Variety (Jul 1932)

VAaHE HMISE REVIEWS VARIETY 31 rxta the gamut ot TMTkiby with Mlsa Pearl depMnMngr«» tnVk im laughs. HouffhhouBe comedy foilowlhg: the. two pfevlouB acit's curdled, Blue material get «ev«f (tf ii«rt»u« raughs. IHovey Amaterdaatt m.< flUed Iiv y!^- a celfo eol*,.. -H«.JiaA .beej* Iiv ♦he house ior Ave weeks, and Is be- ginning to show the ureat. •six liixcky GltU; tehtf closed for TKK0' Iff siiin I^aitclHeo, concluded perfofmaiKSe.. Otrld worK two tfMmentfid: chorus voutlnea and one ibdctalty; iat'tl«ir acrobafiis control, whlfl I'oOKlBg; glrre; tticy landed on . optjearance and'^BiHty. •Winner Take, Air (.WB) on Its istfcond run/ thtf feature^ -with: UqI^ v<rj3al New*, Looney Tune and Rip- ley short rouhdfngi out the bUL B~u»- I PROSPECT, BKLVN • . Brooklyn,. July 21 ■.' t^iitll' a w««le aigo- thl# eldtlm«r of 'tKo former Keith, string had been ivlthout vaudov411i» for at^ long time. -B«4«eBty It If as chosen for-a imp ■VtM^fllm poUcy at Io>w prices, play- ' liw: five acts eacHi half. Show can't 'ut4' shouldn't cost a^ lot^ according ..to the bill as revealed Saturday. ' House is locate* In a mixed resl d^tlal and? buslnesff aectlon of -^^ookiyir m th^ mtdat of ac half diMn' grind deubie-blllerir, top price of any of wMcl* 1» 20c, Most of them. Including Avouk less than a .■-•block a^ay,-a*« lO-centerw.. Avon i96B one bett^ by ofBeriag f re«: candy all kld9 on Saturday matav- Other BOiall. houses: In Ttho secttoit arer EaeM,' Garfiefd, 18th: atveot, Olobe . and Washington,. House -mm' nearly fllled on Its jiwrer ffoof Sirturday aftemobnv but ■mote then half of the seats were ■ oenipfeff by. children. They come In- : tor a dime On mats and' f6e. at nights, so a heavy pray from tjiem Is hardly a house's salvation, re- gardless of thft policy. ' 'Adult scale' la' 2Vc. maisi laclud' ^'.bUs Sbfurday^ 36c.' evenings^ Mon- day ^o Friday; 40c. srvenlngs, Satur- /jlay; 3^0.: mat» Sunday and 60c. nghts,. RIs jprobably tfie lowest aATe;:fbr vaud'e and pfcturea of any .' cHafa house So. Gveater TTew York. *raat meaner under present ovev- )i«ad wltft. Ave acts and pfettire^ housa must do a^ blK turnover to ; ;*yold tlia red. , It cannot :ba forecast wbetbor the: J>ro8pect policy wUl work out, but when nearly every otb^ BKO nabe luM' d^opped^ voudo aftar years of ft ttnid loeotod' la better residential' see- 'tlonsk It loolca doubtful for tbta^ohe; Q'he lower price may help, but with .It theatra mu^ play. tO' pliftnty at- House ostensibly wa» placed baeft In vaude- a»^ a spot wherein to^ show *iew acts,* With RKa having only the Palace .and Albetf. M addition to ;JliMr on* how in yaude;.-perhaps- It \9:a» few that tbe efreuM had to have* pomo hoase .for new act breaHr-tne «i(d fhff PrespeeC' lisokedi UkO ft. BirO .jrlky «h# need for new aic<f» nowT ..In addition to Kernieth Hariai»^ imd Al St. John, previously caught iftt the Fordham a» a new act, others Itre-'ROxy TVfo and SaM Bernavd 11 in a i3kl«.^ The Harlan-St. John team* hcadtf tb« bllS In next to Risf, th«f Roxy Trio dosing: ' It's s bttfew: average vaude show, ^Ith no perceptibly Im^rtane bo* ibfllce except posstbly: Harlan, and St. John from pletures. Feature is. 'Bark teorste'■ (FN) . It isn't tho sort of I>tefare that would have- a natural draw for th« kld)^ ,yet they were> fn )ieavy atlfendance' all the! Saturday afternoon performance.. 'Harlan and St. John> assisted by kin unbilled womam, are- tho brfght ispot. Roxy Trlo< (New Acts? mfld otji ententatnmenft Weo Winio Bo- byn^ formerly of the" Roxjr Gtengr Jeante: I^ng^, who was i« Fauf Whlteman's 'King of Jazz,' and her brother, Arthur, previously on .the Maxivveli hour, fOrnv the act.. An op^& novelty number clbBlng'^ Is- neither bo> noveC nor s« showman" IHsev latter due in part tc fts length. Sam Bernard II (New Acts> pre- ceded the Harlan-St; John comedy turn. Bernard,' a* nephew of Sam Bernard, heads a sfcit billed a^ 'Ber- muda Bound;? , with four people in Bupportr Amon? them aw