Variety (Apr 1937)

52 VARIETY VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, April 21, 1937 MUSIC HALL, N. Y. For no very logical reason the Radio City Music Hall builds a unit around an act this week^ rather than fittinig an act into its routine, as usual. Result, is hot too hot. Biival is the act. He is a. tajr-to- middling. magician, whose, specialty is slit-and" tube work, and he m.c's the entire producti this week, whibh,. appropriately enough,! is tabbed *Magic.' Opening the show with a coUple.of. ininor magi maneuvers, he produces some silk scarfs which lead directly into the number of the ballet; a Loie .FiiUeir affaii-. It's none too well done and is very much outmoded, anyway. When! Miss Fuller played with scarfs and lights there was a leason foi: it—she was blazing trails. .There is. no. reason for it today. Bird-cage effect means the Glee Club in just that, a mammoth cage. Rockeittes finish off' and provide the only real entertainment in the show. Dressed in really outstanding! costumieis as rabbits (they ~are pro- duced but of hats as a follow-up to Duval taking. a mighty suspicious- looking rabbit out of a hat) they do one of their top-notch precision rou- tines to wind up the show with .a real sock. ;Duval is not a bad stage magician. He is line to close shows in an ordi- .nary vaude house. Whether .h^'s. i;opd .enough to appear in a really .Grade A house like the Music .Hall is a question. .But, whethet or not. the Hall should build a show around him, there is .ho doubt. It sirhply 1 doesn't-irate., ■■ Picture is 'The Woman I Love' (RKO): Dick Leibert at the organ; Erno Rapee waving the.stiick for a Wagner . overture;. Nat Karson re- sDonsible for the-A-1 sets; Russell Markert, the stager. Kouf. FQX, PHILLY Philadelphia, April 17. Fox has a generally well-balanced .and .diverting stiage this week, which wais well received by the thea- tre's rather 'choicy' clientele. Pic is •Internes Can't Take Money' (Par). Arnold Johnson and his ork are headlihers, and they make a very good impression here, where they have, not previously been as Well known as some of the other leading 6rks. Click strongly with 'Stbmpin*^ at the Sa- voy;.' in a swing arrangement of. Sousa marches and source of war- fare between Fred Allen and Jack Benny, the. now famous 'Bee,' also played in swing time. . First Of the Specialists to appear is. Dolly' Gilbert, a sinuous and grace- ful taipper, whose toe taj^ping is es-. f>ecially notable. Blonde , is easy to ook at and clever besides. The Dixie Debs, a trio of neat femme singers,' rendeir This,Is My Last: Affair' in tip-top .style, and then another trio of gals, the Three Swing Girls, warble 'Everybody Loveis My Baby.' . However, it's when the six girls. combine to sing 'Little .Old Lady' that they' really ring the bell. The. audience went ..for this sextet nurnber in a big way and .wanted ihOre. They got it at the finale, when the sing girls .carried the vocal p.art Of the ork's 'swing' version of Soiisa. Ted Nezza does some eccentric dancing that's distinctly above aver- age; especially .in his drunk imperr sonations. His tapping to the tune of 'Dinah' also tickled the mob out front. Only other specialty is Adrian, who does a graceful and well-rou- tined acrobatic dance. Feature of the show is that every^ thing is nicely trimmed and bal- anced, with no dull spots, and speed and variety the keynotes. • Th^ overture, conducted. by the able -Jeno Donath, is 'Russian Fan^ tasy,'very weir performed; Wdiers. STATE-LAKE, CHI Chicago,'A^tril 16.. Reirial'kable is the way the. new line of girls at this house, are 'vv.ark- ing after being together only tW.c) weeks, and a . lot of credit should be given to Mrs. Charles Niggienmeyer for the. way she has whipped them into shqpe. Original State-Lake Sweethearts . who departed two weeks ago were considered the out- standing theatre line in the midwest both from the standpoint; of .appear- ance; and performance, and probably accounted for a. certain percientage of the. theatre's clientisle. The new line,; ■while