Variety (Jan 1933)

Tuesday, January 31, 1933 VAUDE HOUSE REVHEWS VARIETY i<m Asm BABE DIDRIKSON With Georae LIbby 16 Mins.; One and Full Palace, Chicago the first show Friday On the Olympic athlete star had no act. This deficiency George Llbby was flfaruggllne bravely to overcome. He suffered the fate of the average oerformer who in throwing lines to others or attempting to ad Ub over awkward interludes often Is blamed for causing the very conditions that be or she is trying to cover up. It was admittedly a poor vehicle for the versatile lady flash. Out of 16 minutes or so at least half was Btalllng. It would not be fair criti- cism after what was really only a break-in performance preceded by little or no rehearsing to dwell In detail on what was wrong. Ob- viously on the second show at least 60% of the errors probably were correcte^. They were that obvious. It Is not meant as a reflection on George Llbby to say that there was too much of his own Individual an- tics at the start. While undoubt- edly intended to bring some pep and'animation to the turn, it was somewhat Inappropriate as it tended to throw Miss Dldrlkson into the background, and she needed bring- ing out, not playing down. Libby's function naturally is to sell her to the audience, and he seems capable of doing that in a businesslike man- ner after he has a reasonable time to get his bearings. He met Miss Dldrlkson In Detroit three days be- fore the Palace 'cold' break-In. Miss Dldrlkson in full takes a few hurdles and performs a couple of high Jumps. Space limitations make it tough to show oflt her prow- ess.. She also walloped out a few golf balls (cotton), and the athletic side of the act Is obviously where there Is room for improvement. A surprise and capable of better handling was Babe's rendering of a torch song, quite good, and later a solo on the harmonica, also better than expected. She is at all times poised and easy, and even the first show failed to perturb her compo- sure. Her natural grace of carriage combined with the baptism in pub- licity she has already received since skyrocketing to fame via the Olym- piad has seasoned her in public de- portment. She can be heard when she speaks. What is more to the point in a case like this is that business started off excellently on a rainy Friday opening with a sizable hold- out in the lobby. Its her box-ofllce magnetism that RKO will be most Interested in. If she can, as seems likely, handle herself easily on the platform it's that much better. Land. VERA 8CHWARZ (1) Songs 7 Mint.; One Palace. N. Y. Vera Schwarz Is the Martin Beck Importee from the Berlin and Vienna staats-opers who came over expressly for the Radio City Music Hall, and after the initial fortnight of the variety policy was farmed out into the other RICO and NBC stage and radio aflJllatcs. The air thing hasn't happened as yet, and may not. Her current Palace week is in line with the compromise of her stage contract, although she's doing four and five frolics instead of the two-a-day as at the Music Hall. This probably accounts for Miss Schwarz keeping it down to two numbers, both In German, stopping the show for an extra bend, al- though she could have taken an en- corce. Backstage and personal wis- dom prevailed, and 'Blue Danube Waltz' and 'My Hero' sufllced as her two straight singing entries in the trey spot. As an act It's a one-to-flll. Her personality alone and the foreign aura, further fortified by a prelim- inary Intro by Chic York of York and King, made her quite accept- able, although there are any num- ber of Teutonic sopranos from the Yorkvllle schnitzelbank eateries who could qualify almost as well. Miss Schwarz's vocal accomplishments are something not to be flippantly dismissed, but for the average catch-as-catch-can fan, patronizing a combo house like the Palacer the difference in the vocal niceties be- tween the importee's efforts and any local Teuton really isn't enough to make so much of. Certainly for ordinary vaudc ap- peal it didn't warrant Bpcclflc im- portation such as in Mme. Schwarz's Instance. It .parallels the Music Hall's borrowing from the Tuskegee Institute of a colored choir when there are several almost as compe- tent a collection of choral ensembles more economically recruited In Har- lem. For a mugg audience that takes its singing straight off tho ether, the Schwarz bookings at the Palarc and Mary Garden's once-over-licrhtly at the Capitol, further up Bron-l "■■ly- have their parallellngs. Abel. 