Variety (Oct 1936)

56 VARIETY VARlflY HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, October 14, 1936 MUSIC HALL, N Y. Pickford-Lasky's The Gay Des- perado' (UA), current Radio City ^ Music Hall feature, was .the occa- sion for another of those W< G. Van Schmus shindigs after the premiere, in* the penthouse apartment atop the .HalJ,! With the flock of Hollywood- ians in town, plus the distinguished fanfare of a Martini filmusical, the .Hall's managing-director staged one 6t his. periodic galas. •• . Stage portion, Russell- Markert's production of 'October,' is a fittingly seasonal presentation that's a bit too symbolic in the forepart but com- bines enough variety/ in toto, to please. 'October First (moving day) ; is thematically set .by a special song by Joseph Linz and Pern Davenport. " The horizontal bar gymnasts, Gilbert Bros.,- highlight this first portion. The glee club and the Rockettes sur- • . round the Gilberts. Florence. Rogge's choreography gets In its innings with 'Autumn . Leaves.' based on a libretto by Anna Pavlova, where Nicholas Daks is the terpsichorean poet; Nina Whitney, brilliantly teroing as Chrysanthe- mum; Hilda Eckler and Daphne Vane as the Fall Winds, whose chilling blasts lay low the Verdant foliage;. . Alma Lee, as Fiancee; plus the ballet corps, for which Miss. Rogge is also ' generally responsible. This classy but somewhat lethargic interlude slows . the presentation at this point, but . Hallowe'en is a faster finale with Jan Peerce vocally setting the Har- vest Serenade; against the usual bu- colic fol-de-roV wherein Monroe and Grant wham 'em with their trampo- line 'stuff. [Monroe and Grant were last seen by this reviewers at the American Roof, N. Y.—which gives an idea—but a decade or more later, in the ultra surroundings, of Mr. Rockefeller's auditorium they're a . stronger click than. ever.] The gen- eral Barn Dance' motif, of the flnp'.e portion -of Hallowe'en was aptly staged by Markert, combining the corns de ballet,: Rockettes and the choir. .Erne Rapee maestros the second and. fourth movements of Tsch»ikow- sky's Fourth Symphony; Richard Xeibert .at the console; the us»a1 newsreel '.and a Pathe clin on the " Harvafd Tercentenary round out the Show. .-Again the stage show, ner se. evi- dences anew that the hits of the , Music Hall presentations invarinbV .. are dumb acts reiving, on their si"ht . qualities for best effect: Just to mak" sure, the Hall has two such du^b turns on th* current 1 stanza—«i» fUl- .• ..bepts and. Monroe-Grant, in the first • ' and third sectors, and both bolster- , ing their respective pprtions. - Abel. ROXY, N. Y. On the screen it's Shirlev Tenrole In 'Dimples' (20th), and the stage . bill this week is pretty much im to the same, kindergarten level. Piece -de resistance is" an ice-skating scene. " billed as a sensational novelty from , the- San Diegd' Fair; Gae' Foster .Girls glide around in military, de-- 4ighs. a couple! of souths hop over Vparrels, a mixed couple tear from Waltzes to foxtrot acrobatics and- a feftinle foursome goes over oractical- ;ly .the sf»me ground. For the Roxy regulars the setting and the proceed- ings rate-m-eat stuff. Other fun stage item'com** at t.h/» opening, with' a fast T>irouettiT*«t Tad ' tobpinc th" efforts of the Gae 1 Foster ..iJfne. In' 'between the bi« "s>*s are Tpbokie BAwets and MaH» Govern mid a male niano duo. Woodall'anf* . 'Paul. Bowers doei pantomimes or ' sub'iects t»«»t aren't as #en*™\ as thev are furtnv, whi]« Mis«r Severn makes passable melody out of pop • s ditties. . ' ■ • - " ■ V it's: all In line with the' Roxv'- "■' policy of imoersoPal entertainment " .Only reference made to names of +hr> ■■ ^'erftfirny^s involved' comes '\ dorm™. "''Hte! slin't-^v +fc<»' ne'wi' cpm' w * rt^ *■' , *' 1, ' ' Hfr'hiur»<blps lh»«t off so r>«y^iv ' it 'might- 'as.' Well be' 'omitted s^to- • Aether. As for th«» news biilM'rvo • the- 'idea is ^wrentlv nredir^ted "';>the' D^U^'f t***t the customers h'avpv* seen their afternoon papers; n~ r*h*t- "read. Q\*>c • PARAMOUNT, L. A. Los Angeles. Oct.