Variety (July 1933)

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Tuesday, July 11, 1933 YARIETV H4NISE REVIEWS VARIETY 17 tttine to himself and was forced into extra bows. Quite a recommenda- tion, considering that two comedy turns preceded him. Directly in front of Rose Is Mar- shal Montgomery. Uses a special STATE, N. Y. It shouldn't he a burn to tip oft house manager Al Rosen on vaca- tion that Friday night's attendance was excellent. The draw is Metro's *Hell Below' and just enough stage drop setting of a Chinese cafe with • 'a blonde waitress character assist- ing Montgomery and. his dummy. Novel opening has the dummy working alone and without Mpnt- gomery's presence in front. Mont- gomery has his stuflE well timed and he romps. Caites Brothers coming after the bpiener, Winnie and Dolly, get thfe first laughs in the layout when the lights go olf. No imitation stufE by TROCADERO, LONDON liondon, June 26. This is a part of a chain of seven houses operated by H. Sc G. Kine- mas, Ltd., with the Hyams't^rpthers at the head. liouse is typicrtl vMgh- borhOod, located in the Elepaant & Castle, a thickly populated district, with about the biggest toll of un- employed In London. Wlieh the Hy- ams built the theatre it created a show to keep 'em interested, BlU was kept to Rve acts because , of the film's length, Harriett Hoc- tor and Ray Bolger divided head- line billing. While both are essen- tially dancers, there was no conflict because the slim Bolger is as much a comedian as he te an eccentric hoofer. Pleasant to note the development of an artist like Bolger. He got his best chance In 'Scandals,' but it- didn't g:o to his head. Bolger, no longer a Jumping-Jack, g:ot to the house with topical chatter. The 'Cabin lii the Cotton' routine for a finisher took Bolger to the exit on ^l^i^l^i6^t!^trittS:noi SScKy I ously in this act which.la^st year^^s 1 Hnso„"and Dean, the latter who^ c^^^^ as /Flashes of l^.'' ^^^^^ terminated a 'Crazy' se as they got into their harmonica playing, with attendant effective comedy, the act ran away. Should the Waidmans dope out some better gags for themselves, they'll stand to click well anywhere. In addition to Miss DeLeath, who since first comliig Into vaude has developed into a smart entertainer, current stage complement has IjU- cUle Page, dancer, Between these two lirid the "Waldm^in lads there's enough sock on the show to satisfy sensation as the biggest house in anyone looking tor 55c. entertain England. It was said to have a ment In fiet, it's worth more than capacity of 7,000, but the actual fig- that. ' ure Is around 6,000. It ■is^lill the ^ page, In excellent form, is . ... - biggest house in England, Policy Is (,„ twice, smartly Imptessihg on producUon system that aims for a - u «^Y^wHr„r thfir I doublc and sometimes treble- fea- U^^,^ occasions. Not only very maximum of sight at a minimum ot the boys, who are celehraUng their ^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ dincer Is cost; Just on the strength of 24 26th stage anniyers^ry,^^^^^^^ I aisrmore San X UtUe oSginal In | girls near the footliglit»^arid a.acoro ROXY, N. Y. Method of presentation rather than the substance of the show it- self cdntinues to save the original Roxy entertainment. Intrinsically the five acts^that enter Into the pro* ceedings are not espeoially impor- tanti but the hookup with a stag© band, salesmanship of Dave Schooler and a background of 24 Gae Foster girls, blends it all into a «how that has a world of flash for the clientele attracted to this house by the low scale. The line enters into the biiild-up in an important way, aided by a to Miss ttpctor, who closed the. show. The late Flo Ziefifeld ^as right about Miss Hoctor. No classier artist 6n the boards,-today's Pav- lowa. That certainly looks right In regards to at least most of Miss Hector's performance. Settings used were simple but attractive. Three danclnef boys fitted In nicely while she changed.- Joe Morris had the keystone spot. Dorothy Ryan, the well appearing blonde warbler In the turn, knows how to use the irilcrophone, but doesn't need the amplifying stuff. Shell* Barrett, down front the Ha Ha club added to the class part of the show. In appear- ance and performance She counted, the Impressions of . several pic- ture stars In rugged song bits standing, out. Paul Sydell and hlis balancing dogs opened Interesting- ly. Quite a trainer.