Variety (Aug 1933)

20 VARIETY VARIETY HMSE REVIEWS iNiesdiqrt Avgnst 22, 1933 MUSIC HALL, N. Y. Sl>p^V this Tre^k is Just a fomlly partjr, without any specialty inter- PQlatioii:? and utterly inndceiit of a name to' support the feature, liCom- Ing: Glory* (Radio), heavily weight-* iea >C(rlth arty class, but saved by the brlUlant playinsr of Katharine Hep- ,'burB»;-\ JWhicii is to say that the big play- house is cheatusg-'agaiu OH its vpres- entatioh, probably takine advan- tage Of the ihid-August crowds^ Of transient tburlstsr: 'At the Thurs- day ' evening' opening th^re' firas an « o'clock holdout in the lobby, and it did seein that the. house might wisfely give the. custotners.. some- -tiling by sjcay-jof-clinching that kind of trade instead of scaiiting the stage Outlay to swell a temporary ptofit.' To start with , the productipn apliirfo ta hitm ari^iirtfl one 4>f those Dutch canal-and-windmill ideas in an'episode Of-song, and dance titled 'Blue Delft,' the Cbiiha pattern be- ing cairrted lout;-in the settings; There doesn't come' to mind a Hol- land locale ' -spectacle that has -clicked on Broadway in . years. ' The atmosphere calls for connedy: and tluttris 4ts only excuse.. .-In the ab- sence of .a laugh here the thing is duIt .^to,^sight .and i^ound,, merely pil- ing .up...over-elaborate floral effects and ^hampering' the sprightly" dahc- iiig girls, with awkward jcoStuines. Stageproceedings open' with a inisdirect:ed bit, when . M.uriel Kerr interrupts the ..overture with "a heavy piano solo,-Liiiszt's 'S .Flat Concerto J which is strictly. GarnCgie ^"THalF in'an-uncoinprOffi cale nibodi It lasts nearly . 10 rbin- . utes. and,is. hot: the soift of . thing to ~~^taTt. a .p o p ular^ntertainment-wlth,^ A .novelty built. around- the cur- .. .x^rit:.. jave,. .'I^iasiy Bonesj'. which has sucqee.di^d -'Stdrftiy WeatHe^^ as-the —-prev;ail|ng --stage .- and alir .menac)?, - -was- brigkei'r - employing.—the 'Jiew^ --■l.uminous.i:-m"attnikin..;. invention-L..-rev "xiently introduced at the. same house. Splsode] -opens-. with ..Alice Dawn singing; the nuniber-'before: a .-smian " "set piece repreabnting ti Harlem -flat ^ ^ Set is whisked .away oii rollers ttnd a gigantic phosphorescent human skeleton does a dance .macabre agiainst a: b^clc-art background, be- ing presently replaced by the Boxy- ettes doing hotcha graveyard .steps, girls QutHned'ih a -luminous glow as "" skeletons, "^'hls VTftS' the applause •^Ktgmisf Kt " f>f-?thiB. cye n tn g ; - . ■■ -~ Patbe new^reel. enters here,. noti able for "aehsationaTrgliiftpses" of "the- : —Cubanl-uprlsing. with an asisassina a sood TOice, pleased with his «ing- loK'. but Uia cbmedy wa« off. A big dance flaab, ^porta Cruise." with some good legnuinia by Myrtill and Pacaud, from the Casino de Paris, and Mary Honor scored. StanelU and Bdgar are jstill do- ing .the t»ime act they Hirst Intro- duced some 13 years ago, and still getting plenty of. laughs. Robins, the *Walkin|;14u[8ic Store,' has add* ed several jtyiore trickfl^ all-helping to improve the .offering. Clown Comes here after^^two weeks at the Savoy hotel. Roy Etehsoh is a con- juror with a)n,easy and nonchalant a.tyle, Closing is liai Young .Troupe, japs; With isome : typical tricks Of their_race. ,,_ A very pretty ;^enime adorns tJbe outflt/ " "• '^ Business' opening shbw fair, con- sidering the heat, ' ROXY, N. Y. \Gntertaihment -values are , .up at the. old Roxy this week, with, Jeannie Lang from BadiO the pivot, but outclassed by the rough comedy acts which arie this audience's nieat. Audience seems to be developing an encore c'oniiplex with a.tendency to arigue with Dave Schooler. Schooler is handling the ; situation nicely. When they will not be content With three or four, bows, he brings the next -act . on and. makes the an- nouncement tbe loud speakers;. ' Gae Foster girls get a much better de al tha n they had. last Week, when llTere wfis~lfftle^danclnerand-the-oo8,-- tuming was dUil. - This sesision thev open the show wltli. a brightly cos- .tiimed Polish-dancer.