acrobatic dancer stand* out bofdly. ShCs about the best stepper on the show. . Freddie Plsamo No. 2', with two people, aiding: 'WOi»'^ comediian has a few good ra«ff, but plenty that are mil*. The sp&Jiar verses' for a fin- ish Incbido that old one about the wind blowing ladies-" dresses- high and dust Irt the bad man's- eye. But toe kids over here even went fof that, sot. on applause PIsano, like the others, went over big. The Monge Troupe opens. Their .act works a little slowly in spots, includes a someraiiult from a spring- board dtunt to* three high and smashes over with the triple somer- sautt to a chair; All' in an a rather, disappointing show even for medium tastesv Benny Roberts is over here in the pit. He' was' at the Falaee for years. Noi one can say there Isn.'t quantity over here regardless of what the feeling may be about quality. In ad- dition to featute, orchestra overture with a vocal bit, fiver vaude acts and the usust 'must' Pathe News, pr.oigram includes three shorts. 'Sing- ing Waters' (Talking Picture Epics). 'Jijst Pals- eu>, and 'Romance' (Educ), a cartoofj. ©»«r. PALACE, CHICAGO Chicago,-July 23. Triple headlined by ESast' and £>umke-, Bverett Marshan and' Herb 'Vtrilliama the^ Palace this week has a .bill _a» pleasing as it Is costly. Xast and DiimKO, -who prefer to be' known as 'Sisters of the Skillet,' their radio' destgnatioii, were given the lalrgest chertenham< and the deuce spot at the same time. That's an unusual spot to^ find the head- liner, but on this bllV it was the natural and. Jdeal Inning for the boys. ■ Roy and Romeroi devoted mostly to hoofing, opened. (Crooning sister team appeared to be new and for that reason comment on their lack of precision can be charitably omit- ted. Besides' one of the glrr» took a sit-down s» embarrassing as it vraa Impromptu. Act Is dressed most at tractlvely and has: Bpeed and zlp^^ with the blonde girF. having the trim class and Ilotdd grace of a candl- date for better things. . Bast and Dumfee (New Acts) have been absent, from the vavtetlea for the pa0t three years or so, although durlnar tbeii' radio career they, haye made numerous personial' apipear- ances: ''V^arlety* carried ». newff story of them over a year ago a» a vaude ville tean* that radio lifted from $360 weekly to the myniflcent total olt 11,260: Sbunnlng th«. piano al most entirely the .bOy« are now do ing: comedy throughout instead of I'eiyjpgv aa in thelv trouplng; days,, upon harmony. Their isuccess- at the Saturday matinee -way achieved iwith deft^tse. : j Everett Marshall nientioned a cold, but ft was hardly noticeable to the untutored eavs of th«> average customer. In other words; fho star wart baxitoner boomed'over to un eriticat acceptance. Herb Williams, like the unpaved SCiain Street, in some Jerk water town, has the charm <tf perma nence. Even while making a men tal memorandum of Itaage and out- ;ward lack of'orfglnallty, hi*-material 'is welcomed. Not a line has. been 'changed or added. Not an extra lift of th« eyebrows or a. new trttl to the mustotl bells Is there to break ,the liluslan of ttn establisbed and : unaltered comedy clasfllc I Junt off the choo-choo a- few mln- iutes before they made the opening' matinee and with the gtrf eons ;mako-up',,C!arl Shaw and CTompany Istarted slowly but built eCrong. That Shaw boy lia« not only the mak- ings' but the^ realized aetusllty «f high claw comedy: He'haa .o^ good ,fkvefc!a)r e^loi. eatD talk, can sli^s^ a ilfttlep looks- nice, and i» » diancieg: amd acrobatic audtencv-wower. WhfcW i» by. way Of prelude te tfte qpiestton; why- isn't be lit Ugbta? .Obviously a. case of tafent without I reputation. A condition he should 'remedy. ■Radio"* KOar of ithe Dtogon' -.fe the f<»iture. ^ Biz not good Saturday .OfftemoonT ILomA^ "jroungrster imitates severaT singers, and Larry and bis wjfe do comedy turn for the closev Best orchestra act here in months-. Not too long; and plenty doing all the time, and with Just about^ enough girls to give it change of .pace. 