- He applies eauil- Ibrlstic stunts to canines to a £:reater degree than others and does not depend upon one dog; Good show, as good a combina- tion bin as offered along the street. Ibee. Caites' mv^Bef»-y ee\3 "s^quote^ This week house has acquired the ception. JTheir douW^^^^ habit and gone 'Crazy^ i closes entertainingly, as usual. help it along, it has a biU of 10 Only four girts to the line, "with acts, headed by the . Neir Cb'e seemingly Baker using six previ-| jjj.Qtherg .Co„dos brothers and Col- having season at rjust — ^. specialty team being used sounds Uhe Palladium. Austin Cple acts as like Frank and, Madeline compere, introducing the acts^ and Couple of snappy youngsters .who jjiQ-^^j^ing .^ trot put in 'one' after the opening shOw opens with a 25-year-old tramp scene of Baker's, do -a zpstr. gjient of the cowboy type, withithe- ful dance. 'gang* sittlhg on the stage and Winnie antf Doily are the openers, razzing the. actors. Then the turns It's ring and trapeze stuff of ah Tin- are brought out. in rotation,; with lots usual kind with a special full stage of interruptions, setting of a sailing: ship's frame- some of the acts are quite good, wbrk. The two opert the show with The Sensational Carsbns, knife a kiclc. throwers, kept the locals on tenter- Teddy King ahd his pit orch pull hooks, expecting sonaething to hap- a community overture in which the pen. and disappointed when nothing ?e?enT»and boys participate with did — for burleaoue the routines she has devised. It's that as much as any other factor that delivers her for. strong ap- proval. Supporting acts are liowe aiid Hlte, rather funny Mutt-Jeff team, and the acrobatic troupe. Seven Trojans, who close In the midst of a flag-waving display. Krith the Gae Foster Girls In the red, white and blue pattern of Uncle Sam ahd a or more of bandsmen beyond that makes a swell peopled stage and me.re numbers have a tendency to make the proscenium space look im- portant. Heavy assignment goes to two turns. liamberti, who roughens up his buffoonery to the limit for thlA dkte, and Jones and Hull who go even further in stepping on the re-^ liable old hoke. Foi^ purposes of drop of eolumiisr oi flags on inarch I this peculiarly naive Broadway cli-^ bits of chatter. Looks like this step is taking hold here, with King mak- ing plenty headway as a local fav. Shan. Act gave scope for burlesque bit, which was good for laughs. Rusty and Shine, one colored and upstage. It's laid on pretty syrupy but serves the purpose Intended. Wesley Eddy Is the m.c. over here and from all Indications had a fol- lowing. Over ahd above the m.c.'ng and band driving, he does a ven- triloquism bit that's. cllckful. There's also an 'amateUr show,' with several menibers of company entele, the results are perfect. These two turns supply wholesale quan- titlea- of low. comedyj. the main" in^ gredient of the layout. Methods aren't always very fas- tidious, but they get results. Lam- bertl's business with the old shoe and the flit guh; for Instance, Is far from the Tiffany standard of tieat cbmedy, but the audience response here was the pefect allW. In Uke manner Jones and Hi^W go to their Leicester Sq., London London, June 27. .Harry Foster has assembled a colored troupe for the basis of his Leicester Square program. They were recruited from various places,. Including the Cotton. Club, York. HOLLYWOOD, L. A. Hollywood, July 7. Well-balanced blii Joyce held over for a second week for the presentation afterplecie fol- lowing tlie four acts, Joyce sells his personality and scores with a medl ocre band and so-so talent. Robert Twins, Juye girl tappiBrS/ Erllne Bollng, aero dancer, Bernle Myers tenor, and Audrey Farncroft, oper atic soprano, work in front Of the band. All are pleasing, but have little to do. Band contrlbs three numbers, all hot. Standout bit Is New. I Joyce's Umber leg dancing. Vaude portion opens with Chap going Intentionally bad for laughs Asi Joe Flop, the short of the Mutt- theother;-Clarke, formerly of eia^'l'? SJfn^L^'Sinf Vn a^f^^^^^ flnfsh wltfi- an acrobatic bit, » ahd Ritchie, do a deliberate steal ^^"I/CY"^^^ of one of the boys over Of Manny and Roberto' '^^^^^^^ four chairs In tine. That called for I as awful ^comedians, precede |ddy's first ventrllo bust. A novel Idea that works out aa wanted.. Of the three, routines by the Foster liiie. their puppet huitiber is the hesl» Screen catches 'It's Great to be Alive' (Fox), On final de luxe turn- over Friday night house was doing fair on population. Char, costumes. This Is particularly ruth less as Charlie Manny has Just re- vived the act CblUnsori and Dean with Teddy J^o' thelr 'Dentist' sketch, with the wiin xcu y 1 ^^^.