Variety (Mar 1934)

20 VARIETY VARIETY HOWfg BEVIEWf ^esdaj^ M«rc!i 20, 1934 PALLADIUM, LONDON London, March 1. Cab Calloway is here. He is do- tair 60 minutea, closing the show at the Palladium Jtor four weeks, and opened inore sensationally thai) axty act within the recollection of the press agent of the hoiise. Stai^dlng room was at a premium and there la the largest advance aale for thia aitd next week ever in the history of the house's variety policy. Everybody In. the theatre sang Calloway' ho-de-ho and kindred responses; >To collection of devout churchgoers could have responded more loyally to the choir's chanting than the Palladium audience did to "the colored maestro. \ Besides his orchestra. Cab had the Three Dukes and Alma Turner. Most remarkable part of the turn was the familiarity of the audience With all the bandmaster's numbers. They ■ called for them In a manner to indicate they knew Just exactly what he specialized in. It is said this education was gleaned from the gramophone records. Included in the newcomers this week are Harold Boyd, and the'Jlg- isaws. Boyd is of the original Run- away Four, and has assembled a splendid act. Then there is Buck Warren... Chic Cooper and the Dako- tas with their rope spins, whip anapplng and dancing, which got by. neatly. . Man and Thlt'are a couple of ^UmpstirBqmpsti' acrobats, last seeh here .with 'the Bertram Mills circus at/Christmas-^time. Oaston •p- mer "makes a T*elcome return after, a; few moilths' absence, and Is better--than ever. 'Remainder of tho bill Is well selected from native standard acts, and the ^hole makes for. a variety bill at unusually high degree throughout JoUf. CAPITOL, N, Y, Costif(g $17,000 this show plays poorly. Answer is that the thre^ topliners, • Jimmie Duittnte, Lou Holtz and Polly Moran haven't An act or acts. Entire ' production plainly shows it wias slapped to- gether lii. an awful hurry. Durante and Moi-an arrived in K. .Y. from the Coafit 24 hours before opening. Holtz was set a couple of weisks in advahce.- With the costly trio the house is bound to do business, but much doubt whether those who pay 86c. are going to be satisfied. Show runs 66 hilnutes. Sara 'MUdred Strauss danicers, ftioflernlstlc troupe along Mary. Wlg^ man. llniss;. atapd out; .They're on Immediately, following a poor Holtz opening gag. for a machinc'-age num- ber -quite different from anything usually seen in thd picture houses. The . 26,'girls appiear io'haVe been Influenced by a holy-roller revival. Later they present a dance version of 'The :La8t Roundup,' colorful. ' Polly Moran's first appearance Is more or less of a stage wait, being the typical'Hollywood personal ap- pearance. A few pointless gi^s and then gings a special. Later, In a hillbilly bit with Holtz. Miss Moran is mildly funny. ,. Holtz's material is never stronjg, 'rhoth. because of the gags and the telling. - tn his spasni'>with Durante, Itihd does not appear until way down in the show, they are both trying to top each' other and breaking each other up. So nothing wdnt. They tried Holtz'is old Fliiplho shoe-^sales- men sketch, which died whien Dur< rante couldn't remember the lines and necessitating cuing from Holtz. Armida, in her specialty, is doing imitations of Dolores Del Rio, Mar- lene Dietrich and Lupe "Velez. Holtz is on to give her needed support. Durante entranced to a big recep- tion. But he's fumbling a great deal •for laughs and most of his tries ax^' futile. After one special he'tf- lAtO^ *Inka Dinka Dbo,' and it qaved hiibr^ For the finale the 26-glrI enlsej^ble^' part of the house the cast, except Holtz, prop noses to continue °'Inka.'Dlnka Doo.' Reads 'funni^r^-'thaia it- looks. Durante. Morah .and Arnii^a'parade the runway iif front bf thie pit, shak- ing hands with jthe' audlidhiBej before the traveler closes. Biz good ('The ShQw^OfP (M-G) . oh the scfedn) and stage llnei]^p wUi likely get another chance, aa^Ii looks as if they^il hold another' weekv . self. Eddie gives 