'Is My" Face "Red V7 on the Screen makes excellent companion to vaude. ORPHEUM, MPLS. ORPHEUH DENVER Denver, July . 2(k- Reems, Rio and Kitchelt«pen> tite vaude bUf wfttt a sSow-motfon ffght over a gicl. Men do burlesque dEance together and girl doe» ballet numberr with those Joy aiHd agony- expressiEoms . of a- beginner. Man does imjpenronationf of fypea who piatsoala* taadc dance halls^i Msr best belns the. sax player -who usee the girl's baakbone for iceys. Other male does: forward and backward iwalkovers and trfo put on novelty- dance witiv girl, r Grace Barcie, brunet, who looked lovely in a white dress, sings in a voice that's Just her size and type. Followed with two pops- and gets over in great shape. Paut Kirkl'and, Tadder walker and balancer, does most everything: With one- chair upsfde down bal- ances another chair on legs; and wltht hea-Vy femme sittlhg- fn upper chair, carries thent acrose stage for a good trick finlsb, Larry Rich and band, with other entertainers; headline, and how! Dressed In comely white sult,^ tall black hat aind weai-lng tiny mus- tache, Larry fntrodaces act with; a song. MlSB Kngland Ong, Chinese, called m.c-., but Larry do^ most of her work. Cherle (Mrs. Rlcb)- sfngs 'Got to Go Where Tou Are,' Lad with good voice sings a. few lines and red-headed girl dances , as three femmea sing through megs. Mem- bers of band do solo and group numbers to advantage . and entire group Sings theme song; 'We're Workintr for Larry Rich.'. Trio o£ girls sing 'Sleepy Time . Down South' as curtain parts,, revealing lazy negro lying in front of old log cabfn. Negro lad comes- to life and gives a fast novelty diance. Rlcli goes through audience, shaking hands and intnoductns pieople to each other.. (Introduced '"Variety' mugg to lovely blonde across aisle, but couldn't get her phone., num- ber.) Introduced father of lad on bill', iJenver native, also lad's dancing teacher, Sylvia De Gaefano, oldtlme Orpheum circuit trouper, to audience.* Larry divided house into sides with leaders*—:on« side to applaud saxes and other the brasses. Made it a happy family party. Mlas Ong sfngs 'Mary Lou' In Chinese, and a goof dances. Ralph Hodges aings and yodels, and Henry SweetHps, colored chap, . dances snakehlps. Minneapolis, July 21. This Is 'Opportunity Revue' week and; except for two acts, local ama- teurs provide practically all the en- tertainment. ; The pair of outside numbers comprises Gwynne, a ma- gician, and Benny Ross, comedian. The 'Opportunity Revue,', closing- the show, ran for more than ah hour. Sponsored and heavily pub- licized by a leading newspaner. here, it -was advertised as having a cast; of 15(r, including '109 beauti- ful girls,' 17 lavish scenes and elab- orate costumes. ' William- Smythe and Jack Dona- hue deserve credit for having ac cbmplished * aa much as they did with, the material available.- But the mediocrity of talent Imposed a heavy burden upon them and they were not entirely successful, with the result that an atmosphere of amateurishness pervaded most of the performance. If: the business attracted by the show, and the lack of enthusiasm with which the entertainment was received even, by the small classless audience at this late evening show arc any criterion, once will be i enough for this sort of thing. How ever,- as a result of splendid ex- ploitation, the theatre garnered heiape of free newspaper and other publicity for the stiint. Gwynne, using a full stage and assisted by two good-looking girls, opened the show with an ordinary magic act which consists nmlnly ot slelght-of-hand tricks and produc- ing people and objects from trick cabinets. Nothing- startling or ex traordinary here, but a satisfactory (Wenfng number. At the deuce spot,. Benny Ross, offering impersonations of George Xessel^ whom, he greatly resembles In appearance, voice iand style; Harry Rfchmanr Maurice Chevalier amd George 'Washington Dewey, proves aeeeptable. His