Variety (April 1933)

46 VARIETY VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS Tuesday, April 25, 1933 BIDE DUDLEY Monolog 19 Mina.; One Orpheump N. Y. Sending Bide Dudley up here to break In Is like trylngr out a racer over the milk wagon circuit. The good people o£ TorkvlUe know little and care less about Broadway col- u.nnists, past or present, and ap- parently Dudley's air experiences as a dramatic commentator have not helped any, for the same reason. He opens with a mike on a table and a chair, but after sitting at the mike to read a brief Introduction, he breaks away to lecture a set of slides whlch are briefly thrown upon the picture screen. He tells about the personages shown, and others, but with a dry wit which falls In the aisle here. The slides, too, are somewhat of a handicap; some of them antiques and all of them so dingy they smell musty. Had to tell them it was Al Smith on the screen at one point, and that save him a brief hand, but William Woodin, Norma Talmadge and others might still have been in the morgue from which, apparently, they were flshed. 3mart black and whites In modern photography might help some, but these colored examples are not going to be of much help when he gets downtown, either. In his newspaper columnlng Dud- ley used a style of low comedy writing that would fit nicely here If he came out and gagged, but it's probable that even downtown they are not going to go very strongly for the reminiscences. Chic. GIOVANNI Singing 10 Mins.; One Loew's State, New Orleans Giovanni, from concert and oper- atic flelds. Is receiving his vaude- ville baptism with a series of ova- tions. He Is sure-flre from the fact that not in years has so good a voice filtered Into variety realms. It is a tenor, one of those rare in- struments that happens along but once in a decade. It lacks elasticity, flexibility and technique, but the natural voice Itself has power, range and superb sweetness, and in bravura passages there Is just the suggestion of Caruso. This Giovanni should go far. In vaudeville and in opera. Just a question of how he Is handled and how he handles himself. From the pure vaude standards he will have to appear less dignified, walk off and on faster, and deport with more popular mien. Also his pres- ent routine could stand switching and some replacement. Showman- ship can and should redound to him, for showmen can make him an at- traction and a box-ofilce card. Perfect for the New York houses if properly schooled and set, and a natural anywhere with a such a voice. Samuel UNCLE SAM'S SCALAWAGS (3) Kid Act 12 Mins.; One Majestic, Chicago Three youngsters in their early teens, ^who form the support for Quln Ryan of WGN in his Listerine ^program. Kids appeared at the IMaJestic during the second week of a publicity tleup with the tooth- paste company. It was their first and only stage appearance, and on short money a booking that con-, ceivably brings enough radio fans into the house to ofCSet the damage done to the vaude program by the amateurishness of their act Spotlight picks the kids up, one by one, each lying on the stage reading the comic supplements. First Donnie Dreamer, then the girl, Jeanle, and then the negro lad. Wishbone. UtUmately with manu- scripts to read from they present a typical radio program with sound effects. This was an okay Idea poorly worked out and lacklhg the necessary props at the performance caught. Much improvement doubt- lessly was effected during the first day. Wishbone handed in a fair sample of tap dancing as an encore. Ryan does not appear, and the kids, accustomed to lean upon their adult mentor, probably did as well as could bo expected under the tough conditions. They occupied the deuce on a six-act bill. Looked like a one-time booking at this house, but that doesn't mean It can't be whipped into shape for other personal appearances. Land. FOUR DOBAS Perch Act 7 Mins.. One Academy, N. Y. This troupe looks like a family aggregation and appears foreign, Swifter pace would entitle them to opener consideration anywhere in vaude these days. Fact that / woman does most of the under standing carries punch for audi ences. Work against an em broldered drop that may or may not be special. Both the ladder and pole stuff utilized In the orthodox fashion with one trick having one of : the younser girls plus the man perched on the ladder above the understander. Man does the pole stuff and he's no light load to carry. A third girl does solo contortion bit. Costumes are all white, with the younger femmes clad In rhinestone studded trunks and vests, while the understander wears white pajamas Fared okay here. Bhan. FOUR HERMANS Acrobats V9<6 Mins.; Full G. 0. H., N. Y. Four old-timers with a new name, or at least a name that's not in the files. While not chickens, they work hard, fast and In clean-cut fashion, fill the six minutes with legitimate lifts and no muffs or stalling. Featured tricks are various leaps from floor and elevated positions to hand-to-hand catches. Amidst the changing tastes show business, feats of strength will always hold a definite place because they're Interesting. The Four Hermans and the many others of their "tppe shall always find spot. The trouble just now is that there aren't enough spots to go around. Bige. DENNIS WHITE REVUE Flash 21 Mins.; One, Full (Special) G. O. H., N. Y. Running time which results in paddlQg, a comedian who'd be fun- nier