Variety (Jul 1936)

14 VARIETY VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, July .8, 1936 i PARAMOUNT, N. Y. Holding 'Poppy* (Par) over for a third week, forcing out Ozzie Nel- son-Harriet Hilliard, because of pre- vious .bookings, necessitated a new Eit-band show here. Shep Fields and is orchestra, just closed at the Ho- tel Pierre, N. Y., (long, known as Veloz and Yolanda orchestra, en tour -with the dancers, and at the Palmer House, Chicago), plus Jerry Cooper, Katherine (Sugar) Kane and .Melissa Mason comprise a strong erttertain- nient this week. ; , Highlight is the Fields band's 'rippling rhythm,' now a radio trademark, making for one of the most unusual nuances ih contem- porary dansaptation. It's just enough of a distinction to put Fields to the fore In short oi*der; as it is not only fetchingly sprightly but equally ef- fective rhytfimpation for the hoof. As a theatre presentation Fields and his 12 men have plenty on the ball. Actually, this relatively new cdiribo is built around ' five socko keynotes—a drummer with a deft rhythm touch, yet light on the traps; a torrid trumpet; a violinist, with'a distinctive monotone, for. the color, utilizing a mike to highlight . it; a socko accordionist (Murray Golden), and. a tinkling pianist (Sal GW). :\ , „. * « Arrangements are melodic and clean, and even the advanced jazz- ique is all in the sweet-hot school, so that it falls easy on the ear. Along with, the basic showmanship of the orchestral color, there - is plenty of show-wisdom behind the numbers themselves. After 'Stompin' at. -the Savoy* for the opener, 'Humoresque' is-traced through the eras, from a 1900 waltz; the Dixieland style; the symphonic syncopation; the, sweet . (Lombardo) style; the swing and \ -finally Fields? own rippling rhythm- "patidn. Highlighted throughput are the^VJOlin-accordion duetirtg touches. >]B»therine (Sugar) Kane, young ster of mike antecedents, sells her . ■sjeaf for heavy returns with a Dixie .medley; then 'A Thousand Times No' a la Garbo, West, Hepburn and Pitts Encore;, and deserved, was a .to berti takeoff also medleyed. Come- dienne -is as effective with the per sonatjoris as with the Vocals. .Melissa Mason, heralded as from 'Scandals,' eccentric,, no-jointed -. dancer, whammed 'em with her leg- mania. Miss Mason's comedy hoofing is of big league timber. Murray Golden's accordioning of •Meloncholy Baby,'. 'Bali Bali' by the land, and Sal Gio's piano solo, *K}aiety,* follow as orchestral inter- ludes preceding Jerry" Cooper. The Bingcrosbyish . barytone has Im- proved plenty since his Hollywood restaurant novitiate. Strictly a mike • product, young Cooper never lacked ":. vocally. Now his deficiences on stage presence are considerably overcome. Doing'Goody-Goody*' 'Sin. to Tell a Lie,' 'Stardust' and 'Sunset on the Trail,' it's a generous-portioned help- . ing of pops> but Cooper had.'em sal- volng strong at the finale. 'Swamp- fire' is Fields' instrumental blow-off, an intricate arrangement, and to a solid score.' , .Stage show clocks 45 minutes and packs plenty of variety and enter- tainment Abel. fore they get on anybody's nerves.. Clean-cut acrobatics all the way. Dave Monahan is a. pretty clever xylpphonist Perched on a high stool, he clumps through melodies with two hammers - 'stuck in his brogahs and four in his hands. Looks difficult and probably is, with the audience - giving as much rating to the act for its acrobatic angles as for the musical novelty. Louis-Schmeling fight picture on the screen also for Jts .fourth show- ing in the loop. Business fine at the supper show on Friday, Loop. FOX, PHIL A. Philadelphia, July : 3. Only mediocre.stage bill at Fox this" week, but nobody, is unduly; con- cerned about it; least of all manage- ment. Pic is 'Poor Little. Rich Girl,' and so sure is moppet Shirley Tem- ple to pack-'em in that, house an- nounced even before opening that both film and stage show are in for two weeks 'at least/. Headlirier is Paul Ash, whose only Contribution to proceedings is simple introduction of acts and wielding stick for house band, which is on stage for show. Ash offers nothing on his own and it's question how much his batoning affects house musicians, whose everyday .job is ac- companying acts. Since band doesn't play any numbers on its own, there's ho particular point in having leader except for box-office, which pic doesn't need. Payoff to whole thing is Ash's lobby billing, which calls him 'greatest entertainer of'them all.' 7" Five-act bill opens with Betty Lee, cute looking kid becomingly garbed and coaxing fairish melody from xylophone. Introduced as college stude on vacation, she appears, to fill that classification. Does