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Ttiea^ji February 21> 193S VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY N T. a PARADISE REVUE 64 Min>.; Full (6p«cial) M«t, BropWyn NllB T, Granlimd a couple tUnea mentioned on this engasement Fri- day night that 'show will b«.oyer. Ash WedneBday.' So fax as N.T.G. Is personally oohcernedfl he'd prob- ably jUBt BB Bdon Keep on until then. He must love the exercise and fig- ures It a good Idea to give his peo- Die something to do. Hie new revue Is from the Paradise restaurant, which Granlund recently opened op ■Broadw«ty4 It Includea" considerable good talent anif plenty of looks, but as pl&yed out here It ran'64 mlns. WhlW Ni*r.Q. Is eveir willing to give 'em all they. Want and more, he at the same time dulls the edge of his show. .when, on a stage l?x Incjp- slon of too muoh,.that. wouldn't be missed. (Jranlund himself, with the aid of Milton Berle, who is on same show out here and mixes Into the Para- dise revue at every opportunity, talks too much between numbers. He's there* again with his rattles and a long flow of gab, same as on hla Paradise floor, but In the night clubs Granlund seems to move his shorr faster and . more, effectively than In vaude. At 64 minutes, he could be the whole vaude. bill without the neces- elty of ffljir other acts on show, if It w£is m.erely a matter of running tln;o. Soecialty people are on the stage at tables, with some of 'em getting to look tired before their turn ar- xivBB —as at an audition. Sock of revue Is the Five Maxellos, rlsley acrobats with a very slick routine. An adagio group, George Andre Quartet, closes up the revue. Ahead of these two acts, both registering strongly, It hs^s been a succession of singles and doubles, mostly for- mer and many of them alike. Standing out are a sister team In a rhythm routine that's very good, and Harry Roye and BilHe Maye, also In a dance number. . Couple of girls who walk out for an eye-treat, including Miss Amer- ica of 1931 (Lee Patterson), are brought out early in the proceed- ings. A toe ballet Is effective, even if the soloist took a long look at Harriet Hoctor. Gypsy double and a couple cooch singles., also figure, but not impressive. Char. BOB HARING'S OR'CH. Musfc, Singing 18 Mina.; Full Academyi N. Y. Nice Instrumentation with three Tlolins, fouc saxes, guitar, percus- sion, trumpet, double bass and piano. Occasionally the trumpet gets too strident and overbalances, but in general a smooth tone and good rhythm. Leader has a natu- rally genial personality and does not spoil this by trying to oversell himself. Directs from a corner of the stage out of the limelight, com- ing In only for the announcements. It helps him. Several men from the band do bits, and there's a girl with a Ruth Sttlng imitation that's an Imitation, but not a copy, and another who stands on her own feet. Both have pleasant voices, but not outstanding. Best number was a river medley nicely worked out, but all of the In- strumental work got over. Chic. LAWRENCE GRAY Singing 8 Mins.; One Met, Brooklyn Lawrence Gray, from pictures and the musical stage, comes to vaude equipped with a nice, person- ality and a voice to go along with it. He may not rate much as a b.o. draw despite his fllm and musical backsrround, but as an act shapes as okay. Gray opens with 'It's Within Your Power,' displaying a pretty good voice, and follows with 'Isn't It Ro- mantic?' and medley of numbers from films and shows In which he's appeared. Carries a male pianist, Benny Martini, but no solos. Did very nicely out here Friday night. Char. BRYANT, RAINS and YOUNG Dance Flash 12 Mine.; Full (Special) Orpheum Classy little dance flash, modestly produced and staged, but nicely routined and entertaining. Fills de- mand of most any house. Trio of Bryant, Rains and Young consists of a man and two women, a reverse on the usual trio dance setup. They open In a prettily rou- tined waltz number and close in an adagio, with man Impressing as a very able handler. Work of trio is not sensational, with adagio par- ticularly offering nothing that gets 'em gasping for breath, but bring.') out grace and novelty that cinches a hand. An acrobatic Janoer is carried for ! center of act. She goes for hand- eprlngs mostly, but okay. Tailed flve-act bill here and . well liked Saturday afternoon. Char. HOWARD MARSH and Co. (26) Musio and Song 17 Min*,; Full Albea, Bklyn In bringing 26 people besides him- self Into vaude for the purpose of finding enough time to pay off the