Variety (Nov 1935)

52 VARIETY i.ECIYIM4TE Wednesday, November 27, 1935 Plays on Broadway ABIDE WITH ME Drama in three actu presenteU at the RltK, N. T., Nov. 21, '85. by Malcolm L. Poarsun and Donald U, Bnruch by arranRO mcnt wUh A-. fl. 'Wdotls; written by Cluro Boothe BroknW; ataged by John Hayden , *a.30 top. ' Mr.s. ](lai'S(Icn Cecilia " LofttiS Emma .Maria Ouspenakayu- Karl Allen Fagan Dr. Ci'fllg .'. James Reimlti' Nan Marsden. Barbara Bobbins Uenry Marsden 7.. . .'.ISarle Larlmbve Julia Field........... Lee Patrick Twice within a week the social register was well reprpaented- at Broadway premieres, first, at 'Jumbo' and then at 'Abide with Me.? Did not find niuch to enthuse about over the latter, which unfolds a rather enervating tale. Though it will probably riot click, it is the best effort o£ the young managerial tearti of Pearson and Baruch, this time associated with A; H. Woods. Season so far has sefen some out- standing displays of the scenic art, and the Interior setting here is right in line, one of the best, designed by P. Dodd Ackerman. Probably -ill not do for 'Me' what the stage in- vestiture does for 'Dead End,' but if the play were as vibrant there would: be quite a different result. Scene is the library of the Mars- den home, very wealthy New York- ers who reside In the fashionable neighborhood east of Fifth avenue. The Mafsdens are decadent, what is left of them. Ageing Mrs. Marsden Is entirely Tioririal and . Inclined to wit, but her son Henry Is -ti man with a phobia. He has an idea he is not of legit- imate birth, having a secret'hatred for his father, who passed on 20 years before. Henry explains in one scene that the old boy, when stewed, used to come to his room, awaken and frighten him, then depart call- In^r him A bastard; Henry iand Nan have been mar- ried two years;. Mother loves the girl, who has grown to detest her mate. Liquor Is" supposed to be barred in the home, yet he is a con- firmed drunkard, the type that tipples alone. This fact is not known to the mother, she being the sort who does not wish to know what she does not like to know. All such matters are never men- tioned by Emma, her constant com- panion. N^an could have walked out, but she says at one point that Henry is a 'fascinating abomination.' Marital relations Tiave apparently ceased, yet he. win not agree to divorce. Then Dr. Craig cornea to attend him In a desperate illness^ Upon recoy-. ery he. perceives a growing at- tachment between Nan and the young physician and suggests they have an affalv hoping a child will be- the issue. In that way he plans to get hunk with his, father. Tlie wife does walk out and there Is a.n affair. In a year she returns, pregnant, to plead for a divorce, so that she and Dr. Craig can marry. He again refuses and in a tantrum, during which he reviles his father and welcbmes the disgrace upon the family name, he Is shot by faithful old Emma. No cops, no investiga- tion. It is suicide, says the doctor, which tV/e old lady backs up by.tell- Ing an Inquiring female who aimed to annex Henry that she was in the room when her son killed himself. This mlW- type of horror drama Is pticed by very capable players— Cecilia Loftus as Mrs. Marsden, the splendid Ma:rle Ouspenskaya, as Emma, Barbara Robbins as Nan, Earle Larimore* as Henry, James Rennie as the doctor, A^len Fagan as a butler, and Lee Patrick In a smaller part. They all do their beet by 'Abide with Me,' titled from a hymn which the son, a peculiar kind of lunatic, sang and played on the organ-. Jtee. WHATEVER GOES UP Comedy In throe acts, seven scenes, by Milton Lazarus: presented by Crosby Galge at BUtmorc, N. T., Nov, 2n, '35; atai-s Ernest Truex; ataeed hy Arthur Slrcom; Bets, Bradford Ashworth; |3.30 top. Doc Harvey......: Harry Tyler A Girl...' Barbara Layne First Loater , .Krank Lindsay SecoAd Ijoofer .'... .Philip Van Zandt Terranco J. Sweeney. Ernest Truex A- Customer ..lohn Davles Second Customer Natalie Carpenter The Moochev Mrs. Martin... ..... Gerald Photographer. Helen gwooney Mra.. Sweeney ;. First Reporter........ Newereel Intervlovirer, Camera Man. Sound Man, Assistant.. S'econd Reporter....... Third Reporter. , Sob Sister Miss Parker Madame Llll... Porter T. Russell Phelps WJIbur Churchill A Walter., .P.avld Lesan Irene Cattell .Fred Sherman .. .'nusaoll Morrison , .^sPcRgy O'Donncll ; Leona Power.s .Paul Sklar , Potcr Powers , George Pelers .Jessy Jones ,.....Harry Jackson Robert Russell , , David Shelley .. .Nondas MetORlfe ....... Mildred. Wall /..Annette I-Ioffmun .. ."W, O. McWatevs ..Raymond Bram'lcy • Edward H. Robins David Breen Janitor - Frank Gabrlelson Claaue Leader .Robert, Russell Aeent ; •. • • - Jack Davis • pfllceman ■.. W. O. McWn tters Mr- BlUlngobv ; William David jiack John. Henry McKee Grady. F.dmon Rvnn A Man .......H. H. MoCpllum Detective,;.'. .Eme.st Avoodwnrd Second Detective....'..... .Gordon Hamilton There, was a i^he' comedy Idea here and It should rhiake a very good Bcreen play, but It dojesn*t quite come through for Broadway. . A couple of weeks on the road for fix- ing purposes might have turned this piece into a smash comedy. It opened cold and it still needs fixing; Story is that of a winner of the sweepstakes and how he gets taken over the 'hurdles.; Subject Is a natural and, obviously, lends Itself •to- farce treatment. In this version the author seems to- have worried about possibly bveraplng'it and thus sockejl himsiejf in tlie- solar plexus; subject couldn't "be overdone arid" author', obyloiis restraint In the second- and third acts hblds. it back.. Also, Jn. tjiiip^.' ai:t.% gjithnr jn.iepted a! note of seiitlhicntal melbdrama entirely out of key with the rest of the piece and hurting consider- ably by slowhig up the worlcs at the. worst possible time. Terranco Sweeney Is expei'tly played by Ernest Triiex. He's a small time cigar clerk with beauti- ful ^reams culled from Edgar Guest. He Wilis the $15Q,000 and, imme- diately, is taken in hand by his wife (Leona Powers) who has ideas of her own. First scene where he learns of his good fortune, and the one immediately afterward, In their modest Sweeney hprne, with neigh- bors, photographers and newspaper- men in for the celebration, are splendid. They're beautifully paced and of high farce calibre. Mrs. Sweeney decides to nidve to the Waldorf and then the trouble starts. ArCcputrements include a phoney high-toned dame acting ae secretary;' a rich uncle from the west who in actuality is a fancv clip artist; T. Russell Phelps, The Voice of Time,' a radio Inspiration gabber, and also a clipper. Terrance wants to continue work- ing in the cigar store biit the missus has ambitions and falls for the slickers. Results in Sweeney In- vesting all his coin in a defunct radio station. Then come complica- tions via a couple of G-men who want the goyemment. tax coin, the hotel manager who wants the bill settled, etc. Terrence is saved by the quick work of his daughter's beau, a bellhop who had been sus- picious and followed the crooks, get- ting back half the coin, which pays off the bills and allows the Sweeneys to go back to Dyckman street and peace- There are some, very good lines strung through this and several hilarious scenes. But the piece isn't consistent enough; it falls in the clinches. An extra heavy cast Is used, most- ly for bits. " Besides Truex' splendid trooping, top performances are given by Leona Powers as the wife; Harry Tyler as another cigar clerk (a pic- ture bet, this man); Peggy O'Don- nell as the daughter (another cinch for films); Mildred Wall as the so- cial secretary; Raymond Bramley as the radio gpieler ,and Edward H., Robins as 'Uncle Wilbur.' David Shelley (uncovered as the son of Buddy De Sylva) handles a. bit, un- recognizable among a welter of bit performances, though the majority of them okay. Several nice sets on jacknife stages help, the show's appearance, but will make it more difficult to stick because necessitating a heavy back-stage crew. Kauf. THE RAGGED EDGE Melodrama In three- acts presented at the Fulton, N. T.. Nov.. 25, '35, by A. H. Woods, Ltd.; wiltten by Marr Heathfleld; staged by A. H. Van Buren; ^2.73. top. Dot