Variety (Jun 1935)

Wednesday, June 5, 1935 yARIEIY HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 17 MUSIC HALL, N. Y. Apparently they realized the need for a good show for a backer-upper to 'Under the Pampas Moon' (Fox) and told Florence Ropgre to k6 to It If business holds up at the Hall this week the credit Is all hers, for she has turned out somethlns different and'In spots something very beauti- ful even for Music Hall. Something different at the Hall is by way of being a novelty In Itself, It's called 'A SymiShony in Green with the color being used in three of the divisions. Starts off. with 'The Green Goddess' (with no apolo- gies to George Arllss) and carries a light plot. Opening, In one. Is the exterior of the temple, with a beg gar hanging about the door and a procession of girls across the stage, followed by the Glee Club as monks The scene opens to the Interior. At the reat" a pyramid faced with steps leads to the statue of a goddess guarding a great emerald. On the Bteps in single file sit a group of the ballet. 14, with the other 20 . In two lines on either side of the'stirtr- way, all in glit r^prc-riuctlons of the goddess costume. They go through the tortuous arm movements of the temple dancers, by file and as a whole. The girls exit and the beg- gar steals the jewel, the enraged goddess (Hilda Eckler) coming down from her altar for a dance which ends in the-annihilation of Nick Daks as the beggar. The monks wend their way Into the temple and reverently restore the jewel. With the dancing all in squat poses and odd arm movements. It's a decidedly welcome change from the usual bal- let steps. The Novello Bros, with their bird Imitations, familiar even here, are followed by the Rockettes, In green coats and red and yellow vestees with bird helmets. Part of them are first dlsf'.Iosed on perches In a huge cage, silver bars outlined against black drops. The others come on from the qide and the raised portion which is the cage comes down for the stage level, and the .regular pre- cision work, faultlessly executed and somehow looking a little differ- ent, though they probably have finno every possible step by now. Third round la Patsy the Hor.se, standard vaudeville act but which seems to be developing a stronger comedy vein each season. Over better than lias been the case with many much higher priced acts. Just happens to fit in. Finale Is 'Green Moon,' with the Glee Club, now in full dress but without the overcoats, doing a song while Daks and Miss Eckler do' a dance against a huge moon, working on a platform. This is pulled away dlsclosln g.a' a ta^r^yay, full across the stage wiTK^'lKe -.bilifet.::iii:i-nsta"c;ic4, Sappho tights and black skirt, heavily spangled. Marie Grimaldl also ill black but with a coat of Irish green and the peaked high hat. does a toe dance while the girls ma- neuver on the stairway. Miss Gri- maldl Is handicapped by the fact that the ballet formations arc so much more Interesting than any solo dancer could possibly be. Sev- eral of the figure drew a hand for Bheer beauty of .placement and movement. Miss Rogge rates hnau- coup bows on her effort. It's the ^handsomest thing done here In some time. In addition to the Fox feature there are the Dumbell Letters, n Torrytoon Cartoon, Pathe Topics and a mixed ncw.sreel, the full show jiist short of three hours with the production running a flat 40 minutes plus a 10-minute overture of Victor Herbert's 'Eileen' with Jan Poei'ce In for a solo. Business niod'"-ate. Chic. ROXY, N. Y. With the imported 'Loves of a Dictator' on the screen, house also has the Cao Foster girls, n. de- lightfully daffy Mickey Mou.