Investment, Howard Marsh, from the operetta stage, rates aa an op- timist. Hd has rounded up a novel and potentially excellent company, but'where is he going with it? The act carries a 16-plece banfd, lOrplece male singing chorus and a girl dancer, in addition to Marsh, who doubles a/s the vocal leader and baton. Thayer, when the regular con- diictoV is r'e;4ti.ng..' Tuni' Is' brea«llng in cold at the Albee this week. At the first per- formance 4t xva.B held 'doWh to 17 minutes, and won't need to cut the running time by more than a couple of minutes. Respottlng of the as- sorted sizes In the male chorus, i.nd elimination of a meaningless talking bit between Marsh and the girl, seemed the only desirable changes of importance. Marsh Is still the 'Student Prince, dressed In the Old Heidelberg unl- fonh most of the way. Stein songs and the like form the bulk of the turn, Interspersed with some pop music attempts by the orchestra. Marsh switches to the Mississippi river gambler outfit of purple coat and grey topper for the finale, sing ing excerpts from 'Show Boat,' this leading to an 'Ol' Man River' finale by himself and the male chorus. Group vocal numbers are Impres slve and will be more so when the act has had some wdtk. There are plenty of people on the stage at one time for a vaude act, and that counts as much as anything else. But that also calls for money. Bige. PAULA STONE and Co. (3) Skit 13 Mins.; One and Two (Special) Orpheum Three-people skit In which the dancing, stands out, but singing and talk falls down. . In its present shape small-time. Act opens in two with man as a state trooper engag- ing first In some talk with third party. Finally girl rolls on In a car for talk sequence around ticket. No laughs. To permit changes. Miss Stone, *a daughter of Fred Stone, goes to one for a song and dance. She's light on the vocal equipment, but gets over okay In a buck number. Back to two, her opp, now In eve- ning clothes, following some talk with pianist, goes Into a song and dance. Again the singing end proves weak, the dancing better. Finish drawn up with Miss Stone Joining for a dance double and act drop down light whc.r caught here Saturday afternoon. Most needed is a material writer if act Is to get anywhere. Third on five-act bill up here. Char. STATE, N. Y. It's audition week at Loew's State. Maybe not oflRcially, but CBS Is using the State rostrum, through the medium of Freddie Rich's or- chestra, as a parade of its bullder- upperlng air people for a stage once-over-llghtly. As a result. Rich's band act aa an individual entity suffers through eclipsing, as the succession of specialists, in- cluding Gertrude Niesen, Tito Gulzar, Helen Nugent and the Four Clubmen, tend to minimize Rich's Own Impression greatly. Quite obviously the CBS-Loew hookup on this booking was not-to pay Rich as the headllner as much as the opportunities for the lesser CBS talent that' went along with it. Actually, Miss Niesen and Guizar, with their specialties, plus their better-known radio reps, were the clickers. Miss Nugent and the quartet wei-e so-so. Coming on early, with their unimpressive spe- cialties, they didn't help Rich along either. Rich proves something about good air bands meaning nothing onstage, and vice versa, as is currently be- ing evidenced by a crack stage band falling to register on the air. For one thing he is too muelcianly and plays pieces that may be the mu- sikcrs' delight but don't invigorate the mugg fans. His opening num- ber Is bad, and the Four Clubmen's amateurish style of quartet harmon- izlnpr, with one of the clubbers do- ing the conducting with his hands In very obvious manner, further slows it down. Dice behind the mike, but not In audience view. Same for Helen Xugonf's 'Street of Dreams.' Tito Guizar'.s Argcniinc opener and pop sequel were almost show- stoppers, and he had to beg for his release. Miss Nicscn's 'Night and Day' and the two enrore Lupe Velez impres.sions plus a little extra fol- de-rol are plenty oke to ijo it alone as a single. It's part of her air routine.. Rich Is In formal tails and his men in tuxes. Another radio act. Aunt Jemima (Tesa Garden), is sub-featured. She's also CBS but not CBS-pre- sented. Her seemingly Increased heft probably h&a her Jad Salts list- eners wond.firlng about the radio ballyhoo of having lost 76 pounds taking the reducing cure she advo- cates. Maybe it refers to English currency. Big Tess does her pops In usual oke manner, topping off with the hoofology which discloses a couple of nifty