^ ^ patlente, as recenUy done at the Palladium. Five Magnets, four women and one man, in miscellany of music and song, which natives here Just love. Condos brothers are still supreme In the art of fast hoofing, but the boys are very anxious to do comedy, and as comedians they are still the best hoofers around.^ ■ ^ , There are plenty of 'blackouts, and any amount of dirt but the lo- cals Just eat it up. Show lasted two and a half hours, but It did no.t seem a minute too lonjg for the audi- ence, with everything being appre- ciated, only one gag of Austin Some half-dozen scenes are filled I pelle and Carlton, man woman i.^^j^.^^^j^j^ deaf ears, with specialty acts and the affair Is I hand balancing team. Chappfeue [ titled 'Dark Doings,' produced by does a rollr-over up a flight of stairs Clarence Robinson. In the troupe, are carrying Miss Carlton aloft. Pair Cllsabeth . Welch, Alma Smith, Arlta work salesmanship to a degree and Fifteen thousand people paid for admission on opening day, and with G. O. H., N. Y. Saturday's sultry matinee found a substiantlal number of the male customers in the balcony stripped down to their undershirts. Sartorial code prevailing here ma.de it. okay from the management viewpoint, biit the mixture of b. o.'s arising thereiCrom, particularly when the house ifans were halted for the an. encore, and they supplied It with a vocal duet. A song session as a topper for an acrobatic thriller doesn't reoommend Itself, but her» the- returns-were eminently satis- factory which disarms comment - then ahd there. By way of supplying quieter In- terludes for change of pace, theri* sure Jack Holland and Miss June (new billing brought about by the protest of June Knight, the temmo member); Do, Re, MI, girt harmon- izing trio from CBS and; rounding out the show for tltf Closing spot; the Wing Wah troupe of Chinese equilibrists. Opening were the four Step Brothers; colored quartet of steppers, a whirlwind for speed In the authentic Negro inanner. Value of the Foster girls U not to be disregarded. This line and the way they Use It does wonders for the performance. Girls open the stage Interval with a brisk rou- prlces ranging from 12c. to 60c, looks vaude Innings, created for the more tine, attractively dressed In scant »ay— Five Ho t-ShotsHgom-Bro' Tiny Ray, Troy Brown, Sammy Van, John Payne's Jubilee Singers and others. After the first show a long comedy ecene was deleted, with Foster switching the show around for the first few performances Iii an en- deavor to secure the best results. For more than an hour the audi- ence's were regaled with about as fast moving ain ehtertaliimeht a^ has been seen here since Lew Leslie's >ete—opening act tor any like first day's Intake was around ^ijooOr-There-see ms to bo no dou lrtr house. ^1^^^"%. , house will gross $18,000 for the week singing duo. «<>"o^'' ^Ij^it irtfl**^^ of six days, which will be the best two numbers, a h^t^oP«n|' ^ business of any hotfse In town. In- imitation of the ,f If eluding the West-Bnd, whether pic Topsy and Eva. Latter number has i^*""" » ■ - — - ' — — the girls doing a strip change. They're good performers With noth ing outstanding to offer, but brief ness of their act shows intelligence on their part. Frank Melihb and Co., knockabout hoke dancing trio, next. Too much .^Blackbirds:' It Is a regular hotcha falling, face slapping and meaning- tlme-klller and entirely enjoyable. With thie exception of a. few mo- inento when Elisabeth Welch tries to get ritzy. Remainder of the show Is made up of the j>ermanent Jackson Girls, Stetson the Juggler, Neil McKay, Valletand Richardson, operatic duo, De Wolfe, Metcalf and Ford, with a sort of after-piece 'The Street, Pip- er's Dream^' wherein a penniless Scotch piper asleep on a public park bench, has a beautiful dream which Is visualized., on . the stage.- Sntire ^how. Is splendld^value-f or .the-prices- Colored troupe must have been cleverly advertised, beciause the re- ceipts Monday were $500 more than the previous Monday. Some word of itibuth should dra^ West-Enders to the house during the stay of the high yallers. ■ Jqlo: less gab to take this act out of the' ordinary Plass, but they fare well with a fast tumbling finish. Will Aubrey, next to the presentation, with stag gags that are out of place In this house. tures or legit. Vaudeville program only cost $1,600, which Includes a troup Of 10 Trocia-dero Angels. Pic- ture Is 'Half-Naked Truth' (RKG), but it Is the 'Crazy' business that's pulling. FOX, BROOKLYN Brooklyn, July 7. They tOss the folks a lot for their loose change over here, the same las at the Roxy, N". T., under the Business off at Friday's mat, with ^ame manigement, and that, no a weak draw feature, 'Silk Express' (WB), getting the blaihe. Bobby Jones short and Universal news. Call. RKO, L. A. TjbrAngelfen; July 7; doubt, is what the chary .