Variety (Sep 1932)

»6 VARIETY REVIEWS 20, 19*2 ORPHEUM, MPLS. (Continued from page 34) several drops are all that the com poser-pianist requires to dramatize his songs. Helene Denlzon dances superlatively, and Charlotte Murrel sings torch songs effectively. The incidents depicted are those of a gigolo (portrayed by Fleeson) who earns the scorn of his fair dancing partner, a society wedding followed by the entry of the spurned other woman, and an 'epilogue' to 'Grand Hotel,' which shows Miss Denizbn impersonating Greta Garbo and doing a dance of death when she receives the ill tidings about her sweetheart of a night. The 'Grand Hotel' bit is" the act's best bet, thanks to Miss Denizon's dancing ability. For a hot finish Fleeson takes the auditors to Har- lem; giving- him an opportunity to introduce a new song and two of the girls a chance for some mean and daring body shaking. Brltt Wood returns with practi- cally the same act he has been doing as far back as memory goes. But the delighted audience eats it up, and Wood easily stops the show. Roars of laughter and abundant ap- plause, punctuating the proceedings, are his reward. His boob comedy harmonica playing and pleasing personality are apparently always surefire. He relies on all his old stand-bys, including the old soldier bit, the rendition of *My Hero' on the harmonica and the attempted yodelling, and they still Btand him in good stead. Ideal next-to-clos- ing. ', The Beeh.ee and Rubayette troupe of Arabian acrobats and tumblers furnishes just the right snappy finish. Clad as Roman gladiators, they make a picturesque appearance and their usual whirlwind tumbling, handsprings, somersaults and bal- ancing feats, presented at cyclonic speed, hold a never-falling audience appeal. On the screen "Back Street' (Radio); a real drawing card and very well liked; Pathe News and a comedy Bhort, and Al Rudd and his orchestra In the pit. ReeSi C5>; CENTURY, BALTO. she's learned how to deliver lines. Act tied a knot in the show In next- to-closing. Opening was the Crystal skating trio, smooth and graceful. But they miss their real opportunities by a punchless close. Redistributing the routine and placing a whirlwind finish at the curtain would help matters. - .Nice, Fiorio and Lubow were dressed smartly and showed 'em how to garner laughs In a dancing comedy tiU. They ma- leuver neatly between straight hoof- ing and their knockabout clowning. Suited to the spot and earned their feed of applause at the finish. 'Tiger Shark' (FN) on the screen. Baltimore, Sept. 16. While Loew's may be piling up heavy names on their stages, both in New York and In their out-of- town spots, they have, nevertheless, kept their heads and are not over- running themselves. The bills in this house In the past three weeks and those which are carded to fol- low are more expensive and 'namey' than the presentations and units previously entrenched here. But the costs of the present shows are not out of line with the potential grosses. Business has been build- ing In response to the name bait, enough and more than enough to cover the additional outlay. It now becomes a neck-and-neck struggle between this spot and the vaudfllm indie Hippodrome. Both are spreading the costs on, and in a town like this the battle looms in importance. The way these houses are going out for big talent is ex- emplified by the remarks made by these acts when they arrive on the local stages—that they haven't been around this town for years; Whlch,- in most cases, means since the Maryla 1 dropped Its two-a-day vaude. y'ars and y'ars ago. Nan Halperln made the crack last week at the Hippodrome; this week Rae Samuels has the same thing to say at this house. Current layout marks the third in the stretch of big talent since the theatre went Into its present vaude policy at the beginning of. the sea son. it is the first without a stage band as headliner. Abe Lyman, Benny Meroft formed the artillery in the past two weeks, and after the present session will come Duke Ellington, Buddy Rogers and Jack Denny, This town has always gone for stage bands ever since Waring*s Pennsylvanians scored a long-run stay seven or eight years ago at the off-street Rivoli. The Loew's city manager, Bill Saxton, can enjoy his vacation in peace with the news that the show here currently is aces, and business isn't doing so bad■ either. The closest the show gets to band music is the Borrah Minevltch harmonica • group. Minevltch drew applause on the first show for an oversized allot- ment of encores>and bows. It ap- pears that Minevltch is not carry- ing as many mouth-blowers as be- fore, his present aggregation num berlng 10 men. Billed under Minevltch was Jack Mulhall. Admitting there