Variety (May 1932)

Tuesday, May 31, 1932 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 35 PARAMOUNT New York, May 26. George Raft at a reputed studio aalary Is the Paramount headlinerl And with that goes a tilt of the eyebrow. .Raft may' - be headed for big things, but the Paramount, jiaine-hungry, la surely trading in futures rather than cashing in on a fait accompli. Oddly enough, the Paramount screen confirmed the premature as- pect of Its own stage headliner. For while Raft was getting thie tung- atene, the money and the build-up en the. stage, his name Avas not listed among the players In the itrailer for •Scarface,' current at the Rlalto, And that is Raft's first arid only malor promlhence .as a screen actor to date. , To' make the situation eveii more eonfusing,'. Mary .Brian, a veteran of at least 100 feature pictures and. known to Paramount audiences through Paramount pictures for years, is: on the ^ame sliow and al- most nothing Is' said about her. ' r'' Around the Square It Is stated: that Raft draws crowds wh6ri ap- pearing on the streets, so perhaps h'is fame Is more electrical than a trade observer might ordinarily es- timate. Many .halve him tabbed for Valentino honors.. .Happily he Is capable of giving a nice accounting of himself on the stage. He' is a good, hoofer, not'In the neck-break- ing style of : the modern dancing youngsters, but \v\th finesse and easy grate. : Ken Murray working • with Miss Brian is the third marquee name. His Crosby Imitation and several bits are exceutional, and It seemed as if he was doing a better perform- ance for Publlx than, on many of. his RKO appearances. At least his ma.-, terlal seemed better.. He is fast company for Miss Brian, who is get- ting herself Invaluable training right ndw. She'll learn more In a week backstaige than a year of those two- minute Hollywood 'takes.' 'For a knockabout socle, Boris Pet- Toff's unit has the. Runaway Four, who were in full gallop on the laughs. Miriam Lax and Juliain Oli- ver sang pleasantly from boxes dur- ing the sentimental consideration of motherhood pumped out on the twain organs by Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Crawford. Other credits are Dave Bines for the dancing, boys and girls, and Vincent Neihelli for the attrac- tive settings. . Columbia's 'Attorney for the De- lenise,' the Paramount news, and ^ubinoff in a patriotic salasim to Memorial Day. rounded out the en- tertainment.. Business Friday night was fair. . , Land. FOX, BROOKLYN TProoklyn., May 28. Arthur Lake is the big. name in Brooklyn this week, and he seemed to mean.soniething to Brooklynites Saturday afternoon, theatre being ptacked for the first show with plenty of standees. It's not unusual to have a big Saturday matinee house in this part of the world, hut It's been weeks 6Ince It was quite as good as currently. ' Lake appears at the head of his own F. & M. unit, .titled 'Arthur Lake and His Hollywood Relations.' He's a sort of m.c. and wlsccracker throughout the show, and managed fairly well despite poor material. The unit is one of the best because of real talent in the lineup. Lake appears first; after the usual trailer announcements arid gags, for a bit with Betty Lee,., a pretty and capable lassie who would be better off dancing than chatting. Miss Lee goes into an acrobatic dance and is followed by the Gau- tlers in a. new version of their old dog act. Nicely handled, it got real results. Libonatl trio is the real, out- Btander of the show. Turn works with surety arid ability; Three xylophones, with what appears to be the father at the center table and son and daughter on. the sides, are well-manned. The youngsters also do well in a couple of dances that follow thie tunes. It's surefire for vaude, picture ho.iises or what have you. Boy coriies back later for, Rome, clowning: with Lake and further shows he can handle lines. Nash and Fately, boy and girl team,, not too strong. Girl is viva- cious and pretty, but'man, extra tall and a good rope spinner, has little to offer. His voice, - too, doesn't carry in this big theatre; hence most of the gagging was lost. Arthur Petley, iri his usual trampoline turn, had no trouble making the audience realize he was among the best of his species float- ing around. . Lake, running through the jShow,. did. as well by himself as might be expected. He's a. fairly clever youngster. , Lakie's work as m.c. seemed to Buffer distinctly tcom the spoiled kid attitude he took. He .