it hash^t the class the qriginar had, works- together well • already, and will, in.time, rival the other; 'Fiv.e acts make up a rather miedio-. i-e. hill this week, with Sue Ryan ahJ Don Ricardo headlining, but the honors going to Summers and Hunt, long a standard act, and one which knows its business; More, their timing is that which Comes only.'lo capable performers iafter much ■work; , Yet with everything they ■have to offer as far as talent is con-" ce.rned, they do ah act in whichi ma- terial is so old the first black-face minstrel could claim it was .liftied from hirh: and. thrown in iare a couple of deep blue gags. Sue Ryan does a turn Of. comedy fio...?j; one French' number; one, an im-Jsni'Sonalism on torch singers; and flp'''ics up, with two versions of •AV'Tender's Ragtime Band.' She Avr» -Ifs h9ird. Maybe a hit too hard. Other headliner, Don Ricardo, who balancco balls, comes under a rathei: odd classification;. inasinuch as his tricks are all right, but he . Seenir ingly knows little about selling them. Fails to timi.ie them at all, is awkward in' his movements, and .there is eyery evidence that perfprmihg., is merely a job to him. Too ba^ about Carl Shaw/He bhce uid a great dancing act;, but now he's 'Carl Shaw and Co;;' and 'the Coi spoils the whole, thing. Shaw still dpies some dancing' and; saves things; even proves he'd be. a-knock; out if he went back to straight com.- edy. dancing, biit the chatter and .bits thrown out by the extra main and woman are of. extraordinarily flop- peroo stuff: .: Bill opens with.Falls, Reading and Rpyce; two ..men arid ■ a girl; good hoofing turn iafter. it pulls out of ! the none-itoo-funny a!nd slOw start. Some nice stuff - here individually and: col^. lectiyely, but heeds a change in the Opening. : . . Show includes two'routines done by well-costumed line, and feature is 'Crimihal Lawyer* (Par), with busi- ness almost capacity at Friday early evening show; Loop. TOWER, K. e. Kansas City, April 16. Current bill with Borrah Mi - vitch's ° Harmonica Rascals, sans Minevitch, as headliher packed them opening day; Biit if biz holds up it will be because of this troupe alonei Wisdom of hoUsei in putting all its coin on one act can only be judged by the final figures. The other three acts are substantially below, average for; this spot. It's a pretty dull 30 minutes until the Mihevitch crew get into the melange. Tower audience expects three, or four acts that piit out oh .'a par with each other; They're not at all fussy about 'em being tops biit they do expect:'em to be stand- ard fare. Show openei' is a ;weakie with the line and Lester Harding trying vainly, to put ovier a garden opus, Gals are packing flower ti*ellises and one of the' girls fronts with -a toe specialty. In view of the tame ma- terial that follows the gals could have better opened with their hotcha "top hat number which, they are seen in later. For some reason' Texas Tommy. and his pony gets an overboard build up by Ted Cook, m.c.The build is certainly needed but not rated; They hoyf out quietly* Win- ston and Lolette are mild in th^ir tap routine Artie. Lewis and Peggy Ames find the house yawning and leave them the same way. Their, pat- ter material needs plenty and imme- diate attention. Lewis closes the turn begging for laughs bUt it's stili no go. That the hand-setters coUld be had is proved by the Harmonica Rascals. Al Furbish, in the absence of Mine- vitchi directs. He doesn't attempt to ape. his boss' style but takes it straight. The laughs, and'.plenty of them, come from Johnny Pulao's pantomime; When P'ulaO isn't biting his mat-es' legs or being shoved about the boys puff some first-rate har- monica ditties. Negro.lad getting the one solo slot. Absent from their repertoire this ■ trip is 'Tiger Rag,' but not so their other standby 'Bo- lero;' which is featured. Feature pic is 'When Love Is Young' (U). Hoi^t. HIPP, BALTIMORE Baltimore, April 16. Somewhat different type of setup, at Hipp this week makes, for inter- esting change and going over okay with stub holders. Booking in Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Crawford in an 18- minute session of .brgan^ music had house a bit puzzled' as to how to spot turn on vaude layout. Solved mat- ters nicely; however, by using turn as an, overture spot, followed by riewsreel arid, balance of :acts. Played all right, foUr added acts con- suriiing another 38 minutes; Cravtrfords,. using two electric Qrr gans amplified by . six: louid speakers banked directly; in. back Of consoles,, mix up their niimbers in skillful'va- riety includiri!g . ainple rhythmic selections: to please audience of average, taste. Announcements of each number by Crawford handled in personable arid polished'mariner. 'Vaude portion of doings riiade!up of four acts including Pb^yell and Nedra, Kirk and Lawrence,' Ross Wyse; Jr., and Saul Grauriian and company, in order.named. Po'Well arid Nedra, sand artistis, still an interesting turn especially to the younger element to whom this typis ,of act is riiew. . Makes for a pleasing and rather flashy entree. Kirk and Lawrence on Np. 2. score ample laughs with their manipula- tion of dumriny horses strapped to their middles, keeping Up pace; in nice style. Ross Wyse, Jr., in gopd spot herie for his rather strenuous, clowriing and dancing, very-capably assisted' by Unbilled femme conistrastingly tali and thi and an excellent foil. Act has lots of punch arid customers liked it. ! Good noveity, Saul Grauman, and his musical !;Slairatone,' clPses pro- ceedings, company of four femmes and Grauman putting oyer a flashy hoofing settp climaxed by the music riroduoing tapping on the stairs. Made~for swell chaser "to a pleasinp *)ill. Picture is 'Woman I. Love' (RKO). Burm. LOEW'S STATE, N. Y. This is Horace Heidt's first appear- ance on a Broadway vaude stage in several years. Also, it's his most auspicious showing to date. With a crackerjack. combination of sock Specialties, musicians and. a glee club, Heidt now is presenting one of the best band-acts around today. Troupe and band moved to the. State practically, intact from the Biltmore hotel, the roadshow's last nitery :appearance- .With the ex- cep!tion of hoofer, Burton Pierce, this is also the same unit broadcast- ing fo)>-Alemite over WABC, Monday nights. That's something of a test of . versatility, a combination that's fitting for niteries (the big: spots only, of -course), radi and now whammo on a stage. Biand and seven'-rrian glee club are grouped on the State's stage much like a minstrel first. part. Scenery is Heidt's Own; light blue drapes which accentuate the colorful, red; pea-jacketed getups of the bands- meri. . ; Unit is class from start to "finish, paced extrertiely well and With ,unc-r tious intimacies by Heidt. He goes into the !backgroundS of most of the specialties, most times seriously, arid this play for sympathy is his only stage mistake. His heartTthrob intro of .Burton Pierce, as an example, is Put of ordei'; for a kid who cari de livier so Well on .the hoof. He takes credit for discovering lad by giving him a major break in Chicago. That may be true, but the sympathy buildup must sound very phoney to those who saw Pierce at the Para- mount " roadway a few.' months ago. Aside from the specialties, Heidt's most imiportant improvement is in his new musicians. Addition of Al- vino Rey, steel,!guitarist, is One; he solos with .'Star Duist' and 'St; Louts BlUes' and^ his applause - topped everything that went before or after in an applauserfilled show. Bernie Mattinson,.. drummer, is another; also the Three Truriipeteers, who can swing the pops and triple-tohgue the classics. For the blowoff of .the Unit; Heidt explains how, for five years, he has been rebuilding his act to fit radio. requirements. His chronicle anent the recruiting of new musicians and specialties .Would ordinarily be . dangerous,' but- Heidt- tUi-ns if into a swell novelty finale;' Of the three trumpeters,' Jerry Bowne doubles in. brass as the unit's comic and idea mian. Judging: from one of the specials credited to .him. The Green (^rass Grew AH'Around,' delivered