«e in color and a peppy young feller named Joaquin Garay, Introduced as fresh from Mexico. He's plenty In style and personality and knows liow to put across a song, with or without chile. Foster girls open with a hipparoo number called 'High Hat in Harlem' and toss In every kind of a twist In the book, leaving out only the bumps. Very nifty In their satin pants and backless vests, and smart in tlielr rouline, the girls m.ike it tough for Gordon. Rcid and King, comedy hoofing trio, whom thr^y later background. AV'ork of tlie gals- is so spectacular, tlie boys have two and half strikes on tlicni be- fore they enter. They'd be more effective spotted in one by tliem- sclves. Irving Field, a youngster who got on via the Fred Allen .'unatour route, did a piano bit to line re- turns. Playing his own an;in.«:c;- nients of 'Continental' (In wlilcli he Introduced everything that Con Conrad ovei-looUcdK and 'IJark Eyes,' he scorpil on merit and. with ..poliiLljiag. .aould. be turned into aii acceptable smail act. AI I'-aycs and Ilarvcy Speelt, with cro.«slire ha.sod on the >.'l;.\ 'ind now among the oilier wiei:k;i:;p ilc- (Msioncd into )nil<lcw by tii^; Hu- prenio Court. ro.-'i.'^tiM'fd fiiir; but they need a no'>v cu'li'. I'lillenli'-rg's, };ears ride bicycU'S, kidiHo car.", scooters and ri)ll"r sl<?il".>i b'-iioi than most kids, so should be a lure for the juves. Foster girls are on with the bruins, act as props and garnish the act; then, on darkened stage, do a highly effective .skipping rope dance, the strands showing gold Illumination, the girls in a blue fiood and the whole number shadow waltzy In beauty and appeal. Joaquin Garay does pop melodies in English, then a descriptive Spanish serio-comic number. He ha,s a good voice and puts plenty of action Into his work. He has a winning personality, laughing eyes that come-hither the femmes and scores solidly, even when cooing for the finale number of the girls. Mickey Mouse's 'Band Concert' and newscllps pointing up the NRA situation, with Gen'l Johnson breathing word fire at its foes; round out the bill. Bon. CAPITOL, N. Y. George Olsen comes back to Man- hattan from exile In Chicago with a rootlng-tootlng-fuU o' shooting en- tertainment. It may be entitled to rank-as his finest endeavor in the stage band department. Maybe the boys didn't like the Chicago golf courses. Anyhow, the act as now glistening In the bunch-lights at Capitol reveals unmistakable evi- dence of constant application of enfierystone and polishing fluid. It has been whipped Into a plus-every- thlng diversion. Olsen has two basic distinctions in the present instance. First he has clipped, quipped and classy musical, lyrical and novelty material. Second he, has the manpower to put It over. The manpower and that high -volt- age blonde kilowatt, Ethel Shutta. One number picks up where the last one left off and when laid end to end the result Is exciting and nifty. Easy flow and increasing tempo of the show are due to general rather than specific excellence. Ten- ors are song stylists, not merely musician.s laying down their horns. There's a lad who gives a verbal description of a Kentucky Derby and, dull as that must sound to per- sons unmoved by the alleged sport, he makes It vivid. It's quite a study In showmanship, that specialty. By all the percentages a thing like that on a smart Broadway platform would get the wazoo, but Alan Gale makes It stand up. Bob Rice, Jack Glfford, Adrian Friede and Henry Kusscll are the other billed members of the group. They set the stage for Ethel Shutta, who then kicks goal. Miss Shutta Is quite perambulatory these days. Works all over the stage and with considernlble bodily activity. The more surprising as she's a lady ■ef-jwwouhced -aplomb- and has. more "or less cluhg' fO--a- fixed anchorage near the mike on previous appear- ances. 