Variety (Jan 1934)

56 TARHmr'S* LONDON OFFIOB, 8 St. Martin's Place. TrttfalsAr Sqaare FOREIGN SHOW NEWS fMto AUfMil WAMUnW, tAMDOHl Mephene TMupIe Bw M41-8MS Three American Gjris Open In London Spots Same Night tibrtdon, 20. Almost a rity hixye three Amerioiiti stark pljening In three London night spots simultaneously. All.'happening pn Feb;' 5; Alleen Stanley pojps to Cii-o'a Glub, Frances Willi ias to the Mpnselgneur Res- taurant for four weeks, with option, and Mai-y ^.IcCormic starts at the Ciife de Paris, douhilns at the Pal- ladium. Then thorp will, tilso be the ie alUAnierlean floor, show at the Dor- chester hotel, llnfid up by Clifford Whitley and. staged by Felix Perry, in New York v'>ceintly-, with Mit^l Mayfalr featured, Insufficient Native Talent Flag waving started-With >thie new ftammerStein"-K6rn rury Lahie . show wili cause plenty of headaches to the producer's. Where are the stars to come from? That Is the question. Charlotte, Greenwood has been signed for the lead. Comip is being searched, for; with the proiv- inces being combied. Max Miller Is a; potential. Another" is Albert Bur.- don, who ha,s been tried ittir the West {End before, .in: Charles CoCh- rah's 'Evergreen',' but did not im- press, with excusfe offered he was polished up and, therefore out of., his element. Jimmy Flnlayson, Scottish-Amierr lean film star, is another under consideration. As. for the wqmen leads, they, are likely to be even more trouble. Southern's Vie Palace , John Southern's latest acquisition is the Victoria Palace, he thus con- trolling three spotsi in the West Tjh6 and: one in outer Liondon. The-, atre goes vaudeville Feb. 6, with some American act^ already lined Understood Southern dealt with Phillip Guedalla, the attorney in charge of the property, direct. Since General Theatres took the property over. t;wo years ago, house has. been through a hectic time, and closed for quite a whil^, Openlne recently for a Christmas produc- tion. G. T. was recently told by Watney, Cbombe & Reid, the brew- ers who own the property, that house must not be kept dark, tind if G, T. persists in doing so, brewers ened to start suit against the .first lessee, A. E. Abrahams, tor the. re- turn of $16,000 caution moiney. Receiver claiins m6n6y belongs to the creditors, as Abrahams has not lost anything; the theatre never haying ceased to operate. Abraham;^, who never leaises a theatre to any- one unless there is an arbitration .claus«i in the contract, is. ready t<i submit to arbitration^ arid looks like h ving to pay up in tu\\. Speculati Much specuiatlbn here aS to. what wiil follow- -Gay Divorce", at the Palace- Show .has to vapate in. March, due to Fred Astaire's Holly- Wbod contract with Radio ictures. tot. pi; surliilses by •insiders, hut mostly wrong ones. Likelihood 'Roberta*. will be staged here,, with most of the cast recruited in Lon- dbn. It la almost certain Has'sard win prodilce. ..Palace theatre, Ltd., are backing show^ with Charles Cochran as likely presenter, •Biall^'Music'to Tour . Prince Littler has bought proVlh- cial rights to 'Ball at the Savoy', and 'Music in the Air'. Both shows will be lavishly produced* and play numr, ber one towns. •Ball' will be produced by Reggie Hammersteln, with Cora Goflin, Littler's wife, to play the femme lead. Oscar Denes only one- of ori]g- Inai cast to take to the road, • ^Muslc' will be staged by Leigh ton K, Birill, and Littler I^ trying to get Natalie Hall to play her original iroie. Some weeks ago it was. prac- tically settled that Parnell & Zeit- lln -would tour the show, but &t. the last minute P. & Z. could not get togetlier wtth' owniers on percentage. Czech Operetta Causes^ Student Riot in Theabre Prague, January. 