are diffl- ^ cultles in a screen feature player arranging a suitable personal ap- pearance routine, at least Mulhall could have tried for a better written vehicle than this present one. Mul- hall has added a stupid encore to the turn about the wandering boy who meets his a.k. dad after many years. It's out of place and a waste of time. For a study in performance there's Rae Samuels, the acme of showmanship. Garbed in a modern gown and a gay-nineties pancake lid, Rae Samuels had 'em begging for more. And this with her stand- ard turn. The girl she's been car- rying around with her for the en- core bit is improving at each ap- ppn-a»c a . Sh°'s. a neat little hoofer with hinges in her knees. And empire; PARIS Paris, Sept. 6. Beginning of this-month saw the reopening of the Paris show sea- son, with the Empire opening the list. The house, which is now fully under Natan. management, has been renovated. Backstage considerable modifications have taken place, and a revolving stage has been built. The work Has been done by a French, company on plans made by the Natan engineers, contrary to local practice so far as importing. German apparatus. Due to Natah's. real es- tate purchases of . surrounding ground, a new backstage opening has been made, permitting animal acts and the big props to be brought backstage direct from the street. General modernization of the house and of the electric equipment has also taken place. Though the front of the house has not been changed, Natan's efficiency pervades the whole place. First bill of the season Is com- paratively ambitious, and is draw- ing business. If the house keeps on : this Rolicy, it will permit vaude actB to consider Paris a worth-while playing spot; . The usual local yodlers and entertainers have been omitted, and only brie animal act is shown, though two had been slated. After, the usual orchestra opening, show begins with The Wyplo, a sat- isfactory trapeze act. Next The Nagel Trio—one man and two boys —doing acrobatics and getting con- siderable applause. Eric and Part-, ner, eccentric dancers—also okay. Daley Trio, jugglers. Blssi and Re- mo, musical clowns, made a decided hit with their entertaining specialty. They are followed by Casa and Lehn, burlesque adagio. After which comes Boulicot and his stooge re- cordier. This is the clown working before the curtain who has for a long time been a feature at the Empire. Closing act for the first part is Falls, Reading and Boyce, dancers and acrobats, who get must applause. After intermission, Mary Lee, contortionist dancer, draws enor- mous applause. Then comes the animal act—Jose Moeser—shows two horses.- The Three Sailors, who top the bill, next, and click. After them the stage revolves just for an audience demonstration, and the Babe Egan orchestra of 10 girls play Jazz numbers. For their finale Mary Lee and other acts on the bill come in and support them, with en- cores permitting more display of the functioning of the revolving stage. Orchestra of 25 In pit had at first some difficulty of giving the acts the right tempo, but this is now adjusted. Best program shown in Paris vaude for a long while, and justify- ing resuming the old scale of $1 60 top. Maxi, DOWNTOWN, L. A. Los Angeles, Sept. 16. A sock magic act tops the bill of seven turns, and makes up for what is otherwise ordinary spot-booked vaude at this grind house. Jack Gwynne and Co. is the illusion act, and his tricks, mainly of a small production nature, are handled cleanly and with a touch of comedy. Three Society Steppers rank next with their unison tapping and after beat wings, but are handicapped by the poor impression made when the boys participate in decrepit gags previously with Charlie Leland, m.c. Jimmy and Kathleen, wire work- ers, open nicely, building to the girl's blindfold string-stepping. Ben jamin Amosh, who combines acro- batic dancing with fiddle playing, is In deuce spot, with enough novelty to hold attention. Rock and Stock, mixed singing team, are best when Miss Stock is warbling her semi-classical song cycle. Has nice wardrobe and fine set of soprano pipes. The Gwynne magic act follows, with the illusionist getting laughs by almost exposing his tricks, but giving each a nice twist at the end His goldfish stunt, best in the rou tine, should be moved back to clos ing, since it is much stronger than the present finale. Leland, who does little as m.c, Is next-to-closing, with his familiar monolog, and scoring average tit terB. Terrell and Fawcett, closing, have a strong amateur tinge as they get into their brief knockabout aero batics, and should either get some good dialog or remain silent. 