Variety (Jul 1934)

3 Expo Villages Drop Adimsh Toll; Ireland' Folds in Contractor s Lap Nite Club Reviews CUTS CANTON READER City Reduces'Rates on Mud Sho%ys; to l^-$5q Canton, Reduction by half of licenseB for motorized' ehows playing Canton Is provided an ordinance now be- fore city council.. city Solicitor W. iB. Rodgers is' responsible for the move, claiihing the, existing, ordinance .was. before the era; of the motorized circus. •PreseiT[t. ordinance is $100 a day for the small show .and Rodgers claiiAs .this.'charge Is excessive. • N.ew< oMinance fixes daily^ license for motorized shows at ' $25 for ighows'wlth seating capacity of 1,000 or under and $50 for shows' with .seating capacity up to 3;000v With , rjsdticed licenses certain within .a few wieeks,. it Is likely several other motorized shows* will . , , make this stand before the'(Season dropping the gates, the Irish Vina,g€i,^ over as industrial conditions are Is trying to find a gate to drop. | ^j^^ jj^gj jj^^^ In almost five years The contractor stepped. In to the plc- tiaro last week' aiid tijrew the , place into receivership. He has . ta;keh over the spot,, changed the manage- ment personnel and is planning- to- .reopen tomorrow (3). His natxie la Evan Evans, and more the li'air twist of events makes ii con- tractor double as showman..: It,was tried In several Instances ,last year and with ijrutal results. ConceissipnaiFefl all are- howling Chicago, 0dneral reduction- of various atd-' jni^slon' prices thrbuBbovt ,t^ie ,Fiiir is undCT way. Offfelals and cdnces- Bioii owners decided that the Fair is attracting a cli.feaper .element than last y^ar andean -element whi?h can't w w6l!i't.. drop c^n as .easily as the ln6bS :dW;.Iri 103.3. ^^This-de^ cislon Ifl beir^& foUdwied by the nxoye on the ipart of sevfej-al pf the vlilagea to drop" all .gati^ -. itari'.. entirely. .Three vliraej.es -'^re: opening^. their streets' free 'pf 'toh^r^e-^Sba^ighal, TunisIaVattdJMdfoqpo. These are th*' thfefi villages wbich Tjaye been dolrig;^ the least biisiness up to this tinie^ Even thouf,h Tunisia Is . the coupon bargain books .ibeing Issued for- $!2:50l the visitors are generally deciding to pass up thlg village" for the others edvertiised Qn^the coupon.coyer..' "VV^hll© these, three villages are Coast Off Hotcha (Continued from page 3) are -viewing the church agitation wit^i serious meln and. the order of isapolio. > has been "trebled. If further proof Is needed that the 'big plants are washing their films behind the ears it can be ior a decrease of the J*alr general h-Qund fii- the records of the Hays admission' prjce.' They"^ .claim., that oflice;- In a recent two. week, period the present 50c. scale Is -tpp': 9teep k„ore'th«Ln- 25 stories and treatments for the 1&34 type of patronage and Lvere submitted for an official O. K. want that price clipped In half. PUBLIC UPROAR UPSETS MASS. MAYOR ON Plttsfieid, Ma^s., July ... ' Mayoi^ .Allen' H. Bagg bats.'.carni- Vkls, but fiikid tha'^. 4ldpr.V ,app,ly' circuses. But 'wh'en Do-wnie Brpthj- ers Circus tried Jo get a ■ permit, the mayor said; 'no/ Jerome. Tv Harr riman, general agent for the show. before tha studios made the buy. Those given clean bills were taken In while .the others went back to the cleaners.. Qostly Turndown: One: I studio that -overlooked this matter' ' laid out .$2i',000i ' for a best' seller only to hav/e the purity sq-^iid /turn ■" thumb^ !down.. Not even ;thi} title, can be. salvaged. In. ipioisslfying the' fall: rel<sases of the eight imajor film .factories there ihust be-made, of necessity, conces- Siiohs' t6 .ta,ke ' care of contributing elements',' ' For instance,.'In piptux'e^ l^bel^d nijuslcals ori romances there said it would be staged in Xftties- bOTO, which is near PittSfieia. Th6^^^ [Win^*problwy Te "some".eort"of7sex came apii^ls fro^n ■ the. public to angle* •• Dramas will .have-a mixture fhe'mayor, 'fiagg .relented .?!-nd ai?