Variety (Aug 1932)

30 VARIETY REVIEWS Tuesdnj, Aii|[ii8t 16, 1932 thein f Leicester Sq.» Lonclon (Continued from paere 2S) West End, the Azas know liiuslnees. ^ Being: aware of the difflculty In' getting names/ the management Is concentrating on the production side, with the act a secondary consideration. There's plenty of; coloring and plenty of girls to In- terest the transient from the coun- try, and even the more.sophisticated sfeemlngly • .enjoyed,.the .bevy. _of beauties and splash of colors. The big act is BalUol and Merton, adagio team that have one trick, that of the femme leaping fron» a 40 foot pillar, landing with her legs upon the man's shoulders. This is surefire. • Freddie Forbes, a touring revue: comedian with a provincial reputa- tion;- in a sketch built for vaudeville by Noel Coward, 'Granges and liemons.' Is plenty suggestive, but very funny. Forbes also does the compere role^ In which he flops. Thus far here are two English turns qualifying for that position. They are Naunton Wayne, at the London Pavilion and ESwln Btyles at the Prince of Wales, with the' latter shortly opening for Earl Carroll In New York. Ijola De Fraine got a lot of pre- openlng publicity as a discovery in the way of "blues' singing,' and a iQt. wsis expected of her. She proved disappointing. Other' aicts that scored were Horace Kenny in tb6 'Trial Turn,' which he has been doing for years, and which is- still funny, and Col- Ilnson and Dean, a couple ot talking eonteidliuts with clever material well put'over. These wen^ to America some years iago, and. their recpUec- iton-Is none too balppy* The capacity of the t^^totre Is S,dOO, With standliig rooQt for. 60,0, anjfl priceis range from,20 (cents to; a'-ctollar; ' With tavtt fihbwa dally can gross arpun^ 1|2O,OO0 a' we<|k. ' Xt takes'^bout j|ib,000 tA get out There 'is ha. doubt the: Leicester Sauarff theatre has a^yed, and will iliafce money. Ther<$ 13-something ^ahotit the tfaeatt'e .thAt makes it Attractive, and although It is on the TtTong side of the saaarP It Is at last - staging the right kind -of en- teftainmejif. A; feature, ot no mean Importance M service-for eating and drlnklng.- Is not content with a pat turn, but who adds new material constantly. Material is a laugh in every line. Coupled with Savoy's deft show<- nianshlp, it makes for an act that can't miss anyyhere. Circus acrobatic Bobbins family closed. They've added some music and minor dancing to the act and are starting .off like a flash tiirn, but that's soon over aind the seven-. Inmlly gets down to tumbling. and somersaulting. The circiiN act makes its mistake here by trying to iajki They can't use their tonsils at ain thej^re happiest when slick- ing to stunts. The thing about this show is that it was so evidently to the liking of this audience. They left satisfied and with a pleasant taste In their mouths. ItHndicated that the bopker was In close contact with the house owner, and ; that both took this town's public Into consideration. Result Is that the house keeps its balance; it goes along, without freaky shows, making a steady proAt on shows that cost reasonable money, and shows which can be followed up. It offers a saniei con- trast to. booking In other houses, where the shows are isuch that the question ls> What can you follow with next, week? And the individu- alized bAokIng' offers a,nother and sharper .coptrast to., other vaude houses which have been forced to use. fahie-bbttom names just be- cause the home offlce thought , they'd be okay in New York, such as was the horrible example last year of the bookiher .of a has-been New .York opera, soprano for big money, only to find that In towns out of the metropolis she was just a dead weight at the box ofUce and a nuis- ance to the audience that wandered In. ■■ Qn the screen, 'Roar of Pragon' (Radio). Biz good.- >the HIPP, BALta Baltimore, Aug* .12. This k>&rt of the IT. is. A. is btart- ihg -itf' sizzle with vaude ialk.- Hasn't heen so inuoh pro.-vaudO' ex- citement around'here In matay yearsi Next.'week ftoew's aofr Century wlU drop: lt9 .long polloy ot presentatlohd and go into vattdevnip. ^In fapt that ■ house ha» fof some months been advertlslnjgr Its Fanphon' A Mafco unit «s^8^Acts—8,' In order to com- pete witii the flve-tairh liayoiit at -thi8:Bp0t: .1 - ' Also scheduled for a va,nde return la t^ls city are Keith's, the New, and lifaryland, • the latter figured heatedly for «tralglit vsiude. This talces in only the main-Mem sjpots -in town; more-vaude, gOssiil con- cerns the; small-towh liPu^s strewn' In the vicinity «f ChesapPak^ Bi^y. A couple of hustling road men froni Ne«r York should be able to' dig up a few weelfs around here. And ' tO: this house belongs the ribbon for