Variety (Aug 1936)

58 VARIETY RQXY, N.Y, P .No matter how you look i>t it, the Roxy's a vaudeville house. There are five act& of vaude, a line of girls, a pit band' and a picture. Also, sometunes, a headache, but that's another story. It's a vaudeville show . trimmed iip to'look like a wit and . an example of what can be done by "way of acts these days. And there isn't a word of dialog spoken by any one of the acts. Only one song sung tltfoughout the one hour show, and almost every one of the five acts, if you want to be exact about it, is either an opening act or a number two act. That's vaudeville today. Thatfs the new vaudeville — the vaudieville without comics. Bemice and Judy are billed as .'just kids,' and jthat's what they are. Two gii-ls and cute. They, dance a little and-jump a):6und a lot and . do a lot of. strange bends. Not bad at all if they ever tearn something about routining their material. Then comes Jack Hoberts, who ad- mits he's an amateur. -He won a radio contest so that makes him an . actor, He's a gift t6« this show, though. He!« the only one in the troupe who's got ai tongue. .He sings one song and thaiiks the audience Very-politely lor 'your kind appreci- ation of my little ofitering.* . Hebtor and His Pals next-^ good a dog. act as there, is. These, dogs always could opeii a show—or close it They're centered here; .' Next to closing' ia Miaco, ' A ma- nipulator. H6 -works very a. la Car- dini, but gets over handily. And for the closer Barto and Mann, a fine .two-man diince and abrObatic coin- bjnsUon. Used to open the second . "half at the Palace in the old days. They're good.- TH^'re the one le- gitiinate and. sure vaude: turn in the ■whole outfit at the Hoxy.. • There are gifiisi; 24 of them, pretty .ahd good. That "Gae .Foster line is Iiard-working and ^ever and two of their three numbers this week 4re really fine. If. ^he third is from hunger and tis64 to dose the show . it isn't their fault, • Probably the.whole explanation is to' the picture.. .The picture . is •M'Liss' (RKO) and it tafis..;When talking t)ibtqries came in, vaudeville > acts began .{Cotog out. TheyJve gone out; so fac that the Roxy manage- I ment now probably thinks if s time . . . to* go whole hog. Shut up the acts altogether so there won't be any conflict So itudiences mayb^ can ;be. kidded into thinking there reaUy ain't such things «s live troupers, • • ■ Kailf. • Kimsas City* Aug. .8. Visiting acts " this week are put through - their "turns twice at each periormance. ,/.They're • on first to straight Vaude turns and then' agato to the finale, which , is a review of . the" first '. appearance, but this time to bleckface. . The-idea-is..oke,. but sxifEers somewli&t- frpto repetition. Jack Lester's production gives the affair a unit slant and succeeded to a degree. • • Fid Gordon, eccentric fiddler, gets several imder-tbe-belt laughs with his turn. Some pizzicato work with his cuspids is particularly salable. An unbilled hea'vy" with a soprano voice gets'mixed to with the act, but $idds nothm'g. ' The'Carltohs, mixed dance team, do some ballroom strutttog to only fair returns.. Tails, and a. slinky black gown alone still don't, make a ballroom dance duo... Jack Carson, perennial house Xfi. c, delivers 'Melancholy Baby' in A hereL-tbday-gone-tbmorrow. man-, ner. the song probably but not Jack. He is ais much a part of the Tower as the patch on the curtato, but- is weartog better,. .' > Murray, and . Fane have a, songr dance-patter act.. The girl.