Variety (Dec 1934)

Tiiesda,yr December 18, 1934 L E C ITi M AT E VARiETY S5 Plap Oil B^^^ CALLING ALL STARS aeviie in two acta, 24 scpnea,. presented liv Lew Brown. Lyrics by Drown i niUBlc Sv Harry Akst; danceS: by Maurice L. KOBsel; sotting* by Nut KttrBon; eketches 5«d fit-loff by Alan Baxter, A. .Dorian Otvos 1 '1 Brown; eketchos directed by Thomas Mitchell and nrown; Al Qoodman, orcheetra .director. At Hoi ywood, N.. Y., Starting Dec. 13! »4.40 .top. , Caat IncludOB Lbu Holtz, Phil Baker. ■ Everett Marehall, : Patricia Bowman. Qer-. trade Nlosen. Mltzl Mnyfrtlr, Jack Whiting,, llartha Ray. Kstollo Jayhe,. Dorothy Ray- mond, Ella L'igdn, Al Bernle, Peggy Taylor end Cfthova family. . " Show OlrlHfEnda Abbey, At)n Budnlk, • Cp.therlno Cterk. Marguerlter peCbursey. Marlon Heemteth, R«vallei Habcr, Viola L'chn, Eleonow Low, Helen Mack, Joan Manners, Ann'.Metzger, Juno Murphy, Rose Palmer, Elie«i Pattl, . Prances Sinclair, Lofrolne Teatom, Jpan Whitney, Irene Coieman. \ . ',. . .' Dancing Qlrls—Alice-Anueraon. . Alice An- - tlion, Alice Bankert, - Alice . Blair, - Qlga ■Burke Qlorlo Claire, Morle: Cole, Qladya aiancy^ "Roxy Green, Orchid . Hentroh,' Trip klnSBley. Ruth Morgan,: June McNultJ', ■ Polly Sturgeon, Jutio Tcmiwat, Bobby . ThelB, Cynthia . Thompson, . Emily Voi? Hoven'. • . "■L"'.- ' , j^ara Mildred - .Strausa Dancers—Eunice AKea, Babette Blaalnger, Mary Bollea, Qeorge Brady,' Emnia Burke,. Dolores Camp^ bell .Nathalie CraridalU Rena. Dell. Anita Feme,- Sel Joa. Janet Abbtt.; Mfew Malsel. CamlUe' Maatera. Gloria . .MdUaler. - Sara Mnzo,- Juno MCGrian,: Gortrude .Michaels, .Elale Mlndell,. Grance: PearceV Grace Pot- tersoni Grace llocheator. -Jean Rauley, •Munlce Slch,-Marguerite White. ' . noya-^GeOrge Gordon, George. Hunter. BUI Hale. Eddie Johnson. Clark Leston, William Meader, 'Harry ..Patteraon. Jack, Tally, •!CalUner - All ;Stars' presents a strange paradox Indiied-^a show by one of the theatre's i(lnest writers of materi&l, yet cbntalninR. everything except ., material.—4-IChe.:. .xe&ultant > spectacle is enough' actors to start another NVA club, all dolled vip-in lavish scenery ftnd ^brilliaht cos- tumes, but with no pilace' to. go. While the fact thdt .the art In 'which Brown excels is, the, one in which he fttiled. to deliver is .not a little surprising, the reason. ma,y be tound In the printed program Syhlch speaks for itself and loudly. 'Call Ing All Stars' makes a nioat .preten tious bid for star cast ; rating, in cast as well as title, yet above the tltlei of the show is only one name— ■Lew Brown. Program then, goes bii to describe four other • important production fuhctlons as being 'by Lew Brown,' • tind that before the mention of a single actor's name. This being Brown's show, the blli :. Ing is his own affair, but Just the : same it is the giveaway. It lis evi- dent that BroWn essayed to swing everything but the. witter bttttle.. In doing so he seems to have wasted himself on matters that could have been left to others and neglepted that phase which he does beflt, Actors are shot at the audience with such rgjjidlty and in such -quantity, it.appears-BxojKn ,ia..xising. 