Variety (June 1933)

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Tuesday* June 6, 1933 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY IS MUSIC HALL c i j I New Torfe, Juno 2. Roxy lia edging forward.. In the iputrent show he Indicates his re- tumlns confidence In R. C. operat- ing: things. There Is a euisplclon that the current performance Is only the forerunner of thlngs whlch Rosy ■ Is quietly mapping for the Music HaU stage. He la content for the present to display a three-part show of gypsy songs, moonlight waltzes^ a Harlemanlac number.' and a stir- ring battle panel based' oh Sousa's inarches. There are real iilarlnes in that battle panel. The stage is; levelled off and the Rozyettes In grenadier {Costumes of some jklnd do a military rhythm. Above and to the rear of the stage^ a framed picture:of.en-, trenched , soldiers popping powder, while a marine color squad walks the treadmills as the colors fly to the breeze; It's a stirring flhiSh. and Old Glory brings the patriotic hands ioC the customers Into jubilant ap- plause. The marines in the show were loaned by Col. Klncaid, U.S.M.C., commanding the Marine Barracks, Brooklyn. Roxy IS a Major Jn the ■p^S^.C. reserve.. AH of which gives an idea of just how Strong the popular strain Is underlined In the current Shbw^ Even the 'Glow "Worm* ballet takes a hand. . The frigidly . correct cus- tomer might scorn such a' display of iahowmanship as having the interior <>f. the girls' bsdlet skirts light' up thtermlttently to Indicate, the iinsus- pect'ed presence of glow worms be- iieath. .But if applaiise '' means Unything, It's" the customers' Will. Big hand for this item, when caught. The 'Songf of the Flame Number* has too nitlch flame^ It spreads over the wings and everywhere almost, and the tenor's voice In this nuni- jber. isn't paitlcSularly forte, but the massIvV aspect of 'the thln^ as staged brings.Jieai^ty rcBuUS.- ... ^ Perhaps all this' stuff sounds reminiscent of Roziy's fornier efforts at another spot, and that's believ- able: but Rosy himself calls the Bubjects' "Reminiscences,' so that's that. There are weak moments on the show, but there's plenty of prb- Auctlon. Runs to around 48 min- utes, all told. It's a lurking opinion that Gomez iind Winona might be better fitting tor that 'Waltz Memories' num- ^ev than Patricia Bowman and Lieon Barte. The boy is particularly offside here, and Miss Bowman, Bhbuld stick ta-her-dassicaL or.mOd-1 em ballet. The setting isn't grandi- ose, here, but simple, and doesn't impart particular beauty except that the hono publico go for anything when the stage begins to revolve. Kot 'only revolves here, but alSb in ^jSatan's Iil'l Xiamb' number, in the secon^part of the show, which fol- lows right adCter the pit and-choral jnumber of grypsy songs, .opening. Two round table stages at the wings showing a' bar on one side and a pianist.' and bliies Singer at the other. The girl finishes her song 'and the travelers split In the cen- ter . to have the Roxyettes come down in a massed dance. Black and ehady lighting here, not particu- larly cheering. Gomez and Winona do one of those Siamese ancestral 'dances, or something in White cos- tumes that doesn't belong, but still evoked customer reception. It's interesting to note that there's ho opera the current week, although- It seems that some group sings in Victorian costume .somewhere, and there are stage boxes set on the -Btage. down front on either wing. Taken as a Whole; the. show- IS typically Roxy. .Even unto the tnassed chorus sitting lii the pit for the opening number. Viola Phflo and Jan Peerqe are the soloists. But that opening number does seem a bit overlong; 14 minutes of it. "Feature is 'Cocktail Hour' (CoV). The-Muslo . Hall . ..has plenty to ■think about with the grosses riot ■liaving- been anything to brag ■about, of latci. There's the summer to begin yrlth. Sixth avenue Is a eultry thoroughfare^ in the warm >nonths. Broadway may be warm, b\it Sixth avenue is really tough, with the 'I.' not helping to attract patronage to that street There's a shortage of. product which the house will feel, and Roxy's problem is now twice as big as any which may have confronted the regular RKO regime when su- pervislngr the spot during .Roxy's illness. Shan. Loew's Ziegfeld, N. Y, The late glorifler's monument," a theatre bearing his riam.e, to be the capital of the Impreaario's produc- tion activtles, has wP.und tip as an. apostrophized theatre, Xoew's. There have, been plenty of cracks that It all goes to. shoW, but the best =answer-ls anUthat-pi«MislyA:^fpe^- Zlegfeld, :, Apart from that, as a triple change subsequent run picture house it's the last word In ultra cinematic appreciation from a fan viewpoint. Prime