-is Betty Boop-^in proportions and pipes, but their . hiunor, is . mechanical' and niirthle^s. ■. Fepuhe'S .vocal trick isi rfU ■tnti' turn has: to .offer- and . the selling':'o£' that.' is hampered when the )man conttoually pokes Ms phizz into the spot for some dental flash- tog: while the girlyis'worktog; '■ ' This week's amateur is a Kate Smithish lO-year-old who shouts 'Solitude.' The Jin'e gets its usual two' appearances and handles them nice enough. . ■ Screen feature is 'We Went to Col- lege' (MG). Biz okay» . Hoyt. ■ doldrums because of Woodward ave- nue widening past house. Only a handful present &t Friday evening show, but they made good use of their palms. Flicker is 'It's Love Agato' (GB). Added feature of the overture, dubbed 'Neapolitan Nights,' is nifty turn by Joy Brooks, local ballerina. She gives a fine performance, work- ing before a moonlight backdrop. With .Sam Jack Kaufman batontog, band also features some nice war- bltog by Frank Connors, tenor, and Manan Shelby, operatic soprano. Opening is the Reddingtons, two femmes and a male,'who knock off some neat trampoline cutups. Male is especially good, with his acrobatic sprtoging, his 'Flytog Trapeze' Stunt going over well. : Dale Wlnthrop. a femme tapper with lots of s,a., Alls the No. 2 spot to good advantage, but has hard time comp.ettog with Jes- sie Matthews danctog in film. The Hartmans' satires on ballroom danctog hit the sppt and evoked good applause. In the shut' turn, the Briants deftly pull their pantomime tumbling as the original furniture movers. ■ Pete. SHEA'S, BUFFALO Buffalo, Aug. 10. Any review of the Shea's Buffalo programs of the present summer must be necessarily a. review, of the house orchestra' and its miniature presentations. ' For the past five months, aside from the - regulation picture fare( .\yhich, incidentally, has been decidedly stronger this summer than to many years past), the out- standing feature 6t each 'week's per- formance consists of the' orchestral overture which is also strongly un- deirltoed in the theatre billing. This is the 19th week of Amo's. tenure as conductor-vfolinist of the pit orchestra. Comtog here, to the ^rtog, he took over the orchestra, disq];gahized .by reason of frequent ^est-condt(ctor changes, and. has whipped the organization into such form that it now compares favor- ably with any/similar' outfit Unit, which comprises 23 pieces com- pletel^ir rearranged as to position and grouping, is now. functiontog with expert smoothness and is delivering musical value-received, for every second of its appearance. Besides getting the last ounce of melody out of his putfit, Amo wields a sweet fiddle and his weekly, muted solos with the orchestral background have become one of the most popular fea- tures of each week's biJI. The maes- tro is musicianly to appearance, works quietly and .without pyrotech- nics . and leaves an.'. impression of competent direction flavored always with good showmanship; and a keen sense of the theatret The current offering is a reduction of the Lucliy Strike air feature to local size' and titled 'Buffalo's Own Hit Parade.' It is planned as a re- peat feature each month along with a sweepstakes, with guest .theatre tickets lor prizes. There is a snappy opentog announcement and each number is totroduced to the same manner as the network prograin, but with, local angles and a strong plug for audience participation in the se- lection of the coming programs. The announcements, done visually from a pit mike, detract somewhat from the musical continuity and will probably be improved by relegating the broad- caster backstage. In addition to the orchestra, Arho uses for this offertog amale quartet, besides boy and girl soloists, the singers being batked up .by a miniature^ setting which shows ,the act off for good results, .All of .the current'air hits are utilized, the ;musi9 paced at a fast tempo;., .. 'Suzy"(MGl is on the screen, with biz excellent- " /' Burion. FOX, DETROIT [ • Detroit Aug. 7. I J Kenny . Baker, erstwhile Jack p Benny tenor, steals the show without much trouble current stanza at I this house. True, he gets top billing ! .... - on the rather slim four-act show, but • ' he gives audience iftore than its ! m'oney's worth. All his, too, in spite I of fact the remaining acts are noth- \ tog "to be sneezed at i In the usual next-to-closing spot, [' Baker gives 'em some nifty wat- bltog, which audiences here of' late haven't been accustomed to. Kid has wads "Of personality and ability, and got several encores at last show Fri- day. Entire lack" of scenery detracts y%<i .