'em for machine-gun bullets. The barrage Is thick and furious and "lasts"throughout^ the showi-but-the talent misslles-lack-^^motlvation-arid: mostly go-wild like so miany pot shots. ■■■ Heading the list are Lou Holtz and Phil Baker, on paper as good a brace of comedians as .any revue could desire: Most' of the time in these three hours "theV resemble a couple- of straight men in search of a. comic. ' Any . sho^ that starts with a double entrance by a Holtz and a -Baker on the--same-stage is ceC' MARTY MAY Now. Fefttnred witii ■ . MAX nORPON'S "BpBEBTA" ; ThB •.WaBhlnglon Herald liaid: "T remem-. hor Mnrty May from Bomotrhora (nbouV which morn Intnf In thn wnpk^. lind hp hna lonB t of:- ■ ^ been high on my list of--:-»hiiH wo^ay. aemi- "nnlesf A Smart comedUn. and. after the. ..Turk Ilonny' fanhlnn. ' nnt nlvcn tn over-' 7,oalnuBhos8. Mo;' dollhltely adds. - Not one .of hia' funny linos mlsned flro, and ho has a. Rood mariy.of them. In abort, ho'a perfectly etoRant, and I'hope we may bo aaelng more; ot Mm." ' - . 1560 B'wciy—Suite .1214—Bry talnly off to a promising bcgliinlng. But here, the first impression fddes: too soon." In/the opening the coni- edy pair has Assistance from Harry (Bottle) McNaUghton. Estellc jayne, capable and comely 'talking Woman,^ Ella Logaii; peppery sohg- streiss • and. the shiow girls. After that ihtrb the regulation musical comedy routine sets in with 'I'd Like to Dunk You in My Coffee,' - sung and danced by Jiack Whiting and Mltzl Mayfair. 'Dunk', Is a cute song idea and the score's, nearest approach to the brillltint Brown lyric writing pace of the past. It gives , a favorable start to Whiting, as clever si, s. and d. Juvenile as: is aroUnd.. But it gets Miss. Mayfair 6ft on the wrong foot, and she is kept there the rest of the eyehing. The leading dancer in her line of .work,- Miss Mayfair is badly miscast and terribly misused as an ingenue-soubret, 'Dunk' also ushers in the dancing ensemble oe-16 girls and. eight: boys who,. In routines staged by Maurice Kusseli do excel lent work throughout the show. I've Nothing to Offer' Is sung l)y Everett' Marshall while Patricia Bownrian and. the . Sara Mildred Strauss girls,. ehaw's isecond line, dance it out behind a scrim. . A boner In: the lighting dept. /blacked out Miss Bowman -too soon, but her line toe work had. already gained sufflcleiit attention to. account for the show's first • stoppage. Marshall fared equally well with his singing, Then 'The Last of the Hillbillies, sketch by H. L Phillips; and Pro- ducer Brown. It was a good idea .When.-Fred. Allen-;wrote.and-play.ed^ it on the radio, and dtill Is,: only this version doesn't go much be- yond the basic. Ideal. It Involves the siege of a hillbilly fapilly -in their mountain cabin by a flock of booking' agents. : One offer Is '48 weeks on the RKO circuit.' A de- lirious agent? ■ Calst as headman of the 'billies is, of all persons;; Patsy Flick, Known as a student 0f many di- alects, but never before aS ai hill billy. Flick does his part surprising ly well. Bat the \ fact that he wjis tossed Into this strange role, added to the oddity, that this Is the versa tile Flick's only, appearance In the whole show; attests more than any- thing else tharBrown had so much talent on his hands he didn't know Whait to do. with It.. . The Brown-Phillips ,sketqh. which Is a spotty laugh-getter. Is the first Of the hillbilly stuff distributed lib erally through the rest 6f the two acts. Most of It's done by Judy Canova, of the vaudeville act of Annte, Judy and Zeke. Judy and Tier companions may or may hot hav(^ even seen a reail hillbilly, but they are- highly racceptablev^protagonlsts of the art, arid JmJy is one of the few subs t antial hits of this show. ■'So~Ting . is iibliyw'obdr""By "A DpriajrrOtvos—and -Brownr-isT^ther show's one and only first rate com- edy scene, also the only really good opportunity In the frolic for Baker, It shows the tribulations of a song writer in Hollywood and may be the sole . remnant