Variety (Mar 1934)

«0 E LADIES Tuesdaf, March IS, 193^ Going Places By Cecelia Ager- Cnriotiohs from Astoria With no more thah a smudge of hei old southern accent adhefingr; •wUh gusts of new sincerity and now and then a touch of heartbreak, Sidney Fox comes back in 'Mid- tiighV a better, sweeter, even toler- able little girl. Her tendency to precoclousness daftly 'reined by dir rection, she gives a straightforward performance, substituting for her former conviction, that she viras- a cute little trick, the t o, too wonder- ful rfealizatibn thit ihe has beebihe an. emotional activiM. .. All the actresses li 'Mldnisht,' as a matter of fact, are emotional. Kathr'yn Wilson, Margairet Wycher- ly, Helen Fiiiit—they all feel, ribly, deeply. They speak yery slowly, viery impresslvel:-^it's a very,.meaningful: story, they'd have yoii khdw, that they're enacting.. Helen Flint has the. most right of all of them to do sombre; for. after all she'is awaiting execution: in the electric ciialr, and all ..sorts of artistic photography cell . bar. shadows fill across h«r drawn, tortured face, but in thipir own little way Miss Wilson and Miss Wycher- ly do okay, too; "They're! suburban housewives, and mothers, wash their own dishes and , press their- owit clothes,- wear ' ■.iftiexpeniglvia , little house dresses-..ir. a prop.eriy'.rubber stamp little house, 3^t: their Miction makes it very, clear th^t, privately, . they're Usied^ to 'better things, - that their lntelH$rence is inore than a .cut- above" tlieir' 'present envlrohment. ,Miss Foz^s tailored chiifon dres^, patently her 'best-.jflreps, is ac- -ctirately selected little number,, exr ' pre^ssliig a moderate-clothes budget ij;uided",by' the prosaic and-^noffen- ' sive taste .of. the- women'-s - household '-magazines. .It has a 'high- white turndown collar for youth, shoulder ruffles >for softness, and uniiispiired - eiimplicity for goodhess, still golden locks to be coaxed into fetching ringlets. So Miss Mulr sees to her hair, her eyeishadow and her lip rouge, and th^s plays 'Bedr side's' leading femme role. Kathryn Sergava is next In line of tlie gels who And Mr. William utterly Irreslistlble- Hers Is a more slinky response, more worldly, more Introspectlve^for Miss Sergava, tiiey say, is an, opera singer. "Thus Is explained her huge black malipe hat with evening dress, her direct approacht and her black sheath with a fold of white round the high neck extended Into buttbned epaulets: Despite the madness of hei" cos- tuming and the lack of credible motive for het amorous Inclinations, Miss Sergava survives 'Bedside' ah Interesting and provocative, person- ality. lir--!^obd bid -Yale Palace this week presents 'Hot Chocolates of 19iS4,' which offers Avis Andrewsr a. soprano, whOi with grim inevitability presents 'Eli, Ell/ with no- cuts, either. It is very affecting to see how deeply Miss Andrews feels for the s.<irr6ws of'another race, to listen to her. voice break , with compassion as she walls the esoteric Hebrew lyrics, to watch her wring her hands and look ^riipward. •.jchoking. with fine; liujmanlty. ■ Particularly •since only a moment-beifore-she was; concerned" with an entirely different emotion. Indicated/by' irrepressibte, hot licks and nervous derriere convolutions.; ' Miss. Andrews wears, for her rer ■markaWy- varied, gamut of- moods, a white satin evening frock fitted across the hips' in; Harlem's niost devoted manner, t<i»; this area of the form divifae. Inserted ruf fles scam- pe^r in .half-circle? lOW. ojn its-skirt, and fat,, sausage^like rolls of bright green ^iffeta form shoulder capes and encircle its hoity-toity high neck. Long glittering earrings clinch the classiness of le tout en- semble. . Herself; Jtot Chocolate Baby Cox doesn't worry her little Golliwog head about dressmaking* but stakes all on the metallic shine of her teeth and the shrewd matching of her bronze satin dancing trunks to the bronze of her skin. The pale