fault has been tliat the house hasn't caught on, but when it does it'll become an- other bonanza like the Plaza with its 75c arid $1.25 iscale for fourth and . fifth runs, but a class little theatre for Park averiue trade. This 30c and 50c, and one of the most comfortable cinemas In Greater New York, but somehow that 64th and Sixth avenue location is prob- ably too close to the Times Square first-runs to warrant the nabors waiting until the films come to them. That's the secret of the Plaza, where the swank east side trad^ waits for pictures which sell for more on their fourth showing than In the downtown deluxers. Lioew's Ziegfeld is worth a visit for that ihezzanlne foyer display of the Ziegfeld museum. It's a treas- ure trove of many associations of the 'late Impresario. The photo-: graphic collection of the Ziegfeld beauts has been augmented by loans from the Albert Davis coK :lectlon of theatrical. photos, . and there are many other personal ef- fects associated with Zieggy or his stars. House boasts the only femme pic- ture house manager 4n New York, Chelle Janis. She's trying some good" nabe Stuff that should ulti- mately catch on. There are bridge tables at all' times, and a special Thursday hite bridge, pro, along with other wrinklesi including free cigs. (any. brand). However, it's getting so that the nearby apart- ment residents, are being mailed complimentaries for an entire party to paper. the:liouse.a.means to get the theatre Identified. It should bring in some cash trade in time. Abel. CAPITOL, N. Y. "New York, June 2. . One of the Capitol slougho weeks. 'Hell Below,' Just In from its %2 Astor run, with only five days in between, is probably flg'qred as suf-. ficient: draw> although possible it'll go boppo with the rest of the show. ' . Show's big attraction is an 'Un- dersea Ballet,' with no stager men- tioned. . It's along usual picture house ballet lines, a bit outmoded in thls/day and age, biit riot^oo bad from -a -flash standpoint.' Chester Hale girls are all over the stage as riiermalds, while Rae, Ellis and Iia Rue do their adagio dance out front. "Usiial. ocean-waving effects that might have been better han- dled. Best feature of this ballet IS that it's laid oh thick and fast. Whole thing Is on and ofiC in 16 minutes, which makes It okay. Just as the audience Is beginning to fidget It's over with a,nd the picture starts. ShoW is split in two-halves,-with the ballet as the final business. Up .ahead—is._ another short stageblt with Gambarelli and William 'Hall. Gamby does only one da,nce, pre- luded by a solo' by her pianist. For no logical reason the entire show Is allowed to start with Ganlby's pia,nist at his solo. While he's playing his piano is moved slowly back stage and up to almost half stage level'. Jbist wh7 Is not^ clear, because he's left there, takes his bows and Gamby conies on for her number. She's, of course, as effec- tive and colorful a performer as al- ways and garners' her" little bower of roses. : Hall, from radio, follows In 'one' to sing three numbers. He's a tall, well-built chap with a nice set of teeth and a pretty smile. Maybe he means something as a radio at- traction which would excuse his billing. In between, the two sec- tions of the stage show is ai. Pete Smith short and the newsreeh Up "ahead "iS" Ya^iha Bunchuk's overture entitled 'Slavonic and Russian Mel- odies.' .Which still leaves no comedy, nothlng^Jlgfht ol any-^riaturei-no-j>ep- and mighty little entertainment for the entire layout^ Only visible sign of smartness in the show comes towards the end of the feature, when the wide screen is used for the finale sea battle scenes, enhancing that finale by quite a bit. Kauf. . CLARK, CHICAGO Chicago, June 1.- This is the 'old Adelphl that Orice harbored burlesque, that Al Woods converted to' legit 16 years ago, and that now blossoms out as a two-i bit cinema. And, Incidentally, house looks .better, snappier and . more up- arid-cbmirig right now than it ever has. New auspices besides chang- ing the name have changed the ap- pearance of the premises. A pal- lette 'Of bright hues has brought out. the musty beauties of the place. Installation of a classy looking box office, at sidewalk level closes the old legit grille. Lobby has been thrown open so that inner and outer foyers are now one. in consequence, there's a sweep, and bigness that the Adelphl never possessed.. Screen haS been set back about 20 feet from the fbotlight pan. Vision is good. There are about ^7000 "Tgea;t3.