^ fsom the. 45-miuute show, but house can't bfe btamed- fior trying to save ^onsf with' biz.^f' down in -the "Kisr : CAPITOL, ATLANTA Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 7. Cap s current flesh program is only ■so-so., Titled 'Swtog Time -Revue,' there are plenty , of pretty "gals in the-Ime,. plus other-good lookers for specialty bits, but show is top-heavy with dance numbers. ; Bennett .and Allen, pair of Coast lads, handle the comedy assighihent but thei^ gags are whiskery;- How- ever, they get- by okay on the strength of their, hoofing, as good as Cap patrons have seen recently. Dot and. John'are listed as one of the novelty acts in imifbut their skat- ing bit is only fair. Deacon Livingston's blackface ser- mon act is punchless because it is almost identical wltii Billy Ray- mond's the week before. Ruby Col- lins, .'filling .the singmg assignment for the week, displays likable stage personality and a good smging voice, clicking nicely. Johnson Sisters do a hornpipe fling and warble a number to fair ap- plause, while Till and Lyons do a specialty number a la Schmeling- Louis to good results. . - Billy Middletbn, youngster, does a song bit and tap routine. He would do well, to drop the warbling part of his act which is .<;our, and stick to his dancing, which is good- Pit loolced rather deserted as re- sult of shortage of visiting musicians.. Ten tooters looked lonesome u\ spot usually occupied by 15. Pic is 'Bor- der ■ Patrolman' (20th-Fox), plus Pathe Newa. Warbuiton, Yonkers . (WFA VAUDE SDOW) Yonkers, Aug. 10. WPA brought to this city the first straight vaude seen here to a half- dozen years. A company of 44 opened at the old Warburton the- atre Wednesday (5) for a five-day run. Three shows were given each day and biz was fairly good, to- creastog almost to capacity (900) on the last day (Sunday). There were no headltoers, of course, but there were several stand- ard acts and the show as a whole was, equal to the average. of those on the smaU-time circuits of a gen- eration ago. At the performance caught, the 7:30 show Wed., the aud; ice was liberal to its applause and demanded eilcores from many of the acts. The show lasted two hours. There were 10 acts offered to the first hour and a quarter and the balance ..of the time was given over to what was billed as a Fed- eral bam dance, a-^rustic~ set-^up as to costume, characterization and enter- tatonient » Monroe Lockwood, . of Lockwood and (jroodal, old-timers, m. c'd the afterpiieoe, which ; tocluded Goodal. It'was just a lot of washboards, jugs, n^iouth organs, bill .bUly music, vocal and instrumental work. A lit- tle ahead of the rest though, was Danny- Taylor, eccenitric dancer. The vaude: Pardee's swing band; the-Rhythm girls; Truda Roach; E1-" sie Murray and Mickey Colligan; to a tap dance routtoe in which a pyra- midded stairway 'was iised; Paul Fi- renzo, accoirdionist; Margery Hearn, vocaliist; Roach and Murray, dancers; Harvey and Lee, sketch; Pep Miller,' dancer; Beyerton and Plage, roller skaters; Doc Martto, illusionist, and Marty Lyncli, jug^er. confusing thihg about the show was- that there was no 'way of iden- tifying the performers. No pro- grams, no cards, no announcer. ' . Croto. , MET, BOSTON Boston, Aug. t„ It was almost toevitable that^'Wll- I'ard and Hurley come to Boston with their badmtoton game and it is no surprise that Harry Gourfato has picked this appropriate summer nov- elty ior a closing turn this week. It's a pip.of an! act and Customer comment at the Break would todl- cate it easily swamped the balance o£ the show, to popiilarity. Met stage is apparently about the right size for; the badmtoton court and the boys have a good opportunity to show off their trick shots and stuff. Clean-cut and entertaintog through- out its 12 mtoutes. 