but spirited chorus frolics in the regula- tion .Harlem. chorus uniform,, white fringe, red feathers, and the essen- tla;l scattering of sequins. A Dbuble-Crossing Dress From., the moment Aline Macr Alahon , 'peers bllnkingly,. eye- shadbwiessr from ''Heat Llghtnfng'B' sultry screen, her wealth of black hair wrapped up- in an old bandana and the shine of honest toil gleam- ing oh her facei—a small' btit. gnaw- ing, suspicion is born that before the stoiT is over duckling Mie^cMahon ,will.' becom.e ;a. beautiful, beautiful swan. Right! W«\\, half right.. Miss MacMahon lets her hair down, but the dress she swaps for her overalls .has not been let in on its share Irt the siir^ prise. A. sheer pinkish thing with black lace edged ruffles at its square neckline; it hangs disinterested—, even aloof—^from its duty toward nipping in, here alid there, the Mac- Mahon flgurbi- Though it was never. - meant to be the last'gasp in fashion, tt cpuld yet .flatter, and still nbt blast the picture's artistic verities. Miss MacMahon's so decent about getting herself up good aihd ugly in the beginning, it's not quite cricket of that dress to be so^ airily indlffer' ent to the situation. Especially sliice Miss MacMahon'hair and make-up rally round so nicely when Anally their turn comes. Ann DVorak, who plays Miss Mac Mahbn's sullen, smouldering young sister, hungry for love, life and all that, does it greatly assisted by large eyes swell at flashing Are and a slim—at present very slim-form good for the sudden flinging about and stalking off to suffer that which young sisters seem to be. subject to. It Isn't Glenda Farrell's fault, nor Ruth Donnelly's either, that their characterizations h^yer quite come out. Nobody is clear about them. They wear dizzy negligees, and blonde wa.ves a^s a hint. Mr. William's Wimmin Femine eyelids flutter, femme chests quiver, femme Hps pUcker in •Bedside.' mass agitation induced. It is Insisted, by fierce yearning for "Warren William, and Hot, as some cold-hearted wericher, su.opect, by muscular reflexes of revulsion. It is Jean Mulr's lot to do th^ bulk of 'Bedside's' twittering, for it is to her that'the most of Mr. William's -unctuous attentions are addressed Miss Mulr weathers the barrage of burning., glanced, richly honeyed tones and winning ways she's up against , sinri^piy _bj^ respondm ^In '^lcTna;*'~.She 1bats~ eyelashes rigSt back,' cart curt a lip with anyone— but what, really concernj her down' deep in her heart fs the mailntainin^ of the pretty waves In her hair. l.,;.As.,a-jiu.rse, she's got .to-wean a miirse's uniform, and Miss Muir will riot let that uniform get her down. Though her Agger's to be withheld by starched white cotton, there are JUDGES DISACREE WITH PULASKI: NEUSE WINS By JACK PULASKI Looks like the boxing commlsh will have to tinker with the rules about decisions following the ruling at the Garden Friday when King Levinsky of Chicago dropped the match with Walter Neusel, a Ger' man. Leaping. Lena's brother scored ,the most points, according to the ringside count, but. the Judges dis agreed. One favored the King, the other calling it a draw. So: Referee Arthur Donovan gave It to Neusel That seemed screwy to the boxing writers, but there was no special squawk and the fans applauded the verdict. Best flght crowd 'the Gar den has had all winter; gate being close to $19,000. Lievlnsky had hopes of l>e.ing named the leading contender for Camera's*title, not .counting Max Baer. Unless he cari more decisive- ly top the Heinle, he won't get a crack at the title. Neusel is no wonder,' but he can take it. 