Variety (Sep 1935)

14 VARIETY PALACE, N. Y. One of those bills that the Palace advertises In the. newspapers as •plus RKO vaudeville' when there ftrfe no names to talk about. Topper Js Jerry and Her Baby Grands, with Cookie Bowers bolstering up. Not eBpuKh_lor. a_ Broadway dragj_ and tiii show^badlinriecffs goocThames this week. The two comedy turns tandem and ho laughs until the •' third nuiri'ber'-with two- men singles; and only four wpmer In the entire Bhow. •Show 'is - oft wU4i the HustriJ. Troupe, four rope-walkers who use a taut cable and enormous bal- ancing poles. There are three of these; and they look cluttery on the stage. All right In the circus, where, there is plenty ■ol>'rc3«r. Seme —efflQ)ljijUaiicl.ng._J».ut.ihe_^^ slow for the stage. Next out Is John Fogarty, stand- ard radio favorite, who gets on without a megged anhouncement that either network owns him body and soul. He has a pleasant and WelUplaced tenor with a bunch of * top notes that match up with his lower tones, though he can go Into f alsettO' when he wants to and make It stick. Holds to the mlke for three numbers^ one announced a^ the hit of the aeasbn, one verse of each, and a medley of. 'smile' songs. Wheii he takes his nod Daye Morde- cal's boys play 'Irish Eyes.' He uses the same walk on "for the next, en- core, but when Fogarty still holds out on them they let blm drop. They fe^l It's a come-on. But the fact that be does repeat speaks for it- Belf, Another to get fooled In his en- core was Cookie Bowers, who did not Iret a chance to come back for his bathing beauty bit. He left them rolling in their seats after his undressing pantos, but there was not enough , patter to bring him back for his standard knockout, though the stuff on the chair Just in case. Not so much the fatilt of .Bowers, as that the audience was bored Btltt. Jalna—girl a striking Latin type who resembles Dolores Del Rio— work In early section and register solid click with first number, &• ra memory so far as stage attrac graceful routine that has class writ ten all over It. Did two..bthera be- foi*e they managed to get away. One of these Is a smart strut with a Harlem twist, and other a'slmpllfled satiric touches. In their Cuban can-can, Reyeses tied up popforpjance -again tighter than ever, but apparently had noth- ing else with which to follow it. That'p .ft mistake, since dance Is bound to 'dd 'the same ariywhere and they should have something else prepared. Finally had to coine back and repeat- the lait section of their routine. ©Fohisistro- aJBoi-cttxrics. tw/> Rolor ist s, man and femme. Former has a rousing FaTrf6ne"ftiat-feirlSttBrs-Treat=- ly In his single spot with 'Capri,' but' gitl is only so-so voca,lly and looks too American to dovetail with strictly Latin physiognomies sur- roundlhg her. For .finish; Cugat has his boys in thosiB big Mexican straws going through a wild and. aban- doned 'Cucaracha.' Just a little more precision heeded, which should come after a few more performances. Pidture, 'Accent on Youth' (Par). Cohen. SHEA'S, TORONTO Toronto, Sept, 14. With Jerry Shea currently cele- brating the 86th birthday of the Hippodrome, he has apparently handed the etagehandfs a week's vacation. The six vaudel acts work before the house drapes in 'one' or 'two,* and the only expenditure of deck hand energy is in the shoving on and ofC. of a piano for Morton Downey, No presentation framing this week and no line of full^stage sets. Vaiide is run ofC in the traditional -manner, the acts combining to give n.,. L.1H . * pot-pourri of song, dance and Incldentallv Bowers C"™®^!'- Pushover audience opening incmeniauy, upwers | ^^^^ ^.^ pleased with everything, all acts getting over tO; a strong re- sponse, Downey having to beg off, and Harris and Howell stopping the show. Max and his gang of performing pooches start the proceedings, thie tumbling: mutts and, hurdle-Jumpers getting across lilcely on both sides of the footlights. Walter Walters and Co., ventriloquists, . hold the deuce spot, and oyer. Zara Lee Rer vue, three girls and puke Norman, offers the dance flash; two blondes in blue for teamwork, Norman in topper and tails for nifty taps, three gals in blue for ^.crobatic challenges, and then a fast-moving finale in unison Then Downey, In dinner, jacket. FOX, B'KLYN with the Met (Loew's) npw Just tions are concerned, this lone temple of flesh In downtown Brooklyn, noting what Milton Berle did last weeK at N. T.'s State, grabbed him for Itself and the result will, un has greatly improved his stage manner of late. Dresses smartly aind.acts the same way when in his proper person. Bowers is next to shut, with Sand- ntle Lewis and Fatti Moore on the midway. Rather strenuous, but the first laugh, and they did pretty -well Up to their stair dance. That's what got . them over. Jerry and the Grands close, and .rather tpo weak for thiat' ppot In spite of the nice dressing and light- ing. With so many acts using their own accompanists the idea that piano playing is ah act by itself Is out, no matter how nicely dressed it might: be or how many pianos. Show runs SE.mlnutes, hot includ Inar a too shprt'overture. The band' tossing off a few cardiac biillads In epuld help liven things if ^Iv^en more of a chance. Bhtli>e show rung two hours and 48 mlhutep, with the feature 'Jalna' (Radio), new*)?