gams for a gal her size. Andressens open with perch and rlsley in standard manner. Leon Navarra, ex-plcture house m.c. and band leader, deuces with a pianolog. Claims he's not a regular actor and that sort of establishes him. Back- bone of his act Is the piano lesson stuff and the manner In which he vamps from one pop Into another, with the community sing (or whis- tle) stunt the main Idea. He was moderately succesesful. , Medley and Dupree, another standard comedy team with a stooge vocalist who Is Introduced as their 'love child,' and then Aunt Jemima. Newman Fler accomps Big Tess. Jans and Whalen, likewise stand- ard, with the coochlng- "widow' as comedy foil, pepped things up in the ace groove. The Rich radio revue-flnaled. Lineup while standard evidences that the State could have utilized a little expert booking this week. Just a collection of acts because they're standard doesn't guarantee good vaudeville. Highlight of the newsreel was the applause for Jimmy Walker's speechifying at Cannes before the Riviera resort's police force of 108. New York's ex-Hlzzoner evidenced more showmanship on the screen thaji the vaude show does this week. Aleh ACADEMY, N. Y. - Not much of a bill at the Skouras stronghold this week and biz to match on the late Saturday and Sunday trade. They were coming in at eight o'clock Saturday night, but there was plenty of room for them. House is making a screen appeal for benefits with an offer to deal with any fraternal or social or- ganization. Good gag for down here, where there are so many cliques calling themselves clubs or associations. Most of them sell tickets to tbeir benefit—or else. Probably pads tne seats with pay patrons now and then. Saturday it looked as though the picture, 'Hot Pepper* (Fox), was more the at- traction than the vaude. Show gets off to a nice start with the Christensen Brothers, male bal- let dancers, with two girls to work with them. Nice line of ballet steps, slightly gymnastic arid evidently routined with a realization that the vaude patrons do not care for the classical. About as close an ap- proach to a pop ballet number as there is, and yet the steps are all legitimate enough. It's that they are shrewdly chosen. The two men are expert at aerial pirouetted. All four make a nice appearance, the girls showing two costumes each, while the men work without change. A good enough opener for almost any house. Doyle and Delia, dialect come- dians who go to banjos for a finish, got over well enough to come back for a bow, with the hands still pat- ting but not Insistently enough to call for an encore. Rough stuff and probably destined to stay put In the family houses, but effective In a moderate way, Nell Kelly, more strenuous than ever. Is developing too much rowdi- ness. She was better when she did not overcapitalize her exuberant personality. Spoils her Garbo bit with overemphasis and Just mild on the opening song. Front and back kicks, which got her attention orig- inally, still get her off to approval, but she could have done much bet- ter if a little less energetic. Runaway Four still cling to the water-spitting bits, which did not do so well even down here. The comedian gets over well, but the act was not in good shape when caught; possibly careless because It was the supper show. Opening bit was the best score, which might suggest to them to hold more to the comedy and .let the acrobatics slide a little. Closer was Bob Harlng's orches- tra (New Acts) from radio. Smooth melody, and Harlng sells the stuff well with an engaging and unaf- fected personality. Two girls for the singing did not help themselves any by both wearing black dresses. Harlng might do well for his vaude- ville dates to trade one of the sing- ers for a hoofer of the same sex. Solo bits by the band boys were not outstanding, but the turn fills 18-20 minutes acceptably, with def- inite approval shown at the close. Apart from the feature the only film contribution was the Miami shooting, which replaced the news- reel. An excess of announcement doe.s not come under the head of entprtalnment, but seems to be used down here to permit placing or re- moval of the sound horns. Show a little short of the usual 150 minutof!. with the vaude a flat hour. Chic, G. O. H., N. Y. Somebody ought to create .an en- dowment for the Grand Opera House lest it follow the Palace ex- ample and go straight pictures, end- ing the last stand of family vaude- ville, the last stand in New York anyway. Three of the four acts current the first half go