1 Also tops was Sibyl Bowan when caught.' She reels off her usual Itoe of carefully studied and delightfully delivered impersonations of person- alities and types, but her encore of Mrs. Roosevelt is; what started the stampede. Although she caricatures broadly the First Lady,. Miss Bowan iheld 'em in -her right hand from the start. They wanted more, and only a cute curtain speech stopped tiie vigorous demand. Two aero teams On the same bill sounds screwy On paper, but as ar- ranged by Gourfato the results are okay. Maybe 'FoOtlight Olympics'for a unit title gives him the license. Joe and Jane McKeima, 'foUowtog the opening line routine, boot each other about for a good share of lavighs, and the Lasfiiter Bros. (2), next-to-shut, follow through to the same spirit with the addition of some sensa- <tlonal acro-dancing ■ artd tangling. These boys hav%, been playtog the European boards. ! Clyde. Hager, in his ace pitch man single bit "flts in nicely to the;.trey, !spatterihg the>fronT row with potato' "peeltogs as he demonstrates his first gadget; and shella'cktog his stooge with lather in another demonstra- tion. Hager.'s Itoe is rich, his delivery ^s very good.- but he liid'not register in the far-off seats. Appeared to be too far away from the mike. Al- though consistentlM the, pitch man, Hager would do well to woit up- a punchy blowroff. i j Pa'ul. FJorenz girls open the show and come in again later. Opener is a commendable botinctog-ball rou- tine that sets the theme of the .unit Second routine,- a pony race idea, to riding habits, is not so imusuali' ■ ; Setting by Bob Leicester is fresh and colorful. Housp band, on .stage this week, with Henry -Kalis doing his customary excellent work with the baton. On the screen 'To Mary. With Love' (20th). .. pox. I _ STANLEY, PITTS. Pittsburgh, Aug. 7. Its back to the old days of 'see him on the screen and then in person' for the Stanley this -v/eek. The star's Charlie Chase and, al- though the flicker, 'Kelly the Second' (MG),-belongs to Patsy Kelly rather than the male comic, it serves the same purpose. Certatoly the dual shot helps Hal Roach's two-reel vet in his session behind-the foots, ior the impetus turns w'hat at best would be a mediocre turn into a show-stopper. HqllyVirood personality works next- to-cl'oslng. and has a nice talent for seU-effacement. that does much to overcome the indifference of his ma- teriaL. Chase wisely 'kids himself most of the-time, craicking sheepishly NEW ACTS EMBASSY TRIO-' Songs $ Mtos. Batobow Grill, N. T. , - . , , New male comba at the informal room in Rockefelle:- Center looks promistog for cafes of this type, but on personality and repertoire, should consistently adhere to the straight balladizing. They let down when es- saying 'Dtoah,' no .matter how clev- erly arranged are the sundry na- tionalistic versions of this gal with the blaztog eyes, because the Em- bassy boys just aren't swing-song- Triie, a change of .pace is neces- sary, as they can't chant ballads, throughout but 'Dinah' isn't the right idea. Otherwise they're mce- appeartog and manly enough in their parlor vaudeville "Warbling. Abel. PAUL BOSINI Maglo 15 Mtos. . • William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh One of the better magicians, right 'up there with Gardini and Fred Keattog^ Rosini is a. sure shot for Wmiam. Penn hotel's swank Urban Roof and should be- a push-over to any class hitery. Mixes his sleight- of-hand with a smart line of chatter,- ahd accomplishes-difficult feat' Of holdtog rapt attention. In a room, ordtoarily considered too large for this type' of turn. . ROsini ■works in and among audi- ence-as well as on floor, picking; a customer at random for several of his tricks and getting.more laughs, than the average comedian. His forte is card stuff, although he's right at home on the disappearing and out-of-the-air legerdemain as well. / ' ., : Piece de resistance comes when he has his'thumbs tied and then catches steel hoops tossed by audience stooge on each of his arms. For the flnish,. he plucks a flock of chicks from his bewildered assistant's coat. Works on the floor in front of band during show and, later, passes among tables for some card trickery. Over big here nightly, Cohen. ,».''