'em everything and doesn't piill his punches. After the Caron Sisters do a song- and-dance and warble 'Those Eddie Cantor Eyes' against a drop with a blow'up of the comio's map and a pair of huge, moving orbs, he comes on lu' regulation street clothes 'and starts in. It's one gag and one story after another. Some of them are old, some , are new, but that didn't seem to make any. difference, dustomers catnie to . see Cantor and tO'laugh, and laugh they did—even at the chestnuts; He kids his air sponsoris, RubinofiC and everything else in typical Cantor style. On his first appeariance, he stayis fully 16 miiiutes, keeping up a rapid- fire line oi chatter that brought a steady response, and then ^ Intro- duces Bryant, Ralns: and Toung. in full-stage, dancers, two girls and a man, do a .single number that's graceful without being par- ticularly distinctive but serves well enough as a fillerrin. Cantor fol- lows them again tot some more gags and a song or two, and then bringis on Block and Sully. Comics, fore- runners of the Burns and Allen school, are still tops in the dizzy dame routine and. sock home time after time. They havo a different ending than ' when last .heire, stopi- plng dead on several occasions dur- ing their boW.-off dance to pull some nifties, and got away to a big hand. Jesse Block stops the applause by annbuncing there's a. famous mbvle star in the a,udience and that it's That's Cantor's cue for his Dia- mond Lil' imitation in costume, and it's, naturally a mop-up; .Next 1b[ RublnofC androf course, his violin. He's hot doing' an overture here, concentratingr exclusively on the jazz fiddling he used to^do In vaude. This Is RublnofTs home-town but there wasn't any of the local bgy sentiment to- the closing hand- he got. Deserved every bit of; It and tied the show, in to a knot, with some great .bow* wotk. Cantor^^ meets RublnofC at the exit and brings bins down front again for some of the kidding he's aired for last couple of years;. Rublnoff Opens his mouth only near the end to shout the Joe Penner password, •Ybu Nathty Matf at his adversary, for a blg^ laugh, and Cantor winds up the show with a cout>le of songs accompanied by the violin. Offering was framed only at re- hearsal day of opening. Manage- ment didn't even know what .acts were coming; in until the night , be- fore coming in. Oohen. HIPP, BALTIMORE Baltimore, - March 16. After five weeks of unheadlined bills, this bright-eyed aind peppery indie reverts to its old success^ formula of dishing names. Will: Mahoney is currently sup- plying the feu de Jole; Sally Rand makes' her Balto debut next week and, following, Sophie Tucker, Ozzy Nelson ork and Joe Penner are line up. "The dnck-peddlin' comic. Incidentally, will be making his third appeara.nce'a€ this spot since Christmas, something of a record/ ° ThQi week there are again only four acts'on tap, and that: absent fifth seemed sadly missed at. the late afternoon show bpQnlng' day, Mahbney's classic turn ^hs really the only sock on the list. ' Had a reasonably good, additional act beicai aligned In Juxtaposition ' to' > Ma: honey's penultimate . chore;. xhight haVe resulted Xa. niob 'exiting bab blihg with pleasure. As^ is, the meat course: Is thrust upon 'em be-!- fore their apipetltes are-(iiuf&clently whetted by hor'fe-;4'.oe.uvres. ' Tick . Took • • revue-. (Nevr Acts) serves .'.as', euttain-parter. Mild mannered dance.'flash that spans 10 iitifnut^s Just about adequately^ u^^o» ;Z, J>eia and Lock. Have , their -Viom^ntSr. and,rpil .oyerall- coUatlbh, oke. Eiijgage^'Jn fait sketchi'..'spriri- kled with few nice momenta, which STANLEY Pittsburgh, March 16. House .is selling only . Eiddie Can- tor on stage this week. -Picture Is 'Poor Rich' (U). That the manage- ment is depending entirely on him may be - gathered from fact that 'Poor Rich' was originally pencilled into the Davis on a twin bill but was yanked and dispatched to the Stanley the minute booking of the coffee. salesman was