making this district vaude's. most hopeful spot In the ehtiro country. The house is mak- ing money consistently, playing Ave OPts'that are regulation famUy-style acts. The sophisticated Broadway chatter Is out. Hokum and simple comedy takes the bulk Of the enter- tainment; the names are not too big or expensive; they come out of radio, pictures and vaude. The current line-up let neatly typical of the style of entertainment dished out, and the audience here evldenped their satisfaction. On Broadway, and'maybe even in the loop, the show -would keel, but here- and in. the ^ vast majority of the home cities in this country the show would smack. Headlining, the J*unnyboners (New Acts), a comedy trio froin radio, are dowri-lo-earth and completely understandable to the kids and matrons. There's . nothing subtle about them. They sing nicely and tell their jokes directly. Backed by their ether rep, they rated their headline spot on this bill, and the palm noise at the. finish vouched that they Tiad satisfied. In the opening .assignment was Will Morris, still getting into situa- tions- with his fall-apart bicycle takl;ig his prattfalls a little slower than in the past, but still eftectively. and finishing with his big jumping stunt. Thie kids on the first show Friday tore up the seats in praise, and the adults in the audience, weren't too hesitant either to Join In the good-time-waa-had-by-all Deuclng. a colored hoofing pair. Worthy and Thompson, danced in combo ana in challenge, and even managed some cross-flro chatter. Fitted the spot and suited the mob. Following were the FUnnyboncrs, and then, ncxt-to-closlng, Harry Savoy, the sock of the show. Savoy , ' Js a Bure-flre standard, a comic who GRAND O. H, Lots of pretty good stage, fare for 'the first halt ' Runs only threes quarters of an hour, but more than ample, to bridge the two features, !Week |:nds Only' (Fox) and 'Widow in Scarlet' >(MajiEfi^l;r)i' w^ a npws- reel toteed In to hoot. Makes- the round of the cloPk close -to three hours, and figures as 4 bargain at two-bits for adults and thrpe Jits for ■thP kldii. ; -' •• . •■ Saturday matinee found the lower floor fairly well stctcked And a just sp-so quorum on the upper abelf, with the Juve attendance In t!ie lat- ter regions notably off. Pair bal- ancing ot the features may account for. that. An action drama, could )iave t>een booked in to counter, the sophisticate and elanish tinge of the Fox affair. Would have been more to the taste of the kids in this iiabe^ £nd alar-< to the adult leveL . Standout attraction by far of the yaudP. cohtfaigent was the Nato Lockford troupe of .terpsy- clowna. Act, spotted fourth and last. conr: trlbuted soniethlng approaching bl# time to the; proceedings. liockford. socked them t6t the laughs both Von the introductory golfing bit and 'with his adagio high jinks at> the finish. Serious kdoments between aisp- im- pressed, during-, which a finished pair of adagio acrobats cut Intricalte figures and a blonde miss showpd something neat in the way of fast tapping. Opening* niche brought Chappelle and Rayner'Twins, two lads and a girl, for b. hodge-podge of acrobatic dancing, knotting up limbs and banjo strumming. Act could stand a lot of smoothing out of the wrin des and general routining. Double joliited boy unfolds several novel twists, notably the military, tap that he does atop his head. Lighting of a cigarette by a complete'back twist may be .merely a variation of the glass of watet or handkerchief lift Ing stunt, but here was accepted as something startling and showered with plaudits. Girl specianzes In splits and speedy cartwheels and turnovers and turns out a first-rate Job in both departments. With McKay and Ardlne, who fol- lowed, It's a different background, but the old line of crossfire. Some of It clicked. But for the most part it shaped up as so much chatter before the pair got to the hub of their turn, and that's the knock- about dancing. Practically all the laughs are derived from the hard pratt falls the femme member takes. Swell (Stuff for: this spot, and the rewards were noisy enough to bring them back for an encore. Act how Is using a representation of the waiting room of a railroad station for the background, with the wom- an's dialect ritill hazy as to identity. May be Swedish, Dutch or Polish, but whatever it is, the results aren't very funny. Flock of talent attd pPrsonallty evident in the next-to-shut turn, Croel and Allan, but the material the mixed (ialr unravel won't help them get there. Girl has the looks and the . fetching personality, and the singing voice, though not strong, can sell a pop ditty. "Tall, gangling partner packs a knack for uncork- ing the chuckles, but the style of hoke lie resorts