- 8. As- soon as a few delettops have • ;been. made in. Sammy White's rou- -.tlue, current • week's Eanchon : & • Marco stew show should stack un ..as'worthwhile-fare. White, who i« given too billine. cot away to a<enod •start 'at today's initialer. but couldn't resist the -t^-nntation to inject »n off- color gae. then went into a deeide^iv vulgar dance that delighted onlv t>«c moronic portion of the near-capacity audience. ' Asi'de' ffbnn *he Sammy WWfp- in-. " Wibfretions, bill' rates as one of best, * 'FfcW ha« ' offered in 'counle- of ' JHohths.'- "All 'concerned, in^ludm** Ro'he W«if. band, the Fanchn- neites. tVo Rhythm "Redhead"?' anrf Count Cutelli a«d White, ey^t »<« _ noted, five f.md accounts of th'em- 'selyfes fbr.pudl^nce, enjoyment.. .""'Opening haft band concealed. htycV. 'of. sctim with Vanjlibnettes on. f ^r'a : „i*ieat routine' in front of a Rplnb •."Otfoaacre .j»ttlh« that drew round. «<■ ^jSblaii^e. Wohd "then .b.roii(»ht on fo>- 'a medley pf impressions that clicked "torSv. r •.:* . • :.- - ttfythm' R<>dheacts are Wi *ls-, ters, new to the Coast, who offer hot 1 harmony jfnd swing numbers to good returns. Their best is a swing ver- sion of 'O' Man River' that regis- tered solidly. White follows, doing a bit of good gagging and eccentric stepping., He has a suspender bit-that is plenty good ,and then marred his otherwise good act by an alleged studio story and his interpretation of a fan dance. The off-color stuff has., no place with family audiences, such as Paramount matinee shows, frequently are. Count Cutelli, a master of sound effects, uncorked some novel and de- cidedly interesting sounds that Went over with a.bang. For finale, Fan- chonettes emerge from back drop atdp a prone bullj cutout for a Span- ish routine. Screen feature is Par's 'Big Broad- cast of 1937/ with Par Newsreel, color cartoon and fire, prevention short to fill. House near capacity at initial nerformance today, with heat probably preventing a holdout. Edxya. KEITH'S BOSTON Boston, Oct. 8. Mitchell and Durant, plus the Jans- leys, added to what remains now of the 'Cubana Follies" unit, combines to make a swell' vaude show that opens With a flash and closes with a sock, with a rapid-fire pace main-, tained all the way. Backbone, and an excellent one, of the show is . the Rirhac rhumba band, and their musical contribution is supplemented by the Keith pit band here and there to good effect. Opener is a line flash working In front of the Rimac band, heightened by bright and colorful costuming and featuring dazzling solo terp by Car- ita and Charley Boy. Pace set by these two is swell, and Carita's torso wiggling is hot. Both have whizz bits later in the show and their heated tempo never lags. Jansleys deuce with their rapid risley turn and sock with startling double tosses from the feet of the groundmen, somersaults and-foot-to- foot catches. Charley Boy solos with another red-hot specialty and then Tito Coral provides the needed breathing spell with- soothing croon- ing of 'Siboney' and "Play Gyrosy.' Girl and costume flash, *E1 Reli- cario,' by the line 'is heightened by solo and duo numbers from gals of the line. Zelaya. patter-pianist, Is spotted next and whams with his familiar line of ultra-informal chatter. It's mostly his standard material, but Still clicks heavily with the addition of a few new quirks and quips. Riniac outfit next, has a big inning of South American .rhythm, bright- ened by Rimac's-dancing; with Carita and her anatomical twitching in &• 'Congo' specialty.-.It*had the boys rushing to the-front., rows, .Mitchell and . Durant. in next-to- shut earn themselves a flock-oi bows- with a rough-house .mess of mayhem and gags that register- with the mob. Opening impersonations . of Clark Gable and Herb.-Marshall by Durant are welI-.done. but give,no inkling of the struggle that. is to follow. • Rimac band closer with 'Cucaracha' and 'Tiger Rag' with eye-filling cos- tume number by the line in a fan- dango routine. . ■) ; , On screen, '36:Hours to Kill' (20th- FoxV . ..<...... .