'Man Called Back' (World Wide) Is the feature. Business middling second day matinee. Vaude lasted an hour. . GRAND a H, ML T» They've got a*' m*' have this veek, barging on and off at frequent Interval* and doing an exuberant job at helping keep the customer* awake. Sort of newfangled for this spot, bnt it took big with the gathering on hand for the unveiling of the new bUL Said the m.c. on Introducing himself: 'Folk* we've got a great little show for you, and we want you to applaud whenever there's anything about it you like. Now don't alt on your hands; you know, you've got something else to sit on.' With that kind of talk no show could do other than go over with a bang, and this one proved no exception. Anyway, they liked the m.c, Cliff Whlenhill, the seedy gags he fed them between the acts, his own regular routine when It came his turn on the setup and the rest of the stage fare of the afternoon In general. Along with Whlenhill and four other acts there's a two-hour screen bin comprised of the fea- tures, 'Congorilla* (Fox) and 'The Man Who Came Back* (Tiffany), 1 and a roll of news clips. Three hours and 10 minutes of entertain- ment wrapped up for two bits dur- ing the matinee and a dime extra at night; Kids on the opening show gave the balcony almost capacity. With WhlenhlU's introductory plea for generous receptivity out of the way, the Dionxo family took over the opening frame for a neat display of toe balancing} Act's bill- ing, Thelma Dionxo & Co., accords spotlight honors to the elder daughter, and It's her session all the way through. Besides that keen sense of distance and balance the girl can fling off a fast terp. Pa Dionzo also shows he's still there on the balancing hop from pinnacle, doing a rope jump that makes the feat the high point of the act. Kick- ing contest between the father and the. two daughters provides a. di- verting afterpiece for the family time spots. Whlenhill's regular turn had the next slot. No trouble for him here. They gave Me gags, most of them of tried and true variety, lots of hilarity and got a kick out of his 'Kings' Horses' broom and shovel version. Warming up Whlenhill gave them made it so much easier for Joe Mellno, who followed. In Harriet Townes Mellno has a part- ner who packs standout dancing talent plus a standout figure and personality. Much of the Melino nonsense came in for mild returns, but the bizarre getups seemed to tickle them noisily here. Winding up of the stage session was left to the Mexinoes Entertain- ers, a sextet of balalaika players grouped around a Spanish dance team. String plunkers scored strongly with their individual num- bers, but the real attraction in the act is the girl shuffler. Her sinu- ous figure and torso tossing Would click any place. Odec. MET., BROOKLYN Brooklyn, Sept. 16. No Btinting here this week; Even though 'Grand Hotel' (Metro), booked day and date with the Capi- tol in Manhattan, is on view. Fea- ture plus the news clips runs a full two hours, but that didn't stay the Loew office from booking in the usual five acts and including among them a headliner of Russ Columbo coin proportions ($4,000). Start-off makes It look easily like the record stanza for a row of moons. Mati nee had them in to capacity, and the 1 two night-time shows told of substantial holdouts. Borough's pioneer deluxer seems to be coming along nicely under the careful tutelage and nursing of the circuit's . keepers of the booking ledgers. If a a strongly grouped quartet of standard vaude turns topped off by a solid name from radio or pictures every week. Day and dating with the Capitol has also its attractive point, with the tab at the 35c level mats, and 65c, tax in- cluded, for the evening goers. Clocking of the stage retinue was kept down to an hour exactly. Show started slowly and quietly and re mained that way through the first two; acts. Paul Nolan, with simple and fancy, juggling, and Luis Zln goni giving added weight to the adage about the hand being faster than the eye, had the opening and deuce spots, - respectively. Just enough comedy about the Nolan affair to round out a smooth feper tolre of ball and silk-topper antics. Nolan's piece de resistence, flipping with the foot a saucer,. cup and lump of sugar, successively, to his head got him a well-merited spe- cial vote. of approval. It's ele mentary stuff that Zlngonl uncorks, but the personality and patter hold the attention consistently. Got generous reaction both on the ap- plause and giggles from the last evening show congregation. Cyclone pace of the June Carr turn that followed somewhat took the edge off the Mills, Kirk and Martin bughouse revel in the next to-shut slot They were all with the sprightly little tapster comic from the start, giving her the top sendoff of the evening. Mixed up with those