^ ' i)1rbved a license " for Downle's.. to play July il., l^ter the mayor. also gra.nted> |)ermit to Hagenbeck-Wallace.: LOW PEiCE; NO TAKERS Lancaster, Pa., July 2. • Rocky Springs Park, hof-spot out door center, of other 'dayi3,. .has earned a reputation for hammer ducking. Offered at p.ublic sale twice with- in the last three monllis, arid noth Ing happened. Few bidders, present but bids way low. Union Trust Co. Pgh., trustee In , the estate of late Thomas M. Rees, owner, announces it's willing to take $35,000;spot, for the wOrks and Is sorry owner refused bid^ ..of .$260,000 a few years back. rANNEE WITH CIRCUS; -Burlington, Vt., Juiy 2. of both sex and crime. However, it is jpfeaSOnable to belieVe that these themies' will be played do-wh to .'a whisper- or. at least restricted. Dramas are dropped into the.top slot for the reason that every studio is concentrating on this form of entertainment. The butdoor adven ture series -has the bulge on the others, and the players will .do most of their cavorting in the rugged spaces far removed from boudoirs. Musical comedies are becoming comedies .with music, This Is taken to mean that the passing • of en- sembles and expensive sets' will scale down production costs. Fihal Tally On the drama side Fox .is making 17, .Metro, 24; Paramount, 16; ■Warner, 18; Universal, 11; Radio, 8; Columbia, 9, and United Artists release, 6. Comedies run second -with Fox ,8; Radio, i(; M.etro, 11;. Paranibunt; 6 ; Warner, Unlversal> 4; United Artists release, 4 Coniediea Ayith music get the strongest play from Fox with 8, '(Continued from ^la^e 64) the hot weather, trade, but, as it expects, roadhbtises and roofs are too much of a lure, hence the bud- get is necessarily trimmed. Con- sidering the Inside-stuffe figure for the show n»it, Granny hais done wonders with it, and it looks twice as much. Not . that it's sparse, since the scenic, costume-and other-sar- torial' investiture is &n amortized investment whicK obtains regardlessi but the talent itself has been Judi- ciously 'bought, for. most returns.: . Same tariffs' obtain, fl.60i$S, with a $2.50 minimum for the rlngaide.;lQ- catlons. Drinks ar^ in the average $0-7^0, scale, and whiat's' m<>H portaiit. tliey know how to . mi* 'em at the Paradise. That's more than can'be said! for certain so-called 'exr 'elusive' ' east 'side snootier hotels, whlfch have : yet iio capture :that ,sor i^'nig in their beverage concoc- tions that .the" tig pre-repeal. spots nice the Hollywbo'd, Paradise, et al possess. • Abel. CLAREMONT, N. Y. Perde Grofe lias. succeeded Roger Wolfe Kahn as the maestro at the historJc" Claremont Inn- on New York's Riverside Drive at 124 th street, it's Tinder the .same man- agement, excepting that said man- agement must-forego any menu no- tatioifs that there'? such thing as $1 minimum charge for fear of Park Commissioner Moses again protest- ing that this constitutes a coiivert charge.. And, as ■ he bias expressed himself before, the City of N. Y. isn't at all partial to having private enterprises capitalize city property to that extent, Tbe'tariffs,. however; are the same and the ent^rtainirient 'equally^ex- pert. GrofeTat«s the elaborate bill- ing accorded the CBS maestro' as one of tbe world's foreniQst arrang- ers <and composers.. He also 'knows how to dish -up a swell bx'and. of dansapation—he's orchestrated too many of Whltenian's. finest efforts, arid others, not .to know .what they favor on the hoof. The outdoor terrace under the skies is still as attractive as ever for hot^evenlng 'dinlrig. excepting that Arnold Schlalfet, vet restaurateur, shoaid invest in a mpvable canopy, jusf in' Case the elehients cross him up. ■ ' ■• ' Claremont, as was first nOtated, is doing a terrific biz and should con' tinue so to do.' Whereas" this fornier ultra-ultra inn, with" its Central Park Casinoish scale, scared, 'em away, the neW dekl pW the menu arid beverage list is Jbl prime attraction; not - to mention the general' conven- ience of a mldtown -roadhous'e overldoking- the HudSdri, with taxis and :buseB passing ithe doors—ari'd, of