-• Fox.. STATE,, N. Y. It's a- long and tiresome vaudeville bill that goes with this-week's, fea- ture, "Texas Rangers'. (Par). Only draw from the stage end, if any more than normal, will come from the ap- pearance of Sarah Churchill, daugh- ter, of the English statesman, who is here with ,Vjc Oliver. See New- Acts. . She has been in. the prints of late and that .may shelp, although it didn't at .the Met ; . Boston, >. where the - Eng- lish friend of : Oliver's appeared last week. Miss Churchill.breaks.Oliver's act, same as it's, been for years, by aojng.a .dance with a male partner in fullstage._. It's ,pr,etty amateurish. Last time'.Oliver., played the State he got $5S0.. This',week, with the aid of the- Churchill name, he'-s getting $1,500. . Oliver's line of gab and hokc atill goes over well, motheaten as it is. Not one real. punch. anywhere in the show, nearest approach being in the Don. Redman orchestra act, which has a good singer in Louise McCar- roll and a .very hot song-daoce trio in Ford,. Marshall and Jones. Red- man, turn is. 6'n„ much .too long, be- coming, a bit''tiresome, especially when it .gets so noisy the ears be^in to hurt. Edna iVTae Walers in a torcher .with the Redman,outfit who. has a lot of life, while the Lang Sisters round out the specialty talent Langs are rather, good'.tap,.dancers.. ' Barbette,"from, .the French Casino and formerjy in vaudeville, appears third in. his • female impersonation wire and ring '.routine.'. This is a good act and always was, fooling 'em all the way u.itil the wig comes off. ,' ; . Funnyboners 'take care of No. 2 requirements.. While - okay for the average t vaude' audience, turn has nothing in its present routine to sug- gest graduation to next to closing. ■ Stafford .and." Louise,: ,five-pcople dance flash, opens..' This is ,'just an average act. acrobatics o'£ one of the boys doubling at 'a piahb being its best ■ recommendation. Business good Friday night. Char. PARAMOUNT, N.Y. This -week's stage show is a little longer than average. The pit band displays runs 44 minutes, but it holds its own that distance. The part of the show that's 'alive, headed by the EnriC Madriguera or- chestra, furnishes sturdy support for the feature, 'Valiant Is the Word for Carrie' (Par), itself very long, 109 minutes. Even as it is, the pit portion could be running closer to ah hour with- out probable difficulty. This would permit more than the two numbers to which Maxine Gray is held and the. pop, plus a medley of musical comedy hits, which represents John Steel's stint. Both have enough in reserve to do one or two more numbers. Madriguera, his orchestra, and Frankie Parrish, vocalist with the band, figure prominently, doing a full job, and for good measure, there are two other acts for the strip of oak out in front of the orchestra. These aTe Jerry Cole, a novelty dancer, and the team of Ray and Frank. ■ Result is that while the shows here are done on the pit floor in front of the stage and proscenium drop, which is utilized for effect backgrounds, they are beginning to assume unit proportions, There is almost as much to this week's hand- out in the flesh as may be found in the average stage show put on be- hind the foot trough. The talent is there at least, even if the scenery isn't,. although the house provides color in the way it dresses the pit and the sides, plus the effects, thrown from the booth, onto the pros drop. The view is anything but Steel, tenor of many Ziegfeld 'Fol- lies' and other musicals, comes back to the songlovers in exceptionally good voice, singing 'A Stat Fell Out of Heaven' and a medley of numbers he did on the legit stage. His vocal chords have lost none of their power, nor Steel any of his technique. He has a sales ability that contrasts noticeably with the newer crop of singers, who come from radio and depend on the mike. Miss Gray is one such, but she has more merchandising sense than most who have gone places on the ozone channels. She's a blues singer of appealing personality and pretty good voice. 