20. An opecetta led to a political demonstration in the New German Theatre during the perfprniance of the French operetta .'Czarewitsch'. Young students in the gallery pro- tested, against the t6o favorable portrayal of Russian aristoPratlP emigrants in the operetta, -while will sue it f6r loss of profits from Bolshevists are shown in an un- the bars, which amounts to several | favorable light. thousand pounds per year. South- ern's offer came as a- godsend. Understood he is paying $1,500. rental per week; and paid $26,000 on account. But with all that,' the liouce is under the. General The- atres barring clause. Loud catcalls were heard when a ypung Czarlst wpman related how she had been attacked by a Com munist, The noise in the. German theatre became so great that police pffielnls arrested se-veral young Communists in the gallery. TOO FBENCHY Floor Show Canceled Because Not American Enough for Paree. On Clifford C. Fischer'* American findings while in New York, the NTG. Para,dlsQ caba,ret show from Broadway will not go into Les Am- bassa'deurs, Paris, ^ this., sunamor. The nude stuff is no novelty abroad and the anpmaly has arisen -where- by the Brpadway entertainment Is so Frenchy tha.t it'i not enough of a no-velty for French consunaptlon.' Just like in America they appreciate s6ni<ethlner with a, foreign ting^, the smart cosmopolitan patronage atr tracfed to Lea. Ambaasadeurs likes soniething that sn^acks. of the. Anglo-American. Fischer is currently in N. T. signing : talent Pai'is and also the AmhasSadeurs, Cannes, Blar- rletz, et al. The. peMarcps, Three Sailors and the . Gertrude lioffmaii Girls, are slated to salL Fischer is,: sehdihg ever Ted Lewis's band for the.. Ambassa- deiirs. Lewis is due to open there- about. April 15. Gertrude. Hoffman and her troupe sail frdni New" York Fe)?.' 8 for a Cannes engagement at the Gaslno,. opening F6b. 16; for seven weeks and thence into , the - Ambassadeursj Paris, for tiie. new .floor, show, SEASON OF FREE SHOWS FOR (HMAN LABORERS Berlin, ^an. .. 20, The 'after work'.organization 'ct the German Labor Front Is alret^dy beginning its activity, with a per- formance of Schiller's 'Raiuber' at the Grosse. Schauspielhaus, Berlin's largest house. Theatre, has been dark for some^tlme. PerformahccB are free of. charge for the 'members pf th6 L^bor Front* Which practically includes . all workers. -Particulars on the organ- izatibn of thes!6 performances, which are to be carriied on until March 31st, will be published shortlyl Next season Is to last eight months be- ginning September 1st. ' The 'Film and Radio* division of the organization is under way, Silent Siars Mays Abroad SOURIRE DE PARIS (4-A-DAY) London* Jan. 16. .ReVue baaed oh various Caaino 4e Paris wvues (Paris). JProdnced by M„ He^rl Varna. At Prince 6t Wales theatre, .Iion- d6n,. Jan;. 18. Features Henry PUcer. Gax- h^F, Wolf and Haklns, Horam «t- Cie and Marianne: Cupfer. Charles dlore, who instigated the Frenchy revue Idea for the West End, started off virith several of the Folies Bergere shows in conjunction with' Mitty Golden .(Rottenbwrg. & Golden, French agents), and suc- cessfully. BiLt havine exhausted the Folies shows, he-has now turned , to Henri Varna (Varna & Dufrenne)/ who has been producing the Casino' shows the last :four years. Dufrierine. murder; some six months ago, still remains a mystery. Show, aa a whole;'serves its pur- pose as a, foufra'-day grind. Cos- tumes are pretty, gals are fair to look at, and settings, are of th6 usual French order, gaudy and futuristic. Not so mahy laughs,^ though Garner> Wolf, and Haklns supply the dire needs. Harry Pllcer is here after ah ab-, senpe of 10 years. He still has. looks and is a fair dancer. His .best is a drunk number, during which real champagne is consumed, with plicer handing out samples amiong the au- dience. Means the consumption; of four bottles a day. His concluding acrobatic dance, on a massive stair- case, is well done. < Baymon'd Bennett Is full of con- fidence and .old gags, while the Cup- fer gal,- realiy German, picked up from the Montmartre clubr is disap- pointing.. Lacks fire and Person- ality,' Same: goes for a couple of twins, Les Soeurs