Variety (July 1933)

12 VARIETY YABIEYW HMISE PARAMOUNT, N, Y, An ezperlment at the big Far this iveek that will be interesting to-watch. Whether or not picture hoiise audiences can be sold a 60- -rinlnutel- -highly- ,Jarty~ ^ stage—show _ <'Ilun> Little. Children') is the Question and on the face. of it, the theatre looks to be ih for trouble,' • But there arie several conciliatory features. Most iroptortaht is the fact that the picture ^^Mama Lioves Papa' is a good coihedy and arcihch wWdiof-mouth builder. That may ovierbalahce the' thing, is^ the vreek goes along. On the other hand, even hete, is a ianagj, because the picture has no dritw names knd the title doesn't mean very much. That Paramount itself wasn't quite sure of how to handle the release is in- «Ilcated by the fact that first ad- vertisements bUied the show above thie fllin. Then the ads Were switched v'to .^Ive the- picture an even break and first mention.' Several other tough angles to the -stage flhoW'4hat- wouldn't- ordinarily be-there, but are definitely to he considered currently. Loew's State, a, block riiway; has an all-;colored show , with Ethel Waters, a band .and isbme-deflnite colored-names. A ^bit further down the street," at the Capitol, is Harold Arlen: with at col- ored choir. "But the ;Paramolint's colored show, in spite of its legit background and critics'^.notices, is still .'just a colored show and no n^es; Wh^t it really-amounts to /.is Harlem = hQtch8|,' pt»iMhg against negro, art. /! , ^ .'Bim,. 'Mttle Children*. was a last CAPITOL, N. Y. smacked 'em for a clean hit. Kc^ Giveney, too, was liked with his up- . ^ , to-date version of the English music I Ethel Barrymore W here In person hall favorite* He pliiyed the State-, ^eek.' doing her favorite our- Lake a year ago when that bouse . raiser. Sir James M. Barrle's was operating vaudfllm under RKO I .^^^j^e p^^^^a xobV/ It's on her auspiceis. As topical. «w today's newspaper, Berle cracked about the ladles room, at the world's . Fair and added •you've got to be a millionaire.* His idea of real speed was Hitler run- ning dowii Maxwell Street. He didn't pay income tax. JHe told them he was ar hj^n^er^ All of which convulsed the loop. . MUSIC HALL, Nl This week's stage show is the nearest thing yet to Boxy in his bld- tlme form. It has a world of class, much pictorial , beauty and: a flavor- ing of novelty in one spot that clinches the Impression. Shapes up; nicely in tone and atmosphere to go With the feature, .'Dbuble Harness' (Badio), an ih-betwcener tor gen- eral purposes, but one of those QUlet Ann Harding-siibjecfs that-attracts a high grade clientele. \ " Layout is in three . sectipns, two handsomely stagfed spectacles opien- , Ing ahd closing,.and a..smashing novelty called 'The Big Flg*t,' set, midway. AH threb items won en- thusiastic respbhisiB' froihi an i(iudi> ence that wag withjri very little of; capacity on: this midsummer eve- ning; Consistehcy of the open- ing shpw attendahce within the last ihonth or so suggests. Ithat the big MusiC: Hall lis .gradually attracting a steady list of regulars, the possi- ble result of the show type recently That the^CapItol depends this we^ for the. major portion of draft. Pic- ture doesn't look like box-office of more than noild account. It's 'Storm at iDaybreak/ with ICay Francis and Nils Asther paired. Ill the middle of the stage show Miss Biirrymore does her stuff. She is a little islbw In warmihg up, not being used tb such lajrge theatres as the Cap, and tbgether i^^lth Harry Plimmer haa difficulty In forcing her ybjce to the required pitch. lYbin the mez;sanine divans, about half wky backi It was necessary to strain to get what was being said. . Pllmmer particularly wias hard to understand, ' not bhjy • because', his voice ywasn't carrying Friday night' but also becJauser'Jh some meksure of pbbr dictlbn. EMBASST Sonne day some sniart agrat is golbg to this theatre once too often. After thiat .the newsreels wlli have to pay^ to review Stitch iMcCarthy and his n»ob, - There's every- reasbn for Stltch*.a success In yau^evllle. For that matter lie and the othef v Delancey^Si.