- reel and a short, BUslnires 'way off. owe. STANLEY, PITTS. Pittsburgh, Sept. 13 First stage appearance outside New York of Xavler C ugat stamps the tango man for attention in the de luxe. houses. It's the sort of turn that hasn't yet been rubber- stamped, and Cur:si should cash in Leader was obviously prettjr ner- vpus at opening show here, not in his music but in his announcements, since he had to m. c. .the proceed- ings as well. Seems that In this type of show Cugat could dispense with the introductions, running off the show without the usual plugs, thus getting away still farther from the "beaten path. That he's not an announcer, the fiddling maestro probably realizes, and his misses In this department strike the only dis- cordant note in the whole proceed- ings. Also on this bill with Cugat is Molly Picon, but it's a poor spot for ■ the clever gal from the East Side; She works midway In the show and; coming as . she does in the midst of a lot of rumb.alng, is placed at a dis- advantage. Curtains close In oii band and Miss Picon steps down to apron, with her Pwh abcPmpanlmeht and band In pit.. Does four num- bers, all of them in song except a short monolog In Yiddish dialect, winding up w.lth her smart 'East Side Symphony' and for an encore, 'God Help the Woiklng Girl," which she's previously done. In a short Vigorous performer, she manages to overcome many of obstacles of uncertain spotting but still less sue cessful than her ability rates. That wasn't her fault here, however. Certainly a Picon and a, Cugat on the! same bill seems to be the height of something or other. Tango combination tops in every thing they try, •wIthv^Cugat draw ing a flock of swell effects from his. unusual setup. He has his own - • style and It's the sort of music that's lust as easy on the ear as it is In viting to the feet. Band goes In ex- clusively for the type of melody best suited to rumbas, with the inevlta- able 'Isle of Capri,' Cugat doing the solo, the high spot. Just as important as band Itself ; are the'two dance teams Cugat has with him. First is swank ballroom duo bt <3eorges and Jalna, and sec ond. is hotcha Cuban rumiba turn, of .Baul and Eva Reyes. Georges and casual manner, scoring on the vocal heart throbs, easing along nicely On his conversational overtures in Irish dialect, giving the customers plenty of request numbers , and clinching ■with 'Irish Eyes' on audience der mand- .Bud Harris and Bert Howell trail, th0 colored comedians socking with thieir back-chat and instrument playing. Closer has the Hazel Man- geen Girls out in tails and toppers for te^. -work, with the. four girls I^.'ick later for varied specialties. Capacity biz opening nlte, with Downey taking the maniagerlal bows. Feature', 'Every Night at Bight' (Par). • McStay. the rest of big houses on this side of the East river. Berle's- Birthday.. Revue^ as ne called It also at the State, is - a bit long, but It's entertaining and com- parfid.tP tlieAverage of stage shows at this house, is away out in frbttt. Only Berle was brought over from the State, but he's a oriie-man show and the rest of the acts around him are lj),cldentftl,. .Yet the Fox this iriiiito»gnr~ classier, and more spend- thrifty than, usual by s urround ing BerlewlWgood actSTincludlng Btw-- ter Shaver -and Georgle Tapps. The Skating Macks, Fox's own Dave Bines line of 12 jgirla and Mildred Maiy, locar amateur contest -winner, fill out.. There is no weakness at all In this lineup. Any drag that the show causes, running as It does "79 minutes, is due largely to the protracted efforts of Berle to make a night of It , himself and maintain laughs over , a long period. Result is that while Berle hits some high spots, there are sev- eral interludes where his material lacks punch, much of it either being old or pointless. This long session With Georgle Tapps down toward the close In which the dancer half- seriously goes dramatic Ih a scene played with imaginary actors, also getting: Berle to see things, is funny at the finish but not until then. Berle's opening talk session depends on mention of his mother for a send-, off and