consumniated. With Cantor Is Dave Rubiholl, whom hie Insiste d upon for this' en- "^gagemeriff'Block" andV^SQliyf'l^ clicked In great faishlon' on the Chase and Sanborn' broadcast last Sunday night (11) from iBlorlda; Bryant, Raliis and Touhg. dance trio; and CarOn' Sisters. Altogether, It represents neither yaude nor presen- tation, but merely an hour of In- formal entertainment that only a performer M '^dantor'is .ealibre could hold together. Show ran exactly an hour at the opening today and Cantor clocked off three-quarters of this time him- ttae West; ehtei^tlilning a^7Wall^<i'^ Beery-:(Comprexibhe'd giinniian. -Both portra;ya1s sag.at tifaies. and .deviate from i subjects; .'. at : others, 'amcUie with fidelity^ Skit4nfiateiy ,humor> ous attd ihajorlty of: lines ditto Spu'nd -stuff; ' fiut close -we^tkens' & fraction ^hoQ. ^ttie ,i>alr ijo.^ Jint^ % duet.: Couple :bf stooges used'Ihi^- miittently throughout jtot< mi|rbt have been handed 1)etter ih^terlal: One,, the 'mah^ trle^' a son^ and 'doei o.k. The other, a woman, merely struts across stage: periodically In what are to. be construed as laugh provoking costume insanities. » Mahoney tore 'em right, out of their chairs with his inimitable tbhnfoblery and top-notch hoke hoofing. Did 19 minutes at per- formance gllmmed and had 'em grovelling for more.. Apparently parcel of mob had not had a gander at the Mahoneyphone and he Scored an ace reception with hls.toe-tune- smithlng. His erab, incidentally, Is tlie'TffioSC""^nsldey^"that"^as''"been: .flipped over a-trough hereaboutsiih years.. Closing, fast aero quintet, the 5 Jansleys. Their 6 minutes of tumbling, rlsley and hand-balancing rounds and touches all the bases. A sweet topper to ainy vaudeville program. Supplementing the stage fare there's a Columbia pic, 'The 9th Quest,' plus a Culbertson bridge short (RKO), and Pathe clips. Biz only fair. ROXY, N, Y, la spite *xt all th« obvious ex- cuses, IndudlnflT the honey that audi- ences at .the Roxy Insist on getting a lot for their money, there's too much padding gOlnff on In . this house. Chirrent bUi Is & perfect example. It's an ordinary little stage show, with some good and bad fea- tures, but al) the numl>®i'S ore s6 painfully dragged out that thei •n*- thre thing ends by boring'. Show opens briskly with the girls and boys In a so-so routine. Dressed In silver and green with parasols to match and, of course, goini? Into the regular parasol routines. Okay enough for. the purpbse. Wesley Eddy bows in here, says hello, and Introes the Ching Ling Foo Jr. troupe. Expert noVelty and a Bplendid picture hbuse diversion, but on stage inexicusably. long. Eleven minutes at this early staee of the show Is enough to kill the act and all the rest of the perform^ 'arice.;' ' (Gregory and Baymon; neixt,. are two boys .who play , Instruments. Get most of . their musio out. of balloons, bicycle pumPS'4nd the like. This act. too, would 'j>reliiM>l3r. have, been okay It cut in h'sM, . , Eddy now leads his iMtnd thi^ugh a long winded oVerturelcif .'Old Man River^ and ends by singing the song.. He's n. good singer, but her<&'0 one he might have siaarl^y ayoldedr although the orchestration he (chpse . is a peach. , '-■ Girls are back In a Une movement Sbmewhat rismlnlscent,.'of Harlem,. and Elddy 8tarts«^thlhgs gblng .by; sing^lf one Ver6e'<'arid 'choruS'- BUUe Joy; a girl who icQes from tap ^.to. control dancing, prejlomlhates. jStiffff okay. ■ '.i,-'..V ■ . ''■-.>■ Arthuc Boran, radio jnimlo,,-i8. Spotted here and is someSi^hat 6f A problem. He has. a radio rep' and is buUdlng_nicely. Just wl^ la not apparent from jiliA.tshdwinig iher^;- althbugh possible thi|.t sta^^^iiHr; facing an audiepde and thlit sort ..6f thing frightened him. Hejroeti from a fair bnltatlbn of - Bd I'Pynn, to a pretty bad ^arry Richman, a splen" did Jimmy Durante, a very .good Jack Benny, a brutal Lionel Bajrry- more, a 'horhum Olvot. a wiEty.