•secmod to be s.howing oft. all the time, which miglit bie in keeping with his screen characters, but didn't go too well over the foots. A bit.of repartee VUh Freddy Mack, in the pit, while attempting, to lead the pitmen in a medley, was about the best crCort on I.ial;^e's' part, largely due to the nic-! co-operation he erot froiri ^lack. " 'Woman in Room 13' fFox), car- toon, newsreel, organ and George Kaye, singing usher, lilled out. Kauf. CAPITOL New York, May 27. . Capitol's stage proceedings this week are something more than a plain succession of specialties, a pattern toward which the house had been drifting for months. This one at least has a .isuggestion of a central idea as a; pivot upon which to group the material. 'Hell's Belles' is the Jazzy title for a nice arrangement of hotcha ensenibles, punctuated .by more or. less appro- priate specialties, At least there is a degree ot con- sistency In the da.nee bits, even If such contributions as Cardlnl's ex- pert card, manipulations arid cigaret tricks and the grotesque coritortions of Walter 'Dare' -Wahl do not espe- cially fit Into the Infernal; scenario. Opening Is an Impressive cabaret scene with the Chester. Hale girls grouped about a raised platform at the back,, representing a futuristic bar, from which they come down to dance in pairs,^ txa^lf the girls being in evening frocks and the other half In boys' tux and slick, futuristic wigs of oilcloth. Scattered stepping evolves irito an ensemble routine, with the girls tippling from the boys' hip fiasks. Girls do a num- ber, 'O. K. Beer,' better than riiost stepping groups, and there. Is a. se- lection by the' McCarin Sisters, brightly garbed In red. Cardini is Out in 'one' for his deft legerdemain and his baffling cigdret trick, which materiallzeis a score or so of lighted coffin nails out of the thin air. as the climax of astbnisbiner work-with the pasteboards, all han- dled' with , the ■ operator wearing gloves. Cigaret climax Is a heavy applause winner. More than a stop-r gap, this Is entertainment on merit , Frankle Finn does ianother simple specialty preluded by an offstage introduction, standing at the'mike and delivering three ca*pital vocal iriiitatlons of radio stars, Crosby, Columbo and Morton Downey. Bit has ho build-up, but the striking mimicry of the radio voices turns the trick, helped by the youth of the nice-looking, y.oungster. . Second girl number 'Is a firstrrate sight bltfbut clurinslly manipulated. Man in comic opera garb appears in the. traveller opening and cites several .verses of Two Loves Have r Irito the hilcrophone. It goes to full stage In dim lights with a lu- minous eye divided Into halves, one Jazzy orange and the other ethereal green-blue. Two groups of girls pos- ture'before the drop In silhouette, one group the 'profane love' of the poem, the other 'sacred' —one in scarit dress of featherd and the other In saintly robes and haloes. Lighting, is tricky. Groups apparr ently are placed on the audience side of the eye which' takes their sharp shadows, but there is rio for- wai'd light, the figures being In utter darkness from the audience side. How they throw the shadows with- out visible light is quite a feat. Walter 'Dare' Wahl takes the next spot for his amusing burlesque aero? batlcs, with his gifted stooge sup- plying a desirable element of .com- edy into the show. Did extremely well at this perforniance. Finale is . a fire scene in Hades, jglrls . waving fiame-colored scarves and working effective arm and body drills to carry out the fire effect. The dance <works into, the adagio specialty of the Stone-Vernon Four, three men handling the wisp of a girl in striking leaps and whirls. The irifernal Idea is carried out by the men'is costuming as devils, the back drop being a mammoth head of a huge Satan, through the mouth of which the dancers make their-en- trance. Adagio climax also sup- plies the finale for the spectacle effectively. Picture is M-G-M's 'Night Court' .melodrama with a punch, . It runs to just an hour and a half, leaving room only for the usual overture, a medley of Hungarian airs, and a short newsreel. Rush. other pure hokum. Both registered exceptionally well. Gilbert Brothers, acrobats, pleased with several. tricks. Jimmy Ames, cowboy singer, wasn't iri the best of voice and did fairly. Mac, Jack and Al, hoofing trio, presented a varied routine of tap, acrobatic and mili- tary dances, clicking nicely. "Hugh Johnson registered with magic. Jo- aquin Gaj-ay; doubling from the Fox, vbcallzed a pair of pop tunes ai^d got swell returns. Sixteen line girls had. three, difficult and well-present- ed numbers. Mel Hertz preceded the stage show with a community singing event that drew capacity voices; Customers'here sing like no other showhouse in town. Picture was 'Disorderly Conduct' (Fox),, with El