'EASY ACES' With Pierre Andre, Truman Brad- ley, Mary Hunter Comedy 12 Mins.; Full (Special) Chicago, Chicago Goodman Ace, former Kansas City newspaper columnist, and his wife, Jane Ace, have been on the air over a Columbia network for two years, achieving a popularity and follow- ing sufficient to make them worth $2,500 net to Balaban & Katz for their first stage apofarance. B&K pays their cast of three assistants additionally. Ace framed his own turn, which B&K built. This Is a replica of a broadcasting studio with the audi ence looking through what purports to be the glass curtain that always separates audiences and performers In a radio studio. Pierre Andre, who announces tho Lavorla program over the air, sits at a desk near the tormentor and comments on the program. He has a switch for turning on and oft a :'ed light. When the light is on, the audience may hear the Aces within the in closure. Wlien not lighted. Aces and their bridge opponents, Truman Bradley and Mary Hunter^ may be seen but cannot be heard. . Idea behind this method of pro- cedure is to glv. the public an ac tual picture of the mechanical pres entation of a radio program. In this. Ace has beei successful In cre- ating a likeness In point of authen- ticity that is certain to interest the great bulk of the public. A profes slonal observer would suggest that there was a bit too much engineer- ing and not enough cross-flre from the Aces. But this may not be speaking for the public's own trend of Interest. Ace's wit and his wife's dumb ness are, of course, the basis for their radio popularity. It would be condescending at this late date In their careers to call the Aces ama- teurs. That statement should carrj past tense. Radio has made then professionals, and their deportment at the Chicago theatre was thor oughly poised throughout. Cross flre got laugh after laugh, but took only about one-third the running time. Jane Ace, who plays bridge for her own 'amazement,' thinks hubby should take 'bichloride' for his in- digestion, and believes that to in troduce signals would be 'adominal.' Patter is of this calibre and dellv ered with their characteristic dry- ness of expression. Mrs. Ace handles the punch lines with a natural sense of timing. Ace vocally suggests the restrained ex- asperation of a punch-drunk spouse^ Mrs. Ace, smartly dressed, presented a trim and attractive figure when appearing in 'one' for a gagging bit with Ed Liowry. Therein she Is also the modern comedienne, nonchalant and ultra. Act .got over excellently. Plerrie Andre delivered his portion of the talk with clear diction and easy In gratlatlon. Bradley and Miss Hun ter did nicely. Land. NICK LONG, Jr. (2) Dance, Pianolog 15 Mins.; Two Palace, N. Y. Nick Long, Jr., has been In and out of musicals and vaude, this time ably aided by Betty Keane In some eye-fllling snakehlpsery and Billy Relnhardt at the piano. Running 15 minutes now, if cut to 11 or 12 it should be a cinch to snap up into right, bright and tight vaude. Or maybe Long regards vaude, such as It is today, as Just a stopgap. The act has lots of entertainment ability, and particularly snappy on the stepping, which Is the mainstay .of the routine and the bulwark of the talent. Long, a personable lad is In one of those begoggled eccen trie collegiate getups, opening slowly with some satire on the pop ular ad slogans. It's a bit aimless and doesn't quite ring the bell. Enter Miss Keane in silver-span gled abbreviated costume showing off her underpinnings generously and to good advantage for one of those dance-lessons-from-the-prop book routines. Later on she con tributes some snakehlpsing and other hoofolgy. The punch top-off Is Long's col lection of famous old dancing shoes, which he dons In turn for Impres sions of his dancing favorites such as the late Jack Donahue and the very modern Hal LeRoy with his own dancing style. In midriff of the PaLioe'.*? seve act.s, this combo was one of the bright spots. Abel. Meyers Bros. Agency Walter and Edwin Meyers have reunited as an agency. Eddie Meyers still has his Loew franchise. PALACE, N. Y. Biggest novelty of the current Palace show was the opening mat's SRO at 75c and 86c. 