to Is too elementary for anything but the small fanilly time. Clicked plenty here, with the kids in the balcony the act's lieart lest customers. Oflec. ACADEMY, N. Y. It's the prize spot for the. give- away racket. If the management tries Siny more varieties, Heinz, the pickle man, may discover groudds for infringement of his trade marlb^ Saturday's dinner biz looked like an undertaker's stall in Paradise. There were pome pustomers, but they squatted almost miles apart and all over the house. Any kind of. an applause nibble or the slightest titter pah be count- ed a bull's eye for the performers. Five acta "With Ray Perkins top- lining. .The NBC Barbasoloist took the middle spot on a none too com- fortable arrangement that opened with Max and his gang of doggies; the Ebony Follies, that once may ha-ve been 'Eb^ony Scandals' iRit not as srood, from What the recprdft may indicate. Also Jones and Rea, who cracked most of the liaughs, and Alexander and Santos, group Of five dansartlsts. Not A bad bill, but trying to . per- form before the almost empty house when .x^aught was like slinging those three-inch prize hoops at Coney. House could tise a good stage man- ager. The lighting Is screwy, here, But that, hanging sfgn from un- der, the marquee Is no. good will brihger either. Curiously enough It reads . '2 Big .Shows/ 'and that's hardly that at this spot currently. Customers, oiicie they glimpse the blU. know that Perkins is appar- ently one half of the '2* ehowa on the sign. Perkins Is okay but down here on I4th Street he may not be ,8o well known. Perkins performs neatly. Despite all the obstacles he had to hurdle got over nicely. That Ebony sextet, however, might have fared better as a straight 'Arab'., turn. Until the group slides into that flying aero stuff for a finale, they offer only mediocre Harlem danaafare.And that ebony girl who . phones her whirls In the flying bit. doesn't hplp that way. Max and his doggies 'wris a good opener but^ could have worked faister. The- Alexander Santos turn might trim, that burlesque bit a Ut>' tle.when working this kind of spot and a]s6 provide faster time, but both over* okay as Is. What was most evident was that the show wasn't strong enough of Itself to draw. Thiat's an item for the hookers to figure. RKO, ^o far as known, is handling this spot since the liouae .went into a, pooling arrangement with.the RKO Jeffer- son, a block away. Latter stays straight' films' wbUe this goes .combo. As the matter shapes RKO for this season gets the better break on the pool -locally. Not only does RKO book tiie vaude at the Acad- emy but It has the pick of the .films at its own Jefferson, However, Skouras by having, the RKO Coildeum stick to comba and let his own ; AudUbon . go . straight films; on the uptown end, may get an evenNbteak, as the Audubon would have the same pick of prod- uct as the Jefferson,, downtown. 'Jewel Robbery* (WB) looked weak- Judging from biz as caught . Alto- gether It's a ISSTmlnute show wltli a 66-cent top at dinner time.' News, trailers and films take around ,78 minutes. Added is a cartoon. The stag^ end runs to around £3 min<- utes. From the screen angle, that blue fading on foot lights utilized to shade the screen, matter Is screwy. It's a Booty idea'hecause It's hard on the eyea and blaPks out the fig- ures. May have been one of those off days for the Academy, but the house needs closer supervision from every angle of operation. Blum. reminiscent ot the Weaver Brothr era Barney. Is a. personable young fellow^K The old couplP- In striking red and blue tights present a ludicrous Appearance for a rIslbIN ity-tlckllng . comedy .acrobatic num- ber; A good act . Jane' and Katherine Lee return with their commendable cbnkblna- tlon of clowning, singing and danc- ing, unchanged but highly accept- able. They hold down the headline position and pext-to-dosing ^pot In tip-top fashion.' Boasting . good looks, youth and plenty of talent^ they find audience favor. - Dave Harriir^ and his , company, including three good-looking girl dancers and -a funny.stooge, close the show with a hang. '■ Harris pleases, as usual, with his demon- stration of musician versatility and his comedy magic He and the stooge provide a -number of clown- ing ihtpriudea to garner liberal laughter returns^ There's plenty of showmanship man^est In this act ^Roar of the Dragon,'Pathe News^ local newsreei and a, cartoon com- edy >on tl\e screen. A fair hoqae at this late evening show. Reei, ORPHEUM, MPLS: Minneapolis, Aug. 10. These RKO shows seem to be im- proving. The cuifrent one holds con- siderable . pleasing. It not. high- powered, entertainment. No less than four of the five Acts run strongly to cOmedy, and If^a first- rate