Variety (Dec 1934)

yAiUETY N IC HT CL BS tHiesdaj, Dteeember 18, ^9S4 NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS RITZ^CARLtON ^: <NEW YORK) ■ Dick Hlmber ppeneia with ia . Ben- son of: tea dansants at the snooty '. Hotel Rltz-Ca[rlt6n and did siich a surjprlslngly larger starter-offer buslneiss that the nialtre had to send for an extra crew of watters. Coii siderlngr thiB |i tea service Clt's $1.&0 on Saturdays and holidays) ^ and the fact that drinks are extra, that's a nifty chunk of extra Income which the . Bit;; is bringlner In via the Studebaker. ChatAiliiohs orbhestriEu Last season the Himber orchestra played for supper also, but the autbr motive commercial and other club and. society engiaigements don't make it worth while for him to offlclate ■■after '6-p..-m. Using his full combo, iribludihg Joey Nash as vocal specialist, and Kathcrlne Cody as harpiste (his other femme harpiste, Verley Mills, performs for the broadcast), Hlmber dishes up. a swell brand oit dansapa- tlon-TT'Smobth, rhythmic and well at- tuned to the ultra atmosphere of the R-C. ." ■ ■■. Abel. ■ ■ BAL MUSETTE (NEW YORK) This .typical corner of Montmartre at West 4«th and Eighth aVenue is that authentic that it's chiefly pat- ronized by the lodal- French colony, Most^ of the airs are in saucy Gallls. yocaI12ed by G>«orges Marechal, and the Bar Musette, orchestra gives oiit typical French waltzes and quiok- TSteps—When--a-t6uriBt~paTty'eomesr in and Jiist sits and takes in the at- mpspherej^ the maestro -comes over ■;nnd inquires why tthey're not idanc- Iiig, and. would they, prefer fbxtrot- eilogy.--- J It's a lilce gesture, bpt io try and ape Anie^rican terp music yrould be the biggest mistake: for this spot, ^hose prime appeal is the foreign aura. It can't compete with the lo- . cal niteries if it triesr to go Broad- .,way.:". : Aiorig with -Marechal, -who'.also ; ti. c.'c,..are two dance teams,. Ard^h and Duncan, and Millard and Anita. Latter do their Apache specialty as the piece de . resistance. George Vlggnetti and Pletro are prominent in .the band, and M. Ferrl gives out Italian ballads in a sympathetic tenor.; "; ,■ . .i-'■; No coUvert; drinks mostly 606, ex- cepting Amer .Picon, Pernod and such French apertlfs, when It tilts to 60c a copy. A different spot for a different hour or two is the Bal Musette. AheU XHEZ^FAREE- (CHICAGO) Chicago, Dec. 8. Mlke■-F-^itzel--and-•-"Joe^^acbbsOh^ have made this an outstanding nite club. '■ No cover charge at any time; that's' the phrase in aiy Chicago niteries. But a; .teally reasonable $2.60: minimum for a dinner that's worth the money, plus a $6,000 show, makes the Chez .Paree popular. No- body walks but feeling that the clout has been put on 'em; for that . reason the blub has built up a large _-and-JCaithful-follow4ng, and shaped cleverly for the nite club customers. Rest of the .show is on the samej level. Henrjr Busse orchestra, be^ sides doing excellent dansapation,. plays a show as'capable as the beist va,udeville orchestra. Busse's or- chestra built every act.' on the floor to its best possible results. Leader has beien in the limelight steadily alnce hitting the Chez Patee. and, on the local run and Columbia sys- tem build-up, is going. places. .liesides Busse, the Paree ishbws its smart shbwrhanship by using a five-piece rhumba brchestria. under the. direction of Nino Rlnaldo. It gives continuous music and dancing, one baiid taking up imniediately when the other .takes a rest silled under Miss Tucker is Stet- son,, sub-labelled the 'Mad Hatter^! with. neat hat tricks and much comedy. Barbara MacDbnald leads the chorus with some okay toe danc- ing. . Arthur Beddoes does, the m.c'ing in a quiet manner,, besides the regular Binging. Mario and Florla are in for: the ballrboih dancing,.: which has come back strong in nite clubs. Are using the increasing inan-and-glrl-in-lpve theme for their humbfeiris. The Ciymas constitute a simple khife-throwihg act, and not such good knife-throwing at that, but the people in the act build up a reason for the cleaver-tossing so that it comes as a climax. Instead of just sticking the guy up against a board and pitching scissors at "him, they place the act in a Singapore dive set, plantlrtg a yarn of two sailors try- ing_tb_maka. a. dame-an4.a: broken downi society gfuy whoj tries to shield her. The : sailors start a rumpus and In the light they start throwing these knives at the society. guy, who finally '. gets one in the side ;by some xlever slelght-of- hand. ' • . ■ . • ■ ■,' ' Other act on the bill is Mlgnon, who does a control dance. Paree using: 16 gals in the line and all eyeflllers. Particularly good is the. impressions of HbllywoxKl stars, Sammy Rose is doing the producing here and the numbers he turned out are tops in nitery lines. OoW. GAY NINETIES (SAN ANTONIO) • San Antonio, Dec; 10. \ Through its novel appeal this spot is getting a play In a burg which is heavily overbbard on niteries. It took 'Drunkard' and a Hobr. show, pitched in the same atmosphere to command major attention from the stay-outs who generally are offered poor entertainment hereabouts. Management has revamped old 3eethov.en Jiall;-. Ripped:.out .tlve_pr_-_ bhestra chairs, substituting : oil cloth covered tables, hung. Japanese lanterns from the balcony, bedecked the - personnel—in -hlrsuta handle bars and other paraphernalia of the past century, installed a bar at rear of auditorium, pasted blown up Po- lice Gazette prints all. over thei place to create something new. for this area. That is. it's new for past two generations, because the old- sters are familiar with somewhat similar spots which abounded here in the period this one imitates. Many of them on hand for the 'open- lng-(7-) Sophie Tucker headlines the ciir? ; rent show and accounts for the turnr away trade. Long an established —Chicago—attraction,—her- -aFrival—1 Chicago for this engagement drew editorial space and front page pic- tures; Always a surefire performer, a certain aura of sentiment sur- rounds her. But Miss Tucker doesn't need seii- tlmerit. Oh straight performance she mtist be acknowledged as with- out peer on delivery and shownian- shlp. Her material, as usual, is dif- ferent and individual. Songs ,such aM 'I'm One of the Boys' and *I Picked a Flower In the Garden of Love' are distinctly Sophie Tucker A FaMrite ThrMih th* Yetrt DAN RUSSQ . . ind Hit OrlaUl -Malntilnl'tiK aupiemacy. '' because of their . dUtlniiulshed m\iBle. llrotddiBtlng tha^ blta .of th'«' dor : 7 li CBS to ,tlm dulUUl u T mil - Iloni, ■.- •■ .-, . Hear Him Play " Fren the Eddie Canter -. ••Kid Mllllem" Preduttlon "WHEN INY. SHIP^ COMES IN" "AN EARFUL OF MUSIC" "YOUR HEAD.ON MY SHOULDER" , ."OKAY TOOTS" "WILD HONEY" "JUST ONCE TOO OFTEN'* ROBBINS 9iUSIC CORPORATION nil t99 Sl^ENTM AVENUe nil • • • NEW YORK • • • nil hotels, explaining a tie-lh;. with Qunter which provided, tables and part of personnel for opening. Admlsh is .$1.65 per couple, or 40 per person in the balcony, which is not yet equipped with tables but. will be later. Admlsh covers show, dansapation and one pitcher of suds After that It's card prices, which are moderate. Cap&clty is around 700, which can crack the nut providing there's' sufllcieht hew and repeat customers. But that's a problem in a town that defies guess ias to nitery biz; Place benefits somewhat by Its location on South Alamo street In a portion of town which Is a hang- over from the mauve decade. .'Drunkard' is the draw and cash- ing in on curibsity aroused by its revival all over the country; ■ Ques- tiona.b1e vhftt.he r tn'wn'.q fi'oHnking element is sufficient to sustain the drama for more than a few weeks when a change of policy may be necessary. Cast recruited from 'Coast undfer direc tion of Coates Gwynne, a Stuart Walker alumnus. Frank Shaw, long at Coffee Dan's in Frisco, is announcing the drama and doubling in the floor show emceeing assignment; : , Although the stage has been reno- vated to accommodate any legit ait- traction, drama uses painted. drops in lieu .of sets. A front curtain with slightly cockeyed cupids. which drops with a deafening bang, paper snow tossed onstage by viislble hands and similar biz adds to the laughs. Drama cast doubles for the floor show, working both onstage and on the floor, portion of which is 6iea.red. lor aansapation. Featured on the floor is Vltaphone Four, who carry out the Brodie atmosphere sartorlally. Drama rings up at 8:40 followed by floor show closing at 11. After that it's hoofing for the customers. House proved acousti- cally bad at opening and is being remedied with. a p.a. system. Clos- ing the bar during show would help some. Mac Rogers' dance band doubles for the show. Nothing unusual in his style. Ken McClure is major dom&"6f set-up, Richard Gill backi- iner. He's -Is heavily on town's BOEUF SUR LE TOIT : (NEW YORK) Famous in Paris and Cannes are Lea Boeuf