'Animal King- dom' feature rates the credit for the draft, but the seven acts are decidedly contributory, holding two substantial names in Leon Errol and York and King. Vera Schwarz (New Acts), working off her Radio City Music Hall importation time, is sub-featured. Show is bullish on hoofology, starting from scratch with Mae Wynn's Foursome and Zella, as the former Mae Wynn and Buddy act Is now amplified. All sorts of leg- mania. Including steps and taps. Running a bit long for straight dancing with 16 minutes. Fields, Smith and Fields with their self-inflicted corporal punish- ment idea of comedy work hard, and while impressing they just miss somehow. Reminding too much -of too many other threesomes, they do the best snatches of several acts, and well. The posterior assault and battery Is perhaps their own Idea. Throughout their 10 minutes of slapping and socko they work al most without interruption, certainly not boring In their No. 2 groove. Vera Schwai'z wisely held down to two numbers, and as a result stopped the show for an extra bend. Leon Errol's vertigo stew comedy stuff went the full distance, aided not a little by that good straight as the butler. It's the crockery rou tine out of 'Louie the 14th,' clock Ing a flock of laffs In its 16 minutes' running time. Nick Long, Jr. (New Acts) likewise held a mess of step ping, followed by the extra leg- mania now included in York and King's nifty clowning. With Coly Worth, Bdlth Drake and Herbert Kingsley doing more and more. Chic York and Rosle King are likewise adding right along, and getting more and more on the new business. There's too much of the nance stuff by the buck-and-wing specialist, who, incidentally, might show up better in the dinner Jacket if he switched to patent leathers In stead of retaining the comfortable but relatively shabby soft shoes af ter his specialty is through and he has bowed off. Realtor, an equilibrist on roller skates, with a label that sounds like what the Rotary clubmen like to call real estate agents, closed. His illuminated pedestal rollers add to the balancing presentation. For the extre frolic on the week- ends the shorts are out, merely al- ternating the vaude with Harding- Howard 'Animal Kingdom' feature The picture along with Miss Schwarz are Radio City heritages, The heavy biz on Saturday, along with the fancy takings at the pop priced emporiums on 6th and 7th avenues, besides striking optimistic keynotes, is also indicative of some- thing in the pop admish emporiums. Seemingly they'll turn out if the price is right. If the ratio between the overhead and the reduced grosses Is equalized it augers for a decidedly more stable theatre <itm- dltlon. Abel the latter off to a perfect start, al- most made up for what had pre- ceded. The Havels have been wading through their talk-and-song routine with the two girl assistants and a character straight since the Phillies won their last pennant, but some- how they manage to keep it enter- taining. It's probably because they give the Illusion that it's fun for them, too. Peter Higgins, No. 4, whose Irish tenoring never misses, kept the rec- ord clean here. Vaude can thank somebody or something for still having Higgins without radio flnd- Ing out about It, although how the ether ' as passed him up is a mys- tery. Stuart and Lash eased in on their breezy comedy and song fln- ish to set up the pins for Rogers. Business not bad early Saturday and building. Bige. STATE, N. Y. Preponderance of men is the only big flaw this week. Otherwise the State six-acter has considerable quality, probably enough to over come the overdose of masculinity The boys have it four to one, while of the few girls the only one rating billing is Jane McKenna, who shares It with her partner. Charles 'Buddy' Rogers is the stage head liner and Edward G. Robinson tops the scrcwn In 'Silver Dollar' (WB) Rogers Is back after a brief Hol- lywood return in an act (New Acts) that's new for him in routine but familiar In content. His display of versatility on the musical instru ments, in which showmanship covers up the deflclencies, set the film juve in solid with the State crowd and gave the bill a wallop at the far end. Also new Is the opener, Great Gretonas, four men and a woman in a novelty tight rope workout that's remindful of the Wallendas. Neither the spot nor the theatre is new for Joe and Jane McKenna who deuced It for usual results, which still aren't what they should be. This nice-looking couple, espe daily tlie girl, who is an exceptional knockabout clown, could do so much better. By way of slight Im provemcnt at least the boy should refrain from kicking the girl as often as he does, and do It only when the time Is ripe. He's now giving her the Florshelms so often It stop.q being funny before the turn Is half over. There's much wasting of difncult falls, because as done they don't look as tough as they