Brendel getting the. heavy plug, and business healthy. Bocfc. FOX EL CAPITAN, S. F. San ITrancisco, May 25. Bought by F-WC from Ackerman & Harris almost three years ago; this naborhood house, has proved a grold mine for Fox. During this period, good picture or bad, house has shown a profit every week, which is something no other Frisco theatre can boast. At 40c; natives of the Mission dis- trict can buy a second-run Metro, or Fox film, a satisfying stage show, and a chance at Its plentiful gift nights inaugurated by the resource- ful manager,. Dan McLean. With Peggy' O'Neill as producer, stage shows have held up to a high average with Jay Brower as m.. c. Here, during almost the-entire IS months of Fox occupancy, Brower has built , lip a sweet following, and his ability to augment or diminish .applause hy the wave of a hand Is proof enough of his ability. The routines of Miss O'Xelll's line Of 16 gals arc consistently good, this show especially so. Frolics 'get, along without the usual niumbo-jumbo of a high- falutin' name. They're 'roggy O'.NelU's Merrymakers ' Revue' each week and no attempts to link them with 'Roman. Bloomers' unit', etc. Current show Was hlRhllghte.d tjy offerings of Brower and the stage band. Boy.'; did two numbf>r.«, one a medlpy of f>peratic melodies, the PARAMOUNT, PARIS • Paris, May 2li Paramo.u.rit Is doing good business this week, not on account Of the feature, which la a leftover froni old product, but. because patronage is used to expect good shows .from the theatre and also on account jof the sensational stage presentation which is unrestrictedly displaying the fin- est lighting effect ever put on any French stage. s Show opens with a. mixed news-- reel, to -it-hlch, besides a trailer of 'One Hour ..With You,' has been added the Paramount magazine showing a big game hunt, etc., in order to kill al few minutes, thus making up for cuts that had to be made iri the film. Orchestra gives an excellent ren- dition of a selection from 'Boheme,' after which comes an animated, car- tobri, 'The Robot' Good. This is followed by Fraricls A. Marigan's stage presentation! which besides the 24 Mangan Tiilerettes, includes Tony, Bebe and Renee, dancers; arid Betty Ann Haglen an- other specialty dancer. Presentation is. titled 'Volcano.' it shows a huge prop like the corie of a volcano. This fills , the stage, the cone being made up of strips of shining material. Show first opens with a dance by the Mangan Tii- lerettes, who come In later, for more dances, and. a balloon specialty dance by Miss Hagler. After that, on a dimmed stage, she arid Tony, Bebe and Renee do veil dances with a Loie Fuller effect, showing flames of the volcario.- Volcano Is first shown in the dark, arid later on with Miss Hagler doing a dance on top in a red spot. Tlie red extends to the whole volcanp with the shim- mering strips glittering, finally re- turning to darkness after more dancing , and changes of color. The way the spots and irises are handled results in an exceedingly effective preseritation. This is followed by the feature, 'La Nult a I'Hotel.' Maxi. Now They're Cooching at die Roxy A$ RieseiiMd He^ Week New York, May 27. ' One of the riiornihg paper critics, legging down from the mezzanine loges just before the last show faded, stated he exited from sheer Ibheliriess, sittirig practically alone in, that upper tier watching 'Man AboutTo-wn' (Fox), the closing fea- ture," after some 45 minutes of pit and stage show stuff. That reflects the Roxy's biz when caught. The lower floor was only a third full for the evening performance.: Looks like .another bad week, with the holiday. 'Rhythnis Moderne,* as the show- is called, is colorful and possesses variety, but, is without continuity; The best number is tlie closing, with the Roxyettes as lisual the Standouts. That's before and .after OS well, because previously the Roxyettes do a black and white number that's a pip. The cooch number by Irene Mc- Bride, Virgirila Kent and Sheila Hariing tif these are they] was the cbochiest,. -which exemplifies the, confused operating state this Roxy must be in. . Coming out' with blasts for classical show stuff and high-class entertainmenti the epoch by the trio who wear costiinies that only . accentuatei their hin rollirig- and wiggles, causes skeptical esti- mation concerning' the Roxy oper-: •ators., ■ ■ That riiay sourid harsh, but the stage show as presented and with a film - that needs . strong support can't help but inspire this thought. Somewhere in between the classical half and. the modern part of the overture program Hugo Riesenfeld makes a speech to the customers asking therii to see