Variety (Feb 1936)

18 VARIETY VARIE1¥ HOUSE REVIEWS Wetliies^ayr February 26, 1936 I ROXY, N. Y. (BOWES AMATEURS) New York, Feb. 21. Pear Major Bowes: Last summer your Income through radio, units, shorts and other inter-' «Bts, was estimated to be flowing In at the rate of $l,O0O,O00ra-year. At that time you had five or six units out on the road. ,Now you have about 15 units, so the gross must be considerably higher. If this keeps up J. P. Morgan will be backstage any minute to make a touch. 1^ . This week the downtown Roxy Is presenting the first Bowes amateur unit to appear in New York. So it's big time for you for the first time. With that $i,dOO,000-or-better pacA set and more than mairitaned,, to--, tally away from Broadway up to now. Thanks to the Roxy booking, at $6,000 for the show for the week, Broadway, or that strata of show business which Broa.dway repte- sents, has its first opportunity to see this latest phenomena of the theatre up close. But If Broadway caught your show at the Roxy, Fri- day night, it learned nothing by flight that It hadn't learned before by ear and through reading the papers. If anything, it gleanfed that Broadway, except for. a few extra electric bulbs, differs not at all from other Main streeits. The house wsTs Jammed with 5,000 people, with round heels, balance and all the other accoutrements that go .to make up a pushover congre- gation. Major, your boys and girls slayed *em. Everybody, had tO; take ah eh cor6. Everybody had to make a speech.v Everybody had to thank th9 audience—-and Major Bowes. , Yes sir,' ^"they certainly landed And It Tfraj3- 'no.*sufpi?lse, even on Broadway. - The click of the show and the business. it viras drawing proved nothing .excepit that , a troupe <)f 20 grade-.B ek-novlces under a Bowes, unit - tiame e^t $6,000 ^re ^as miich of an attraction , on Broadway Nas in the sticks, '., But the'Question tliat needs 9h Bwering rem^'ins unanswered. And that,'Major Bowes., is: What hap pens to our 'amateurs' when they're through -with your unit^, or your units ar^ throvlgh wlth'"'them? That .niiust come' some. 'time. Will the piublic lQve.^.!09i4h December as they did In May? ' Show buf^iness differs froih other lines of humah^ endeavor. It ap peals to its workers as does no other professlpiiv This acting part of 'show business exerts a particu- larly strong: hbld on. the sentiments and ftnifoitions of those' who enter it, Once you get It In your blood,, it Isn't: easily-shaken off. But that's, not telling ycii anything, major. The purely commercial purpose 1)ehlnd the radio ciampalgn which makes the Bowes stage units possl ble is to sell Chase & Sanborn cof fee. .The weekly announcement on" this ,'mdjst popular program on the air ia -itb the effect- that llsteh^s can.' give thousands o£ ambitious youngsters a chance to' do their stuff and have their 'stuff heard, by buying sonie Chase' & Sanborn cof fee. Whether the coff.ee 1^'good or bad hasn't been especially stressed of late. The sales promotion Is •Drink a cup of. coffee (Chase Sanborn coffee.) and give an ama teur a break.' ■ In view ■ of the campaign, as against the fa)2:t that Chase. & San born is selling coffee, not amiateurs there ar^ ^ome . people who see 'a gimmick and other things back of it all. And' thi^re are-other people whose objectiona a're based on the, fact that they don't like to see any body make hlmsfelf ?1,000;000 or more it), a year. But these are minor matters. _ 3Vraj6r Bowes vrMnta to make a mil Uoii, that's ;hls lookout. If.Chase j& Sanjbbph li^rahts to present an ama- teur show on the radio, with the amateurs replacing the outmoded .date on the' can, that's Chase & Sanborn's business. I'here "Would be amateur shows on the radio without Chase & Sanborn. There were amateur shows before radio. But the units are something else again. The 200 or so kids who have gone out in these' units are another • problem. They are fortunate in having things much easier than the average amateur, but then again they might be