sur le Toit cafes,, mean- ing 'cow on the roof.' In time niter- ies, they're not boob-catching tour- ist spots, but popular: with the elite' of the cosmopolitan bunch, and such is the idea of the New York counterpart which Charles Brazelle has established In the basement of his Cafe Basque on "West 67th. Brazelle lived 16 years abroad until recently and did nothing but patronize the bright spots of the Continent, moving with, the seasons to the spas and resorts. In his years of practical patronage, Bra- zelle seems to have . assimilated beaucoup knowledge about cafe catering and is evidencing' that at his new nitery. just for the convincer,: he has Billy Arnold, than whom there is no whomer among favorite Con- tinental «dance bands, furnishing the dansapatioh in the fbrm of two comboig. :L,hla:^l63vn._ JBlUy-Arnold's. Continentals, featuring Herb Fin- ney, and Don Alberto, tango band. Arnold also m.c's. ,' , . , The other bonvincer Is Allna De Silva, Spanish songstress w.k. ta' the Bbeuf patronage abroad. She sings only In French^ knows only, that language thus 'fa:r (excepting, of course, her native Spanish), the latter heritage probably account- ing for her. penchant for tango and rumba tunes when she's not ballad- izing. She's a personality chahteuse and well suited to the room. Downstairs room has a wealth of bharm and personality with its trees and foliage interior, and a nifty scenic idea including a marine bar which will become one of the small-talk topics with folks who make much of this sort of thing. No cbuvert, table d'hote dinner and popular scale. It's a very worth- while retreat. Abet. 8 N. Y. Cabaret (CHICAGO) Chicago, Dec. 8. —Located- In-the -iiaidstr^of-^^ taverns . and a pariadox In every way, this spot is a winner. Spotted on the. near northslde within the shadow-~of"Michigan "spVenue ~and- the loop skyscrapers, Harry^s is lo-^ cated so that it must cater mainly to taxicab and carriage trade. Just why this place has attained such widespread popularity doesn't fall on any bf the answers to logic. That a former ■ newsman without previous catering experience oper- ates it, merely adds to the incon- gruity. Nevertheless Charley Hepp was sold a bill of goods at the 193a ■Woria's"TaIr and, in quarters, "less than~360-"feet square, made a wad for. all concerned. It was only natural that a permanent home be, Tuuiid iu uuiiiliiue the good work..| It continued so weir that. Hepp and associates couldn't find time to be at the World's Fair in 1934, but rah a fair of their own just across, the -Wat>ash^venue-brid&er-^ Until recently one fioor -sufllced. Turnover hiis: been remarkable, es- pecially from 10-1 at night. Average stay is two hours, but in those two hours a load of drinks can be put away. Food is served, but isn't of primary importance. They come here to drink, .and do. Entertain- ment is secondary. There's danc- ing, too, but only when they can find room in which to shake a hoof. One thing that Harry's does em- phasize is ingenuity. Under the Illinois law the word 'bar' is out. Harry's hit on the idea of printing the- word .'culmret ' with the letters b-a-r In caps and the others In small letters. This caught on, and when the average citizen: in quest of a thirst quencher thinks of this place, the accent is invariably pul on the second syllable. Place retains a number of the novelties originated at the Streets of Paris. Wandering sketch' artists and Prince Omar and his crystal among them. Pin "ganies with a regular pay window have largely replaced the former twO-bits slot machines. .: , Entertainment is limited to. a quartet of table warblers headed by Al Wagner, with Elmer Schoeble at the keys.. These two, with Billy Meyer^i and Harry Harcjs, are among the old time cafe, favs of town. . O'fie -soubret booked in on a. weekly; change. Dianne Qulllare current. Joe Buckley has the four- piece combo which Instrumentalizes from 3-8 p. m., and Charley Meyers with seven pieces toots away there- after. Latter group Is on hotibei .at present, with Hepp toying with Idea of name band> There are a dozen or more hostesses on eight-hour shifts and Eddie Mayer supervising a score or more libstelry waiters from 'way back.' Earl Rickard, foriher cafe m.c., is host. . . ~ Newly opened Globe Trotters club on upper floor carries out French Courtyard scheme of main floor in terlon Bars, main floor and club were designed by Harry Lund, oho of the original designers of Streets