Variety (Apr 1936)

.1... VARIETY 63 Hotise" Reviews (Continued from page-17) ,, T.dla?< (20th-Fox), advertising, ^oper- fflfl and what not. That brings {greek's nut up to the split fig- S5 and it's -tough to dp wore than, Soft on-the week kt 30c and 45c, gjjj" raise. ..over .the- established, ^sSeS'fire, Amos W Andy .aVe «ceUent, appearing as they do here S makeup. Boys look .swell after SELt weeks of Palm Springs. They Sr'a, short routine' from a hroad- Skt 'took iirt the Book,' with Andy S&nptirig Amos, who';is. making a Sfeecn arid a demonstration of voice *nd personality chahge's as they do &V'tne characters in their broad- Sat. Latter 1$ a good novelty, with the audience going strOng\ for the jangfish, Lightnln', Brother Craw- ford and others. . , • Despite the fact that it is 1 gen* orally known that all characters 1 are, . liwriersonated by r tbe ,pair,7 It's the ffi3i9Pot- of the act. "Working fast, Sly do a'routine lasting but five fflin^iitesV take their bows and call it -yits, with the feature starting immediately .^forestall any possi- bilities Pf 'overtime Prue to the num-' ber' of'shows being increased from five" to' ; six.' : '.' Rest' 'of' the. bill is well balanced.. Opening' are Healy arid Macy iti a sinfctt" bar routine, snappy. Boy and girl present their stuff with- out any stalling, and make a good appearance. Myers ; and St.; John, comedy dancing team, ne>t. Act ; 'is a fair deucer, -though, material Is smallie. Girl does some fair POh r > troV work, while the man depends on Ws limber leg routine. ■Gregory and. Raymond next. Novelty , team getting music out . of tire pumps, hot. water bottles, rub- ber'glov.es and vacuum cleaners. ■Nicely timed comedy arid. some hoofing nianages to build the act to a good finish; Medley and Dupree followed. Team, has stooge with an excellent voice who gives act a strong finish; otherwise it's plenty noisy, with the male member of -the' team depending on a lot of shooting and other loud business- to sell his "laughs; which he does in good .fashion.''Sufficient hoke in the act to make it an outstander and get the , customers in good shape for Amos 'n' Andy, who follow. ' Business standout from opening up to 4.p. m. openlner day ( Wednes- day)* Universal news completes the bill. • Call. MEDRANO, PARIS •Paris, ril 17. Not a single American act on this bill:-* Whether that has anything lo do'with it or not is uncertain, but tMfe; offering-is not u^> to the stand- ard the/Med- ; ano - usually gives • out; there IS no doubt. Fifteen acts make 'up this show, three sets ..Of clowns. Opener is Qarre Bros., with their permanent equestrian bill, followed by the Four Rlehleys,- two boys and two girls. : domg . ; a ( hpad,- and ha ; nd balancing 'a.ct which get fairly , good i:etu'rns. Miss Dora/a French contprtion- istj as she usually does, . draws a -good haild with her. novel presenta.- Hons and the Two Sioux Dakota?— 'who - never saw that part of the AYo'iid—go over well. Maurice and May entertain Well and garner nice applause for their excellent bicycle stunts. May Is a pretty girl; and Maurice docs a ■takeoff on Joe Jackson. Miss Aqua, closing .the first half, proves that Fx'ench audiences, still enjoy watch- ing; a trained seal juggle. .'Three Gazetti,. two husky lads and a Pretty, Amazon whose build does not show her strength, are well re- eejved, while the Five Carpi as closers send the Crowd away con- vinced 'that, in spite of all the com- petition. Jerome and Mme. Medrano are doing all possible to keep the reputation they have for good en- tertainment. • Not as strong as some shows here, out they can't all be. Earle, Philadelphi Philadelphia, April 24. Earle's bill , this week is a little something above average with ■Koger Pryor making a personal ap- pearance in the headline spot, Bulk j>£ the show is made up of George ^noos' 'Revue Parisienne,-' with J'ypsy Roma-je. singer in a local n "ery, another added starter. Film is Big Brown Eyes' (Par) and Fri- days first "shpw was near capacity, cr edlt probably going to Prvor. Bert Walton is m.c. of the unit 11V and ,:nows his stuff on pacing tt-}?u e hiPhasis. Proceedings start with a unison dance by the 12 Dare Z.IV L 9 (slx f^'nmes and six boys) able ° kay %vlthou t being' not- Jollowing that, Gypsy Roma-je. S an P e aring in Benny the. Bum's. •P*5 i te spot ' does a medley of TnTw!w n nu »nbers featuring the 2«S"1 Une T * r,a ln Spring.' She ffiS—--^ ith a comedy dance, but ,vl^ se?) mos "y by her warbling. cnn^\?