unfortunate In hav- ing these advantages. The average participant in, the, real amateur shows which now arid then produced real star material in the past, had jio easy time of it. He was kicked •-around plenty. If he made good in the amateurs, he '\vould go oh to better things. But the better things at first wefe not much better. Still the hard knocks he took on the way up served him well later on. And he withstood the early punishment because he was accustomed to nothing better. The Major Bowes amateurs have a comparative cinch. -With 15 units now out,' theatres' clamoring for more, and a lot of competitive pro-, grams on .the air, flrit-rate, sImon pure talent is scarce, and they don't have to be- too good to get into a Bowes unit now. Arid when they get into one. they're paid for their work. Not much Major, not much- But they're paid. And no gong. And no hook. Yet it isn't the coin that will do the spolllngf. The adulation theyVe & If nOw, receiving ' s whatjs going . to hurt later on—when It's missing. Would any youngster who stopped the show so cold at the Roxy Fri- day night believe it if you told him that he is not certain to be a future great? Even the hardened profes- sional forgets how he flopped In Des Moines when he makes good in Omaha* Those thrilling but deadly salvos of Roxy applause are llkely- to hypnotize these kids for the rest of their lives. ■The real task confronting the unit amateurs will arrive Avhen they first step out on their own, not as ama- teurs under, the audIence-i)roof Bowes label, but as professionals without alibis for shortcomings and without fortification other than their own ability. ,Mpst .of them are destined to flunk that acid test. But, with the Roxy applause ringing in their ears, "wlU they see the truth even then? The sidewalks of Broadway ancl Its side streets are overflowing with peot>]>e who received far less en* couragement than these'kids, and even they can't see it. Candidates either for stardom or a berth on the fildewalk. the mieni- bers of the Roxy's. Bqwes unit In the Order of their, appearance, are: Fritzl Robblns, redhead who sings popular songs, and the most prom- ising member of] the troupe, despite her early spotting Bui- liiss Rob bins exhibits nbthirig .iinusual .or exceptional In. hei^ line, and 'profes sional singers of her-type retail for the •vir.k. dime a dozen. . Sol Slosser, fat bo3^ ..17, hailing from Poland an^ over'here a year. Serious singer With a comic appear- ance, ideal amateur type.^"- Muriel Ober, whfstler. Incident- ally; whatever became of Milo? Gold Medal Band; 10 Instriimenr talists whose niusic isn't bad for such youthful swing;sters. But did you evfer walk l)y :1he«orner of 48th and Broadway, ISitSIOt. * A: young fellow who used to- j^laiy^ p^ the Paul Whitemian ot^hestra was arrested there the ^tht)^ -day for 'blocking traffic.' .Davey Moon, coidf'ed baritone who wears a. hellhop's.uniform to signify his late' bccupalibiC .iThepe ate more, openings ^p^r beUji^f^s than ior. baritones. ' ' . , Sajiaii Berner,. mimic.-juiss Bemer tells thb-audience that she was disr liharged'from,'her job Iji a depart ment store . ^When she was caught giving: Jmltatlons of the customers'. Then she shows the ahdience ,what she means, befiffnnihjg with a French lady whOjwants to buy Bome stock. Ings.: And iinlishing with, Fannie BrJee's bathing beach routine. Well, thejre's always. (Miss)-Juliet. And Sylvia Clark. And so 'on-,^ . Celeste Olvey, soprano^ blonde and buxpim; whose father is a tJ. S. Army OfBper stationed In San. Francisco, If he's a dutiful father he'll give his daughter the lowdown.. . Three Yoeman Boys, the wows of the show. Trio of kids playing fld die, clarinet and acotdlon, and' giv ing 'imitations' of various well known radio bands by playing their respective theme songs. If a fellow sings 'Sonny, Boy,' It isn't neces sarlly an imitation of Jolson, but the Roxy audience wasn't inclined to split .hairs. Skeets Simmons, hobrt character with a Pan time style, is