Variety (June 1932)

Tuesday, June 7, 1932 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 37 I Gaumont Palace, Paris I Paris,, May 27. ' Ko «zpert necessary to seifse that the Gaumont Palace Is currently a <wblte elephant on the handd of O.F.FiA. Theatre, with 6,00Q iseats, nras reinodelled at a cost of $1,600,- 000 and ought to be a hie money- maker, Judglner by what It did ^hen handled by Metro. At. the ipresent momeJit the' G.P.F.A. crowd are evidently too busy -with the flnancial reorganization of the cor- poration to tackle putting the house •(on a proper basis. This temporary shelving of the problem results In sketchy opera7 tlons unlikely to build the house up. {The company's theatre executives, tintU recently housed In the tlieatre, ]iave now transferred their offlces ib the corporation's • headquarters jniles a:way, thus leaving the house ibanagemeht somewhat oh. Its own. Operation of the theatre,has al- ■ways been a problem, since location "!WOUld make It a neighborhood, and cize and pqi|ilbllltles. practically etamp It boo^^tird; When operated ^J^ifi^^- was unquestionably <^otiim|^ ln the latter class, but con- -tlnuo^' performances were riot then -the boulevard rule. Morning per- formances aire not Introduced yet in* Ibe Paris nelghbs, and the hoiise only opens well after 2 p.m., though It remains open until 2 a.m. Pro- • gram Is so arranged that feature is (ihown four, times on weekdays and five' on Sundays. Also, the stage presentation Is only shown twice on •;weekdays and three tinies oh Sun:- .'aays. Slnc6, apart: ff6m stage, and feature, balance of the show is mere padding, turnover of the house, is reduced to- a . .minimum against heavy, overhead. • Current bill includes, besides n ^ewsreel, two- educatlonals, provid Ing plenty of padding. The orches ..tra, which was one of the theatre's' big draws in the old days, has been . (Considerably, reduced in number. This means that such numbers as this week's 'Tannhaeuser' Overture .are soiriewhat distorted. ' ' , Stage, presentations are done by Paul Oscard, .'and evidence consid- erable penny-pinching. The sketchy way they are put on puts them, on A par with provincial shows. Presentation is In three parts ■with music supplied by the pit or- chestra.. First part consists of steps done by a troupe of 16 girls twlth more beauty than collective training;. . They are supported by "the trio Olive" Andre—two men and girl—who do an adagio dance and a specialty number. For the presentation the stage considef ably: reduced-Ijy means ol! side cur- tains, or else, due to. it^, size, It . would take over 40 girls ^o make :lt look other than bat'e. /Props and their handling are both crude, and lighting primitive. : .After the first. *art, indifferent .-acrobats- do a- turn, followed by a thlr^ part ■vfrith girls reappearing, .and the acrobats completing . the :lukewarm Impression. Last part of the preisentation Is supposed to be Spanish, with the backdrop covered 'l>y three: gigantic Spanish shawls, which untold Just as the curtain ^os4s. This week's feature Is 'Fanto ;inas,'. a weak Braunberger Richebe murder'mystery. Building up the theatre requires i'spending money, which the corpo- :ratlon refuses to chance risking at this time. . Maxi. CAPITOL New Tork, J'i;nc 3. Show Is .loosely grouped around 'Tork and King, troupers deluxe, '.who adapt themselves to any eh- .vlronment. Stage presentation has riiiany elaborate artistic features In :lts settings and ensemble costumes. Pretentious atmosphere only goes to sharpen and define the clowning of this specially gifted lady buf- ■*oon. ■ ■ ' . Pair have three appearances run- ning through the w-mlnute show.- They open before ah old-time .vil- lage scene set, with, the ^:Irls grouped around theim in bright cHh^ olliie dresses. Go Into the. 'Queen In the-Parlor' routine) leaving the line glrla for a semi-comedy dance. Finish , has a trio Of girls peeping through the window of a qottajge labeled .''Curiosity. Shop' and olT as the drojp flies to reveal a novelty setting;. with a male dancer'posed ®n a .high pedestal and painted brilliant crimson from crown to toe, one of; the shop exhibits as an In- dian statue. He goes Into a war dance,. group of eight girls being only atmosphere In poses. Dancer is apparently Charles Chesriey. Into one for a dance session by porothea and Her Yellow Jackets, four acrobatic dancing boys who *re heat steppers and great In routines of Arab tumbling. Girl does the finish in a novelty , dance routine made up of Russian steps mixed with