of the satirical Holly: wood book, shpw idea which Brown originally had in mind when plan hlng this productlp.n.: First act finisher Is 'Straw Hat In the Rain.' a song that follows close ■iy"tTie"styTe"'ei3tabllsh"ed by 'Brother; Can You Spare- a Dime,' arid ar rives a couple of years too late, Here it e njoys , the advantage, of good Belting by Evorett MarBhaH-, who'vbcally offsets the effect of bad makeup, and is built tip into a good production affair. Included Iri the 'Rain*^^ scene end is the -plastic stage' devised by Nat Karson,; who de sigried all. the sets and: turned in ari oiitstandlng job. A new scienic art ist for the big show- field, Karson iri his first assignment shows soirie bright; fresh Ideas and splendid execution. His 'plastic stage' goes back arid Up on a pair of sla,ntlne raiia',-"glvinef an .illusion of great depth and height. It's the' be3t Eceriic idea since the revolving ; stage, which has already beojoriie comriionplace. ; ■ Holtz greets the returning smokers after intermish with his 'Mahara jah' story, which will bowl bver THE la MAX GORDON'S - "The Great Wahz" : ■ :XJURBE>lTI,lt. CENtER THEATRE Rockefeller Center, New Ydrk BUliiie ~ HOltzBakerMafshall .Is the. billing on the; canopy of War- rior's HoHywoodj New Torki for' •'Calling All Stara,' Lew Brown revue. Not onoiigh room to ' permit' spacing. A red' first initial distinguishes each name. All three players Irislst 1 on top line billing. In the dallies^ there is enough space by jani' ming the nariins together. Sec- ond line billing lias Jack Whit-' Ing, Mltzl ^Mayfair, Gertrude Niesen and' Patricia Bowman. at the premiere. .Her song is 'I'm Stepping Out of the Picture,' likely souridlng ballad^ and her success With it. questions the Judgment In saving; the show's best femme: voice; till so near the finish. \ Neict is. another, late ai-rlvtU. Al Bernle, on so . late : he must haVe thought he was pleiylng a bene^fit; Bernle 1$ a yourig.mlmlc and clever for his age, but far from a proper specialty act for. a big tlriie show at ii: 30 p.ni. Show ran past midnight; at the premiere, despite havlids had three weeks In Boston under its belt. That even then: it wafin't in shape neces isltated anr all-nlght rehearsal the pre-bpenlhg night, and the girls ha,d to keep going all the rieixt afternopri arid. alniost'.up to curtain :tiriie They, must have been exhausted, but they^ve a ga^liant openingjpier- formance. ' Harry Akst's riausic bleod^ well With BroWii's' lyrics, and some of his. airs cflJi't mlra/popularity^-.:- Warner Bros.* / partlclpatiori/ as backer of 'Stare* with a firiandal Interest is regarded as a. possible' llfe-saverl /Warners Is reported/ considering S:O.S.'lng Holiywo6d for some names, but doubtful if that could turn , the show into a hit, for film stars or any other iclnd of stars can't get far without material. : . Ak to Lew Brown, it milst be said that While he neglected his oWri best bet—materlal--he did cour- ageously go the llriilt in aill 6ther respects; But liis loss in this try is Broadway's ioas also, for Broad- way would gladly swap an unsuc- cessfui producer for a truly great material writer. Bige. surender to How<», It is. the spirit of his men that changes -the gen- eral's decigloh. In his headquarters, at /Valley Forge, ., two " cpmniiissioriers from- congress arrive to investigate arid explain'; why there is jiO quarter- master arid why there are no food and clothing /supiJHes. : These . men want the War over and they tell Washington the revolution Is reaUy a trade struggle.. When the iOni- mlssloners