Boyer. Girls have neither looks nor talent. ,. Horara et Cie, the former a stand- ard on the continent for many yearis as Horam .and Myrtil, is how doing a thx*ee-man adagio; Noyelty con- sists in Horam'taking, the place of the-usual girl, being todsed about by the other two. Entire. show seemed underrrehearsed -when caught. With overhead around $6,500 sho-w win prolciably gross $9,000 weekly for the next six weeks, which is what Is intended. It Is then la Qlnch for the road in less elaborat i form.. ' Understood house management Intends to giye up the French revUe idea, this, being the last. Next policy to be In conjunction iwith Vlviah Van Damm, who operates the Wind., mill theatre. Eger. the same night her chauffem* mur4, d^ra her. When the boy tries ttf sell the pearls suspicion falls on himi, but it la clearod up. Mean- while, the English girl stands by him until she 'discovers , what .he is, and then gives htm up. Atmosphete ojE the Ftench Riviera Is splendidly rendered and so are the- types; all profoundly human though a good many of thenl are. pretty unpleasant.: The play seems cut'oiit for international popularity. Performance, was all that could be: desired with. Ilona Titkos and- Zoltan Maklary particularly good as the chauffeur and the maid who urges him on; Paul Jaivor plays the g"lgolb. and Ella Goth-Kertesz is the nian-mad old lady Jacohi. SARGA LJUOM ('Yeliow LWy') Budapest, Jan. 13. Adapted ifrorai Lajos Biro's xtrama by Oesa'Herczeg and Istvan Zaeroh; music'by Michael KirauBS, At the Fpv^rosl Operetta theatre^ Budapest. Cast Includes Haniiah Honthy, Tery Fejes; Desao Kertesz, Brno Verebes, Qustav Partes; etc; One o.f the biggest hitia of pre.- -war Budapest revived in musical form and with: a. happy ending. Banks oh the Hapsburg lure, the romance of the little garrison town, the gay Hussars; the Archduke and the hourgeois girl he loves. It -was eitective drama in its. original .form, interwoven With locial political jlh- terest in . those days, but now^ diluted .with musical comedy Syrupy- it hais lost much of Its zest, though the background is still attractive. Hannah Honthy, a fine actress with dramatic abilities seldom seen on the musical stage, is: extraordhi-- arily well fitted for the girl who re^- slsts when she discovers she is sup- posed to become the'Archduke's niistress. Kiertesz plays the Arch- duke. Erho- Verebes, returned to the stage after the Hitler-decreed conclusion .of a successful German screen career, is very disappointing as the irresponsible young Hussar oflicet'. JacoM. Fox to Cafe de Paris Roy Fox leaves the Kit-Cat res- taurant Feb. 28, after 15 months; Vllem Werner, one of the most promiising of the young Czech dramatists, whose plays recently Managementi has decided to spend |\vere performed in Vienna, Colpgne and Prague, is cpnfined In a sana- tprium,' as the result of having' taken an excessive do.se of a sleep- potion. less on bands, with Jpe Lpss, the relief bund, taking Fpx's place. Fox lias turned down three Of- fers, finally accepting the Cafe de PaLris, where he ppens March 6, which was his oHglnal opening date here some four years ago, when he was specially brought pv.er by PpuI sen with band pf seven. .After play ing there eiRht weeks band was sent back tp America, with Fpx staying pver to form an English aggregation tTnderstobd outfit is reduced from 18 to 13, with year's contract $1,500 which, is about best money be in night Spots for banids Professor Otokar Sevclk, the Czech violin teacher and composer, 82 years old. Is seriously ill. He has taught in Chicago, Ithaca^ Bos-, ton. New .York, and London,. And has pupils all oyer the world. NOEL COWARD AGAIN I Only 400 Seats : but 2,000 Beserva' tions.fer New Play's Opening ivalis' Revived About 150 years ago,-.speaking of his plri 'The Rivals', Sheridan said London, Jan. There are less than; 400 seats in the orchfeatra of lils Majesty's the it was one of his youthful efforts, atre, where