Variety (Nov 1932)

20 VARIETY FILM HOUSE REVIEWS Tit^Bday, Ndvember 29t 1932 PARAMOUNT, PARIS Parle, Nov. 15v : From the reception the new bill obtained on opening day, beating all figures for a long time, It Is a cure bet the house will do well for the next two weeks. Apart from the good name of the house with the- atregoers, show this week has the Kitchen Pirates on the stage a« cen-, ter of an excellent presentation, and the feature Is one of the best com- edies ever turned out of Jolnville. First comes the newsreel, followed by an excellent musical overture conducted by Pierre MlHot, with M. Laffra as solo 'cellist for 'Roy d'Ts." A short educational follows, show- ing water games, then an animated cartoon. Presentation follows, titled '1927- 1932,' this being the fifth anniver- sary of the opening of the theatre. This also explains the special bill. Presentation opens with the Kitchen Pirates, who do their sen- sational adagio In a nianner that, though this is a return engagemiefit for them at Paramount, gets them an ovation. Then after some yodel- ing by Mademoiselle de Marceyal, the 24 Mangan Tillerettes do their stuff. This is their last appearance at Par. They are to follow Mangan to the Rex, and will be replaced here by a. line of American steppers. Most noticeable fact In the pres- entation is that the fears enter- tained when Mangan left that his lighting, effect could not be dupli- cated without him wex-e unfoundsd, Jacques Charles put on the preser- tation, which is a happy mixture of American and French styles, and the electrical staff of the theatre .succeeded In obtaining the same delicate lighting effects tor which Paramount is l<tcally noted and which were supposed up to date to be Mangan's own secret recipe. Lighting of background with lights growing from dim to full glare pro- griesslvely is excellent. . Show ends on the feature, a Para- mount Joinville-made comedy with lyrlQs, 'The Unexpected son.' It's an Immediate hit, due to amusing etory . well told and- directed, and beautifully acted by an all-star cast Including Florelle, Femand Qravey. Baron tFUs and Satumin Fabre. McuH. , New York, Nov. 2T. With the current week the Roxy abandons even Its casual effort to exploit a name or build its shows on individual specialty people, but frankly arid trholeheartedly throws Itself "upon Frank Cambria's faculty tor staging a alghtly spectacle. Cambria comes through with everything a maker of stage pic- tures can do to. frame a'n Imposing stage show, and with. color arid the riianipulatlon of settings and masses of people succeeds in de- vlslriig a flash that Is salable. Show hasn't a name In It that would win a passing glance In a lobby frame, . and the stage pro- ceedings would- be better for some specialty standouts to give It pace and variety, but Cambria has done well with the material at his com- miand. - Presentation is In two unrelated parts. The . first is called 'Edel weiss,' which ■ means that It has a Swiss village background and the ensemble in Alpine attire, .while the Roxyettes supply the feature nurii ber In one of their precision rou- tines, garbed this ttnle In t tight fitting • getiip that makes, .this usually sedate group "stririgely provocative In -feminine curves that have been soft-pedalled until now.v A male ballet, is a new acquHsitlotl for this stage, and It is queetTpnalate if it is worth the trouble, male bal lets being a negligible quantity gen erally, outside perhaps of SJliribe.rt musicals of another ,day^ Omy ^^T-^. son to stand forth from the group- ings is Ben Doya, who does a 6emt- dance bit and a' novelty- contprtlbh interlude ■ atop a flexible . lamppost for com,edy purposes, style of ,Work suggesting tliat Ben Dova may be the former vaudeville act, Ben Doven, who gai'nied some notice few years ago for: novel acro-cori- tortioh.: Vocal group, while making a cos- tumed' background for- the stage picture, supplies agreeable . • har mony. hien doing, a yodellng bit as a feature. Val Vestoft Appears as a principal dancer, showing some sightly 'control .stepping ias his best contribution. Staging }s nicely enough dbn6, but the whole idea has somewhat the air of old-fashloried musical comedy technique as exem pllfled by the merry villager open ings of eight out of ten light operas of the early century. Second episode is. better in tspoctacle way, although heavy also on manipulation of ensembles, but with a good, dignified pictorial ef feet. It is the 'Ravel Waltz," and a program note goes into descrip* tion of the composition by Maurice Ravel; Of 'Bolero' - fame, depicting the J}Jrth of the waltz from disor gani^cd msiotcal cohibinations. ; Stage- id done in drapes with* a heavily-draped center door. Ppre part-is- l^ft.: dlmitne^ behind ;a scrim' at the stiart. i^lth side spots picking out 42p.upTes^in A..l>a,Ur(joni of the last cehtttr^,'^,e Test o^ •th0.:^friBeri^. ble. ^VQ'irie^j^$rt>^nobI>i9)cl^ts■ and.