'Flame Within' (M-G) plus 'March of Time' (FD) filled out the bill. Also an animated cartoon in. color. Land. ORPHEUM, ST. PAUL St. Paul, May 31. Rubinoff and his fiddle pulled Into town and burst It wide open. Follow- ing a vigorous campaign with every angle played, this former St. Paul- ite staged a homecoming that was nothing dusty. Everyone from the mayor down was on hand to hail him, and the rags did themselves proud in digging up 'knew him when'- yarns. Rest of the bill was good, too. Honey Family, four boys and three girls, opened in a gymnastic melange that had anything cheated that's been gUmmed here since yaude's re- vival. Neatly garbed, and went about their chores with gusto and eclat. Demarest and Sibley, In the deucei", seemed too good for such an early program spot. Sibley (femme half) waltzed off stage and came back in another costume. Gal has nifty pipes and uses 'em to advantage on some of the hotter pops. Male toll does some hey-doy pianoing. This pair's good for beau- coup applause at any man's house. The Christensens follow In a slick piece of dance staging. Two lads ,ind two gals,.boys looking so much like each other and the gals ditto, tb.at they could pass for two sets oC twins. They terj) a few numbers that garnered plenty. Vei'y person- able (luartet, Gresham and Blake, next to shut, .gabl)ed and clowned to good effect. Botli easy on the eyes, but the femme should soften her voice a bit. Their Cucaracha burlesque was es- pecially liowl-worthy. Closer was Rubinoff. Aided and ,Tl)etted by some pretty slick light and shadow effects, the fiddler once slithered off the stage, looking more like a mytli and a legend than a fiesh-and-blood niusicker. Rubinoff socked 'em, especially when he came up to the miko .ind threw in some l<idrling about Cantor. His special cfiurtcsy violining of 'Ah, Sweet Mystery of Lite.' as a nod to the I;r"lo Tfetor TIei'lVeVt ' (who discnv- (;i-ed him in Russia, as a boy fiddler) srtniol; a resjionsive chord Willi tin- ,-iiidlencf'. 'I'arty Wire' fCol) the f'':ilui-n, \vitli 11)0 RoKs-McL;irnin fii,'lil pix and i)aL)i(^ news thrown in. Biz \-ei-y hotcha fur this yawny wnthfr. PALACE, N. Y. Quiet five-act bill at the RKO ace-house this term, show moving at a slow pace for 65 minutes to mild entertainment. Acts are all standard, with no special b.o, lure among them. Picture Is 'Break of Hearts' (Radio). Unless house gets a lucky break In the weather, biz this week looks as though it will be fair at best. Routine spotting marks the show that practically fell together by It- self, even though two novelties follow one another In the opening— Mangeans Internationals, fast teter- board turn including five men and two women, and Le Paul, card minipulator, who deuces. Latter is a smooth worker and nice-looking in tails, but employs two audience plants who are entirely too obvious to make those comedy attempts at the finish mean anything. The Mangeans. as usual, deliver. A hillbilly quartet, Zeke, Pappy, Ezra and Elton Britt, are In the middle and they're strictly singers, especially the hlgh-yodellng Elton Brltt. Although making attempts at it, they still leave the bill almost devoid of comedy until the next- to-closing Clara Barry and Orval Whltlege, who've been in the Palace at its best and at It worst. Hurling Insults at each other Is their forte and, while a bit too smart for some of the present-day Palace patrons, they're still way up there In the ranks of comedy teams. A neat fiash, Adair and Richards, closes, the name pair indulging In scmi-adaglo ballroomology, aided by a mixed piano team. Femme part of the latter also hoofs, and well. Fine scenery and costuming of tills act gives the layout an ex- cellent, though still quiet, finale, Bcho. EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSREELS) Show this week seems to be an endurance contest betweien newsreel coverage on the NRA breakdown and Fox-Movietone's close to feature- length clip on a boy's military or- ganization drilling and engaging In sham battle out on Staten Island. Fox clip wins on running time over the NRA. Staten Island thing, to begin with, hardly has an e.tcuse, being on the show at all. It's about the Knickerbocker Greys, young military outfit of wealthy men's sons, which Lowell Thomas s;iys means ' a little something. NRA wasn't deemed quite as Important us this Staten Island gag. —Pathe arid-.