Variety (Feb 1937)

VARIETY 51 PALACE, CHI. Chicago, Feb. 6. From $1,750 to $5,500 marks the change of .billing to 'personal ap- pearance' for the Ritz Bros.. And the switch in coin and billing enables the ' trio to speak of Hollywood and pic- tures in familiar fashion; to talk of doing routines; and bits 'by special request* and particularly to get away With stttff that would have spelled disaster previously. Arriving in town with a cocktail party for the press after clicking in two- flickers, the Ritz boys are doing the business at the, Jfclace this week, despite the presence of 'Plough and the Stars' (RKO) on the screen. If anything; the picture is hindering the b.o., since it isn't the type of stuff that- the knockabout mob likes, and they certainly liked the Ritzes. They are about the biggest sock this house has had in many, many, months, according to the audience reaction at • the last show Friday. They did 20 minutes and were a genuine riot. They- had to speech, and then beg off, The speech-beg- ging itself took at least five minutes. And they applauded into the picture, trying to bring the boys back. And yet, iespite this, tremendous - click, there are items in . their rou tine which are uncalled for, and in excusable in an act of the standing of the Ritz Bros, today; One of these is;the Hitler bit, and the uncalled- for obscenity in the blow-off. An- other vpiece of bad judgment is the announcement of the Harry Richman burlesque. In the picture 'Sing, Baby, Sing' (20th), it was called 'Harry Richman goes crazy'; and on the stage it is labeled 'Harry Richman .as a' half-wit*. The difference be- ' tween 'crazy' and 'halfrwit' is con- siderable in its implications. > Rest of the bill is competent wijth three standard acts;' all wJc. here and repeating so often around town they must be playing the Palace- Chicago-Oriental-State Lake circuit, Harris.-Claire and Shannon are in with the Bebe Barri dancing line, which makes, three, appearances. The dance trio, in for two spots, does a bang-up job of their, two routines. They always can be counted on for the best in appearance and ward- robe, plus genuine dancing. Charles Carrer turns in his usual efficient juggling act. Works fast and with good novelty. Especially big is a nifty encore bit, in which he tosses first eight lemons, then eight cubes of ice and then eight cherries into a line of eight cocktail glasses. Good stuff. . : : - ' ■ Ventriloquist acts are back in strong favor. Vox and Walters have been long familiar around here; New setup c of the act works out well, though the dialog and bits are still the same. Miss. Walters js surefire with her crying baby stunt; . Business great Gold. KEITH'S, BOSTON Boston, Feb. . It .has beehfour years since-Leon Errol played vaude in this town. Bandy-legged Errol was greeted warmly here at his first entrance and applauded more hotly at each re-ap- pearance in what has been called in other towns 'Hollywood Models of 1937.' Charlie Koerrier booked in Louise - Beavers from pis and Cookie Bow- ers to add to a troupe of talented people. But to get back tc Errol, who has ;o sure-fire scenes-^one a dancing school sequence, the other a film di- rector bit. In the former he leads .the chorus dressed as dance: school pupils through a dizzy drunk routine that climaxes in skids and pratt falls. One of. the smartest, most novel chorus jobs unveiled here in many seasons. In directing a silent film in which the unit people perform, Er- ' rol stands off-side and gives advice to the players in the Pete Smith manner. Pay-off comes when Errol, exasperated' at the acting in a love scene, steps offstage and into .the film, wearing the same rig he uses on stage. The illusion is socko comedy. Tricky opening gives the effect of a transport plane landing onstage to unload the principals and models of the show. Johnny Kraft, as re- porter, interviews tanked-up rrol, who breathes heavily into the face of the newsman, who ultimately be- comes crocked himself 'from the stiff alcoholic/breeze. There's some handsome hoofing on the bill, too, and nods go to Surinie O'Dea for an extended solo disblay of smooth, clean-cut taps, and to Jimmy Hadreas, who. wins himself a rich reception for his combination of taps, buck, wings, jigs, vodka and aero hoofage as a finale, to a swell sold turn. ,;Miss Beavers, apparently breaking in some new numbers, opens with a blah-blurb about Boston being her favorite, town. Then launches into a. serious bit