Variety (Aug 1933)

TuesdUy, Augast 1, 1933 VARIETY MOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 13 PARAMOUNT, N. Y. 1 Out of the picture bouses for al- tj^^ost a year, Fred Waring'* Pbnn- IR^lvianlans, now billed as 'In person' and with, th^ Old Gold ^orchestra parenthetiPfndtatlon, evidences what the radio has^ done for this organi- ' jE.ation. tiong standard in - the ■ '■Kajrleties, the Old Gold etherlBlng 'hxCB lent revived public Interest to :'the Warings although their abilities as' rostrum perforpiers have long eince been proved. BetUrning under the new aura of ethereal prestige, the band assumes something of a name and as such the Par ha3. entrusted its entire unit to the Warlngs. Payrolied at $6,800i, that's quite an item for one attraction although Waring more ^!than sustains the presentation. •> Tom Waring, Evalyn Kalr, LatiS '^Sisters, Babs, The 3 Smoothies, '<Poley' McCIlntock, Johnnie Davis "find' Stuart Churchill are sab-men- - tloned with variegated noveltyjsjpe':!, cialties. But it's the general niethod of Hand presentation which malces the show. Waring changes pace almost with every number and never per- mits anything to become too serious- When a 'serious' musical attempt such as Maurice' Itavel's 'Bolero' is essayed, that's gotten over with, "'and a little hoke breaks it up. The component members of the ■ band 'figure most proAiInently in this by- play, centered chiefly about 'Poley' McCl intock at the traps with that log- KenrbaaiRj-ot-hlsr-and-Johmiie Davis, with an Andy Clyde mop of unruly hair who also gets to the customers. Tom Waring at the piano for his .tenor solo is given the first salvo Intro by maestro Fred, including a gracious announcement that Tom really first organized Waring's Pennslyvanlans at Penn. The col- lege spirit is agreeably present throughout, without being permitted to dominate. There are intermittent bits of college glee club concerted .yocalizlng although the most eCtec- tively theatric effects are the staged preclsloii numbers. That goes particularly for 'Danc- ing Dominoes,' with • the electrical props well maneuvered by the boys and evidences lots of serious atten- tioiLat-iehearaaJs. They orlginated^ that style of musical presentsQlbn. JDitto in that (dioral number which the Warlngs first did in the 'New Yorkers,' stage musical, and later in a Vitaphone short! Waring wisely announces this as probably having been seen before, which is an effec- tive way of taking the curse of familiarity ofC It. The Lane Sisters, Priscilla and Kosemary, announced as a younger edition of another pair of Lane Sis- ters, Leota and Liola, are from the same family. They're nice kids who handle their singing bit well. Evalyn NaIr registered most tellingly of the solists with her stepping, and the others are comedy and singing bit contributors. Paramount Pictorial, Fleischer ^oop' cartoonic and newsreel, plus 'Midnight Club' (Par), feature, on screen. Biz g9od Friday night and if It holds up, in view of the just- fair rating of the feature, it will nullify any worry about the War- lngs' gratis draw to those Carnegie Hall free concerts at every one of 'their Wednesday night broadcasts. Abel. ORPHEUM. N. Y. Not much stage show at the only Torkville vaude stand, but it blends fairly well into acceptable entertainment. Picture is 'Reunion in Vienna' (Metro), a weakle in nabes, and the customers couldn't make much of it, but the title will be responsible for some business in this neck of the woods, which ought to go for a fair week-end b. o. The Ingenues head the stage show, closing the five act bill, and they're easily the best class act in this house in some weeks. Sixteen girls are all there. They haven't been seen In New York for nigh on to two years and are at this the- atre for a show date. Why a rec- ognized act like this, that's been all over the world, and working mo st o f the t lmfj, needs _to s how is one of those mysteries, but here they are, and welcome. Girls are practically a full unit in themselves. They take up 25 minutes of stage time and the cus- tomers could go for more. Starting out as a rather unusual band, with an organ centered, two pianos and mostly string, the girls go into ivarlous musical routines. At one time a whole string of them, clear -.across the stage, playd mandolins. Then a whole string of them with accordions. For a' finish they turn into a. glary, blary, hot march band, parading up and down in frdiit of a special set, while the drum is . being pounded by the dancer of the ,act It's good vaudeville and worth a spot on most any bill. Show opens with another classic