Variety (Sep 1933)

14 VARIETY VARIEYY HMiSE REVIEWS Tuesday, September 19, 1933 MUSIC HALL, N. Y. Same old story -with the sta^e show this week. "Bits, beautiful—and bbrlpg; Three Interludes, two on the full stage and one solo specialty in' between. The full stagers at both «nds use the saine blue sky background. Thei Ntusic Hall's heavy weekly production: expendl^ ture is .obvious and the show is there on looks. But as entertain- ment it's questionable. , it is particularly doubtful in view of. the. solemn current picture, •Power and Gloi'y' (FOx), hiere aftier twb-a-daylng at the Gaiety. A liaugh or two on the stage would help greatly this week.. There's no relief in the picture itself, and the staee performanciB maintains the same sbihbre mood. It vrasn't happy blending^ with the stage aiid screen ends striking Out strictly on their owii. ■ If tbey. wietnt scenery, costumes and more .people than they can count, they're getting it this weelc, ai^'usual. From the couple of hun- dred people involved in both full stage s^uences receives a song, then A 'dance> then some music, ari the, BCOn^ry . all the while. It's the house staff exclusively througiiout. ' Patricia Bowman does a gypsy 'dance in ther first item and the solo spot in th« middle of the program is hers, also.. For the latter she does an interpretation' to 'Prelude in G Sharp . Minor/ with a mechanical piimo providing the accompaniment and Miss Bownum Interpreting the music on her toes. An exceptional dancer, this girl, and the most con- sistently conspicuous individual of the stock troupe. But she and the Iloxyettes can't carry the whole b^den every week; The Music Hall trend lately has beeA entirely .away, from outside talent aiid toward closed shop pro- ductions with the staff on its bwh. Th&t arrahgemeiiit no doubt is per- fectly, siatisfactory to the one-timers, to: whom the theatre itself and. the spectaculiBLr istaglng are the attrac- tions, but to the non-transient regu- lar the same stufC in'dilTerent cos- tumes eviery week-might be losing its-edge. \ 'Scene .Ko^ 1 la-'Fantasia Czlgany,' In. which ia brief overture dovetails .Inta a gypsy camp setting.' Riotous colors in the cbstuihes and a strik- ing setting frazhe the picture for beautiful, effects, there's * singing and dancing by the permanent bunch. Most of the value stops after the first flash^ Other full stage number is also In. costume, but the scene Changes to the Sahara desert and the ini' mediate location lis a Foreign liegion outpost. Th^ Roxyettes' Zouave drill in bright red pantaloon costumes is the highlight. Full singing dhonis, ballet and Roxyette line used In both'production numbers* Douglto Stanbury's (from Roxy's old gang) is the oiie outside naind in the bill in?, but from his spotting in the gypsy seqehce Stanbury looks like just another member of the gang. Picture tuns pretty long, cutting out the superfiuous matter this week. Just the newsreel and no trailers, except a brief NBA slide. Business fair in the rain Thursday nlRht ' Bige. &.SSri PAIXADIUM, LONDON biackground of contrasting, tones. { liondon, iSept* 6> Girls'remain posed during the aero- I Oulte a few newcomers here this batic terp display and the girls go | , , . a\ m,^A «ri*i% a«>^ m into 'one' for Hiling-s unique stol h'*®*' <S®Pt- <)• ^^J"^^ !^ bit. This trainer baa been handliijg ception, all score well.. BxcepUon the furred beasts for 10 years or I ig posca Adagio Six; a continental more, but this number the best he I j^,^,, ^ nothing new. or any other trainer has devised. K , , „ ^v-j„i/»;» 4™a It gets away from the familiar bal- Originally scheduled two before ancing trij^ks, with the anipial, I closing, act was relegated to opea turning the characteristic scaI yod- I mg spot in the second ahbw. ling inte Imitations of a variety of sounds^ Spirited Introduction of the Callor way group is'accomplished by hav- ing the girls out for' a hotcha rou- tine of taps and legmanla, dreissed in brief tunics of spangled black, and black and white drapes. Fly- ing drop brings the band in view with the opening number, a slow bit of rhythm, making a quiet start from which to biiild to the whoop- ing scat style of the leader and his musical arrangements. Between numbers by. Cal and his Cotton Club musician, group, specialty bits are contributed by the demon step-r ping L^itha HiU, by the blues sing- ing: Alma Turner and a capital comedy session by Nicodemus, the only low cbmedy in the layout iand standing, out-sharply for that rea- son. Nicholas boys, couple of