Variety (Sep 1935)

16 VARIETY Wednesdayt September lit 1935 ORPHEUM, N. Y. This Is the i3wan song tor xnajor circuit, split-week viude in Greater New York. It's the end of stage Bhpws at lioew's Orpheum for the ..llbt..Ume.ln.iR.yfi.ar^I^fte.wI«LBo,ulR.-^ vard, Bronx, also going straight pictures Monday (9)-r-and from,now oh the acts will conic in cans. Plenty of cans, for double features, plus shorts iancl newsreel, at a re- duced admission scale supplant the combo policy. Vaudeville may Just as well rec- oncile itself to this ahti-climax. If "vaude could offer somiethlng stronger than a combination Of •China Seas' (MG) and 'Bright liights' (WB), - which • rlnaiigurate •■th4»-att^fllTO-polic y . hfTP . nnd . nt . t b& tracts from an otherwise clean-qut appearance. Ruth Petty'B sock style of song delivery wins instant recognition Perkins cross-flres to good results. Miss Petty straights well along' with the vocal bombardment. Additional Jaueha-Ave_AlchMJKy.PferMn5.J!*«?. working with an acrobatic tu©i, Three Nonchalents (New Acts) oc cupylne what would jibtMlnally- be the closing spot. Land, •Boulevard, it wouldn't be taking it on the kisser. The last show at the Orpheum, caught on Its final day. (Thujpsday), might be the atiswer to -the straight- picture policy, though it's possible that better shows can be booked. The reasons lay. in the fact that only ;I5 people comprise the flive-act lay- but; .in the uninspired acts and mu- sicians; in the unorlglnality that has marked vaudeville for the past five •years. That's the way vaudeville has gone out in the past, and there's '<beeo no development of talent' and ■ material to make the picture change for the future. At the show caught, the seven- •plece pit crew (wholly inadequate for a, 100% musical background), batonned by Teddy King, appeared^ ■to be playing a vinake; Overture was from 'Mile. Modiste,' ordi;iarlly live- ly music, but rendered like a dirge. An effort was made to tie the skimpy show together by usinjg Sid White (trey-spotter) as m.c. He has a familiar style, but no mate.r. rial to match, with the result his dead-pan efforts" did -nothing for the show. Nor did the m.c.'lner help his own .spot with a brunet, who Bcems to have picked up everything that past dumb-dbras . dropped. ■White's £ag-deilvery is on the order of Jack Benny, whllt his singing Is reminiscent of Osterman, and tlrere's nothing original in imitating either of those names, even if there is no announcement. Show missed out' on comedy, though perhaps appearing on paper to have enough in White and the next-topclosing Bernle . and Gold (New Acts). .Latter turn's knock- aboutlng miist have- been extremely familiar to the Orpheum's audience, which has seen such acts on the average of one a week for moire than two years. Audience-response showed it. In the deucer was another Imi- tator, Rita ' Delano (New Acts) , •though she was frank about her in- tdrpretatibn of Sophie Tucker ren- dering 'Some of These Days.' She at.least credited the originator. bpehlng act, Four Fantlnos, was one of the show's handicappers in being so old-fashioned in its dress, and offering so little in the way of exciting novelty.for a strictly novel- .ty .-^ct., Mixed .quartet's iron-jaw- jierial work did not offer a real ap- .plause stunt, with slow pacing de- tracting further. Only touch of class came in the VARSITY, LINCOLN Lincoln, Sept. 7. Present bill, produced under guid- ance of Paul Spor, Opens, secoiia stage ■ show liouse here, this season It's a competitive spot to the Gr- phcVmT' a" J. IJboper 'hbiitfer ttna irone^riReXTl^rlBent-enterpfitse Two stage shows in this ismall. a town (100,000) Is tough , going es- pecially with seven pic spots also vying for trade within three blocks, but so long as Cobper and Dent are anxious .to battle, the latter loaded his opening, guns with the best, bill thls-etret<!h And .It's In for seven days agiainot, the opposition's three. •Start Is full up on a hot band number