from 'Rainbow on the River.' This was well enough re- ceived to; justify a few songs; that follow, including, lead song of the film, 'Old Folks at Home,' 'Some Day, Sweetheart,' and a cute little num- ber (best of all) called 'Half of. Me Says.' possessed of pleasing, talents and personality, Miss Beavers* hesi- tant announcements do not frame them to • best: advantage. First-show -..trouble, later corrected. Cookie Bowers is still, doing the mess of,mimicry ranging from: barn- yard noises to 'Jewish mama in bathing' —and he's still clicking. Frances Peper contributes a short, but. pleasing, piece of soprano work bordering on the coloratura. Gresham and Blake donate a hokum tango that borders on the humorous. Local angle is Lou Ashe, serving capably as m.c, straight man; juve and tenor. Two seasons ago Ashe was song-plugging in local niteries. He has progressed considerably since then.. Lou Gaut (partner of Johnny Kraft) ordinarily gets an eccentric dance spot in this unit, but this week he just gallops through the opening scene in running pants. '•• ■. «!feen, Moi the Marines' (Rep). Fox. ST. LOUIS, ST. L. , . St. Louis, Feb. 4. It appears that Johnny Perkins was the hypo Fanchon & Marco needed to put this house definitely on the right pages of ledger, for biz has been on upbeat since the rotund Perkins assumed m.c. duties at Grand blvd. house three weeks ago. That Perkins is putting stage shows over was attested by opening night currently when first floor was almost filled despite fierce weather that kept timid natives close to the hearth, , Perkins copped top honors, although Jte. tried, hard to convince mob out: front that Ken and Roy Paige, two robust slap stick young- sters, were the more deserving. Fast show opens with Roxyettes, totin' huge vari-colored flags, foot- ers,and Perkins marching down cen- ter aisle' and onto apron, where gals do an eye-flllirig routine with band. Perkins tells a couple of new stories, gags a bit with Madeline Killeen, a blond looker who does some nice warbling. Then Perkins calls the Paige boys out and they click with their rough house stuff. Bob Eaton and Co., the latter being Yvonne Odette, Vander- bilt U. midget, are in next slot, with gal dressed as baby in. a perambula- tor and wise cracking with a woman stooge who stops to admire kid. After Eaton does a phone skit, Yvonne returns for a s. and d. rou- tine with. Eaton. Following a fast production num- ber by Roxyettes, Ray Gonlin, ven- triloquist, delivers a sock turn. For an . encore Conlin . brings Perkins back as the dummy and it is a strong piece of business. In next-to-closing slot is Roy Smeck, who scores with arrange- ment of 'Tiger Rag'on banjo; 'Moon Over Miami* and 'Bugle Call Rag' on electric guitar. Line, in a jingle- bell routine, bring show to end. .'College Holiday* (Par) (2nd run) on screen. Biz very good. Sahu. TOWER, K. C. Kansas City, Feb. 5. Looks like an off-week for the house line (12), Ted Cook, m. c, a male singer and the ork (12). They move through their paces with, a decided limp, using showmanship as a crutch to keep the whole thing from doing a nose-dive into the pit. It leans just about that far. Ted Cook, going into his seventh week here, marshals the affair with all the color of a guy reading a dictionary preface. Fortunately, the visiting, acts are all oke. Film is •Smart Blonde' (WB). Show is opened by the line clut- tering the aisles brandishing copies of the Police. Gazette. Cook pipes the 'Girl on the Police Gazette' while the line tries to put over a silly 7 routine, with the paper. The pint-sized Mickey King makes short work of her aerialist turn. Scrambles up the rope, does fifty armrovers, and that's that. Stunt has been done oh this stage a number of times and never gets across.. ,. " Recruited, from, a local radio sta- tion, Ward Kieth fills the spot nor- mally assigned to the tyro contest winner. Does a take-off on Bob Burns and presents several of his ether characters. . He's on again later in a dramatization of Dan Mc- Grew with Ted Cook, Ernie Ray burn and the line. They should hang this opus in the prop .room with a sign, 'use in case of fire.' It can be recommended to empty any house with dispatch. Jess Libonati and is and daughter - flay three xylophones with splendid' results.. The offspring are speedy tapsters with ; some tricks of their own. . . . Harris and Howell have added a partner and are billed as the Har- lemaniacs. The colored group are good entertainers, but