young Negro buck and wingers, do a brisk moment of taps, with the smaller of the pair employed for a minor comedy imitation bit at the mike. Grotesque version of 'Minnie the Moocher* serves fOr. the finale, bringing the Calloway specialty people on again, but is rather a wetJcclimax. Fox NRA . short "The . Code at Home*^ is used andi Is:a model of crisp, brevity. It introduces Bl Brendel and Zasu Pitts Ih a four minute.' sequence as lively iand bright as a blackout. Trailer for Solitaire Man' is flat and lacking In punch, mostly printed bally and brief off screen liecture - boost for subject4 Rttsh. CAPITOL, N, V. ROXY,N. Y. Capitol this week is the victim Of a tough break in luck. "With a dis- tinctly salable picture in 'Beauty for Sale' (M-O-M), it had lined up a nice stage entertfiinment with the Cab Calloway band unit plus Jules Bledsoe, something away from the routine of presentation patterns Of late around the Square. Point of the program Was the presence of Bledsoe, uipon whom' the campaign, was focused. Bledsoe had to step out after appearing at one Friday afternoon show, due to an ^attack of laxyngitls. " Even with- out ^Old Man River,' it made an agreeable entertainment, but the absentee injured the week from a sales point, Original intent was smart showmanship, hooking up ..a picture of strong appeal with an exceptional stage show and should have maJ^ked up a notable -week at the box-office. As It was business was. about aiverage. Presentation is ti pleasing assort- ment of materiel,, not overboard on . heavy names, but with solid enter- tainment presented with nicely varied progression. Calloway's^ dis- tinctive style of loW dpwh Jazz to-, gether with his lineup of colored specialty people, gets excellent con- trast in the flash staging of house line numbers and a neat bit of gar- nishment in several outside turns, namely the Stone and Vernon Four, adagoiiatB, and Ray Huling's trained seal. It would seein to be something of a jtroblem to blend this motley ma- ter-lal=into=-a-^8mooth-running--per- formance, but the arrangement used turned out laccejptable. Opening with a striking ensemble having the 24 Chester Hale gii'ls In a toe routine was worth while on its own and in addition supplied a fine bn kground for the flashy acrobatics of the adagio turn. Hale girls ^re dressed in long skirts of transparent ma- terial, giving the effect of cello- Another case of five vaude acts, Dave Schooler and the Gae Foster girls at 'the: Roxy this week. Acts are good, but.they do not seeni to be, mixers, and the result Is not up to the top mark since this policy went into effect. All iacts got ap- plause, with laughis for those who rated them, but no punch to the show as run off, with Maurice Col leanO doing most of the hard work and giving the show whatever kick it has> ; Off 'with a too-long offstage an houncement thrOugh the amplifiers and then lights and curtains to show the girls in overel'aborate Spanish, - costumes. The. half dressed as boys are in the picture, but the senoritas carry entirely too nuihy ruffles and their color scheme of red and yellow is garish. They do a Spanish dance which prob ably will get better later In the week,' and then some of them stick around to dress the stage by sit ting on the -floor and listing to a piano solo., Pianist Is revealed through the panel of a iarge' fan serving, as a backdrop in two. Schooler can play the piano much better. Schooler's big moment comes Just after his ientrance. He carries a sword and a red scarf and one girl asks him If he Is a matador and he feplies, 'No, cuspidor,'""fiying the scarf to reveal a cuspidor On his left fist. Some people laughed,, but not many. Blanche and Elliott do.a strenuous ballroom dance with a swell one arm swing that was tossed away on this crowd. Just as Colleano's double somesault was wasted. This new Rpxy audience is not up. in t^e little things and didn't know that a double off the fiat is something to tell, people about. : There Is an an- nouncement made, but that doesn't niean much to thlis crowd, either The CoUeanbs lost some of the finish of their act working it against a stageful of people or the newcomers Seller and "Virills, " comedy dancers, have brought several tricks new around here; Oftering Is a distinct novelty, with both partners knowing' their Job thoroughly. Burt Milton, at the piano, helps the act to get over. Act was one of the hits of the evening. Buster Shaver, with Olive and George, a couple of midgots, suffi- ciently matured, is a '8peed3^ ajnd versatile offering, ranking with the best entertainment of its Itind.. Act has not a dull moment.. Billy 'and Elsa Newell are becom- ing a name over here. Their anhual returns have proven they have not Outstayed their welcome. .'