'Until Today' is notable for good diction, while 'Gotta Dance My Way to Heaven' suffers a bit in that direction. Neither Steel nor Miss Gray are the audience hits that Ray and Frank are. They went to the biggest hand,, when, caught Friday night, with their* excellent acrobatic work and had to encore, at that perform- ance. . The. boys have a smart hand- to-hand routine which is- decidedly different- in many respects. Acro- batics are prefaced by a novel dance bit and .some business, which gets, a few laughs. Jerry Cole is up ahead, on, top of the opening, with his snakehips routine. He's got a wicked little number. The best number of the -Madri- guera crew, a smooth-running, com- petent organization of 16.men, is the finale built around the college-fla- vored song, The Color of : Your Eyes'. • Effects- of college pennants are thrown on the screen to fit the lyrics, sung well by Parrish.- Latter also steps to the mike for an ar- rangement of pops of yesterday and today, displaying good showmanship and faultless • diction;' Madriguera himself clicks strong with' his fiddle solo of 'Star Dust.' of which he made a unique arrangement. An ac- cordion is featured in the opening number. The stage show 1s preceded by Don Baker's organ stint, the Par newsreel- and a cartoon comedy, 'Play Safe' (Par). Business good Friday evening at the first show. ' ' Omr. EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWS^EELS) In between hissing for and' against Roosevelt and Landon, the boys at the Embassy are informed this week by Uhiversal's male announcer that! the inserts in the new tea rose dance sets are of alencon.lace. This shows how educational the- newsreels are. Speaking of fashions^-and sooner or' later the Embassy is always bringing up the. subject—what the. well-rushed sorority queen will wear this fall is reported with illus- trations by Pathe. This, at least, is a. hety v slant on fashions:^ . Movie- tone's Louise- Vance- follows with' dope on milady's dins, and then U takes up -the lingerie and the guy talks as if he knew,- • As. visual, the Embassy presents a bewildering assortment of important happenings of worldwide conse- quence side by. js'idelwith claptrap stunts important only to the' press TJ^ents' who arranged them. ' And. this being October, there's a lot of football. Yale-Cornell. dhio-N.Y. U.. Princeton-Williams, Notre Dame- Carnegie. U washes iip the" baseball season with the final game^in con- siderable footage—of ' the World Series. . ■ ' Spanish' unpleasantness .'is''just as grim and .bloodthirsty as'jh previous 'weeks, fascist 'reitffo'rfcemerits','Ar- riving at the Alcazar tfeVear.'T.oledo as a shambles and the' 'sllryivOrs scarred from suffering. 'Paramount unspools some excellent' stuff.'' Its boast of escaping censorship seems plausible on theevfdence. Embassy audience roundly hissed General Franco, adding his mugg to the house's galleryyof hoptables. Uni- versal contributes some footage on Spain also. Swedish Baroness who got left be- hind on a Transatlantic flight has her chance, to tell her regrets. .News- reels, never tip off, but this story fairly reeks, with the stuff that curi- osity feeds on. It leaves the specta- tor interested but uninformed. Pathe'6 'How will you vote*'is a re- peat on an idea of 1932. At least. It's a . quick succession of flashes jumping from Landon to Roosevelt .voters. Well photographed and edited and scrupulously impartial. But. in 50 odd faces at least one might have expressed a preference for. a minority party, of which at least three are also on the ballot. Universal and Paramount divided the case of Betty Jane Schultz, 15- year-old singer signed by the Chi- cago Opera. Good publicity for Betty Jane and for Paul Longone's West Madison St. yodelers. • Ford's theories on what the soybean Will do for, the farmer's future, a Russo-Turkish soccer game in Mos- cow, Royal Mounties training in Ot- tawa for the N. Y. .