are throwri out. of the hbuise, one of /the general'^ aides gives his Idea of the. cbrigressnrieri. Pimps,, he calls 'em, and that;s. in: blank verse, too. / / ■ : :' Selection of Philip /Merivaie .as Washington seemed curibus, .but Iqn't so far o'ut of line. Washing- tori Was born in Virginia of parents who were born iri Erigland., He is a rather, grirti gerieral and there surely was. plenty of reason for his demeanor that Winter. Characteri- zation on the whole is excellent; : Stanley Ridges makes Colpnel ■Trench one of the most, likeable of the soldiers, a regular fellow who speaks his mind. Victor Killan as a private who has no pants regi aters.what laughd there are in the play. ' Edward Trevor: makes a fine Lafayette, a reticent, respectful, pollshecl Frenchman. : Woriieri figure but slightly in the piay, present Mostly ./in/,a party given by Howe in his private ball-- room. Margalo GlUmore appears as Mary Phillpsej the widowed Mis triess Morris, Shie goes to Valley Forge to / suggest to Washlrigton that they pick up the romance that stai^ted and ended 20 years previa ously, but ; Washlrigton sends her ' 1)8iClC '' ■ : The play is mariy-peopied. It has more/ color than expected from the theme'and the staging by Her- bert J. Blberman and Johri House- mari-is-precise . ■ -^/v^^/^ -^bee. SAILORS bl^XIAlttARO Theatre Union dratna. in two acta and six- scenes by Erledrlch Wol' at Givlc Keper- tory theaitre Dec. 10 at $1.60 top; trans- lated by Keene ' Wallls;. . adapted. - by Michael Blankfort; staged by Irvlnp Odr- .don; seta by .Mordecal. Gorellk. ... Mate Ecmlcevlc........Robert Reed Jerko iSiBBorlc..V.i........i..Ernest Gann -Sepp Krlz........Howard Da Silva Kuddel Huck............Charles Thompaon Alola.. i......i .Gebrge Tobias Crailria In three' acts preaented. at^ the Guild Dec. 10 by the Theatre Onild; ■mrlU ten by MaxweU Anderson; Fhlllp MerlVale featured; iataged by Herbert J. Blbermein and John Hipuseman. :. " Andrew....;.. '. .;.. .TIiaddeiiB Clancy Spad..».;.•.........«.> ..Alan Bunce Alcock.. i «:•... Victor Ktllan Teague..........:........;Orover Bunress ■Mason r-¥-r^-w .■»-r«'.-»nr. -.-•-.-f^.-.r" Charles Ellis. ,Tock • •«...Jock HcGraw Oscari .Hans. Hansen Nlck.^........«.,i.L;L^.«........M.....Robert_ Thomsen Minto...........•. > •... •.... .Harry Herinsen. -Mart7TTr<ViTrrTrvTT»-vy.-«.Alexander^lr8ky- Tavls t......1...'......... .Frances &ige Auntie. i.. . .Florence Gerald Neil .Hendrlk Booraem Lieut. Cutting. .George Coule^irls Rover •.. •. • • • • .Bingo Lieut. Col. Lttolfer Tonch.;.Stanley Ridges An Aide.... ...V.. .i ........Philip Robinson Gen. Georgft Washington. .-.Philip Merivaie Marquis De Lafayette...... Ed ward Trevor Sir William Howe....;....Reginald Hason Mary Phillpse............Margalo Glllmore Major Andrei. .......John Hoysradt Brigadier;.............. Charles _Dniinniond Captain,.., John Ryder Fielding.....:.6tepheii_Alkpleby "The Washington"..........George Cannon First Stoldler...".;V.".7v.;;;....Alan Bandler flecond Soldier;;.. ii'. .James Roader Third Soldier...... <i . .Wallace Acton rivl lla n........ ....... .. .George Spattia ing Gen.. Vamum;.,.... < • Gen. Stirling.... Harold_Bniott Raf0........... ^ John Sennott Mr. Harvie Harold Tucker Mr, Folsom.Brsklne Sanford Gen. Conway.-i.-. i. * iCharles Francis Anton Grabar.. r..;.... Franz - Raach . Giistav. Stonaw^kl.. . ...f • Ensign. Sesah ;; Lieutenant.......-< Captain.-...,;.... .... -Hans Trulec...........; Officer.......:....-.... Sailors aind soldiers: .'. .Martin Wolfson ,v....'