two' num- bers. Followed by Four Comets, about average roller skating act. Their turn at opening show was marred by one slip that tumbled boy and gal pair to stage floor. No casualties. Jack Gilford, mimic, on next to ape Harry Langdon, Jessel, John D. Rockefeller, Jimmy Walker, Vallee, Laurel and Hardy/Charles Butter- worth and Henry Armetta, then does brief Durante later. All in familiar groove. Next act is tops of show, bringing Lillian Shade to mike for- effective torching. Gal has okay pipes, though tones. are slightly metallic. Wears, striking clothes, has distinct style, uses notable arrangements and puts over her songs with sock. Agile tapper, Betty Keane, winds, up: individual acts. Worked Under difficulties at opener, apparently due to insufficient rehearsals with house band. One fairly lengthy bit, done without music, particularly notable. For windup of show Ash batons band in medley of Irving Berlin com- positions, this being writer's 25th anniversary. . Arrangements. showed more zeal than skill. Weak finale Jfobe. TQWER, K. C. ORIENTAL, CHI ' X Chicago, July 3. Popularity of the Duncan Sisters remains at its height in this town, with this proven by the tremendous receptions they receive,here. Spotted . in the closing section of this bill, they smack through to' a genuine click with'their standard arrange- ment of songs and comedy. Their pipes are plenty sweet onthe medloy of pop numbers and their comedy is finely , etched. Besides their con- sistent howl with the 'Topsy and Eva' routine, ■• they have added a comedy bit tagged 'The Spittoon My Father Left Me.'. Have also replaced the scallions and carrots, bit with doughnuts, tossing the sinkers in- stead of vegetables into the lap's of . the customers out front . They're over so big, it was neces- sary for the house, to s go right into the picture,. 'I Married a Doctor- (WB), before the audience quit stamping and whistling for more at show caught." Dorothy Hild steppers start the proceedings, delivering snappy mili- tary routine that had the audience v stepping time with their toes. Gr-1 getaway for any show and especially for this mob. There's more hoofing from the trio of Burns, Moriarity and Dell. It's a fine dancing act, with plenty of showmanship good tech- nique and routining. Finish with a fast challenge that sends 'em away smartly. Ernest Hiatt has an easy time of it with these customers. Fast chatter is especially good for laughs, though his tonsils can't stand up very well under the strain of nntjing attempts. But his delivery and his t"..rewd salesmanship get the two humorous ditties over neatly. Hild troupe returns for some bal- let .work with hoops, which leads into trampoline routine by the Three Heddinittons. Something about .trampoline wf- which gets fie - audience. Reddingtons ere smart in keeping their time down: -giving the ■ average audience. Reddingtons are smart in keeping their time down; fiiving the audience just enough en- tertainment and then lamming be- Kansas City, July 7. • '.-■ A good bill this week. Jack Lester, formerly in picture work on • the Coast is producing these shows. Al- though individual acts, are sufficient to make it a lively affair, nice pro- duction lifts it above the average. Pace- seemed predestined to ierky tempo when opening had Jack Carson, m;cV, in. role of a picture dance-director shooting a scene with the line (10), but the recovery was fast and things went on merrily. The girls.are capable steppers, but this number was more informative than entertaining. . Headliners are the Three Kings, fast dance team. The boys sell them- selves thoroughly with their chal lenge work and are easily the best hoof-group seen in this house in some time. Routines have a nice polish and the individual stepping is fresh. . Boice and Marsh, girl comedy dance duo, are in a tough soot fol- lowing the Three Kings, but manage to keep things going at a nice clip The turn is all Boice, who keeps the act out of the fire with her clowning which is of the Winnie Lightner type. Marsh, in an evening gown, does ,some poor work on a violin and dances. Girls seem to realize it isn't so hot, so Boice shadows her partner with a take-off that got a laugh. Emil and Leona use a teeter-board, The girl does a seilcs of bounces to the man's shoulders and head. This was the weakie on the bill. A seven- year-old girl and an 11-year-oM boy are this weeks amateurs. Youngsters have appeared many times about town with their tap routines. In this appearance they use the same act that was one of the highlights of the Don Davis travel show last month Tots have ability and personality. Carson handles the m.c. ass:"n- ment smoothly and sings 'No Greater