comedy ma terial could stand ImprQvejnent aiid his singing rates as far superior to his comedy. A girl does some htgb leicking^ and acrobatic dancing and .also- serves lesc cruccessfally .aa ifbll for some of Ross' come(^' pat ter, ' Ae the dumb-, bored-type;- she is not 89 funny, , The ballet numbera were by for the best part of: the 'Opportunity Revue,r some of the 24 glrlv boast- ing good fooke a^nd many of them demonstrating pep and fair dandng- aWlity. Costuming and staging of the numbers aaerlted-praise. The comedy^ skits were crude and suf- fered front the performers" ama- teurish neifr.. Not mnch^ can be said fbr the slngtng or the specialty numbers^ On the screen Pathe news, the local newsreel and 'Night World.' MICHIGAN Detroit, Jiily 29. This week the building of a local unit is eliminated, with Benny Meroffi and his intact show takfng Its place. The unit goee over in a, big way;- The faultsi.-lf any*- are minor and will be corrected, with one substitution elated for next week, Ann Roth leaves the unit, replaced by a gfrl unnamed as yet. The show is fast and gets- over. Show carries very mucb in evidence the N. Y. Palace trademark,. 'Tou. can't take itj.' with the usual but^- ness. Several other blue bits out of order "for the family trade Unit builds. Meroff to good advan- tagei Be dOes plenty and has a group^ of assistants that also do plenty. Walter Powell 1» a great asset. He hds kept in all hie origi- nal act, and in addltfoh sits In with the baitdr playing the -Varloiie n-umbers, and also clowns. Band style suggest* study of Warlnr and Heidt, but wltb more emphasis on hoke and clowning. Band fitted to piay a hOuso with a weekly . cha>nge policy on a holdover with . obviously enough material to stay and build. Keldt played the Fisher for three consecutive- weeks. In addition to Ann Roth; who still gets the big plug , as Lillian's sister, another girl, Florence Oaat, dances and is used for a cpuple of bits. . Lou Forbes in Iiis second week as conductor contlnuee.to please, es- pecially on his own arrangements. These and a. lighter touch, than, tbia house has been using for overtures have been very effective building the front part Of the show up. Di- viding his overture up to ialtow for a little of the classic and »'lot of the Jaaz te please all. Don Miller uses a niedley of southern tunes, gotten up so that if the audience wants to sihg they can, and if they don't it listens well. Picture ^Lady and (Sent' (Far) fair.: Jiee, CENTURY, BALm FISHER (Continued from page 29> a< long time and seema to know .\if hat they want House Ir in a. to.sgh spot. Over the .summer it gets second choice of pictinres, and other times ft gete third or fourth; This ha* been going oh for years- till the rep of the house i» for n.d.g. pictured.. A smash picture is a novelty. So- the house has-, dropped'from the money' maker of two or three years agsa to a headache as ' : now is. And that with a- very nice lease in which the Fisher (Bodies) Bros, help carry the load. Lee. FOX, FRISCO San^ Francisco; JTuly 21. A Hybrid. booking if ever there wae one, this combination of Schur- mann-HelnIc and Gllda Gray -was the basis' of much publicity and the cause of beaucoup business. HTouse knocked 'em over •vtrlth- a very good $37,000. Palmis for the bualhess and ap- plause belongs to Schumann-Heink, who made the hotcha part of the show pretty lukewarm stuff In com- parison to her valiant eCCor^l). At %\ the griay-halred contralto can still pipe off glorious notes- and .pos- sesses—and,, what's more, uaea—a grand sense of humor. Her's was nothing less than an ovation when she walked on stage for this closing night's show. Her sense of humor came to view -when a reisresenfatfve of the mayor and the Legion clam- bered on ..Uige to read from several sheets of paper 'an epistle of love from our fair city' at the conclusion of which. Sch"umann-Heink cracked 'I never see ahyV dy so solemn in my whole life.' F. & M. ■» 'Ubangl Idea,' following, was a hodge-podge of Gllda Gray's hip wiggling, tap dancing, acrobatics and ' Roy Cummlnga' knockabout comedy. As an- overture ""alt Roeaner con- ducted the orchestra In a Schubert medley, beautifully done, featuring the vocal chorus of 18 and Thorstein Jensen as violin soloist. 