back at least 15 years, and most of their material belongs to that forgotten era. Also they all work with the gusto of the old school, and the style leads itself perfectly to the spirit of this neighborhood mob, which still piles in to fill the house Saturday after- noons at two bits, regardless of the pictures, and enjoy themselves art- lessly and eloquently at gags and business that were routine back when the Sunset Division was com ing home from France. There isn't another spot where you can be sure of getting some of the cla.sslc hoke of a former day any time you drop In. This week it's the grotesque trio which Interrupts its comic exchange of talk to permit a high tenor to warble a senti- mental ballad. This time it hap- pens to be 'When You Were Sweet Sixteen,' and the cream of the num ber is the finale, where the other n^an and the woman of the three solne como In for rich and Juicy close harmony. It's priceless as dbne this time by Smith, Strong ahd Lee, bid-tlmers to the extent they go back around 16 years In stand ard vaudeville around New York, They're.' a gold mine of such bits. Including their finish with a hillbilly doggerel verse and music on har monlca; uke and penny whistle. Dalton and Craig, esteemed, stand, ard some years ago, contribute an- other museum piece to the exhibit. Man Is on and enters Into talk with the leader about the deference. due to womanhood, which . .cues on the woman of the team upon whose in- terruption the man goes into the as- sault and battery business upon her plump person.^ Thence the act is an elaboration of the husbandrand- wlfe wrangle, worked into crossfire and punctuated with more manhan- dling. Back in the early 20's Dalton and Craig wer6 candidates for impor- tant positions. Then they did a couple of legitimate characters as the basis of a light song-'and-dahce act. They, carried something of a set and the other accessories. Avail- able time nowadays doesn't encour- age carrying special sets around, so the pair have fallen back on the simplest of stock routines. Joe Fanton and Co., third of the veterans In this bill, opened the show with his familiar style of ring acrobatics, the turn that once was at the top of that specialty and still is an Interesting item, even If it Is opening the show for Chelsea vil- lage. Closing turn Is 'Dancing Around,' a commonplace song-and-dance fiash of recent vintage, made up of a soprano, tenor, mixed dance team and pair of boy tappers, together with a fairly elaborate lot of drops and drapes that look a lot, but have little substance. Just fair in its class, which is second grade. Pictures were 'No More Orchids' (Col), not so long out of Broadway first-run, and 'Hypnotized' (World Wide). Rush. PALACE, CHICAGO Chicago, Feb. 18, A cheap bill as Palace budgeti* have run during the past six months is neverthelcs.s an unctimmonly di- verting and pleasing entertainment which In union with tlio Radio pic- ture, 'Topaze,' is con.siderod prom- ising. Palace will have little cur- rent opposition from B&K's Chl- oago, where It was quiclily demon- strated that Mary Oardon's fans weren't leaving Ontwentsla, Evans- ton, or Astor street in sufficient numbers to swamp the box office. Chic Sale with his school enter-, talnment modified slightly into an audition for a little theatre was that grand oddity, a headllner who Is a thorough artist. Recent headllners have so often been persons whoso .•audevUle was a result of winning their spurs not In vaudeville but anywhere and everywhere else. Sale piled up laughs, applause and good will and put the stamp of genuine- ness on the proceedings. In opening the show, the De Tore- gos had the advantage of an In- tensifying pace that reaches a strong finish. Garner, Wolf and Hakins, stooging In the manner identified with Howard, Fine and Howard, and almost a carbon copy thereof, were not always funny, but they were funny enough and often enough ttf' please the generality and to fulfill ^ their responsibility for pushing the • show forward. In the dark throughout and elect- ing to make a black pit of the au- ditorium Itself, to complete the seance effect, Aronson, Fayre and Lane treyed with a higher average of amusement than might be ex- pected from • mimicry of radio per- - sonalities. Much, of their work is of a keen approximation of the origi- nals, but the Amos 'n' Andy Is bad« and the Ed Wynn is atrocious. After 80 much merit the amateurish efforts to capture ihefee'ether celeba Is unbelievably palookalsh. On the tag end of the bill was