really are. Stuart and Lash, who have their own next-to-closing spot, make preliminary appearance ahead of tho Xo. 3 act, Arthur and Morto Havel, for a bit of m.c'Ing, and not funny enough to excuse the Inter ruption. They continue m.c'Ing for the rest of the show, up to and af ter their own Interlude, and improv a.s th" hill progresses. Harry L.Tsh' £ag introduction of Rogers, shoving HIPPODROME, N. Y. Outside of an easel frame in the lobby the Hipp players have no more names than the old one-reel Blograph players. Not for the same reason, though. Bio was afraid the players. If known, would ask for more money. Hipp acts know bet- ter than that. There ain't no more. Hipp Isn't selling names. It doesn't even take the trouble to list what it haa on more than the single frame. No annunciator cards and no verbal announcement. It's Just acts in a 40-50-minute show, and you can't expect to be introduced personally and get chummy for two bits—kids a thin dime at all times. If you don't like that, go up to Radio City. They haven't any pro- grams, either, and they don't even list all the acts on one card. Seems to be a profltable policy, for the business is building. Satur- day afternoon at half past three the lower floor was filled from wall to wall with a quarter of the first bal- cony taken. At five the balcony was half full. Even the side boxes were occupied downstairs. No extra charge If you're mugg enough to want to sit in those boxes. It's a quarter admission and you can sit anywhere but on the stage. With three complete changes a week and maybe with some 4|C the customers having enough money to come twice. Show this week is announced as 40 minutes and runs 49. Opens with Willie Creager and his nine-piece band in a four-minute overture, and then an unannounced woman with a strident voloe who sings a bit while two boys and three girls cross the stage. She's off and the kids come back for a tap routine. Apparently It's a booked act split up to spread It around. Man and woman next, possibly the Novelty Duo, in adagio lifts without the dancing. Differs from the usual push-and-pull turn with some really good stuff. For an encore the man uses the fairly hefty girl for a dumb bell, putting her up about 15 times, which is no light ex erclse considering the four-a-day. Act Is nicely dressed and smooth working and can do four hard min- utes as opener on almost any bill. Line girls on next and 11 of them In Chinese costume because the back drop has a string of Chinese lanterns and Is red. Not much, but It doesn't last very long. Man Long Trio, three Chinese boys, hold the distance record with a 14-minute turn, but there'p nothing In it to sap their strength. A little singing, some dancing, a trio of string in struments dressed to look Oriental, and that Cantonese novelty, the mu slcal saw. Noisy and not so hot, but they mopped here. Opening act gets back to do the rest of Its turn splitting Into three girls who do challenge taps, two boys with some good acrobatic dancing, and the woman fronter who sings a.gain. If you listen carefully you can spot it as 'Fit as a Fiddle.' Then Wynn and Henvin, 'neat' man comedian and a girl Inter ruptor. At first the man seems to be excess baggage, but once when the girl Is off changing costumes he breaks Into an aero dance that has some tricks in it and establishes his right to be In the act. One gag Is neatly done, a half turn to one hand and a hop on that hand to a second spot tefore going completely over, Not a very wise audience here, but they spotted that one as different Girl Is nol.sy but good humored and suits the family trade. Does three changes in a 12-mlnute turn. Line girls back In neater cos- tumes, long skirts, but only 10 now Maybe there were only 10 of those dresses in the costumer's stock, but anyhow they took a 10% cut and left one girl out. P.est of show on for one whoop and the travelers close in. Nothing much to brag about, bu the pay patrons get 'The Crooked Circle" (World Wide), the ncw.srcel and four other shorts, and tliey can't—and don't—expect Eddie Can- tor for chicken feed. And if the new receivers for the big operators ever lamp the size of tho crowd, realize thiit the feature wa.s relea.sed last October and is backed up by four pi-artlcally aiionymous act.«i, tho whole S'luare section may gi> on the cheap. Chic. Finsbury Park Empire (London) London, Jan. 17. This is .a Moss Empires house, iine of the tluoe the circuit has in Lon- don suburbia; others aro t>tratford and New Cross Empires. AViili Gaumont-British taking over the circuit, house is under diroci .'super- vision of George Black, l)ut po far not evident. Orchestra still nt log- gerheads with the acts, a.