by the choral groui>, he's as okay in this department as in the hoking and instrumentalizing. An- other comic in the show is Dick. Morgan, one of the musicians, whose femme characters draw swell re- sponse, notably the Helen Morgan takeoff. On the singing end, besides the glee club, are Larry Cottori, tenor; Bob McCoy, bass; Charles Goodman, tenor; the King Sisters (4), who hoke their harmonies, with Yvonne also soloing' excellently, arid Lys- beth Hughes, harpist with a classi- cal soprano. Each and aU are socks in their different sessions. Unit's only terpsing is. delivered by Pierce. He's of the Astaire school of dancing, though not fPrmally an- nouncing himself as an imitator, and worked hard and well in three rou- tines at the show caught. His hoPf- ology is much too strenuous to be piled on so much in one spot; two routines would have been plenty, especially When they are of such similar type. Of Heidt's novelty : arrangements, the butstander is the toy instrument orchestration,^ with everybody iri the company taking, part. There's also *I Love a Parade,' with Heidt doing his usual baton-twirling. • Screen fare at the State current with Heidt is 'ROmeO and Juliet' (Metro) and that's plenty class ori both ends of the combo. Biz good. Scho. MET, BOSTON Bpston, April 15. An adequate, stage pffering feat- ures Roger Pryor arid band here this week; As a; band act it's better than average; because .the band itseliE: is not overworked as a feature. Pryor is an excellent m.c, doesn't hog the spot, and, pardonably, gives himself an inning on the solo trom- bone.; With- him is a good assortriient of, acts that'holds the pace most bt the way. Prefacing the band unit, i!s ,a. cbl- Jegiate line nuriiber, . well costumed and lighted, featui-ing a rather long sequeripe on dark stage, .'wherein the gals light up their faces individually arid, in groups With lights Concealed in megaphones, Jphnand Edna Tor^ rence, stylized dance duo, register Well in the opening number; Paul Sydell and. tWo balancing dogs deuce. A clean-cut act; Wbrk- irig dumb, timed to just about the right length. Sydell.takes each dog singly and t)uts! him through an in- teresting routine of hand , islands, flips, and comedy postuvings. The score did not seeni timed right wjth the various tricks, as a result the brk finales came aS anti-climaxes in several spots. Otherwise a top-flight act in this line. P.i r','ost sock' in the Pryor .<?ection is the California Varsity !Eight. male octet, in white military costumes i with red satin-lined capes. Hightly placed in the next-to-close. Costum- ing a surprise after introduction that intimates they might appear in some collegiate dress; but it blends beau- tifully with tHeir opening and clos- ing-numbers: 'Desert Song' medley and 'Ranger Song' from 'Rio Rita/ A college medley is the midWay of- fering. Voices harmonize haiidsome- ly arid-the boys are not stingy with heroic gestures which heijghteri the effect arid look okay in the at- mosphere created by the musical coriiedy oujflts. . Edna Sedgwick whamS .With a soilo tap.^bolero, half-<way in the band unit. ; On the basis of i^ps alone. Miss Sedgwick, would stand out; but thrbugh costumes and lifting she adds such a generous dash Of show- manship that she emerges a high- light of the entire show. Appears in moire conventional' taps twice aigain during the show, but eveiry- thing pales iii comparison with the bolero biz. . ' Howard Nichols, hoop juggler, is another happy touch to the pro- ceedings; ; In his jugglirig finish he gets 11 hoops spinning: four on legs, one on neck, and six on ^rms. An- other pip is balancing on his h^ad a.- large hoop through and over which he juggles five little ones. Ames and Arno live upi to: their billing, 'Two Social Errors.' What Would be a medium-good turn of ec- centric adagio soon deteriorates into a series Of falls and nibuldy gags. Opening show ran about 75 min-. iites and presumably it will be trimmed Of . such things as. 