Noel Coward's 'Conver- and. he did not think much pf it. If sation Piece,' stan-lng Yvonne he could have seen it revived last printemps, • nnouhced for pro night, at the Ambassadors, he wpuld duction. have been as . proud p£ it as Was how has not yet gpne IntP re Sydney Carroll-, who presented- ^, hearsal, and nb date has been set and who came before the curtain for the pre.mlet^e; Already, hPW- and made a speecli, sayihf? hj liked ever, there have been appUcatlcns it and hoped the audience enjoyed, at the box office for 2,000 orchestra it as much, as he did, Judging from the I'eception, they yrllked it and so. did the critics; ^==-neverthele6s=lt—Is-old^fashipned^and^ Its technique . creaks. Carroll said he thought the scenery was beau- tiful, the acting.excellent, the direc- tion all that could be desired, and so on.. Okay. •reservations for the opening night =^Enforced=StageH5hows" Mexico City, Jan. 26. National Union of Variety Artists and Kindred Actors petitions the Government to compel all clnem^'^s exhibiting foreign pictures to em-^- ploy its members On their programs and to make that. nieasure federal Union has Induced the National Abraham* Arbitrates M.M.S. (London Pavilion) Lim Ited, formed in 1932, which went into liquidation having lost around Revolutionary Party, which doml- $6.0,00.0. Is still In-the hands of the | nates the national admlnistratldn Official Receiver, who has threat I to back its demand. (Continued from page .3) active as featured players are Bebe Daniels ,Colleen Moore, AdolpU Men-' jou/Jean Hersholt, W. C. Fields.' . Therei is another group of 13 pre-talker' players who were fea- tured in 1928 but since haye gradu- ated to the star level. They are: Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Marie Dressier, Lionel Baro'more, William Powell, Janet Gay nor, Warher Bax- ter, George O'Brien, Wiursay-Sid- ney (team), ZaSu .Pittef, May Rob- son, Greta Garbo, In this batch the women have an edge on the boys if discounting the Murray- Sidney team. Those Still Featured Featured players of 1928 who re- main featt|red players today num^ ber 19: Richard Arlen, Lupe Velez, Myrna Loy, Polly ^oran, Lewis Stone, Martha Sleeper, Ben Lypn, Victor McLaglen, Cllve Brook, Dplpres Del Rid, Nils Asther, Dpug- Jas Fairbanks, Jr., Rlcardp . Ccr-tez, Lprettia Teung, Sally Ellers, - Ed- mund Lpwe, Leila -.HyamS, Fay Wray. A few have been starred In th(& Interim h\xr have lapsed back intp the featured bracket; These of the 86 stars of 192.8 who are hot. now. on the studio contract lists, as stars or otherwise^ are Pola .Negri, Raymond Hattdn, Emil Jannlngs, Gloria Sw^-nson, Thomas Melghan, Esth-er Ral.stpn, iPlprence Vidor, Rayriiohd Grl ith, DOugias MacLean, Ed Wynn, lllle Dove, Norma Talmadge, Corlnne Griffith, Harry Langdon, Consta,nce Talihadge; Johnny Hlnes, Ken Maynard, Vilmai Banky, iBiister Keatpn^ Gllda Graj', Lillian Glsh, Willlain Haines, Jackie Coogan, Tom Mix, Madge Bellamy, Buck Jones, Leatrice Joy, Jetta Goudal,- Marie Prevost. Vera . Rey- nolds, Jacqueline Logan, Laura Ea Planted Reginald Denny, Conrad Veidt, Mary Phiiblrt, , NPrman Kerry, Glenn Tryon, Dolores Cos- tello, Morite. IBlue. Syd Chaplin. Rtn- Tin-Tin, Irene Rich* George Jessel Lloyd HamlltoriJ Johnny Ai'H^ur J?ctt-y^Gompgon,^jpxLp.hnfii»JiQUai^ Ben Turpln. Some who dropped out during the inter-vening year.s, but -who lately have commenced to -stage come backs, include Rod liaRoeque, Alice White, John Gilbert, Mary Brian Dorothy Mackaill, Lew Cody; Lois Wilson. Of the B4 silent players whose names prevJitl after *six year.i of talker."