-Iiaif• ■ the . gicla dressed, aa boys. Jtfore color to the. olpthing and more anim.ation to. the work. Ijiater they are back in long green-gauze--eklrts-ihat are^ really: -more-sensuovs. thab- bare. :legs> .and. for'the finish tKere'a.a:(q[.Ulclr .cbange; to white- zouave - uniforms, wliich leads to. a drill and , little - gun swinging...- Not . quite -'.up- to the Stf eater Zouaves -of- an earlier- day,, but a. novelty. in. yecent years, and liked. , The. girls did very "Well with this, considering, how limited their, rehearsals must have beent Isslbel Euell does a neat toe tap in front of the line on the opening, number, and there is a nice bit .of hock step-" ping By a man". "• tlon :.or two and much surging of crowds.. ■'Blue Delft' incident-takes-up the remainder of the 40 minutes, open-, ing with the .choral., assembly in song before the -familiar design of Delft tableware.. Roxy.ettes, slhglng group arid ballet girls alternate in .keeping the stage active, with color and movement, but- there is. little that is Itieplrlng'in the notion. Only approach to comedy, is an eccentric, dancie, by .Bafr and. Estes, inixed stepping, couple in bizarre Dutch costume and comic steps to go with the getUp. Absence of PatrlciS: ' Bowman, ostensibiy on: vaoatlon, is no.ted w.ith disappoihtment. 'Instead Betty. Ban- nister has a mild dance, solo'at the opening. The" 'miriiatUre'" oiperetta ends dully, lacking anything ap proaching a climax. It's principal feature tteing a trick entrance for one of the girl groups .on. , a canal boat, for the passage of which a drawfbridge'.. 'Over Ihocr .caiial;.:, .is raised. Altogether It is a kickless, punch- less eritertainnient, offerins' little for -the visiting .flrejnen and their; wives to take back to the hinterland' to tell thie home folks about. "Which, —of cour.se, - represents. a_gre.ai. oiM^or.:;. tunity lost. BiiiSA. Leicester Sq., London L«oridon,. Au^. 8, It was a pity Aunt Jemima had. to postpone her opening here fOr a week, particularly as her preniiere would have coincided with the first anniversary of the new policy of the house. Harry Foster had to work fast to get a suitable replacer. He finally located one bathing In the Bunshrhe. in Cannes, -^ho Is Liilysin Astaiire, arid ' her strong suit is (mimicry> ..Shevwill do.,. Bill, as a whole, is good enter- tainment, and if there is any slight cooling; off in climatic conditions enough to withstand the heat wave .Opening is 'Indian's Paradise,' Clarence Robin.son flash With plenty, of colorlhg. Ijooks Inspired by the 'Indian Love Call' " from .'Rose Marie.' Frank Randle, and Bill are a couple of trapeze artists, with Randle supplying the comedy, Ran die al.so indulges in some Lan- cashire 'comedyV"'wiifI'eh 7has some funny moments.. T"?Wec[~saiilRn?rtr^baclc'tor^Is-Kingle after several Weeks with the Count Bernlvicl-unit, which .was not.nrofit-: able, is still a laughing hit. Come- dian now employs three stooges, but the big Iaugh$ come from him. MIsfi Aslalre. appai'ently nervous, Imitated several American names, which did hot niean much here. Her big scoring- cards were Mae West, 'SchlrM)2«le' Durante, George M. Co- han and Gracie Allen. Jamie Reid,. a Canadian Scot, with Followed by the Fbuip.andta-ifaff Arleys, -a . perch-act, lit^hould -no.t take four normal . persons and a ^warf~"to—aceqmpliehir^—Threer-rou-^ tines on' the perches, the.; last the; fliag spin, and a pair of liieadstands. DWarf . is amusing, btit' he should' hot be- permitted to cloWn -during the serious istunts. It detracts from the attention i He should be kept for the. breathers... Schooler, does some nice work. at the piano before he. picks up the baton, and seems, to be gaining ip popularity each week. He has a far different crowd-to work to than, the Capitol clientelei but he holds them Just as tvell. ' Cookie