-Jiorse show, measurement rigamarole in the Yosemite on the glacial ice wall, Shirley Temple klbbitzing with some Boy- Scouts, the wholesale system of handling' bambinos in Italian hos- pitals a la Mussolini's 'raise-more- babies-and-be^quick-about-itV These are some of' the items, Danbury Fair is also well exploited. Jean Paul King spiels for Hearst and later Lew Lehr is photographed on the midway for Movietone. Lehr's hat is funnier than his script, as usual. Fitzpatrick's 'Cherry Blossom Time In Japan' and ITs 'Stranger Than Fiction' fill out the program. Marquee braggs about 48 items.' You count 'em. Land. ST. LOUIS, ST. L. St. Louis, Oct. 10. A well balanced variety program with a second-run film, *My Man Godfrey' (U), is being offered at the St. Louis currently at 40c top. Show is opened by Freddy Mack, m.cing in addition to directing toot- ers, and 16 precision Roxyettes do- ing a swell jingle bell routine that clicked with payees;, Tommy Trent, from behind screen, does an excellent puppet routine. For ah encore, Trent shows custom- ers how. he manipulates'.a puppet doing a trucking dance. Novak and Fay, comedy acrobats and dancers,' do a lot of foolishness that enter- tains sittees and .polish off act . with some fine hand balancing stuff. Sohdra and Winters, ballroom dancers do a turn with the Roxy- ettes in a production . number and team later returns for a couple of more bits. Mack, who finds it pret- ty difficult to get night customers in full voice for his community sings, is having. .success currently 'when he invites patrons to sing The Man On the Flying Trapeze' for one of the three numbers.. Benny Ross, who plays the piano and sings equally well, and Maxine Stone, the lazy* blonde, won four curtain, calls for their act. Roxyettes, in a dude ranch and merry-go-round routine, bring 60 min. show to close. Sdhu. HIPP, BALTIMORE Baltimore, Oct.-9, The last remaining citadel of vaude in downtown Balto is this week gar- risoned with a four-act bill that proved satisfying to a lower-levelful of patrons Friday a.m. Headlining and next-to-closing act is Conrad Thibault, who this week is doing a renegade - from r radio that is to vaude's distinct gain. Crowd knew him, giving a nice palm-pat to bari- tone. Has been some time since Thi- bault last faced the foots and jie seemed slightly, stage-slowed when caught Hasn't exactly a socko per- sonality, but ,when warbling holds 'em securely. Opens with three cur- rently reigning pops, thenj'Under Your Spell,' 'Man River* and 'You, Night and Music.' . Whatever hand you count 'em on, it was one too much, singing. . , .Opener is. Six Skating Marvels, sextet of maids on the rollers', who, working' in .twos, threes arid fours, run through a constant succession of skate stunts,that built to beaut of a climax—two of the lassies doing a one-ankle breakaway.. Finale finds all.six circling on the mat. Worth, Wyle and Howe, deucing, snag sufficient score of laffs with act that runs chiefly to knockabout comedy of the pistachio sort. Some legit aero and tap dancing is leav- ened in for added measure. One. from way back. Withers Op'ry, closes, but strong. Must be aU of five years since this old-fashioned comedy turn last appeared in Balto, arid the more-or-less 'discriminating patrons (lured by"Craig's Wife' (Col) on screen) doubled up with laffs at the slapstick and : broad-beamed hu- mor bits. That sprawling set replete with multitude of gadgets and Milt Gross devices, helps along the click. 'Charles Withers, if. 'spry- as ever- and his several" comics give him good support. •'.'" • -'Program" Is 'rounded' out by" Pathe clips, a- short and trailers. Bert. MINNESOTA, MPLS. Minneapolis, Oct. 10. John Boles in person is delivering the box-office punch at this big Pub- lix house currently. Bolstering the unit, 'Swing High,'-the- screen star had 'em standing at the early Sun- day afternoon show caught by this reporter and his presence seemed to more than compensate for the bal- ance . of the stage entertainment's shortcomings. Near the close of the show. Boles comes on to sing three numbers. If anything were needed to demon- strate that he was -the magnet re- sponsible for the capacity house, the reception accorded him and his ef- forts clearly - provided the convinc- ing evidence. It is a straight sing- ing turn before a mike, but, mainly due to his