Variety (May 1937)

' S' St. MsTtln'a Place, Trafalifdr Nmare PTEHMATIOHAI. SHOW NEWS CaI»Io AiiareKfi: TARIEXY. LONDON 'iVicitlioiie Ttfinitle Itnr 5041-0042 «7 Phys Abroad FESTIVAL TIME . . ^ondon, Aprir21. Comedy In . three acts by Xiionel Hale, produced by Milton Roenrier at the Kmbnssy theal Iiondon, April. 20. '37. lYlderike...••.>..•.«••> .'• •Tvonne. Borle. Max.•...■.•;.•.«••••<••*•'«•«• ..'Mervyn Johns Uiicle George....^^..i>r...'..Guy le Feuvre Aunt Frudence.f«.^jQan Hlckspri. Iiucy.'.• 4•••• k•>•••• .«•••«.Drsula Marx Carl Fountain;... .Austin Trevor Ainyaa' Florin...... ..Arthur. Macrae^ Slglsmund.^.'.'.....H. R.'Hlgnett A Dreary American.. Dodd :Mehan £)eonore..;.". 4... .'.Barbara Hofte. Julia Florin. ......>....•.... Sophie Stewart ChrlBtlne; ^^^^ Xynne Aleasnndro VlatelH.'..,«.'.......... C laseur atfarlln Shepherd.Illy Lunee A very hear approia.ch to fiirst-ratiB stage entertairtment,' without actually being so. First, act promises jiniich iand the other two acts give somer^ thingi but not enough. Autlior ap- parently capable of: creating amus- ing charactepizatipns and perpetrat- ing witty dialog, but in this instance provides insufficient stbry, and what little there is of it ends on a false note. This might be hastily .revised dur- .ing its . two: weeks'/run at the Em-, bassy^ and be a contendter for West End honors. A first-rate American play doctor might easily revamp the script for the U. S.. Excellent atmosphiere^for this conr tinental farce. Scene is . in a small hotel in Salzbiir^ prior to the annual festival. This gives legifimate ex- cuse for all: sorts of characters in the fbrm of guests. The author proceeds to supply .ai healthy .quantity, practi- cally ievery one of which is amusing and more or less; interesting. After' the fii'st act the Whole thing diescends to. quippery, endirig with more or less poetical denouenlent (or lack of it) that is entirely incdngtuous. .. Ah excellent cast WaS: provided for this Embassy eixperiment, one ■ that would refleict credit upon the most pretentious West End theatre presen- tation. With such material to Work With, Milton Rosmeir, director, was able to secure a smooth-running first nieht. The star cast is augmented by C. Laseur, Dutch actor, making his first appearance in this country. He looks and conducts himself like a younger prototype of Henri de Vries, and acquits himseU very creditably. Jolo. L'Appartement de Zoika ('Zoik»'s Apartment') Paris, April 25. Drama in seven tableaux by Michel Boul- gakov. French version by Marie Relnhardt and Benjamin Cremleux.: Presented at The- atre du Vleux>Cblombiier by Rene Rocher; Mage settings, Andre Boll; starring Jeanne Provost, Paul Oettly and Henri. Rollaii... ^Ika ,.i,....V,,., Jeanne Provost Count Obolianlnoft ........... Paul Oettly Ametlstoff .............;.... Henri Rollan Alleluia »...,.., .T.ean Fleur Remontny Alcover Cherubin the Chtnaman. ...... .Ky.-Duyen A thoroughly enjoyable play, with a slant very rarely, if ever before, taken in a Soviet stage production. Revolutionary stage works have a habit of being, more or less rosy— so rosy that they are yery specially when propaganda sets in. « IS as though the authors were giving themselves the task of pre- senting their public: with as sweet an image as they can of the world they Vye in. Probably to make the said public' forget a little of the turmoil and excesses Of the world. .Due to . that, the great majority of ^yiet plays and pix have, to this aate, failed to w-in whatever recog- nition their innovations, technical and otherwise, gave them the right to expect. . 'Zoika's Apartme'ht' definitely breaks away from that tradition. It presents a searching, merciless stud'y of life in nonrcomimunist circles in Moscow, dui-ing the period generally referred to as the Nep—around 1927. . Jeanne Provost, as a vefy cohvihc^ ing Zoika was obviously oh the up- per side of the street during Tsarist fays. Now \^ihe occupies an apart- ment,^which .although , very small, is Way beyond the space , allowed per person by the local regulations. Her . Diggest headache is her. lover, the iprmer Count Obolianihoff, played by Paul Gettly, who, when not in a morphine daze, is convinced that all I f^volution is only a nightmare, and that there .will soon be a . Res- toration, Both he and Zoika have a burn- ing desire to escape from the Revo- lution. In order to get the necessary money, Zoika starts ai 'haute coutuire' Shop. The mannequins parade the «test Paris dresses for the benefit or the wives;, of the local big . shots auring the. daytime. At night the ssnie maihhequins provide -iirhuse- ment for the big shots themselves. A roguish distant cousin of Zoika, Henri Rollan, is a perfect ; master M ceremonies, and Oettly entertains ihe company with mielaricholy piano tunes. AH goes well and money is rolling in uritU the biggest of the oig shots, Alcover, discovers