«how- shoppers want out in this neck of the terrain. It won't be so cheap from now oh as It has been, how- ever, ..with Fox (and Roxy, too) up- plng Its price to 55c. Formerly top was-35c., with the extent of the cut under Xoew's Met and.RKQ'S, Albee never any fun to those houses. Fox makes money at over $10,000 P'atrons seeking gross quantity and. not so Interested in the quality f or $11,000, dependingj>n the varying of the entertainment will .welcome ORPHEUM, N. Y. cost of the shows. Both the Aljiee and Met have to get much^ more to knock. Same -was true of the Brooklyn Par, when operating,. but If It reopens iftround Sept. i, Publlx will have the overhead neck and neck with the Fpx. While both this house and the the RKO'S show this week with open arms. It runs Just short bf three , which nieans 8c.' an hour afternoons and 13 coppers per hr. nights. No robust vocalizing' leaves soine'^ thing to be desireci in the five-act, . „ _ i o^^^. ^^i' j^^^tw-...,, v layout this first half at the Orph. Camera-Sharkey fisticuffs; a Negro ,^ prices is expected to have the Otherwise the quintet of acto, from | floor, show and _the Horace Heidt | gflfgpt lassoing better pictures for oipening to final disperse good va- riety entertainment. Harry Rose sings, but It's not counted in the general Observation. The femme al- lure Is In Doc Baker's 'Flashes of 1933,* ;whlch carries fPur chorines. Looks like an okay first half on biz with 'Pipture Snatcher' (WB) head- ing the film end and to which the vaude lends fiaiir support , Fact that the layout spreadsjhas been shifted bodily :froni the (comedy niore or. lessconsistently floor of the colored cab for an hour for around 40 minutes of. the ag- of darktown performing that taps gtegate 66 of the stage end, should the audience to death. Songs are make this program take okay. The mainly from 'Lucky Day,' colored htiraor comes rather cbntlnubusly, musical that played here a year and =-Btartlng-:-Wlth-^Calte3.=Brothers^ln^^.hal£iago..^^^ „ deuce and sprinkling right through their precision' hoofing acceptiibly tiring, feither, though It could be to R6s|e, who is next to clbslng.'. artd Alma Travers sings several trimmed for swifter results by 10 That kind of stufiE Is a body numbers to *good effect. Line of ot: 15 minutes, builder for the b.o. for the regulars eight girls rather ragged. Overtime on F&M unit partly who trapse in here from this neigh- Heidt band is on as a separate cauBed VfidUfy night, at the last borhood, A couple bf blue* spots unit after the fight picture, doing performance through Vaughn. De- in Rose's chatter could go- by the 117 jninutes bf music thM lit topped Leath applying the air brakes ahd boards and looks like he uses ah by the ieaderls drumstick Jugglifig.i^ Al Wald- overabundance of Hebe, but here A glee club imitation of ah prgan man, who admitted they'rieyer went okay. Rose in his customary ener- is a neat Idea. ovef this eood before.' Waldman getic manner romps off an easy win- Business about thrcc.-flfths down- hoya' blackface turn was seriously ner. When caught he had every-1 stairs opening show. Leny. 'impeded by talk at the outset, but sensitive olefactorles an Impression decidedly marked, muggtness of the afternoon and the little comfort to he derived here there was a sizable turnout With the kid contingent equally substan- tial. Topping the guest list for the stage occasion was Agnes Ayres, no whit less pulchrltudlnous-and -certainly Important .company....-for. the G; O. Hi customers. For her act she did a windy Bpiel on her pic- ture pasti sprinkling her remin- iscences with such names as Ru- dolph Valentino, Cecil DeMIlle, Wallace Reld. To the mob here It was a piquant autobiography right from the source and rapt was the attention they gave her recital, with this even going for the youngsters, to whom the face ami iiame could conjure up little tamlllarity, If any. They rewarded her heftily for the visit and as an. encorce she Sit- tempted a pop ballad that vocally was t>retty bad,, but siifflced to gar- ner her an additional vote of ap- prbval." Preceding and following the per- sonal appearance were two dancing turns, but neither had any trouble wakings thie grade. -Al Norman, In deuce; had the first crack at the stepping art. Also a couple of yoimgr sters Who shook a fast and oddly loose-jointed eccentric and brought