Love,' which gets across to the femmes. He also warbles a duo with one of the ponies. She's looker, but lacks experience, with the mike. A flash finish with the line and visiting acts is oke. Judy Conrad's band (12) is on the stage lurking behind caricatures of picture stars Pic is 'Counterfeit' (Col). Biz aver age. HoyU HIPP, BALTIMORE Baltimore, July 3. W plotting and producing 'Ripley's Believe It or Not' unit, NBC was ap- parently hard put deciding just what sort of talent to embrace in show. Couple dates, it is said, were can- celled before show was finally given nod of approval. Obviously, difficulty lay in trying to keep uppermost the essential Rip- ley idea, i.e., each performer must be attributed with something either so unusual or nature-defying that a subject could be made of stunt in a Ripley cartoon. In adhering strictly to that formula, many of the special- ties fall directly into the freak' cate- gory; yet withal a somewhat master- ful job was done in assembling the component parts of show. Some standard acts were squeezed in. that can, and are being sold as Ripley oddities. Freddie Craig, Jr.'s, mathematical manipulations on the chalk-board, fit in neatly 1 ; ditto Herbert Lowe, who. munches ciga- rettes and matches while spinning through, aero bounds, and Sybil Ruth, who does a control dance climaxed by her standing atop a grand piano and executing a back- bend that enables her to play the. instrument and simultaneously sing. . Detracting from 'show Is the ap- pearance of being just a parade of odd feats Which somehow never build to anything approaching a sock climax. At least half the stuff is purveyed from in front, of the trav- eler, with Arthur Hartley, (formerly Hartley and Alvarez) acting as m.c. and pacer. He's the mature type, works calmly' and constitutes relief from the usual brash, buckety juve type of m.c. , Julius B. Shuster's mitts are so huge he can grip astonishing number of baseballs or billiard globes; John Tio is the talking, miming parrot under tutelage of a Filipino. Both items were, here several years back in vaude -unit made up of oddities Ripley had at Chi World's Fair. Clarence Willard has . uncanny faculty of stretching his limbs so it appears he grows before audience's eyes. When caught he was on over- long. And matters weren't markedly helped when Maxine Brown was brought on to explain that while she was starring on B'way in a musicom- edy tagged 'Plain Jane,' she injured spine to such an extent medics pro- nounced her lifetime cripple; then after following Willard's stretching exercises, cured self. .Then Miss Brown demonstates she, too, can elongate Limbs and torso at will. Janet Merkle has- an excellent novelty in her ceiling walking. For merly was Janet May, who did giant arm swings. Now, wearing rubber suction treads, struts backwards, iip- sidedown, about 15 feet with net be- neath. Obviously Miss Merkle is pointing this hew act at circus time Frank Allen does the human iceberg, caked }n chunks of ice and visible through last half of show. Liveliest portion and nearest approach to a sock in Unit is the frisky flash of Elaine DoWling and her Tip Top Girls (4). Miss Dowling is a sweet- smiling, self - possessed performer with acro-hoofing ability. Her four girls nearly match her looKs and their acrobatics have much im- proved since last lamped.' A Ripley connection in this instance is dragged in by the heels with the ex- planation that Miss Dowling holds world's record because it is said she once did 150. successive one-hand spotters. What comedy is sprinkled along the way is of the mild sort and there isn't one solid guffaw. As a unit it lacks entertaining qualities. But as a show staged on the specification of placing Ripley theme in a theatre, it is probably as good an exhibit as could be mustered. Runs 55 mins. Feature, 'And So They Were Mar- ried' (Col). Bert two dumb musicians.' Dialog is car- ried on between two clarinets for good comedy effect Boys push, each other about and then swing into a hoofing routine which gets oyer* House sent them off to a good hand. An impersonator, Helen Honan, strutted the usual stuff heard from all mimics, giving her impressions of Garbo, May West, Lionel Barrymore, New Acts KEN MAYNARD and TARZAN Talking, singing 18 minutes; Full (special) Varsity, Lincoln - First bronc opera star here since Stepin Fetchit etc., and her face in Tom Mix had his circus in a year eclipse behind the mike. Her char- ago, this house was, jammed on May- acterizations are fair enough, but nard's three-day appearance. Does a she does her best work in an impres- snappy 18 minutes which consists of sion of Fred Astaire. a few tricks by the horse, Maynard Earl