^he Newells have not been at this house for;over two years; giving the Ptil- ladium a inlB? on their last visit, due to revue work, aiid for this rea- son their act seemed hew to most of the audience.. Casani Club band, named after a "West End night rendezvous where the aggregation is. permanent, lacks the tempo of modern bands, relying mostly on solo work^ Announcement by Santos Casani thM the band: does not play Jazz Is devoid of foundation, as most of their rendi- tions are nothing but. Jazz, and those that are not do not matter, anyway. Best part of the outfit Is Eve Becke, a. protege of Dora Maughan, who seems to be getting along nicely after some tough brcjaks; - Dick Henderson-has added a few new gags which click. - He also, dis- plays his. heftiness tp humorous re- sults. Harold and XiOla, who played New Tork a couple of seasons ago, reply on their snake dance, which Is a. novelty. Gaston Palmer, here after two. years' absence, c^me on to an un- responsive audience, as If he Jiad neyier played the house. But he j3ooh had them with him, the audlr^ ence gOing for his comedy talk and clever tricks. His spOonS and glass trick still proved ah effective fin Isher. G. S. Melvin in a couple of .comedy characteri^tions was well liked, some of his material is pretty blue, but Melyin's artistry hides these defects. Ted Ray, earlier on the bill, gets over splendidly. BOy has person- ality, and although his gags have done yeoman service, he has a way Of putting them oVer. Ray can also match a violin with the best of them. Five Canadian "Wonders, trapeze act full of ropes and ladders, with tricks looking much more dangerous than they probably are. One of those family affairs that has played the circus for years. Where It looks better than In vaudeville. Max and his Gang is the only holdover Nicol and Martin are effective c)os Ing act. PALACE, N. Y. Nice entertainment at the Pal^ ace this week. 'One Man's Journey (M-G) Is the screen accompaniment to Gilbert .Brothers,^ Bellett and Lamb, Gertrude Nelssen, Three Sailors and Hackett and Carthay That brought In a little of several kinds of divertissement, but a lot of hokum, which appears to be a de pendable recipe these days. Gilbert lads with muscles, like hydraulic pistons rOll up and down ana around apparatus as though they were oh hinges. Men lA par- ticular realiise the physical diffi- culty of many of the feats they ac- Taikes out the | complish, and as the Satui-day mati smoothness and suggests .fill-ins nee crowd was predominately mas from the chorus for the boys. It's culine* the Gilberts never lacked not until the finish that the act pi^^reclative recognition, works as a whole and is recognized -Pellett and Uamb, like most as such. The comedy went over "odg^-podge turns, have occasional better than the straight stuff, but it | dead spots, but they average high all got a hand and a recall Sid Gary was a; definite hit but didn't collect what was .coming: to him until the Imitations. Even 'Lazybones' was not quite the . click his singing should have made It But big on the . falsetto solo and bigger with the 'Old Man River* en Core. on- giggles due to their eccentric style, and they work fast. They have what modem vaudeville, fan cies. Gertrude Nlesen is a torch , singer that looks the part. She can sing of passion convincingly. Fresh from the legit show entitled 'A Party* the songstress Is back In the varie Al Verdi' with Tfaelma. •rpn for *»ardly seems the last crash. Apparently only about half the act, But the comedy was enjoyed and they got off to a good recall. : Then the girls into a drum number In snappy costumes. Use tom-toms and work a variety of-=-figTjres.