^="House=-grinds---f^ eight a.m. to. two a.m. and requires three crews in the projection booth to.handle that ma,rathon. Now in Its second Week and doing Okay, as are the other Loop houses pursuing a comparable policy, viz., Monroe, WoodSi Randolph, Orpheum. That 16c. afternoons and 26c. nights hits the Loop just right these days. Jimmy ^Trinz and Howard' Lu- bliner. are running the house. Five changes of product weekly. Snappy girl ushers. Land. paramount; L, A. Los AngeleS, JOne 1. Fanchon & Marco stage show currently is spotty in entertainment value. Some portions are draggy and badly routined, with a little too much comedy predominating. This was probably brought abo.ut through a desire to offset the heayy screen feature, *Story of Temple Drake' (Par), but the flrial outcoirie is not up to the F&M. standard. Nina- Olivette and Franklyh DAmore and Co. easily top, With Arthur Jarrett, prominently featured in the billing, falling short of ex- pectations. Bsther Campbell, wl^^s- tler, and Marietta,. dancer, garner, a share of the honors. Introduction'has the line girls on for a routine, in Which they .use iige preservers a8~ a sort of prelude to the big advertising smash given the Pacific Steamship Lines and the four 'Alexander' coastwise liners, probably as part payment for the 60 round trip - excursions to be given away during the. week by the house as prizes. Backdrop Is a replica of the upper structure of a liner, with the .orchestra spotted on a portable upper deck, profusely decorated with ads for the .line. Miss Olivette Is on several times for brief comedy with Rube Wolf regarding when she is due^ which doesn't help her work . any. Wolf sends the band into a 'birdie* num- ber . that serves as an introduction to Miss Campbell in a series .of bird calls ancl. whistlirig, at which she is adept. ' ^ jarrett, popular at'^the." Copoanut Grove,. follows with seVeraL tenor selections that fail to click. For his second ballad the line kirls are back for a. colorful routine, , with Marietta doing a series ' of ballet steps .mixed with acrobatics which she put across nicely. Number was dragged a, little, which hurt. ■ - Miss Olivette. Ihen..'-.back -for .. a coriiedy duet with the Rube<, wirid- ing up with s6rii& comedy stepplnET" and acrobatics. She dances to vari- ous tempos and turies, some diffl- culti and aU - very. good. FVankly D'Amore and company of two of^er much Of their old routine of comedy ' knockabout' turiibles, falls and balancing, and mop up handily; Finale brings the slrls. on garbed in yellow icind black and car- rying metallic hats, which are il- luminated for a Series of evolutions: Marietta does a little more hoofing before curtain^ Show as a -whole lacks the customary F&M vim. and is-llk«l^y tO'^disappoirit.--—:=i^ FOX, DETROIT Detroit, June 3. Resumption at this house brings stage! show back to downtown De- troit for the first time since the banks closed several months ago. Current show is the second and not as good as the first. . "Built locally under direction of Dave Idzal with Alexander. Oumansky as line pro- ducer, Sam Jack Kaufman sis m.c. and Nat 'Chick' Haines as house stooge. Management goes. a long way toward correcting an evil apparient with most locally built shows. Pro- ducers seeriicd to think that pro- duction Was. the greater part of successful shoivs . and talent the minon At. this house the talent is the main consideration. Just enough production—is-.used-to- set -the show off, with enough flash to impress. Along this line an act used here is allowed enough time on the stage to wffck-Pja-.the, audienc e and "build, etc. ' " ~ "": Fault with this show is that there is too riiuch talent and not enough stock. List of acts includes Chaz Chase, Maurlne and Norva, Herman Hyde and Mona, Genev Tie, Harriet Newrot and Co, With -the dance: team Maurlne and Norva. being jised for produce tion the two comedy ac.ts have tO' be separated and the roller skating and acrobatic acts likewise. Mak- ing, a . jig saw puzzle with several of the pieces missing. But with all the difficulty with the arranging of the show It still is a lot ot show. Finale is a 'Bolero' with the dance team arid the line, and per- haps over the heads of the audi- ence,' but. at least it is different. With the. 12 girls beating torn tOnis, the rhythm effect, is. good, if high- class. Kaufman returns to' this house after being ^rone for over- two years. He had a run of 28 Weeks. . Tbey still remember him and those that don't should offer little resistance this time. He works lowdown so all can understand and that is okay too iri this ball park.' Directing the overture.and m, c.'ing is a lot of asi- signment for-one riian, but with nut exigencies it will pass. Knowing a lot about music, the overture angle is' okay. Having a nice appearance and~spieaklnjj^line3^.well,^he..JoiJ^^ angles likewise. Using 'Chick' Haines for blackouts and bits, so a few of the waits are eliminated. In this show the outstanding acts