° me9 ^ Helen Denizon With a SSS n V, fl1 * 1 but well-presented toe tin,,n i l, » classic touch being con- ■Ihe ■ *£ ^ a Uvin £ tableau depict- iw,t«~ r ? e wheat fleld Workers. Gals ■^"ig haven't much in the way of drapes, but that 0 all goes under the heading of art. Show goes into n: h. for the first time with Ray Boyce, wl»o does aril acrobatic drunk dance that's 5 a clarb ! He's followed by a trio (uhpro- grammed) who also.do a little ac- rpbjatic dancing, with one of their number playing a violin; Just fair, although neatly costumed and pic- ■ tured. Dare Devils follow with a fast tap dance in a rumba tempo. Cuban background and costumes, both rich and artistic, make this a real flash, Walton reappears to do a brief com-, edy skit with three stooges, plus a show girl. It has a punchy if rather Obvious black-out, and serves as an okay interlude. - .Pryor's act is next. . He is more at home behind the- footlights than most Hollywood celebs, and the au- dience is quick.to realize that. He tells a couple of lightly amusing stories arid sings three .rimribers. It might be better for him to. out one vocal number and add to the chat part of his Offering. / " Helen "Denizon returns to do a graceful if familiar bubble dance, .based ■ along classic line's, which leads to another flash Ariafe with the showgirls upstdgeY Nellie Ar- naut and Bros".' then wesent their bird, actj' which is first "rate- of its; kind. The Dare Devils offer a waltz •routine which goes into an adagio •■that lOoks more difficult than it really is due to smart showmanship. House liked it. , Walton Comes back 'with .Jack Lyons, one of his stooges; but their comedy is pretty fiat. M. C. re- introduces all the principals for the final curtain. Waters. CASINO, TORONTO Toronto, April 25. ■ Curtain rings up on Casino, to'wh's newest indie vaude-pix spot, and doing stand-up biz. Downtown 1,120-seater M'as built by Jules Allan in conjunction with Arthur COhen. Alla.n's chain of theatres went bank- rupt some years ago and most of them are now being operated by Famous Players-Canadian; Cohen was. former president Of FP-Can. until, ousted by N. L. Nathanson. That's the picture of the competi- tive set-up. Only FP-Can. vaude spot operated.in Toronto is. Shea's Hipp and looks as* if the Casino crowd have thrown a scare into FP because latter have now inaugurated a Sunday midnight policy, in keep- ing with the Casino weekly change skedded for that time. This will probably not be cort- tiriued. on the part of the Jerry Shea show-shop. Point is that the Shea customers Will not come downtown for an extra show, as,has been evi- dent in the past, two Sunday rnid- nights, and the Casino is drawing a clientele that will only hurt the Roxy burley three doors away. Man- agerial claim is that the Casino is 'presenting 'revues'-;■ it still adds up .to grade C vaude or worse. Line-girls are badly costumed and thfiir Work, is ragged. The 60-min. show is practically predicated on black-outs and bad comedy that will .have the Morality Squad squawk- ing if they ever drop in or are sum- moned; most of the material is in* digo. Noticeable is the lack of wom- en customers. However, tempo is zippy and audience-reaction is enthusiastic. The acts are giving the peasants the spice they apparently want. Acts are being booked through the Gus Sun office. VI Shaffer is pro- ducing and Bert Smith managing the stage-end. Some 20 peo'ple in current bill, plus 16 girls with Helen Brown as line-'captain. Troupe in- cludes Tommy Hanlon and. Bert .Evans, comics: Billy Cook and Ran- dolph. Paul, straights; Abie Sher, singer arid whistler; Joe Mage, song and dance; Nellie Clarke, come- dienne; Vi Shaffer, blues singer; Mary Haynes, character singer; Mile. Mysterious, fan and bubble dancer; Buddy Evans, .iuve. Architecture and decor is mod- ernistic. ^ Stage is fairly shallow. .Dressing rooms have showers; house has an air-conditioning plant, and smoking is permitted in the mez-z. Harold Kay is manager and George Davles asst. Orchestra leader is Curlev S. Posen. Starre budget runs about $1,200. Evening scale is 35c; 1 midnite, 50c. Fou'r-a-day. Screen, ' You May Be Next" \Co\). McStay. recenly