tumbling. Back to full stage with back drop representing a china plate in the famous willow pattern; and posed m the center Gloria Gilbert, so- prano, and Harry Losee, tenor. They do a vocal duet, with'the Hnle Bins In front In attractive geisha costumes. Finish is a whirlwind affair, with Carol Atherton, bal- lerina, • doing an astonishing series or delirious whirls on her to'os, fastest thing of the kind seen in many a day. Follows the old-time joy ride bit. before, a snow drop by "Tork and Kiiig iislng a'; sleigh this Ume. It used to be a buggy. Funny in either vehicle.' One of those Christmas card set- tings , for the finale, opening " in a garden setting and a sort of bird house In the center; Brief number by Miss Gilbert and .Losee with ac- companying line . maneuvers. Dark stage for another ensemble, rain eiffect and girls in raincoats and goloshes, with shower siniulated by light on a hanging fringe of silver strings. Principal gag routine of the York and King pair worked in here for an abundance of laughs, involving True York for foiling and plenty of the . couple's roiighhouse. • Rose King's prima donna spoof worked in here, and the finish is a vocal quartet employing a young; man, used earlier in stooge capacity. Finish of the whole presentation Is strictly 'art ballet' formula,, pink in coloring and generally: pink. In character. Girls In garden costumes arid waving rose garlands do the neat formations Working up 'to a rose idea, girls in double circle, and Miss Atherton doing her whirlwind whirls round and round between the two dancing rings. Pretty and effective for a curtain, In .which, ;or a chsirige, the rest, of thei specialty people do not take a bow. Feature. Is 'As You Desire Me' (M-G-M) with Greta Garbo, and business good for this Thursday evening, although not, • quite the typical flurry. Rush. STANLEY, PITTS. Pittsburgh, June 3; Cutting' down the F-M- unit enough to permit the Earl .Hihes band a satisfactory ■ running ' time seems to have presented plenty o£ difficulties here this week. At any rate, thiey weren't Ironed out satis- factorily for the first show, ahd the whole layout needed plenty of fix- ing., . In the first place, Hlnes has only a 11-pIece, orchestra,, and the boys looked lost on the wide Stanley stage. A "VV^hiteman organization can get away, okay here, but not one like this. They should have been closed in with drapes or drops. It would have Improved the appeftr^ ance as well as the music. Instead, the drop Is from the liriit proper, a huge Ubahgl savage head with the lower Hp extending, out in the shape of a runaway. All through the • Hlnes a,ct. they were expecting something from him to utilize that background, ,but It was merely there for the chorus finale. Bi-Inglng on the F-M line In front of Hlnes to close the show was a mistake, too Curtain should have .been rung on Hines' last number, a rousing ar rarigement of 'Chinatown' and a legitimate finish for any show Leaving the. boys on the stage try- ing to fake some music while crew in the pit blared the finale music wasn't so good. Outside of these technical Inade quacles, show is there and with plenty of entertainment value. Hines isn't very well known around herb since Pittsburgh radio listeners aren't stay-ups and colored band's ether reputation has come from those wee-hour broadcasts out of Chicago. He got over all right, al- though the act could stand a little production. Boys dish out much of the hl-de-dl stuff that Cab Callo- way has ;popularlzed, but they have enough of that hot and low-down barbaric rhythm to stand on their Own. In addition, .Hiines himself is a pianist to be reckoned with, and his pianolog, a medley of three num- bers. Is the turn's highspot. Outside of the band specialties, with a mike, used for some close harriiony from the boys, there are two feminine warblers. One gets off' 'Minnie , the Moocher' and the- other, Geneva "Washington, late of the Cecil Mack choir In 'Rhapsody in Black,' has a number that's a corker. Gal has a voice of wide range and gets plenty Of treriiolo IhtO It. Right up there with Hines' pianolog for stellar honors. ■Jack Sidney, of the unit proper, cut almost to nothing, getting only one wop song; SWbr and Goode sold their blackfaqe chatter nicely (the Moran aind Mack stuff is always big locally), and a young hoofer, Jack Lester, who from the center of the house is almost a dead ringer for George Raft, had lightning stuff and no trouble. ' Dick Powell, m. c, hasn't much to do either, with a song spotted In ene and that's all. He found him- self in a spot, though, the first show when a house fuse blew out during the riewareel and he had to come out and ad lib for about live minutes. Acquitted himself nicely, though,, with a few gags and a, song, making the wait easy to take. Chorus also rates mention. These F-M lines have been consistently good,, capable kids who can step, out and do some intricate specialties, too. This one is no exception. Feature 'Street of "^Women' (FN) and at lea.st five or six minutes of tii'csome trailers heralding contest.?, etc.