for audience reception are Chase and Herman Hyde; and Mona. Chase does his usual, good work, with the eating biz still oke, while Hyde has a new and hoky act that is sure- fire. With ^toria, a beaiitlful straight, act can play anywhere. Picture, 'Warrior's Husband' (Fox), biz fair. Lee. TRANSLUX Transition of^, newsreel theatre, audiences is . occurring ais the result of the Luxer's bid for Communistic attendees. Where the Embassy up until now has Seated the noise mak- ers, the Luxer, by running a 35- mlnute propagandlc special, 'Soviets on Parade,' Saturday afternoon <3) succeeded in replacing its group of orderly payees with a percentage of the mob which usually- patronlzes- the F.H. emporium^ Sounds never before recorded in the Luxer Were bearable at the matinee jperform- ances. The fact that there wasn't any conspicuous increase in admissions should be sufficient for the LuxCr to know that its old policy Is the best. If not that, at least to realize that mixed audiences seldom remain con" sistent and that locations^ especial- ly, on Broadway, ihean something as Well. Another slant for the benefit of all reels;, as well, a^ houses, Is the diction of some of these talking re- porters. When these-unseen spokes-, men start calling bivouac 'bivou- . wake,'arid butcher the King's Eng^ lish idea of French, and English, similarly, it's time that the editors got wise and advised the bOys to renew acquaintance with the. old language workshop. Paths did a far better Job of Far- ley's appeal to states for repeal. It affordied spectators a full: close- up characterization, of the Na- tional democratic committee chief,, while F-H kept its cameras at' the conventional distance. Farley in- advertently provided the lead sub- ject for both houses, Embassy using him Irr the inauguration of- the World's FaTr. " —^ *: " Universal and Paramount scored clean scoops at the Luxen U. was the only reel to get credit for the Kansas jallbreak. With views of the returned warden arid guards, while Piaramdunt got a cameraman inside the Mooney trial court. Par at the same time, followed the Embassy by a week on Al Smith's, pushcart story. Better, contact work,, how- ever, netted It a better ysitn. ' In covering. Annapolis the Em-^ bassy passed up Roosevelt's address to the graduates completely, confin- ing its .own yiews to outside review .which could be associated with any ^vault -view of ■ the' exerclsesr^ Unisc: versal, however, has a penchant for getting.important details that most of the larger all-sound reels seem inclined to overlook; Wdly. EMBASSY Embassy goes at great length to stress the need for world peace by alloSving the American representa- tive over-footage, arid following this up with similarly over-long dia- tribes by several other envoys, only to confuse the impression by per- mitting the Secretary of War to fol- low consecutively with a reminder that, after all, .it is .the strong who win and command respect. This theatre; however, scooped over its rival with. the Russell Sherwood story. Why, when. It was able to semi-closeiip Sherwood, it was unable to. get Walker's former secretary .to say at least a few of the things he stated to newspaper reporters is one of those enigmas. And this observation is made with, the knowledge that there are some good ex-rscrlvners in the persorinels of reels. " Denipsey is aU over the reel-house , programs currently. Where the Embassy had him threie times, even breaking a-bottle over bike..handle- bars, the Luxer clipped him down to exhibitions with Baier and Schmeling. In covering the Indianapolis auto races, during which three were, killed, none of the r'eels. .as judlged' at the two; houses, really had. an iniir mediate. bieam on the inajor acci- dent; Probably If they had been-a little closer the riiaterial would have been rejected by editor bk* censor as horror, stuf^. F-^H, howevei',' Is glv- irig the best slarit. Its leris seems considerably closer than- that of Par's. Bodies can .be seen hurtling through the air and landing on the- track in both views. ' ' Embassy also slipped up on Me- mojrlalrDay;—-Ordinarily'-It—makea- thls. a special assignment. This yeair the Luxer was "tha hCiUsei-.toj/'have- Pershing's .speech. While the Einb.' kept everything down, to a flash of New York's parade; Those horSe raceS. on neWsreel. screens se'em all alike. SO that much, more to ParamOunt's credit when, for a Change, It featured sp cc tfl. t or'fl ■ Singing shop girls In Paris, arid. Berlin kids playing at the zOQ, as well as some more New York kids with O'Brien, a dog show and Sun Yat's son - were among-.others.a,t. the Embassy.. . . —--The.;.two--hou'ses_.d-ldn'.t" o-^^erlook tennis matcHw7aviation,4nviBntIdris- and short subjects, of which the •Carpet' at the Embassy is a re- peater. .. Wary. LYCEUM, MPLS. Minneapolis, June 1^ This 2,500-seat Iridependent loop first-run,.house with its 24-plece or- chestra and. Singers, offeririg pit en- tertainment along^ with- pictures, Is still among those priesent.' The pol- icy is seven weeks old and, with an eighth week already , announced,-.