Bowers, ne.Jtt, was lost In the magniflbent distances- of. the Roxy stage, . Found: it., difflcult to get on and off, but not ..hard to hold the spot once he arrived. His voice did not get through the Ibudspealt-: ers to advantage, and he was better when he got away from the . mike in.his last bit. On the other hand, it helped his instruihental Imita-; tions and helped him to clinch his hit early. -.Act seemed to. be faminar to most of the- customers, but they gave an insiste.nt recall, though they shoiild know by now that, there isn't any more. He did his -full act. Jeannie Lang next, opening with 'Fit as a Fiddle' and. Just too in gentfooslythe-girlish- romp; With more Intelligent, audiences this -would have been ovei^done, but they loved It here. She quieted a bit for her second number and made, a much better impression. Did a .third swing with the Foster girls backing and schooler helping'out. She cait de-irelop Into a very charming player if she'll tone down her facial expres- sion. Might help If she dropped the long red handkerchief. That went out of niost acts a couple of years .ago. .Marguerite and Le Floy kick in WltlT a couple' of slick ballroom daiices' in "whioh - their- appearahce help's, their steps,, and Shea and Raymond, in eccentric hoofery, tied the house in knots just .before, the .iinale^-. jpantohilme.. andL—Costj^imes^ , PALACE, N/Y. The Pal Isn't the same any more, t>ut jliow and then some of its for- mer color ' returns when some - big- tiaer who playied it in Ha heyday glory sets boolced in. This week tUat little .loUph of yesterday. When the Palace iheietnt sonietliing. is pro- vided by Molly Ficon. While she's oti one can lose bneeeU in reveries of.-theu.npt so long ago, when the Yiddish star-^nd nUi — made vaudeville stand, for some- thing, : : ; Wavering in and Out of various policies for some time how, with its eventual destiny a question, it how appears the house is gdlng Indle under a deal . between. BKQ and Sydhey- Cohen.CQtoLe»i:.wI|l. take possession early in September. In support of Miss Picon, the RKO bookers have sent In show'this week that stands, iip squarely , and able entertainnicht. . Together the five acts make up a show that tops the average of late.. Well balanced, and abounding in variety' there's about a little bit of everything for the trade going Pal- ace* this- particular week, but of dancing there's the mibst. . At the first perfbrmance Satur- day prbceedihgs were smoother than may be e?cpccted 'ordinarily until after the first day or so. No stall- ing, no jnissed cues or anything calling for quick Smoothing out. . It probably wasn't intended that the girl dummy used by the Slate- Bros, in their adagio 'burlesque Sholuld go partly to pieces with the Jstufltog_ Btre,w.n:_ ail over , the stage; but-whether or noti ■ffils dldn*f "Ih- terfere' with.-the 'comedy value of the- sturt t, Kb " doubt a lot of people HgUwST'(ana' majfbo ftey're right)- that the stuIQng should'cbme out as.lt did.- : : . Slate bbys are in the Center of the bill With their rOughhouse slapstick^ "ahdrdahcing, ~T.hey're-good-'on'the hoof . ■and:-'sh6w^ it' by-.goihg*-partly iegit in their-closing -^pasm, toning down there on the falls, slips, etc.^ A sweU little act x»t \\s kind, fresh-^ ened up sbniiewhai iii the slap- around. Slates wound up with a big hand. Miss Picon the hit of the show, as might be expected.. -She now opens with a special ^ong around gags and tells a couple herself, something .neWk. JEhj^y^jiren't po.libt, but com^^ Ing-jLa- theitidn. M part of ~^ ^ri^ n 'qUaiverisn^t. in ^Ydek!, • ,The- personable Yiddish., star., re.