^ramount cover the Blue Eagle slaughter, former going for the most production buildup and seeking out more leading per sonalltles than Par. Schecter brothers and their attorney, respon sible for the NRA demise, are in both clips, one of the freres speak- ing for the Par camera. Gen. John- .son talks to both Par and Pathe, but latter also get Donald R. Rlch- berg, William Green and Senators Robinson, Hastings and King to say short pieces. As a sidelight, Par re vlves shots of the NRA parade In honor of the birth of the Blue Eagle. Hearst comes forth with a special on Martin Mooney, Hearst reporter, who was jailed for refusing to re- veal sources of Information In a policy racket expose he wrote. It is well done, aside from obvious publicity angles. There wasn't much the newsreels could get on the Weyerhaueser kidnapping, so Pathe pleads that snatchmen be outlawed and photographs the Weyerhaueser home, but did not get any principals or officials to pose. Photos of the kidnapped boy and his mother and father, poorly reproduced are of- fered. Show Is anything but strong this week, including a bulk of matter that's of secondary Importance and lighter. Two funerals figure, that of ■-■ilsudski In Poland and Sir Thomas T,awrence in England. Par covered Ijoth, but there is additional clip material on the Pilsudski rites from Kox on view here. Sports, aviation and army stuff Is on the show in thick layers. In the fii'st mentioned division are an aquatic meet at New York; track meet at Ann Arbor, Mich.; wrestlin-; match; steeplechase on I..ong Island; girl caddies on Coast; Helen Wills Moody's plans for comeback; amateur bouts, Chicago; walking race and a review of champ golfers soon to i-(m)pete in match at Pitts- burgh. Still no baseball games of note and nothing here Saturday on any of the big Decoration Day stale* races, including one In which Cav- .Tlcade tossed Its rider at I-ong Island. Koine obscure walking race Is apparently moi-e Imporlant to nowsreel editors. Miscellaneous back-page news In- cludes parley Of airmen at Virginia: olicniiig of long bridge in Denmark: discarding of hoi-sc-s for motors wllh army- at- -P;in -Aii-Luixiu;- Jtalfr.cpjiturj'. ctlcliration at Yakima. Wash.; re- viov/ of clifnilcal forces In Italia); .limy: ar y j)laneH landing on w;)ter.« above Houldor Da ; sail- ijouls cumpeling for Hearst trophy; ■ir y )nachlno gunners practice; digging for giant clams; Aiisliali.'in i-'-U'liration of some kind; blasting for flood control; a dual-control car for Instruction purposes, old stufi".; California rodeo; plans for strato- sphere climb and Panamanian na- tives back to jungle honies. Premier Laval (since deposed) visits Moscow (Par), signalizing accord between France and Russia against Hitler, Par covering this ably. Same reel goes over arrivals In Alaska who are getting new homesteads there from the govern- ment. Lew Lehr supplies laughs In con- nection with two clips this week, his best being with monkeys at a zoo. He's with Fox and Is a clever dialectician. Teddy Bergman (Pathe) makes a noble effort trying to comedy up a walking race, but it didn't seem to offer the right op- portunities. Business off Saturday aft'^-noon. Char, FOX, B'KLYN It's a minstrel show this week, minus any house line; in Its place, a choir with a few unpretentious acts on view down front. And It only takes up 45 minutes, which makes it a slim hand-out all the way around, as the film attraction Is 'Mr. Dynamite' Universal). Budget expenditure Is small on talent outlay and scenic trappings. Voices of the Academy Singers (16) are heard before the curtains part. They warble 'Blue Moon' with wide variations, using only two-piano accompaniment. Solo spots alloted the group never register much. Microphones fairly flood the stage so that anj-thlng from a pin drop to a back-line whisper is relayed out front. This extra hook-up makes most of the singing sound like a double blast. Team of Wallace and Clayton perform end men chores for the minstrel parade, with Olive White as