-They even stuck a contest clip In the ncwsrcel proper, as if the regular ballyhoo wasn't enouprh, Cohen. PARAMOUNT New York, June 3, Par will see no wow trade this Week. 'Strangers of the Evening' (Tift) on the screen is that weak on cast names that Tiffany Jhayer, the author's name, adorns the marquee in lieu of any screen personality.. Tab version oif Lew Leslie's 'Rhapsody In Slack' ori the istage Is but spotty entertainment.! They go refined at moments, but the high- lights are When they are themselves and strut their stuff in riatlve man- ner. ;■ ■ Everything ielse Is an atteriipt to simulate all sorts of vocalization and Instrumentation but their own. They do 'bark Eyes' In Russian; they sing 'EIH Eili' in Yiddish; they play Gershwlnlana in symhonic Whiteman nianner, but a.ffer all is said and done they get . places only when they uncork a little 'St. James Infirmary' or -when the Berry Bros, step forth in eccentric- cakewalk style. . ' Ethel Waters Is sterred, with the Cecil Mack choir, the Pike Davis Continental orchei^tra and the Berry Bros, sub-featured. Others are Florence Hill,. "Valaida, Geneva "Washington, Dutsy Fletcher, Blue McAllister arid Pearl Wright cour tributing ori some sort of song or dance specialty^ Credits go to George Gershwin arid Fields and McHugh for music arid Alberta -Nichols and Mariri- HoHner for spe- cial lyrics from the original colored revue.,. Show runs an hOur and five minutes. . ■ Gutter mik;es .served Ethel, Wa- ters In good stead for her lyrical discourses. ■ They went for her. Proceedings Openied with 'Rhap- sodie' done Instrumentally, ^he Pike Davis band conducteid by a woman. Forepart was "heavy on the vocaliz- ing between Miss Waters and the Cecil Mack choir of 16. ; Latter come on in flowing robes of the type usually . identified with evan- gelistic' temple revivalists. The "Eili Eili' In minOr key was a nat- ural for. the double' octet, with a pair of femme sopranos leading it effectively! Colored tab had its moments, but in si^m total shaped up as a so-so procedure. Paramount Pictorial. Par news- reel ahd the usual trailers rounded it out. .■ - Final deluxe performance was marked by: stupid ushering and protestations . over the absence of the usual taped-ofC press section. On top of that; some Publix officials came down, and the first available seats were grabbed and taped off in anticipation of their arrival. Biz light generally otherwise. . AheJ. FISHER Detroit, Junie 4, Mills Bros, here this week. Quar- tet played the Michigan two weeks ago, and the, return week resulted Could have been a good move, but not the way the bros. are being used here. Boys were advertised as having an entire new program And two of the four numbers are repeats. At the Michigan they did foiir numbers, and here the same, The small offering was .explained as due to the desire liot to wear out the novelty. Show will be and should b6 com pared ygkih the one built around the Mills at trie, Michigan. This one suffers plenty from comparison And despite that more was spent this week for the entire show than the previous bill. This one has some nice talent, and on paper looks ^SSI^ ■^^ played. It is just another show. Johnny Perkins works In his usual style and over to a fair • re- ception. As does Ruth Petty. Other talent lis Stanley Bros, and Jerry, ivh<y get over nicely. Picture 'Molly Louvaln' (WB), with business fair. Lee. 'Spend Money to Get If Go^^ At B&K; Chi and 0^^^ Perk RdXY New York, June 3. Disintegration of Roxy grossies is entirely a responsibility of the screen and the dullness thereupon No slacking In the stage portion is noticeable, and a ,trade observer re- turning°after an absence of two years would , especially nriark any deterioration. As a riiatter of an- alysis there is little reason for any change. Russell Markert is still there. And so are Clark Robin.son, Florence Rogge, Marco Montedoro, Patricia Bowman,, and others who made and keep the backstage at high speed efficiency. Even the pitifully meagre audi- ence surrounded by . unoccupied plush was arou.sed to tumultuous ovation for 'The Bolero' as built; in- terpreted, and crescendoed into a fever of . emotionalized rhythm. Here ■was something novel. Neither in conception nor scope is any known parallel available. A dancct number that, clung to clas.slc stand- ard.