Variety (Apr 1935)

Wednesdafy, April 3, 1935 P ■ C T II E S VARIETY 31 PALACE, N Y. ' (Continued from page 19) ' "ftoberta' (Iladio) . was causing lobby ■ • delay Prlday night, taiaking thie Pal look less like a naunted house than ' It usually doesi ; . \ The vaude show la . but four acts. : Peabody headUnlng; and on strength > of performance: arid showmanship rating Jt. He's on third, the O'Don- ' niBll and,Blair slapstick act closing The four acts together did drily 40 'ntlnutes Friday night a.t ^how caught, with probable Instructions : to cut aftiar'the contest thing had taken up 36 minutes of runhlrig time, causing show to be late. Opener Is Bartell and Hurst, former six-people act, 'riow five, but not new. A society-waltz trio In auguirates thinefs' very neatly, woman acrobatic vslngle. middle fPlCoyes lU9clous. :.ahd • for the. flnifsh three men and a . girl engage, in an adagio .for r.esults. tha.t_.are„sureflre, '.'• No. 2 shelters Carroll' arid Howe ■mixed team doing cbriiedy and f idanoihg. Girl proves to. be y capable'comedienne whose eftorts siiffer from poor feeding and talk 'that Is only fair. . That bid one ■ about thb guy killing himself trying ' to pay off the mortgage Is. included; ' Buddy Howe clicks In a soft shoe ntiilriber, while pair finishes on "shim-sham that insures support. : •• ■ Chat. pLYMPlA^ . P^rls). March 20 Pathe-Jfatan's .Mtoujlri Rouge has dropped : vaude, returhing to dual fieatures, but the" totiai of Paris houses using stage shows IsMriain tainied at par by' the adbptlon of: a flesh policy at the Olymplai Jacques Halk theatre, wl)lch was, taken over :by Gauniont after -th^' Halk bank- ruptcy and Is' how run by Gaumont liquidators. Sta^e show consist of two music acts' coiriblned : under the name •Musical Phantasy; In Black and Whitie.'. - Title riieans that one act hi the .Kentucky Singers, five Ariier- Icari ■ colored: boys, and the other ..;gilgh.t"PIano Harmonlstdr .-(vhlte, and llttobably French. ; _ ^^^"ffintiet, conslstlng"'of only m6d erately. good.-voioeg,..has a varied program ranging f roni 'Water Boy to a jazz^d-up 'ftiiTol^tto.' One qf the singers ni:c.'s lii extreriaely good !Frencl)i.~:^zplaIriinig ^tjxe. sorigs, which Is a- lotvOf/help t6., ah. audience thajt Is tpQ l^jtlve: ta-fi^arer-tlie local uppei c^iUB KOO^ledse of A^drlpa thingfi Other liumber, ih'Oulsh liot nearly as good,;: «ntert*iinmeht |Amer^an viewp.olift,;j^ets lingo Is a bit difficult to ifoUow at nrst, ^one shortly gets attuned to It ana^flndis It sdriiewhat sets off his I'outlne of •pouring nearly every con- ceivable liqueur from various carafes of • water. Sends: a liveried assistant jscurrying- rbuhd ithe. front J'ovra of orchestra handing out the i I . ''^^^^ recipients of the drinks seemingly, accepting the Mquids. as what they are purported tp be. ■. ■, Williams makes his annual visit In the next-tp-shut arid cleans up with his worited thoroughness. They know his Identity, too, since they accorded him a reception when his name was thrb'wri . on screen preparatory to his appearance. As- sisted : by; ,hl3. vet abetters, • Dorlis Ewlng, Clem Taylor and Basil .wmt^fleid. . . ■ Closing with a 21 -nniln. liare Is the Charlie Davis' ork (13), known here a bit; because of radlb airings. Act shbuJd carry sonite-prbps-and- band-- stand; here they are using settees an,d.regal lpoklrig stuffed chairs col- lected frbm rinezz lounge of theatre arid it makes for odd: Inipressloh, since band, lis turned' out In flanniels and= flCaplet- s.wreaters, L. The.