-pfC Blng Crosby, an Insultlner Al Smithy and an Inexcusable ..F^klln . D. Roosevelt. Why the theatr^ allowed the Imitation 'of' 'tK*. , President's voice 10 not qttlttf ole<»; It^s for- bidden now in mlr, channels.: Varch of Time.' best in that.*6rt of tfalnr In radio. h(^B been aak^ by : the White House: directly abjb to initnlc< the President's, vo^ ... For. a finish stage show;, moves in a presentation.- nuhib^ ticoni;.- -the previous V^^eH's sHowi 'Caribca.* It's a good -»iraductlon; 'Onl» of': the^ bept the'ftoHQT. line ever achlevied «nd well'^%orth boldlnif. . IQven though last .w<M)k*s "prbdubt,- it's 'ihe best thing in the current' layout. Frances Stevi^hs, idnger; centerii and better than she impressed the. first time, wlrinier of < th^ house poSslbly having something to do with It. Wesley Eddy, made a great im- pression on his beuUoe bill a week ago, nOw. heV laying' down, on: the job.- He's ja ISiwd '■ p^Woriner •. and highly ealpable, bu* he'll haVe-io show it eontinouBly If the customers are to l>eUeVe it. Hell have to do morOk' and do it ^better,' than he's doing on the, current issuer ' doming Out Party* <Pox) Is a weak-sister film, which would seem to indicate hoiise is headed for the .red ink. on: this s$%nza< JTow/. PAl^AliilOU iios Angiees, March 16^ Though adznlttedly having stoong air fbllowlni; in. these parts and rating litfeph In^entertainm^nt value, Ben 86mte ' bftnd, a*'Hrevealeia at openijigr. stanzS, of todars Para- -mount shotw. doesn't, meELsur4,'np.:to presentation hbiisc; :fetandard. rLack of sbOwthanship in routining and a dlsregard^t tlmes of Hie eleanliness demanded by audiences made iip largely of famine patronage, prove a handicap -which Berhie would do ;tvell: to >V^ome if further plc; house li^klnies are cbntdmplated. . . 6penii|itr:matlnee crowd was-a dis- tinct duevpoihtment; .with .the lower Hoof only1«idmfdrfably filled <and'^ t^cohsr^overilovr. wUoh:is'ih^ HaCt-i^ ovikto^^ im. vhlch;:.1)ii: .l0 «aufiBd' at thls'. acerv B«ieeptibto''«rbioh'. greeted Bernle at Introdubtion and the ap- plaiuse that continued for many secr onds after final curtain, gave plenty of Indication ot the outfit's popu- larity. And this pOipUlaHty is not Unde- served. Bettde works hard and'his band, is made up of individual solo- ists plus a few warblers and la cork* ing good ivoofer, which/results in plenty of individual fodder. Band numbera. are mostly old favorites and one chestnut that has been usied time and time again in this house, •THe'Blrdle Hong/buTif i thrf^^ tlon and fiernie's touch that makes them worth while. Vocalists with the band include Frank Prince, Billy Wilklns, Manny Praeger, Billy Severn doing some tap routines, and Undy Lee, torchor from radio KHJ, assisting as guest artist for the day. Bemio resorted entirely too often this afternoon to the word hell, and his slap at Wlnchell about the two birds Is both old and dirty and has no place tai refined stage entertain.' NEWSREELS EMBASSY For the first time iUice all-news policies were introduced ia. house is experimenting with admissions. Un- der its Pathe flag the Bmbassy is dipping its gate to 16 cents. The move is a> direct dtab at the Luxer and Also it hid for morning business, since th<» quarter is beings main- tained for aftenaoon and evening Emb is in fi neighborhood where in tho morning its origiifal quarter stackied . up pretty .high, with, sev- eral theatres offering a three-hour sitting for 16 centimes. .Luxer;,in the Capitol area; has no siuch morn- ing competl8li: Wlih the regular runs. The Einl^'s :'iattt'*in to. the Luxor's regular business, ■ however, hu^,' be- obme api>arent during/thdvput fow, weeks and the LUx will .