'hits of yesterday' medley by the band. Comedy truriipet-vOcal bit by Red Hodgeson from the barid cpuld be shortened a trifle, althpugh it was enthusiastically received at the ini- tial show.. Coibrful, eye-filling sets that framed the unit- deserve Special mention. (Hjalmar Hermanson). Oh the screen: 'Internes Can't "Take Money* (Par). Fox. EARLE, PHILLY iPhiladelphia, April 16. Eai-le this week presents, on its. stage another: of name bands that have been bbx-bfficing pleasant grosses for house i'rt past few weeks. It's Jan Garber this time, with a! very smooth band, a bagful Of fun, and a fairly strong variety show which is bblstered. by solo vocal work of several of the bandsters. Pic is 'When Love Is Young' (U), Biz okay, though not near up to what Cab Calloway and /ted Lewis drew at operiirigs at this house in past two weeks. Garber i$ one of feW band leaders who kids throughout the show, turning to daffy bits of biz- ness to pull laughs. Idea is good, giving whole show aura of informal- ity that adds, to customer furi, but seems unfair to goPd performer try^ ing to sing, as when Garber pulls up the leg ' of chirper's trousers and starts biting his calf. Otherwise general nuthouse is all' clean, harm- less fun, siich as Garber ballrobm- ing with one of his male Singers and cracking others With his batpn. as they leave bandstand to reach mike. . Crew is beautifully set and nicely lighted, 100% imprPverrient over Earle stage of couple, months ago. Orch is 10-piece affair plus double -piano. Singers, Tony Alleri and Rus- sel Brown, occupy stand with it, giv- ing impression of greater quantity. Garber opens show with gag of giv- ing conductor .of house band box of cigars and.bars of chocolate, tellirig him he can rest of a while. Stunt seems rather ppintliess and falls flat. Act which gets strongest palrii pat- ter and justly occupies finale spot is Three Ryari Bros., goofy clowning cpmbo with, tendency tp emulate the Ritzes. Even clPser emulation might improve their performance,. which is, however, good. They operi with rhythm tapping that soon turns to rough house as they fall all over each othei". Ericore stuff of poetry recitations is much funnier. Some lines pretty shady,; but hutnofous eriough to be okay. .. Roberta Sherwood, torch artist, gets a very solid reception. She doesn't rank tops when it comes to voice, by any means, tjut she's at- tractive, has a swell personalityi pep and a Unique; manner of putting over her . numbers; that mpre thart com- pensates for .vocal shortcomings; . Ballroom team pf Frankie Cr -; foird and Joe Caskey does usual rbu- tirie . with a few unusual acrobatic additions, value of which is ques- tioriable. Boy and gal nice looking, and smooth, and;knoW terpsichor^ari onions. Treated very nicbly by aud. Russel Brbwri does 'Moonlight and Shadows' vocal that is swell. He" has nice voice fPr pop tunes and pleasirig mariner. Tony Allen, one of Fred Allen's amateur prpdigies, does 'Laugh, Clown, Laugh' in: usual deep ba.Ksp. Has extra .good nipes, but this number done to .death by this type warbler. . Same also partially true about his next tune, 'Night and Day.' Lew Palmer, Fritz Heilbrpn and Rudy; Rldisal, orch member^, all do nleasirig vocal solos. Heilbron and Ridisal, pianist; also do sortie.comedy routine featuring Ridisal's shiny pate, which is good for laughs. Herb. PARAMOUNT, N. Y. The Broadway iPar glorifies the great American trumpet on both stage and screen this week. Fred MacMurray's horn-tootihg is the ful- crum of 'Swing High, Swing Low' and Lbuis Armstrong, frankly billed as :,the trumpet''king of swing,' has for his stage crest, decorating the bandstand pedestals,^ a crown over a glittery • comet: , The Par appariently tried for some change of pace by making Don Ba- ker's organplog ;i strictly three- quarter tempo, with his parade of waltzes, but it endieid there, because Armstrong is otherwise in the same groove—get off sWingo and a caval- cade of excellent' Harlem specialists who sing and dance and then do more s; and d. Runs a solid hour in totO and that's plenty of stage show Sonny Woods, Bobby Caston, Two Zephyrs. Alma