with' better material, and roughness of routining here mar an otherwise effective fiash attraction. The remedies should be evident. When made, the Dennis White Revue will be a creditable flash. White, himself a capable dancer, has some other good talent with him, notably an acrobatic specialist. His l^lvies singer also acquits her- self competently. Other two girl dancers. In rhythm and. other rou- ting, prove fair. Comedian fails to display much, but might be okay with better comedy. Act Is handsome scentcally and carries a lilce wardrobe.; It moves from one to two, back again to one, and closes in full in what repre- sents a cafe scene. Two tables and chairs give it that grulse, but the talking occurring here, with comic on the make. Is not only dull but poorly managed. It all results In a semi-cooch bit by one of the enter-: tainers in an effort for laughs, this followed by others in reaching the flnale. Cutting could come ahead of the cafe sc6ne, which gets the fiash to fullstage if this must be retained. Act shouldn't run over 16 minutes. Char. ALLAN ROGERS Tenor 16 Mins.; Full Downtown, L. A. For repeat engagement, Allan Rogers, tenor, makes what appears to be an unwise choice of selections. Possessed of a clear, resonant voice, Rogers on previous appearances on the Coast and elsewhere has never failed to click, but when breaking in the new routine here he seem ingly is handicapped and feeling his way out. Garbed in typical river man outfit, tenor opens with 'Old Man River,' effectively put across. Unwise move is spotlng of a 'For- gotten Man' number, using a slide of President Roosevelt for a stage background. Rogers should use this timely topical for a flnale or for the encore that he is usually certain to draw. A mother song, and then 'One Alone,' in sequence, complete the vocalizing, with Rogers ill at east when it's all over. Properly routined, tenor should continue to click as in the past. Edtca. BINES' PARAMOUNT GIRLS (16) Dance Flash 20 Mins.; Full (Special) Academy _ A dance flarSh that's got every-' thing any vaude bouse needs. Or anything the average picture house could use as well. Dave Bines, from the picture presentation field, probably had the latter in mind In building his act. Bines for several years has been the dance stager at the Paramount, N. Y., with his own permanent line at the house as a part of Fubllx units. He knows bis ballet stuff and his showmanship as well, something that's clearly evident In the performance of his act and also in its staging. There's a smartness about the execution of numbers, routining and the dress that immediately sets the Bines Girls apart from the average fiash produced by vaude men. And Bines has not stinted in building his fiash. It looks like money. Mounted expensively, its numerous rich-looking drops are exceeded only by the class of the wardrobe. Line of 12 girls appears three times in different costumes. All do toe ballet. In their opening num- ber six of the girls wear one color, the other six another, quickly im- pressing on appearance as well as in routine. They're well-schooled ladles of the line this even dozen, and they also are lookers. On the second number the line is dolled in very elegant costumes, while for the finish they go military, A small lass precedes the line for the finish, doing a song number and topping in two dances, one a toe tap, the other a military. Lat- ter on the line for their finishing routines. Up about middle a trio of adagio dancers in evening dress go in for slips, spills and mistakes to get laughs. On the military number closing It appeared the lighting ef- fects did not carry out exactly as intended. When a radium effect was desired to show up the guns the girls carry prior to marching off the result was poor. For the curtain girls are marking tlmei faces to audience, with a drop be hind them of columns on the march. of soldiers Char. ORPHEUM, N. Y. with •Rasputin* (Metro) on the screen and a four-act layout that pleases all the way besides having some PMll, the Orpheum looks to have a monopoly all its own on the 86th street biz this first haW- Lew Pollack o^ers a classy flash flnlsh that's tasteful and entertaining throughout, while ahead of, him run three familiar acts that sprinkle a varied shower of comlckery that can't help but satisfy. Two Daveys open, and Joe Morris with his company take the next-to- closing. In between comes Vic Laurie. The latter with his wop Idea had them rolling when caught. The same goes for Morris with his Hebraic characteristics. Davey's running chatter while manipulating juggling tricks gives the show a big head start and it never slows up. Runs to around 70 minutes, with fllm taking 89. Including Metrotone news and trailer. Worth the 40c tariff. Shan. tlon scale. Some veteran back drops comprise the production, with the turn all the way looking like a road company of the Smithsonian Institute. Specialists are a girl acrobatic dancer, girl toe dancer, girl tap dancer, boy acrobatic dancer, and a mixed violin team. None is excep- tional, but all pass muster. The toe dancer returns for a number in gilt paint at the flnlsh, supposed to be thie big moment. Built for the 'showing' time and that's as far as it will get:.