Whaten Nancy Dover Landers Frank Monroe Rodney Cole, Jr Glen Boles Rodney Cole, Sr ...Robert Harrison Judy Farraday ■ Lillian Emerson Agatha Drake ...Clara Palmer Eleanor Dunham .Dorothy Bernard Fen wick Edward Lester Tom Drake -rederlck Graham Dawson Webb .Leo Curley Russell Parker Percy Kilbride Take .....Wylle Adams Bill Cralgle ..Glen Bolea Pike Reardon .Edward Craven Henry Farraday .' Nicholas Joy Starting with tragedy and ending with comedy, 'The Ragged Edge' is an uneven play of the me-lodramatic type. It leaves the impression that it's oMi ited appeal. Story is imaigihatlve, havitig per- haps, more improbabilities than the average, etagt^. attraction, yet more work on the script would have meant better chances to land. Two principal scenes are shifted back and forth on platforms, one the li- brary of rich Rodney Cole, the other a tihack near the Hudson river, where three down and outers malte the best oC having no jobs; Play opens with tile return of Rod' Cole, Jr., after a flvo-year stay in Pal'is, sent there because of some scandal. He has been going the pace to such an extent that doctors, say he hasn't long to live—some un- disclosed ailment. For that reason he refuses to live at hpme and when the father insists the son kills him- self. In the Cole library the father dis-r closes this fact to his partner and their skillful attorney. Reason for the lad being summoned home was because half of a' million is due Rod on the day of his 25th birthday, just a few weeks off. To save the firm in a crlsi.? the father had used the money, so faces ■e:tposure of em- be;!^-lement. / Webb, the lawyer, suggests a way out. It is a gambler's chance (title of the play for a while). His plan is accepted, that of publishing Rod's picture In out-of-town papers with the Idea of attracting aome youth who resembles the suicide. Bill Craigie, one of the 'bos, is a ringer for-the departed Rod. So he enters the Cole home as the sPn. So close is the resemblance that Judy, who liked young Cole, thinks it is Rod. Bill had attended college, so his manners are. okay-... Tp.ungsters do fall in love, which rouses another suitor for Judy's hand. This fel-. low scents the deception, declaring he had seen Bill on Riverside Drive In shoddy clothes. He summons Russ Parker and Pike Beardbri fronx the shack but they refuse to iden- tify Bill as their buddy. owever, when ■ a phone call comes-from an mwlate. huspHai impai^tinp: the news that Bill's mother died, he cracks. How it was known to upstaters that Craigie was In the Cole home is one of a number of unexplained poihts In the play. Finale has Judy comiiig to the shack and there Is a clinch. Comedy scenes are those at the shack with Percy Kilbride dishing put the giggles to his pals Edward (Eddie) Cra,ven and iQlen Boles. Latter enacts. Rod and hls'performr ance Indicates promise. Well ap- pearing, he Impressed as the wast- rel in the first scene and proves likeable when appearing In the place of the dead boy. Lillian Em- erson Is well spotted as Judy. Some of the others play fairly well, with several characters having little to do with the proceedings, Ihee. Plays Out of Town MAY WINE MOTHER Drama Iii three acts, presented at the Civic Repertory,. N. T., Nov. 11), "85; adapted from Gorki's novel by Bert Brecht; Interpolated songs by Haniis Eleler; trans- lated by Paul Peters;, staged by Victor Wolfi3an;. $1.00 top, Pelagea Vlasova., ; .Helen Henry Pavel Vlasov John Boruff Anton ..;....;..;.,...,' ...Tony Ross Andrei Nachodka..; .Herbert Rudley Ivan Vesovchlkov..., .MarUn' Woltson Masha..;, ter Soiidergaard 'A Policeman.....; ...,Lee J. Cobb The Inspector James Macdonald Gatekeeper Cheirles Nlomeyer ICarpow,.....'. ..Lester Lonergan, Jr. Worker. .Stanley G. Wood Woman....; ;.,. .Frances : Baviec Landlady MlUtcent Green Gorki's novel on the birth of the Russian revolution is something of a clasisic. As a. play It Is only for those who noay be interested, with the result 'Mother' is likely to have tlie shortest engagement of any show presented by the Theatre Union, fated a non-profit group. The attempts to be different in its staging appear to have resulted in reverse reaction, many first nlght- ers regarding it distinctly amateur- ish. 