.Tom Powers .John Bprulf ,. .Harold Johnsrud .James MacDonald .Frederick Roland ,'. ^Abner BIberman ........Paul .Stein Wendell Phillips Edwin Glare, WUHam Schap-Kcvlsch, Ed- ward Mann, ■ Samaon Gordon, David Ker- man. 'Theodore Cohen, Bernard Zanvlllei William Nichols, Sidney Packer. those, if any, that haven't neara it, and which those that have will find worth hearinir again, if. only fpr Holtz's delivery. : It: is the -best thing Holtz hias to do in the sHpw, which is the worst possible slam at the .material in generaK; . . 'He /just Beats a Tom-Tom,' song, .is interpreted vocally .by/the vigorous, copn-shoutlrig Martha Ray: and in a daricing. way by; the Strauss girls. A Jungle coochlng proposition arid weU done, but .do/ubtf ul.whether_.riiEiiiay__/5!dll::i^ steamed lip.; over the idea at this late date. It's lucky to: contain the adaglp Specialty by Peggy Tayipr' and her 'Kitchen /Pirates' (three men),/ who dp ; everything In, the tossing line except slap her uPr a&airist ; the "proscenium archi. Act has, beeri seeri in about every the- atre on: Broadway lately, besides, the cafes; but still thrills. ' At this/ point Gertrude Niesen, one of the nariies of the cast, makes her first/ appearance, and it was close 'to .mldriieht before shei got on After a. too long . first act', the change of pace In. the eecond and third act gives •Valley Forge* its chance to register. Indications, however, are for a limited engager ment at: the Guild probably a bit over the subscription. period. Maxwell j^iderson has a fla-ir .for historical . playsr-'Ellzabeth .'the Queen' , arid 'Mary of ,Scptla.nd' the standouts, But his brilllarit wrlt- ing t.rft.n;<renda th e topic in dranaa' tlzing the bitterest episode . of the American Revplutlpn, when General Washington suffered With his ini poverlshed army of backwopdsiinen at Valley Forge, while General HoWe and his redcoatS: were good; tiriiing in Philadelphia^ 'Valley Fbrge' is written in blank verse, br most of it is, which makes the dialog the more, pleasant to: the ear. According to this play the sorely-tried Washington consta/ntly spoke in blank ve rse for the e dlfl cation, of his starving troops. Tn fact, he was so wordy and Versy that at times he was a bore; Or seemed so in the. theatre. The ragged army scheriies how to get food, . ties up' thie lieuteri- ant and raids an Island -in the Del- aware, securing corn stored there by the British, troops. Several meri are lost in the fighting, but it only makes the American detachment the more determined to coritlnue the struggle for ireedom. So, when Washington arrives on the Island to Theatre Uriipn has fpr its avpwed purppse the presentation of prole tarlan plays. This one is right down , the group's alley, although not a good play. It's not, for that matter, ajbad play, but brie that Taclcs fire arid Bpirlt-^sUell" fire and spirit, for instance; as made 'Stev- edore' a. .reaL. flrianciaL/success .and: made, it possible for the g rou p to -dp spihe-expeririientlng.: • Sallpirs' is A German play that has already been ■ seen in several I^rppea^n countries. The author* Frledrich Wolf,: is a Nazi exile, how residing in Vienna. The adaptation by Michael Blankfprt Is a ctirlpus pnei frequently highly effective and leaving something to be desired. It is perhaps a bit too polished. . Play suiters largiely frorii the fact .that. it ,1a t6i)..hon.est- in_wrl.tlng .and conception.. Jt tells, of ah eccurrence in the Austrian navy, Jrist pribr tp the end- of the World War and Js hnaed on historic fact To make shot and the mess called life goes oh^ln its regularly charted stupid