*} yet was the apex of effective showmanship for a. picture hou.so audience. Gomez and Winona, of willowy grace, led this memoralWe chore- ographic interlude. George Kiddon, Valerie Slreshnev, 'Vijil Gucral, Aron Tanioroff, the KoxyetteS and the' ballet participated. Earlier Patricia Bowman was .seen' in 'Roulette' and 'Casino.' (Continued on page 62) Chicago, June 3. Entire atmospliere overhanging the local Publix-B. & K, organiza- tion ■ has undergone a complete i-'e- versal within the past week. Since the beginning of the year .orgarilza- tlonal morale has been slowed to a \yalk. The Idea of ,chop! ■ chisel! slash! had been carried to such ex- tremes that the circuit, from the top exec down to the box-offlce girls, had.lost most Of their zeal.' Up to the, past week: the keynotO of the organization leaders had been to cut expenses to the last postage stamp, then sit back and wait until things got better. Idea had been chlefiy to cut losses; the matter of making money was forgotten. New motion, however; has within the week been injected iritO the cir- cuit. The old.cut-cut-cut theme has been changed to Uet's see what oan be done.' This Is demonstrated first In the immediate increase of adver- tising appropriations, a jump , of more than 25% to: be spent in the newspapers; Institiitional ads are being revived.. Plan'now is to carry at least one Institutional 'Spread each week, plugging' all advance shows. First ad, slated to run this Sunday (5), will carry full listing of all the stage attractions so far booked: and that !list'is Impressive. Names will be used every week, not only in the two loop houses—Ori- ental iand Chicago,—but also in the three deluxes. Uptown, Paradise and TivoH. And these nanies are to be doubled arid tripled. Lobbied of these deluxe houses, which had been stripped of all ad- vertisiriig In an effort to chisel, are this week slated once more to re-, celve pQsterd, pluggers and banners. This is rioticeable at present at thei two loop deluxe spots, the former circused fronts and lobbies being once more In evidence. Result Is a. smack; the former morgue-like at- mosphere has been removed and tho spots once more look like theatres. All screens of the entire circuit will receive extra appropriations for trailers on the clty-wIde iristltu- tional campaign. B. & K. appears once more thoroughly awakened; their atmosphere is at present flatly positive after having been negative for months. They have apparently decided that sitting back and wait- ing never did bring in "business They're going out after It; and the deluxe business on opening day at both loop houses was encouraging, trade upping at both the Chicago, where 'Everybody's Welcome' Is showing, and . at this spot, the Oriental. On top of the regular Fanchon & Marco unit here, which Is almost a natural, being the 'Chicago World's Fair' show; the circuit has added Gene Dennis, the mentalist. If only the relatives of the 16, Chicago girls who won a contest to become chor- isters Iri this unit attend this week, it's bound to be a winner for, the hou§e..' ... While not a particularly strong show, it's more than oliay for this town on the fair, tie-up, and its okayness was demonstrated by the terrific reception for the gal doing the finale flash as 'Miss Chicago.' Fanchon-& Mai'co have done won- ders With these 16 gals' in the same four months that they were picked In the local contest. They arc do- ing a coyple of neat rovtinesi espe- cially the flower nunibef, which re- quires a! good dear of agility in the hop-skip-and-jump mannner. The fact that they won contests on their figures is illustrated neatly when the gals show their curves In the 'parade of the nations.' Two real acts in the lineup— Bayes and Speck for the excellent bits of comedy talk and business, arid. the Russiari Art Circuis, which has never missfed as a canine nov- elty. That; comedy triangle panto- mime yarn Is a sUre-fire with any audience. Lucille and Laverne werel a quiet singing and dancing duo that fitted in tastefully; Nadlne managed a Spanish single np.mber, while Beth Lewis served nicely as opening spokeswoman and hoofer. Five Fox newsclips and a clever organlog separated the unit from the Gerie . Dennis