Variety (Feb 1935)

PICTURES VARIETY 25 Wednesday^ February 20* 1935 House Reviews , STATE, N. y. (Continued from page 14) the flare of clggles. Flares are not ' bright enough and Lewis Is left Blnglng on a totally dark stage be- fore an'audience wondering wha,t'8 going on. There's but one set, the bandstand with a stairway coming down the middle to allow the showgirls and ballroom team striking entrances. Lighting, except in the one Instance, Is oke, and so's the costuming. Ballroom team is on for two rou- tines, both mediocre. Colored boy's 'Durante' is novel only because of the color of the Imitator, while the aero dancer Is only fair. So far as the Radio Aces are, concerned, they should tone down considerably. As a stage maestro, Lewis is still' near the top, though the work of the band will probably continue helpless — In radio.—-Unit Just shades an hour. Bcho. CENTURY, BALTO Baltimore, Peb. 15. Not a particularly meritorious bill. iie.3 one! solid sock, Jimmy Savo, in next-to-closing, a snappy opener and a moderate closing act The second and third turns not so favor- able. It looked like the knell was just about to toll when Savo skalted on in the fancied frame with 18 mlns. of panicking, pantomime. Asl4e from the few moments of Savo's comic chanting, there Is no singing in rest of bill; sadly lack- ing, too. Five Deguchls, Nipponese tum- bling a nd rlsley turn (4 mftn, maid), open.. Swell stunts and a fast'starter for any bill. Especially well dress- ed act. Deuce, Gordon, Reed and King. Around before. . Another of those male hoofing trios w.ho, by press of evolutioi of entertainment requirements Imposed by audiences, attempt to become comedians as well as dancers. Happily, perhaps, this threesome hasn't tried to be knockabouters. What humor they do Intro Is of fairly dignified sort, but It just Isn't funny nor particu- larly well played. Better when trotting the tootsies. Reed toots a clarinet briefly, for no apparent rea- son, and Imitates Ed Q. Robinson enacting 'Little Caesar.' Vera Gordon, formjerly In pix, holds down the trey assignment. Is appearing In a sketch, 'Reunion in America.' Aside from the fact sketches are rather out of place In a large house like the Century, this one hasn't much to recommend It. Recounts a spbby story ot a, mother Ijefhg held up by immigration au- thorities until her son comes to fetch her; son she sent to the States years before. Two men and a girl lend Miss Gordon fair support. Bartell-Hurst Revue, dance flash, shuts show. Nicely dressed turn, with pair of good full sets. Maid and two men open in formal clothes for a stereotyped waltz whirl, then curtains close In while a femme pianologs; her piece should be dis- patched more quickly If possible. When she has concludes pianolog- ing, ducks Into the trench and batons pit ork through rest of act. Next, ii standard femme toe-tapper; then the travelers unfurl for the re- turn of the opening combo of two' lads and a lass in a spirited and etrlkirig adagio In neat riding togs. Screen feature Is 'Scarlet Pim- pernel' (UA), besides Metro clips and ari organ log by Harvey Ham- mond. Bu.<!lnes3 fair early Friday .'iftcrnoon, ORIENTAL, CHI Chicago, Feb. 16. Mess of conflictlons ruined the possibilities of this show. No book- ing excuse for the spotting of three acts In a row with tap and buck and wing dancing In every one of the three acts which made up the vaude ftortlon of this bill and then more tap dancing in the stage show portion of the line-up. What makes It harder to take Is that the acts themaelve.s were all okay and got only hair of what they could have goiton if some variety had been woven into the booking arrange- ment. It was only by dint of Bard work and extra showmanship ex- ertions that the acts managed to get rcros.". Again tliis week there are only three acts in the vaude portion be- cau.se oi: the superlmposltlon of name cost to the show, name cur- rently being the Henry Busse band, which, with a couple of specialty workers, makes up the 33 minutes of stage show. Busse is carrying 18 men in the band, which looks and plays well. Play 30 well, in fact, that they may be slightly too modern for this au- dience. This audience doesn't go for rhythms which are too advanced. Orchestra got much better results with pop stuff such as 'June In January' and 'Fare Thee Well, AnnabfiUe' and probably should stick to this type of