cha'niiels.. That ending could have been tragic, but isn't. /Arid it isn't be- cause It's'too honest. Without suf- ficient artificiality iri It to make it good theatre. / Dlrectiori ia: gppd and acting is ispotty, Tom PoWerS standing out In ' his role of the bo'sun, But he, too, is tanforturiate. He acts, but the rest of the cast hasn't his theatri- cal background and experience; it orily tries to act. Result is he seems to be-overdoing it. yeiy. dlfflcult to. recite - individual honors in the all- . male: ci5(,st, since hard, to - pick, out . the fbreigrt nariies/ but all turn in earnest, though somewhat ania- teurish attempts. Outstanding honors of,/the play go to Mordecal Gorellck for his set- tirigs. H(B is. the orie man in the present, enterprise that has any- thing for Brpadwayr Kdufi Machine Infernale. XContinued frona page 54) ground and the production,/in geri- eral, are all creditable, according to amateur theatrical .'workshop' stan- dards/-- Rlchard Sullivan, iri the thankless but essential role of narrator, Intrp- duclrig each episode, deserves more - thari honorable mention, despite an unfortunate lisping effect caused by . the mask he wore. / William Hurit, 2d, as Oedipus, handled hl^ lines with plerity of corifiderice, and- Jean Goodale (Radclifre), opposite hirii aa Jocasta .the/ queeri; gave a praise- worthy perforhiarice, even though, her makeup. did not bear but her f re- : <iuerit allusions to fading beauty. Lois Hatll as the persoriiflbatiori of the variipish Sphinx had. a, slight edge over the leading femriiie role,_ iri spite pf "her "UMympathetic char- acterization. Also outstanding was Arthur Szathmary as -the aged high priest, Tlresias, perforriiing wltb the restraint and : Aplomb of a sicMaspned trouper. . / . 'Ma:chine,' as, interpreted by. the. Harvard- Dramatic Club, is a- credit to the group, for evideritly the stu- dents worked long and airduoiisly , to produce this ambitious piece>. almost flawlessly on their opening night.. Week-a-Montli Legtt ^^^^^^ % . Los Angeles,'Dec. 17. ; / Kathleen Cllftbrd, former screen actress, has leased the Wllshlrie- Ebell theatre .for a/series of new plays that she plaris tp prpduce dur- ing the Winter arid spring. : Deal is for use. of the house lor six nights and a/ Sa,tui:day niatlnee each month,, over a sevenrmonth peripd. Sunday. nlghtL-Vaude .cpncei:,ts at the- house will: continue uninterrupted, First ■ productlon_anripunced^^^ b^ Miss cliffbrd is 'Mr. Claybufg Steps T>uC~by"^6ugIasT>ofy and"hersel:^ slated for Jan. 7. February produc- tion will be "pignity Be Damried/ by Katberlne Brockelbank. good theatre the last act of the play should have beeri changed, Herr Wolf should have forgotten all, abput facts and history and: the proba- bility of what would likely happen in life, and Irivented a more "dra- matic finish. Instead, he tells the stpry simply as is—and that's a let- dPwn. . ■ .-. ■ /.■ Sailprs bri.the Sti George are un- derfed and ill-treated. They man- age to cpmmiunic£ite with sailors- on other boats in the fleet and . an /in- surrection ; is. arranged. •/ / All the sailors strike out on their pwn, call an erid tp bloodshed arid Ill-treatment and run up the red flag. That may not be pleasant for some, but it is exciting and -worthwhile theatre; Then the second-act. Wolf knows that in life the sailors would prob ably be defeated and the. cruelty and stupidity would go on as be- fore; he knows; as a matter of fact, that that's what happened In the instance that he's describing. 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