of Paris. Club features a number of: private rooms, each represetting a different country. . Cuban room seems most popular. It's the most dimly lit. Membership tap Is $26 payable annually, and permits 'guest card' privileges. In this manner downstairs overflow, if any. can be absorbed. Prices generally: in keeping' with class spots, but following is highly diversified, as shown by fact that management has bboked in. Charley Cutler, former . heavyweight scrap per, to take care of belligerents. (3n Saturday the minimum is one buck but nb restrictions other days. Table d'hote is $1 and worth it. Lower level floor is now being readied for banquet purposes. Plan to seat about 600 in main room with service for both club and banquet rooms from main fioor kitchens. Harry's caBARet is: No. 1 stop here on the rubberneck and sight seeing tours. . Loop, STORK CLUB (NEW YORK) Sherman Bllllngsley!s new Stbrk Club on East 63rd, just off Fifth, smacks of contempioraneous history in—many-respects, - For—one - thing- the Stork is one of New York's best known jpre-repeal oases, possessing many ' an attribute which . caused men and women to warmly take his vintage and viand dispensary very much to heart. Institutions like the Stork, which gave out those 'productibn' dinners at $2.60 a copy (even If drinks were $1 a throw), got to mean too much to a certain strata of perennial and perpetual gbers-outters, to be per- mitted to pass Into oblivion. And thus it came about that when Blll- ingsley took a lease on 3 East 53rd and spent seyeral months to. con' vert the lower floor Into the de6p restaiirant-bar that it is, it had many a. native eagerly and ex pectahtly looking forward, to it. Now built all on one' floor in stead of the one- and two-flights up, as at the old hXVi East 51, some may feel it's different, but actually it's 'a smarter move -for Billlngsley. The old 'location' worry is over. That flrst floor for a time was 'the' room at his fbrmer: 61st street establishment. -Then - When .Billingsley- p)ut -in -his 'musical bar' on the upper story, that was 'the'> room and again he and his captains had customer troubles-^as—to—where—to-spot- 'em. Now it's all on one ground floor, with the big square liquid dlspens ary up front for the stand-up-and drink trade, and with the dance floor aind restaurant in the rear. , Now also Billlngsley has a $1 couvert and Llta Grey Chaplin as the star and. Madeleine Northway- Georges Danilo giving out expert ballroomology to . Robert (Buddy) Wagner's dansapation. Starts at -luhchebh—thrbugh-TJocktatls,—'dlimei' and - supper .and-bids—fare to re- establish: itself as of yore. Blll- ingsley's hosting will again v be not " c attractionsr Abel. BAR OF MUSIC —- (NEW YORK) . a1 subterranean ' covey • in- the Buckingham hotel, a more or less residential hostelry just south -of Central Park, has been installed under the designation of Bar of Music, It is a retreat of a novel character rather than of charm of elegance, which gets its name from a decorative scheme that includes paintings of musicians, old masters, hanging Instruments and a piano keyboard at the bbttom of the bar In place of a brass rail. Motif bf the room Is reminiscent ot an old Kngnsh : t ea e a rd o n ^ wit h- BOWERY - (CHICAGO) . Chicago, Deo. 8. . Forerunner of similar Bowery 'Spots throughout the' country, thla one owned by the Mandel brothers, is the focal point for some four- score honky-tonks of every descrip- tion spread for a mile ratio around Clark street on the north. Bbwery has played to more than 100,00(1 customers since opening a little more than six months ago and the show, has remained "practically In- tact throughout, i • : One of the brothers, Mike, now has a Bowery unit playing the east. Other brothers, Hymie and George, are planning to send the current show out shortly. . Where they'll play Is a problem,- inasmuch as there have been close to a doz6n. Bowery shows out on the road. Will replace with, new novelty show. Bowery location is a. former pawnshop. Therefore ha;s modest frontage, but large depth. Old-time stage installed about eight inches oft floor makes a great flash. Main drop and one hanging piece suf floe for pfbdubtlon. They do foiir shows nightly, each running about 25 min-' utes. Main attraction is the Inevi- table beefers, eight in number, fea- turing Edna Leonard. ; Others ', In cast include : Johnny Goodman, comic; Warner, Meeks and Warner for dancing, and the Bo.wery Trio of Frazier, West and Tllson. Latter group works tables and produces spot's latest novelty, the Noon Hour, which is an early morning gag to hold customers. Harry Singer in with four pieces for orchestra. Wandering charac- ters work about the floor, used prin- cipally to maintain order. Bbwery Is the only spot on Clark street-, w^lch—does- not—advertise hostesses. Has a two-bit ta!