Variety (Sep 1932)

VARIETY LEGITIMATE Tuesday, September 13, 1932; Distribution Troubles Financial difficulties ' besetting TSaotci-u Distributing: Corp., among ihe liireest distributors of maga- zines in the east, is endangering ;;ome 40-odd mags handled by that ■organizn tion. Creditors of the distributing or- ganization have been holding a Merles of meetings to determine what is to be done as regards con- i.lnuanto of the concern. No agree- ment o i rived at thus far; Majority of the mags handled by. Eastern are minor, depending al- :no«t wholly on sales for their sub- sistence. Most of these have r.ot ■received accounts from Eastern for month?, and if the distributing con- cern is unable to pay off the mags will have to fold. . Most recent of the distributors to go floppo was General Distributing Corp., which carried a number of mags down with it. The debacle in thai, case was not as pro- nounced as that which may happen should Eastern fold, however. Adds Novels Another outlet for the flctioneer in Greenberg, Inc., which after years as a non-fiction house has added the novel to its output.- ..Formerly issuing around 25 volumes a year, Groenb:srg has increased its list to around 40 per annum, almost half of which will be fiction. Action follows that of a number of other publishing concerns which have rather taken on Action or in- creased the number of novels is- sued. Reason is that fiction is cur- rently selling way out of propor- tion to non-fiction. Lake's Express History Btuart N. Lake, whose.best seller: of ■ - the year's, biographies,' 'Wyatt .Earp, Frontier Marshal,' established Jhlra as one of the outstanding au- thorities on. the early west, and whose several series of western . stories appearing In the 'Satevepost' ' within the last few- years elicited Interest, is working on 'a history of Wells, Fargo & Co., the pioneer. ex- press carrier of the American fron- -tier. Publication has been.'under- -taken, by Houghton Mifflin Co. of • Boston, with the date contingent -upon completion of the wide re- search, necessary. Lalce'a 'Earp' biog, which won the •distinction Of being the most ex- v -tenslvely reviewed non-fiction vol- ume of the year, is reported to have ' persuaded the Wells Fargo inter- ■eats to entrust the old flies, reports " and other material to him. The "Welle Fargo people havo made no stipulations or restrictions, And -there will be no submission of -manuscript before publication. Sev •oral magazines are negotiating for the serial rights. Economics to Bridge A new mag on bridge, sponsored by the Amateur Bridge Association, with Eugene Clifford its editor, has entered the field. Known as "Bridge Forum,' the first issue appeared on the stands last week, totaling 36 pages, and in a two-color Job. Opposition to it are 'Bridge Mag- azine' and.' Bridge World,' latter Ely Culbertsori's property. Formerly in show business with De. Foract.Phonofllm and other in- terests, Clifford lately was a finan- cial writer on New York 'Times.' Clunk Reappears H. C. Bailey's Joshua Clunk is the real hero of 'The Red Castle Mystery' which- is the Crime Club's volume .for September. Story starts with a murder which involves Clunk, on suspicion but drops to a sluggish pace for about 160 pages while the material is planted for a rousing finish in which Clunk again outsmarts Scotland Yard. Readers who demand action will find It difficult to retain interest through the middle portion, but there's action a plenty in the last 100 pages. Century's New Deal ' Century has made a deal with the "Williams and Wilklns Co, of Bal- timore, by which Century will mar- ket W-W's non-technical books. •Century publishes nothing In the - matuic-cf the volumes gotten out by the Baltimore book house. The latter, in turn, does not maintain -a salos staff. . As a starter Century takes oyer About GO titles from Williams and Wl'kink, the books to carry here -after '.he joint imprint of both houses. Not all of the Williams and "WUkins books are to be marketed by Century, however, some of the W. and W. volumes being too tech- nical for popular consumption, These Williams and Wilklns will issw as heretofore. Its deal with Willams and. Wil- klns. does not affect the Century regular lists In any way, the new series being merely an adjunct. Shows in Rehearsal 'Real Folks' (NBC), Chelsea Hotel. 