extremely pleasant per- sonality, and the wise selection of numbers, it's a surefire. Numbers are from three of his pictures—'One Alone' from the-'Desert Song,' 'If I- Should Love' from 'Rose of the Rancho' and 'Waiting at the Gate for Katie' from 'Bottoms Up,' No em- bellishments, except Some comedic trimmings for the last named song. Rest of 'Swing High' impresses as an extremely • economical layout, with nothing in the way of outstand- ing talent or production. It's a hodge-podge of fair vaudeville acts supplemented by a line of 16 girls. Line works very well in three pro- duction numbers, the toe dancing in particular being above par, and rates tops in the show. Stanisles, a Rus- sian dancer, offers a brief terpsi- chorean contribution and also scores, while Ruth Pryor, specialty toe- dancer, is fair. Mills, Kirk and Howard are rather funny with their impersonations of Hitler, Mussolini and Selassie sing- ing The Music Goes Round.* Gene Sheldon, a one-time m. c. at this house, also cops applause .with his comic pantomime bit and banjo playing. Loretta Fischer, a dancer whose specialty is high kicking, works with him. Doris Rhodes sings a couple of pop numbers well enough and the Oehman Twins, a boy and a girl, dance along conventional lines. There's also an unpro- grammed Negro lad who does a song number. Feature is'Cain and Mabel' (WB). Paramount News with extra shots of the Minnesota'-Nebraska football game, rounds out the bill. Rees. ORPHEUM, LINCOLN Lincoln, Oct. 11. Customers get a cheating here this week and the business took it on the chin after the opening day. Week- end crowd took it on the lam for Minneapolis, anyway,, to see the Cornhusker football 'clash Saturday (10) and hadp't returned' yet. With the rest' of the ' town's' marquees sporting strictly femme attractions, management here'figured that an all- girl unit would solve the problem, but it's a very, sick dos& Sole outside act is the Hollywood Debs, a .girl band, while the rest of the show s a fill from close to home. Line came via B^e Ru.th, girl show stager in Omaha..' Show is weak, filled with, long waits while the stage hands play tag oh the platform, and jumbled further by the mistress of ceremonies, Pat. Watkiris, who lacks plenty in handling her .assignment, First.pn are. the Rockettes, the line who kick about, making way for Madame Fifi, equilibrist and barrel act. Act lacks' polish. Two of the line girls, Pplly and Kitty, do a rope hop, which with the help of good lighting is. okay. Then the band for 'Clouds,' with Pat Watkin? singing, and a novelty follows featuring Helen Lewis, the. drummer—moder- ate. ' ■ Dorothy, and Doris Heintze, twins, toting a dummy, go through a comic dance, which got the only. strong hand. The . band does ^Moonglow and then the line again in a 'Lenox Avenue' routine. M. c. Wafkins mikes Bill,' artd the j windup act is the Mitchell Trio, ball balancers. Two kids are Ane, but. the old lady clut- ters the stage. ' Running' time is 45 minutes. Pic is 'Women Are Trouble' (MG). Barri. MICHIGAN, DETROIT . Detroit, Oct. 9. Radio stuff everywhere at this spot currently. NBC revue on stage is backed up by 'Big Broadcast of 1937' (Par) on screen.' ' BiO. was oke early Friday evettihg (9). Although minus big marquee lure, lineup picked by Howard Pierce for the second NBC unit here in. two months is sbek entertainment. It's well-staged, too.; Comprises five acts, plus pit band' on stage; running about 50 minutes. Tom Howard and George Shelton, who've regained a lot of followers lately, on Rudy Valliee y s hour,-have no trouble holding the feature spot on bill.' Audience went for come- dians' interrupted monolog, tonped off with a-nifty-exit while c6p halts Howard's traveling-salesman story. Turn precedes finale, with entire company-participating. '. -'Besides'-furnishing-COUple df- nice tenor solos. ; More ton'Bbwe. late of 'Irene and Tom" broadcasts, steps out of character lb m.c. show and is" a pleansant-relief from usual stuff. His unforceful manner leaves patrons on their own- to select their- favorites, (Continued on page 57)