number while playing pop vaude houses. Busse porsonally la known In the loop through a sSason's engagement At the Chez Paree here and a steady barrage of broadcasting over WBBM and the Columbia web. That they know him and like him was denionstrated by the reception he dr-5W. Are spotting a couple ot vocal- ists, one man out of the band and a girl, Marion Holmes, who did right by a couple of pop tunes. For the dancing routine there was Kay Pic- ture, whose specialty labored under brutal handicaps in following two other women on the. bill who did almost Identical routines. Opening act wan the Allen and Kent foursome, a standard dancing turn. Two youthful dancers accom- panied by 'ma and pa' for old-time tapping. Entirely pleasing, with- out any Item to draw any squawks. Two young dancers have developed In their tap and wing formations, their routines getting spontaneous applause throughout. • New angle la being •worked" by Pall Mall by the addition of a 'twin' to his act. As soon as one flnlshes a bit and walks off for a bow, the other comes out for the second rou- tine. Audience Is not let on to this arrangement until tha flnale. Mall does the Blnglng and the kibitzing, while the other man contributes the dancing. Act Is running long be- cause of this changing of character, seeming to rui) even longer because of the necessity of breaking the turn up Into Ave or six pieces In order to accomplish the switch. However, it's an idea'that manages to redeem the running time when, the final blow-oft does arrive. Closing the vaude portion come the Four Camerons, again in vaude- ville and again going across with a -resounding—w^illopr-—^ Pop—Gameron- hasn't forgotten anything about showmanship or salesmanship and delivers an act which was a solid click here and figure^ to bang oiit a winner at any vaudei house any- where. A .melange of gags, cross- fire, acrobktics, dancing and hoke slapstick that Is chockful of solid entertainment, (^rl Is delivering some flne tap hoofing, while the lanky male stooge has a sock eccen- tric number to close on the encore. Cameron himself welds the whole into a knitted piece Of surefire va- riety entertainment. Picture is 'Charlie Chan in Lon- don' (Fox). Business excellent at the second show Saturday. Oold, PALACE, CHICAGO Chicago, Feb. 16. Lot of effort went to walste on this show, both on the facts and the arrangement. Didn't build- to any- thing, though JJie acts worked hai-d. Everything seemed to cancel out and left nothing of any general im- pression. Maybe it was because business wasn't good at the last show on Friday, with the sides gaping downstairs and the balcony devoid of customers. It was tough on any performer. Maybe it was the picture, 'Mystery of Edwin Drood' (U), which seemed dreary and lifeless and put everybody in the dumps. First two acta got along nicely, six DeCardos opened cleanly oh their standard barrel jumping, for a good acrobatic starter., Tim and Irene Noblette return to vaude In the deuce with a newly acquired radio background and so feel they have the right to use a microphone, even for their crossfire. Besides the gagging talk Miss Noblette Is once more doing her crying bit. Good enough vaudeville. Concert rather than vaudeville was tha impression given by. James Melton, who looks back upon a con- cert tour with George Gershwin. Melton's! pipes were okay and gave the show a certain touch of class. Following this single came another male single, Stepln Fetchlt, return- ing to Chicago vaude after a three- year absence. Fetchlt Is doing what he can do and what he has been identified with, that Is, being superbly lazy. But being lazy Is not enough for a vaude act In which one person has to hold up IB minutes. May be okay In pictures for flashes but vaude Isn't the same. That hlgh-pltched monotone Is funny on the screen for occa- sional shots, but It becomes an ear- ache for IG minutes, Fetchlt re- laxes In an easy chair and mono^- tones inore or less audibly about nothing In particular and finally goes Into a short dance routine. Just another personal appearance cheatei^whlch doesn't do this show any good. Closing is the Irene Vermillion act. Always different, this turn, so different In fact that the name Irene Vermillion has not come to be Identified with anything a^ far as the audience is concerned. Act Is still . trying for novelty, however, and deserves