Turner, Gordon and Rogers, George McClellon and Billy Adams are, the specialists. In be- tween Armstrbng . shatters high- something above high^Onyx—but after a time it beconies tiresome :bifc. ■ ' J- It's good 52d Street; an idyll for the Hickory HOuse arid Oriyx Club Ciats; the penultimate in jarii to the wacky school of swingology, but within the saner , confines of a picture house it requires adulteration. Just because ;Sonny Woods top^tenors ballads is not enbugh contrast ■■ . Arriistrong can readily solve it himself* as a matter of fact, by skip- ping 'Skeletori iri the Closet' or •I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music' arid hark back to the swieet-hot and familiar stuff such as 'Ain't Mis- behavin' and 'I Can't Give You Any- thing But Love, Baby,' which made him famous on the disks. The answer was that when he recoursed to the surefire; 'St. Louis BlUes,' with his own Armstrongesque ;^ariations, Pf course, it Went for big returns.. A nice nbte for stage presentation purpose .is Armstrong's use of the steel guitar to refine the jam^ The trombone as played sweet in . spots also registers and that six-man brass section stands up and out throughout the proceedings. But what the ultra- .modem maestros seem to forget is that a little corn goes a long way, along, with the jam. It doesn't mean;, that a stylized hot band like Arm- strong's need go salPn; but iVs one thing when the kiddies are quaking the dance floor, or quivering With the tempPs While clutching a tall glass in one hand; and it's some- thing else when the stage presenta- tion is merely the hors d'ouvries to the film entertainment; " Running time, even on the last show of the second day (Thurs.) was way behind. Plenty of room for cut- ting. Only .a rieWsreel and the obvi- ously curtailed orgarilog. roiind it out.. Holding over as the nite time, lounge Steinwayist is Teri Josefovits With his ultra ; pianblogy. Frankie Judnick plays the accordion for the lobby interludes frpm noon to 12:30. All of which combines into bargain values, and it's really a two-for-one show, excepting that when , it runs overboard there's such things as. overdoing a good proposition.. ST. LOUIS, ST. L. St. Louis, April 16. Current stage shows at Fanchon & Marco's midtbwn St. Louis is last one and curtiain will be rUng down for an indefinite period. Thursday (22);, Return of good times hasn't been reflected at b.o, and outdoor cbmpetish coming with warni wieather caused management to an- nounce closing after going since last Sept. 4. As a parting'Gesture the Roxyettes cop the biggest hand since they have been in action here arid, this comes fittingly at close of show when 14 of gals do an extriemely iritricate bike routirie. ... . Bill, a bit below par, as compared with recerit Pnes, opens with Bobbe Tomsori, one of line, cPmirig through curtains . to-warble 'Panamania' Vivian! Ryari and Betty L^wis, other chorines, dp a dance bit with bal- ance of gals behind the. Venetian blind.' Wearirig gold-trimmied black velvet gowns and red berets then do a Spanish dance routine. ' Johnny .Perkins, ending his 14th week as m.c, comes on and gags !with gals a bit before he introduces Mike Ballero, youthful imitator; wlib wins; an encore With takeoffs pf Ned Sparks, William C. Fields and Presi- dent Roosevelt, latter effort going over big- Lee Paul, car^ manipular tor, scores and also is brought back for mpre pf his fast tricks with twb stooges Put of audience f or a comedy bit; Roxyettes, in pinafores, come back for a novelty routine, each; ^al . sit- ting on apfpn with toy pianos from .which they beat melody, winding up, by Warbling 'Piano Lesson' iii ac- ceptable style. Jack Prince, former- am, in his sixth . week as featured. songster; pipes . 'Serenade in the Night' and: 'Darktown Strutter's Bali;' but riTor.e modern songs would serve him bet- ter; Customers, are sold on 19-ycar- old Louisiana lad and give him a hand. Three Lighting Flashes an- nounced by Perkins as late atlvac- tion at Cotton Club, N. Y., do » dance rputine, but pne of colored