femme m. c. Grant Page, colored amateur winner from last week, on for a razmataz version of 'Nagasaki,' which Is getting to be a stock offering for a novice act. It was a tonsil strain also for two long choruses. Croll and Allen, with the aid of a mlnature white piano, manage to stir up some in- terest. Standard s6ngs and dances, such as seen ihostly in the more Intime atmosphere of night spots, though they deliver It fairly well In this offering. Dance trio of Burns, Morlarlty and Dell furnish the sole stepping this week, separating toward the end for those speciality stand-outs. Miss White, on a return date at the theatre, presents her by-thls-tlme-fahiillar clarinet playing. She's a person- ■able ml.'iK, but. -could slow up on. those streamlined announcements which are shot out at a mile a minute. Ben Nelson's orchestra on the back row of the platform. Set Is dressed In. regulation minstrel hangings with a grinning ' negro mask against the back-drop. Al Reed directing the stage depart mcnt's program kept the show well within the money outlay. Business fair at Saturday matinee. TABOR, DENVER Denver, June 1. Tabor, oldest theatre in Denver, has been running without a break for 1-16 weeks. Layout would be plenty good for any first-run house with the addition of a name or two each week. But with none available at a reasonable price. It is kept In a third-run house with a 25-cent top. and packs them in numerous times each week, and over weekends has standouts. Current is labeled ''Wishing Ring,' getting the name from the finale, where the line Is draped over the rear, back of the band, and huge engagement i-ings are lowered in front of each girl. All the good luck emblems, the four-leaf clover, wishbone, hor.seshoe, etc., are also in evidence. Show op>^n« with a gorgeous set- ting behind a scrim, with the line doing a fast routine. 1'he close Is slow but impressive. Best routine is where line, rigged in one-legged pants of white satin and bodices of same material, long ribboiis In hair, trot across stage a couple of tlmen. and into the wings, before going in- to routine. June Purscll, a Denver girl, who is singing in Hollywood and over the air. In town for a vacation, was grabbed by Maestro Lee for the to)) spot, and she Is worth It. Kang several numbers, closing wltli twn encores, ori<! oC which was 'Lullaliy of Broadway.' Keene 'I'wins. Vic and Lamarr. a five-person Ifc-'im. put on a fast tumbling, d;inclng and acrobatIc act that re;;isl(-rs. Iliilicrt Dy(i- and Hart I'lio pson piil on a slow and fast, foolisli and scriou.", acrobati<' act that iiiiinils out the program just about i-ighl. 'Pop' Ralph l.ee, man;ig'-r of the Tabor, hu.s run tl\<'..hou.';e. fo.r. .HM.rr.y llun'iir'ji ever sliic" the rf-tiii-n of sta.gc shows lliei-c and wilh tin- liclp Of .lack Lauglilln. who dcsirtns the sl.'igc s'-tiifKjH anri bosses the I'ou- liiicH, tlicy do !t fir.'-'t-cla.'-M job, I^'nv price kee|)s i)ati'ons from ki'-klir; iiecaii.se a big name Is not ;il t.-ip every week. ose. CHICAGO Chicago, June 1. Holding the stage costs clown as far as possible in keeping with the new cllp-.the-iiut polic.v adopted for this flagship, has not worked out for betterment of entertainment here. It has resulted In the book- ing of headliners who rely not on talent, but on some fluke. That goes, for instance, for the strange maniuco naming of Art Jarrett and Eleanor Holm on this, the chief vaudeville stage of the midwest. Despite the fact that Miss Holm specifically forbade Bal.aban & Katz to bill her as a champion swimmer and insisted only on billing as a sln.gei-. Miss Holm Is still a champ Australian crawler and not a champ warbler. At the first evening show on Friday she gummed mattei"s by giggling and clowning with Jarrett, seeming to foi-get there was some- thing of an audience out front. She muffed the lines of a simple pop lyric and strained her tonsils miser- ably throughout. Always a rather good pop singer of pop songs, Jar- i-ett has