-it Iook,s as though the theatre may keep going as long as product is available. Currerit pit show differs little from its predecessors. . The riiusical interlude provides pileaSant if uri- exciting entertainment. This week, however, Lou Breese,^.the. c.on.ductor, attempts to interject a little coni'- edy into the proceedings. Moderate success attends the efforts. - With - one_oii. two_ exce ption s,. the musical riiimbers "have 'been-^tv6tt= iri Minneapolis before by Breese's Orchestras and singers and, there- fore, are familiar.- The bit of new- ness and novelty is the opening se- lection,, a musical description of a trip to an amusement park, with- Stewart Johnson, vocalist, serving in the..capaclty of 'guide.'. The num- ■beir affords opportunity for' some comedy business' by- Johnson arid the muslclaris After Gertrude .. Lutzl, . soprano, sings the .'Jewel- Song' from 'Faust/' Johnson contributes; two popular numbers, and then Mn Breese goes into a banjo solo, 'Secopd Hun- garian/Rhapsody,' which he haS of- fered on' a number of other occa- sions in Minneapolis. Comedy business between Miss Lutzl arid Breese has the former in- sisting that she be permitted to de- viate, from, her yocal routine and .tell a story. Breese specifies shie must Whisper it to him first so that he will know whether it Is suitable. After hearing it he lnistructs her to sing. Old stuff. Miss Lutzl then demands to be allowed to give an Imitation of Mary Eaton. When permission is received she takes an apple and starts eat- ing' it. Then various orchestra members and Johnson go into 'imi- tations;', wltji one musician smelling a fiowSr 1ana"^clSlTng"'rout^'Masr' Schmeling,' etc. Infantile, but the audience laughed. Another frequently repeated num- ber, the Italian street song from 'Naughty Marietta,' with Miss Lutzl and Jolrnsori vocalizing, was the finale..- Fewer repetitions, arid, in- stead, more new selections arid greater diversity .of entertainment would seem to be a need here. On the screen. 'I Cover the Waterfront' (UA), ICccs. Chinese, Hollywood Hollywood, June 2. Sid Grauman is again on the hori- zon with a typical spectacle, flash and entertainment preldde to 'Gold Diggers of{1,933.' It Is a good box office balance to' the maih cinema epic. It ,Will help, too, toward giv- ing-the . trade a. real_ $1.60 worth, which this picture had to do, as folks don't shin out that case and a half around here for straight screen fare. On opening night .the Grauman offering ran around 63.minutes and. was a bit spotty, too, due to the fact_that a" premiere here Is noth- ing more tha,tt' "a; dress" rehearsal.— That will be overcome when the show is Shifted around and tight- ened, up. Then It should run at a «mobth-,-lastj5lIp-and bft_one.i:ot the best that the locaThoy'lia's' Tiad iri many a day. Cost on this one Is not much, but it looks like a great deal, especially from the production atmoispherlc standpoint. Net cost to house for operation of stage and pit will hardly run over |3,600 .weekly, .and there are lot of people ^ho :will divide: this amount of coin arriong them for their weekly subf slstence. Production Cost practi- calljr nothing. Two sets are used. One' is exterior • and Interior of .' the Brown Derby, and the other is a palace set used for- the final scene. Both are donations, with the latter coming from the ' Warner studio. Seems a little late for the Vine street Derby startirig to exploit itself, as ■ the star' trade from that place has begun to drift casually to the Beverly Hills branch and Is an important factor now toward the latter establishment's ;dally Iritake,, especially at the noon hour. Larry Ceballos did the Staging, aided by Bill O'Ddrinell, with Grau- man, of course, the head man. It is a corking good job, moulding those 36 girls and 24 boys into rou- tine . and symmetric entertainers within a 10rday period, which IS all ithat Grauman feelis Is necessary to whip a show into shape. And it, IS only Grauman who manages to <io -I t=i tt^tha.LJ.lxn£:^^_^,^^_._^ _ _ Feature attractions with the pro- log are the Three Radio Rogues (Holly wood-Bartell-Taylor), Hiid-. son Sisters, Jean Maiin, Sam Ash, Clarence Nordstrom, Marjorle Moore, Francia. White and the 16 Metjiger. girls, executing a Tiller type of ballet and .formation ■ rou-: tine. Show opens with Malln Iii front of Derby,; appeasing the autograph (Continued on page 29) '