the closer, and another whacker. He tells the folks that, this Is a much better ^re ceptlon than he got the last time he visited New Xork, Which is the same thing Billy McDermott used to tell them, and you can close yoUr eyes and imagine it's Billy all through his routine. But the tipoff on Skeets is the series of barhyard Imitations which gets him off. . Shmv 'Is m.c.'d by Jack Squires, who used to be a very good musical juvenile himself, and who handles ■his -nursemaid assignment nicely herein. Roxy tosses' in a good girl number by its own Gae. Foster troupe to start things off, and then backgrounds the. amateurs with a tricky, bandstand setting. * House orchestra led by Freddy "Mack plays the show, along with two pianists who travel with the unit on the road and usually serve as its only musical accompaniment. Unit is ;abeled No. 1, but it includes several amateurs who hit the Bowes pro- gram during vhe past few weeks,. If there is any talent of high cali- bre and bright promise in this unit, it will take a coriibinatlon of Gus Edwards and a first rate fortune teller to .find it. The belief of the show business IS that talent or mei*it will find , and assert itself even if the public doesh't'buy Chase & San- born, coffee, C&S's contrary com- mercial plugs notwithstanding; To quote your own favorite ether epigram, Major ilowes—'The wheel of fortune is ready for another spin. Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows.' That's your question. Major. You answer it, lUge. Radio City Music Hall. Spain de- IIveri9i' a. good. castanet and skirt-" swinging'routine by the girls land a Punch and Judy show by Tommy Trent. Act gets by on its novelty. In Italy a group known as the Master, Singers tonsil on a too-dark stage for a slow sequence. Then into Morocco, which Is a walloping note in the show. Military routine by, the girls is a fine audience- rouser on routining- and excellent costuming. Spotted In this sequence are the Three Bilimorettes, lookers, with a round of acrobatics which are tops in difQOulty and flash. Tumbling of every shape and form, topped for a finale, in which the girls deliver a section of professional tui^bling 'While skipping rope. Then into Ricar.d6 Cor'tez, who proves , to .be a stooge for a boy he hired to be his ntooge» or something tike gthat. Strictly ohe\^f those thlng^s-where 'glamor' rather than performance is. the commodity. Picture," »Ah ' Wilderness' (MG). Business good supper show Friday. Oold, R. C. MUSIC HALL The Music Hall's guess la prob ably as gogd as anyone else's, but It doesn't seem entirely logical that this .world a cen^pt^ hence- \fill be quite. what ..this. week's^J3tage show Implies; symbolically and' Otherwise, if the M. H.« stager has .read the tea leaves correctly, there's ..going to be too much slithering for. gen e;!:'ai comfort 4h the days ot come. Libeled '2036'—Preview of the Futui?ej' the presentation, produced by RUsseli Markerti starts 'off with the corps del ballet in 'Dawn of the New Century.' Attractively garbed and beiiutlfully lighted, they shake through a sneaker-upper . routine both Od the. flat rbstruni jtnd^ on two ramps running; up at angles iln op poslte directions from the center of the . stage. A girl who Is probably ^ member of the ballet, because she's dressed like the rest, and Isift individually billed, does the pick outs.', 'Scientific Creation* reveals the goings o^ii In a surgical amphlthe atre of thie future. Glee Club doubles jin song as the student-audience while Esther JUnger, Harry Losee arid f^ed Taggart as a trio execute one of the. stifahgest dance routines ever .witnessed, at this.house, even stranger than Martha Grahani's futuristic gallop which mystifled the patrons of this Miisic Hallos open- ing iphow a. couple of years ago. Miss Junger jilays a .corpse^ appar-^ ently, and the boys, as .scientists, bring her' back to Ufe. After fevlV ing her .they toiss her around - in a regulation adagio routine, Dlus plenty angles, -which is no way to treat.a