Cohen dined at the Waldorf wltii his dad the other nlght.., Warren William's feminine fans will have a grand cry. at his new picture,, , Is he swaaaaeeeelllll .;. Constaritin KobelotC, ballet master, can lie seen most any day walking his big police dog lip Central Park •West., .Martinelli also takes his morning constitutional along that way; ..Alice Glaeser Is still one of the sma,rtest dressed woriien in Holly wood. Jay Brenhan irilsses. thoSe Buster Keaton children... Johnnie Hundley and his bride report a grand, honeymoon from- St. Jean de Luz;... The i .Mayfair closed for the season last Saturday night with a, swell attendance. . Ooing Places ^y' Cecelia Agcr So Drys Are Human! Periiaips the greatest feat of all "tin 'This Wet Parade,' piore astpn Ishlng even than it^ own dogged adherence to neutrality after two hours of reviewing ttie liquor situa- tion In America, Is Dorothy Jordon's ability throughout to retain the .au- dience's fondness despite the-miserr ableness of her role. : ■ By every7 right of chatactcrlza- tlon she should be shunned^ a tar- .get for sticks and stones-rrlnstead of being the one likeable creature, seive for, 'Sweets* Durante, whorii the audience can cling to, . She's a prig, a prudie, a "self-righteous maiden, so lioble, shei scorns to so. much as notice the hideous defec- tions of those about her. She won't preach, she won't draw back In hpr- ror, she won't point her flnirer. Nb, serenely, determinedly, she. Ignores the sins. pf the sinners, till they should rise up and lireak her stiff llttie neck, 'irhat the drunkards whoni she encounters .and . silently pities let her escape whole, and that the. audience npt only puts up with • her flawless behavior; but Par Challanges Minskys Caught between. Minsky's on the South and the Central burlesque on the North—two temples where cooch dancing is celebrated with feryor— the Paraihouht has decided to com pete. •Here We Are* says, this week's unit, throwing out its hip and dls locating a stomach muscle as the Alberllna Rasch GlOls inaxigUrate the nr.^t of four variations on hip weavinK. The Rasch Girls are no laggards when it come to tossing torsos. The proof of that Is, in the terpsichorcan conYUlslon, that is called 'Fandango.* But In thoir in Itial number the Rasches are hampered by. the unprecedented necessity of reading lines artd toss- ing ofC little gems of gags tl>at hope to be very, very funny. . Naturally, when dancers have to read Hues they can't think of any- thing else. Each word must be en oh ^ A condsnsed review in points on the women of the stage mentioned hereunder. None «an rank over 10 points on a single item, nor over 100 points in tott|l> J' There are 10 items covered by the reviewer^ with the nam*4 (^"'"^'^PP**'*^* P'^^**^.* Slight comment is iadded. . * / 'S' ^ Total Cominent. PALACE 'chalked Ethel Merman. 10 10 9, 10 8 . 10 10 10 89 The strength and poise of the Empire State combined with a clear voice, relent- less jazz style and a rare ability to charge routines- wli;h electric excitement. Danzi Gbodel. 9 .10 10 9 10 80 Nimble chic. strutting, infinitely Patsy Kelly. 10 10- 10 10 76 One of the most gifted of un- affectedly wistful clowns let down by woeful mate- • rial. Nora Williams., 9 10 3. 10 76 Talented and afCable songs- tress whose possibilities will be realized -when she . * learns a few smart. tricks of grooming and deport- ment. Agnes & Adeline.. 10 10 8 6 8 8 67 Slim and youthful dancers who know the value of a smart wardrobe. Dave Gould. Girls. 7 8 8. 66 Two specialists, and a brisk, youthful line-up set up a fast iiace that keeps the audience happy. HOLLYWOOD Blossom Seeley... S 10 10 S 8 10 8 10 9 87 Maintains past reputation for sizzling syncopation and dresses with cag^y under- standing of her personal- ity, Chea.pened by poorly * groomed contribution to sketches. Martha Raye...... 8 7 8 10 77 Squanders a decisive, low- dowo- song style with mo^ riotonous volume. and tempo. Olive Brasno9 6 8 8 8 73. Petite Lilliputian whose tal- ents would be more -effec- tive if economized in a tighter routine. Fay Adier. 6 8 3 10 10 . 3 10 .- 73 Effortless adagoist with a ■ ' routirie that builds to shpw- ■ ' stopping Importance. Lucille Paige... 10 9 8 3 10 10 72 . Dpublerjointed dancing de^ liverdd W'lth, fluency and style. •. Sisters G.......... 10 10 10 10 71 Exotic personalities, tivelj' costumed. effec- Sunny O'Dea...... 8 67 Capable tap • dancing im- proved by a fresh, "Unaffect- ed manner. •TATE Miss Vanessi,^,.