course, Grofe's- 4ance- music, arid all the rest of the trinimlrigs.' .i. Abet. Average Spending at Fair Drops From $117 in 1933 to 831/20 This Yr.; 10 PI. Curfew Bring Lunch Diplomacy Chicago, July 2, Old- Heidelbierg Inn on Ran- dolph streeti is making sure, that there's , no N.azt taint.. Iri Its operatloi.. The orchestra is called Ba- varian and the chimes, whic'H. play every hour, bang out 'My Wild Irish Rose.' Johnny Jones sition Canton, O., July 2. .Probably one of the most remark able comeba-ks known' to. the out- door ehow world has been stageiJ. by the'Johnny Jones Exposition, which for two years was l>eset with nu-- merous reverse^, only .to develop within .a .few short wceks,.'intQ one of the contenders. The Jones''Ex- position today is a good exam'plej .'of outdoor show promotion and a most fitting tribute to its original owners. Visited this week on : the Stark county fair, grounds here, by far.the best lot played since the show .took the ro.a.d. at Washington, D» C., sev- eral week's ago, the Jones Exposi- tion presents a'midway; replete with new featui-ies.' Under the direction of. Walter; A, 'Whitft as general man- ager, the -Jones, show has - be^jn ^ de- ,v,elo|)ed into' a .miniature world's 'aiir, 'embodying almost every tyP0 of' outdoor amusement feature. White's first move when retained to put. the show on Its feet 'was to surround..himself .with .a, staff, of circus department. hea<ls -of expdr- ienc^. Midway presents a real flashr Show is framed in a circle, -with ten of the riiore recent rides spotted about the center circle. Concessions, all nicely framed stores,^ flank iboth sides of the riildway, at the ap- proach,, with 1? shows arranged con- secutively around the butie'r' circle. Etta I^ouise Blake's -'Glrlesque 'Re- vue' has a panel frontr built .of two. \^agons, well, iighjtedj 'with or'cljies tra for bally arid 15 people,, m.ostly, girls. 'Plaritatibn Isianiacs' Is a. jig show. Company of 20 gives a lialf hbur show. • ^Darkest Africa-,' a'-new show,, comes,-bn tbiS' week," and-'Sa Ion Des Arts', and Klflder's. '.-liemple bi Mysterijfs.'. are ,.t^p ,o.thei;.:OJit tti World Bros, circus gave Ver monters their first chance to see a fan dancer. Act has just beien added to the side show and drew Plenty l ^^Jp'jjgp "5/j^^^^^^ of business in thiS territory. En- universal, 2; Radio,,3; Columbia, trance fee to .side show is dimej.g g,nd tJA, with mild fan dance one of the at ' ' - tractions^ Following this dance a. uecond is held in the annex for men «nly, with admission a quarter. Just an ordinary coooh, but. draws about 85 per cent of the men', Marie Van is the dancer. CABHEY N.S.H. Tacoma,. July 2^ West Coast Shows, carni, here for w.eejk under VfW auspices to email gate. A truck aggregation with pretty good equipment and few shows and rides of small t>nie order. CIRCUS ROUTES AI G. Barnes July 2, Minneapolis; 4, Brtt.inerd;. 6,. Duluth; 6, Marquette; 7, Sault St. Marie. Hagenbeck-Wallace July 2, I^ynn, ManB;; 3, Portsmoutlv, N. H.; 4, Blddcfora-Sacco, Me.; fi, L«wls ton; 0, Baneor; 7, Augusta: ,-H Ringling-Bros.-B. A B. July 2, Buffalo; 3,'Jankestown; 4, Brad tord; 6, Allegheny; t-1, t>ittsburgb. iri th'e roriiance bracket are to. be found Pox with 8, Metrb, 4; Para- mount, 3; Warner,.?; Universal, 4; Radio, ; Colunibla, 2,. and UA, 2. Mysteries or horrors are still a fetich with Universal and that studio leads with 6, Warner, 4; Metro, 3; Fox, 2; Columbia, 1, and UA, 2. Cliffharigers apparently still have their follbwing and in this column. Columbia takes the lead with 8; Parariiount will make 4; Pox, 6; Universal will confine Its westerns to two reelers." Shunted tq Si ing =-The^above=-compIlation-=takeB--in about 60% of the features an- riounced for the 1934-35 program. It would be pure guess work at this tithe to catalog, the group pictures designated to certain stars. Few of the old masters have been dusted oft for screening. Here and there can be found one, but for the most part the literary screeds arc