-' STUFF SMUH-JONAH JONEd Band (6) Sninfg 'Comlio Ony.x Clnb, N. T. Joe Helbock has Stuff Smith and Jonah Jones' swtog sextet signed up for another six months at his West 52d street (N.Y.) citadel of s,wtog, the Onyx Club, and worthily so, but when and if Smith-Jones are ready to vamp they're a great bet for the London and Paris hiteries. .If Paris ever does a tourist come- back—and it should, what with the forthcomtog 1937 Exposition in the French capital^this colored sextet wiU wham 'em to Setoe. As.it is, with-the newest palaver having to do with the theory that swing is on the downbeat, it's a secret so far as Stuff Smith and his madmen are concerned. This Buf- falo funster of the fiddle, with his roly-poly^eyed aide-de-camp, Jonah Jones, are still packing 'em in at the Onyx—'n' how! y-- Even as is, they're now. ripe for one of those doubling dates into the Paramount theatre, for -example. They've a highly commercial and not too barbaric repertoire, what with their own concoction, 'rse A-Muggin','- which did for them what 'The Music Goes Round' did for Farley and- Riley, -predecesisors at the" Onyx. Then . the newest fKnpck-Knock'. is done as .only. Stuff Smith swings it. ' There's also a EQckO' flirtation;, .number Y between' Smith ■ and. • Jones' that's .. now standard-with, the swing-disciples of New- York's MOhtn>artre.- . Plus *Stompin' at. the Savoy,' 'Christopher Columbus' and .'-Big Chief de 'Sota^! likewise uniquely^ interpreted . by this combo, it's enough tor a nifty f; act .1 This report wouldn't be complete -<i without recognition of the drummer, ." : He does his rhythm work both on-'J' the traps and.with the cud of guih-"i he's constantly chewtog to tempo, The others fire likewise plenty aiU !i right and versatile. Ab.el,' . — • >i RUTH HUGHES AABONS and - ' SANPOB GLANCZ Table Tennis 10 Mtns. Batobow Room, N. Y. Ruth Aarons, 18 and. attractive (a .blonde); is the. wo.rld's table tennis champ and Sandor Glancz, No. 2 ' player among the men,' holds the: Hungarian title. Apart from the - knowledge that ptog-pong (or table ' tennis^ is by no means a sissy game,- < an idea of what , world's champ play-* ' tog can be is presented as the Rain-* ! bow Room's sock novelty currently,' ; It shows Miss Aarohs playing a wide-open, long:-range game, pickin' ' .'em off her shoelaces, while (Glancz, iplaytog a volle'Vin|; close-up game, . is equally adept in returning the pellet in socko manner. . . It also evidences that this will un« doubtedly create-, a new vogue ih . smart nitery attractions, if for no - other reason than .that it's an A-1 - hovelty. Considering the limitations of chanteuses. and class terpers, along with name bands. In the nl- teries, anything that's as different as this is in ItseU.a commanding nov< elty. - Play is on a collapsible table and -: the act carries its own feferee^an- -. nouncer, who heralds the players. They're both to smart, .snug-fitting sports slacks and the.21-pbint match play is done with dispatch and seem-^ -: tog realism. Miss Aarons doesn't alo ways win, although she was the vic- tor the night caught, and has been more consistently so. That's, of. , course, good showmanship', as is her: victory coming from behind after a. I- 5 start. There's only .a half nun-? ute of prelimtoary warming up. Another good shov(rmanship stunt at- the Rainbow Room is the offer of a - quart of top-vintage champaghe to anybody who can overcome ^ a 10- point handiciap. The handicap starts at five, but at 10 it draws out the timid souls. The night caught the .: male opponent from the audience, wotmd up 21-10,- or a love-game in . other words. When there's no audi- ence competition. Miss Aarons and Glancz usually encore with ^ short ' II- potot game. . It's a thrilling and arresttog nov- elty for any nitery, and the smarter the better. Abel. , COBINNA MUBA Spanish Songstress 8 Miiu. Sa\'oy<-PIaza Hotel, N. Y. Cortona Mura isn't exactly new, having been around at the Waldorf- Astoria ' and kindred smart hostel-* • rie."