some of .their gags are pretty hotsy for this joint. There is some nice uke and fiddle work and one of them does some sprightly hoe-down tap work. '.. The finale has one of the gals from the line, fronting with & hick specialty. Lester Harding handles his cowboy tune okay, but Cook's weekly plea of 'let's make Lester happy' is begi " to pall. Hoj/t. ; Eddie Paul May Go Par Reported Eddi Paul, former or- chestra leader of the Paramount, N. Y.,' and for last few months at the Roxy, may land at the Par studio as part of the music department headed by Boris Morros, Latter, be- fore leaving last week to return to Holly wood, declared no plans had been laid to.: bring Paul out. The orchestra leader, however, flew out to studip on a ; mo- ment's notice on call from the plant. Unit Review Winter Garden Follies (ORPHEUM, LINCOLN) Lincoln,,Feb. 5. After laying off a wek due to flesh shortage in these parts, Orph is back these three days with Ed Gardiner's second show of the season for. the Cushman time, 'Winter Garden Fol- lies.' Good title and adhered to in costume theme by the girls for one number, after that it's dropped and the audience gets about 52. minutes of fair trade. . . Talk material is the bad spot, and there's quite a litle of it. That which is fairly new is hampered by being blue, and the older stuff is away down memory lane. For instance, the big comedy act is Moore and Shy, the bulk of their stuff having been seen with Olsen and Johnson for about six seasons, when they were stooging for the Swedes. They still do a good family act, but very often one of those oldies sneak in which makes the audience fold arms tight. Even 'Violets are pink' is in. A few changes and they'd be a sub- stantial sock. .Show carries a line of six girls, do- ing-two Chorus routines ■ and then breaking into a trio of dance acts. First number is nice, all the girls in fur where it won't hamper the view. Second time they cb sunny clime and do a hula, best thing about it being the. togs. In order" of appearance, the acts are Gilley and Jean, balance ing act with the gal Understanding; Gale Sisters, military tap; Moore (457 pounds) and Shy (49 pounds), comedy; Huck Round and his orches- tra featuring Dixie Bennett; Bernie Nolan, m.c. and. comedian; the Three Eatons, hoofers; and -White Bros., comedy. ; Nolan's material is eligi for penciling, almost in the burley vein. He talks a good entrance for the acts, but other than that will make managers squirm in their seats the first show. Dixie Bennett adds-little in maestroing the band. Show would probably go better if Moore arid Shy traded places with the Whites, who close, but they're needed earlier to liven things along the way. Born. Saranac Lake - By Happy Benway Mike Schultz,V N. Y. showshop manager who is listed as a new- comer Up here, all on the O. K. side. Murray Freedman is another man ager who is a new arrival. Ben Schaffer again voted the best .dressed, man in the Actors' Colony. YoUr correspondent just got an O. K. report from Dr; George, Wil- son; told me that I could walk two blocks and not: worry about it. Rose Karp left the ozoni burg for a. little visit to N. Y. Robert W. Burke, songwriter, new to this routine of things, but holding up okay. Ditto Wm. Milne. John T. Donahue, traveling audi- tor (Loews), is a new arrival here. NVA patients and those in the Actors' Colony here: NVA Sanatorium: Sylvia Abbott, Tommy Abbott, Marya Blake, Marion Cannon, Camile Carpentier, Fifi Climas, Ethel Clouds, John De- Giovinni, Alfred DeLorai , Jack Edwards, Charles Foster, Melvin Fox, Doris Gascoigne, Harry Gordon, Marion Greene, Bill Janney, Dorothy Kruse, Bea Lee, John Louden, Peggy McCarthy, Ed McGushion, Mollie Mantel, Armand Monty, Dick Moore, Mima Morse, Margaret Newell, Cora O'Connell, Gladys Palmer, Joe Parker, Max Pfeffer, Salvadore Ragone, Ford Raymond, Fred Rith, Edward Ross, Michael Schultz, Ben Schaffer, Doris Schrage, Gary Sidgreaves, Brain Tracy, Pauline Tunicky, Murray Freedman, Jpc McCarthy. Claude ; Lawson, 86 Lake Flower Ave.; Ray Ketchem, 10 South Hope St.; RUss. Kelly, 19 Broadway; Jimmy Cannon, Northwoods San; Harry and Charli . Barrett, Upper Broadway; George- Anderson,; 19 Broadway; Mannie. ■ Lowy, Olive St.; Harry Sodar, 19 Broadway; Happy Benwayi 91 Broadway. Write to those you know. in Sara- nac. NEW ACTS Holly wood,. Feb. Special songs Written for Repub- lic's musical western, Gene Autry's 'Git Along Little Dogies,' are 'In the Valley Where the