--- Grood=-ertough=-to--be brought back Tjy request.' Show runs about 66 minutes. Five minutes of trailer, including the Brendel-Pitts NRA short, with- necessary, and holds her ianchored to the chalk-line. Her . choice o' numbers is good because hot. Those Three SallOrs will be dis covered one of these days by high-brow critic. They have the kind of lowdown Blai)stick genius thSt liarvafdt professbr^^fTiicI prlSI tive and stimulating- and tell about their reactions. Hackett and Carthay is a turn of so much ftlocance -that it seems sur the newsreel, next to last episode of prising that with the small amount 'Tarzan' serial, and 'P. P. 1' (Pox) of vaudeville still left there should as the feature. Show four minutes be enough premium to attract such short of a full three hours. Busi- talents. ness excellent oJd a stormy night of Palace now opens on Fridays, a rainy day. ' Chic. I Laiid. NEWSREELS TRANSLUX Opposition Embassy lias added short subjects to Its show, but this house still goes the home of Foz- and Hearst reels one hotter by mak- ing the show longer. As against Emb's 66-minute turnover. It's 78 minutes flat here this week-. What the next move may be In the contest of the two 25c news houses for the New York drop-in trade, is anyone's guesa- Perhaps one will add a couple vaude acts or something. At first when the newsreel fllm- shops started out they had their shows running under an hour to as l ow . as 40 minutes,. with 'greA.ter turnover provided; If It's a ques'^ tion of bulk In getting the cus- tomers, first thing the newsreel fans Will know it'll take two hours to drop in. That would ruin the novel- ty and beauty of the policies. Four shorts here as against three at Embassy, with Trans topping on entertainment value of briefies picked. T-ti'S booker signed for variety, as - well, taking a iEiichy Craig, Jr.^ comedy 'Say It Isn't So' (Col) : a Ted Husing 'Sports Thrill' IWB). a Silly Syinph, 'Birds in the Spring* its Ay and a Screen Snap- shots <Col). In addition, this news- reel haven, as well as the Binb, has Fox's short subject on the NRA I'Mother's Helper'). It tops the first NRA bit from Metro. No Scoops scored here by the Pathe, Par or TJ reels of an import tant . news nature, but the sequence on Henry Ford, on auto manufac- turer's recalcitrant stand against the NRA, submitted by Parris both timeljr and interesting. It pictures Ford's summer estate and.-a couple newsmen who are. barred froih eh- terlrig the gates, cuttlhg to a bird's-: eye view:of his big auto domain sind linally to Ford himself seated at his deskr but saying nothing. Strip of film of Ford apparently out of the files, but serving okay here. Trans show leads off appropriate- ly enOugh with the NRA jparade^ liot too old to be considered newsy, for this week. Pathe did the Job fOr this, house, but not as, thoroughly as other reels. Opening parade, miaterial followed by Owen D. Young's appeal to back the NRA. Young reads from a pre- pared manuscript, but makes a good camera showing. Ford, gets third spotting. From here on routining Is -with an eye tO variety and. balance, but consider- ing the scarcity of timely, news this week, that could not have been dif ficult. ' Preparations by Admiral Byrd for his next trip to the Antarctic. Jap emperor reviewing the navy, .Vien- na's mobilization against'the Nazis and a few minor shots, far from the *mU8t' rating, aire seen here; but missing at the other house. Football teams warming up, Ma con's first test for a cross-country fiight, England's copping the U. S. tennis cup, swimming meiet in the Seine and one or two other dips are at; both theatres. Considerable novelty on this show, "but not much to laugh at. Interesting clip built around Eleanor Holm and Arthur Jarrett, newlyweds, with radio sing- EMBASSY Home of Fox and Hearst Movle^ tonea goes NRA this week -with the coating In thick layeria but makes Uttle effort out front to cash in on*, the Idea, On the screen the bill ' opens with ah editor's note front Fox-Movietone tliat the entire cur. ' rent Issue of the reel Ir disdlcated to the NRA. At outset, first NRA item is Genw Johnson's address at the Madison Square Oarden, followed by Secre- tary Ickes at Washington. Owen D. Young and the big New York parade make up other clips. Fox gave the NBA march fine • coverage and more, in detail than' other reels have revealed, with am ( Offscreen description for propping; •■• ]Both In photography, from tho ground and the iBkies,< the negative' • obtained bears out the completeness'-'- Of the Job. As the' NRA presenta- ' tion comes , to . ion end FOx proccisseB the Blue Eagle Inisiirnia agarnst thb scene,- and' passes to the Fox KRA ' short, 'Mother's Helper,' -with Bl'"= Brendel, Zasu Pitts and Esther'' Muir, second of the subjects eOnr trlboted - by ' the maJOF producers.' -' This, Is followied byrecent, apjpieal ' from President Roosevelt.' Here the miscellaneous newsreel matter stiarts .flowing,' first from Hearst On the r.evoU. in Cuba. Nu- merous Heiurst Items follow without interruption and for a time it looks as though Fox was on the show fOr.. NRA .purposes only, but suddenly' along comes a compilation* of foot- ball teams in training frpm Fox. . Still further down, Fb3C catches Gov.,Xiehman .