^'i^yors could star in, atiy series of shorts. 1 Ahd they^d. be real subjects, Bight now, however, McCarthy and the boys, seem con- tent to peVfbrm gratis. They 'still indicate thAt niuch ihOdesty. For once Hitler got a rbuslng re- cegpt^on, V on*' .which drowned . all hisses. In the Embassy. It was a Sit. * tnaif. • and the hbUse was -^ell •flU^d '.when F-H dared the- first Misa Barrymore Is getting $2,500; i^jj^gg.up.of the Chancellor in actioh. I this engagement,, her first in any i hvhich' It h on . .. picture house. The first lady of the legit stage haa done 'Twelve Pound I^bk' In vaiide: It fiults her well" f br l a picture thieatre date such as this, thbugh the Cap is' rather a vast house to play a sketch to. It was tried'once before', "nqt so long ago, when Warren . William and .rBette Davis, from the Warner lot. Worked Under like dlfflcultiesi At the |2,506 for Miss Barrymore, Gap- production department has had enough left on Its usual budget to „ ha'9'projected. In'months. Another Geriiaan clip initiated 'the audience into Hitler's idea of mass marriage. Just 47 couples repealed the., words. Flash of .Max Schmeling and-'his .bride -were , Included at same tlm^- ■•. " . " Bal^b and his airmen led- oft both houses.- Xiuxer " evidently, sheiared Piathe's coverage -to the bone,- but it suf-fibed; Foi-Hearst played the subject up big,- with- soiwe 'camera angles worthy, ertbugh 'to vbe per* celved and appreciated by the aver four inbnthis at the Lyric to very smalt business but got swell-notices -and'^as a'' sort of higfe-brbw lure. The..ihri9rt eet talked about, It, but ye^. few .pebtile went to see it." • - Ih' at i>ictuBe •house that's< naturr .ally eyeni^wotse. But, on the.other hand, it's been •cpndensed and noth- ing kept,. but the two big scenes -and the house front can blow up .some swell critics' notices. (Which, Incidentally, was done). .. . > It's hot enbugh. ' It should have ''been cut down to one scene,.half " the time, jahd some more meaty, 'entertainment piled up around It.' . >Hall Johnson Wrote the play for his chbir to romp In; First scene Is SL- flashy ' aftair In the Jersey ■BwampS 'With a revival meeting as the central pioint. Second .scene is plain, old'-fiEishloned negro church With >feld-fashibned s prayer, meetin*. That l^t-scene is authen- ; tib and eipertly staged. - It's-pretty thrilling aftejr it gets going. And -.the firttt scehe is very colorful and eiids in a' highly exciting mood. . But . the -show ^ift Itia ehtlrety strikes as being top iQpg and with too: niany .dull. nibmefits for" the There's. a pew atmbsphere about the whole -house.'—For one " thing, they have programs available how, the former isystem-:-ihtroduced dur- ing one -Of those ecohbihy pianlcs— of throwing program, announce-^ ments bh'a draped "curtain, having b^en changed. This gets rid: of one great annoyalnce. -' Those printed announcementig thrown on., a drop broke into draped folds, were 'Cal- culated to promote teeth-gnashing. , Current iBtage program opens quietly with a rather heavy over- ture". |n 'II Guarany.* A Program note eicplalns that the selection is used ita coinihemoratibni of the 160th -. anniversary of the .birth of .Simoh Bolivar, Soiith American liberator, whatever that may mean to -mbdern .muslt^l. taste's. . Indefinite, start. Is. Immediately) cbrrected -with the. .parting of. the trayelier' on a. handsome stage set- ting as background "for the Bubih- steln''Melody in F.