new-born lady. Even if the audience happens to understand the number, it would stni be a mystery^ 'i^ove is Still the Same' Is .a fit- ting; number sqng out in 'one' and through a mike by Robert Liandrum and Beatrice Joyce, with a" catchy lyric ti effect that. the. World may change, but love .will always be;' etc Some eight girls billed as 'manne- quins* parade across the stage in lavish costumes to bring this musi- cal sequence to a conclusion and give it some bulk at the same time. Rockettes handle the closing,^ do- ing a drill while leaning up against a stageful of green colored objects that too closely resemble the dec-^ orations in a e>raveyard. The nuni- ber needs all of the pep that the Rockettes can give it, and more. Ballet joins in to flll up the stage for the flnale.. Pit, symphony plays . 'MignOn' for an.overture/ and the whole bill is In support of 'Follow the Fleet,' which was drawing Thursda.y night. ' Blge. CHICAQO Chicago, Feb. 22. Standout production currently that shows what this house staff can do. Presentation is divided Into two portions, one for the house numbers and the other in 'one' for the Rlcardo Cortez (New Acts) per- sonal; Production proposea to take the audience on a winter cruise with stops in Spain, Italy and Morocco, well'done even If copped from the Cirque Medrano, Paris Paris, Feb. 7. Marcel Thil, world's middleweight champ, is headllner In the current Medrano > show. He canle in one night to see the circus shortly, after his match with' Lou firoulllard, and the crowd, recogfnizing him, howled for hlni until he was, forced to get into the ring and wave his clenched fists. So Mr. and Mrs. Medrano caught on to his current value, and hired him, at something like $200 a day. He's worked Into the burlesque revue 'Rhum in Rome,' which still constitutes the second half of the show. Substituting as headline attraction for Barbara La .May, Ame'rTcan dancer, and a couple of other numbers who had to. quit the holdover show, his publicity value is sufficient to draw fair crowds. This in spite of the fact .that he puts up a pretty poor show-^three short ex- hibition rounds with his sparring partner, Edouard Tenet,; who Is the welter .champ of Prance. Boys are not. brilliant bOxers, and since they naturally don't slug—^what is there to watch? Thll's name and face, alone, are popular enough, but two weeks of him will probably prove plenty. First part, of the show, consisting of variety Is sterling. Rosello, who does equilibrlsm Under the rafters, netless, on an apiparatus shaped like a new moon, is a thriller. Second billing goes' to Felovis, a particularly fast juggler, doing Rastelli work. No American acts. iSferrt. HIPP, BALTIMORE Baltimore, Feb. 21. Whisn this indie, booked in Mike Riley and Eddie Farley with their ^orchestra, many of the, wlse-Avillles figured the boys' . Value for Baltp was -dead now that their 'Music Goes Round' had toppled from best- selling lists and unprecedented radio plugging. It was a viewpoint, but the Hippi held another. Prom opening performance onward house entertained no doubts;, the-boys aye batting out a big league figure for the b,o., and have knitted into the bill flawlessly, ^ Smart move was to halve'jem with their pic, 'Music Goes Round' (Col). The boys have their six-piece band and provide about first opportunity local aUdienees have had to glim ah honest"to-gosh jazz-band in action. They start out sniping at customers with 'Clap Hands,' then swing through couple, more numbers, clir maxing with the logical drescendo of the occasion, 'Round,' with Riley leading the rally and Farley sort of straighting for hiin. Nuniber has, of course, been dorie in multiple man^ ners and has lost its, kick, but these lads prove highly origina.1. Up ahead, the show has two high spots in the long-estabilshed and Standard chalk-talk turn of Freddie. Craig;" Jr.,. with "his interesting, mental gyihnastic's,-and X>ick and Edith Bar stow.. 