- probably also have to knock oft that dime un^ til nboh; Saturday afternbph, at about the same time, the fimb^had a better attendance than- the Luxer. The Lindbergh - tOTtiifibin^ Itliefbije the senate committee, ■^n'^JS&soSbi -isii .elusive^ despite the fact^<:^tl|at.the Litxer 6u1>scribes to the P^di teel, ts'pne of those rbre subjects-.worth thQ ^rlce of admission in itself. It affords the' most- perfect chara;cten study of the flier in action ever pho- tographedi Lindbergh In sound is itiar mOre effective than Ih-his usual 9lleht pbsoi ;He proves to the pubUc 'that- hei cokn handle himself without '^'■pr^'sti' l^gctni Fatbe.camer^mdn did an excellent Job ip-.capturing -the Eagle. They got bdm talking- directly Into the lens. And .when heb rought home forecfUll^ ..tiip fight of a citizen to he heardvih-'court there was^a found of applause-in'the Emb. \ '- At the Luxefj Paramount covered the air irituaUon. but presented Llii- dy mute . Alongside the Secretary of War '.; A hot cotton Club rehearisai, es peclally the wiggles of one of. the dancers, is holding Interest of even Some - of. tho 'inofe hardened a.tten' An imusUally Intelllgeht treatise bn prison life Is afforded by a world tii^veler,' who was recorded aftef spending a'few days behind the bars liimself. Life is too 'easy in Ameri- can prisons, especially in New York, he said.. '.-i The llttld'lad.whb fell three stories and wias- uninjured should find his way tb:v3ffoHywobd. He has a markedly different personality and a manner that cain bia paUed original for children: ' ' .. Tlie progifim has muoh'itbout-ktd- I TRANSLUX it's beginning to look as though Paramount had ordered its reel to step up its news gathering pace. And the reel is beginning to deliver in a big way. Paramount is defi- nitely taking the throne Pathe oc- cupied in the tiuxer. and currently it provides this theatre with most of the materiicil which is not du- plicated at thci Emb. Par. has a pip of a 'fiilB story, one of the best; seen, on the screen in months. Its . Alabama crew- cov- ered the big depiartment store while the blazes were at full height. ' First picture of what the govern- meht'actually means by farm homes lS .e,lso drawn by : Par. This ishows a family moving fronoi a dilapidated shack to a neat little bungalow with several. acres. And it : Interviews the husband and wife, whb. are men^ tally above the average in such civ- cUmstiEinces, who are able to convey much to the worthiness of the movement.. The Mississippi "iiegfb, who tele.F phbhiBd- .the President to save his home, IS arsb'pfdsented by Par. Here again'the i^ubject is made forceful by' the-i^hatural ability of the sub-<^ Jeat.. JHls. jwalse for : Rooaevelt Is making this clip one of the few. to draw applause In the Luxer this I>ialect and prbnunciatibn of RbckvIUe man makes his telling of a world search for his wlfe^ ring: J;().-' diffc^rent comedy bell. Pathe develops spring fioods Ihto quite a story. It starts with a dia- erram of how rivers become swollen, - and then presents a special flbpd. nuap of the U. S. This opens th* way to the library, with a. new sla,jq,t given old views. ' ^ . - Pathe was a little too hurried: In getting but the ambergris story.. Evidently It was In the cans as the' genuine by the time chemists had analyzed It as emanating from San Francisco seweri Both houses show Manchukuo en» thronement; Mad-Gardon Ice carni- val; N. T. postal employees pro- test Notre Dame . spring football; ~ baseball practice; Massachusetts -al- leged killers going to court;. Freiich sea- serpent, and U. S, S. Wyomihg* Wall/.' napping in all forms. The goverii* ment repeats its advice about pub'^r lie co-operation. An inventor dehir onstrates an iabductor-proof baby crib, and a dog owner tells .abbUt the .experiences of a lost, canine.' . ment.: -Several plugs for the brand of beer which Bemie exploits over the air, with a couple of bottle cut- outs of .^e* bevenKge prominently displayed, on ^the . moVable-..Stage. Screen feature - is 'Come . On, Ma.- flnes* '(Par); with new;s, .comedy and other shorts for fillers. ■■■. .Ewca. ORIENTAL, CHIC^O Chicago; iitaohM. Going into the third :week of its new policy this house makes a ^ad break by booking in ft plcturb^that has alreieidy played dowptoMrn, "Which is strictly against, the pictuf ier poUey orlglnially set up jtbr this -^buse. ^I Am a Spyf (FO*)' saiv dbjnitown screening, at the Worid Playhbuse and> though :a. . •urO'-se^ter . spot B.