* There is a suggestion of a chateau terrace at. the o'.p. sijd^,.. with. the.. choral; en- semble In stately court dress posed about the stage and the principal the legit star. Supporting talent does hot consist of any other names,- but as\ to production there's muCh more than the average. This may be Indicated by the 62 minutes devoted to the stage. It's getting the Cap more Into the Boxy and Paramount'class, both of which liEiteiy have: beten padding their shows to an hour or more. BOSS and Edwards, o<ten up here a'hd'often around elsewhere in New York vaude houses, the dance team of ttairisbn^ahd Fisher,' Phil 5j>It-| alny's band and Hfittbld A'rlen, with a colored' choir make 'Up' the-rest; of the show: Arlen outdistances the supporting group. . The composer of 'Stormy Weather* is .one of the fewvsong- writera who,, in appearing on . a st^ge, can show persqhality, and voice. On later he's- no Caruso or McCormack, . but' generally- -agree-, able, doing well especially in the way he sells 'Stormy Weather.' "Cap lets Arleni do a medley of his composltlbns - first, then " backs him up strongly with a colored choir led one of the planes from the timb, .it struck, the' .water until > it mbolred' was outstanding amibng -thtese. Em bassy as well wab the only news reel hous© to shbw> tl.e NeW York parade, Beautiful cannera .. shadings and sttidles were oft^ired'by:^'-H of-the recerit Long 'Island Sound- regatta. Both houses dug into their files for Wiley Pbeit niaterlial after using a view, of the lAtbst take-oiff; ' Eih>: bas'sy- also covered the .start of the other tw^o ill-fated traiifl-Atlantic, airmen^ • While on the air subject, Paraihouint. a .followed some gliders- ah* F-H took another look at the Embassy showed' Dempsey at hid wedding breakfast.' It had English^ royalty kt' the 8to<^ show, smallen monarchs at a . Latvian • mUslcal — TRANStUXT ^ Baymond Moley knows all the answers. The next tlnne the news*^ reel contact men plan to Intervievir iiim they'll pirobably„. yehearse th^ questlbns, The main bralhster made terrible dubs oiit of his in- terrogators. .They couldn't get him iQ go on.recbrd even by inference. And they w.ouM 'up by apologizing, a JpurhiAllstlo vlblatlon which a 'dec> ode a^o would' have , meant capital purijshm<?nt for Ufiy inetropplitan scribe. * The difference between posing with a hat on for one picture and off in anbthbr ia strlklhg in. the Instance- of the Abyssinian: envoy. At the iEmbaiasy, where his high foreheid" was exposed, the visitor impressed.as a .nuin of bearing and dignity. In the Luxer, with a fe- dora askew, - the same individual W9.i at a clbwhlsh disadvantage. An- unusual-character study of re- forestration .men arp:und ia camp- iPre llstehlng to President Boose- velt's - broadcast was -offered by Pathe. Same, reel. got: the victim of . Chicago kidhf ppers to go on rec- brd against tliem,:. pathe also in- terviewed Ells-worth before his voy- age to the pole'and--showed that straw, was • fih .exceilcipt subs.titute for noW' fo'i'. Michigan skliers. UniversiE^l Had the Cblcagb stock- yards'-, fire, an Atlitthtib City blimp, Californta girl .varsity, cactus sttt-, dehts and-Hftlen Willi?! fogei^^h ten- nis . victory; This .week , Luxer is getting.biick tb'the bid shprts vol- ley. Some of the BUbj«icts current- ly shown are at least t-wo years old. .. Wall/, . festival, Mussolini, reviewing .this time. :>, .The California.kid -Orchestra is aj- Ways goodi . The youngsters, other tlmn ftheir playing, .are cute and -provide an occasion^,! laugh. Other clips: Strangler Lewis, PIcard, Chinese "^n^rishaill, ^ Maine Coast Guard,' Farley-!-..oh- repeal, - Jones! beach, Japanese < darby, Spanish bullis. Be-lfesue', of .Magic Carpet, Italy ln.Tripoli,Vto-cOinpidewlth the front^of-the-'^hoUfee' prb-Balbo bally. Got plenty of the spaghet' tr.-^de. • i.