'Forward March' .(Brown and Henderson), Selwyn. 'I Love You Wednesday' (Crosby Gaige), Lyric. 'He Takes Possession' (Jos. De Mil t), Vanderbllt. •The Other One' (Henry Myers), 49th Street. 'Music in the Air'. (Peggy Fears), Casino. 'The Absent Father' (Ken- salt), Rltz. 'Singapore' (John H. Mears), Hudson. v 'America naV (Shuberts), Bijou. 'Manhattan Medley' (I* Law- rence T. r eber), Longacre. 'The Good Earth' (Theatre Guild), Guild. . 'Humpty Oumpty,' 'Lilly Turner,' 'Nona,' 'The Stork Is Dead.' 'Of Thee I Sing* (road), 'Vanities,' 'The Budget' open- ing out of town this week, Guild Acquires League Jugr;iing by the Literary Guild and the Book League of America for top position among the book- of-th:-month clubs has ceased, with the acquisition by the Guild of the Book League. Thomas. L. Stlx, who founded and beaded the Book League; steps out. Stlx, who has been putting on a weekly literary radio feature under Leon ue auspices, will continue that for the time being, but without a tie-up. No other plans made by Stix. Intention of the Guild to drop the Book League of America name, add ing the League's subscribers to the Guild list. Doll's Secret A new detective, fiction mag to sen at a 'startling' price is being prer-ored by Dell, first Issue to reach the stands early in October. Chain mag publisher is closely {guarding both price and title which won't Id made known until the ttmg is actually placed on sale. Definitely asserted, however, that {the content of the publication will be detective fiction. May revive the vofc-.ie for that type of tale, most of the .detective stuff having gone 'true atovy* latterly. Carson Mowre, who edits a numr ber of the Dell mags, will hold the re'ns for this one, too. . .Chatter Ned Brown busy writing a book. Miriam Howell has joined the Lee Hayward-Bill Cowan agehoy. American Weekly, Sunday maga- zine section of the Hearst papers, has increased Its capital stock from $10,000 to $1,000,000, according to papers filed at the Secretary of State's office in Albany. Trend of the Times: W. W. Nor-, ton bringing out only one novel this fall. William Feigenbaum back from Europe. Kathleen Norrls' 'Blind Youth' gets a new title when It goes be- tween covers. Johannes Jensen once lost the Nobel Prize for Literature by one vote. : Edna Ferber back. Stanley Rinehart's dad dutifully endorses the books published by the younger Rlnehart. Nathaniel West backing Bob Brown's campaign for the return of beer. . . Beverley Nichols getting mellow via that garden book. Isabel Patterson has lent herself to that conspiracy by which a number of femme scribbling names will take a rap at the male sex In a collective worl:. Viking has discovered an unpub- lished piece by D. H. Lawrence and will place It in print soon. The Zone Grey books are second only to the Bible in number of cop- ies sold during the past 15 years. Janet Lewis, the wife of ' Ivor Winters, the poet, has written her first novel. George Novack, whose "Who's Hooey' will be published by Dutton, is the advertising man for that book house; Harper's, which acquired Harold Bell Wright recently, now has Louis Bromflcld, too. Martha Ostenso here. Francis Hill likes the Spanish sheep country. Clarence Darrow modestly refers to himself as an author ; in the preface to his 'Farmlngton.' The Archibald Henderson biog of Bernard Shaw finally got a release date. "Ving Fuller free-lancing again. Helena Grose's first novel is out called 'The Marrying Kind.' W. Adolphe Roberts is the most scholarly-looking of the scribblers Edv/ard Pickens Rappblee, author, explained that he had written under the name of Ward Carroll Pickens Robinson for years, so a Denver judge allowed him to adopt the pen identification. Hy Goldstein, doing a column for the N. Y. 