?, 32. hftd stago .exp«M-!oncp be fore going pictures, or about 60%. KEk DUNA ('Blue banubeO Budapest, Jan. 14. operetta in three- abts. .. Book by Karoly [Crlstof and . Julius . K. Hialaez. Johann' StrauRS inuslc ada:ptea \>y Bela Nagypal. At the Klraly:. theatre, Budajiest. Cast includes Marglt Dayka, Laazlo Szucis, Mar- tin.'Ratkay, Franciaca "Orkenyi, Kalman Latabar, Susie Simon.. At least this is an operetta in which one needn't worry whether the music will be goOd .or bad. It's Johann Strauss' waltzes and polkas from 'Blue Danube' to 'Stories of Vienna Forest,' well selected and in- tersperised with a few palatable modern numbers, Book is based on an episode in the life of waltz king Strauss and tells how he fell in love with a Russian grand duchess, followed her to St. Petersburg, where shei mar- ried a Caucasian prince and how, through her influence, he got his position-as director of the Vienna Court Orchestra as a consolation, ultimately flndlhg his -way back to the actress who becomes his wife. A pleasantly told story:—save for the third act, where Emperbr .Frah els Joseph is dragered in without rhyme -pr 'reaspn. No pperetta in these parts seems to be cpmpl^te wlthput reference tp . the Emperpr and the gppd pld days.^ But scenes pf the gay Vienna pf the '60s and pf the Muscovite splendor of the same period still fascinate on the stage. Management engaged Laszlo Szucs, fine ope^ratic tenor, to sing the musically. exacting part of Strauss and Mai:git,Dayka, drahiatlc IngChue; for the grand duchess, Per forniance as a whole nice, though no high^water .mark. A little .more comedy -would be a distinct, im provement. Music and atmosphete give this play a chance ab^-'^ad. Jacohi. GILDED YOUTH Budapest, Jan, 10. Hunyady's latest, very dlffea-ent In plot and setting from his previoiaS plays. Is. a thriller -with literary quality. This detracts nothing from its .stage effectiveness, altliough =Hunyady*=h^^-^refrained===frDih:""xi3ing cheap mystery effects and allowd the audience to know ivho the mur- derer is while the police" uhravel the clues The gilded " youth in a South American adventurer who moves in the best circles. An aristocratic English girl falls in love -vk-lth lilm but to marry he needs money Simplest means to get it is to let a rich American- woman, clutching at her lost youth, support him. She gives him her valuable pearls and Union Bull Figlitens Mexico City, Jan. 26. Matadors have gone union, with the organization under labor board okay as the National Mexican So- ciety pf Bur and Bullock Killers, Union coniprises 2i4 Mexican pro- fessional slayers of bulls in public and 28 managers and lawyers of these artists,- Society ainis to elevate profes- sional standards arid maintain pay at Its present plenty high levels. Boy bull fighters of less than 12 are barred from membership." 30c A DAY NOT ENOUGH .French Actors Don't Think They Can Live on it, Quit. Paris, Jan. 20. Potiniere, local not so sure seater, is dark because actors did not be- lieve in taking a thirty cents a day salary. Current ' show, put up by M. Choisy, flopped badly, being- made of worthless curtain raisers, so lie offered the.actors to carry on if they wanted to play on percentage, which would" have meant about two dollars a -week, They shied. Owns Silent Rights, Sues oil ^ouiid Version Paris, Jan. 20. Claiming he holds the exclusive film rights to Donizetti's operetta •FlUe du Regiment' C'Daughter of the Regiment') because he bought, in 1929, a Ave year licence to play the silent by that name,, Andre Weill is suing jbinfl^'Gray Fllni, producer, Vandor Film, distrib, and Pathe Natan, exhlb. of a sound version made in France. Apart from the fact, that the lo- cale has been changed in the sound version, p6uri>arler3 failed to arrive, at an adjustment while it was being.-made. Lawyer for WeilV is Me^ Suzann Blum, who is ,also lawyer for UA.U, and WB here...' Hobson's Eye Op. Jan< 29. ""^cmeht'ITpsMfTOwne" and nite life, Impresario here, has gone to The Hague to consult an eye specialist. Hobaon lost his sight virtually ail of a sudden, and has been in Vienna to consult optical special Lsts, ' the Austrian savants sending him' to the .Netherlands, where he was operated upon. It Is still tod early to determine the aucces.s of the operation, although, indications are optimistic.