-ork has ample rhythm arid a great deal 'of variety, taking In all sorts of tunes and arrangements arid winding up with a corking imitation of a mili- tary band at drill.. Sonio cbmedy Is dferlved ; from. ?antlcs arid - diariclng supplied by a corpulent French-horn tpoter, billed as; Blubber. . A trip from band lets go some satirized hill-billy, songs. Frank Parrlsh Is the regular vocal accompanist. Val- uable to act Is Sally Gay, blonde looker ■ ■with much' personality arid sly charrii, sbcklhg across: pair of nicely' variegated songfs Iritb .the irilke;^ :She had trouble begging away.-.". ■ On screen Is.'Casino Murder Case' .'(MG)i: plus 'Metrbt'^clips. ■ Biz fair flrst show Friday. - • EMBASSY, N. Y. ; : (NEWS REELS) • Rumbling , of . war drums over; Curbpe. agalri serves as the irialn topic of Interest. In. the welange of n^,wspllps. / All. newsreel. companies: Qontij^bute to the rehash of. the sltu^ atloh created by -Hitler's, demands for armament equalUy, with the only spot Item coming frorii Para- mtWrtti This bit has -Premier Mac-' tooriald: expresslrtff . b's- dtSlllilslon dVer-ithfe^ failrire of'other European ■Cbuiirrtes'. to follow "Brigiand's- lead ife' r*strrcfing Its'anttaifrient' to de- ■ferislW^iirpoAe^;.;.■ : finMn"a»4H'^*W^ the^ war siibject a better Wtlt" C View .of-' Hitler and . Field ilmpresslvely, one above arid be ,plnd the other, "ari^.-the tableatf Is igood -r- always appreblated . .here. iNlnth musician runs a patr'<)f 1;<ettli .drums, up under, the flies. Plariol . are Fr.,ench arid terrible."as to tone, and: the boys sometimes have little private conflicts wlth each other as ^-^rto^st—whftt*-paj.t—of-t he pi e ce In hand th.ey have-reached at. the- par- -tlcular moment, but the customers Ignore such flne points.. Program keeps wisely away from Jazz, arid ^eludes a potpourri of 'Merry widow,' . hiade' popular through Metro's fllrii down the street, j Spanish. number with castariet ac companlment by the kettledruriiriier, Lilezl's 'Second Rhapsody' and, as Wiyencore, 'Big Bad Wolf.' .Show as a whole Is a welcome r0llef*;from the vaude acts which . provide the stage end at soriie other ; lof»l houses, and almost constitutes a!, scenic- production, although it Is fair'! cheaper even than the riot too expensive.: shows that'.' Jacques Gharles is putting on at the Para- JriWint. Looks like a wise move by, ;p! Mquldators, and certainly helped the-.;, -gross ; of the current plctute, Jlen\ous,' ^hlch Is not locally very hot. ,: . ■ ■ stem. ' ■uVif CENTURY, BALTO Baltimore,^: March 29; ; er being preluded ;by a pair bir uSi^'- *'*'**ffereritly received acts,. tKe •y»>thls week suddenly gains hold __.gfl]gpH.eSi_stii-ong and al^-tiriies sock tare right through. ; . Mickey King, gillrslzed femme foot-and-arm hanger; opens.. So many gpod aero acts. have showri here of late,. she suffered by com - 'parlspri and didn't look lip to snuff. Pretty nioderate stunts, ending with atfempta. jEit one-arm body whirls. Ohly a few spins were, accomplished. .: ,:>G9.S3 and Barrows' deuce for 13 BQiTjts., ofCerlrig just another mean- ddrJrtg, whiz bang edition of the old- time.: man-and-maid chatter act, , with-.the guy stralghtlng' for the gal's Inane utterarices;..mbst of her Dumb Dora'ing, unfortunately, isn't _ Very. humbrous.-T-T-The-rturri^—dragsr , Mah fingers ari accordion iritermlt- tontly ;. gal spaces chatter: with some struriimlng. pri a uke, also sings at ; clpge, but.thls, too, uriprodnctive. De Rose 1.