'Democrat,' going to every Democratic club in the country, takes over the dramatic department of that weekly. BEST YEARS (Continued from page 75) old lady expires, and the problem of the grief-3trlcken girl is' sol/ed. Understood that in the original script the mother lived on and the girl faced a barren future. The ' ap iearance of Katherine Alexander as Cora gives 'Best Years' its best chance. A fine actress. Miss Alexander, in a part' that seemed too heroic for the middlfi-clac s at- mosphere. Hr.rvey Stephens makes a good Fred. He Is featured, too, but has not. a weighty-.part. Jean Adair is the whining Mrs. Davis, a type she plays convincingly. Thomas Findlay is excellent as the doctor. The -comedy relief is given to Mary Home as Aunt Emma, the house- hold drudge, and Thomas Reynolds, deaf widower who proposes, to wed the unlovely Emma. 'Best Years' may be a good thing as a cut-rater, but hardly in the agencies. Ibee. Man Who Reclaimed His Head Drama In three acta. Presented at the Broadburst fJept. 3 by Arthur Hammenteln and Xi. Lawrence Weber. Written by Jean Bart. Claude Raina featured. Staged by Herbert J. Biberman, Jean .Richard Barrows Feroand Oe:aoncey Bomalne CaUcader Patil Verin.. v .Claude Rains Mnctte Veri.t................Bveljm Baton Cur)y .' '.. .Carleton Young Mlral , . Janet Rathttnn Marmot ...Bnrll/ to wry Pierre.', ' ..Paul -Wilson Jack.. ........>. AUsn Nonxse Adele Verln ..............Jean Arthur Henri Berthaud.....Stuart Casey Baron de Montford,,..«.Uonel Brabant Chsncbon..• •..... • .'...'."Dennta Moore Maid...........»;......i..IiOellle Lortel Chariot ~ .......>;....Alexander Cross Maniac «,.... .Marshall Hale Maid....Kay Miller Beppo ...Edward T. Colebrook Old Lady Marie Hunt Statlonmas.ier Daniel Hamilton English onicer............v.Davia Hughes Nlchette ...Kny Miller Sleter Sophie ......Marjorie Daltqn Sister Rose... .Mo.ia Moray People attending a special per- formanca of 'The Man "Who Re claimed His Head' given the night before the premiere were positive that this rambling drama was cinch hit. But the first-nighters did not think similarly, Including the critics. Indications are for a limited engagement. The big thing about the.new play Is the acting of Claude Rains, the little Britisher, recognized as splendid actor, who never had real opportunity over here until the Jean Bart play came along. The story of the piece is not especially interesting, but the performance be comes tense under the spell of Rains* portrayal of Paul Verln. Verin is a little man, warped in body ar d made still uglier by. a grotesque nose. He is so ugly that he is fascinating, says one of the characters. But he has a brilliant mind and manages to win and wed Adele, a French peasant, blonde and beautiful.' Although they have little money, while Paul writes books about tlie new Socialist order, they are consent, and Llnette, their little daughter, completes their happiness. Play opens with Paul and the lit- tle girl calling upon a famous law- yer whom he knew in school. He carries a black bag with gruesomD contents—the head of Henri Ber thaud, the French prime minister whom he had slain. Verln tells hies story, and a revolving stage switches tho action back to Verln's modert apartment on the Boulevard Clichv in June, 1911. Berthaud, the French Deputy, is a caller. He Induces Verin to write editorials for the 'News,* a Social! t paper he had just taken over. Verin had aided Berthaud politically be - fore and takes up the work again for the money it assures. The tin e comes when Verln tells Berthav.d that he must declare for war with Germany. By sO doing the deputy will be chosen the French Premier, otherwise he would be destroyed po- litically. The plans of Paul Verin work-as he predicted. , As a French stait captain Verlti GRAUMAN'S CHINESE (Continued from P*g« **> • Silly Symphony in Technicolor, 'was the entree offering. Though house was slowly filling, the slx-mlnute uovelty got great take ;oft reception. David Broekman, new conductor here, got off to good start with his overture of the tropics. It was punchy throughout and only lasted four minutes, which-is a miracle for the two-a-day house, where the or- chestral portion generally runs 10 to 12 minutes. Mr. Grauman might do well in keeping this master in the pit, as he at least knows what a sufficiency is for an audience in his line* Unff. MICHIGAN, DETROIT Detroit, Sept 12. Anniversary show with most of the. usual hokum. Trouble is too much production. With show run- ning 63 minutes the acts will prob- ably be cut plenty. Usual for. this house to cut the acts instead of the production numbers, leaving the audience tired out. with the routines and not sufficiently entertained. With the makings of a good show, this one misses. On papet. it shou! :1 be really a anniversary gala affair, but it never arrives completely. > Mltci Mayfalr, Fred Sanborn, Sloppy Wallace and James Stevens spell en- tertainment. Show .would .Have been better with complete absence of pro- duction, and laid out in vaude fashion.