then there's the full-page ad plug for jack Dempsey's. Blackout following this, played with a girl arid pickaninny, igets the first good laugh. Berle's kidding with the two midges, . Olive and George, of Shaver's act, is mildy amusing but also dragged out too fiar. Impres- sions of Rlchman, Rooney and Can- tor gives Berle something else to do. The sketch oh the docks with a couple girls, probably from- Bines' line group, very funny. Also of show-stopping strength are come- dian's song special on the lOc-ia,- dance expedition and his spiel four- lesquihg radio. Although show had clocked exactly 79 minutes when he finished at £hla point Friday night, Berle could have gone on longer . Picture Is also longer than usual, 'Two Sinners' (Repub), running 71 minutes: As A result, turnover was behind time Friday, cutting filler to U hewsreel and a cartoon. There la usually a veritable audition of shorts here. Business good. Char. HIPP, BALTIMORE threaded In. whichJs a thoughtful touch for vaude. Most excltlhg Is the Whirling of tbf) men, which they Accomplish with DervishlUte deft- ness. Smartly liveried and lighted. Trailers and Pathe news supple- ment stage Bhow and Jeature^ Standees on lower ^oov arat Bhovf Sunday afternoon^^ Bcmrper. 'STATE^ .. . . Chicago, Sept, .14. With regulation, vaude exhibiting ft downward trend In this territory the.. JwuaciS. ftre,...se.wchlnf ,..for ar- rangements which get away ftoin the traditlofial setiu?. This house has gone to conslaerable trouble and expense here currently to ar- range a 'State Lake Follies' revue which .,wi>U)e ;ft.r.eiK«i'8i»'s*''™<*Siii? j repeater ttUie results satisfy. ^ ■ Presentation ran B"^TrT^BSa-Bt the first show Salurday, but that was to be expiected. About the best PALACE, ALBANY Albany, Sept, 14. If Bob Hall had only forgotten his ode to death, the relighting p£ the Palace stage with vaudeville Friday (13) .wOMJd.J>ave.t>e§n a,..thorohghly delightful event^for the customers and . box olflce alike. Three brief false starts for vaude last Winter-— ■fcwo-itt HAvm«aHia- Bleoeker-HGU-aad— one at the Palace—apjparently were ail too brief. ^ ■ - The natlyee, bereft' of stage-fare since the burlesque raid and the three mentioned collapses, went for tfte .i>^w..yaud-fllm policy in the big- gest Way ipossible, and theypai'dlOc' more than they did for just films. Still that's two bits under F. F. Proctor's -750 top- when he had va.ude, at tl^e Grand, the same that played his Schent^ctady, and Troy houses at 25c less. ' -''■>•. ROXY, N. Y. It would be unfair to call the cur- rent week's stage show 'typical.' It's pretty bad and the Roxy aver- age Is usually pretty good. Another cause for complaint this week IS the Roxy*s inclusion of a cartoon short, 'Mickey's Kangaroo,' which was exhibited around town about a year ago. That's putting a' penalty on the regular theatre-goer that is difficult to justify. New short.entry entry is. the first of Co- lumbia's 'Voice of Experience' se- ries. ' Against the jumbled, lame and lethargic stage layout.and the re- peat of short product the house has a bang-up :feature in Gaumont-Brlt- Ish's '39 Steps,' so business will probably be splfCy. But that stage show! One of the Gae Foster production numbers starts with 'The Old Spin- ning Wheel' sung from the tormen- ter by Norman Neilsen' ahd then romped into.two-four time for hoof- ing. Three sections of girls, all at- tired differently, seem to be ad llb- bihg with their feet. There Is a lack of unity, harmony and sense that is bewildering. One of the headllners Is Cecil Mack, He played the house a year ago and seemed funnier. With the assistance of stooges he ientlces some giggles, but the act Is meandering. Several, vulgarisms by Mack should be eliminated. The botli-thumbs-to- nose gesture directed at the audi- ence is unpardonable'and the many hells and damns don't belong. Other headllner is Billy Hill, the songwriter, working with Mrs, Hill Audience goes big for. his western and hillbilly ballads. He wrote 'Last Roundup,' 'Spinning Wheel,' etc Finale has Johnny Boyle, holdpyers daughter and son tap dancing to Gershwin's 'Rhapsody In Blue' with the stage' and chorus dressed in motif. That's okay. Land Baltimore, Sept. 16 After having completed two full weeks, 'Top Haf (Raidio) today (Sunday) commences a final stretch of five days, -which wili; put house back . on regular Friday opening schedule. For this abbreviated con cliidlng week a new stage show was brought in. Four acts, sparsely peo pled. Only eight persons In all, with two of the turns singles. Mounts up into a fast, diverting enough bill that didn't socko the crowded house, but held attention. (Gordon's Dogs starts the parade, getting nice catch ;Wlth the