- talnt^ her monolog in a doctor's of- :fi«je and the^workinjg-girl's^-hapsodyi both ,ln character' and up there on appeal, but oh this engagement closes -with 'a number In Jewish. She explains it sufllclentiy for those not understanding the lingo to.ap-. predate It just the same, in per- formance if from no other angle. Over heavy, . .Sparse audlehcer Saturday aft •went for the .Two: Daveys In .a-; big •way. Not irregular that they should, with the wiseeracking iDayey spill ing a lot. of fast and funny chatter In conjunction with, hia juggling He seems to father wisecracks as he. goes along, talking about the bill, himself, the theatre he's playlngi etc; Getting into the .Palace pro- -vided him with someihlng, new to chirp smart about. DavOy was talk- ing so fast Saturday afternoon that he nearly said the wrong things a .couple times. Dance flash of Dave Jones, Peggy Lee and team'of "Dean and. Joyce (-New Acts)-opened while the Nor ni'an. Thonias QUIntet "closed." On both ends the reception proved more than favorable; with the edge- In favor of the Thomas closer, with. Its drummer, the fine male team of hoofers, single soloist and pianist. Jones-Lee-Dean and Joyce fla.sh went -Well in incepting the proceed- 'Heroies' for Sale* ("WB) the feature Char. were a knocker-outer-here and can probably repeat almost anywhere. Then the zOuave stuff and all on for the finish. Runs 65 minutes, and the only waste time that contributed by - the audience's encore . .demands Film is 'The Blarney Ki.s^' (iPrliir cipai), the second- choyiter of the 'Tarzanr -story (which, follows .the. feature length opening section of Jast^inr,eelc)..^^cMjQvJLeto pe_news reel and a limited amount of .trailer. It'e an index of the house that the night audience applauded the'trailer tor 'Tarzah.' They also applauded the NRA insignia,- the V, S. flag arid pretty nearly everything else but the Ushers.' Someorie should try crossing this crowd with the Aond emy patrons. Business ample first night show, but not coming in very strong for the second session, fifter the break. Chi<x TRANSLUX liuxer passed up an excellent op- portunity to make Its Cuban, cover- age complete.: ~Iteonflned-lts-choice to Paraniount's poat-'war ylewa pt wreckage. These contained a- direct statepierit. from the new ruler not projected at the Emhassy. Had the house pieced In IXnlVersal's graphic P^.!^^?£!:!^Phy bf the. revolt at its height the editorial job~wbuTd have' been one of the best of its kind. Helen Morgan and her bUsband at Lake George are all right until Bhft glv«»« thft p ose a night (club sentimentality with a^ song;- TBc husband iseems a bit abashed and the" audience, evidently appreciating this, as well as the lack \of taste, concludes with a snioker. All reels got Roosevelt 'dining with ref orestatloners, but the Luacer through Paramount traveled a little further and caught Mrs. Roosevelt attending a country jig.. One, bf. the best puppet'shows brought to the screen is Para-. mount's coverage. of the one at the World's Fair. Take-offs on Dietrich and Shaw are almost perfect and merit, placement in the news release. Fastest human power boat race yet bbserved in newsreels was that of Indian can oeists in Washington by Par, fibtb. theatres had tl)^ anti-rack- eteer convention in New York, but went- a' step-ahead and -co-operated by calling attention to a .child aband.oned. .In Detroit Who.. mig;ht have been dropped by abductors. Views -oC ar mild orackr:up Ql.fliers in rNew.foundland were als.o obtAiried by^:^Parabftbunt!a boya . bein^ on the job when. ihe plane was due tb'iarid'.' Oregon freight wreck arid cherry tlnie, liondon^s Big Ben getting a 'Cleaning, bootleg coal^ and lion cubs Were among others. ; Both houses covered Sarazen win- ning' title; Reac ocean record; Goshen trotting. * Waly. EMBASSY Welshnien make a great ado about preeenting: Hanneri Swaffer With an overcoat In the current is- sue, "Just liow "Swatt came into such a heritage la not clfuifled by' the news subject, it was during a Welsh holiday, however, that the Swaffer name was brought up and a ^ cape heaped over bis bead arid shoulders.. Otherwise the program is almost entirely--.