'Unashamed' (M-G) held the screen. Bock, Baltimore, July 29. Since Loew seta the local pace^ and ttiia bouse, is the pride of the Loew localtf, then the Century may be classed as- the ace spot of the burg. Theatre fa- situated on Lex- ington street,, -wfadch is this town^s loop. Times Square and Flttb ave.^ :all in one- Street is narrow and winding^ Result is a sihaU-fronted theatre and a narrow bidden ima^quee, . Two theatres on the speC, the : Century holding the main fOrt, while the Valencia Is upstairs.- Both are United Artlsts-Loew owned, I wbfeiF fact fs blazoned fn etecfrfea. To the Cienttiry cOme the ]tmfts-, at present the Fanclian & Marco shows. £lut-the house, feeling the shttry eo mpetia i l i of the vavdflbn Indie mppodrome^ has dropped the .deluxe' flash billing: for Itr- sRows and is now selRng: them, strict^ as vaude lineupi^ billing thorn ln< the ads av. tbough there were etgpbt acts. It'is a flesK battle at present be- tween the two houses, thougb tbe Century has all the breaks when it comes to- the film - product. H'os Faramount, Metro, tfA^ 'Warners; and First National,, though its stater i;un spotr the Stanley, of course gets some of th-fs. Present show Is 'CbaJm^ Idea, with house giving^ F. & M. no mention. Has even ellmlniated the Slmklst tag for fheehonis, the girls In this show being'labeled as Danc- ing-Darlings, an act. Show was heavy on the- comedy and therefore highly welcomed tO the fair-sized mob that -was in for the evening oh the opening-Friday. Doesn't compare with the old crowds that used to s. r. o.-here at nights, but then the current ftlcker, 'Madame Racketeer' (Par), has no sock name to bring 'em a-runnlng. Bluing gave Gold and Raye the big position and a spot analogous to next.-tO-cloBlng: The comedy hoof- ers took sufficient falls and tossed each other around enough ta earn the best take of the show. Nell Kelly supplied the sex appeal,, and, though It was hectic and mad-cap-, proved potent. Paul Mall, w-orklhg fn wbff^-face, started 'em early and kept them go- ing. His array of comics was suf- flcfently fresh, and the only bit that failed was the clbsing. narrative parody on pop tunes. For a while it goes nicely, but falls off at the close. By hat-Juggllhg Paul Nolan se- cured additional laughs, and the re- mainder of the shOw was yOcalfzed and adagfped by Frank Stever, Ka- rels arid Kay, and Georgene and Henry. Production flash still draw- ing hahd-smacklng iii this town,. tHoUgh many burgs are about chilled to the tinsel. Large orchestra here led by Gfeorge Wild for the overture, which was oke, but the band was slipshod in Its treatment of the acts' music, missing cues, over-pIaylng and un- der-playing. Though opening day, the show was the fourth that day. Hpuse has Ellis Farber, local radio entertainer, working in the pit as fiddler and doubling with the: larynx at the overture. Will do among his friends and neighbors. Only other material on the show was Hearst-Metrotone newsreel, no doubt caused by the length of . both, the feature and I he presentation. LOEW'S f ARASHSE If -NTGfi can' bring the yreseot :8bow in toto to -his Broadway res- taurant the Mlnsky'is might feel tbe competish. NTG gets some liigh class stooges for his act, even pressing-.the:. .Rooneys, father and_ son, into service Tfiat's'besides the" full balance of the vaude part of the current show. NTG's part la really a mixture of amateur and pro cabaret and burlesque stuff. . NTG has been around long enOugh to know wbat they want.