< men In hus.oar uniforms, being in semi- darknc's. Center door in red vel- vet is lighted from behind, and a striking effect aa viewed across the dark forestage. From it come more couples similarly garbed as lights come up to full and the scrim files. From th^n on It Is a formal bal- let, with the dancing girls doing toe routines and a solo dance by a new ballerina, Catherine Llttlefleld, working with Val Vestoff, latter In hussar unifonri of white. It's all heavy ballet stuff , and. pretty long drawn out for the tastes of a Broadway deluxe crowd accustomed to . slam-bang ent^rtalrinient/ but still sightly pageantjry. Overture . is 'Cleopatra,' which again is no jazz trifle. . Feature compensates for other shortcom- ings, being 'Call Her Savage' (Fox), marking Clara Bow's comeback and a knockout. Business at this Friday night perormance first rate. Bush. MASTBAUM Phila , Nov. 26. With the theatre all set to close next week, they puU a fast one and put on the best show they've had in months. Maybe. lt's the 'Something to remember me by' idea, but why didn't they do things that way be- fore closing was set. That doesn't apply merely to the talent. For the first, time, the stage show has some Idea of pace. It moves briskly and delivers the goods. The other ofiCerlngs were slow, drawn out so . thin that they were annoying, apparently with the Intent of handing the patrons a long show. They gave most of the cuis- tortiers a good long pain in the neck. This week they show, how things should be done. A short, fast offer- ing, with a time-limit on every per- former. A little more strength in picture selection, too, this week's Bill of Divorcement'. (RKO) being a step in the right directlonv Crowds on .opening day, right after Thanksglvirig, were almost capacity. They applauded at the end of the picture and that'^ something one . never heard before in this hbiiise. The show also received more applause than usual and it was wxtrtb It, Performerci announced from hid- den mike; band on stage; single set. Chilton and Thomas on first with their dance flash, the hurdle, china plates, and a great step ar- rangement. All went over with a bang, Sylvia Froos followed, using mike arrangement at centre of stage. This girl showed more personality and poise! than all the highly touted stars. Her dance pantomlne is the height of grace, and she l9 s^perb at putting over a blues song. 'Fit As a Fiddle.' 'Say It Isn't-Bo' and Harlem Moon' |>rpught Iher three- salvos of appliEtusb. Ken Murray on liext, using, plat- form over plti. .Hia act Is riotously funny. -Helen arid Milton Charles- ton work with him, the lattbr being the perfect .ptooge. . Another slim, gawkir -.dancer, Ai Ricker, also a langh getter. Murray's conducting of the ba^d brpught lots of laughs, and Miss Charleston's few dance steps were greeted the right way. ;A,; great, fast,, peppy act—and it rated three bows.. : Mills Etrothers close the show be-^ tore plain ci4rtaln, being introduced with a shbH:° mention of their radio sponsors. The excellence of these performers riever. vtu-les and they found a,n - enthusiastic reception, their choice 'of riumbera being first rate.. The. orciioBtra, headed- by Crea- Jtere, ,''glV:6 ;a inuslclanly playing of that .pld timer, 'Wflllam Tell,' and get a great -resporisel Then there's .Miitbn. Cliarles with.' a' collection of irior^ Qld-tiiperir, popular songs of Ibrig ago,, that start everyone sing Ing. The news-reel shots of th^ Hpoyer .Dam blasting work made an outstanding . Impresslen. arid the clips ended with some fast football shots. After d show like this. It's hard to write 'finis'—even for a .short while, . ' Waters. CAPITOL, N. Y. New York, Nov. 26. : Good entertainment on tap thia week at the Cap, and It may be the.ve next, If the buainess pace con> tlnues. No reason why Dressier-, Moran don't rate" a holdover, unless this Is ruled out by Paul White- man's scheduled fortnight at the Cap commencing li.ept wbek. Obvi- ously A 16,500 act Isn't required with a strong flicker such as 'Prosperity.' The support ts tres snappy. It opens with Starnes and Kbver (New Acts), a distinct novelty in adagio turns. Deuclng is Oastbn Palmer with his shpwmanly jugglery. This vet manipulator still evidences his exp^rtriess aa a showman rather