and Spor is out front di- recting the €issembly Introing Jack Lane to begin the show. Lane, an- other mocking bird. Is best with his vfork On the voices of Durante, Lou Holtz and Joe Penner. Uses the latter to get oft with wh!ch merits him a call back, but his Healy bit is weak ias an encore. The No. 2 pliace, filled admirably by Croel and Allan, keeps tip the fiery pace arid all the comlcry with the ti-lck piano, etc., jelled In fine fashion. Miss Croel an eyeful over the foots and sings very well. Spor brings the band in immediately after with a novelty number on •Tea Room.' AJigelo Syracuse over In a chorus, , , , Trey spotting' is Myrtle Lansing, mccoy songster of the class type. Her two numbers, 'Amour' and •Lovely 'To Look At,* okay. Shut- ting the show with a b?;ng, Elmer Cleve, Marilyn Keller and Stooge Professor Cheer, have what it takes in wild comedy. Cheer went heavy on the laughs. ^ , ^ Shbw is 40 minutes long and fast. Clip and class of bill bound to draw business, which was very good on the openihg day. Picture, ;Glrl Friend' (Col), and Metrotone News. Vaude doubles nut on this spot, so pace'U have to stay good. T^ent supplied through Diamond ofllce, Chi. ' BaineV' MET, BOSTON Boston, Sept. 6.. Gicn Gray and the Casa Loma band have the stage to thems.elves this week. Their, youthful followers had the house nearly packed on the opening show. . A smoke ring effect, from the booth, on the curtain hiding the band during the theme provides a clever means of. introducing the Casa Lomas. As an act, the band has little to offer in the line of tricky entertainment. There' are the featured soloists, vocalists, etc., but no new novelty distinguishes this fljjai"frame,Van^ that'was strictly'I^^ from others. . Yet, from a tlie adagio .dancing of the flve-peo •pie Bartell and Hurst Revue. Scen- «ry<of this act is faded and colorless, trlvhig a sloppy outlook, to what -could be a good closing flash. •Biz the last night was fair with ► fMurder Man' (MQ) on the screen at .60c top. Threersheets out front, however, blazoned the fact that •China Seas' and 'Bright Lights,' both first-runs bn Broad'way four wbeks ago, would be on tap the fol- lowing day at 35c. Bcho. PALACE, Y. Dividing one of the turns, Mattl- Bon Rhythms, into two sections ahil •working Johnny Perkins through- out, communicates an'air of novelty to the Palace bill. At least it isn't just five straight tur.'ijs. Combiriefi with Hepburn's 'Alice Adams' (Radio), it looks Hko the u.sual quota of pedestrians' would be diverted past the ticket-jgbbbler. Bpotiight immediately following the feature discovers Perkins in the orchestra pit giving out personality and gags, while stalling Into the overture. Chummy and Intorm.al, Bob Rlpa, the Danish whiz, rbmi;:- •through hia customary disiiloy ot the Impossible r made - re.al-beiorc- your-eyes. Helen Honan (New Acts) takes up the rcsponslblity in the deuce. She's doing a. .s!<otly turn stronger in the. first part than ir the finale. Speedy Mattlson Rhythms, all double-winded hoofing demoivs, ai-e first introduced as Leo O'Neill and Co.. When they retu'rnod to clrst the show they are the MahisouK. A snappy array Of young, talent, Six foot-and-then-some, O'Neill has the beginnings of an ultra-modern dance fiVyle. It's one of those flairs that newcomers sometimes reveal that later burst into full b?obin. Right now he hann't worked out thp right punchincbH for his stuff, but he seems to have ideas/ CostunilnR In the chcst-hlgh trousers and etc n jacket Irf riot altrnctive. It bean- 'poles his elongated stature. As he ■does not seek grotesque effects this Is the opposite to desirable and de musical point of view the orches- tra is superb In Its ensembles, out- standing In tone qualities, excep- tional in precision. The Intricate rhythms played'jagalnst solos in nearly all arrangements are some-, thing to listen to. The 15 men and leader are a fresh-cut, peppy gang of boys lookr Ing like . ^-collegiate band. They