<! of joro. Lighting arrangements lack bri.nlit- ness, but distinct improvement in stage settings is visible. Novelty here Is four American acts, rarely found on any one bill outside the West End, headed by the Hilton Twins, now billed as 'Britain's Siamese Twins,' with the aunt-announcer, Margaret Moore, stating girls were born In Brighton and left when three years old. Hil- tons are here on a six weeks' book- ing at $300 per, with General Thea- tres having paid their transportation (five people), something new in a G. T. booking. Act pl.nyed Leeds last week, and grossed the best money since Grade Fields. Hiltons consume about l.") min- utes, during which they give a Duncan Sisters' Impression, dance with Danny Allen and Vic Lynn, who also act as reporters, inter- viewing the twins for comedy. Act sustains Interest throughout, and, given good publicity, is a cinch here, especially for the provinces. Pub- licity here seemed to be lacking, and refiected on the house, which was about 60% capacity. Flu epidemic might have had something to do with it. Girls were asked to double at tho Palladium but refused, claim- ing It was too hard work. Supporting are Rellly and Com- fort, doubling from the Palladium, who came on to a reception and finally knotted up the proceedings. Team, as mentioned on their debut here. Is one of the best singing acta sent from America in some time. Helen Page and Leon Kimberly, formerly billed as Kimberly and Page, have new offering in 'A Good Girl,' retaining some of the best bits in their former vehicles. Act is classy, with Helen as funny as ever. Team Is Just as much of a standard team in England as in America. Eight Black Streaks of Dance, five men and three women colored act, recruited here, have fast dance ve- hicle, but lack finesse of American colored teams. Billy Russell, in comedy get up, of the British worklngman type, haa been around for years, seldom fall- ing to score. Here he nearly got the bird' from some roughneck, but finally overcame the difficulty, Joe Porter, provincial revue comedian, and company of four, in a rough- and-tumble vehicle, 'The Burglars,' got by nicely. Lily Moore, hefty singer with sense of comedy, has dug plenty in "Madison's, but audience liked them. Robert Bemand's performing pig- eons and the Two Burleys open and close, respectively. VARIETY, PITTS'BG Pittsburgh, Jan. 26. Of the three vaude layouts so far lined up for this site, current one is the most economical and at the same time the best. Starting outaa a 10-act proposition, with the whole thing necessarily small time due to house's cheap set-up. Variety has seen the evils and is gradually cor- recting them. Management is now going out and spending a little more dough on the stage, as a result cut- ting the number of acts In half and getting somewhere. This Is still far from being the typo of top-notch presentation Pittsburgh used to get In the hey- dey days, but it's fair enough con- sidering tho times, the low scale here, and the additional fact that the Variety hasn't any competition at all in the vaudfllm field. Trade has been picking up gradually and looks like it will make a go of it. That's music to George Jaffe's ears, for house, playing two-a-day bur- lesque, cost him a pretty pile of coin during the last couple of sea- sons. Headllner this week Is Ada Brown, who calls herself the Queen of Southern Syncopation, and she makes the show. Songstre.'is came on here a week ago from Toronto for Variety club's (no connection with theatre) benefit show for Catherine Variety Sheridan and. with a week on her hands, decided to take the local date. It was a last-minute booking and house didn't even have time to get up any billing on her. Next to closing, it's a cinch for the buxom colored mi.s.s. and she picks up the show and walks away with it h.nnds down. Nat N.izzaro, Jr., contlnin^n &a m.c, and although Variety 1= railing itself a vaude house, Nazzaro'a an- nouncements, his presence and nLso the presence of a chorus of 12 girls, worked in on production numbers, gives the whole thing more of a presentation fl.-ivor.- Na/.zaro works nicely and unobtru.^ivoly. plenty of oxperlen<-e In this line hohlnd him, and hi.*! solo number, a drunk dance,- while performed around here sev- eral times before, l.s still first rate and should do much with these (Continued on page 46)