half- dozen pups paced for laffs chiefly, rather than edifying with strictly serious stunts. Nord and Jeannle deuce. The big boy. and contrasting tiny girl are often through this town. Just fair In appraisal of audi- ence, with humoi: old. Best bit is Nord's flashy flngerlng on banjo, with girl's snappy song-and-strut getting 'em off to advantage. It's the comedy that's the drawback>and ifact glares since the opening act and the one that follow are both belted with strong humor. Eddie White next. This comic single is champ repeater at the Hipp and the patrons know him well, al' ways 'extending a wide welcome when he marches on. He has a flair for telling a gag, and seemingly the more elongated the better; in fact, some of his stories are too long and involved. His best stuff is Heeb, of theLou Holtz genre. One of his non- dlalectlc. jokes which concerns Mae West sounds slightly ribald, how- ever. Sings three numbers, Includ- ing a piece tagged 'Let 'Em Keep It Over There,' whicli advances the Idea; that the U; S, should keep out of the next war. White always chants at least one flag-waving song. For closing he sings a number he mentions as his own composi- tion, a banal something called 'Healthy and Wealthy.' The Christensens (two boys, two girls) close. Act Is about as close an approximation of real ^ ballet as vaude has today. The lads are tall, lithe; girls are of the stature and looks of traditional ballerinas. Just one routine apparently. With the girls on view from start to stop, and up on the classic toe most of the . while. The tWo musical pieces which serve Ha scores for the hoofing are the McCoy Cor ballet, but the rou- tines are not wholly, though there is thing in the show is Charlie . Nlgge^ meyer's production Job. He added 16 girls to make it a 32-glrl line for one of the best femme flashes seen around .here in some, time. Their opening drill number drew sound applause. They repeat throughput the show, getting eye appeal on a Zulu number and finishing a Tiller and tap routine that had the palms smacking all over aigaln. 'Due to the flock of production the acts were sliced to three, with two dance teams, two vqcar specialities and one femme dai^cer added for variety. Topping the vaude llhe-up are Joe and Pete MichPn, who haven't missed yet with their «omedy acro- batic tumbling. Their knockabout comedy has that easy flair which is meat and potatoes for this audience. From the Donatella family come the two Donatella Bros, in What would be the two-spot for accordlpn squeezing, saxophone blPwmg and eccentric hoofing for a good vaude act of standard calibre. Finally there are Glfford and Pearl, who are better performers than their work here evidences. The trouble Is In trylhg .to get by without mate- rial. Cedrlc and Arllnda contribute s.a. dance routines with much hip-wav Ing and carloca, Sandra and Win- ters toss in a hotcha Charleston type of whirlwind dancing for their best bet Both acts are suitable for spots in presentation line-ups; par- ticularly where they can be backed up by a line of girls, ; Two singers are Hal Young and Louise Miller, both with pipes which will get them over In any vaude house. In- dividual femme dancer is Claire Powell, Couple of fairish blackouts help to add to the revue flavor. Verne Buck, the popular m.c, at this house, is in and out for blackouts and some comedy hoofing with the line. Picture, !Age of Indiscretion' (MG) and business plenty on the right side at the first show. GoW. It looks a8~niougn the'~Fa5Tans~ have hit on something, bbx-offically speaking for the opening bill -has a name act, the type that the na- tives seem to want. The 9,600- seat house can take it,- tpo. Art Jarrett, his orch and wife, Eleanor Holm, headline the open- ing stanza. They're three short pf the cast of 20 as advertised;. Art and Eleanor never had a chance at the matinee openings And the mike'was to blame. Some-, body rigged up the loudspeaker ap- paratus so that their voices seemed to. be going up into, the flies and smothered by yards and yards of stage hangings. For a starred ;singer it Was awful and neither Jarrett nor the missus seemed to tumble, to it. While they could have stepped away from the mlke, they just hung their chins against It and the audience wondered what they were singing or talking about. The or- chestra didn't have that handicap, but it was Jarrett and Holm the seatrflllers came to hear, Mangekn Troupe, tumblers open, followed by Bbb Hall. Latter ought to shelve that recitation about death. It chilled, the house and made them think a eulogy about a recently departed senator ' was about to sprout. In the trey sppt are Lewis and Ames, whose stuff sails over the patrons', heads. Films, 'The Farmer Takes a