!. She's currently in the equally swank Cafe Lounge of the Hotel SavoyrPlaza, 'which, . with the ; spriphtly continental rhythms of Emile Petti and his Cosmopolitans, makes for very satisfactory supper fare in-this sort of weather. Cortona Mura is a chanteuse who . strums a guitar to self-accomp and who, registers alike on personality and performance. She's a striking Latin type, a looker with an arrest- . ing 'front,' withal a natural for the" class spots. She breaks up her Latin airs with familiar songs and rumbas plus the orthodox Castilian refrains. ... . .Miss- Mura- is. ty-pical of the smart < boite-chanteuses -who . can do better • fdr -themselwes-in- this sort of en- ' vironinent than on the stage. How- ' eve;*, she also suggests screen pos- sibilities, and in fact may have done ; a chore already, foi- Sam Sax's "Vita- ..phoners at. the^ Brooklyn studio: it - memory serves. ' ' Abet. ibout^ his whi^ered gags but twist-, ing : thehi'; neatly, -to his.,own ad- vantage. The-fan letter stuff could be elimtoated without harm and he. might use that 'English* butler with- ^he Bronx accent more often. Latter fe good for'laughs on; .appearance alone and should be built more im.-: portantly. For a finish. Chase twangs at a guitar while Modeling - a hill- billy lament and had a titae'of it getting away this afternoon, show- ing what a pleasant personality and a lot of courage can! do. . . . Generally speaking, Stanley's cur- rent - five-act layout is bit uneven, with too much emphasis on the hoof- ing end. Dozen Elida girls do a couple of chorus ' routines, Four Steps concentrate on dancing and so do the Rio Bros., with only Niela -Goodelle in between to. break them up. Latter is the gal who's hit the front pages so often of late via the Rudy Vallee route, ■which must have accounted for the nice opening re- ception she corraled. After that, however, she took things.in her own hands, and registered a solid smash. She's a looker, has a swell pair,of pipes, knows how to accompany her- self at the piano and sells a tune. Wliat's more, she's show-wise cid, when during her encore of 'That's the Story of Love' the ork got out of time, she swung back fronv the apron to the piano stool and straightened •'■=■ ' ■■ ■ the boys up" and saved herself as ■ well. • I Opening has ElidaHroupe to a nice, '. Effective tap routine and they're fol-. . liiwed on by Eddio Rio, who serves • acceptably as the m.c. Steps, colored ' lads, next with their hard-shoe bang- • ihg and boys'have enough of that ' challenge fireworks' to get thetor selves off -solidly at the close. That leaves Miss Goodell,e's spot .a push- oveu for" her and Rio'S familiar lady- , taking-a-bath pantomime brings on his two heckler-partners from the audience. Trio -have at least Ave or -. six . minutes of dialogue; most of . which is devoted to their imaglna- , live rehearsal of a play, that they could and should toss toto the ash- can, it's pretty dirty, and not even , funny and presents trio with a handicap that, fortunately, their eccentric hoofing overcomes. Rios are' sure-shot hoofers; but before ' they try to emulate the Ritzes and Slates on the comedy end, they should dig themselves up some material. Elida girls aren't glimpsed again after opening until the close,-when they follow on Chase . for their second ensemble, a precision num- ber that's attractively done. Troupe flashes a lot of s.a. .and backs this up With flashy routines. Biz okay at first show, with downstairs comfort- ably filled and balcony filling at break, ' ■ •: cohen.