&K. woiild have. .been to ,have chosen a 'dlfferehtridlcl^r^ this ,hQUsb. V . With: the dating in of'.Beriny Davis ..unit tlfb theatre lays' off the line Of giris 'and is' alsp saVing'Vbn tifaie and;talent by usiiigvbnly three acta in the vaiide hialf^ ibst^ oj the regular four; •; I>avlS' hais plenty :of talnitt in Ai£^: airay of. unk.n(^wns and he's. selling them. T<(^;'pibk but <indlvidu^^'...tiieire's Bobby U»n<ei for ti new. mgh. in flash abfobitids and -Jackla j^feeh-wlio.looks *llke Giebrge Price and. iWtates everyD(bdy from Arliss to JiesseU Davis has ' added i^at hUlrhUly trio dubbed Arkansas Travellera etod they are am &i%^ne across as strongi;^ as theiir^Ve .done around town on their own for the past three years. In .the vaude half there were the Ahdresens io open with their high perch act. Man aiid woman look cleanrcut and make a fine appear- ance. While the State-Lake has set up a policy of playing ho acro- batic turns this house has opened the stage to ncrbboitlcs consistently. There's a spot in vaude for a turn such as the Andresens, a neat novelty especially with that gasp J!Ehlii.flnljJ!h.....,^_^_..„_ If this were a regular style show Ken Harvey v\r6uld haVe fitted in nicely with the presentation.. How- ever, In the deuce all alone he man- aged tb satisfy by his banjo and guitar wizard-plunking. Comes in here after a recent spell at the Chi- cago. And in. th^ final slug of the vaude .that trained mule with those, two: stog^esr-BbdrDonohUb and a comedy cop. Perfect for this house and how they loved It. Business good at the first show Friday. Gold. PALACE, N. Y, A better show than average, .hut then the average. here has been pretty.,low for a long time. What helps this week,-from the box oflico point of view. Is 'Spitfire' (Rk6), with Catherine Hepburn name as a big lure. Town was reacting to the name Friday evening, packing the house from the-orc^hestra pit to the pro- jection bdotii, with the : ropes up downstairs for the balance of the drawees. Hepburn in past pictures here has pulled the grosses up to nice profits, something which hap- pens rarely at the Pal. The five acts of vaude sent, in with 'Spitfire' work well on an hour's stage show, but. none are new. The blend is better, however, than on previous occasions, when the bookers could find nothing that hadn't played all around and, in somb cases, for niore years than most people can remember. Lineup is George Beatty, headlin- ing ^ Buster Shaver and . midgets In the center; Runaway Four, No. 2; .'Danceland,', an adagio quartet, clos- ing, and Jarl. Renee and Vic. open- ing. The 'Dancelaind' flash Is just ia. ne^ nam^ for 'Kitchen Pirates,' in circulation numerous years now, but one of the better adagio flashes. The flne torso mahgllhg and tossing, with precision and speed, make it that .if nothing else. Beatty did 19 minutes, holding the mob'well, but lays bff tho Greek stuff entirely though retaining the sailor driink bit. one of the best things he eVer did. Headllner is iil^ here with some good material and, being a good performer. It auctions for the biggest applause poke, but that Violin encore bit seems to lack something. It's all right if to quell an audience that Is upyielding on clamor, but.otherwise has doubtful comedy I meaning. The Buster Shaver act. with the. Olive and George LUliputs, has isome new numbers for Imi^rovement, ^but_..sub8tantlally^l8,the^ si^ as .done for years. Geoi^e's school- boy sissy number and tlxe cute Mae West impersonation by the girl are worthy . a.ddltions. A couple of new slants to the novelty song and dance double between Shaver himself and Olive further strengthens an act that always has been good. That bunch of nuts, the Runaway Four, are pretty old stuff by now, with slapstick acts and others of thjs type getting badly in the hair bf this vaude coiffure, and making (Continued on page 33)