- Front part of the show with Lou Forbes and orchestra in the pit,-Lee Mason singing and Merle Clark at the organ, Is easily the outstanding part. The orchestra sitting behind banquet table in the pit in two tiers and doing an appropriate , trio ot numbers,,. With the organ and overture running 20 minutes it has to be-good to get over,, and it did plenty. Forbes continues to top his previous weeks here to the extent that he is beginning to be a draw. In the stage show Mitzl Mayfalr seems much, grown up since she last played here. Seventeen years old and an ex-'Follies' star, she is dressing like a young lady and has dropped her . childish appearance and manner. She'gains by it and shows definite s. a. That will more than replace the former childish ap- peal. As for her dancing*? it ia ae phenomenal as ever. Fred 'Pansy* Sanborn has been here before and always stopped the show. Sanborn carries his own straight now instead of relying on the m. c, if any. Sanborn has a routine of hoke and smart business. He tops it With xylophone* playing that can compare with the best'mas- ters of the instrument. .James Stevens does' some foot juggling that is well thought up but. more for vaude than picture house. His top. is; balancing a prop bed on the pedal extremities. The Inevit- able reaction Is the wonderment caused of how he happened to learn a stunt like that. Sloppy Wallace, working alone as a tap dancer, surprises in that he is alone. Practically the only other colored dancer-to attempt-it single nowadays is Bill Robinson. The novelty hero makes it worth while. Dancing is of high calibre and gets over. • • Of the production numbers by Fred Evans, one is outstanding and can be embellished somewhat. It is called 'Angles.' The girls are. in a set built with angles and doing a angular dance that might almost be called a 'mechanical' routine. Well done and received. Picture, Chevalier's 'Love Me To night' (Par), with business fair. Lee. SAN JOSE overhears a group of men in a rail way station tell how Berthaud is carrying on an affair with his wife, Adole. He rushes from the front, finds the minister in his apartment and decapitates him -with a bayonet The deed is done in the dark, during an air raid. As for Adele, she had already broken with Berthaud, real- izing her error, and declaring her love for Paul alone. Back swings the stage, to the attorney's home, the counsellor dissuading Verin from committing suicide and promising to win him freedom. Rains brings to the stage what the late Lon Chaney gave to the screen. His Paul Verln is something of a nightmare, but it should lure audiences. Repulsive in appearance, the unfortunate scholar wins sym- pathy. Jean Arthur as Adele is a most attractive actress. : She has the bloom of the fields, pretty and sweet. Miss Arthur is from Hollywood, an- other of the coast's contributions to Broadway. Stuart Casey is &'hand- some fellow, well chosen as tho crafty Berthaud. There are numer- ous other people, but these three are the-Important players, and because most of the dialog is between them the play lags at tlhies. 'The Man Who Reclaimed His Head' is the first collaborative man- agerial venture of Arthur Hammer- stein and L. Lawrence Weber. It may not . make some money on Broadway, but picture rights should net a neat sum. Ibee. , " ■ Now York, sept, %* It's a gala week In Harlem's Span* r ish colony. The San Jose, only- Spanish theatre in the East, has re- opened with a completely Spanish stage and screen policy and a fairly- heavy attraction both ways, Open- ing night the little theatre was jammed and with standees for both night shows, which is quite some- thing for this .theatre, considering its various difficulties and past ex- perience. Hard to say whether the draw was the film -'Santa' or the stage show. 