'IBoy-and-gi'rl hboflng of the Bar-^ stows seeps through gradually, and at ' conclusipn '..has the' customers sewed up tight. They do. three |iumn hers, the closer the real- clincher; with Dick dahcirig on his toes along with hlia sister. The toe-tapping was high-grade, and capitally cli- maxes the pair of preceding prances. The team i)ossesses rare stamp of youthfullhess that instantly appeals. There -Is a banjo-strumming boy who , slips on for a few ,numbers 'tween twain's second and final WhlrL Act. needs more bulk to ascend to' rightful position among' .flash acts, but h£Ls the nucleus for a swell, fuil-siz^e flash. Bert' Frohmian has an arduouis, Olfflcult assignment. AU he is really heedecl ffpr is to straight for Bert Gordon, 'btit-vhe's In for some vague lireason as, a-8^i-m.c. Comes, on aftet the Barstdws and tells a few gags before Craic gets into his Ughtnlns mathematics. That inser- tion was perh^iiiiS'necesary because time was heeded for ' backstage shifts, but: It's toUgh for FrOhman and he has hard time holding the naob. With Gordon, just before Riley-Farley, he is ttofe In his ele- ment and the' pair" have a couple of fair mpm^ts. Gordon goeis in for'^ven ^more mUggrIng than usual to get'his stuff by. Since appearing on Cantor's ether proerram he haS, adopted' the 'Mad Russian'. character. and out front gets billed as. siich. The. trans- formation firom his'Old dialect type to his new is achieved by extra hair ruffling and a drooping mustache; aside from that .he's the same Gordon. Rounding out program. Paths clips and .a short- 'Winter at the Zoo.' Standees Friday morning. JEFFERSdN, N. Y. When Bank Nite and vaude get together, the vaude is cut. Current five-acter here is under, the wire in slightly less than 60; minutes to leave room for the prize-dispenslrig and still give the house a four-show turnover. Fact that the layout was run Off In such qiilck fashion, how- ever, mitigated soniewhat the slowness of the entertalnhient it contained., Bank Nite money Friday night was $100, but this appairently wasn't enough. The house .was little more than half-filled. Film is 'My Mar- riage' (20th-Fox). About all the vaude end contains is comedy, and good, too, provided by Benny RoSs and Maxlne Stone, in the next-to-shut spot, and Yorke and Tracey, who. deuce. Latter Is a condensation of a four-act Yorke formerly did with Ben Marks. He has: the same tall girl with him, and she's still on the .short-end of plenty roughouslng. Act is all hoke "and gets laughs. Ross' comedy lies along different lines, the singing juve leaving it up to the lazy acrO-dancer character portrayed by Miss Stone (Mrs. Ross) to .tickle the risibilities. An offstage mlke-volce also helps with the laughs, with Ro^s pacing well and filling the gaps nicely with his vocals. Ada Brown's mammying. in the middle frame also clicks; though not Strong until she does the 'Truckin' song and dance at the blowoff. Then she nearly tied things up, but no encore. Opening Mayfalr Revue, which originally claimed three men and two girls, now contains four glMs and one man and is quite corny in its present production.- setup. Boy and girls play accordions, with the latter doubling as dancers and singer, In front of a forest-scene which appears to have been resur- rected from the dim past. Closing is the Degauchi Jap.s.'. rlsely work and tumbling, standard. Sch<i.r PARAMOUNT, N. Y. 'Trail of the Lonesome Pine' (Par) and Eddy Duchln as the pit orches- tra presentation combine into strong boxoflice fare at the Par this week and set to hold over. Looks easy for a fortnight's stay, and possibly longer. With the crack Duchin band are the Pickens Sisters .and Conrad Miayo, latter featured in vocal solos; The Pickens with their mike har^ monies come - on after the Duchin presentation, backed by the band and ably stralghted .by the maestro-; ni. c. from the piano, who builds 'em up nicely. Duchin's appeal is. melodic audi- bility. It's effective dansapation, as has been past proved, but Duchin has also capitalized on his radio, opportunities by a canny change