rough-and-tumble antics of hers there's an extraordinary sense of acrobatic timing and grace, Dan Harden, her personable partner, i helps by not getting too obtrusive. ffn-nrrr*—* taction of the aUUa. Ktofcaaa Martam Ana ■* 15*1 usual unanlmooo ripple after ripple of merriment. But the impression was there that theboya were letting down on their customary pace. Bven the plump little stooge waa limited to two entries, one of these a flnle badly because,of poor timing. Hefty palm ot welcome went out to Russ Columbo on the parting of the curtains. Nicely diversified rep- ertoire shows off the Columbo larynx and the corking little instrumental combo surrounding him to all pos- sible advantages. Neat piece of routining all along, with the light- ing cues deserving, of a special note. Latter also goes for Columbo's gyrating drummer. Judging from the unspotlighted act he puts on, the lad must be an Albertlna Rosen alumnus. Odec OLYMPIA, PARIS PALACE, CHICAGO Chicago, Sept If. Standees filling the foyer to ca- pacity and spilling over onto the sidewalk answered any opening day criticism of Texas Oulnan as an attraction.' She must be credited for much of that first day turnout since the feature, Universal's 'Back Street/ although rated exceptional, had nobody more magnetic than John Boles and Irene Dunne and word-of-mouth would need a day or two to get around. Guinan did 65 minutes. Regard- less of how that fits into the run- ning schedule there being only four acts this week, the fact is Inescap- able that the undressed brigade stalls for a good 26 minutes. They start especially slow and through- out the marathon of so-so special- ties and Intermittent. interruptions for gagging purposes there are minutes and whole gobs_ of time that would never be missed. Several of Guinan's gags, notably that Wyoming wheeze about virgin wool and shepherds, can provoke more trouble than laughter in a vaudeville house to which mothers have been known to bring their daughters. At that it's a toned- down and classed-up Guinan that's on view. Her girls are, of course, gorgeous even If their routines are more elemental than elegant. In- terrupter Cook when finally getting out of the box and onto the rostrum batted out . the home run of the af- ternoon with his eccentric routine. Here the applause was uncued and uncoaxed. Couple of the other spe- cialists got over en their own steam. As an entertainment the present Guinan act is affable faking in great measure. First 20 minutes elicited comment from several payees as to its demerits. In any ordinary time allotment the Guinan turn would have goose-egged. It stayed long enough to overcome and par- tially alibi the yawns. Rest of the bill consisted of the familiar Meyakos, opening, Mildred Harris Chaplin, and Mel Klee, in that order. It was indifferent vaudeville, but capped by Guinan good box office draw. Mrs. Chaplin has two male co- adjutors and in combination they did okay.. In a rather graceful cur- tain speech she apologized for her song, stating the music had been lost and she had been improvising with a substitute and that she really could do better. She speaks up and out, and, while not overly ex- perienced -at the sort of thing she Is doing she is relaxed and poised sufficiently to render some amuse- ment to go with the name value, the' primary reason for the book- ing, Mel Klee, still, effective exponent of the dwindling horde that used to be, continues to work blackface for the same reason all his con- temporaries did. Simply because it's expected and they always did Any negroid'aspect apart from the wearing of cork is utterly absent Neither accent nor material sug- gest or require makeup. One bludgeoning assault upon Hoover's Incumbency was a gag immediately ordered out.. For the rest he was within bounds and carried off a good workaday quota of giggles. Land. CHICAGO (Continued from page 35) ly employed by B&K. Next week they will merge 'Desert Song' on the stage with 'Blonde Venus' (Par) on the screen. 'Venus' in former sea- sons would probably qualify for Mc- Vickers extension course. Trailers on the new program were particu- larly arresting using decorative framework for the advance samples and a background of exotic scenery in tints for the puffs about 'Desert Song.' Speaking of house exploitation, the loop Is draped in every conceiv- able kind of festoon, cut-out and whatnot. At present the Chicago has eight hanging pieces and one giant sidewalk portrait leaning against a lamp post. Across the street the State-Lake is aflame with exploitation that becomes luminous. Roosevelt, Oriental, McVlckers and Palace all have their fronts thick with big-lettered memoranda that drip from marquees like icicles, i