dress and carry themselves in that spirit in a subtle way. Kenny Sargent and 'Pee Wee' Hunt are the male song-sellers, and they both leave 'em limP after each offering; Sargent, on ballads, is re- freshingly clean-cut and clear- toned in his casual, unaffected way Hunt pets the assignment of ex- plaining the idea of the band cor-, poration in a hand-tailored lyrlc, and he does a good job with It. After all, the organisation of the Casa Loinas is a most distinctive feature and the idea of highlighting it musically sounds smart. Nuriib€-r is titl6d 'Meet the Presi dent' and through It the different Hcctlong take hot licks to register their votes for the 'prpsldent'. .Glen Gray, unspotted till 1 w (second number) takes bows and at the fin- ish stc-y:i out front to ackno'vi'lcdse ■his 'election'. Simple, but effective idea. Dean Janls, new with the band, Is the fenmie vocalist. She's intro duced Informally, as having dropped in to see the boys, and appc-ars in a simple daytln^e frock. She gives them two songs. Off-stage an houncement for next band number iiteiia on the. roof-rp.ising applause. Henry Kalis and the house band arf> unseen this week, but heard in one of the fine.st musical treats they have played In a Ibhg while. Elldu Ballet present an unusual modern dance in t;dd bli •> lights that em phafiize cleverly the dre-amy effect of the theme. 'Revieries' is the title of the productib-> in which the girls hold forth in arrti and body move- .ments on a tilted platform. Cos tumes are long drapes and all girls wear black wins. Music, firi'nngod by Pete Bodpe anil Sid inhez, la a swell combi- nation with singing by Marinni Lax Film, 'Page Miss Glory' (WB) Fox. Palladium, Londdn London, Aug. 28. Starting as a minor affair some three years ago, these 'C!razy' pro- ductions' at the Palladium have gradually become more and more ^iiah nrate. Last one hcrc. >"'lt around Jack Hylton and hia band, bost $26,000 to produce, which Is a mere bagatelle coirtpared with the present show, 'Roiind About Regent Street.' Understood present show cost nearly. 170,000, which Includes two weelis preliminary canter at Brlgh- tbri, which must have Involved a $e,000 IbsB despite piaylrig to ca- pacity. . This; the most ambitious, ol (Seorge Black's several attempts, Is not a V .miy'-JsihosLAMt: *»MM^My. way be compared with any of its predecessors. It Is really an elabo- rate revue with a striiig of scrlpters and a pile of Bcehery. As such It must be compared with these spec- tacles, taking Into consideration that the latter usually cost less and, rtiost of them are mll.es ahead of anything found In 'Round About Regent Street' In quality. One of <the best things in the show, scenlcally, Is 'Vauxhall. Gar- dens, 1760.' Although Its authen- tl Ity Is questionable, it Is, never- theless^ very striking, with Its spiirting water fountain, background,, and the thousands o: fairy lamps. ' •Prehistoric Regent Street' Is a crazy Idea of what Recent Street was-In the days before trafflc llghts were dreamed of. But the humOr by the Palladium Stock Gang Is very boring and pointless; It could have been funny. As of yore, the management has to rely on American Irnportatlons to; get the show across. This time there are four, and all worthwhile. The Six Lias, with some clever fbot and hand-tb-hand acrobatics, sock the show In Its eariy stages. For laughs they Inveigle Charles Naugh- ton .