than, what hb .a,ctually Shows. : His style of salesniainship liends distiric- tl.on to stuff that has been around for years, and so, long as he can persbnially continue ta creatb the same favorable impression across the foots, that's his principal asset. Sheila Barrett, whose most dis- tinguished class engagement was at the Central Park Casino—which, for all Its swank, doesn't pay off as punctually as does any circuit the- atre, incidentally—uses that as an advance bally. She has a piano aic- companiment for, her various Irii- preesions, some of which are only so-so, .arid others quite effective, but in. toto ttiey combine for a pleasing Interlude; particularly in a picture : louse where the average svelte feriime turns out to be either an- other warbler or a terp spieclaliste. Miss Barrett's.Qarbo,-John Barry- more arid Mae West might be classi- fied in the bit 'n' mjes class. Her Lahr and Zasu - Pitts, particularly the last, were miore oke. . The Tacht Club Boys next, on a special piano-platform, above the pit (in front of the foots), evidence just why they're better saloon, en- tertainers than In a theatre. Not that . the Montparnasse, where they're working, which is an open- door class nitery on Bast 62d street, is in the saloon category, but the Tachters are strictly for the cafe fleld. Their lyrics, particularly when they get 'em down into the more intimate category, which is taboo In a family theatre, go great in a bolt d'riuit; certainly much bet- ter than In a large picture bouse. Herb. WUUams was a panic with bis famlllajr but liever tiresome hoke. 'H9'even had the Lyman mu- sicians on the last -show of the operilng day laughing, which Is say- ing plenty. The .Abe Lymanltee came onto, the rostrum for theli; finale - sjEteclalty, tb« highlight of which was thblr ifamlUar 'blue^ medley, previously done at this house. The b&rid has beeri on a marathon run at the Cap- itol, - miBrely augmenting with the regulation band vocalist or, as this week, a pair of e^cpert legmanlalsts. They're, break-neck speed hoofers, reminding of the Hal LeRoy. school. That comedy'ipiianist with. Lymaii inicideritally pounds the lybrles lii the s&me limber manner as IjeRoy hoofs. ' sbmeho^' reminding of the dancer. Business lieaHhr tow 'Prosperity.* ■Altel. WARFIELD, FRISCO San Francisco,.Nov. 26. An atmospheric. Tahitiaji lobby ballyhbo packed the sidewalk fbr yards around as dancers and slrig ers went through their stuff on ( platform above the box office. But while the sidewalks -were packed, It \yas a different story inside, where opening riiat got "off to one of the smallest arid coldest- houses in some time. 'Hot Saturday* (Par) cn screen, with F&M's 'Tahiti Idea on 'Stage; In his third week. Jay Brower, conducting the 14 inusickers in the pit, got his strongest .returns yet with a pair of numbers. First, medley of classics, featured Thor stem - Jensen, vloliifT Bob Kimic trumpet, arid trombonist. Second was a hoke number, probably as screwy as anything ever done here, that landed with a, bang. Brower's building nicely here.' 'Tahiti' Idea, staged by Larry Ceballos, had little to do with Ta- hiti, : Ted Claire carried the comedy burden, handling sbmb. of. it nicely and some not so forte. Bernardo de Pace/m{^ldbliriist, wlth Celina Les cat-, got over nicely, as did Peg Leg Bates, Colored nioriOpedic hbofer, Park and Clifford, acrobats; Gus ISlmp and Princess Kippikona com- pleted the talent lineup. Bock. FOX, BROOiCLYN One of those rare things in Brook- lyn, this week,- a Fanohon.& Marco unit' that doesn't, remind pit every other 7 & M; If s called .'Buddies' and features Nina Olivette and Johnny B\)rke. Or maybe they're starred; It doesn't inake much dlf ference. No Important talent out- bide of the two names, but it's nicely vrhipped together 10 a seml-miiSic&l comedy velri and clicks well.' ' All built around Burke b,nd his standard yaude monolbg on that war business.' Bverythlng In It has been done before .ritiany times, but . it's, ariiusing enough to linger on, -and those'whose memory It jogs dori't riiind much. ' Burke is stlU In his khaki outfit, and Miss Olivette does a nurse in France.