Land. . Parle, Sept ». Olympla show this week; which Is; the beginning of the Natae regime, has a Paul Oscard production oh the stage, and this shows a consid- erable improvement on previous, Olympla presentations. However.' Olympla presentations still run well over 20 minutes, and could be made more snappy and remain as effective by being cut nearly half. Local audiences are beginning to appre- ciate a fast show. Business at the Olympla Is improving. Show opens with a newsreel with clips of mixed origin, during which Is shown a trailer of a soon-to-be- released production titled 'Epavea Vivahts," which is the French dubbed version by Jack Forrester of the English sunk submarine pro-, ductlon. Due to the recent loss of a French submarine, the French government had requested the film to be held some time before release. After the newsreel comes the or- chestra with 'Roses in PIcardy.* Orchestra,. under George Bailly, is very good in the concert, but during the stage presentation tempo of the orchestra Is sometimes irking to acts, as is frequently the case with local orchestras. Then comes the stage presentation by PauL Oscard, titled 'Marlonnettea de Jazz.' Star of the show is Georgle Hayes, who is thus reopening in Paris, and does her usual toe lap and stair tricks with great success. Girl is likely to; switch soon Into revue, thus per-* mitting her to avoid the over-, exertion of five a day. The other, act in the presentation, Is the Andree adagio and fancy dancing trio, much appreciated here, and next booked for England. The Mersey girls, previous to their Italian trip, are vacationing in Eng- land, after having done the line at the Olympla for several months. They have been replaced by a line of 16 Olymplettes, who are satisfac- torily ; broken into teamwork. Drapes have been substituted by Paul Oscard for the former painted scenery, and also use of lighting shows modern ideas. Presentation clicks with the audience. After this comes the feature, 'Ma Femme—Homme d'Affaire.' Maxi. . FOX, BROOKLYN Brooklyn, Sept. 10. Rerl, who starred in Murnau'a 'Tabu' and was brought to the States by the late Florenz Zlegfeld, only to go more or less floppo in the big production, heads the 'Tahiti' Idea current at the Fox, and on the strength of her billing is bringing them into the theatre for a look. There is plenty to see. Rerl has a beautiful body, a smooth hip movement, a mercifully minute voice and a nice smile, but she lacks the ability to project her per- sonality. She is unable to build up with the tricks of showmanship on her physical advantages, .though given every opportunity by the Fan- chon & Marco stagers. Departing from custom the open- ing is in one showing native huts from which emerge 12 line girls as male warriors with shields In red and green flitter which are manipu- lated for nice effects. The girls are dressed in brown lace full length tights, with cloth masks to avoid the necessity for making up. Do a tribal dance to good effect and give way to a comedian who announces himself as a missionary come to civilize the place. That's as far as the plot ever gets. He has an interlude with Gus Elmore,, whose, chief contribution is a tail which - wags. Cleverly manipulated for laughs, but only good 6nce. " Displaced by Benardo de Pace, mandollnist, who works in a French Clown make up for some good pan- tomime with Celine Lescar, who does a little singing, a little danc- ing and plays a freak stringed in- strument. Act has good points, but lacks a sock. Drop flies to show a massive altar before a volcano, with the girls seated for a dance evidently staged by Rerl. Only accompaniment is a. couple of large torn toms beaten in savage rhythm. Effective, Reri enters in a litter in the form of a silver shell and accompanies her- self in a song on a stringed freak. From there she goes into a dance which .is nicely done, though ap- parently under wraps for a family audience. Almost any line girl In a burley show can cooch as well, the difference being the utter ab- sence of effort in Rerl's work, and her graceful waving of her hands, which even her own support Is un- able to. copy. She sits on the altar steps while Lane and Bellit do some hand to hand work clad only in trunks and brown paint. Both are finely formed and the understander has a remarkable physique. The ptay of" his muscles is quite as interest- ing to watch as the tricks them- selves, though the latter are not to be slighted. Make up Is spoiled by the use of pink and white for the faces with brown for the rest of the body. Should have been uniformly brown. Act suffers from the fact they are following another top notch push-and-pull pair on last week's bill. Lift and luggers (Continued on page 54)