^ in :the trey and eri- ,. Hveris situatlon.ihstaritly. First time . here for hlm :and his 10 hilns. scored solidly, liis is,, a neat-novelty. for vaude ,and, if his fbrelgn-flaked has a :persbrtallty that Is Infectious, Plus ability. Julia Curtis, ventrilo- quist, .sings three trick numbers with two--bt the- O'COnriors;- with Rube Wolf doing the mugging. Idea; new here, clicked. Marion pariielSi acrb dancer, < doers a control routine for the opening which Ira- presses, . With the band on the stage, combo makes up for the .elimiriei;^ 4ibn of the inale chorus and ballet dancers in,: filHrig the rostrum. Band does one hoke number which ends W'lth 'all the musicians Using batons,' conducting Wolf. Bit Was okay for a filler. . V ; Chorus, with precision work, is stin the high spot of the Par's pre- seritatlons. Girls do the neatest work seen Iri' these liarts and have clicked with the regulars. Best routine-this week Is a military drill dbrie to ordinary time step, but sold 100%., Kovelty . number . in v the middle bf the bill has them all dressed as 'Popeye.' Routine Is a simple tap; Their opening is a waltz well ; executed, but too slow for ari opening.. .Ml^si.eslpRi'_, ;<Pat)-. ■ the. - feature, with Par. neWs clips arid. 'Pbpeye' cartoon rounding out: the bill. Biisl- ness. better than averaise the first Show Thursday. . ■ . Catt. jharid. Eight pianbs. 'iare arrarige^ Mar^h^ii; Mackensori giVlng the hell ,tb'a parade of 'Gerriiany's arniy, and .during the afccpripanyljng coriiment the" hewreel urg'es -that thlg cbuntry. riiust preparife for peace. Cllp'J^ fade- ptit reriiark that the Amesrlcari people ibok ffb^'Roosevelt to keeip them out of the :riieS3. drew heips of, ap- plaiise. Fox's entry to the rdllltary potpotn'rh'Is^^pliece^hQWingr'^angrj-an d - f o rth br i Ent\ariuel reviewing > some. Italian troops, w h 11 e .; Urtlvecsal comes through - with a shot of Italy's launching of its latest cruiser. Parariiount and Universal recall the recent Greek uprising, with the fbrmer showing that Its cameraman had beeri. at the scene of some of the excitement. Paramoimt clip dlsr closes a sample of the mauling the rebels got - when the loyal, tropps cauisrht up with, theni, Highlight of the irijpprt is a bit .sipwlhg abbtit 30 Greek troopers piling on to a single irisurgent. Oniy . American spot. shot, that Suggested- excitement is U.'s captur- ing oVd riot scene at the Crosley radio factory In iClncInnatl. Strikers on picket duty, after; several at- tempts, succeed In smashing through thie-Jlne of police thrown arbiirid the Plant. Graham McNanjee, during I^IS b(iriiment on the affair, tefers tb the gioplpyer as a 'Glnclnri.ati: radio manufacturer.' McNamee Is'^bo.oked by/Universal through NBC,-.whlch Is allied ;'i\'ith Gfrbsley through thiB lat- tef's.o'wifW!rsiiip:bf WLW And WSAI. Fbx' dlnjects some htimor Into - its symposium Of i-eactlons by the win- ners, ot'the. latest Irisii Sweepstakes e—04—tbbse-j) -viewedr remarks -that-he's siire he won't cut in on any of the $40,000 his wife' won,, so he', might as well get back' to his job at a baking plant. Odec. Earle, PliUadiiblp^ . V Philadelphia^ Match 29. Better-than^average sho\lr ..on the stage at the' Earle this week, with plenty Of action and. i>ep. Audience received It, more kindly than usual with this theatriei'a clientele. Johnny jPerklns opens the show as. m.c.i first In the pit, and deliver- ing soriie fast chatter, .also leading the orchestra in a niedley featuring the Old favorite; 'Margie.' . Perkins W9rks easily: arid getS: the show: ofC to a lively and spirited atart.'; . Then comes the flrst appearance, of the -Roxyettesi .advertised, as 're-^ turning by.demand.- Thete are 32 of thentr being the unit that played here at the Rozy^Maatbaum.. In first appearance they were. In black, with partial riding habits, but black, silk : stockings Instead of conven- tional huritlng; attire. Pld their rhythrii to the time of 'Sophisticated Lady.'