(Naughton and Gold) Into some top-mounting falls. Fisher and Harrison strike a novel and realistic note. In a Pan- ther dance, done In a huge cage setting. Jeanne Devereaux scores In . some excellentRussian pirouette work and cute rumba. Last wa^ hastily put together to replace 'Moth and Flame' number, the highlight In the, show when at Brighton, but obr jected to here by the Londbn County Council. , • Sheila- Barrett, booked specially Into this shOw- after fbur weeks at the Cafe de Parlsr has an exotic personality somewhat, remindful of Yvonne' George. Excellent In very biting Impressions of . film person- alities, and her 'Night Club ,Glrl,' In which she portrays a stew Is price- less. She opened, badly placed and dissatisfied and left end ot week by mutual consent. Four Flash Devils' follow every- thing on the bill, and still manage to reveal a few new tricks In fbot- ology. Theatre's overhead Is $14,000 per week, and should have no difficulty In grossing $20,000 per for some weeks. But It will take some time before the production cbst Is In the bag. STATE, N. Y. Milton Berle has not only the top ^billing at the surviving Loew vaude- ville house, but he has the show named Milton Berle's Birthday Re vue, and it starts off with pictures alleged to be of him.- from baby- hood up. And the audience loved It. Berle's Memory Lane act differs from Joe Laurie's in that the lat- ter brings In the actors along with their gass, but Berle makes his as much of a one-man show as. he, can with a 10-minute openihg, about five minutes to each introduction three blackouts, and he works Gor- don's dog act. And all this with one of the season's best sellers oh th^ screen and the six winners of the recent Daily News dance as an added attraction. The suprier show was 27 minutes behind .schedule- in .starting and ran 77 minutes. That's too long and too much Eerie with only, three other acts, not countini? the dogs. But apparently thn audi ence was there to sec Berle, iahd he gave them all they wanted. Pos sibly more, There was a steady exodus throu.arh the last half of the sta.ije show that is not u-sual here. But they lauffhed at his sliRhtest .sresture, applauded hi.s quip.s' and thought the Idea of his •vs'orkln.sr a do.tr act Just too cute fbr' anythlnir. With the stage shbw running 58 minutes he took about 40 and then wasted a lot of the 19 minutes al lotted the News dancers. There wa." only one time he ■was beaten out and .that was when a lively Ne.sjro couple demonstrated the LIndy Hop. They were clever as well as agile', and they got more real applause than all the rest of the show combined. Rut Berle saved the day by coming back to dance with the girl. Per- haps It would be more correct to .ittrlbute the saving to her. Any rate it brought the cur'ain down to more applause than the State has heard In a long time. There were six couples in all and apparcntlv all had friends, for all got a strong hand and the audience came In on a couple of the out- bursts. Just a novelty gag, with only the Lindy Hoppers approach- ing professional rating. The others would get small applause as pro- fessionals, bpt thpv Interested to a MItzi Mayfalr Is secondary star with a brief dance packed to over- flowing with top style work. She .:also_8tflogeE..lox_Berie_.for_AeYei^^ minutes without getting the usu^r pawing. Some, but not as much as usual. - She jvas-tbe outatander... ... More hoofing from Lewis and Van with their taps oh the miniature staircases their best, though they clean up nicely with-some eccentric stuff fbr a. closer. Bemlce Martin does two sougfl with satisfactory re- tumif.. ^ ^ Herbert Barrls and Rosalind Baker help Berle In his blackouts, two of which would have been bet- ter had they been shbrter. That Ib TBeiK'BhanaicafCTre-aoeriwt-Beemr to appreciate the value of speed; Film Is ;Chlna Seaa* (Metro), a puller In Its own right, and only the newsreel and the trailers for sup- port. House was pretty solid through the Bupper hour and , they were oh the tapes shortly after eight. The old LoBw policy of smtall shows with big fllma and vice versa has apparently been ■wiped out by the developments of the past few weeks. Chic PARAMOUNT, L. A. Los Ahgelbs, Sept. . Duncan Sisters continue to rate, as topnotch variety hpuse enter- tainment. WhetAer or not they maintain their draw possibilities re- mains to be seen. Trade tbday at their opening stanza, after an ab- sence from local stages for several yeai%,.'was only fair.