the girl he loyes is. one of Zoika's manne- quins. Broken-hearted, he turns to Jhe opium pipe, proffered by the ^hinese servant, Ky-Duyen. The Chinaman, driven crazy with greed at the sight of AlcoVer's bulging wallet knifes him, steals the money and disappears. So does Rollan when he discovers the dead body. Just when Jeanne Provost and Oettly are making a go for it a group of of- ficials walk in: 'Tcheka'—and the curtain falls Oh that one word which, to .Provost and Oettly is equivalent to a death sentence, ' The tableaux, somewhat like ia series of cinema shots, move on irapidly; sO does the intrigue. Oettly gets the medal for his fine portrayal of the neurotic, fatalistic Count, and Jeanne Provost tops the femme part?. The play^ which has had ; more than a year continuous run in Mos- cow, according ^to reports here, should be a success everywhere, due to its humanly, genuine handling of the characters, coupled with a true dramatic value. Benjairiin's Trayelt Jerusalem, April 14. Adapted from' story'.by Mendele Mosher Rforlm, by Reuben Grossman; .staged by T. Tchemerlnsky, A, Barntx;; .<;ettings, Riiblii; music, Fordhaus Beri-Tzlssy. ■. Presented in Tel Aviv "..'In Hebrew- by' the Hablmah Players. Conceived .as a satire; on the ghetto dreamers and on the early support- ers of the return- ion movement •Benjamin.^s. Travels' has been cley-: eriy adapted by Grossman from the 58-year- An irraiy human ■types, ill-fitted for life, engrossed on contemplating the remote past and steeped in silperstition, are conjured up by the scornful pen of; the writer. In eniphasizing their comic features and yet avoiding the grotesque, Ha-' bimah 'shows its special gift for de- picting the children of the ghetto. Rubin^ leading Palestinian artist, does an exceptional job with the ap- propriate batckgroiirid for the ragged, gesticulating, shrieking and alto- gether, restless residents of 'Fobls- town,' 'Bieggarsville* and 'Dafkvale,' names given by the author to various ghetto agglomerations. In one of these uninspiring places there lived' a. counterpart Of. Don Quixote. Fed on tales of travel and adventure, filled with a longing for the Promised Land*. Benjamin de- cides to set out on a. journey to the East, following in the footsteps, of Alexander the Great. Benjaihin is invested with pathetic grandeur, not ill-befitting one whose dreams the . atidience thinks have come true. Benjamin has the liick to meet the perfect Sancho Panza in Senderil, . humble, , plain and matter- of-fact, who looks up- to him with adoration, confidence and something like pity.- ' Bartanoff's interpretation of this character takes the honors. Duo's tribulations are desperate. At the outset they narroWly escape being caught by their fiercer consorts; then they are nearly devoured by wild beasts, nearly struck by lightning, and almost, but not quite, pressed into military service.- Overhearing the account given by Mendele, itinerant bookseller, to his mare, one learns that, , after many struggleis, the travelers reach the HOly Land. , ^ Mendele is played with poise and dignity by Gnessin, who enlarges on the istory of Benjamin while ' it is proceeding on the stag^. Now that M has reached Old age and has be- come softened and resigned, Mendele begins to wish well to the dreamers, to whom he . failed to do justice in the past. ' New Habimah creation is bound to click, especially in this country and Poland, where it will eventually go. Doubtful elsewhere, although while Palestine is in the news, 'Benjamiri's Travels' may have a chance. Set. LdNDdN AFTER DARK London, April 26. Comedy In three a^-ts by W.ilter llackett produced by the author, at the Apollo thcu' .tre," London, ' . ■ . Fiiy Beaudlrie..........., Kreda .Gaye Gervild Beaudlnc. T.eonnra TTpton John Randall.... .; v i Rbbcrt Anrtrewn Pavcmoht .\rtlst.'. .Afeailo wh White Newspaper Man... ..,.; /Kdgar McEwen Oomhiei-tlal Traveler. .11. Van lloolon Mrs. Morant.. ......rallileen ..Js'esbltt Mafrglo Croft. . ....... ..Klviva Henderson- Gladys Ladle .;..iMolly Cardew Ambrosia; .'^eabrook..;..., Mhrlon Jjorhe Regln-ald Rincljilr.:.. .Edwin .Styles .Superintendent Pike., . .;RI<hnrd Gray Manager of Cinema..., 3; ivi.in Reynolds Wailter Hackett possesses the ra.re gift of being able to write a comedy mystery thriller, .the getm of -vyhich is always more or less famili , and yet riiakes you. keen to know how it is going to turn but. His techniqtie is hiost . skilful and painstaking-^in fact, too much soj and some of the very carefully concocted scenes lead- ing up to the plot development could be excised and hasten the play's progreseion. For instance, atmos- pheric detail in the first act occupied the bettet part of 75 minutes. When the superfluous matter has been smoothed down, the indications arc that Waltei" Hackett and Marion Lome will have another success to their long list of profitable