as three months ago. Ex- treme sides arid upper reaches Of, balcony were empty at first show as against absolute- capacity oh past visits here. It isn't so much fhe business, however, as the attitude-of. the au- dience, tteed to be that the tyfbs were 'sold' before-ihey started, mob apparently recognizing their names from previous ]aplpeatance oh the Major's progfcanv, f that's indicative of one Or two things or both: either the Bowes hour doesn't have the listening appeal it once had, or the customers, want to. be shown now. At any rate, those opening hands today, save in one or, two excep- tions;, seemed, mighty perfunctory, and they were due chiefly to a heat bit of milking by Loring Smith, m.c. In the past the amateurs had only to open their mouths and the show stopped cold for what seemed,like riiinutes at . ia. time. . Today, m'Ore than one eh'Core; wdiild have been grandlarceny.; Trouble at'pfe'sent-wag' also obvi- ous at start pf amateur craze, but human natur^ is so constructed in favor of the Under-dbg that: paying patrons have refused until now to recognize this falling. Said fault is that the amateurs 6imply don't entertain; There's too much same-, ness about the ,tinits,..too much am- bition and hot enough talent. Ten aCts and seven of them singing turns, either Wholly'or in part Even the Major must be enough of a showman to know that can't last. Even an audiene'e steeped in the amateur tradition can recognize ability. That was proved by a little girl named Gloria Rich, the only one. of the . lot. who' might have had some pro experience. She's a cute blonde' -who torches and toe-taps and. she handles' herself as though she;knew whatsit; Was all about Kid got the biggest: hand of the day and made most of the others look like what they really, are. . Maybe, too;' the. .customers are commencing to realize that too. much encouragement is a bad thing. Maybe they're: thinking now of the rude awakening some of these kids are going to get once the Bowes craze is over arid they hit out for themselves, if they ever do. Maybe—bur then, there are a lot Of maybes possible. There's one In- escapable conclusion, however. A town that's given three Major Bowes units around $80,000 worth of business in- three weeks is switching its allegiance. Cohen. HAAG SHOW. FQLQS t, B'pfises Can't Agree and Mobile Trick Returns to Reorganike .. ■ Mobile, April 28. r . *Hpxry: Ha>tg r 3-ring ^ piwma : or- ganized here with local capital dur- ing the.Avi'nter with Harry Haagi jon 6f the 'Mighty Haag' of carnival fdme as general manager, returned here April 20, after a short season through southern Mississippi. Robt. C. (Bob). Schwarz, president of the company, said thsit a dis- agreement with Haag as to the method of operating the show brought the closing. The show was doing good business according to Schwarz Until iriterrial ;troubles de-- veloped. It was announced that' the show will' reorganize as the 'Great Amer- Icah' shows arid .tour southeast, northeast Alabama and into ; In- diana, Sam Schwarz, a brother oi •Boh Schwarz, has been named general manager. A new top has been ordered for the main tent and * several acts added. Circus Reviews STANLEY, PITTS. Pittsburgh, April 2-1. Since this is the only house ill the country that's played fojdr of Major Bowes amateur units for a full wt-tk, radio's modern Gonga-Din in par- ticular and show business in gen- eral mav possi-bly be interested m a few current observations. If one is to judge by reaction this after- noon, the ■simon-purcs reached tho crest some time back and may be headed for the oblivion that's been predicted for them all season now. Locallv, at any iW they're sil l a fairlv potent b.o. factor, though nothing up to lure they packed as Morton-Hamid Circus New Haven, April 26. With capvas just around the cor- ner for the big tops, and a few. al- ready out, there's an indoor outfit playing, these parts and mopping up in one-week stands,. It's the Mor- ton-Hamid ' organization and it packed the town's largest arena for some swell business. Working un- der auspices of Knights of Colum- bus,' on percentage with prices at 25-40, plus two-bits reserved sec- tion, everybody concerned, drew a nice piece of change, for the week's labors. . Usually handled as a solo propb-. sition, Bob Morton has teamed his resources with George