Standard turn, the Plcciani Troupe. Seven teeter-board gymnasts are' among the class turns of the type In the world. Deuced are Mickey Fecley and th^ Melvln Sisters, a weaklsh combo of three gala who sing pleas- antly' -and Jook pretty without get- ting very far. Call them okay deucers for minor houses. Steve Evans, centered, does imi- tations. Not strong, but the cus- tomers went tor It in a big way. Fred. Llghtner and Roscella next to shut took the- hurdles easily on the strength of Dightner's good low comedy, Sanie trouble with this turn as hais been true for a long time. He could use a partner that looks less pretty on stage, but who knows more about doing some sort of specialty. Not many people In the house Saturday afternoon for the second show, but that's traceable to the fact that Yorkville liever goes to the theatre on Saturday afternoon. No one's ever been able to flgrure out where they do go, biit it's not to shows. Kauf, Golden Gate, Frisco San Francisco; July 26, Three of the Coast's name radio acts have so far played this BKO house,..booked by Cllff Work, The first, Al Pearce and Gang, clicke-i decisively. The second, Cecil and Sally, brodied as decisively. The third and current, John and Ned, are going along In satisfactor/ style, accounting for something at the boxofilce. Constance Bennett in 'Bed of Roses' <Radio) only a fair grosser here, is getting ample sup- port from the NBC harmony team, who do their daily p. m. broadcast ~from—the—stage. ■ In their first theatre job on the coast,. John and Ned have as a character foil ILiittle Mary Smith,' juve impersonation, done by Ned, and popular ever the .air. Boys do coupla harmony numbers via the p.a. system, with 'John plunking the guitar for accompani- ment. . Then John does one single number while Ned makes a changre of costume, donning a kid's dress for the 'Little Mary* sequence, which gives a solid comedy punch to the 15-minute turn.. Duo is in oh a guarantee and per- centage, and look sure to walk away with an okay piece of change; Vaiide is topped by Jane and Katherine Lee with their melange of songs, chatter and a bit of hoof- inga.._JaxLe does creditably in the comedy job, and pair get ovier nicely. Inez and DeWyn open with pos- ing, Ross and Crandall in sailor's outfits, dance and play piano; tho Bobby Gilbert revue is fast hoofing. Lee Fleming puts the stage band through fast paces with a medley and other numbers, with the drum- mer coppingr the honors in a swell around-Ui«-stage solo with his trap sticks. Bock. -that-certitude-that-only a-seasoned- -featuredr—If a a good h ot ■ s how? STATE, L. A. Los Angeles, July 27. In his second week as m.c. here, Fd Lowry is forced to shoulder most of the burden in the way of stage diyertissment, but the recent F-WC import had no dlfQculty han- dling the tough assignment at the opening today. Lowry, in one week, has rounded ofC most of the rough edges which marked his initial stanza, and is already working with an ease that is most preceptlble. Raul Roulien, male lead in the current screen feature, 'It's Great to Be Alive,' and Herbert Mundin, who provides the comedy in the same pie, are making a personal ap- pearance this week in conjunction with the film, and while their pres ence is acceptable to the pay cus- tomers, their efforts lend little to the performance. Mundin indulges in some comedy gagging with Lowry, and warbles a comedy tune-from a musical revue in which he appeared. several years ago, while Roulien displayed a pleasing tenor voice in the rendi tion of a couple of romantic bal lads that seem to please his hear ers. Aside from the ecreen actors, the talent comprises Rods and Bennett, comedy team in patter, song and dance; Marie HoUis, nifty stepper; whose repertoire extends mostly to •HpU Lu and -difflcult-cart—wheel3,-and- Thelma Brown and the two Brown- ies, colored blues singing act, with one of the gals evincing a desire to wiggle it up throughout all their numbers. Lowry warbles a parody to the tune of 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime,' which had to do wfth"Shar- lie, Vas You Dere?' revealing a keen dialect that tickled the fancy of-the mob. The finale is a distinct nov- elty hereabouts, with Lowry. and principals all dancing and singing a. query as to 'IIow Am I Doing' that works itself into a smash .fin- ish. Opening show, running 57 mlns., decidedly too long, particularly with the hot weather crowd, and will have to be considerably pruned be- fore it is develop6d into a smooth running performance. Also on screen, news, travelog and cartoon. Biz not s.6 hot at the mat shows. Edwa. STATE, N. Y. With the Loew Capitol turning from presentation to straight spe- cialty form of show, why shouldn't the State return the compliment by turning for the moment from straight vaudeville plus pictures to a semi.presentation idea? It's just for the week anyhow. Presentation Idea is a mere suggestion arising from the presence of a group of Chester Hale girls. 