next week's fl\m. Unfortunately, Riesenfeld couldn't be heard intelligibly, and. the fact that he did speak offers a view that some 9hildish judgment impelled this part of the program, Riesenfeld should stick to baton-^ Ing. The entire operation, as taken from observation of the program, rinakes one think some glorified usher is on the operating end of the house. Receivership certainly hasn't helped the house in any Aviy, and, from an operating angle, the house is sliding backwards faster, It seems. The same policy which the pres- ent management squawked about, and blamed on Its predecessors, is now being ciriployed all over again ORIENTAL; CHICAGO Chicago, May 27. The stage combination of Lowe McLaglen-Dorsay with the Jackie Cooper picture, "When a Feller Needs a Friend' (M-G), was an er roneous booking. Judging by the splash of risque, if not out and out suggestiveness and sriiut, the film trio spattered over the stage. Friday afternoon, coupling the kid picture with it cannot be said to have been a happy idea While the same stage-film combo played the Capitol, New York, two weeks previously, there is still a long stretch between Broadway and Randolph street. There the fiicker was figured as a weak sister, with projjably very little kid trade.. Here it's somethirig else again, with the Oriental a favorite hangout of mamas and their offspring when there's a juve attraction. It's a cinch that the innuendos and cracks palmed off between MtLagleh and Lowe in their 'Cockeyed World' skit won't get.by without complaint from parents, while ■ Miss Dorsay's plain and faricy riiovemerits cannot be found in any curriculum of cales- tlienlc3 either. Yet there was hesitancy frohi the B&K execs, watching that first show, to sriesrest any changes, on the argument it might spoil the whole act. That may be so with an act tightly routined and strictly lier-se, but not here where the rina- tcrial is thrown together and at best a makeshift affair. Concerriing the 'Cockeyed' sequence, about all that was left out was the 'lay of .the land' gag; everything else seemed to be .in. Another local angle de- .soryinp of consideration is that Vic- t'lr McLaglcn was here at the Palace with Charlie Judels only a short while back, while Fifl DOrsay is no stranger in these parts either. That left the unknown presence bf Eddie Lowe in the lineup, which, as might have been expected, is only another cog in the triangle.. Judels, may be credited with 'the l<iUKh job, which' he h'aridle.s well, 01" b:-inKinK th<i trio t'ogotlicr,. :*He is a differc-nt Jud(-Is from the one at the I'nlace. and McLaglon accord That's making .the; same mistake twice. They have soriie name talent here this week and all are pretty well. lost in the caveinnious depths of this huge 6,200-seater. Sitting back in what niay have ; been the 36th' row,, although -this wasn't the last, none , of the nariies coiild be sighted properly aria were, heard only faintly. These Included " Janet Reade, blond blues slrigeb; ' Jack Powell and 3?aui Draper, all . good, but their, talents wasted here, ' although bbth Powell and Draper being mostly slight acts, fared fairly well. Miss Reade had the handsorine settings In one and later In 'three' ' on a small turntable, where she sang In slow time to the coochers, and was lost la the spot completely as a result. . The -whole show opens charming- ly, but without ■ purich. The balle.t and the specialties are sandwiched ' In between without rifiuch sensie of continuity. Powell in b.f. and his personality drumsticks, registered in 'one' against, a special drop. In the flriale Draper, starting In . 'onei' ruris back over the pyramided stairway in full to thrill the sight- seers with his winging taps; Draper in ari intimate house would slay--* Powelli too^but In the Roxy they only got a small share oit their merited applause. The finale has the national colors ' on the harigirigs arid the Roxyettes ' . as little Uncle Sams Iri dresses of ' red,; white and blue with isnare- l drums to beat the closing rhythm bf the show. . • ■ ', Questiori of stage show names Is- ' still a problem f pr this house.- - Patricia Bowman Is lost In the ' shuffle^ and, as usual, forced to do-] a modern dance ■ when her charm ; lies in her more classical efforts or . esthetic stuff. She helped thar-j Draper number. It was interesting to not^lhat the - overture carried more entertain'^ .• ment from a musical angle as well, as general entertainment in its pop - jazzy meledy than its slumbering ; classlcial ppehlng. > With the 'Rhythms Mpderne' run- ning 32 minutes, shew altogether Is around-136 minutes, with the |ea-.