'Mother' is anything but pro- fessiona.1, with its partly bare stage, battery of overhead lamps . in full views of the audience, as is a piano which is used to accompany occa- sional singing Ijy the players in en- semble. Interpolation of numbers in such , a drama may have been somebody's idea of providing a change of pace. Numbers mostly seem to be protests by the factory workers who go on strike. Play Is dated prior to the war. Rolling platform affords scene changes, ^uch as they are. Sets are elementary, doubtless Intended to indicate bare lodgings of the Im- poverished workers. Whole idea is to show the home-life of people whose wages have been cut time after time until the ability to buy bread becomes a problem. In that way, .'Mother' delivers what Its sponsors want, bift the play doesn't supply diversion for the average playgoer. As a propaganda play, its dramatic strength is weak as compared with 'Let Freedom Ring' (Broadhurst), which has a similar theme. There is more doubling among characters than ever noticed before In pne play. Story is told both by the players and by slides projected on a screen directly above the roof- less, sideless setting. Exterior of the theatre on 14th Street is as forlorn as, 'Mother's' people. The workers in the Union might clean and paint it up. Ji>ee. Baltimore, Nov. 26. Laurence Schwab presents a new muslca< play, 'May Wine,' by Frank Maindel; adapted from the novel 'The Happy Alien- ist,' by Eric von Strohelni and WAlloce .Smith. Music, -Slgmund Romberg; lyrica, Oscar- HeminersteUi.. JJ;...fltfl(rasl,-:.*y . J<>?.e Ruben; musical director, Robert- Doian; orchestrations, Don Walker; aettlngB, Ray^ mony Sovey; cpsttimrs, Kay Morrison. Inspector Scbnbrrhclmi Roy Gordon .Prof. Johann Volk...Walter Slpzak Willi Zlramorkopf ;..Robert Sloane Baron Kuno Adolhors't.'.Walter WoolC ICIng- Marlis-Bkroncas voii SilU16Wlt2.;.;. ..V." NalVcy McCord .Vera Hubcr........Daphne Warren-Wllson Josef... ...r.,;..,-....;...,; .Robert C. FIsher X'-nc|.<j.Pl. .,..,,.,.va«w.G,. Corcoll Friedl. , ,.. Vera Van DancersAlice Cole and Jack Dudley ..Others: Lee Chllds.-Tone?. Chapman, Ed- ward Gallaway, Leonard Berry, Chester Herman, Bela I^ublov. Charles Palloy, Marie Loulae Quevll, Maury Tuckerroan. Betty Kerr, Earle MacVelgh, Mitchell Har- ris, Carlo Conte, Victor Casmore, Inga Hill. Radley' Collins, Marian Huntley. Clifford Menz, Lora Laney, Devona Dozle, Jessie Orajbahi. SATELLITE Comedy In two acts. Presented at the Eljou Nov. 20, '.IB, by Edward Davldow and John Cameron.- Written by Kerry Shaw and .Toseph . Mitchell:. staged by Cameton; songs, .S.-imucl Pokrass. Manny Kura, Mitchell Parrish and Shaw; $3.30 top. Leona Wilson Joyce White Mui'garPt Manning, Gene Wilson... Brnco Taylor May Manning.,.. Boso (;heer£ul.... Jack Pnlmer..;.. Umll HoKtolter... Mr. Miller. , Mrs; Miller ... (Jarlylo Bennett., Lily ■ Samuel Pokrass , Dielivery Man.V,.. Max Goldblnlz... Sunny Lane,.... .Barbara Weeks ... George Sherwood .Stanley. Smith ■ Noel Francis .Charlotte Rovnolda ... ..Gerald Vaughn ....'. .Joseph Striker Jack Sonnes Rose Tapley Himself .Chrlstola Williams ..;.. ..Himself .(.Frank Davenport ....Bernard Oorcey .... . .Diane Tenipest 'Satellite' is an unworthy effort. Not a few arose during the second act and decided to call it an evening. Play could jUst as well been called 'Sap,' since it deals with a young fellow from Iowa who comes to New Tork to open a florist's shop with $50,000 donated by his dad. Instead he falls for a chorine, who has hit the tabloids plenty. What with lifting night <?lub checks, ahd splurging otherwise to please the Printed for the record.) Here's another entry to add to the swelling list of legits this sea- son which have enjoyed part or whole backing from pictures; - un- derstood that Paramount Is in for three-fifths. This one shoVild snug- gle In for a tidy run, and It Is crack- erjack fodder for a film. 