- ii. .:- ■■- WdJy. regtilar mW.rHar«Tt wou7aTiave - . been about twice as attractive Among the cast are thb ^all Johnson choir, Fredi Washington, "Alston Burleigh, Alga "Burgoyne, Jack Catr and Lloyd Hickman, but no way of. identifying anybody separately. A . Voice between cur- tains, explain^ the story prior .to and. between the two. acts. As ia 'prelude tb the shbw is the orchestra in an 'Orpheu$* overture, With Jackie Held,, a boy of seven br BO waving the stick at the niien. Kid "has a pretty accurate sense.of time which niakes it. all right. - Pafaniount newsreel and a Short fill out the prograxn. Kauf, old-time medieval costume. Best of the stage Is'dim and mbstly . Vague drapes. As the song goes- on the back drop develops into ' a trans- parency for a dance number by the ballet corps under medium side floods, working up to a. sweetly done principal diahce number out froiit by -Patricia .-Bowman with. M.. Vbd-:- noy and Nicholas Daks assisting. .'The Big Fight! follows, making an effective contrast in atmosphere. Opening Is the front gates of a. fight arena, with the Boxyettes in Im- • pressibnistic ushers' uniforms, doing a characteristically brisk drill rou- tine. Arena front turns oh the re- lair figure up . Harlem way' among the late night spots. She leads the chorus In ttn okay way on 'I've Got the "World On a String,' whote grpup closing with Arlen at helm singing his latest song, 'Shame On You.' Boss 'and EJdwards, on ahead of Miss Barrymore^ are trying but some new material, part of it iaxound topical fituft, b^t It-gets no- where. The old material still in the act, notably in the way the King's English Is killed. Saves them. Spltalny opens the show and the dance teami with the Chester Hale Girls clbse. It*a a noisy beginning and a chietrmlng close. In line with the black and white color scheme > ^PALACErCHICAGO ~ Chicago, July 21. Milton Berle 'making his first ap- pearance at the Palace in his status as. comedy Jieadliner, Some years agOi then not known to fame, he played here with a big act. Today he's booked for. two weeks and given the whole show. Chicago fancied his style, his gags, and his energetic self and it seems that his popularity in this burg wfll ripen With ac^ 4uaintance. , . - .„ Business started off excellently Friday. That can scarcely- be at- tributed'to'Berle, an unknown fac- tor. Bather Ann Harding ifthd Wilr 11am Powell -' teamed ' in Badio's Dipuble H^rnesa' are dragging *em in. it wa!s pretty hot again frpm Thursday -onward after two blessed- weeks of cool weather. Thermometer may or- may not hold the Week's ross in the yiicuum of its mercury. 'World's Fair -Frolics' 4s thcriame for the current divertissment con- sisting of Berle, Irene Bordbni, Chil- ton and Thomas, Owen McGiveney and 12 good-looking Virginia O'Brien girls. Show is framed along volvlng stage, to disclose a typical I figuring prominently in the produc-' .ni-tf^A-fIc'Hf-rlner-f(nnf1(><1 -in-^nntirprful " tloJi-^f "thlS Week'S shOW, there's nO tinsel at the finish, no whirling gewgawa or a dozen different kind of rainbows. A pleasing variation and it includes the Hale lassies in fetching costumesl. Hale seems tb get his cbstume;-material thinner and thinner. , Girls are on ahead pf and after Htvrrlson and Fisher, whose impres- sionistic stuliE brings them the fi.olid rewards; In order nbf to spoil - the black and white Idea, Spltalny and his men, plus the two girls In the band, carry out thla color coniblnatibn against black backdrops. Spitalny'S band includes a group of seven men bn a vocal assignment. Three num- bers offered by the band, including 'Str Louis Bluea* and 'Second Hun-; garlan Bhiapsody.