the Hudson Wonders, two girls who started in Chicago as child dancers and now, after years In European music hcflls, are making American vaude (New Acts). Girls are the final gasp in their particular line. Land. DOWNTOWN, L. A. Los Angeles, Feb. 16. Current bill runs heavily to hoke, with three of the five acts resorting to semi or out-and-out burlesque. Nevertheless, It's excellent stage fare, and probably set the house back several hundred dollars over the regular weekly budget for talent. Teeter Board Athletes, four vets, provide a typical old-time vaude bill opener with their hand and head balancing and springboard maneu- vers. Several head-to-head stands, three high, drew liberal applause at the opener today. Erner and Fisher, comedy danc- ers, provide the first hoke and carry It all the way through. Bobble Joyce fills In with modern tapping, splits and high kicks, leaving the burlesque stepping to Erner and Fisher, man and woman. It's good entertainment. Flash act midway Is labelled Rlcardo, Neva and Montell, trio of Spanish dancers, with a 10-plece string ensemble as a background. Dancers are all proficient, and act Is colorful. Usual native dance numbers and musical selections make up the offering. Eddie Hanley and Co., comprising Bobble Thomp-qon, svelt looking femme feeder, and a pair of stooges, have the next-to-shut spot. They run the gamut of hoke, Interspersed by a little mediocre stepping th.at doesn't mean anything to the act. Clo.slng has Kirk and Lawrence, man and woman doing a cowboy burlp.squc astride make-bcllcve po- nies. They prance and cavort about stage. Injecting a lot of non.sen.se that had the r.uf^tnmp.ra in howl.s at times this aftf^rnoon. It's one of the bf.'st hrike .nfts .«f>on heroabout.v in r- onthH. ' • fcvc-n. 'Kitifj'.s Var,T.tlon' (Wli), now.s, and novelty Hliort. ALBEE, BRPOKLYN It's 'Obligation Week' at the good old Albee,..with the last first-rate RKO vaudeville theatre in New York taking the slap for a few of the Godfrey regime's bouklns boners. Bill comprises mostly acts that are here because the ofllce couldn't play them as booked else- where. Four out of five have it. Orchestra floor filled up and had 'em standing before the first show was over Saturday afternoon, and the draw was attributable to John Barrymore and 'Topaze* (Radio) chlefiy, although the presence of two near-names on the stage might have had something to do with it. They are Walter O'Keefe and Lillian Shade. It doesn't happen all the time that a five-act bill booked under pres- sure will turn out as good as this bill at the Albee. Somehow the acts blended Into a pretty good show, which. If It seemed lengthy at the fir^t performance, can overcome that fault with some cutting as the week progresses. Gloria Lee and Sherr Bros, open It up with their dancing, which takes them back and forth from 'one' to 'three' In a series of trtos, doubles and singles. They are youthful and they can hoof. Miss Shade is No. 2 and over big, which Indicates the deuce spot squawking days for would-be next-to-closers are over, and that all of the squawk- ing wasn't necessary In the first place. It didn't seem possible that Miss Shade, a singing single who doesn't use a mike In this big house, could fare any better than she did no matter what spot she held down. Miss Shade's singing and the opening triors dancing were per- formed under dark lights most of the time, this tending to rob the bill of brightness. Both turns go In heavy for the green spot, and up to the entrance of Dave Harris and Co., No. 3, the bin looked moldy. Harris (New Acts) heads a pleas- ing company Including himself and four others. Act is a boiled-down version o the former Intact unit show headed by Harrl.s, retaining 16 minutes of Its best features. They liked It here. Walter (Okay) O'Konfo, with the middle name derived from his radio broadcast catchllnc, al.so takes 16 minutes for his monolog with a vocal finish. Outside of some strictly Broadway gaps that no- body got over here, the O'Keefo rou- tine Is okay. O'lfeefe's broezy de- livery, when not wasted on tlio too- smart and n.ivy blue material, makes him a likable single. He's gagging on politics mainly now, a not bad theme for hla style as long as the chatter remains topical. IJffward Marsh, also under New Acts, brings a heavily-populated orchestral and singing act to the closing sjjot. . There are 26 people besides the tehor from the musical stage, with the turn breaking In cold here, hut showing possibilities. (Continued on page 62)