-NBA.. -General . Johnson etaris it by buying the first eagle stamp from ^airley, Arniy planes start oft "With eagles, wbnaen cam., paign about the insignia, Phil fip ltaliiy playo b is— max eagles all over , the orchestra.' The Kmb. program bunches all of this ' togeth;^ f(nd runs In the trailer,'" now being generally shown; as^' show's llnis; Seems; as well,- that the Emb boys were pretty hard uP for copy this week. This was attested to by..-: the exceptional voluriie of vault order material. Kditors' should use 'Down Under* a. little less frequently in synomyn« ing .Australia. >After it bad ap-*, peared' tlvree times at - one of the Saturday mats somte of the wise crowd started to cackle. King -George seems, bound to win. that Cowes yacht race. The reels xorild^-just—as—well^jdidfe-; up .last:., year's. coverage on the -'subject while in the library. --.Wlien a bicycle races .wit h a mo-_ tbrcycle the butconie.TIs about' Ihb: same agi the'.Zlmb's contest between :a speed . boat 'and a -' seaplane.' ■ Apes.always get:laughs, whether, they' are in 'Germany- or^St. liouis, and the two houses currently view. them "in both--places; - Emb had only views af the end of the Coatello trial with the coUrt- housa:bo.blng. arid .aPPls-udIng. as the' acquitted woman bounded Into a cab. It also had a reminder of Eng'' Ush Channel swims by following another woriian who fisiUed. Waly. JI^RPHEUM,^^ [I'rrda the_bAlC.ony emptiness. ( f liange day) . , and Palace, Milwaukee Milwaukee, .Aug. 21. Departing from its usual straight film policy, tbe Palace brought in the 'Radio Roundup of J333' which proved to be- a long sho-w an.d a!n interesting one. As Its name Implied, most of the talent, was recruited from the air; While exhibiting some- nervousness^ riiost. oi the artists went their tasks with- assurance; / . " Gladys Becker, known to Wis- consin 'News' readers as Peggy Fatten, the picture ; editor, -told 1. , - . ■ ' •about-.intetvie'ws-With. Screen ceieb- are morpEEariTiair-th-5^^ for WISN, brought his partner, Woody preyfuss, to the footlights to assist him with song numbers. The Crazy Crystal boys and Cousin Paul, also frbm WISN, pro- vided -popular numbers, as did Master Eugene from Columbia, the Toy "Sisters, NBC, and Oiivene johnson, JWBBM, Al. Beiascb, pleasantly recaTIed because._of his .^months as master bf cereriibriles at tTie WIscorisiri; acted in a like capacity for the Palace show -and Blllle Vallie,. re- membered for his appearance with Al Jolsori, completed the , stage part .of«the program with Bill Davidson and his orchestra furnishing the melodies. The film, offering,was Bebe Dan- iels in ^Cocktail-Hour.' Sally Rand^s rAuch. publicized fan dance was shown in picture fOrrii, was eloquent with althougii~^brd Your M;ari' (M-G) with the Gable-Haj- low duet'was on the screen. Means the cuirent first half show has no draw and if the Orpheum had com- petition on the stage end, this show would hardly rate. But—for 40 cents in the orch, who can iiquawit? When the Tour juggling Masons open, there's'a touch-of'class yaude, but It doesn't last long. Only jugglers but they have a- dressed up act. In fuir With brilliant coloring and fast play. Tom Fullmer folr lows with his tenor voice that busts irito some kind o£ a forte whoop at timeia. Jlowever, they liked him and his encore Is a nice handling of 'Drei Herzen.' But Fullmer may not realize just how long 15 minutes can be for riiany customers. That 'Drei Herzen' obviously is a concession to the German. trade in this nelghb. Fullmer's returns on the encore bit indicated that not all the audience this night was German. And Fullmer opens with an Irish ballad. But what's the dlff, it's the only vaude show in Yorkevllle and for 40 cents. A. girl pianist is attached to Pullmer's repertoire In 'one.' She wears' black and he Is clad in blue Coat and white trousers. Just to lift some of his- own ^burden, the fiddler in the pit solos lyhile Full- mer ..