turn- . Both this act and the unit were, somewhat hin- dered during the first performance by garbled mikes and jammed drapes. Miss Dennis Is proving an attraction ior a special fenime class, and on word-of-mouth should build to an increasing biz throughout the week. She walked ori cold and lourid It tough to get her first ques- tion from the audience, but after the ice had been broken, the women and- older men in the audience fell over themselves trying to get: their prob- lems solved and questions. ans\yered. Miss Dennis is one of the sriiooth- est of oracles working today. She has a. swell mediumistlc mariner without going for diin lights and Oriental robes. She works in a fully-lighted house and wears a for- riial evening dress. It's her manner of talking that courits;' she visions things arid talks to her audience as intimates rather than remaining coldly aloof. She had this audience convinced. Flicker Is 'Two Seconds? (WB). In on an 'adults only' rating after having been at first completely banned by the censors. Gold, EMBASSY . First pictures of Amelia Earhart concerning her landing in London. For the two previous weeks Em- bassy Ignored Miss Earhart and Luxer has given her corislderable space. Subject handled tritely by flat queries and silly comments from a newsreel employe Inter- viewer, Both theatres lead with Hoover's petition to the. Senate to right the budget. Luxer greeted Hoover with silence, while for the first Saturday in months Embassy applauded the President.: As is customary at the Embassy whfen anyone high or low denounces prohibition there Is a warm audi- ence reactiori. For a. cha,nge, how- ever, Ohio's attorney general .ac-: tually records .some good points on theusubject. JiJst before his battle F-H pub- licizes .Sharkf-y. in a musical com- edy light. ; 'J'he contender plays a uke, a sax, arid even sings. It's also a nice plug for Abe Lyman's band. Plug i.^ given a dining re- sort in Brooklyn. All of the reels caught an ex- citing turnoypr on the Indianapolis track. Among others generally covered were Londos, Davis cup, Oniaha balloon races, Derby prizb winners, Annapolis flag ceremony. New Jersey dog .<jhow, Coney Island. No matter how intelligent a Derby winnor may be those news- reel contact men. never fail to Work in that angle for laugh.s. F.-H allowed Columbia's graduat- ing exerc;j.ses to run until fan.<* squirmed in their, chairs.', .Subject could have been cut to a third of the clip a.s released. Other .subjf'Ct.s on. the Eriibassy program number: Itoo.sovf.-lt. offer- I ing farms to joblf.s.s, M'a.v party for New York'.s form(?r Hliorif/ jn. Cen- tral Park, ocean flier.S" in Komc, Momorl.'il Day ob.s<irvatiorif<, ,Cath- olic flf;ld ma.s.sf,-.s in Waslilni.'to)i and Relglum, a Borlin choir an'l ■•• )!>t- Un orohe.stra, I-'ronch zoo. Waly. TRAN8LUX Universal more and more Is ex- hibiting^ an uncanny abfllty to be where none of the other reels are when most spectacular news breaks. This time, the U cameraman was up In the clouds to close-up the Jll- fated hop to Toklo. While the clip Is held up to be bOnaflde, and probably Is, it looks almost like a reconstruction of what happened.' Nevertheless, the thrill effect Is complete. The Tokio- bound plane is shown suddenly ^breaklng away, -while refueling In midair. The flier at the sariie time is, seen , to abaridon ship under a parachute. Even the splash of the flaming airship in the water is pho- tographed.. . .. ,.A subject .that has been used several times before, that of fla.sh- Ing prospects for the priesidcntial race, is revived by Paramount. In the line-up. Including Roosevelt and Hoover, Smith is the only one receiving applause by Luxer audi- ences, Pathe gets one of the goriest bulHlght» yet shown In the news- reels. It was staged in Franco, and the cam<»ra doosn't grind off until the bull is dripping and on the verge of being dropped. That bus which is looking for the man who has benefited by prohibi- tion is caught by Pathe starting its cruise. No mention -ivas made by the announcer that any of the newspaper or newsreel offices will be visited. I'uramount does some ex(,*'lk-nt camera work in. covering another outboard motor race in Florid.-i. This time the cameraman grinds while a boat is taking Its l<'ap. V Other Luxer <-llps include Wrst^ .• cm Kleclric's ' nf-w cariiera ' stop-' watch,: K.unianian royalty'-at play. (Par), army macli/nc gun prut^tice, Carldco coaching T*. of AIo. foot- ball team, W.-i^lilngton square's dPmon.siratlon of art, Icglonn.'iIrcH In Washington. M'ali/.