\at the Chicago Fair making an addiress and still later the show unfurls. Will TIays. and a i^noiall group at "Washington point- ing but how the film Industry is behind. NRA on its code. Svith Hays giving some flgnires. Col. E. A.. Schiller and Sam Dembow. theatre execs, got in on the picture. With that personality and the Jimmy Walker savolr falro t Deml)ow passes the film test oCSST. Film code clip might well have. bee(i up front with, the rest of the NRA stuff. •There Is alSo a clip of Henry I4. Roosevelt, cousin 'of the President who's assistant sec. of the-Navy.. .. Material here which absents itself from the Trans screen or couldn't have been present through not be*, ing obtained hy Pathe, par or Includes in addition to the Gov. Lehman visit to the Chicago Fair on New York d&y, the ravages Of the. hurricane which smote Texas, state fair at. Syracuse'and the Miss America beauty contest at Altahtic, City. Fall fashions In gowns displayed here,, while at the Trans it's the new hats Paris has nlghtmared; Eimb's' shorts include a Magic Carpet release, 'Elephant Trails* (Fox), Movie Tintypes <Fox), and a Terrytoon cartoOn, *The Banker's Daughter' (Educ). Attendance much better here' Sat- urday afternoon than at the TVans. Char. er doing a parody, 'Learn to Cook.' Total clips i20, with division to Pathe, Par and U seven, six and. seven, respecti-irely. Evener than usual. Char: HOLLYWOOD, !. A. :» Hollywood. Sept. 15. Class show this week at-the War- ner house, with dancing, predomi- nating. Teddy Joyce's eccentric hoofing, tenorlng of Mario Alvarez and a cute ballet finish are the Out- standers. Running 30 minutes,, stage per- formance sags in the early part through spotting Joyce's violin solo right .after ,a hot .band, number a:nd. the fast Duffih and. Draper tap dance. Alvarez follows in ai nov- elty song that gets by, but . evokes plenty of applause with his Spanish ballad, which follows. Joyce, doing the Harlan Dixon type of dancing, teases 'em with single choruses and could remain bn Indef. - Show Is all dancing'from that point, Duflln icind Draper re-^ pOatinf with their snappy doll dance. Finale is the Muriel Stuart ballet, group of yotingsters being coached by an old dancing master. Fresh and hovel. Marjorie MOore la interpolated for her tOe-viOlin specialty and gets across strongly. Finish has the backdrop flying for a picture fadeout. Feature is ^ Loved a Woman* (WB). Oscar Gaum contributes a concert overture .iand there is a good ■Merry Melody.* Business packed second night, following a $2 opeh-r ing, Leny. MEDNiKOW^S SUIT Chicago, Sept, 18. Divorce proceedings against John Mednlkow, head of the local Master Arts ofllce. Mamie Mediiikow bas- ing suit on claim of deisertlon.' ■ Married May, 1908, alleged deser- tion occurring March 10,192S. "Two children. Alimony question being settled. PARAMOUNT, L. A. Los Angeles^ Sept. 12. Overloaded'with singing, current stage show ottejrs little in entertain- ment. Frank Jenks m.c.'s and leads the orchestra through two special numbers, line girls o]^n with a 'Tarzan' number going into simple web routines for a novelty flash. June Purcell, blues singer, Leon- ard Sillman , singing his' 'Emperor Jones' which he did in 'Low and Behold,' and Ada May are featured, but the hlHbUly Randall Sisters, harmony trio, run away With the , show, stopping It cold -with their 'Comin' Round the Mountain.' Girls, new here, are lookers and shoul . land something, if not for theii* singing, certainly for their Ozairk accents. Ada May sings two numbers, en-,, cores with a bUrlesqtie bubble dance. Size of the house, deispite loud speakers, handicaps her, tut she manages to work up to a good finish. Same for Sillman, whose seml-dramatlc number fails to land solidly. Miss Purcell, back here after a year on; radio in the east, clicks with two nuinbers. Billy Nelson and Irene Knight, with Nel- son going O-verboard On mugging,.... next-to-closlng. Team is in need of new material, most of the gags,, being bewhiskered. Dave Hacker..- ^rots^ put a . go .od ■ .bra nd - of:. eccentriO : l liaLhdhg which pleases the payinigr gueste, Finale has the line girls doing a -walk-across doubling b.^ck stage for a second entrance; MAX.- Lerner warbles the chorusi! 'Big Executive' (Par), the feature, with 'Hollywood on Parade,' Par hews clips and 'Tarzan* serifil fill- ing out the bill. Business only fair for the second evening performance Tuesday night. Call. ^