- Bige. HONAN and ARDEN Dancing, Impressions 14 Mins.; One Academy Helen Honan formerly headed an act billed as Helen Honan and Folks, a three-act with her ma and pa. Here she Is teamed with an- other girl who doubles between the piano accompanying for Miss Ho- nan's Impersonations and in dance specialties. The act is very agreoy able entertainment, pleasingly pre- sented. It's No. 2 and okay for any house. Miss Honan opens with impres- sions of Lupe Velez and Zasu Pitts doing songs. Latter is the better of the two. Her third, of Mae West doing 'Frankie and Johnnie' plus some talk, still better, while that of Jimmy Durante fine on looks, but not so forte on the talk. Fpr Bill Robinson it's a tap dance, well exe- cuted, and later on, after going to the wings for more of a change. It's Charlie Chaplin In skirts. During the change. Miss Arden gets away from the ivories for a high-kicking specialty. On the close the same type of dance be- comes a double. GLORIA LEE and SHERR BROS. Singing, Dancing 10 Mins.) One and Two Orpheum, N. Y. Apparently the same Gloria Lee who used to work with the four Hauser brothers. Now down to two Sherrs, but it doesn't seem to mat- ter much. The two boys in neat tuxes open, the girl Joining them almost immediately for a trio step dance, acceptably done. She strips to trunks and bodice for a brief acrobatic bit. Boys on for a drunk dance which gets some laughs and one good hand near the close; then the girl returns for'a tap dance on her toes with a five-stair flight of steps for part of th6; routine, best trick belni; a de- scent on one foot which got the crowd, though they probably did not give It full value. Boys back for their single song in which 'Missis- sippi' is supposed to rhyme with 'whoopee,' In short minstrel coats, and she Joins In fpr the flnale. Nothing to get steamed up about, but a good enough seconder for the family trade, and oyer here nicely. Chic. Char. MILLS, GOLD and RAYE (5) Knockabout 14 Mins.; One G. O. H., N. Y. Bddle Mills is from the former Mills, Kirk and Martin three-act. His new partners are a couple of reformed straight hoofers. Follow- ing style to the letter. It's one of many three-man combinations to have developed In the last few years from straight dancing antecedents. But these boys seem to have a bet- ter Idea than the average of what constitutes an act. .With work. Mills, Gold and Raye should result in another Mills, Kirk and Martin. The ability is there— that Is, the ability to flll 14 minutes with low hoke and starch It into next-to-closlng proportions. A lit- tle more of his clowning by Mills should turn the trick. At the G. O. H. he seemed to be under wraps. They carry another boy and a girl as stooges, the girl coming on for one brief bit and the boy fla.shlng in and out for pansy atuft. Latter could be funnier. The dancing that slips In here and there Is the foundation of the turn. Without it the knockabout business would flounder, and the boys had better not forget that. Bige. 3 BECK BROTHERS Songs, Comedy 15 Mins.; One Academy, N. Y. Trio looks like they could please with better handling. They try a hodge-podge of familiar routines that's much too much for satisfac- tory reaction in the better spots. Material is poor. Toward the flnlsh these three, who look to have had experience, although not in the flies, run off an over-long burlesque on radio performers, most of which Is so-so. The one time they struck a popu- lar chord was when they tried a comic song together on the order of the 'March of the Wooden Sol- diers.' Sticking to this kind of stuff mostly might be the solution. Opening number has the trio tislng that familiar pill bit where a pill supposedly turns one Into a Frank- enstein, Dracula, etc., and all turn out to be pansies. Second here on a five-act pro- gram before a tough audience and fared fair. Shan, METROPOLITAN REVUE (7) Flash Act 13 Mins.; Full (Special) G. O. H., N. Y. Typical 1933 flash that's not so flashy, but capable of skimming by on the merit of Its flve specialty people. Two additional members not figuring individually are a girl pianist on the stage and a conduc tor In the pit. Latter, when the or chestra seemed to lag behind dur- ing a girl's acrobatic dance, started to sing the boys Into step. It was good for a laugh from the flrst few rows, but the rest of the audience missed that gem. Producer, In building this one, was more of an arranger than any- thing else, like all other vaude pro- ducers on the present-day starva- ARREN and BRODERICK Comedy, Singing, Piano 10 Mins.; One G. O. H., N. Y. A few years ago, when caught last as a new act, Charlotte Arren was doing a single in Publlx units. She now teams for a two-act with a male pianist, who, in addition to accompanying for Miss Arren. fig- ures in a novelty piano solo. He's one of those flashy ivory knockers. This is an act which, while not sen- sational, qualifles for No. 2 or bet- ter In the average neighborhood. Miss Arren, of tall and slender flg- ure, goes In for grotesque stances, sometimes reminding a little of Fannie Brlce, whom in both expres- sion and comic stature she apes. Included In routine is an Egyptian comedy number and an impression of a big-time operatic prima.. In latter Miss Arren goes rowdylsh in trying for laughs. An encore brings out "a lusty whistling bit. Two-act was spotted here on a four-turn bill and proved the cats with the G. O. H.'s easlly-satisfled audience. Char. JACKIE. THE LION Animal Act 8 Mins.; Full Mirror, Hollywood Trick lion from the Sclig Zoo (L. A.) and his trainer, Melvin Koontz, in a comedy act that can be built