Wife,' Fox News and shorts. Tom Klefer with eight' men In the elevator orch pit, play for the uddpteenth time 'Mandalay' 'as ' an overture. Shows will change on Frld^iys and Tuesdays. CIl//. KEITH'S, BOSTON Boston, Sept. 13. This marks the first week of the stage show idea which will hold forth at the Boston this season. Plan is to,book in a 'personality' name band and a marquee act to work with it. Vincent Lopez supplies the ork end and Sophie Tucker is the nanie. Sophie looks her best in this show and hands out some. sock material. It was evident that a big slice of .regulars were in the stands. Still the master of double-entendre, her personality flashes into every cor- ner of the house. Wisely finished with her familiar 'Days' torch, ca- pably aided by the Lopez band. Miss Tucker works In 'one,' with Ted Shapiro, until this closer when the traveler splits on the orchestra. Best bet with the band Is Fred Lowery, a whistler who stops the parade. Possessing a quiet, con- servative personality, and looking like a radio amateur, Lowery soon demonstrates that he has plenty pn the ball. Whistles a pop ballad ahd closes with standard 'Plcardy' in which he socks with a zylophonlc effect, all just the whistling equip- ment he was born with. Tonal range, cleverly handled. Is another good reison Why he sellSi iJwell backup by the band. Johnny Morris, drummer, has a sppt for his hokum delivery of 'Tav em in the Town,' with plenty props, Included several sets of horse-face teeth, mammoth ears and a screwy bonnet. Registers muph better, however, with his "I'm a Drummer' novelty, assisted by the boys. Stan ley Worth, baritone. Is adequate. Lopez rips pff some swell piano stuff and forgets 'Nola* this time One of his new ones is 'Stairway,' an interpretive piece , having tp do with a baby playing on a flight of stall's, oke. Femme vocalist with,''the band is Maxlne Tappen, a looker and smooth song seller who grabs off her share of duke pounding. For hoofing the unit has Billy and JBev erly Bemis, zippy tapsters, working double all the day. Add-, a fresh tone to the otherwise unexciting band performance with two num- bers that click handsomely, Stan Kavanaugh supplies the cpmlc note with his famlUir juggle- some semblance thiat they are. Some fumble routine. slight suggestion of adagio work Film, 'Superspeed' (Col). FOX, DETROIT Detroit, Sept. IB. Jimmy Savo: opened his Loew bookings at the Fox this week with a bang. In the opener, Frank Connors, who has a strong following here, turns in-- a couple of nifty songs with the aid of the pit ork, under the direction of Herschell Leib. Chester Fredericks then displays some acrobatic tap dancing of a high order, assisted by Bubbles , Stewart, who also is an ablis imperspnatpr, Miml and Honey help the other pair in a few songs and comedy. Next, Mells, Kirk and Howard of- fer some comedy and dancing. Well received, ahd crowd calls them back for more, Ih the next to shut, Sayo opens with a nifty card pantomime, fol- lowed by 'magic' tricks and music stuff, and ends with an unexpected versatile singing voice, featuring 'Come to Me.' His first encore is built around 'Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?' When he is called bapk for a second, third and fourth encore. Sayo resorts to sev- eral pieces he has shown here be- fore, but they go over big. The first number Is 'River Stay Away From My Door,' then his match trick and finally 'We're Having a Heat Wave.' Although the audi- ence wasn't large, Savo got rocking applause. In the closer, an amusing satire oh. ballroom dancing Was presented by Lowe, Burnoff and Wensley^ Pic, 'Alice Adams' (Radio). EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSREELS) Newsreels didn't take full.advaht- age of a smash news week, despite the fact that four of the cpmpanles covered the week's biggest headline, the Huey Long assassination. Lat- ter is treated sketchlly, all of the reels missing, what might have, been the most interesting clip—a forum of opihions of the man on the street regarding • the " bearing of Long's death on the national politi- cal situation. Metrotone apparently wasn't on the scene, it's clip on the Long death, probably even includl/lg the half-masting of a Washington, D, C, flag,, coming from Its Long file." iJo good reason for this, coiisld^rihg that Long was shot early on Sfept. 9 nad new re'els went in here Sept.13, offering plenty of time for a^timely clip. U and Paramount, the former with a newspaperman's eye-witness account, and the latter with. the btirial of Long, were the most .up- to-date; while Pathe ran neck-and- neck with short appearances by Gov. O. K. Allen and the Rev, Gerald K, Smith, Long henchmen, on the (Continued on page 36)