* But the screen featiirie, 'Here Comes Cookie,' with Burns and Allen, may prove a night magnet, in which event the Duncans will get partial credit, for a prob- ably fairly prbfitable week. Girls, If anything, have Improved niaterlally since last caught around these parts. Their voices appear to have been developed, they work with a smoothness and precision that. Is rharked; Rosetta'a comedy Is still sure-fire, hokey as much of It Is, and Vivian, wlt?i her long curls still Is able to pass as a youngster. Their material Is all new, though built along familiar lines..Garbed in the Topay and Eya garb of legit days, the pair open with a line of chatter,, then harmonizing 'Lullaby of Broadway,' to excellent returns. Rosetta then cuts loose with a lot of her impish mannerisms and funny noises before going into a Danish comedy song with Vivian at the piano. Latter follows with an- other Spanish comedy number In which she hits some pretty high notes. For a .burlesque follow to. "Vivian throws gladiolas to the cus- tomers, Rosetta distributes vege- tables, including a bunch of onions, and winds up with a funny sausage eating bit with Rube Wolf, house maestro. Pair do another harmony number, wbrking In variousjiiuslcal expressions that are good for lafts. : For deserved encore ,they do their old-time •! Never Had a Mammy' and 'Remembering.' It stacks up as worthwhile stage fare all around,' Fanchon & Marco has not stinted on supporting show and dishes up Frank Everts and Dolores in a snappy tight wire routine' In which pair execute some difllcult dance steps on the wire; Sterns and Dean, pair.of nifty dancers; June Mar- low, platinum, topped torcher, and the Fa-nchonettes In three outstand- ing routines. Band Is in pit ex- cept for finale with Rube Wolf doing the emceeing,' Screen also has 'Three Stooges' (Par), Paramount News and Para- mount Pictorial. Edwa. APOLLO, N. Y. FOX, B'KLYN Most of biz for the Fox Brooklyn this weeit probably will be attracted by the stage show. Generally strong bill is headed by the Three Ritz Brothers, ivho are about tops in their type of tomfoolery.: Opening with Dave Bines line of girls doing a waitress dancei rour ,tine with Eight Commanders (sing- ers), and- then dropping biack to cafe scene for other acts to come on. Castle and May, two tap-danc- ing lads, satisfactory enough, with- out being outstanding, oii next. Thiq brings on Mary Goss, with her baby chatter, and Charlie Bar- rens, playing a piano accordion. Cross-fire banter Interrupted by some good soloing fay Miss Goss and accordion manulpulatlon. Catherine Hoyt, winner of last week's ama- teur competlsh, is a surprisingly pleasing balladist. Does two songs, but appeared a bit nervous at shbw caught. Then, the Ritz Boys. They mopped up. Eight Comamnders on again at the blow-off to introduce a colorful military drill by the Bines Girls. Best production finale for this house In many weeks. Billy Keaton, how In his ninth week as emsee. again is a fave with Brooklyn audiences. He is in and out, IntrbdUclng the folks and. gen- erally making for a smooth presen- tation. Ben Nelson and his ork still providing the excellent music. Good house Friddy night with '.She Gets Her Man' (U) on screen. Wear. Louis Armstrong, better than ever, set a new house record at the 125th St. Apollo, Harlem's colored vaudfllmer, with his band. So much so that the house, which usually goes overboard on its $5,000-a-weelc BhowB, or thereabouts, to ^at^ract 'd ""$ilB,W(J-$l2,0'00 ' a'vVfa^^ •weekly"" gross (IB to 40 cents, with 65 cents for-loges),- ■'did. .a .little...ja.'s^tlflable cheating this week, as Armstrong's draw is extra, potent. Tobtiri' the meanest kind of a trumpet, the rotund bandsman- maeBtro features the corhet as a trademark Insignia on his mu^lc stands, (or his trumpet work Is virtually the whole show. He wah- wahs hlB vocal choruses . In the same. rhythmically inarticulate jixAaaw^yei-J t. Jloesxilt->n&itfir-lmw„ and what he allegedly lyrlclzes, for It's the hot swing style that counts. Topped, of course, "by