24 in number, who open and close the show in the roller skate ballet that has been seen at the Capitol. Outside of this item, it's a good standard variety show, with a minor conflict or two, but a bar- gain at the price, running as it does close to an hour and a half and making the full performance exactly three hours long, including the fea- ture, 'Jennie Gerhardt' (Par), one of the better matinee grossers. Featured are Pat Rooney and Pat ni, a State regular and a name that m^ns something around these cor- ners, both in the lobby display and on the stage. Marlon Bent, looking trim in a summer dress joins the rest oX_ the. faroily_,for. the_janlfihlng by-play that tops pff the standby tapping routines of Booney pere and flls. Next to closing, of course, and a strong spot. Show is a bit overboard on m.c.'s at times. Bert Walton takes the general assignment and works hard to sell the entertainment, going even so far as to start the proceed- ings on a cold entrance, instead of letting the opener warm 'em up. Takes trouping to succeed in this feat. Semi-comedy get-up helps his entrance and he takes hold with Grade Barrle, also a warbler, have been spotted to excellent advantage. Aside from the opening blunder, line girls make one other appearance, -about half way down the proceed- ings, which reveals them in bizarre outflts for a lively soft shoe tap routine. Lyman puts the band through a number of overtures and hot se- lections, which afford opportunity for the individual soloists and the vocalists to show what they can do, and they acquit themselves nice- ly. One of the outstanding rendi- tions by the band was 'Stormy Weather,'" with Frank Sylvano vo- calizing the refrain and members of the outfit harmonizing. Miss Logan is a cute bit of fem- ininity who knows how to register with blues numbers. She was ob- liged to do an encore, which she richly deserved. Another outstand- ing number by the band was 'Song of the Bayou,' a novel arrangement that had every member warbling, and for the flash flnish croonln*? through neon-lighted meg;aphones. Stage entertainment nicely timed for a scant 40 mlns., and left the customers wanting more. Screen feature, 'Her Bodyguard* (Schul- berg); second, episode of Tarzan serial and News. TBlz "big, the hot weather and Lymau combo driving 'em in In hordes. EdxOd. performer can command. Safely over In a perilous spot and the Hale Girls open the show proper after an Introduction. Lasses are trim in bright-hued summer beach cos- tumes with shorts and bare legs, all on skates and wowing the crowd With , taps and drills on the rollers. A capital start for any entertain- ment. Besides* that assignment they were back in jaunty sport skirts to build up an excellent flnale that gave the whole show climax and rounded It" out snugly. For the flnale appearance they back up the Three White Flashes, sensational trick roller skate specialists, two men and a nice looking girl. Act can stand on its own for striking acrobatic- material, but the.-llne_ .of girls builds them for a smash finish. In between there were innumer- able appearances of Walton, in and out the show and always helping, but making a mistake when he took 20 minutes for his own specialty, working with a stooge for a lot of funny stuff, but badly overtime in view of his in-and-out presence be- fore and after. An m.c. should study the pace and timing of his own specialty. It's safer to be brief than long-winded. No. 2 were Radio Aces, about as brisk and closely knitted a radio turn as the stage has seen. This quartet has a whole bag of tricks and gets them across with craclcing speed, though without any feeling that they are pressing. In the No. 2 spot they set the show moving at fine speed. Saranoff, Carrie and Fddie picked the going up neatly. Walton gave the turn a serious build-up, plant- ing a surprise in the appearance of thd eccentric Saranoff, dressed in exaggerated Russian costume and doing his familiar dialect.