. Usual audlericb; enthusiasm. Bob Rlpa, novelty: juggler, whose kct is much longer than most of .his kind but never fedlous, follows. He clicked solidly and showed what oari be gainedv by a little originality In- jected In old routlries. Perkins then returns: to sing'a; fairly humorous riumber about 'Johnny who :st8iyed Iftir school.'. A little, blue, but bkaye'd by' audience. Roxyettes, tills tiriiie! In black and orangte, with long, flowing gbwris, dance tb 'The Object of My Affections.'. Bellett arid 'LarinbV whose act has a Contlnerital tinge although Ob- viously riot, combine eccentric and contOrtlbnlstlc dancing with 0ome tohiedy diaioeriie. Former was good;, latter not so hot. . Ruth. Petty, singer, warbles into a nilke, getting heir best h4nd for 'I've Gbt-Rhythni.' Pei-klris makes another appearance to sing with Miss Retty arid they toss gaga back Can't Win Hollywood, April 2. . June Grabiner, daughter of; the ;Chicago White Sox official is tlie latest victim: bf ai .Hol- lywood standoff, " ; ■ She draws a contract -at ;Wa.rners but loses her nari^ie. New, moniker sfUf being shuf-"" fledi^ .■■ ;;■; /■ WB TAGS SGHLESINGER CARTOONS FOR 3 YEARS Hbllywbod, April 2.. . Leon Schlesiriger • has • Bigried. a, n«»w cbritract with, Warners Where- by he continues prodUctlbn of,: his Merrle Melody arid Lporiey Tiines series of cartoons for Warner re-, lease for three more years: ; Present 'agjtwrieni" expires witljrthls season and new dieal starts in Septerriber. Prbdiicer 'Will : make . 13 each Of the two series of cartoons for .1935- 36, which will be processed by Tech- - nlcolor. - . ...r-. :-'■: Get Studio Aid ' On How to Build Cheap Hollywood, April'2. . John H. La Duke of the Depart- ment of the Interior is here to get Information from the studios On. cheap constructlori of buildings. He hopes to,get pointers from the lot set builders that will help the department In Its recovery program' which comprises the construction of commurittles of small houses In 65 different locatipris In the U. S. "These homes are to bfe btlllt at a maximum cost'of 12,900. : : ■ Roxyettes close the show with plenty of spirit, dressed in abbre- viated college costumes and danc- ing . to. a medley, that Includes 'Varsity Drag* and similar ditties. Picture Is 'Love In Bloom* (Par). Watera. ': FOX, BROOKLYN PARAMOUNT, L. A. Los Angolcsi March 29. More laugh entertainment cram- med into the current presentation than: has been seen here In several weeks, For about a month house wont highbfow on the stage: This week hoke 'returns, giving the pat- ons a weicoriie relief: - v . ' ' 0."-GbririQr-fariilly--af'e-the^tpr>Pcrs,' with the five .youngsters gc'ttlnjj': cvcrytiilrig pos.sibl'e out. of their'act. However, there's rib excuse 'for' the two. youngest, around 10 arid five ears old, u.slng blue.materlal., Who- ever bwris the- aat ..should be told. . Etta Motan; colored sonfirslreH.s from, filma, iscorcs with thrco num- bers. Miss Motan, striking in looks, Jiist to' make sure, :she's using an almost entirely new routine, and It looks like the best act she's ever done. She shouldn't have any trou- ble pleasing 'em anywhere with this. All three numbers are specials.. 'I'm Nervous' and 'East Bide Sym- phpny' are outstanding. Her radio takeoff is.amdsing, but has a few lines that could be ; tightened up. It takes courage, these days, to break in a new material,' especially when she doesn't have - to, ~ never having played this hous6 in about; five years, but Miss Picon deserves credit for doing It. It's the only way vaudeville can hold as little of the public as it has left. Finale aj^aln uses the girls and the Voltalres. Girls go. niodernistlc, always a mistake In picture houses They can't get away with It, al- though they, try hard. The "Voltalres have now grown to five, three