his heated trumpet Interludes to highlight each number. Stalling for nothing and. cutting Into ana choking the applause, Armstrong opens up with his classic 'Ain't Mlsbehavln' (to this day one of Qkeh's best record sell- ers) and. Into, a sure-fire jazz rep- ertoire. Freddie Jenkins) who used to be trumpeter with Duke Elling- ton until Illness sent him away for a spell, . Is guest conductor of the Armstrong combo, with the name leader entering from the wings for his specialties In soloist fashion. It's a Bizzlin'.'combo of five brass- es, fbur reeds, traps, bass fiddle, piaiip arid guitar, "Works on the stage throughout fronted by spec- ialists who include one of the best colored ballroom dance teanis, Nor- ton and lilargo. Looking Spanlshly without too much affectation, they're a graceful pair •with com- petent Toiitines of tango and mod- ern terps. Four Step Bros, are leg- maniacs with a nifty assortment on the hoof. 'Pigmeat' Markan one of the better corked colored comics; Jimmy Baskette, okay straight;. John Mason: and 16 Clarence Rob-. .. Inson Girls (not so good this time);' and Danny, and Edith, tiptop rope danOers, are the bther acts. Danny dbes some amazing stepping while keeping tempo with the rope-skip- ping. Edith Is more decorative but also not bad. aide on her own. All... good for geiieral variety bookings^. The original Amateur Night In )' Harlem (Wednesday) which WMCA, ; and an Inter-City hookup broad-^; casts, still has the same potent;,,' pull, as has the Tuesday nleh.t' Lindy Hop contest. Willie Bryant,,. sub m.c. for Ralph Cooper, vaca-: tlpning, this week impressed as too roiigh on the nervous amateur en- tries. Seamed to be pointing too much for the 'gong,' In this case a noisy pistol shot which Is occasion for a house staff funster to come out with a change of costume and add 'an extra laff on his own. The Btiimp of the famous actoi''s wishing tree from In front of the Lafayettb theater bn 131st street and 7th avenue Is still perched on the' rostrum as a luck tbkeri for the contelstants, all of whom first caress It. . Besides being the only vaudfllm- er In Harlem, the Apollo is now adding A Saturday midnight show (reserved seat) as further appeal fbr the ofays. Many downtowners coming to the l26th St. house be^F cause It's great value and lots of geriuine entertainriient. House man- agement (white) could do well—If it were diplomatically handled In view of the locale—to reserve a few. front rows at a tilt every night and thus make an out-and-out bid for the tourist trade. The spon- taneous nature of vaudfllm a!$ re- tailed at' the Apollo Is a natural for pseudo-show slummers based on the usually satisfactory show values. Bill Robinson and Fats Waller in 'Hooray for Loye' (Radio) on screen. Gene Rayriiond, and Ann Sothern, the stars, are relegated to minor captioning for thb Harlem screening. Ahel. EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSFiEELS) , The Emb was anxious fbr the Broa,dway exclusive of Hearst-Met- rptone's view of the four Brooklyn youths who cbnfessed, for the news- reel camera, that they murdered a subway paymaster in cold blood. But H-M held it back until early this week. That clip would have put the Emb's current program over for. a sock that it heeded.- As Is, it's pretty routine. The Florida storm.s, Sir jMalcol Campbell and Bthlbpla are the big news events. Pathe's two clips on Florida, one a special, are good. Fox's (Dampbell coverage and Fox- Par splitting the Ethiop situation,, highlight the current prograni Ih that sequence. . Pathe, Fox and Par have nine clips each. Universal 10 and Hearst- Metrotone only three, two. of 'era distinctive. U's 'Stranger Than' Fiction' .serial and a Van Beuren- RKO Radio travelog on 'Quebec' are the taglirieria, with a Better House Administratiori propaganda reel on Key West sandwiched in. H-M's shot of the Newport News, Va., baptisms, with Bl.shop 'Daddy' Grace leading his colored flock I.". (Continued on page 36)