up. Only possible drawback is the absence of a net, cage or other form of protection between stage and audience, which has the latter squirming in its seats during the eight minutes. Otherwise it's a very different animal turn, and if built up to 12 minutes should click in any spot. Adding to the effectiveness of the routine of the big cat and Koontz is the seemingly untrained manner in which the animal goes through its tricks, appearing more as a playful kitten, rather than a beast, on the stage. Appleton Goes Vaude Chicago, April 24. Fox theatre, Appleton, Wlsconsm, has been turned back to its owner, I. Selleman, who has the Avalon, Milwaukee. House will book four acts Sunday to Wednesday Inclusive through the Billy Diamond agency. HIPPODROME, N. Y. They were using names on one of the front boards at the Hippodrome this week. That they lettered in the wrong set of names is a mere detail. Probabhr not one in a 100 of the cash customers paid much attention to the program board. As long as the sign over the box office reads 2Bc the rest runs for Sweeney or two other - fellers. It's only four acts Instead of flve this week, and the vaude show runs only 48 minutes out of a total of two hours and 52 minutes, but it's a show and everyone is satisfied that they got their quarter's worth. Nice, informal place the Hipp, Opening act ran on its own xylo- phone table in the dark, and they darken again while the acrobats lay their mat, but a dancing team using a cot in a bit has it dragged out by the girl and hauled back by a rope. Maybe the stagehand was out after some 3.2. He was on hand to fly the backdrop. Maybe he got the 3.2, for he pulled the sheet to disclose a battleship head-on while Willie Creager plunged his band Into an Hungarian rhapsody which hadn't even the remotest connection with the navy. The ship should have been held for the flnale, which Is what they hired It for. But Hipp audiences do not notice such trifles. They are there to en- Joy the show, and they seem to de- rive enjoyment. Bill opens with the Palmlro Trio, a woman and two men, all In male carnival costumes, with the woman on the treble end of an xylophone, with one of the men on the bass, and the other on the accordion. They play with more strength than skill, but they collect. Probably there never was a xylo- phone pounding bunch that ever had to leave them cold. Turn is given variety by solos on the slats and the pushbox, but ensemble to open and shut. Noreen and Jim next, a likable young couple who sing, dance and chat. The chatter doesn't roach the rear of the house, but no one need worry about that. It's when they go into the dance—^which Is most of the time—that they are best liked, in spite of the fact that ihey are working a couple of stalies—the tired marathon dancers and the challenge pair, with the man al- ways turning the light back to the girl. That's still funny here. Their main asset is the. girl's bright smile. It's genuine and attractive, but they hoof reasonably well, too. Farm Fables is an acrobatic turn. Fables part comes from the fact that the troupe Includes two dwarfs who are dressed as Mickey Mouse and some less recognizable ani- mated character, while one man does the farmer of the Aesop's Fables cartoon series. In addition to these there are three straight tumblers and a girl who chiefly runs around and makes a poise. Acrobatic work is fair, and the turn might be worked into something with a more orderly routine and better dressing for the straight men. Acrobats in the next to shut might be regarded as heretical, but they make good in the spot. It's after that the backdrop goes nautical and Creager's bunch goes Hungarian. They have dropped one of the two pianos. . Not clear whether it's to cut expenses or to bring the band down from 13 men. Playing the overture in the middle of the show Is more heresy, but no kicks. Closer is Lydla Hall, who cleaned up with some heavy shouting, open- ing with 'Harlem Moon' and fol- lowing with 'I Want to Go Home.' Last number is about a lost love, and then three bows that really meant the audience wanted more. Judged by Broadway standards, her gestures are almost pure burlesque, but they took it for the McCoy and paddled mitts with determination. She's been around a long time, and her voice shows the strain of the shouting, but she can still go out and wow them in the cheaper houses even if she does appear to get her gestures from a bargain basement. Chest slapping Is ac- cepted here as a high form of dra- matic art, but here and there some- one could be seen to smile. Closes in with the line girls in sailor costumes with long trou.«!ers, who do a step and tap routine. Now stager here, and now the bare legs come In the opener, this time with some trick costumes which suggest old crones with large bundles on their heads, but which when shaken out turn into attractive skirts. Film Is 'Night Mayor* (Col), with a sports comedy with Eugeno Pal- lette, a nicely-made Alaska trav- elogue and a Scrappy cartoon which Is a pale copy of a Silly Symnhony. Business good. ChiC. Lobby Rent Helps Omaha, Neb., April 24. Looks like part of local Orpheum's troubles solved. House has sub- leased expensive front through business block to a clothing store and will use side lobby on another street. Change will help Harnoy strpet, whore new entrance will bo and which has been lacking the ."spark of life which theatre front will give.