-stays quiet jOn the stage, for a. repeat chorus. Excellent detail. Show closes 'With a flije flash . act by Ralph Olsen and. flve or six boy and girl helpers. They swing in in nice costume from dancing, to sing- ing and impersbnations. The lad who does those impersonations grabs the gravy. He does Arliss, Barrymor'e and El Brendel, while a tiny blbride characterizes Zasu Pitts in dainty style; ' "New. " stuff Olseri, who' seems to be shiitlrig his acts and wisely from time to time His contortion stuff, rates highest for that kind ot. work ri:iR<::A'^a:^ii.^lJ.viiyi fih-ti -' -ivV> q middle spot could elimlriate their frying pan piece and the backhand patting of the blonde is. crude Otherwise this team and aided by the blonde girl haVe. something to sell, if they can cut down a little Tlley i'Un to 19 minutes. The girl does a mild dance number, but it's her looks mostly and the rough -haridling ahe-gets-from ±he. two:J)£»y& that count- for -reaction. -The =straight=.is..a=singer.=.:.^.^-..^,^,^,,;^ Zelaya in nex't-to-clbsing ALBEE, BROOKLYN smartly balanced stage bill here this week 'to .Ifelp back up the annual campaign concerned with Hjireater' Shbw Season.' With-, a vaude get-, tbgefher of this ^"calibre -selling -the idea Is madevso niucb eailer. Busi- ness at the Initial matinee Saturday was Capacity downstairs arid a fair* ly. close toll of slriillar proportions prevailed upstairs. - Screen , attraq- - tlon is 'Pilgrimage' (Fox), and the outlook for the house on the week's, whirl is a. healthy and wealthy one. Every Item on the bill found, the early mbb a pushovei* for laughs and applause. Phil Fabello and his- plt boys istarted warming them tip With a nifty little overture arid the fli-st stage inning brought Aussie and Czech and their whip , whack- ing. Neat was the sendoff this pair garnered, with Johnny Woods fol-. lowing to sock them for a row of mikes. Woods formerly did this ether name takeoff routine as part of the act of Jordan. and Woods. Woods here went all the way up and • down the list frorii Chevalier to Cantor to Wynn-and like other mimics of his time soon. discovered that Brooklyn is among those places where they talte their radio and their loudspeaker favorites serious- ly. House's p.a. systeni at this per- formance Was not of the best from the angle of adjustment, but the de- flciencies in no way hampered Woo^s .from gathering the heavy, dividends. > . . Nimble tootsies of Dick'and Edith Barstow took bv,er the ensuing spot, for their usual crack exhibit of the tapping art. Sister and brother,, now rating as orie of the best teams of its kind in vaude, carried the customers along with them from the start and on finishing the toe rou-.-. ;tlne on'the staircase gathered the.- top ovatibri'pf the bccasiori. It's one hoofing turri. that's still a .;tr€at to. watch. Gracing next-to-shut was -Dora Maughani, Who pleased them might- fly -Wlth-h<»^ rtniiM pi ftTitp.Tidre verses > usual Ijas everything his own way and in the sariie manner. He -tops In the kind of stuff he'puUs. Vaude end' covers 82 minutes of the show's 191. That's, without the pit overture of 4 minutes. ' !Besides the Mctrotone newsrocl, the screen holds one of the . Pete Smith (M-G) shorts, 'Handlebars.' Feature goes 86 minutes. 8Mn. Some of the stuff went very low and broad, but that made it so much the meatier for the hausfrau clien- tele. For some undiscernlble rea- son they had the comedienne intro- duce the next and closing number, the Frank and Milt Britton band. She took so long about It that the conibo broke right into the midst of -hepr-speeohr-^which -made it rather, embarrassing,- but could have easily -been-avoidly--by"hav-Ing.-let^the_JtiQy:a;,= go right into their act. Theirs Is one act that nee;Ted no introductory support. The Britton madmen collected a continuoiis fanfare of midsection reactions with 'Mouse* Powell, the. former Benny Meroff trombonist, and ^ito, as usual doing the major portion of the slayinfe. For a bang- em^up finish this bill couldn't have picked a better delegate. Odec.