- Just enough of this; then a break into a full stage castle..set for a novelty dance by Carrie and Bddie, carry- ing out In dance pantomime the idea of 'Dracula.' More Saranoff, doing his own m.c., and the Intro duction of a prima donna, and they go to the finish, a beautifully worked adagio with. Carrie, skill ful on her toes as she Is in aero flying. Another special set here, fast passing and handling by two men, and a breathless leap lor the tag. The Rooneys in next-to-shut got their customary meed of applause, and the Three White Flashes and Hale Girls put a spirited period to a thoroughly satisfactory stage en tertainment. Rush. MET, BROOKLYN An all-colored unit here currently, with some real talent and which ought to mean pretty good business. 'Yeah! Man' is the name of the unit with the Four Mills Brothers starred,, and Don Redman and band PARAMOUNT, L. A. T^q Angft1<>.q, .Tilly 27. It's Abe Lyman week at the Para mount, and the ex-local bandmaster and his aggregation of 24 talented musicians are providing the house with what Is probably Its best stage show In many months. Been a long time since a musical outfit of the Lyman calibre has played any of the local picture or vaude housea, and.lt was decidedly a treat for the capacity mpb at the opening stanza this afternoon. Only jarring note was tho Intro- duction of Lyman by the house line girls, a proceeding which was not only tiring, but seemingly out of place. Of all towns to use Lyman's musical history as an Introduction, this should be the last Once the band got Into action it was speed, pep and ginger all the way through. The Lyman boys are a talented bunch, displaying a ver.satillty that Is pronounced. In addition, Ella Logan, Fnglish blues singer, and with plenty of talent and with suffi- cient entertainment for anybody. Night show caught was badly in need of more routining. Dragged a bit In spots and the various mem- bers of the show were allciw'e^ to- do their entire' acts in front of the Redman band, rather than cutting them up for show purposes. Latter would have seemed the more obvi- ous move. House band introduces the show with that good old 'Oriental Fan- tasie' overture. Everytlme a house band is stuck that one is dragged up. Probably doesn't matter what they play this .week. They're Just filler-Inners. Show opens with the line of girls, 12 nicely picked Harlem specimens. A girl sings a neat chorus and a very good male dancer does a beau- tiful tap routine. Girls bow off, the pit. lads begin disbursing and from the darkened stage come the strains of Redman's band leading into a number. They might better have started the whole show, since they stick from this point on through all the festivities. Redman's Band is a very good one: A lot more brash than the other outstanding Harlem musical units and depending less on the personality of the leader. Although Redman knows his muslkers, knows his baton. and, for that matter, knows his flute. Band picks this early spot in the show to go through three numbers. In one of which a nice crooning lad who may or may not be Harlan Lattimore, sings nicely and smiles ingratiatingly. 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' is the best of the .three numbers. The crooning boy comes back for Chorus which brings the girls on a.gain, this time in wide skirts, soft shoes and in a quiet, graceful rou tine. It's unusual and pleasing. Also it has some nice lighting effects. Myra Johnson, songstress, next for three or four numbers. Good vocalist and gives the impression of being a pretty capable comedienne, although she tries no comedy. Her numbers inight be better chpsen. Band goes into another hot num- ber which brings on Pete, Peaches and Duke. That billing, hard as It Is to believe, belongs to three male dancers. Usual male trio thing, ex cept that these lads are more pol- ished and recourceful than most They know their tootsies, don't do anything sensational, but give, a better exhibition of pedomania than is generally glimpsed. They're on too long, however. Gtrla'~ar e b ack fur a h o t - m ratber and then Red and Strugge, comedy dancing couple, almost stop the show. Very clever, these two boys, Stage darkens, curtains drop and from the amplifiers come the strains of the opening number for the'Mills Brothers. Quartet works in 'two' on an empty stage, save for a mike, and puts over four fast numbers in 10 minutes and off. Okay. Full stage agaih for the band fin- ale, with everybody showing up in tho line. Enough material there, and mo.st Of It good, but each of the turns could split up into two sections, or cut down some for a better general re.sult. Night c^iught show ran 58 minutes, which Is okay on time, but seemed to be a good deal longer from a spectator's standpoint. Picture is 'Storm at Daybreak' ^Metro), and biz Friday night/ last show, okay. Kauf. PALACE, N, Y. Nicely balanced five