'May Wine' is a musical drama, with the songs a.nd music secondary to plot.:. in fact, the tunes and trill- ing are chiefly used to motivate and indicate action of the play. No dancing girls or boys are used, and only on a few brief occasions are choral singing Interludes Inserted. Production' is a sort of furthering of the type of show like 'Music In the Air* and 'Cat and Fiddle,' and It. represents composer Romberg's first attempt at the stunt Jerome Kern turned so adeptly. What inay mlllta,te against the show's chances Is weakness of the score. In which there Isn't one song that seems destined for pop hit rat- ing. In shows of this sort Which have clicked there were always sev- eral hits which went a long way toward getting interest pumped up, as witness the case of 'Roberta.' Comedy is slightly lame, to boot; not enough laUghs to balance, the heavy going encountered so fre- quently In the script. That depart- ment will probably be remedied to some extent during the engagement here. There is. no really comic character involved, with the chuckle-catching dependent upon several who Indulge In lighter mo- ments In between putting shoulders to the wheel seriously to move the story along. Several scenes almost touch a rich humorous ore, and the ppssibilities .should be. squeezed much more thoroughly than they have beeii^ On the credit side, the plot has a lass, he Is disillusioned and broke in three months; There, are plenty of faults In 'Sa:tellite,' and, as with other re- cent comedies, it Is shy of giggles. Soine idea of tha:t may . be gleaned- from the fact that when a bit player (waiter) stumbled making an en- trance it was the best laugh of the evening. Several milder guffaws were evoked by more or less shady lines. There is ho suggestion of an af- fair between May Mannlnjg, whose real sweetie rates her a vicious chlseler, and Bruce Taylor, the col- lege boy from the west. That makes it seem unlikely that he is fool enough to. shoot the works, for he is warned by his pal, a Broadway- ite,. and also by May's sister, Mar- garet, who has a genuine yen for the lad. May has two sisters, both In the chorus and both doing okay. That they save their coin and. have neat b.r.'s is believable or not. Anyhow, parties are the princii:)al side oc- cupation of nearly all concerned, with gin the usual beverage. Couple of a-k. characters have no connec- tion with the piay at all. There are five scenes, with most of the dialog spotted in the apart- ment of Leona, another of May's sisters, who is married to a press agent. That lass Is addicted to stripping when full of liquor. Those bits may have-seemed funnier than they proved to be. There'is a poocK billed as Ben Bcrriie, and a refer- ence to a columnist that is a very nasty crack. . Three songs are interpolated, the tunes being by Samuel Pokrass, who is at the piano. Lyrics are by Manny Kutz, Mitchell Parrish and Kerry Shaw, latter co-author of the play. Carlyle Eehnett warbles 'Honestly,' a number with one of the' longest choruses within recol- lection. 'Satellite'. Is another from Beniiett, with Noel Francis ducting. Stanley Smith, who has been in mu- sical comedy,, gives 'The Girl Was Beautiful.' Doubtful If the songs helpcsd much. Miss Francis, formerly on Broadway but niore recently in Hol- lywood, looks well ais May, but it Is an unsympathetic part; Smith looks the part of Taylor,; hor satellite. Others In the disappointing play are so-so. Jbeei (Clo.ied after one performance. real, firm body and the show has greater suspense than any operetta ever seen here. Acting Is excellent for a show of the kind, which is a boon, too. Story retails the yarn of a young, eminent^ Viennese - •- psychlatiist (Slezak), wlio falls In love with a penurious Baroness (Miss McCbrd) after having the girl waved before him biy a dispossessed, flat-broke Baron (King), who figures to wed the- girl to the tllenlst-and; - know- ■ ing the girl lavlshosl all her affection on hinn, supply him with coin and stolen caresses the re'kt of his life. Pretty Well established tha.t the Baroness agrees only because of her overwbelntiing love for the