commenda- tion for Us efforts to do something new in the way of fiash and revue acts. Newness here Is composed of five girls who play cornets, the Dart Ensemble. Girls play well,' but It seems a lot ot wasted effort. Be- sides the five girls and Miss Ver- million there Is a man at the piano. Seems that more could have been gotten out of a seven-people act. Made an okay closing act for this line-up, however. OoJd. MET, B'KLYN Benny Davis' 'Star Dust Revue' takes the place of the usual five-act bill here this week as stage com- pany for first-run showing of 'Shadow of Doubt' (MG). But for the' fact' that 'David Copperfleld', (MG) was held a fifth week at the Capitol, N. T., this feature might have been flrst-runned there. The Davis revue, caught recently out-of-town. Is the typical Davis production around young talent, mostly of the singing and dancing school, His bunch Includes among those features two lads who have been with him for two years, Jimmy Shea and Ouy Raymond, the rubber-liBgged comedy dancers who shouldn't try doing that song en- core In qyest of laughs. Another top youngster In the lineup Is RoUo Pickert, whoaa Will THahoney rou- tine and, later on, the stilt dance, Indicates high promise. He nearly does tha vhola Mahoney act. Others In tha contingent are Edith Mann, Jimmy Byrnes, Evelyn Pamey, Jay Jayson, Danny White, -Bebe-Sherman, Bobby-Bernard-and- the Wlnstead Trio. On the finish, when Davis asks the audience to give applause rating to each of his performers, tha results are about even for all. . As usual, with his bunch at tables, fronting the band, the audience reaction mingles with the racket from noise-makers In the ■hands of the Davis people. Bebe Sherman's torch singing and Blanche Lewis' rhythm dancing are among outstanding performances. Impersonations of radio characters are done by Jay Jayson, his best being that'of Penner. Friday night, when doing Ed Wynh, the loud speaker was either on too loud or Jayson was getting too close to it Bobby Bernard's singing is very impressive for so little and so young a lad. The Danny Da re boys an d 'grfia tlB) work "a" novelty adagio toward the finish. On the windup, Davis brings on the inevitable, that song 'Margie* he wrote back In 1921, singing it himself and then mentions a long list of notables of today who got their start with him. Business Friday evening very poor. Ohar. FOX, B'KLYN Advent of Sally Rand's bubble dance has prompted the house to tone up Its stage offering. Still the presentation Idea, though that triple slice program has been discarded, which is Just as well. Streamline girls are on for several numbers, which all have definite foi-m and place in the show. At noon there was a long line out in front to get In, and at 1:30 the SRO sign was In evidence. Five shows dally be- cause of the fanner's appearance. - The biibble dance is strictly on the artistic side now. Dancer appears in an archway In blue fioods, «.nd proceeds slowly downstage to toss her huge balloon Into a lot of alow motion. Audience on edge when she made her first bow, but the extra show did away with any encore or curtain speeches. 'Serenade for a Wealthy Widow,' which the Music Hall used two or three weeks ago to good advantage, is used here as an opener for the line. In top hats and tails, girls break and close In modernistic rou- tines. Next they spring around the stage in a jungle number with be- feathered hips. Last, they're on as the buildup for the bubble flash. All good. Marjorle Alton takes credit for the dance direction. Chapman and Baden, dance team, keep up the hooflng end with some fast work. Make two appearances In the presentation, with house sat- isfied. Beale Street Boys, with a radio rep behind them, not aa torrid as some of the other colored quar- tets around these days. Even take a chance on a spiritual for a second number. 'Tiger Rag' serves as the tune for the Jungle scene with the full company, Doyle and Donnelly were well liked. Act contains a little of every- thing, with a blackout thrown In for •good measure for a lot of laughs. Into the bubble dance, which Is what has drawn the mob. Arrange- ment of spots heightens the number while the balloon Is kept In tow. About 15 minutes for Sally Rand's act, that Including the opening en- semble. 