acts at the Pal this week headed by Lanny Ross (New Acts), ether tenor, who evidences strong potentialities for the stage. Support is varied and consistently good. Marlnoff's Russian Ca]ilne Actors is a verbose billing for a clever dog act which achieves novelty in sev- eral ways. Utilizing the marionet idea, a puppet is shown putting the dogs through their paces. Later there's a triangle scene with a canine cast, along with other bits and by-play that contribute an ef- fectively full six mlns. Sstmmy Lewis and Patti Moore's knockabout comedy dancing was a strong deucer. The military tap stair dance flnale took 'em off strong. Lanny Ross in midsection was followed ■ by Charles 'Slim' Timblih with ^ his ribald darky preacher comedy. The sermonizing isn't subtle nor is it intended to be. It's aimed for laughs and gets plenty of guffaws. The tad and Scot colored couple in the hoke marriage ceremony aitermath was almost on par with Tlmblin's tfolo specialty. The class Ray, Ellis and LaRue terp turn finaled. Trio has been around' in the picture houses and varieties and is a type of sight act that's as good in a 1,000 ca- pacity auditorium as' in one five or six times as large. Charles Stein's manner of maes- troing the acts puts him in "the Jules Lenzberg class. 'Double Har- ness' (RKO) on screen. Opening mat hilt brutal Saturday; Broadway sure takes it on the chin these hot week ends. Abel. ROXY, N. Y. There's a surprise element in the current stage show at the old Rosy. The atmospheric backgrounds lend a certain force to the etttertalners:__ which makes them more effective than when the same performers are caught Ordinarily on the vaude ros- trums. This has been noted else- where and suggests that vaude must be very much alive, but that it's progress will develop along new lines. Also means that booking and staging are largely a ques- tion of the right manpower. Maybe the old Roxy is the pioneer exemplar of this new mode. If the old Roxy shows can be defined as a, type, they seem to be, so far as the present exhibition Indicates; in the old Roxy dtyle but with a modern twist.-— Okay-—entertainmfint_-._al-._ though holding no particular name appeal for singular attractions. Here is Tito Guizar. He sings' in Spanish. Coming from the broad- - casting routes to the vaude stages, he employs a guitar to provide per- haps that Spanish, angle. On the huge Roxy stage it doesn't matter whether he plays It or not. He gets the colorful background of 30 girls in costume against a Venetian set- ting with a play of overhead and side lights. Guizar is in white costume and he is permitted to use a mike that spreads his voice Into Impressive resonance, unlike anything he has been heard to do before. He's a smash here. So is Gypsy Nina, also from the air. A good-looking, pe- tite singer. She carries a white ac- cordion which she plays while singing, and the Venetian back- ground with the girls in costume provides a sort of mixture of gay and sombre atmosphere eloquent of gypsy suggestion. The Hernandez Brothers, string group. Oh for a brief yodeling-and instrumental number, somewhere along the program and please. Dave Schooler and his band are in the pit They emphasize the old Roxy technique by handing out afi overture of classical music. Per- haps not more than 20 in the band, yet they render the stuff enthusi- astically. Schooler's appeal here in a personality way is attested by the reception accorded him both before and after the shows. As comedy relief on the program there's Walter Nillson, unicycllst. On a hippodrome stage like the old Roxy, anything like NillsOn is a cinch to get over. The house is the particular place for that kind of entertainment and customers re- ceived Nillson handsomely. Alice Keller's dancing is of the uncertain kind. It's never sure -what-her, rhythm means or if she knows the ' rhythm "Ttself.MorC^' likely her soloing here is an ex- ploitation quirk based on the fact that she's a niece of Annette Kel- lerman and that might provide extra audience sentiment. Doesn't prove true in the girl's case. The atmospheric settings malte the Ghezzis, acrobatic pair, size un- usually important, and their 'bal- ancing tricks complctfely thwart the old-fa.shioncd vaude idea about such an act being an opener or closer. They are on almost m.ld- way of the program and do vei*y well. Additional corncOy is offered- by tho liunaway i'our, who work in rolher neutral staging because of tJicir material and coatumes. It's lilioiy that economy rules an extra ■sr-Lting out for this quartet of danc- ins comic.«. Thojf wc.vo received (Continued on page 60)