La Vere, next on, totes an ac- on the fiddle (which he cups in his cordion, and snags some laughs with arm like he's making a trip to the a line of - chatter with girl partner, woodbox, and only plays he says, to Girl vocalizes a pair of pops, with- prove that the terrible playing in the out. benefit of mike, in a voice of | films is not by a double), a few rope light texture. A little added volume tricks, a couple of stale gags and a from the voice stepper-upper would bow out He's togged out likewise have helped considerably in this in-1 the horse, in all the corral finery stance. La Vere accompanies her f known and makes a pleasant ap- on his squeeze box, and in between pearance. gets some snickers with a few Tour is being handled by William Scotch gags. Pace of the turn was Morris Agency and his personal rather slow at the show caught, but manager on* the jaunt is A,. H. seemed to be in tempo with the audi- | Humke. Will last until September ence, which was decidedly lackadais- ical on a hot afternoon. Closer brings on Joyce Bros, and Dean, another repeat. Trio also. and is heading to the Atlantic coast He's plugging his last Columbia pic. and says next year he'll bring his circus out about April for an ex- played the National last winter. Two 1 ^ ms is a kid attraction boys are best in some fast footwork, Jt~i int ^ n„ rrt while gal's forte is some clever aero aeiuxe - oaTn - Sg&ngBK bang-up* close ^with pij^'^ FASHIONS (5) ■sLfsyys.<a& (Par), is Kai^ 1 ' ^L C 2^ffi e, ii?hWSSj?*Ji^rw U»oe ^n is. faultlessly arid show a little lighter than average. formally groomed even to %mite i g^ves, but partner holds dress up to STANLEY, PITTS. Pittsburgh, July 3. WB deluxer's a pushover for her knees and gives impression she is working in front of a line doing a leg drill. Further, gal. is more than half a head taller than the boy, and the disparity ih size doesn't lend at-i new, which gives his unit an up-to- ^ams padc to back not the most date coating and an additional b.o. ^E™ 1 ^ ftm . lri , a polish. Serein booking is 'Let's Sing . S ™&* * ei T« 5 f££L« ™JLp Aeain' (26th) • hock dance in nifty RUSse costume. Consistency of Davis in- picking. ™en m an from opening duo whisks up talented youngsters holds out I out for solo routine, looking much with current crop and he's showrhan enough to put over those with slightly more ambition than ability, too. He's been a name here easily for last five years and. has developed a wide personal following that's been manna to both Stanley and be- fore that the Perin, which relin- quished flesh year ago under pooling deal with Warner outfit. Judging from reception of big opening mob, this is Davis' best col- lection of adolescents in some time better when working alone. The second team has another number," a whirlwind, which is. continued too long for what it offers. Then, after some challenge hoofing, finale. Didn't particularly excite 'em at this split-week nabe site. Bert. '*. • • .1,. WALSH AND BIBBlE Comedy, Songs 13 Mins.; One Grand O. H., N. Y. ,, ; , .„> The age of this pair- belies their,, If it isn't entirely that, unit's right apparent newness. Whatever their up with his better offerings, carrying status, they have been around. Life at least half -a dozen socks that had | never began at 40 in vaudeville and to come back for encores, thus run ning what should' have been an hour's show into 80; minutes. Davis' only fault is permitting the kids to take bows and make thank-you speeches. He'd achieve a livelier tempo by eliminating this. Surefire smack of his present as sembly Chiclet anyway, it would be too late now, Everything in the act has been so well done by others that it is almost time wasted. One of the pair sings and straights for the other. Un- acquaintance with lyrics of one num- ber and a blasting mike detracted. Comedy crossfire from, stooge in is the team of Chic, and blacony is plenty corny, as were the colored team he injected three jokes anent the governmental relief "system. Work together and singly for comedy and singing, with pair combined in brief harmony on fast number. Didn't go very strong in the deuce. BROWN, LOUISVILLE Louisville, July 3. After three weeks of fair all around entertainment, the Brown seems to have slipped a cog the cur- rent stanza and the result is a line- up of five acts, sold under the title 'Holiday Frolics.' If the publicity man didn't have his tongue in his cheek when he got the inspiration for that breath-taking billing, he hasn't any conscience. Last minute switch in booking source had the boys in a quandary. House for three weeks was booked by the Benson of- fice, Chicago, but unexpectedly swung over to the William Morris