comedy, too. Any bill carrying as much of a laugh punch as this one Is bound to click. I. Is typical vaudeville along routine lines, af- fording nothing new or, outstand- ing, but providing s£i*-'.3fylng diver- sion. Edith Karren is assisted by four, young 'men in a melange of sing- ing, dancing arid music. The boys are danc6rs aind instrur ent listis. Miss Karren sings, dances and plays the violin. The act w.ould be improved if she vocalized less. Most meritorious is the boy's step- ping. A fast finish has ; all the metnbers, except the pianist, par- ticipating in a snappy dancing ex- hibition. This is a satisfactory opener. , Offering his famlll r Juggling and comedy act, the good-humored Gas- ton Palmer, gets away nicely in the deuce spot. Palmer works at a fast pace throughout and has the audience laughing almost constant? ly at his make-believe nilsses and chatter. His . pleasing personality and all-around shpwmanshlp' help him to score. Barney Grant, introduced from the orchestra pit as. a shy young man from the Missouri foothills, is aided by his supposed 'mother, dad and cousin; in a praiseworthy ec centric character comedy ofCerlng ORPHEUM, N. Y. Nice vaude up here this week, with plenty of diversity 'and—^more important—plenty of fun. A bit un- orthodoic In that a comedy team,' Gordon, Repd and King, close the show, hut olcay because building throughout Palermo's dog act a gpod example of the species, opens the proceedings and Ken Whltmer, deuclng, sends things Into a quick- tempo.' Whltmer Is one of those musical lads who plays about every Instrument Imagl^ nable, and- most of them well.' Bob 'RPblsdn, formerly of Robin- son and Pearce^"^ is m; c'lng.. the show, and sho-wa himself to be a laid worth watchnlg.^ He's a snappy word slinger, 'with a good sense of humor and a fast glve-aind-take. May sound a .bit funny to say that a man who 'was first revlewpd by 'Va- riety' as a new act In 1921, ought to be ■ watched. But < Robinson seems today'to haV^ hit a better stride as a single comedian than ever before; and looks to be hteded for bigger things., \ He works here with two men and one woman asslstantis and do^ very well by himself throughout the show. In third Ppot he does a sem- blance of an act aind bows off to make ri>om for Frances Langford (New Acts>.' . Mlsa-Langford is the latest radio contribution to> vaude. And- wPl- come, too. She's'a good-looking leiss (and slim, for a chahjge) 'with an acceptable voice. Her vaude work will be helpful to her general raidlo career. Gtordoh, Reed and King, three, lads who live , on mayhem, mop up the stagp fpr thp. olose. Probably Just as well, because nothing short of the screen lowering and light dim- ming would get them off the stage. 'Washington Masquerade' (Metro) is,,the picture. Milt Franklin, In the dubway, handled one of those extra fancy overtures; there's a cartpon and a Pathe Newa to 'fill out And bt« none tod (healthy. Kaufi i- ORPHEUM, DENVER Denver, Aug. 10. Raymond Wilbur, the golf humor- ist opPns. : Has an elaborate mlnlar ture golf setting as'the basis for one Joke, and for one trick, that, of driving half a dozen solf balls through a small hole. Either his act has been cut a^ lot for this spot or that's a lot of scenery to be pack- ing around for that little bit. The girl assistant is a great asset' She also does a fair novelty dance. Wilbur uses a bicycle rim and four light ropes for next trick, novel hoop-rolling bit ; Madeline Patrice, advertised as protege of the late Caruso, a colo- ratura soprano, started -with 'Take All of Me'; sang 'Old Man River* In a lively manner that went . Over nicely, even with an audience thiat Is fed up on river songs. She finished with a^few of the old favs. Girl has a pefsonality tiiat takes. 'Four. Golden Blondes' are Just that and plenty ilvPly. Their radio station setup, featured with the at- tempt of 'Kate Smith' to get the moon over the mountain,-Is their best, with the N. Y. stock exchange phone board scene running it a close second. Fred Sanborn, comic who says nothing, but With the aid of Judson Cole, who does a few sleight-of- hand tricks, entertains capably. Pair pulled one of the plickest stooge stunts' in a long time. Ralph Cooper and his dozen mu- sicians, together with a few other entertainers, take the crowd tem porarlly to Harlenn. Three men, dressed in Harlem fashion, do .some rapid steps. It's a good thing they went on first, for wheii Bessie Dud- ley struts her stuff, they are tame. She Is a combination novelty , and wiggle dancer, and her costume is original though brief. She's fast on her feet. 