contemporaneous. URBAN ROOAi Pittsburgh, June 22, Town's swankiest nltery' and get ting a real play week in and week out from the smart' crowd.' Atop William Penn hbtel, it's the only spot in town that still asks a cou- vert, $1.10. per person, and gets, it without, the slightest trouble. " Formerly Urban Room had only a band, but his year - manageinent has wised up a bit and booked, in a floor . show. Entertainmerif in- cludes two acts and a chorus of eight lookers and fits in perfectly with refined atmosphere here, Nothing raucous, no m. c. pulling nifties, and trying to- keep crowd amused but just a couple of classy floor turns, some nice ensemble pro ductibn and whole, thing lasts no more than a half hour. There are two shows offered nightly. Acts are Mason and Fay and The .Zastros with E|plward iSrach, Mason and. Fay .are. two good.rlDbking youngsters who. have a pair of nifty terp routines and get acrbss almost as much , on personality as they do On talent. They're short ort neither, incidentally.. Z^stros and Brach are also a hoofing turn, two men and a gal', leaning more .to the smart ball- room, stuff. Their numbers arc all neatly executed and girl is plenty easy on the orbs, whibh doesn't hurt either. ' Chorus, a Fanchori-Marco igroup, Is nicely costumed: and has three first-rate numbers, one of which in- troduces 'Zastros and Brach. Cur- rent band is Freddy Mack's, dish- ing out excellent, dansapation'. Or- chestras, bobked by MCA^ usually stick here only a couple bf .-weeks. Hal Kemp opened the spot, fol- lowed by Dick Fidler and now Mack. Paul Pendarvis comes In next- weeit. CoTieut Statisticians of the World's Fair are Just discovering what the Obn- cesslohalres have known slrice the second exposition got underway two months ago—that no matter what the attendarice figure may be, visitors are spending much less money -Inside the gates than did last year. has been al- riibst a 40% , in money dished but by. iFair .attendees, and that droP is terrific wben it's realized .that the average T^/it person expenditure last year was $1.17. . . ^ But that $1.17 of last year stackte up like "a -riiillion when'compared with the i934 flgOfe. ' On the total attendance this year thes average expenditure is do^yn to 83cents. Statisticians of the Fair point out that this figure includes the 600,000 kids which packed the Fahv on the first of the Thursday children's festivals. Even with, the 600,000 kids eliminated, it brings the aver- age coin expenditure, to only one b.uck exactly. Statisticians. also claim that last year the figures in- cluded all .monies spent- within the villages, AYbile thiji year only the gate receipts at concessioris are considered. ireis* Rut' the' concessionaires them- selves need no statistics. They can tell you to a nickel holv things aire > *A ^ .a Jill, ^'^w,^^'i^*** vk'«.A4'4w too MUCH aUEEA Portland, July 2. . C. _ E. _ Eckel^^ manager. _ of Jaritzen Beach park, reports a glut" of counterfeit 60-cent pieces in the park recently; usually on Sundays. standing midway, attractions'; Othe^ shows are 'World'^'Pair Freak sfii'ow, a ten in one; 'Wall of Death,' riio- tordrome' ; sriake sho*r; 'Laughland,' Penny Arcade* ,. ,. Cookhouse is clrie"6f the best 'and is a' complete' restaurantJ' Marieig^i^ White says tl^at the show in'thr>-tw'o months it has been' playing the irild die west has not had:a'losing-w6ek Business here has been excellent with, indications of a record before Saturday. Ben Voorheis, well knp\V,n circus press .a' joined here, as general px-ess represeritative and is doing good Work with the newspa pers and the radio stations.. It is the first Carney here In many^years since a prohibitive license has bfeen in effect here for 10 years. Jack Lyles, general agent, -pulled- the trick here in landing a permit; Show is. moving On its own steel train :part of. thfi original Jones' outfit and everything is loaded on wagons, all uniform, newly painted and let tered. Vera Spriggs is doing the free act, fini.shing