^^ The belly laughs be gets from the audliehco that's made up of kids and women mostly is sufficient ovidence. Presumably this house has shiftsd from unit production. to a combo vaude poUOy, Currently it mns to every variety. The stage: entertatn- . ment taking close to< ^100 mfnutoa dovetails; the first half or e» min- utes going exclusively to vaude and good stuff. Remainder wftb NTO highlighted. It all goes- over as caught. Hard to figure the bis as Bboma Saturday matinee. Lower door that looked kind of scanii at openlor flllled % towards close of the stage entertainment. The fllm^ "Winner Take All' (FN), seemed to have no newcomers. Acts included John and Mary Mason, roller skaters, opening; Zih- gone, slelght-of-hander; the singinv quartet of Brem^ Fits and Murphy, and the Rodneys; Zfngone is the new. The Mason, act looks like « . NTG portion. All or nearly all lb* players stooge for NTG In the finale and thus bring the punch Inte Oranlund tomfoolery that works off and on the sCa^ as wen as Mtai ! the audience. Zlnigone chatters as he acts in the usual fashiop plying, mostly : eard and handkerchief tricks, taa per- sonality overcomes some of H» weak gaggery and the meafiremes* of bis magical offerings. He also Works in the audience. The Masons carry off tbetr whirl- ing tricks: nicely as the male halt swings his partner and isbme eC tk* NTG audience plants around^ NTa pulls the usual; p«per ban tfirowlne for opening and his act moves from 'one' to full and a eafo setting and baclt again for a llaals that spots- a dancing liMxIeas cab- aret scene.. No particular art-to t|M thing from, a color or 'v'aude potaA bat It satisfied the customers responded lustfiy.. , s The' restaurant man luur. gfrls in the show.. Those ke fbo^a have no particoiar tale:nt, IndudtnC t&e cooeh dancer: A.copple'of.seBt- nudes fticttrdinK thli girt. The Brema quartet Sooid Insap a better harvest by ielimliDatfiitr tba attempt of . one of fhb 'membtta at Hebe 'Unga dnd Id^^- comdc^, 2ra. :hot only done badly, but it's. ot«fw done besidds. ' Rooneys clipped the house for all. It was worth with th*' fnterettfnt anisle,that. eve» the kids fRthtaudt" eace applauded the pair. In next'fa elostng; la their faa^lBar nnttlaa tMy 'were a howt : : .Trailers aotf ne^sreelS'.rettedlsi lOUt the progmnn tb«t raa over. XM minutes, thostaffe end ineladbttrtha organ rrnnfngr mors than fnlf or 114 minutes. Plenty aC shoWr anjr-. 'way. ■•■ £f|bam.' ■ FOX, BROOKLYN Brooklyn, July Slit. . With the croze^n In most pie^ ture houses for 'bigger and betted stage show^s witfr 'bigger and bet^ ter' name Uneups, this theatre baa the FahcboDs &. Marco 'Cocoanut Girove' unit K consists of a graap of star Imitators. -Where the Para- mount across the street Is splasbing- three or fourNbig- names, the .Fox splashes -wltb imitators. otmtb* names; On the roster-aire fmfGTtfori Laurel and Hardy, Lupe Vele% Anna May Wong^ Marlene Dlefrleb,. Charles ChapUpi. Robert Montgom- ery,, Joe SS Brown and Btarry Laiw- donv But the Fox in order te <to,'M reaHy ^bigger and bettef Job Of K. has decided to, augme4t .the Jlst,- So the house on its own added Imi- tators of Harry Ricbman and Rosa PonseUe, Latigb that ofCl Strangely enough, as those things go. It's not a bad show, containing a considerable amount' of actual amusement -value. What helps probably more than any one other thing Is that it's off the beaten track of the usiiaf F &. Mr thing- it has originality. Only one set, supposedly the in- terior of the Hollywood restaurant,' with . reddy Mack's house pitmen occupying most of the stage; Freddy acts as m.c, though bowing to Betty Compson (only actual .'in person' name) occasionally. No line of girls makes It that much more unusual, though a half dozen male and female extras are used for cafe atmosphere; they Just slf at tables. To begin. Mack, In one before the traveler, IntroB Miss; Compson, who invites audience to attend her 'party at tifie Cocoanut Grove.' Cur- , tains open^ Ma^k croons Into a mike with the ganff'' dancing. Seated again, a Dorothy . Tune Is announced as 'the darU^ of the Cocoanut Grove' and comes: On for. a fast (Contlnued .on page 441)