\ She's a comedienne and dancer and first rate, better than mbst of these, tabs manage to set. Burke's a funny lad in his way, de- spite the vintage bf his material; and his squeaky voice was well ap- preciated by the Brookiynltes. McCann Sisters, a' comely trio, sing a quartet of isongs with fair ef- fect, and Les £!verson does some baritoning. About four scenes, with the ef- fects pretty good and the scenery okay. For a finish there's a massed soldier ' parade . effect copied from the Folies Bergere of France of 1929. Xt's a. good thing as done .fri the original 6how.' Here, ja, bit clumsy, it doesn't quite sell itself. ' Before the show gets going,. Sam Jack Kaufman leads his pitmen .through Liszt's second 'Hungarian Rhapsody.' The boys almost made all of the notes come out in the right places, but the audience didn't know the difference and Kaufman got his long h^ nicely mussed be- fbre it .vJ-ae over, which got him suf- ficient, applause. ' ; 'TesB of the Storm Counti-y* (Fox) Is 'the 'feat0re,'.there-lu^' two shorts plus the newsreel, and biz for the .second show Saturday afternoon was satisfactory. Kauf. NEWSREELS EMBASSY Although the Luxer last weefc. covered briefly the diversion of the Colora^do river, BamfJjfSijpy. leads off. its program this week -with the un- predecented blast.- Instead of Just taking a cloud of dust arid smoke, the Fox-Hearst boys held their cam- era during a majority of the reper- cusslbns as 3,000 charges of dyna- mite were set off. • 'Following the blbw-up the cam- era crew werit Into the canyon and covered the first moves to lay the foundation of the great dam.. All the reels had Roosevelt's ar- rival in Washington. Embassy did not make as much .of the subject as- it should have, no reference to the debt declson being made in the titles. Although little along this line has been expressed in published reports, the Bmbtissy's coverage of the Mo- tion Picture Academy awards looks from the ecr^n .like a give-and- take proppsltlbn.: Louis B. Mayer no sooner gives Helen Hayes her trophy as actlrig chamjp than Wil- liam Le Baron presents Ma^yer with a token for producing the best pic- ture. It has a certain tit-for-tat tone on the screen anyhow. There is another interesting pair of slants on Manchuria. A Japa- nese 'statesman of unusual person- ality quietly states his country's case. Right after that an American correspondent discusses the. saime view, advising tiie U. S. riot to get excited. Gennany has everything from Von Gronau's return to riots and a six-day bike race-in. Berlin on the Enibassy screen. •Fats' McManus, -who has au- thbred backward hprse races, nance characterizations, prisori football games and child regattas, this week turns his vocal powers to a wrest- ling match. This one, like the others, got the houses' biggest laugh. . Both theatres. h&d the pet show. TRANSLUX Universal scooped heavily . Saturn day afternoon with the only story of the finding of Col. Bobbins either of the theatres. While U had to usift a .still of Bobbins, It got the livelier.angle of a l2-year-old 'de- tective' who showed how he led authorities to Bobbins' hideout. Of the variety of polls -which Pathe has initiated on the screen one of the best is the latest on been. It is more or less surprising to find people in the ordinary channel of life with Such a, sharp difference of opinion. . Both .houses had Acting Mayo* McKee Initiated by the Sioux In^ dians. : They missed, or were.un^ able to.get, the alleged induction of Mayor-elect O'Brien into Ave. A's tribe. On the beer issue again. Repre« sentative Britten, predicting foani in time for the holidays, reiterated , all of the old figures. Both theatres had the Tale-Har- vard game. Rain made it one of the mbst dlflncult contests of this football season to photograph. How- ever, It projected with far greater clarity on the Embassy screen, which may be due more to thd Luxer bboth and tiny screen than to Pathe's reporting skill. Tuna fishing is a familiar storyv having, been used In feature pro- ductions more often than newsreels, Pathe shows a haul in the custom* ary manner. Other Luxer clips: model locomo- tives, tricycle race, freight plane to crbss the American continent in a day, Mexico City celebration, baby plane. . WalV. . Italian king's birthday. Coney Island walking: marathon. Other Embassy clips: Grand Pi*ix steeplechase, California rodeo, Ford- ham-Oregon ; football, Armistice ceremonies in London and Parish Niagara Falls to piano accomparil-^ ment, dedication of the monument to Wright Brothers. Waljf. IMPERIAL, TORONTO Toronto, Nov. 26. ■Not much sales value on the Im- perial marquee this week, with the possible exception of-.Flo Lewis. Standard act is fairly well known here, but went over to a nice, recep- tion. Miss Lewis is still using her klddib-car material, with Leo Kar- lyn this , time Wiled. Despite the lack bf nariie-draw, the cyrrent prez. was well-paced and pleasing as a family bill, . 