gone off in his style. His selections here w^te also extremely lU-chosen. With the headliners bogging the show down, It was tough for the rest of the bill to get out of the rut. It opened well on a nifty Evans dance arrangement, plus Kay, Katya and Kay In a neat semi- adagio. Trio Is back here after having been forced out some months ago wlien the girl broke a toe. They were back at the closing for an- other excellent number, adding really the only sock professional touch to the talent llne-up. They were finished performers, tlie others wei-e. somewhat on the amateiu'lsh side.' That even goes for Carl Freed and the harmonica, harlequins. Freed has wisely cut down on tlie formerly obnoxious antics of his chief stooge, but' they could be eliminated en- tirely. On the harmonica playing the troupe I? okay, but Freed must get some good novelty idea yet to add a final punch. At present he has no finish; the act ends on the same level that it began. Two singles on the show are Hor- ton Spurr, who turns In a. neat nov- elty act of bouncing and some slow motion work. Does particularly well on his head-standing, tumbling routine. Unmelodlous was the singer In a. slight and slow pro- duction number. Her name Is Marl Rarova and she meant no good to 'In the Gloaming.' Picture was 'Doubting Thomas' (Fox), also 'March of Time' (FD). Business bad. Gold. MET, BOSTON Boston, May 31. — -Donald—SlevlSr-Fadios pl<:;.tenor-,JB topllner this week. Not only does he Ingratiate himself; but the show that frames him Is 6o thoroughly ' bright and diversified he emerges from the whole picture with hon- ors. Novls steps out to do his warmly-recelved turn at the two- thirds mark after a nice. Juicy hand- out, of dancing in nearly every mood. They're just ripe for a straight single vocalist and he fills the bin. Opens with 'Every Day,' then after a commendable announcement, favors the Boston Irish with an Erin'tune; and to close he stand- ardizes with 'Trees,' but his build- up spiel on that one saved the usual announcement groan. On his ini- tial appearance he received a mod- crate reception as If they wondered If he was still good. First number settled that, and after 'Trees' they wanted more. Encore, 'Lovely to Look At,' Introduced the Ellda Bal- let in a picture number that neces- sarily prevented Novls from selling more songs. This line number, by the way, rates Betty Friedman, ballet mis- tress, handed the gals a set of 16 large and unwieldy hoops, then worked up an .altogether unique and sightly routine of weaving and In- tertwining that won for her Elldas the most enthusiastic response they've had In many a week. Nash and Fately, lank man and shortish girl, lo:id the first vaude note to the prodiictlori'. Ht;irtlng out in a dinky kid's aulomobile, the long man steps out for a lauf.;h. Without much waste motion the Irl 1h onstage -ivith tyi)lcal vaude :;ippy walk and they're into an ec- centric hoofing bil that winds up wilh aci-oi/atic stuff that calls for nioie. Man then eases oft )'or some rope twirling Dial's oke, but ordi- nary, and lets loose some patter. One about the kid swallowing a bullet would go w-ell In Dlnty's back room. Girl finales In the rope twirling bit. anri then thcv polish off with a swell, nonsensical acrobatic ap. Jeanne Dcvereaux, featured dJ-Miccr, coirics in ne.-<t for a, (iuicl;ie ilrut In an alluriir.; black lace cos- Uin-in that has tlie bors moving down front. Jl'.s on the toes 'ind 'dds snice to the 'liiiw. ,Mls;i OfV- -reaiix aiipears r\—.A In rhui In iin- olher s:)<M-|;ilt>-. > Ir.-iiiilit ballet, notable f'lr ilie linlsli-iiff twirls. The undl'--;iri-.ii!S''ed, r.'M'-er ."ad iioie to' I'iiis'Viiiidli'T'Ts' Viei- nitiffiCI' ' -Hliie Daiiiilie' void m' iiliy fre.-;|i ai - ■.■■ll'.;e;ii(-)i|. I'll-.-. 'ri:c';er .-iiid .lnl'il . iid-l'?l'i, -.|-f, fw. s;r'i>. 'J'lv rif'ii li;m- lle:, hi.-; I'.Vt) f' imn ^ p-".-i ll";-:; ;;.n;"t-t- ly, iii.'iUiii'.; doiilil" <'.-ilclii,H ;ind lifts (Coniiiiiied on jiage 27)