- ture taking 73. Movietone and »• Mickey Mouse 'Barnyard Olympics/- besides a minute organlog and two minutes of trailers, filled. The over-., ture around 12 minutes.. JShan.. !. . ; iv^ly l.pncfits by the conibiriatlon. IJikU.-I.s .is m. c. is the-first to-ap- poar after trailers tipped off the other.s but not him, which was a mi.'Jtake. as it made Jiidels" entrance cold. But. he got over it nicely and ,coon had the situation in hand. Of more Interest than the name ^Continued on page 38) TRANSLUX ft . Fans attending both newsreel theatres this week will be fbrced to make a compa,rlson. Although the prograrii at the Lu;icer isn't any too strong, It does serve to shovr what the Embassy passed up for maga- zine material. The Walker-Seabury sesslbn, for instance, is the lead-off for the two theatres. While the Embassy con-, tents itself with a few views of Walker and the crowd, Pathe takes the Luxer audiences right inside for a flash of the courtroom' and the Mayor on the stand. Why the Embassy has ignored Amelia Earhart during the-past two weeks is answered distinctly to the Luxer's advantage. Last week It showed enterprise in hooking up old clips with a news headline and this week Pathe goes out of its way to interview Miss Earhart's husband and her relatives, incidentally, it adds a showman's touch of editorial judgment iri details of treatment. Another piece bf news within easy reach of all the reels is Pathe's views of the . Lindbergh baby kid- napper letters. Audience reaction: to- anything' about .the case proves that it is far from being a. dead issue with the newsreels. , Paramount slipped one over in'its coverage of the Socialist conven- tion at Milwaukee., This took in Nprman Thoma^, the delegates and a parade. Par, as well, got a lesser exclusive, at least iri the Saturday programs, by getting Admiral Byrd to say there will be no more trips 'southward while depression lasts. Both houses caught the winner of the oratorical contest in Washing- ton, D. C. A three-year-old tot accoriipany- ing herself at a, piano while a dog looked on wearily got an abundance of laughs from the Sat. matinee ^ans who were not as much in evi- dence due to the week-end exodus. That boy with the; ■> vacuum, cupped shoes , can get in the reel.s anytime and is always a good new.s- rool bet. Thi.s time I'athe .shows him travfllng head down betwefn two L. A: af-rl.'ils. Amusing to tile young.slers Ik Tnlverfial's .study of an-1J-year-old girl, pitcher on a Brooklyn t«;am. Other STibJot'ts co-vf-rod arc: Washington's barb«^( iie; Toronto military tournament; f.'ai; kids with EMBASSY strictly a make-shift program with a;-^litfle bt of everything from the library, one of the weakest the Embassy has had this seaspn. Bristling with plugs, even N.T.Q. and Jpan Bennet getting them this week. The only bona fide scoops i are a character study of the new / French President and his family, ac ' v well as a slriiilar observation of , China's Marshall. Chang, and his relatives. When news Is low at the Embassy, the Fox people bccaslonally dig into th^Ir Magic Carpet material. Seve- ral situations that .inay come from that series deal with shark hunting by New Zealanders and an Autf-r tralian whoi is an expert with the whip. Yodellers on a German lake trying the echo belong In the Car- pet category, as wel). . Embassy is a month late with Its Maypole party. Native pollcie In " South Africa have been seen iiiany times before. Instead of flaunting beer, Germans are shown dancing' this week. And the uphill motor- bike race, which Universal made popular at the Luxer, is again iri ■ the program. So hard.up for 'copy' was the Em- bassy that Robert Bonelli was al- lowed to run through an entire aria arid British college boys were clcse- URped during: their rah-rahing Just to give the silent title a, chance to comment on similarity of campus.. cheering. View of baby being fobtprinted at the Flower hospital got some laughs. Both theatres had the ten..^ ement landslide In- Lyonis, France, " Universal catching it for the Luxer. In this respect U did a better job, since it caught in actual motion a .second slide that started while res- 'cuers were at work. -, ' ~ ' Other Embasiay cllp^^ include vlew.s. of the Macon and Akrop; re- union of Oernian officers;. Carol re-' viewing Hiimanlan trobp.s; Belmont' track. 'Paths in Palestine' wa.M the , Magic Carpet release, , Waly. tamborines;. fa,s.hions; 'yale-Cornell. regatta; airplanes diving* to shoot at Ifind • targets; Mexican walking liflown mountainside on hands: dali- I foVnla .alligator farrii. A Floyd Gib» Jbon.s' short, "fhe. Turn of the Tide,' I and an episode In 'Screen Snap* .shots,'. ' Waly, _^