0*Connor Family scored on applause on opening night. This is a pair of boys who hopf ex- pertly,, with back-bhat; and face- Slapping. Mother of the family on for an old-time buck and wing, dated quality being offset by the youthful appearance of the act's veteran, ^wo tiny tots are on for .the iinaie. tiie elder for rougiiiiouse ;wltii the two comics and a young-, ater, wild can't be more ttiah three, tagging for a. tap that draws lefts through juvenile awkwardness. All are in. tropical whites ari'd sun-hel- mets, a nicely-dressed group that, apart frbm the roughhoUse bits, are well-mannered and had a nice ap- pearance. Pftsquail Brothers, sens9,tipDal gymnasts; also socked home wi^h clever <hcmd-tp-hand work, head- stai^ds and catches. Flight of steps also , used for- more diffibult bits. Nothing particularly new in ma- terial, but ' speed and verve with which- the- trip ran through their repertory 'scored heavily on ap- plause. Colorful mounting of daric«) numbers helped over the usual rou- tines. It's a full-stage set of aii Oriental temple with huge cut-out of .a golden Etuddha flanked by bronze pillars. Twelve-girl line cross-legged on pedestals in six pairs for .arm movements in the Eastern style, rear girl in the six teams vlnder cover but for the arms. Intricate effects are clever. Gaylene Sisters .trail for a con- certo contortion 'dance on separate levels. .Line is back for another number toward close, this time for double scimitar drills, . wliirliniB blades and light-changes creating another visual effect that, drew, a generous hand. Gaylene Sisters Pn, thl's time for control kicksf, and cli- maxing with challenge acrobatic flips and bends. Whole bill is nicely rounded-''and should do well bri word-of-mouth advertising. Feature is 'If I Had a Million' (Par). Jack Arthur has re- turned frorii Chicago and picks.iip the baton for the overture, a nied*, ley of popular radio favoritesi' An- nouncing is by public address isys-" tem, and pit boys have the'Pppori~ tunlty of solo step-outs. Only one who didn't get a hand was the piccolo-player. McStajf, ALHAMBRA, PARIS . Paris, Nov. 17. Alhambra, -with Kitchen Pirates^ and some old local standbys, is doing good business. Kitchen Pirates quality of work, and especially their tempo, are ace entertaining.. Show opens with a good musical overture by the pit ..prches£ra, con^ ducted by Luclen Qoldy, with a vlo-- Iln Solo by Brugger, Minor acts ars The Spurgats, Balder, Eight Black- streaks .and Qros. Major acts arei Chef alp. a conjurer; The .Walton Marionettes in a. good set cut out on front of the curtain, but so badly, lighted.that the strings are as vis- ible as the marionettes themselves;! Ninon Fallin, female operatic yodlea; dear. to Parisian hearts; also Tre-' ICl, popular conjurer; and the Ten' Bonapiann^s. athletes who do tum- bling and pyramids, culminating in one of them carrying 10 men on his shoulders. Star turit of course is the Kitchen Pirates, with-.>Peggy. Taylor and Gary Leon, and their supports. Stuart Fafrlngton. and Edward Fenn« getting individual mention in the program. The 12 Alhariibra Girls billed as presented by J. Sherman-Fisher are on and off. Not one animal act in this show. Iffl^i. ORPHEUM, MPLS. Minneapolis, Nov. 26. In these tough , depression days one probably .should .be satisfied with small favors, and it perhaps would be too much to ask or ekpect vaudeville luminaries, tb bring new &cts or material.. .We should be and are thankful for such comedy stars as Olsen and Johnson under any ^nd all circumstances, but just tiie same one cannot help experiencing disappointment to find that their current offering, billed as 'Atrocit ies of 1932, a New Bughouse Revue,' is virtually .the same conglomeration that the pair presPnted here tw^o br more times before. Olseri and Johnson undoubtedly can get away with the repetitions, but they come in the wake of num- erous lesser lights who have sinned similarly and who are In much greater ri^d of heavier audience ariiriiunition. Arid it should be kept in mind that one of the principal causes. of vaudeville's, decline has been too much repetition. To be sure, Olsen and Johnson bring a- number bf new people in their company. Their 10 line girls have been changed. They h.ave a trio of colored dancers and some juvenile entertainers, who wei-e not with them before. Several now twists are injected into bid skits, lop. And, oh yes, there's a new V,ed in pne of the two bedroom episoiles. But. the funsters', comedy business drid-llnes are essentially and in the main unaltered from two prevlcijs visits.- And in an Olsen and Jolm- •gon act It's, the clownln.? alone tl at counts. ■ The' trio of oolorod l/id.s. natttly (Continued on page 62)