'The Mood Indigo' was the band's best number. Howard Tillotson conducts the orchestra in a manner that adds much to the enjpymient of the vaude. West Masters played an organ solo, 'Organ" Imitations.' With 'Jewel Robbery* (WB) on the screen no one noticed the show was three hours long. FOX,BROOKLYN (Contlhued froni page 29) doff pantomime without the tralne* visible. Dogs wear woodeti-aolei ehoes which' get a laugh aa thew- crop about the stage. 7hree dourn' are worked fia a miniature stage m« with a marionette clown giving the signals; something of a novelty an* a Don Juiin Ppisode with a biS laugh when the lady* hauls her sweetie ^rough the . window, and later whpi;t he makes , his exit with only otl« Uioe on and dropping'htH phorts. In spite, of this touch, ifa good stuff for the youngsters Handsomely set and the do^ work well, though they have no elaborate routines. Beth Lewis and Carlyle Bennett have a duo which Is only so-so leading to the disclosure of a huee niaricet basket with Nadine perchM on top. She goes Intp a sort of tango, and the basket lid Is lifted to show the line girls with sunflower hats. , They 5I0 a pecuUar sort of ' hopping step Instead of a dance. Rather a perfunctory number. Al Bayea and Harvey Speck offer the first comedy 'contribution, A little loose:, dancing, a>good swaying bit and some talk. One of the. high- lights Is 'President Hoover can't use this finger.' - •Why not?' . 'Becaijae 1^8 mine.' TJiey stopped laughing at that one about the time they changed from Arthur to Cleveland for the presi- dpntlal name. 'Very little laughter ■ here. ^ ' ■ • ■ Finish is a spectacular set with the girls Impersonating;- the various nationalities and. the comedians on the stage to tell Whicli is which. Alt costumes are. white and sliver in the ' Minpky style. ^One of the best sets of costumes In an F-M unit in a long time. Broken by a series of Russ. Btiepa from Lucille and Lao Verhe, who iitay up on their :toes for a difficult- routine. Then Miss Neiv' York and Mle^i Brooklyn down the stairway with the only touch of color, and: Miss Chicago last on In an all-net costume. She's a great plug for Chicago. Hai BMkett gets tl\em. singing In ' his drganlog with Fred Mack put- ting the oroh through a. comedy, number in which the men walk out, on~ htm and. he and the drummer finish off the number. That and a ' singing comedy number give him a snappy seven minutes. MANCHESTER, L. A. I^oa Angeles, A^iS. 12. ,In>. 'Foilow Thru/ Fanchoh A* Miorco^ave their third and best tab- version musical.. Work of Joe Pen« ner and Olive Olsein; comedy leads, deserves the tpp.billing they get, It, demonstrates that hook comedy^ such as this musical contains, can build up to wham proportions bet- ter than the'-vaude variety. If unit's lnltl«il showing at this house is a criterion. Running ,91 miniates, some tight- ening lip and elimination of several reprises and possibly one chorus tap. routine- - should put •Follow Thru* into a b. o. <wlnner. Handling the good material that Is theirs; Penner an^ Miss Olsen run a- cloae race, with former^ locker room' scene and latter's 1 Wanna Be Bad' i^outlne Outstanding. . Supporting cast Is capably. Bill Halllgan does secondary comedy; Helen Wright Is a smooth heroino and Madeline Sheflleld a. cute in- genue. Franklyn Famum, Dee Loretti, E<ddie Tamblyn. and Allta Duncan also okay. Georgfe. McKay, brought on from New York-to handle the batpnrconducts smoothly under not' so favorable conditions. . F&M spent lavishly to costume and furnish settings for this one. Eddie Prlnz credited with dance routines, and Colton Cronln did .the book„ direction, both under super- vision of LeRoy Prinz. Unit Should get as many, if not more, bookings! outside of the regu- lar F&M route as 'Desert Song,* first tegit version sent out. >-; - MICHIGAN Detroit Aug. IB. Stage show this week Is yes and no. With plenty of cash customers attracted by the Four Marx Bros, in 'Hcrsefeathers,' and all of them laugh hounds, this'show would be a .pushover for any act with com- edy. As a result the funny acts stop the show, while the other type lays an egg. Not much money expended on this program because the picture will draw anyway. But two acts " deliver plenty. . Art Henry with Dorothy Martin and Fritz and Jean Hubert both prove show stoppers. The Huberts have been seen here before, but Art Henry hasn't been hero since, the old Temple days. Henry has an act that is very good. The boy has a sense of production that should le^d, to' something in the miislcals some day. .Following the Htfberts, ■ with their face s'lap- ♦ ping, he takes full advantage by coming out on the stage for hla number, and in the first ten seconds getting a big laugh and hand sim- ply by socking his girl friend. Gag was a natural, with the audience fully appreciating, "Weak part of the show is the or- (Continued on page 61)