Sun Goes Down,' cleffed by Sam H. Stept and Ned Washington; 'If You Want to Be a Cowboy,' Fleming Allen, and 'Honey Bringing Honey to You,' by Smiley Burnette. Trio supplements four other num- bers and medli Ben Oakland . is scoring 'Honey- moon' at Columbia under direction of Morris. Stoloff, the studio's musi- cal head. LUPE VELEZ and JOHNNY WEISS- MULLER Variety 13 Mins.; One Century, Baltimore Pair are seemingly always in the news and probably there are some mobs around who would like to glim 'em on a stage together. There is no doubt they're tugging some folks through the turnstiles this week. : As entertainment, howeveri there's. pretty, much to be desired. Teamed up, they don't deliver as did Miss: Velez when last around as a single. Probably that's accountable, to fact she spends half her onstage moments trying to sell her husband to audi- ence. And whoever framed the act has Weissmuller essaying a doltish type—hardly conducive to appeal. What he does get from mob comes only at end, and that chiefly from sympathy. They duet once, and Miss Velez does a very mild rhumba, plus n.s.g. impersonations of Hepburn and G. SwanSon. Rest of time is consumed by Miss Velez trying to sell her hus- band; and he doing the big He Man embarrassment act till it wears thin. When caught, he explained the only entertainment he could offer was swim and play 'Tarzan,' and since there was no available pool to paddle in or tree to climb, he was at a loss. Marty May* who was in the niche ahead of this act on the bill, came out midway when. Miss Velez was clothes-changing and carried , the weight till her dance brought act to a conclusion. : ' Miss Velez also got a bit too cloy- ing in constantly- telling/audience how happy she -and husband were to entertain , 'em; it grew., .repetitious, and she < climaxed at entMby saying she 'prayed to Someone Up Tpere' to' make mob as happy as mob had made her. Oh yes, Johnny did give vent to his Tarzan' howl, after May jestingly kidded him into it. Bert. RAMONA Singing •11 Mins.; Two Hippodrome. Baltimore. Long under contract to the Paul Whitemah aggregation—and, inci- dentally, now having contract- squabble with outfit—Ramona's pip- ing pianology was always an im- portant item in the Whiteman en- tourage. Also, she once did a two- act with Jack Fulton. Out for first time on solo display, Ramona doesn't impress nearly as much as formerly. She seemed to lack the band background when caught Friday (5) afternoon arid certainly didn't stack up as formid- able an entertainer as she used to. Audience attitude was chilly, and she didn't thaw it any. Selection of songs, 'Pennies from Heaven/ 'Tony's Wife' and 'Under My Skin/ not too adroitly chosen, considering her talents, She might have used at least one more subtle, sophisticated piece from her catalog of specials. Probable reason she didn't do any straight piano-plinking was that 'Songwriters on Parade' are on same bilL and supply plenty of that. , . ... . Ramona would seem more likely to find a class nitery a more snug berth for her work than soloing in vaude. She opens Sat (13) atSavOy- Plaza N; Y. As usual Ramona's getup and de- portment is plenty ■distingue. She deuced, on thin bill. B«rt. CHARLES NEWMAN Harmonica 4 Mina. Paramount, N. Y. Charles Newman, exponent of the harmonica, is knocking at the doors which- admitted Larry Adler, re- cently at the Versailles, and to make comparisons closer is also doing Ravel's 'Bolero/ Adler did this at the Versailles and Borrah Minevitch's gang is doing it at the Roxy. The difference between the two mouth- organ eaters is that Newman is more restrained in the Selling, preferring not to be as flashy. No new addition to the Fred War- ing bandi Newman is very worth- while, but his number might finish more effectively if the band wasn't so forte down near the end. New- man would have to blow his brains out to keep up with the rising notes of the band as 'Bolero' builds to its dramatic climax. That's easily cor- rected, •however. Newman doe's just this one num- ber with Waring. Char. LARRY BEST Imitations 8 Mins. Paramount , A discovery' .of Major Bowes'.; Larry Best, is now a discovery of Fred Waring's and with the Waring band here is going to town on a show-stopping express. He does imitations of Roy Atwell, Charlie Butterworth, Ned Sparks, Joe Peri- ner and: Ed. Wynn. ■ While all are uniformly , his poorest is Wynn; who . been rubbed' to death by the imitators. Wynn hasn't: done the :flre chief thing