of pace in the selection of s6nj;s, not the least of which-is that they must be of tuneful calibre. This permits his piano to go.forte .and tp pleasant audible appeal. ' . His 10 men are in red jackets, he in formal tails. With the lighting set- ting off his digital deiterlty at the Ivories. Incidentally, Duohln .has a sweet-hot first ttumpet who'a a honey. His version of 'Stormy Weather* in his particular moment. After 'Letdown' (the Fred Astaire composition) the band reeled off a ahappy\'Cucaracha'-for its rumba interlude. The. Pickens, -doubling frorn, the Rainbow Room, open with..another; Astalre song, this time by Berlin for Astaire, ('Lead the. Band,' - ouf\; of 'Follow the Fleet.' More Berlin,,Via a medley of 'All AlOne* into the cui;- rent pop., 'Alorie;' frOm 'Night at the Opera* (HilaitJrBroB.). The Pickenscs capitalize the publicity which an operatic femme trio obtusely gave them last year, at a benefit, when they travestied an Imitation of the Plckins "listers doing 'Minnie thje Moocher." rrhey repay the compli- ment with a broad burlesk on oPera Par News, Par .Pictorial,-and a 'Betty Boop' round out the sho'w, which runs long. Feature 100 min- utes; stage show 30 hilnuteS, be- sides the organblog, shorts. and !trailer's. Biz strong.. Aleh STATE-LAKE, CHI Chicago, Feb. 23. House has started a campaign for top names and is boosting Its weekly gross sOme three arid four thousand above its recent $12,060-$13,000 average. The most steady grosser in the Loop due to its regular week- after-week patronage, the theatre Is continually building. Names are being shrewdly picked for this particular audience. This week's headllner Is an excellent choice for the State-Lake, Frank Buck. Booked In with his picture, •Pang and Claw' (RKO), Buck makes It a good combination. * State-Lake's line of girls opens the show with a jJemOrisJfratiori, that again proves that they i^ate artibng the best lines In this iaectlon; They do an acrobatic pumber in which- the girls demonstrate their versa- tility, each contributing a specialty that's fine fOf a chorus line. Elmer CleVe is . back here again and a clean cut click in the deuce. His femme .and male stooges work well, mixing the comedy talk iivlth the accordion work cleverly. 'Cleve himself pounds the xylophone and iktraights f or the two comics. tee" Murray -does a drunk dance on a wide set of stairs. .Entire ■routine runs close to 10 mInuteS and it's to Murray's credit that he can pad it out ,that long without Jetting it sag. Before Murray enters a femme partner manages a fairish control dance. After Buck the show moves into the presentation half and the act of Kendall Capps, Sr. and Jr., who .make good . on their straight danc- ing and singing but hurt themselves ■with their attempts at. comedy. Kirby and DuvaMs the comedy note In the flnale, with the long-legged Kirby getting hls^ usual quota of laughs. Business gfood yy;- STATE, N. Y. (DAVE APbLLON UNIT) Every now and then Loew's turns from its regular vaudeville bills to a unit, this week being one such in- stance. Dave Apollon, whose name means something aroUnd New York, has come In off the road and with one of the best shows he's ever had takes over the State stage for a total of 74 minutes. He shouldn't be there quite that: long but in the hour and 14 riilntites he and his fellow artists dispense' a whole lot of good, clean, wallopy eritert?il^- ment. -'V;. About 60 minutes, .cutting dbvt-h here and there, would make ..wiie Apollon aho\v even better arid fastSr •than it is. Opening could be shorter. It brings on the 12 Bines girls and and acrobatic troupe, the Seven Arabian Sheiks. .While a colQiE<ifiil Opening, nicely dressed, it wo.uild serve the same purpose if no lorig^ than two or three minutes. Very clever ventriloquist, Slgnor Wincess, could al.so cut down con- siderably and still, be one of the highlights of the production. Por- tions Apollon has with his Hawaiian (Contipu^i.d. on- page 39) v*w^a>CTaaF?wg??jvJi.'A'iJi['3Lfcir TT:tMiiiHu»t]