^ , • On both of these the playing is louder than required, .and Spltalny overworks in conducting. Nice piano silhouette finish, with seven girls backstage, probably faking at the ivories. Lighting effect excellent. Public not in here In droves Fri- day night, business being about prize fight rrlng-flooded -in-^pOWerful lights and occupied by the t-wo • boxers and a referee with mechanlr cal sound effects of a roaring crowd indicated off stage. '. Boxers have a splendidly graphic pantomimic dance idea; conveying nauch more strongly than, any mere boxing skill could do, the drama of a fistic conflict. Ends in a knbck-. out and- the whole .bit la. tremen- dously effective in a sight and nov- elty -way, b'esldes-/the dranja con- tained in its action. ' Newsreel intervenes, having a. capital assortmeht. of topical clips. Then Into-the-finale. Stage, is; ar- ranged as a courtly drawing room scene, cpnveylnfe >.the spirit of the title 'Gay yienna.' Song assignment here goes - tp Jan Pberce and Miss Binehart, leading thb choir in typlcr ally lilting Viennese numbers/ Cbs- tumipg is in the Austrian cburt style with the brilliant unifprms of hus^ .sarsjendinE^special..color. ..Violin sgio Is. nicely handled by Jacques Gasselin, while. Miss Bowman bas another solo' dance.session,, done In her always compelling manner. Climax of the festivities is an- revue-^Jines-'l .with_:Bfirle_..Wprkin£LLot^^ McGiveiiey's turn 52, this time In a trim version of the hussiar . uniform, mostly ex- pressed In gold bodice's, ffebhings' and red bbots, with a graceful feather head-dress suggesting a, horse's mane. Number was the high point In audience applause, and de- average. Char. throughout ■ and iioked up.as_of J^.ore. Public was in a satisfied mood all the way al- though Miss Bordohi got by on her artistry riither than any inherent merit in her materia,!, the weakest group of songs she has had In years. ^^Pcrhap8=fa-^frieridly-rcmihder^to=^this^ star that she used to be rated as a light Comedienne Is in order,- Miss Bordbni was a good sport —about stocging^oTT-Berle—whose hokum Is rather broad fpr a per- former of her refinement. At mo- ments the combination of the two was eJrtremely incongruous. Miss Bordbni is scarcely identified with wrestlingj,' PALLADIUM,-LONDON London, July li- lt's tough enough for the man- agement. to find headline Importa tlons; but it is tougher to find a j3erye.dJLtJCox=.8.,fiilmMlaiing^.disE^ Ballet corps is on as the climax ;KBoswell sisters suddenly notined begins to build,. doing, a. hew, and the management they , could not intricate version of ^the fan drill, ©peri bn their secbnd week, due to using—huge—red"—and—^ptnk—fa^is--eonnle-being-str-lcken^witb-mutnps worked into bouquet formations and An S.O.S. was sent out for a re- giving new effects to groupings. | placement. Yorke and King, due •the^-jEalladlum:. has lbeeh._ w.aM^^ for several, months; but./coul^ not get together ,with On salary, the crooner ' wanting H.SpO, with the nianageitoent InSlstihg on $1,250, was next located, with the. nVanagement finally acquiescing to her demands. George--Sr-^Melyih r.-wa3anotb er- blUed hilt falling to appeifir.. In his case, the' billing was premature, as Melvin Is on. a motor, tour,'with chances of location almost nil. Billy Danvers replaced. . Prpgram as a" whole was not pf the best calibre; too many single man acts partly responsible for let- down. Three' American acts were the'real standouts. - Nicol and Martin, comedy cyclists; Stay on tbo long. With best part of act being ■ the drunk bit. Claude Lester, assisted by a femme foilj has posalbillUes, but relies for his comedy on famlliair materlial. Gloria Gilbert, assisted by Pearl Adelaide and Mary Sawyer and the Eight Hollywood Girls, comes straight from the AmbassadeUra restaurant, Paris. • Hollywood gir.ls were recruited In Paris, while Adelaide and Sawyer were formerly half of the Four Western Stars Added people are Jtrst^tor-build of fering into a flash,, as the act is all Miss Gilbert. She only takes a couple minutes, but it's long enough to stop thb' show. ; Billy-Danvera Is a .comic Of the old school, hard tb sell in modern Vaudeville,. .