'Under Pressure' (Fox) on the screen. Business brisk. PARAMOUNT, L. A. Los Angeles, Feb. 14. Inaugurating a new typo of stage show today, Fanchon & Marco pre- sented quantity as well aa quality, with upwards of 65 persons on view In a somewhat pretentious Valen- tine-week diversion that caught the fancy of the pay cu3tomcr.«. Octtlng away from the stereotyped F&M Ideas, new stage unit cf)mprl.soB three Individual choruses or ensem- bles, comprising 40 fenims .and 16 males, plus a fali-ly good .'irray of individual talent. Orchestra Is In pit for the week, with Rube Wolf, the maestio, mak- ing a single appearance on st.'it?p for a cornet Solo. Opening has liio male glee club of 16 voices spotted In front of a heart cutout and war- l)llng several verses and chin-uses of the theme song, 'June in .Jonuary,' to good effect. Roy Russell warble* a bit at the microphone, while Esther Pressman does a bit ot fancy stepping, after which, from the valentine heart, issues the 16 members of the corps de ballet for a routlne with the boys, Then the 24 rhythmic dancers, or Fanchonettes. as they are labeled. In a valentine efTect garb for a tap and arm routine, with special lighting effects helping the picture. Number well done. Working In one, NUes Marsh, femme Impersonator, wears some stunning outfits, but fails to im- press much otherwise. He's a bit boisterous a.t times, although good for a few latfs. Rube Wolf's solo next, and then Moore and Revel, comedy ballroom dancers, In a couple of wow numbers. Femme member of the duo is a proficient comedienne, and draws many guf- faws. Russell is back for a solo ballad, followed by ballet for a difficult toe routine, as a prelude to introduction of Harriet Hllllard, premiere bal- lerina, recently brought on from the east. Sidtting for this spectacle is a pretentious one,' with an Imitation -pond spotted -^in—a, garden-^ettlng- Mlss Hllllard does a series of pirou- ettes that reveal her as an expert In the art of terpslchore. ilntire company then Into well- executed flnale. Fanchon draws credit for staging, with Carlos. Ro- mera assisting. Screen feature is "Wings in the Dark' (Par), with Par News and Popeye cartoon to flU. Biz oke at opening mat. Edwa. TORONTO MAYOR HALTS ALL SUNDAY BENEFITS Toronto, Feb. 19. Supporting the petition of the projectionists' union here. Mayor Simpson has ordered all Sunday performances. Including benefits, be stopped in this city. Complaint of the boothmen was that they were called upon to work on Sundays without remuneration at benefits, while theatre operators were alleged getting a percentage, or a flat rental, for the house. Scarlet Fever Bars Mil. Kid Attendance Milwaukee, Feb. 19. Theatres suffered a severe setback over the week-end, with 'the nelgh- -borhoods hardest hitrrwltlt^barring of children under 10 years of age by health authorities. Due to the spread of scarlet fever in the Milwaukee area, authorities have Issued orders that children cannot attend -theatres, churches, schools or any gatherings. Penalty for admitting children to theatres is $100 fine for the management and a similar fine for the parents. PALACE, N. Y. Don Zelaya; the rotund pianist, told the first day noon audience that it was quite a few years since -he played the Palace. Whether the cus- tomers cared that the last previous appeariance was when the policy •wa s tw o-a^ay or-not.-^dldnt-matter;- but he glibly explained that he then got away with serious compositions which are now out, and he has con- formed to the audience tastes of to- day. Point is that Zelaya Is a show- man, which explains why he is still in vaudeville. Seemed to get away with more than in the Palace's polite era and the fairly well-filled house giggled plenty. Cass,'Mack, Owen and Topsy have the top line. Looks like a combi- nation of a pair of two acts. Girls are eccentric acrobats, the men go- ing for acrobatic hooflng, and the quartette mingling for nut rough stuff. Not so easy to get hot at noon time, but they did, and copped honors, next-to-shut on the five-act bill. That spotting is not so good for the wind-up band turn, 'Moscow Gaieties,' conducted by the warbling Colonel (Kentucky?) Fedor May- baum, whose dialect and Cossack costume are Russian. Twelve bands- men are dolled up a la Rus.se, but the boys and the Instruments are quite American, with perhaps one or two Muscovites present as the colonel's sparring partners. Two blondes are on and off with hoof- ing. One with a toe tap Is okay, but the other's