'Twras quite a night for the :short-enders, the odds being 16 to 5 on, the loser. After: the first roui^ii the niillins was all in the King's 'fa,vor uf> to the seventh session, when he started ti-ing. In the second round Levin- sky hung a roundhouse right oh Walter's Jaw and down he went for a short count. With more than a minute to go, the King couldn't re- peat and Neusel. remained vertical. Last two rounds he. clipped the King at will and the Chjcagoan's legs looked rubbery. There was considerable feeling in the crowd, and the fdi,'elgher'S.. adherents screamed for him to 'kr(6ck him out.' But there were ho side fights among Did You Know That— The Zelgfeid theatre now offers French lessons, coffee, tea and cake, besides pictures ,.. . Oscar Poik, colored actor in •Pursuit of Happiness', rides to the theatre from Harlem every night on a motorcycle.;. .the Clayton Sheehans gave a din- ner party last week for Roy Simmons. .. .Ruby and. Harry Puck will oelebrate their 11th ariniverisary this month and they're still speaking... -the mother of Virginia Smith used to be a bareback rider In a circus... .Blanche Sweet, Col- leen l^oore, Dorothy and- liiilan Gish and Adela Roirers St. Johns lunched together at the Ritz on Frtday ... .Bobble Per- kins was there, too, with Dot- tle HilcCartiiy and Mlckle Zukor Marlon Spltzer's having a grand tlni.e In the snow after that G&.If omia sun.... The Wilma iShop Is having ai, fash- Ion show' at Leon ahd Eddie's with .30 red headed npifidels.... Ben . Turpln claims to^ be 6B years old... .Harold Franklin and Martin . Beck are still lunching together ... ■ Every- one's, relieved to know that Anatoie Friedland will be up' and about soon....that was Wanda» Lyons lunching . with Lyhaan Brown at Sardl's.... tloract^ Brahnt's cooktall party was a .beeg success on Sunday I...yLIlian TiEUihman 'was there , (looking perfectly, lovely iri a white tunic frock), and George Bernard, Elmer Rice, Bert Ly- tell, :Mr. and'Mrs. Nate Leip- zig'- a'n'd • Mabel Brownelt.... Mrs.' Earl jHankmons has a limb in a splint... .jack Whiting has given, his motheir a new car;.. .llena Strieng sings charming Vlenese songs at the t\raldorr during the tea hour .. i .Kitty Marin covered every- thing at Callente... .Frances. Langforth, who sings- at the- Simplon Club, will do a num--' ber In 'The Pure in Heart' The Charlie Elhfelds were plenty excited- at the Intercol-!- leglate track meet last week ....Amy Revere always has that well groomed look... .plty Mrs. Clark Gable who has to stand around endleibsly while. hUbby signs autographs....; George and Julie Murphy, Inez Courtney, Jack Benny, Flo Haley, PhyMs and Billy See- mah, Flossie Rice, Eleanor Ambrose, Jean Ackerman and Peggy Joyce were at the May- fair • Saturday night... .That was Elvia' Enders lunching with Helen Menken the other ' day Peggy Fears Is laid up In the■ , hospital... .Florence Wessels has Joined Mme. Jer- itza's company... .Local Ital- ians are flocking to Peronl's new restaurant... .Mrs. Bugs Bacr is the niece of Lyle An- drews... .Julius Tannen gave a cocktail party... .Peggty Al- lenby prefers radio to the the- atre these days....It's okay If Helen Westley toots her o'wn horn on that performance in Arliss' 'Rothschild'. Among the Women By The Skirt The Best Dreised Woman of th* WMki FAY BAINTER CDodsworth') Quite a Show. 'Dodsworth' is by far the best show lii New York. Walter Hustoii^ after many years in pictures, comes back to the stage and here's hoping: he stays there. Fay Bainter is a fine choice aa the wife. She has waited a long tinie for so important a role. When she meetd defeat at the end of the iptlay the audience did everything but, cheer. It'B that kind 6t 4 part. C^lothes worn by Miss Bainter (tfe the last word in smartness. Hec first dress was of tan cloth With a large black taffeta bow iat the neck with long ends caught at the waistline with a .black belt ' A oerisa metallic 'blouse and short jacket had a da,rk blue skirt^Ari oyster white satin was made with no trimming but had two cltpis. There was a sum- mery frock of Alice blue with white dots. A bertha and the band at the bottom of the skirt, w^ fluted. A green .netal cloth was oddly fashioned 'w.lth.biased; flounces ending-In a*short 'trai.n: There was a black stiffened chiffon with .simple bodice edGred 'wlth narrow-K^ce^- And a grey satin with long sleeves, plus Juet a , tbueh 'of cerise at the belt, was too stunning. An ensemble consisted, of'a fiale blue cloth dress and, biege coat, and a traveling outfit oic back was trimmed with sllvier fo<. Miss Bainter has the newest, of bobs With.