the air for a long. time',: but the imitators still have him in the fireman's chapeau. Best is a young fellow with a good deal of personality arid a fair sense of showmanship. Char. YVETTE RUGEL Songs Bill's Gay Nineties, N. - . - Yvette RugeL was first New Act- revieWed in Variety Aug. 26, 1918, again on April 18, 1919, when she took a piano accompanist unto her- self, as was then the vogue with many- 'sirigle* women, in vaudeville, and not again until July 25, 1928, in the fading glorious years of two-a- day vaudeville that was. epitomized by the Palace .as the pinnacle and ultimate of everything. That's where she was caught-at the Pal- ace—this midsummer of '28, when, in the full flush. of her maturer aspiratioris Yvette Rugel was back in America after having sung i Paris and Italian opera abroad. Now, almost a decade later, the same ing goes, as it did at the Palace in 1928^-her voice is socko, her delivery sure, her showmanship effective. ; That Yvette RUgel has had to come out of retirement and find a new. type., vaudeville—in nite clubs—rto display her wares, is only a sup- plementary commentary on the con- temporaneous vaudeville scene.' That's Where vaudeville's gone— niteries, radio and. into filmusicals. Strip it of its microphones and its celluloid, underneath it all .it's vaudeville dressed up to fit a new standard,, face a new technique and, if anything, reach a wider field. That's truest, of course, on the film and radio end. Playing in a 200- capacity nitery is stUl just another version of. doing a shdw at the Ked- zie. Chicago, but to fewer customers.. And: Xvette RugeL, in. the hectic confines of a nitery, meets! the. situ- ation handily, for she still knows how to Sell the. numbers' and still arrests them .with,a full and .gifted voice. That she does, it wjth tried- and-true songs, familiar excerpts from operettas, is the more to her credit, as there is no novelty lyric appeal to hold 'em. She arrests and cements interest solely on'vocal de- . livery. And Why she's; not in the mi field, for radio, Is something per- haps only a short time will answer. Her 'comeback' here is but in its in- fancy. Abel. BETTY LEWIS Dancer 9 Mins. . Park Central. N. Y. (Grove) Pert little tap dancer who .is also quite versatile in the modern 'Truckin- ' movement, Betty Lewis is billed as a newcomer from the middle-west. Her skill indicates that she has. been around, but never caught solo before; Combines clever whirl with bbth tapster offerings. Miss Lewis' most involved presenta- tion is her Toreador fantasia, though the tap. cleats slow down part of' stepping. She is plenty fast and clever When teamed up with Roscoe Ails in typi- cal 'Truckin'' and.'Susie Q' offering, Which is the blow-off for the Grove show. Trim figure and ingratiating personality are added assets. . Wear. BEE KALMUS Singer 6 Mins.; One Loew's State, N. Y. , This isn't Bee KalmUs' first time on a stage, femme having appeared as a specialty before, but it's her first time for the New Act Ales. At the State currently she's appearing in front of Leon Navara's band and practically carries all the weight of the band act. Cute little fenune with the Ethel Merman style of selling a song has once, been given a radio buildup, but nothing important came: of it. Be- sides her infrequent stage appear- ances, she has' also taken several excursions into the niteries, and it's in. the latter, field that she should make her mark. Has a sock style, good appearance and is vocally okay. Did two numbers at this catching and had a tough- time getting away. Applause ran into the subsequent or- chestral effort by Navara's crew. Scho. STUART AND LEA Dancers 8 Mins. Park Central, N. Y. (Grove) Stuart and Lea look like veterans in this ballrdomology business, but not in the files. Both of their terp efforts look familiar, particularly that first, which is tabbed 'Bolero of the Capes/ This is a colorful inter- mingling of smooth stepping and deft manipulation of long, flowing robes. Requires plenty of dexterity with arms and legs. Second dance setto is one of those tbprhat society concepts; Calls in walking, stick for male member to twirl and support his graceful part- ner. Unfortunate choice of costum- ing; because it dwarfs really agile efforts of duo. • Transparent skirt for femme and lighter colors would do the trick; ; Wcor. Alice Faye, backed up by Cy Feuer's ork, waxed four sides, of numbers from Irvi Berlin's 'On The Avenue', for ick in Hol- lywood. 1