with a 'slide for life above th6 midway. ^A ten certt gat-e is charged this season, the show providing'a fiashy illuminate^ front a hundred f(§et'16pr.. Uritit the- fairs start in August the show will play mostly Ohio industrial ceriters, the route having been. contracted al- ready. : ' General Manager, White, an- nounced the following as fHe execu- tive staff of the shoxvi E. L-'awreri'de Phillips arid James Guzzy,-:owner8; Walter W. White, general manager; •Tommy Allen, as.slstant .riianagcr; -Arthur Atherton, secretary and treasurer; Jack "V. X-ylcs, general agent; Williarii Breese, agient; Ben H. Voorheis, press, representative; Charles Kidder, supt. of concessions and designer;'R. H. Sheppard, train master and supt. of construction; Elmer Rhodes, supt. of rides; Jimmy McElhaney, lot supt.; L. ReeVes, asst; designer and supt. paint dept.; Dave Sorg, supt. light dept.; Tommy Cooper, blacksmith; George Brown, tool dept.;. Bob Johnson, asst. tool dept.; Joe Pearl, mailman; Jack Neal, supt. conces- sions; Whitey Walker and Mrs, Jimmie Owens, front gate tickets. going. And they all agree it's pretty brutali Seems that the Fair IS riot bringirig the spenders this year. Only people who are; coriilng are those who couldn't'scrape up- a saw- buck to make the trip, in 1»33. And they are coming on short coin, iand figuring •Bvery -'^ay to-save a ji.triey. They, go for everything that's free, 'the rest t'jiej' ,i>ass up." .. .That the'spenders are no.t around is evidenced' by' the'.exodus ■■fi''P.m trie Fair ^brinis at 10'pi m.- ;Bx 11 o'clock the Fair is bleaU arid eiripty. lAst yieir the cbnceSsIonaIrfefl"'*V;er» howling for the gates' to keep open uritll "thl'ee= a;, m. Now' they figure that'the gatles' riilght as well'close' at'a nine ' p.' iW. 'curfew.' Ifast'. y'ear'^ the real ftari dldri't get started'until orii6 a. tci'., partieularly "iri sucli spots as Strie^ts iof;Paris-and the varibiis" clubs. This year -by midnight the' Walters -and musicians ox'e siftirig around the tables or getting ready to go tiome. ^ In the afternoons it's just as bad. 'i'his year everybody put up hea.vy coin for''restaurants and- eateries because of the terrific business the feed-bag spots did in 1933. ^'ut with .the..Fair jammed with eateries at '.present the food is rotting in the ice-boxes, because the yisitora: ot .this summer, are all bringing their own ifjandwiciies. They walk into a ■swank eatery arid order a qup of icoffeje; pulling the rest of the meal !but of . their lunch-boxes. It's..that 'kind of play for the iralr-tHts^year. BETTER TIMES \ . __Aibany, July 2... ; Ringling Shbw has iound buslriess ~ iso much better this year that offlr cials -decided to play Schenectady again, after a'lapse of several years. During the lean periods the city was lopped off the route* beciause of its clpse' PFOximity. .to Albany. This year show nioVcd tO; Schenectady the day after it played Albany. HOLLEB FAIR PEEZY Charlotte, N. C, July 2, 6. J. Holler has been' elected president of the Rutherford County Fair. Dates were set for Septem- ber 1^-22. BOUGHT THE BOOTS Albany, July 2. The Hudson Falls Village Board has forbidden, carnivals. It thus decided after a fire company had asked pcrmisfjlon -to sponsor a carnival to raise funds. The board appropriated a sum for the o.^iuip- ment, mXES SIS AIMEE Tiffin, „ Aimee Semple McPhersoh -would like to come to Tiffin to e-ntertain crowds at the Seneca county fair, according to C- Baker, secretary bf the Seneca County Agricultural So- ciety. She asked $350 for a single appearance, Baker said. Rejected. BtJELDIGTON MAY CUT Burlington, Vt... July 2, LK?ca l cl„rcusL.fe_e„of $100 ma^^^ reduced . aft<er the prcscrit season.' Strong protests against paying the fee by World Bros, circus last week may result in the cut. City council refused to lower and as a result had to pay their way into the circus. Local llceri.se fee is relic of days when circus paradci* were iisual and he.'ivy Hteel-lirod wagons were dr.aggod over the streets..