'Santa' is the first Mexican . made picture, based on a generally known Spanish story, and with con- siderable rep in that colony. Stage show is headed by Adolfd Otero, es- pecially Imported from Havana, and evidently a lpcal favorite. Otero, for many years, headed the Alhambra theatre in Havana. Al- hambra is what might be called a burlesque house except that it's a bit too rough eyen to bear that tag. Women can't buy their way in. For . New York, seemingly, Otero has washed his- ears. He has several members of his Alhambra theatre cast and the show is comparatively clean. . That , is, It's" no dirtier than the ordinary Minsky show and (ex- cept that there's no stripping) in pretty much the same taste—or lack of it, " ' Difference is that the Minsky au- diences sit Impatiently through the stage comedy Waiting for the girls to throw their clothes off. At the . San Jose the - audience thinks the Jokes .are the funniest ever heard and really prolong it as much as possible. Also there's a . moral thrown in toward the end. A nice, clean preachment, which makes all the audience hearts want to live better, cleaner, more useful lives. It's okay. The San Jose audiences eat it up. . '• There's a vague sort of story that, runs through the entire stage unit. The young boy is cheating with a wicked woman and papa bawls him out. So the youngster Introduces papa and the latter falls for the gal himself. Son catches him in an em- barrassing position and then .the ex- planation that papa was just trying, to show the youngster what a wick- ed woman the gal really was. All, this is. highly hoked arid at any minute the various company members break into song or dance or both, with all the dances, of ccurse, bearing a distinct rhumba flavor. Also, with no explanation or reason, the 10 chorus girls hop in and out. About a half dozen scene shiftings and the entire thing runs about 70 minutes, Otero Is quite a capable comic He is cast as the gallego, that be- ing a sort of mythical fall guy that appears in all Spanish musicals or rovues. Mtml Cal is featured with Otero and she might as well be for- gotten.' . Then .there's a lad named,. Gilberto Delfino. who* has a highly ingratiating baritone and who may be worth considering for radio use generally fav this country. Leo- . poldo Fernandez is the black faced comic (that's another ' traditional character in-Spanish musicals) and seemed to be well liked by the audi- ence. He's a holdover from last year's San Jose company and can dance, v Rosaura Andreu is a pretty little creature who handles the In- genue role. She has a pleasant lit- tle voice and a nimble pair of hips for dancing purposes. If she knows any English and can unlearn the hand-waving tricks, she ought to be able to make headway In show biz in America. Gonzales (he doesn't seem to have a front name) is the director artls- tico of the theatre, translates all the American pop tunes into Spanish for the chorus to Bing, writes, most of the dialog et cetera. He doesn't know too much about staging, but bandies the company -with sufficient purpose. Billy Maxey is the maes- t:o coreograflco, which means the dance stager, and has managed to imbue into 10 surprisingly pretty Spanish girts a notion of real rhythm and movement. As a novelty American trade can drop in and enjoy the show for a half hour or so any time. As a reg- ular thing it is a swell show for the Spanish, South American, Cuban bnd other Spanish-speaklnp resi- dents of New York, Kauf. FOX, BROOKLYN Brooklyn, Sept. 9. 'Hello Paree' Idea is the current Fanchon & Marco contribution to the Brooklynites. Rates. about average on construction and tal- tnt, but offers a number of nov- Main set shows a fanciful Pa- risian street, with tho 12 chorus girls and the stooges in Lynn Cowan's act as Frenchmen, with the exception of two of the men, who impersonate Americans. Snappy and rather noisy vocal and dance ensemble at opening, with the line girls going can-can for a routine with flouncy underskirts and rib- boned lingerie. Closes with a pa- rade of four hucksters' barrows perambulated by huge dummies. Four men make love to the girls, and are left holding the dummy torsos, while the actual girls, who are bent over into the barrowe, (Continued on page 86)