wastrel, caddish, ex-nobleman. Psychiatrist is well-heeled and world renowned, but he was only a gardener's son at the start and so Innately,.feel8 hum- ble before the Inheritors of title.' After the marriage, which is never really consumihated because the alienist takes a run-but powder on wedding night on the, excuse that~ biz is pressing, the Baroness learns she loves her husband and resists the purse-pinched marriage-ar- ranger. Meanwhile, the alienist's sec has been subtly undermining.his marriage by an elaborate intrigue which binds so completely that all. the major characters are soon un- consciously aiding. With his wife striving to win his. attention the alienist resorts to his professional mind and figures that by playing a stalling, patient game of casually waiting he will eventually win what he unknowingly ha!s. Chain of care- fully built situations by the fine Machlavelliah hand of his jealous secretary drive him to the despair of trying to kill his wife. It's mar- velously welded suspense, and thei sort to excite much sympathy in both leading characters. Show is played in flashback, starting with the time the alienist brings the police Into his home and announces- he has killed his mate, then ^hooting back to<-a...comvlote history of the romance. Slezak Is flne as the alienist, though he is a bit naive for a man who snagged the Nobel prize. Miss McCord, ' Junoesque raven-tressed Baroness, has the ravishing beauty, acting' ability, and voice that make her trouping of the character .su« perb. Walter Woolf King (who was Walter Woolf when he sang roman- tic male leads In Shubert opei'ettas of a few years back, and Walter King In pix more recently) Is hand* planed for the Baron, giving the role a flair and poUsh and complete- ly disarming the auditors In that he removes offenslveness from the character and at the .end appears just a genial, down-at-heel ex-' nobleman who won't work. Leo G. CairroU as an older ex- noble chlseler with even less criti- cal-conscience, is fine.. Ditto for the rest: Vera Van, who figures In the secbnd act only as a young gal on the make for the alienist's student; the blase Willi (Sloane); Miss War- ren-Wilson, the sec'y with as flend- Ish an Intent as one of the Borgia gals. Dance twain, Cole-Dudley, is oke with two brief moderne marches. Perhaps the best song Is 'Dance, My Darling,' though 'I Built Dream* gets the biggest play and plenty of reprises, probably because it figures essentially In the idea of the plot. Eleven songs in all. Settings: ai'e excellent, production flawless and rich. Revolving stage Is used*. Femmes will' faincy It chiefly, ?May Wine' being loaded with appeal for 'em. Scharper. Continental Varieties (2D EDITION) Boston,; Nov. 19. six-act variety show (French) staged.by ■Henry Carson. Premiere at Shubert the- atre, Boston,.' Nov. 19, '35. With Luclenne Boyar, PIU and Tabet, Baphael, Georges- Andre Martin. Helen Gray and Rocky Twins, Iza Volpln's Continental Quartet. Charming guttural voices and fapile fingers are the characteris- tics of the Boston opening of 'Con- tinental Varieties* with Luclenrie Bbyer. Mile, Boyer's voice, of course. Is the most alluring, al- though the olcver minstrelsy' of Pils and Tabet runs in the money. Raphael lumbers onto: the stage, a huge fellow, simply adorned with a Hltlerlan moustache, plays the concertina. Plays It superbly. Un- der hlb dancing; chubby Angers, the small Instrument becomes a Lilli- putian orchestra, with tiny trumpets and diminutive violins doing their utmost. Called a 'diseuse* in the billing, Mies Boyer Is, In American vaude vernacular, a top-raterplus seller of songs. Truly running the well- Icnown gamut, she alternately arouses mental sobs and smiles from her audience. Playing her voice like a musical Instrument, she performs with a delicacy and flnesre uncommon on U., S. stage. So entranced are heir auditors that they hesitate just an instant after each number before bursting out in a roar of acclaim. Outstancling in her repertdirc of songs are: 'Dans la FumeeJ' 'IClss of Romance,' (Continued On page 62)