A. Hamid on a one-year contract for a tour of U. S. and Canada stands. They've assembled a flashy production, nicely paced and routined, with enough variety to please 'eni right from the kids up to the oldtirivers. Show consists of 23 acts and runs 2 Vi hours. . Opens with band in -cow- boy outfits, leading the entree which includes garland, riding by Hoaglan Troupe. Snaps right, into a fast two-ring pony-and-dog number by TOrelli and Roberta. Next comes La- Pearl Trio and Avery Trio in com- edy aero stunts, followed by Aerial Solts on traps and Uilaine Malloy on rings. Clowns on for comedy bits and give way to a horses-and- dogs combo .. (Royal Doberman pinschers) in two rings and center stage. Martin and Martin, trapeze bal- ancers, get a pingle spot oyer cen- ter and are followed by Hodgini riders. Solts C2) and Merrills C2) wbr separate-rings in a perch num- ber, with Pallenberp Rears next. Rack to acron, with Tudor Sisters md Merrill Bros, and Sister w inp a stairway for upside down walking, etc Bernard's Elephants #et a nice hand and give way to i Hoaglari's High-Jumning Horses. C;.medy bike act of Will Marcus <?-. Co. is a highlic-ht at thLs point and is a ni^e buildup for entrance of Mickey KInp\ gymnast, billed as one' j of the show's standouts. ' ; Clnwri hand in as numberwHb i Flying Flemings next. Hod«r!rii I Tr'iupp ba^.k in an Tndian ridtnnr act. '■ followed by- Torelli and Roberta i comedv mules. More clowns. th»n Proske's Timers as a. next-to-closer, j A'-t is a bit tame,- despite fact, one | of the cats clawed trainer's f1n"er I durlnr/ stand here. Show closes wM h ! the Mixes (mnn and wo^nnV doing j mftf.rcycle spins in a pritded globe, ! Concert; attraction Is Margaret Ann j'Robinson, midget, at a dime a throw. Morton himself handles nnnounc- ; ing throughout. - Other members of j firganizaMnn are A-E. Waltrln. "en. 'ei'&l exploitation; Henry M. Rob- PROS AND CONS ON KEN MAYNARD'S CIRCUS Hollywood, April 28. ■ "Claiming that the odbrs and noises caused by. animals with the Ken Maynard Circus, which is due to play in Van \Nuys, local suburb,' on Saturday (2), are obnoxious arid .of- fensive, petition was circulated among the residents of the town for submission to the city council against the ^appearance of the cir- cus. In the: meantime, the Van Nuys chamber of commerce is get- ting out counter petitions favoring the event Application. permission filed by Maynard is meanwhile being held up by the council, who referred it to. the Buildings and Safety com- mittee. Pinched and Fined Norfolk, April 28. Three alleged operators and an assistant at. the West Shows- here, April 21 raided by police., Charged that cash prizes were being given, Judge Spindle slapped fines of $2C each on- the alleged operators and assistant; $5 on the participants; Names were given as William Grif- fin, David Thompson, X«ouis Myers and P. Lennon. Reader Trouble in Ohio State's New Law Is Only $1 for the Season—But , ur- Gantoh, O.,-April 28. j . More/.trouble; for. tho traveling showma* when, he.plays..Ohio l The Buckeye^! state-now has a law that reciuir^p hiiia, to take 'out an itinerant amusement license and the Tax Coriimission, Excise tax section, has instructed its agents throughout the state to see that the act.-is, enforced, R. C. Robb of. Canton, a representa- tive of the department, said this week.. The fee for the lieerise is reasonable enough, being only $1 for making as ^nany stands Jn. the slate as one wishes, put-'accpr ing to "showmen jit's the' trouble pn6 has ' to go [through in malj.irig -'application for 'the license"t)iat is'the thorn..lit the Side.' The Itinerant, the" law cites, :inust tell'what towns he is to play, give, the name- of the premises oiv. sponsors and specify the dates. bJe- fbre : entering' the state. With .'the first-' of the motorized" circuses' due. in the state riext week, aird" since most "o£ them winter, in the'south arid are not familiar with its provision's, Robb Was preparing this week to' cOritact the operators .of the various enterprises and acquaint them '^With new law. •which b'eeame effective Jan. I. New law is said tp be for. the purr pOse of checkfng up.with 8ho^ys on admission, taxes. BARNETT CIRCUS HEADS TOWARD NEW ENGLAND inson, In charge of Philly offices; Herman Oppenhelm, Texas offices, and Vernette Morton, Florida