^. ° 9 .10 6 10 71. Dated dance routines superb- ly executed and distin- guished by an' unusually graceful carriage. Erma Ward Girls ...... and 8 10 61 Miss Ward's one-arm swings lose out on deserved ap- plause because of trPupes' distracting acrobatics at . climax. Peggy Ames..., (Artie. Lewis) 58 Friendly,. unstudied manner rates fres.lier .costuming and more expert make-up. even cherishes her.-.xan-be- up as a glorious tribute to heTftw personal charm and unaffected Then, most unfair of ail, the atL. demands she fall in love wlti^ prohibition agent wlio adores hi! Job. She iharrles him and la f„ divinely; .happy washing . dishes cooking and keeping house in tS modest little house, it; is a ,« ! surprising to And that the babH? .such a spiritual couple, is botri ?„ a hospital instead of. being left their doorstep by a stork, butL"" haps this Is the author's device prove : that prohibition agents too are human. • ■ Myrna Loy in a blonde wig and lame dresses that reyeal the bonv structure: of . her chest, ; piayg ^ heartless night club hostess wltK a lack^of spirit as well as a lack of heart. The Ne\w Realism ^^^^^}^^y -^ox's name leads Aline MacMahon's in the billing for 'Tha ■ Mouthpiece.* but that won't change the lans* opinion. They like Miss IWacMahon. like , her expert under! «,!J^'".r"*u "^^ her sure economical methods, her casual way with lines. • She has only to appear, and the au- dience is hers,. They remember het work in 'Five Star Final,' and they're glad to see her again as a secretary who has.no illusions aboit her boss but loves him Just the same. Little kiss Fox, with her cunning Southern- accent and her artful Wide-eyed innocence, happens to ba matched unfairly. Usually an In- ofCensIve child, who prattles cutely : and makes a^great to-do about be- ing fetching, i3he persists with the sanrie precocious technique here. Both Miss Fox a,nd Miss MacMahon. em- ployees of a prosperous laAvyer, wear simple dark dresses with white collars around the Pfflce, indlcatlne tlie new realism that is . gripping Hollywood. Spice All in Title The weary younger generation, all jittery arid intolerant from their sensitive nerves, make a great mis- take in shutting 'Amateur Daddy* out of their lives. If they could only steel theriiselves not to recoil at the title outside the RPxy iriarquee, they would be rewarded/wlth as fragrant a whlfE of lavender and old lace as » ever enchanted those dear, quaint old-fashioned mammies and pap- pies. Their elders, luckily for Marian iNixori, Lucille Powers. Rita LaRoy and the rest of homesy folksy heaps- of - livln' - to-make-a-house-a-hoitio ■ people in this sentimental tate, are Just ihki contrary they have a mighty .flne time watching It, strok- ing their beards, wiping their spec- tacles, and recalling the dear dis- " tarit ds^ys when they used to read books as clean as this story. Those were the days when heroines were pretty, shy little mites, like Marian Nixon, fleet of foot, quick to spring away after an avowal of love. In fact full of the quaintest, dearest ways. Those were the days when vll- lainesses could be immediately rec- ognized by the littlest tot, grim* faced ladies like Rita LaRoy, who, when the' hero resists her advances,, basely plots for his. downfall with everything but a heaving chest. Un- derstanding, friends like Luclllo Pow'ers, the sptt of whom it was said: 'I'll -always be a brother to you,' used to twine through those lovely old romances. . Everybody was either good Pr bad, there were two sides to the railroad tracks, and 'daddy' was a word enshrined In the, hearts of little children in.stead of. growri-up girls. Lighting Up Patricia Xpr her unhappy: experience as 'Amarilla—A Gypsy. Romance' in the Roxy stage, ."how, Patricia Bow- man has become 'J?atsy' Bowman; .and.the. change in her name is sig- nificant. Miss Bo\yman maUos the niistake of believing whi^t the prince told her. Her only consolation is Dip ization'that the wisps oC skin-col- ored chiffon that niako her costume are inflnitPly more alfgring than the glittering magnificence . of , white-wigged rival. Then, too, sh» does have the Roxy stage all lo her- self for the finish of her love affair. All the glory of th« Roxy lighting concentrating on one prettily defolnte dancer Is n"t had. The Roxeyettes. who know bet- ter than to traffic with romance (Continued, on page