them up unanimbbsly pounding for more. Other hoofing act was the costume of striking canary yellow luep-maJclng-an a rresHng — opening, with the Step boys on tor the climax of the dance routine. In ilke manner the girls supply a pre- liminary buildup for the song and dance act of Holland and June anA finally they've contrived a Geisha ensemble as. Introductory to the Chi- nese troupe at the finish. These things are expertly doiie and have a showinanly etfiect in establlshtng the Importance of the specialty peo- ple, with Dave Schooler working aa m/ c, to the same end. . It -might hot be amiss,'however, in weighing the general effect of the staging, to suggest that, dressing the bandsmen in shOrt sleeved pblo shirts gives them a sloppy look. Schooler, leading them, calls at- tention to the slipshod aspect of the band by wearing a paLrtlcularly trim niess jacket of white. . Feature Is 'It's Great to Be Allve^ (Fox) which needs all the support It can get from the stage. An espe- cially amusing Mickey Mouse chap- ter contributes a good deal to the total score. Attendance at this Fri- day' evening ,perfbrmance half, ca--'" pacity or less, weather being sultry. Bush. Cbideh Gate, Friiico San Francisco, July 5. Cliff Work has had nothing but sell-outs for this RKO house since r^v. - ,^ i-nrKo.*-D..i»<; r wiiiio wm •.•>«» v..^,.-urv..^^ ..v<',....t^ v..'.^.. he Opened Al Pearce and his radio _ .There s .a sex fe^ture,^ Wh.|^Pr:ip^e p^^^y j,^^^ ^^j^^ better" at a Lovejoy troiipfe, a lihe Of eight re- gang .(NBC).-XJpening. day^s.attend.-; Innocences ,f„v v^^^ academy grads, a ance record was smashed, and bahd^—plus newsreel.. In seeking to draw those interested. In dipping | Into the fountain of sexual, knowl- edge; the patrons of the manly art; the connoisseurs of sepia hpoferyl and choral worki and the followers] of stage band divertlssmerits, the- house bias not succeeded in furnish- ing anything outstanding. Earl Dancer's Club. Ebony revue both houses to Justify 20c. moire for adults. At the 35c. s^ale, fbr some- time In effect now, both hotises have also worked up a certain clientele favoring their shows. Policy on bbth sides of the' East riV(MncalTs"^or'^~To'ng" afternoon: or^ evening's relaxation, usually over three hours, and sometimes nearer .to. four if the. picture Is a; longie. Stage bills, closer to a.vaude lineup of eight acts, played in a presenta- tion background, than most plcture houses try, almost always eat up an hour br niore. This week"69"--minutes go: to.-thc playing, of^theiStage.show.^Ajid~iWLt= slowr motion contortionist and a mixed team of two exceptionally spi:lghtly misses when it came to dLshing oiit the more Intricate tap designs, and a little lad of likewise capable proportions in the same field. Laist three drew heavy on the applause. ..^ _ - '—- "- Tail end *of the bill went to Bar- ney C! rant for his tintype-hlllbllly conglomeration. There was the usual-plying of the harmonica, fife, minstrel bones and guitar, the coy. leering out lat the audience, bits of barn clogging and the regulation costume getrups for acts, of this type; Included in the. routine here, "w^s ji "burresque acrobatTc TbTt,that^ lTfeIped""^galh er"^th'e~^gTg^^ "^THey" liked the efforts of the trQupe herp and did well by it on the farewell, Alexander Bros, and Evelyn filled the ppenlng niche with a ball bouncing povelty that at least pleased the kids, llouse Is on—tlre'"filnul5~^atTu'c standard this l}alf; with 'Peg o' My Heart' (Metro) the current. With it there's a new.sreel and a Mickey Mouse. Uilcc. since thien there has been a turn- away, every first matinee with hold- outs in the lobby by noon. It looks like a top money week for the house and ito chief attrac- tion, and with a straight percentage deal from the first dollar everybody :.will make . dough.—Pearce,_ with a_ payroll of around two grand, stands to gross arbund $8,<l00 or more for the act. . The Pearce act Is a dally radio matinee, two to three p.m. over NBC's western network. Formerly it was tl'i^e Happy Gb Lucky gang on the CBSrDon Lee chain, but left tliere less- tlian a year ago after -cbnmiissioTT differences/ Since com- -1ng=tb''=NBe=^:hc^?hour--has-^bulltHo- considerable proportions until now "it is one of the Coast's outstanding shows and the best money-making radio act to hit a westet-n show- hou.se. NBC doesn't got commission from, this dnte, nor dbes the chain pay T^rce^ for 4xis-radio-shoWi Ha .<)upplie.s all talent, paying out of ht^ Awn pockPt, and NBC permits him to pIUfiT his publics aopoarancejj—th« (Continued on page 20)