-the. hialr combed to one sidii ending in bunches ot .curlB» making - the fe^nr hiats Wbrii very becomine^^ Nan Sunderland, a tall, good looking' bloiide,''shoVtre4 first a. gunmetal satin evening outfit consisting of gjb'wn''iand three-iciuat'ter- coat, her neck was a sable stole. ,A sports outfit was a henna, colored dress, worn Under a chicked coiat. Sh# looked'very nic'e-in an brahge blbu'sa and linen skirt. There was a l^lt of' blue*, fishnet. Lenore Harris hati ^ome back tp the New York .stage, with a mature -figure but-, is still the same charming dreciser. A black.gown was oddly made with long sleeves opened at the .ishoulders with jet trlpnmlng.,' A sliver-jgoWn shimmerediiil the moonlight but for a minute. - In the cast of 36. there are many, more women all--.dressed in ch{ur>>. acter. One. of the most amusing scenes in- the play is when Mr. Hustoil strips to. underwear and. Mtias -Bainter, in a Turkish bathrobe,;.'takes, her makeup Off with cold- cream; That's courage. ,'^ll^fie Arden. U the Name Thelre Js a glri; aii^;tjhe''7plt^moUnt theattje this week-who WIH be heard from 'some'.'da'y^. Bjbt|ii<> Arderi is her name and all .the Greek coniedians should get'a.loadher accent. -Plus the Jewish accent of Benny Rubin you. can .imagine-the fiin: this week. Jack Halby is also talking Jewish before the act •finishes. Plenty of laughs and a goqd-^share. of dirt. Miss Arden wears a black, dress spotted with white and a red ribbon around the waist.. Lillian JRoth Is i on hand to helpv but, ..dressed nicely In a fiame colored -frock n^ade with the. high nettc and. no sleeves. A white gown follows made * with, silver fox around - the armholes. A man called the-Poet Prince sings from a .cellophane fountain surrounded by what lookedi to be a bevy of .nude 'women. - The chorUs is dressed fbr another number in yelloW organdie made with .three mffles. at the hem. The edging was of black and red as -wete 'the shoulder ruffles. Large flop hats were trimmed .uhderrieath with flowers. The stage show flnishM with the girls as Irish lads and lassies. ix of a Kind' Is the picture with Mary Boland, Allison Skipworth and Grade Allen holding up the femme end. .'Miss Boland is seen first' in a simple house f roOk and then in a smartly tailored suit. A well made dress was of black with a white border at the neck line; A velvet neglir gee, pajamas with isatin coat trimmed4n lace, were shown. Oracle Allen' was neatly dressed in black with a la^ge white bow at the throat and. cuffs to match. A light colored frock was turilced with a light skhrt following with darker jacket. Both Miss Bolsind.and Miss Allen wore small hatsJ Allison Skipworth was in black and^was also seen in a light coat and large hat. Same fiinriy answer applied to the seml-flnal. between Abe Feldman and Al Ettore. It'looked like Al was plainly on the long end of the point. score...iuit_the fudges..again disagreed and the r'ef (same guy) gave It to Feklman, The fans groaned, but there was little, coin watjerett on the match. MARRIAGES Gertrude V. Nelson to Lyjnan Blakesley, Los Angeles, March 5 Bride Is fllm actress and groom is a L.A, and N.Y. stock broker." Azalee Cecil, screen actress, to Herbert 'Sonny' Levy, Hollywood, March 6. Groom Is a^fllm cUtter at Warner's "on Coast. Harry Ettllng, stage manager of RKO's <3olden Gate, San iE^rancisco, to Lynda 'Mickey* Appelle,- F&M dancer. Jlmmie' Ellison and Lorraine Tumlin, of burlesque; at Memphis Mildred Harris Chaplin to William Fleckenslein, Ashevllle, N. C, last week. Groom owns the uiilt in which she is appearing. BIRTHS ._ Mr. and Mrs. Frank N. Murphy, son, !March 6 in Los Ai.geles. Father ^g="chief^"electrical^englneer=at^War ners. Mr. and Mrs. J., P. radley, daughter, March 1, in Hunting;ton Park, Calif, Father is manager of ~the F-Wc" California theatre there Mr. and. Mrs. Ralph Huston, daughter, Los Angeles, March 9 Father is a Hollywood p.a. Quiet and Nice At the Imi>erial theatre there's a musical you hear little about hut it's good entertainment. ' It is "All the King^s Houses". Although Harry Tlghe's name Is still programed he has been out of the show a couple of weeks and Bernard Granville is in. with no mention. Guy Robertson has never been better and his resemblance to Jimmy Cagney Is striking. Nancy McCord is charming with a voice of unusual quality. Appearing flrst in a grey krimmer trimmed coat under which is a grey lace frock with a. fox collar, Miss McCord soon, dons a ravish- Ing negligee of fuchsia velvet oveip ecru lace. The sleeves are full with open shoulders and no back. Half way up the train is a large bow* ^ Jade green velvet had the new cowl back arid lace bodice. Extremely regal she looked in a pUrple crepe with long sleeves off the shoulders and held In place 'with diamond Straps. But-Miss McCord wlil never look better than in a metallic go'wn of white and silver made plain but for a single diamond order on the bodice. Betty Starbuck.was flrst in henna cloth with matching hat, and a dark blue crepe had tiny buttons, down the back, sleeves and a coronet was on the head. A black moire evening gown, made very plain, had a square cut neck with narrow straps. She also wore a salmon colored satin made with the high front and no back and the neck haying white collar. Doris Patston has changed In appearance since last seen and not for the better. In three costumes the best looking was a gold with blue velvet back. Chorus consists of 11 girls not up to Broadway standard. First act flrids them as employees of a beauty shOp. They're In green aprons with white collars and cuffs. Then they are peasants in the Russian style, of many colored skirts and high boots. Later on they. come on in long white satin gowns with white aprons. Second act hias them ladles of the court, in white satin gowns with gold coronets and carrying purple calla lilies. Pale green organdie dresses, made -with: il!o lining, had lace panels edged with lace. Bodices were henna taffeta with large straw hats sailor fashcion in the henna shade. There is a sort of a ballet with the girls dressed In blue organdie of many layers, the bodices made bolero fashion of silver sequins. Not Up to Standard ■The Music Hall's stage show Isn't up to standard this week. The Russian note inserted into the programs recently. is getting a trifle tir- ing. A number jailed 'At the Race Track' has 16 girls in most unbecom- ing Jodhpurs of yellow orange,, green,, tan and yellow. They were clum- sily made and gave the girls a heavy, appearance. Jacques Gasselln, in a violin solo, looked lonesome on this huge stage. Gertrude Niesen, In a hat check girl item, sings a song with a ridicu- lous lyric. Miss Niesen is dressed in a black satlii skirt with flame colored blouse. She flnally flnds.a man and goes the rounds of the night clubs with the aide of the revolving stage. In the. flrst club a few girls are doing the 'Carloca' in green^ and black ruffled skirts and coral bras- slers._ Then j>n to^ a Riwslan club where a woman^^ slng^ t'wo vbf^es^rid^foiir^^^'^^ peasant costumes. In Harlem the guests at. tables are in white satin gowns with silver bodices. For her tour Miss Niesen dons an evening wrap made oddly of flame and black velvet. 'Love Is King' is the -finale With the ballet, some In white arid black tights and sliver and bljick coats, the-rest-In white and silver gauze trains and .high headdresses. Brides- maids are in" pale pink With matching muffs. Two midgets were in cerise and pink costumes out of Alice iii Wonderland. Picture is 'Spitfire', with Katharine Hepburn, a .d the less sal it the better.