^ at dobr but imposed only if customers don't look good for more than one beer. JAM CLUB (NEW YORK) Jam Club, located underneath the Knickerbocker hotel in the Times Square zone, may be so-called be-, cause If the trade, should get heavy; its restricted confines might neces- sitate jammin 'em together In the good old Broadway sardine can manner. Place can seat 225 with a little crowding, but can't Accommo- date that majiy at one time on its dance floor, which is about 26 by 12. The spot, premiered Friday eve- ning under the; operating aegis of Peter Doralne, Is one , that's pat- terned for the Forgotten Man of the speakeasy era who could not go for the 76c drinks if wanting some mu-. sic and a little foot-scraping. It Is homey rather than pretentious and the minimum charge is 60c a per- son week days, $1 on Sundays. Food prices are of the middleman stature^ while the drinks start .at as low as 36c;;: That makea~lt-possible for~the^ boys with short bankrolls to ispend an .evening, without going to the M orris Plan next day. j_ _ Jam Club is reminiscent of the smaller cabaret rooms of prohibition days, many of which also were down a flight of stairs. It is the only spot of its type in the Times Square sector, , the others, either being more big time, or merely bar- rooms,:: Club has an elght-rpiece orches- tra headed by 'Wingy' Mannone, so named because he has only one -arm—TJie-other-ls-artiflcialr-but-en- - ables him to play the cornet. This is■ Marinohe'a first' appearance ' In" New York. He has made. some red- arda for Brunswick and bthers^-but- otherwlse his out-in-the-open pedl* gree is mostly native to New Or- leans, from whence he halls. The accent doesn't belle that, nor does the torrid, jazzy man ner of orches- tral work. That's the kind of mu- sic this type of play spot demands. Mannone doubles voca.lly/ putting much of the sizzling element in his delivery. place has np steady specialty en- tertainers, policy being to bring in .'guest' stars every night; Muslo and specialty work is broadcast In- dbpendently over WNEW, which has put iii a wire. Eddie sava is this headwalter, a genial gent who's well known*in the Broadway, purlieus of night go- ings-on. C/Mzr. MEBT YOVR FAYORlTE STAR OF STAGE AND SCREKN AT MIKE FRITZEL'$ CHEZ PAREE Amerlca'H Smartest RcAtanrant and Sapper ciab ' ' 611 FnirbankM . Delaware 1666 C H I C A G O ■ ■..■. ■•:'.■■■: bare tables and an excess of do- dads all over the walls. The floor has a tug on it, but there is no space for dancing. Entertainment is of the Intimate character, which was popular in the more circumscribed - speak hang- outs of pre-repeal . days, Rosa Rio, accomplished pianist and or- ganist, . regales the customers with ivory pounding and songs. Hers is a personality that fits In with the general idea of the room. She is well known as an organist in pic- ture houses and recently .was at the Pox, Brooklyn. In addition to Miss Rio, two lads play: the piano and other instruments. Grog arid food priced reasonably. Robm . opens at around 4:30 for cocktail hour and continues as long as the cash register rings.: Edward J. Farrell, manager of the Bucking- ham and well known to show peo- ple since a lot of them live under his roo^ Is personally directing. CAor. . ■ ZIG'S (NEWARK) , , : Newark, Dec, 13. Still the ace dine and drink spot in Newark, catering to a class clientele, mainly from the swank suburban tbwns of East Oraiige and Montclalr; No dancing^ but first rate food and topnotch hootch seem mainly responsible for v the . con- sistent draw here. Joe Ziegler, former vaudevillian, operates. '. Current floor turn is the Three Cardinals, vocal arid . instrum'ental trio with an extensive repertoire of songs, ranging from sWeet and sentimental to those, that are a bit risque. The boys spot their stuff, according to the changing mood of the customers. New floor turn is due in after New Year's, Zlg's poliby, being to change, its enter- tainers after flve or six weeks. Vaude acta playing Newark ar« making Zlg's a hangout for dinner •nd after theatre.