routine is not dis- similar to that of the girls in the preceding act and so the chubby lass doesn't get across. Keystone position is held by the Radio Ramblers (Sid Rice, Irving Lane arid Sammy Vine). The barl-: tone of the trio hag the most pleas-' ant voice. General routine is that ot impressions of radio performers. Chap doing the comedy stuff, which takes in Wynn, Penner, Bornie, and so on, seems to be Imitating count- less other imitators. The Robins trio, roller skaters, open, the younger couple supplying the flash well enough. Couple of turns may have survived from big time and ai-e content with four-a-day, but It is the loquacious Zelaya who Is the most remindful. Said he had come back from Eng- land recently and is going back soon again. He still can .tickle the ivories, using an opening condensed Llzst number to good effect. His Is a diverting 15 minutes. Show, including Dave Mordecai's pit over- ture, consumes one hour flat. 'Wings In the I>ark' (Par) the feature film. Ibee. Contracts Hollywood, Feb. 19. Gertrude Purcell given alx-month extension on writing contract at Colmnbla.- Columbia handed termer to Bruce Manning after buying the screen rights to his novel, 'Party Wire.' Columbia signed Al Rogell to ex- clusive directing contract for one year. James Home moves over to Roach lot on 20-week deal at conclusion of his contract at Universal as com- edy shorts' director. Warners took a six months' hitch In WInl Shaw's contract and set her In 'Secret Bride.' Anthony Velller given a termer by Paramount. Sam White, shorts director, op- tioned for another six months' at Radio. Kid Actors . . (Continued from page 1) considerable opposition to the plan, but recieptlon and reviews On 'Car 99' seem to have prompted an about-face. Both studios have several pic- tures on the production list which are made on a small budget and have only minor namos in the cast. First at Warners will probably get started shortly with the studio looking over Its story supply to get one with a collegiate atmosphere. Paramount is planning a followup to 'Car 99,' using practically tlie same cast, which Included Dea)i .Tagger. Ann .Sheridan, Douglas l)cl- f-ambrc, JIarina .Schiiljert and Wil- liam Blakeley In tho rp.aturcd spots. All arc riiembers of the studio's junior stock group. Fred MaoMnr- ray, who has the male lead in 'Gildod Lily,' Is virtually unK-no\vn to picture audiences. STORY BUYS Hollywood, Feb. 19. : Fox has bought 'Baa Baa Black Sheep,' original by Arthur Herman. Paramount has acquired 'Light- ning Stx-ikes Twice', -original by -P.- Tennysbn Jesse. It's for Sylvia Sidney. Metro has bought 'House ot Tru- jillo,' Satevepost serial by Anne Cameron. 'Far Off Hlli.s,' play by Lenm x Robinson, taken by Metro as next assignment for William K. HowartL TITLE CHANGES Hollywood, Feb. 19. Columbia's 'Devil Cargo' will un- wind as 'In Spite of Danger.' •Fighting Shadows' is the release moniker of Columbia's 'Guns of the Law.' Norman Krasna's 'Small Miracle,' which was bought by Paramount and changed to 'Night Drama,' Is now wearing a new tag, 'Four Hours to Kill.' Zukor East (Continued from paf^e i>) forthcoming season. Some ir, fea- tures are to be made for cir.jont season release from May to .Uiiy. Appointment of Henry Herzbrun as general manager of the Para- mount studio, and Ernst Lubit.'ich as production head. Is not an emer- gency step; it Is permanent. • Adolph Zukor made this dellnlte statement on his arrival from New York. The New York organization, said Zukor, is 100% behind these new appointees, and is not negotiating with another studio executive or executives. Zukor revealed further that neither Herzbrun or Lubltsch had been consulted prior to tho decision to place them in their new posts. Paramount, said Zukor, docs not go outside for proUction heads. In appointing Ilei'ziyrun'and Lubitsohi lio declared, I'aramuunt nv;is nu'r(.'l>- following its policy of promotion from within the lanks. .Such pro- motions prevent out.s'ide o.vecutivos from bringing in Ihoii- own pnlltiral • s"t\ip. -said Ziikor. >>'() major i-hunfios In .sludid pci'Sfmnol are ex- licctod. Zukor was Ji'^'.-ompanlod wvst hy iUiur-'AO i-Ji'Iiacfc)-. K'^nfirfil manager in oliargp of di.«ti-iliutlon. and Rus- .-'•II Tlnlmiiii. eastern produotlon I'fint.'f't. .Trill was only tw the pur- |)i).<C! of t.'illiiiis ovfv produf-tion j)lnn.s, acf'iiiling to Zukor.