Agency. Result was that papers were in the dark as to exactly what the vaude and feature would be un- til the Friday morning editions. Bill stacks up as five acts, just that and no more. Pit ork grinds out stock overture, and Lee Murray is then out for some rubber-legged dancing. He's up and down a flight of stairs, in simulation of a drunk, and garners attention with a Leon Errol style of wobbly pins, at the same time taking some pratt falls Which netted him some laughs. His stuff could stand some variation, as the repetition of the same business begins to pall after he is on for about 10 minutes. Revel, Baxter and Dean, three males who indulge in some knock- about foolery, are a repeat. Lads played the National here about two months ago, and have added a com- edy bit anent a divorce suit between into lineup for first time today (3) One's a mere infant the other a lanky youngster, and their singing and hoofing make, them a cinch for the attention now. centered on Nich- olas Bros, and Fops and Louie. They've obviously patterned them selves somewhat after their more celebrated predecessors and with a little more experience should be a cinch anywhere. Two trios with Davis are also top notch. One is the Manhattanites, two boys and a gal, who- harmonize in a distinctive novelty style to their own piano accompaniment. Femme is Daisy Bernier, sister of Peggy Ber- nier, and a cute blonde who uses both pipes and feet effectively and displays excellent comedy possibili ties. Other is Three Wiles, male trio whose hoofing suggests the Con tinental music halls in its panto mimic subtlety. Other highlights include Dave Dawson, a mimic, and Miss Rosa- mond, a local youngster who not so long ago was being billed as Baby Rose. She is a finished expert on the accordion. Alice Miller's a cute,. nimble hoofer and Catherine Harris usual, and on close analysis may be MILLS, DUTHERS & RAYMON Comedy, Dancing 11 Mins.; Two ' State, Baltimore Out front the trio . bill selves 'Three Boys from Dixie,' which is not strictly accurate description of act They indulge in somewhat casual clowning-around. For most part material needs to be screwed down more tightly, and act could be paced faster. Best bit is panto skit depicting episode on crowded trolley car. The singing is hoked in its entirety and isn't much. The lads can pick 'em and put 'em down right capably during the dancing portions, and should get together on the steps when doing several unison hoofings. Bert contributes a first-rate toe-tap rou tine. Sybil Kaye's a hot torcher who acceptably fills spot in Davis' revue recently vacated by Bee Kal- mus, with ballroom team of Joe and conceded to be the best part of the week's show. That may possibly have been the verdict at other times. Line gives 'em that Stars and Stripes color In their opening num- Betty Lee, crooning Tony Angelo ber, and comes back again midway and lariat-tossing Don Hooton round- of the show in an effective silhou- ing out the outfit. Jack Goodman's ette routine, and sends things across at the piano, accompanying Davis, for a good finish in a 'walking baa who runs through snatches of his routine. Foster girls trained hard ana old song hits and introduces his | diligently for the ball number, as latest tune, 'I'm Grateful to You. Returns big from start to finish, and, for a hot fore-holiday afternoon, the attendance was plenty satisfac- tory. Downstairs full, with balcony filling and ropes up. at break. Cohen. ROXY, N. Y. If the Roxy is to be saved this week, the Fourth of July holiday crowds and the Three Stooges are its only hope. Neither the screen nor the stage gives 'em what they ordi- narily look for. Stooges have some supporting entertainment that is ac- ceptable, though just barely being that. 'The Harvester' (Rep) occupies the screen. Gae Foster girls, hard-working young ladies, are on three times,, as i they did for that bike display re- cently put on here. They are a dis- tinct credit to the theatre. The dance on the large spheres has the girls dolled up as moths, so that the round things they're on could pe imagined as mothballs. It is a clever and novel number. The girls I 00 *,. 3 little funny at times rolling the bans around the stage for formations ana groupings as they try hard to stay on top. A couple girls fell off at the Friday night show and one go* pretty nervous when in a tight posi- tion, but when they all got through the audience voted it the best fea ture of the whole show. , Three Stooges (Moe Larry anp. Curley), with Eddie Loughton as their straight man, are on aneau with their hoke and nuttery. A ioz of their stuff isn't as funny as they think it is, but the kind of audiences (Continued on page B4)