- . , Three Bi^cdwins, Just back from America, in fast acrobatics, punctu- ated with plenty of comedy, well liked-. Marion Harris, playing her first vaude . date rL In England „. :after cabareting ■ and -recording, came-; on to a reception. She put over three numbers to excellent results, with the audience asking for inore This .Concluded first .half, not overburdened with, laughis.. Open- ing, second half was 'The Act Superb,* posing turn, presented by Tom Gray.. Offering is a cinch for England. -Herb Williams and his gang-^let loose next. It seems unbelievable that. it is five years since -WUHams was here last. Buffoon was on .for 20 minutes, giving the crowd the first solid laugh of the evenihg, There is no doubt about Williams's welcome ■Threi^=''=^r(&f^"'"^ tinentals* whb emulate the Amer- ican style, ' are "fairly well estalr- lished here. Bby S have nice per jFOXyJiWETROlt Ben Three Finishes on a striking bit of stage picture, rounding out. One of. the most thoroughly satisfactpry jstage shows the-big house has hod-^since, iff!) opening , RuhK to open here next week fbr fort- I night, wbre the first asked, but team declined, as they had made arrangements to spend a few days in Scotland. Marion Harris, whom sonallty, with fair comedy style. Billy Bennett, doing most of the material he has'd'one at this house on ,several occasions, still grossed -a lia.rge quota of laughs, ■Stell.a and , Partner, _ gymi>ast»,' were liked. Mger, Detroit, July .22. one .'^IWd the ' *Black- and White Varieties' Is . anotlier of the yil.ude. r,evUe^ type. ..Using standard vaude -acts—with -an ^embellishment of good production making the acts used seem like nriore than they really are; .Like all shows, bow- ever, they stand and fall by the calibre of talent Involved. Aots used this week' are good and coupled with la nice-middle produc- tlbh number this one will mean dbllarM at the b. b.. Acta include Badcllffe and Bodgers, the Great Bemy, Carter and Holmes, Bernle's Sepia l^ephews, Cossacks, and. jesslta. Opening With' line production number in 'one,' all acts use black 4rops with ■ the exception of the Three Cossacks and with produc- tion scenery used only in the middle Droductioh number called Harlem.' Opening line routine bringing one of the line girls out for a fast specialty. Gal. nam^d Martha' doing a first rate, specialty. The Great Bemy on next doing hand balancing of a great ability. Lobking very youthful, " kid ■ im- pressed by such seeming impossible stunts sts walking on stilts with his hands and also roller skating on hands. Kid Starts where plenty of grown-.ups leaye .offi... ' On next. Bob" Carter Joe Holmes offer a sldp s.tlck abt with a lot of entertalnnieiit. Carter dbes business similar to-that he did with Bobby May. Act okay and cair fin similar spot in . most houses,. ' Bernib's Sbpla .Nephewi3 on next - vocallaing and playing string Inr strumehts for a nice effect but use^ ful- mbstly to bring 6ii the 'Harlem scene, in this, doing a modern im- pressionistic dance. Oumansky has done a nice piece of modern work. Number is sold. a,lso,. however, by the ability of Jessita. Known mostly for her rhumba work, this girl turns in a capital performance, doing a straight modern strut thAt opened their eyes. Platinum blond girl .making .an eyeful .dressed Jn .a pretty beach effect for an unusual impression. Assisting was . Le^ Malmeth from the Tine. One next Badcllffe and BbdRers stopped the proceedings with their high calibre gagging and music. Cossacks for the finale offer St wo rkma nli ke ,act jcl osing. _thhigs up with a bang. A good show alround. . ..For the pvertvjye Sain Jack Kauf- man does t-OVertupeC-' okay With a 'Popular ^,^. ..wrv^- -. Frankle^-Connors jol- ^ lowed a week of Boss MacLean and Showed that he too ha;s what _^hey want. Singing 'Lets Call It a Day he stopped the show before it goi - .Picture 'Don't Bet oA Love' ..tnd biz good.