offices, Carl. Relckert and Hary LaBreque. Jiandle individual "cities on tour. Bone. Marietta; O., April 28. Barnett Bvbs^ circus, motor- ized out of winter quarters at York, S,. C, scarcely 10 days, ago, invaded the Ohio valley last Tuesday (21), earliest for an outflbor attraction ihere on record. An ill day snow and sleet storm hurt business' and caused much discomfort among the show personnel arid the performing and managerie. • Route from here takes the .show .back into West '-Virginia for several Istands, made annually by the Bar- Inett show, then into the upper Ohio valley next week end,' passing up :Wheeling for the.first time in years, •due to the 'deplorable' condition of the lots in thajt district. Show Will /be in eastern Ohio next Saturday, May 2, at Isbon, near East Liver- pool, and only a, few miles ;'from the Pennsylya'ri'ia line. •••' Show.' is Understood' to be headed east, with' the New' England states •as- its objective/' It's the earliest the Barnett .show- has been ln these :-parts.'in several years.' , ' Outfit is about tnp samje. size as last year : and is' again, piloted by >Ray Rodgers. POLACK BROS. CIRCUS Lincoln, April 24. Doing, indoor work now, but shortly to take advantage of warm- ing weather arid get out under.the sky, Polack Bros. Circus, owned by Louis Stern and Irving Polack, may be called a two-ring show, although one of the rinrrs is about marble playing .size;. It's' overloaded with wire ads, short oh tumbler.', short of animal relief, and full of dou- bling, but the week's nut on the opus is around 4Gs and as result it should be oke for the. treasury department. . Playdate here was handle.1 in the Fair Grounds coli- seum, which was cold as wove tho publicity ^nedlums, so the crowds were slight. Performing roster Includes the Polack Bros, band, directed by its one-armed drummer, Everett Con- way; the Burns do#K. monkey and pony revue; the DeRi.skle«, double trap and acrobatics; the Oreat C-as- ka Troupe, globe rollers and wire performers; the Levines, high perch stuff;- Ray Wheeler's-, high dlvint; dogs; Don LaVoln. slack wire; Black Brothers, aero' co Ics*. De- Iliskie Children, young aero; Fear- les.'i Franeelon, swaying pole; Hood i •Sisters & Vicky Van. contortion- ; l.-;ls; Henry Mott, gentleman strong j man; the flroths, brea-kaway lad- der; and J'\'irmer Burns, with his razorbaek Ijoks. ■In addition t(j the owners., .."am T, I Polaek Is treasurer: Bary l'-reden, publicity; (!us..L'ii'wm, ringmaster; anfl lOvfcjY'tt. (.'onsvay, musieal di- rector. Duke Mills promotes out front. No canvas planned for the r how, so every-'('lay after the Indoor dates will see a iirayer currying favor-of t.ie weatherman. Show will have no trouble with 1-day date.--, beeau.se. the paper looks like .RHU&H is comiili,' to town. The. presentation itself has loo HUiw color and loo little spe-d to impress, and after a h.';)f hour oni* begins to re"ognize. Ihe peo|>l" fs. Ihey rr>me On- to p"rfonn under another moniker. • urn. ... - y . Death Trails the Bike Norfolk, Va., April 28. Sudden death' trailed Lon Mincy, 30-year-old daredevil rider of! Strate's Carnival Shows, as'he did his.last perpendicular stunt, in the ihOtordrome at ' Portsmouth; He completed the ride on the Wall Of Death and Collapsed. Ho died al- most instantly, examination of a local hospital revealed. He had been complaining of feeling badly for the last several days. H6 refused to giye up his act. He felt that it was only a minor ailment. Mlncy's home was in fountain, Tenn. Des Moines Wild West Des Moines, April 28.- Des MoinoH local unit No. ,10 Pf the Iowa .state Police association is going ahepfl with plans for a rodeo at the (.'cliscum, May 25 to ."0, to raise money for the state association convenlloji be held here next September. From Horses to Bikes St. Louis. April 28. Third rodeo sponsored by-Wel- come Inn,, charitable organization. Rodeo ended nine-day engagement at Arena Sunday (10). Will be fol- lowed by. midfeet auto racing which Is. expected to net organization ap- proximately $800 a month. CEOSSDIG SMASH St. Louis. April 28. Truck owned by Greater Exposl- I tlon Carnival, Kansas City. Mo., | show and operated by Edward | Thomas, a negr-6, fatally injured. i.John XV. Russ, railroad crosslngf' watchman, In Mitchell, HI. I Truck and carny equipment bad) damaged.