men and two girls, and go unabashedly^ into adagio. ^That's "better, although still not good. Using two girls In- f jf nhft la n. hit dj ffflrentJrQin ■Boston, April 2. ■ Receivers of the Olympla Operat- ing CO. of Boston were heard Mon- day (1) before the Superior Court, complaining that RKO thea- . tre of JBoston had Influenced the Fox exchange to hold up subsequent run bookings bf 'Little Colonel.' RKO alleges a contract with Fox' that all first runs exhibited Iri: any RKO house In Boston should have 28 days protection before release to subse- quent runs. According to RKO'* interpretation . the - protection holda . as 28 days aftier the tliiatre has fin- ished the run. In this case; 'LUtla Colonel' ran t wo Weeks at the Keith . TC^brTai;~Boiiloni > Olympla, maintains the protection expires 28 days after the flrst week's showing, confirming book- ings to that effect from '. the ex- change. For years, this dual deflnl- - tlpn of length: of run has been a moot question In. Boston and the present trial was regarded as a test case to establish precederit Olympla. theatre was granted subsequent run -release on 'Llttla Colonel' 28. days after Keith's first week, but this does not establish ; first run . interypretatlon'. In Boa- ton. Judge Wllford B. Gray ruled less damage will be done by allow- ing Pox Films to fulfill Its com- mitments. Memorial is. this week completing a three week run ; of 'Roberta*. (Radio) and anticipated siriailar dif- ficulties with the suburban houses. Next week the pic goes into tha Keith Boiston for eight days as a continuous run, arid at same prica scale. . . .^ Among the theatres Included In t]ie list bf complainants ai'e Central Square, Cambridge; . Strand, Dbr- cheser; Rivbll, Roxbury;.. Oriental, Mattttpari; Washington St." Olympla, Boston; Embassy, Waitham; Granada, Maiden;: and* Strand,: Qulncy. Last two are .not M&P .houses' (Olympla Theatres), biit In- dies who Joined. In .the::legal .clash. 's Soe^'Em-AD most acts, but one glrliceeps getting In the way and It doesn't flow so well 'Living on Velvet* (WB) Is on the screen, and biz last show Friday night was fair. Kaitf. Paramount, St. Paiil . Molly Picon centers the stage this week here, so managemerit probably figured it didn't need any more acts. Maybe it can get away with It, but whatever business there Is IS all due to the little girl from Second avenue. : Conslderlnig the paucity of talent. Fox stager does a pretty creditable job of niaklng It look like a show. Opens with the line of 12 in a fair to midilling routine, with Chas. Barrett slriglng a song. - Olive White bows in here. She's iri.c. this' week, one of the few fenime m.c.'s in the business. Miss White has been around vaude and night clubs and led a band for a while. She does nothing here but smile pretty arid Introduce the acts. Maybe; she should have tried sing- ing a bit or swinging a fiddle. Al- quawks on her.—She's I noscs, tJTlt her dance measures okayr—She has "lockSTTcp ahd" per'-: sonallty. She can stand a buildup' at thisV Or some other neighborhood house: like it. '•■ , ' ", ' Gale and Carson are two young rrieri that are pretty fair dancers who seem tb think they should be comedians. If they stick to their dancing maybe okay. -; Lucille Kirk is • Introed as a Brooklyn girl who won an amateur contest In the theatre. She's an amateur who sings pretty well, in fact, so well that a couple of 'may- bc'fi' crop but automatically. .'The Vbltalre.s come on for a dance to center another production number iierc,"whtch"-al30 has-Barrett-at the mike.' They consist of twb girls arid a man in a ballroom dance. None of the ,trlO has 'Cibthe.s that fit. and none of the trio has much Idf;a: what ballroom dancing l.s about. Molly Picon corricfl'on iiere anflM.s a llfe-.saver; .She's been in Yiddl.sh lejjlt for the winter arid this: la her flr.st .vaude date jri .mariy months. ■ St. Paul, March 29. : Despite a coldish crimp In the weather, biz started great and held up throughout the opening day. Nicely-balanced bill presages a good week-end. , Three Waltons open with some nifty pseudO-drurik acrobatics. Slow in tempo, their skiil compensates and put 'em across to a nice hand. Elmer Cleve and Co. on next In an act too good . for sp early a program spOt. A slick stooge, play- ing musical saw and accordion, and imitating animal sounds, socked, while Cleve himself Is tops on the xylophone. A looker accbmpariles this funny pair with sure-fire banter. r-nnirti<t Headliner Is Countess Emily v.pn,_ ' ' Loaen. Likely, from the flimsy tlp- parel tf>b countes.S wears, she'll haye^. to expect wrath from the. blue- up as an artistic success. A line of six fcmmes; all amply clpthed, niay salve the reformers; ■ ■ Cy Wills and ; Joari Davis, next to „shuti:: wbre the esjience of ef- fervertcMice and had the; cd.stomers howlinf^ Joan does a slithering, .slUy dance that reminds of-Will-Ma— honey's tumble, only ..she stays on the floor and, unlike Will, never actually falls. Audience wonders what holds her up. Miss Davis la also long on ability to handle bluish Ilne.s. Her partner makes an ex- cellent foil arid turns his comedy lines glibly.. Bee-IIee .and Rubyatte and Co., A rab tumblers, late Of "the Marcus .Show, close. Snaxjpy,. colorful flash. Paramourit 'Adorables,' a line'of 12 local: girls, open the show with a dance routine that, together with some . flashy . coaturning, 'Is quite okay, ..: . - . ■.:■, . 'After Office Hours'.'(Metro) and Paramount news on the film aide., . .-'•;'•. IRascMck. Los Ahgeles, April 2. Tricolor,. Inc., has ibroUght suit for injunction and accburitlnijr.-against Technicolor, illtcheli , ; Camera Corp., wait Disney 'J^irbdiictlons, Pioneer Wctures, Fox Films, 20th Century, Warners, ' Samuel Gold- wyn, RKO and other johndoe de- jtendantsr-chapging^nfrfngeiiiunt uf the) Charles' P. Jones duplex' color camera patent. Jones patent, unlicensed to da-: fendants as equity bill in Federal Court recites,' .came to Tricolor on assignments through Jones and Colorco In 1922. ' Proposed Slap at Pic Agents Held illegal Sacramento, April 2. Epic Assemblyman Flint Is plentr: worried ovdr his agency bill follow- ing oral ruling by state legislatlv* counsel office that the blister on percenters -In unconstitutional. He's now re-drafting it. Bill would regulate agents through glylrig a three man board control of fees, contracts amd arbitration. Pic- ture crowd claims it's, class Icglsla- . tlpn and Invasion of basic rights to CONTRACTS i.. Holly'wood, April 2. Lyie Talbot starts hie third year at Warners on option pickup. Radio has handed Lucille Ball a aeveri; year contract with the usUal options and has added her to ths .stock company. '.- '^ i:. ■ ■■ ■ :' ; Bohiiy Xonnblly stays at Wafrters~ as dance director fpr anPthcr .year. Virginia Bruce for anothci- iix.^' month stretch at Metro. Ditto for Mona Barrie at Fbr. Howard .Eirim'^tt Rogers set for another year on Metro's writing staff;. Draws as firsts assignment 'MannersDajakcth the Man.' \ 1_: ~ ^Franc;e3 '^^Cpodrlch-~Tina ; Albert .; Httckett handed straight two-year ^ wt'ltlng contract J)y Paramount. Evelyn vPoCn' Aight club warbler and comedienne, termed by Radio.' :,- Mark > Sfertdrl'ch optlonod for an- other .stretch at Radio ;£in(l tfottinr 'Tpp'Hat','r{iVly.- Wr 't.h%^canVoi:as.. ■. Otto, J?ro,w.ier .landed a ripw dlrec.-■ torlal',cbritract.at 20th Century. ~\