play- writing and play-acting. Most of the happenings occur In odd bus settings; a murder is com- WELL, IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD GOOi) SHOWS London, By May 10: all the American im-^. portations for the Palladium coro- nation show, , except those i the Jack' HyItoh band, will ..be out; First to go was plane Ray^ who was paid off before opening. Roy Smeck asked: to .be let but after twO nights, because he was- reduced to prie numberj- and is now working Off his six .weeks ih the .other GTC houseSi Frank Libiise was ihtehded to stay tWo weeks,: but no replace- ment was available. Moore and Revel, booked in for four weeks, stayed the allotted span and left Gaudsmith Brothers replaced Li- buse and .Keene Twins and Vic and Lamar are, in for Smeck- Slate Bros, jsh May 8, which completes their, six weeks, with Vic Oliver re- placing' No ..replacehient for Moore- and Revel. Pbilly Girl Tries to Win Beauty Contest in Paris—It Can't Be Done . April 24; 'Mademoiselle, yoii ' cannot ex- pect to win, yqii are not French.' Politely but . firmly, Mary .Shuck of Philadelphia was^ informed that she did,[not have;even .the chance Of an outsi of carryi the title of "Miss inema" during elections which were held here .at Magic City, despite the fact that she took the title of 'Miss Cinema of the Rivibra* inycontests held in Nice. . Miss Shuck has been studying voice in Munich for the last two years and . appeared in two .films made by Bavaria. She went to Nice for a Vacation and entered the cqn^ tests there;' When "she won, Camille de Rhynal advised her-to come to Patis for the final runoffs at her own expense. Andre Pelleng, president of the Club Cinematographique in Paris, told her she did not have a chance, and, to prove it, the audience elected Mademoiselle, Jacqueline Mignac, a localite. 'WONDERFOL WORLD' AT VIC PALACE, LONDON London, May 4. •Wonderful World,' another Kurt Robitschek revue designed for the Coronati , opened at the Victoria! Palace last night (3), with artists contrabted fOr four Weeks with op tions. Cast of successful performers headed by Will Maliohey and Flor ence Desmond, augmented by chorus and sceheiry, all indifferently re- hearsed. Hits of show are Paul Remos' midgets and Wilson, Keppel and Betty, despite fact they've played in London for three years: , Pollocks to Hawaii Tokyo, April 13. Channing Pollock> his wife arid daughter, touring the wbrld on freighters leave here April 20 for Hawaii. . While iri Hawaii, Pollpck will, de- liver three lectures at irniversjty of Hawaii. mitted in a mews, and Marion Lome aS a picture hoUse usherette is* as usual; involved in her customary nitwit fashion. No matter how hardened: by expbsure to the ruthr Ibssriess of playwrights, arid despite all efforts to become blase, one can- not help indulging in explosive laughtei: at th6 CUripus situations and humiorpus dialog which Hackett supplies ta Miss Lorne. He has her say the most inane things with the unsophisticated l.ook of a three-year- old child^ involving her . in situations where, out. of sheer good nature, she helps a .female.:Pickpocket, arid at another time becomes the unwitting accomplice, after the act, Of a mur- derer. A lengthy supporting cast, many of them on for bit. parts arid half-ar dozen full-length roles, contribute to an evening's entertainment con- stantly alternating between the uri- foldment of a murder mystery arid farcical comedy. Inexorable condensation, via the niedium Of the blue pencil; .shoiild make this, the iOth. play by Hackett in whcih Miss Lome he appeared, a delightful arid absorbing, evening's amusement. Jolo. Paris Lining Up New Night Clubs And Revues for the Expo Influx Clalim Chas. kuUnian Broke 0i»eva Cphtract Vi . .April 24. Austrian State opera claims that the American terior ' Charles Kiill- rhan breached his' cbntract. He Awas schedul(ed to return to. Austri to appear as Hueon in Weber's 'Oberon' on April 15, but KuUmarin wired that he was uhable to coriie in tiriie; Kiillriian is also'on-the pi-ogram to sing in Respighi's 'La Fiamri^a* on June 8. Jack Taylor Producing 30G Revue 2it Enigfi^ Spa; 5Vaude Acts London, April 26. Biggest revUe ever' attempted by any provincial producer is being staged at the Opera House, Black- pool,, by. Jack •. Taylor. Taylor has been producing shows; at this North pf England Coney Island sppt for the past; .five years, but this is the first time he has' lined .up an ag- gregation of talent that compares with the West End. Besides: George Formby, a niam.e up ribrth, arid Frank Randel, also local favorite, he has five Arrierican standard acts..^These are the 12 Aristocrats, Fred Sanborn, Carroll and Howe, Harris Twins and Loreitai and the Three ..Jades.i; Show costs $30,000 to produce/ Which ' good money even for West End show, with an overhead of $iSiOOO pier week. Last year Taylor's show played 17 Weeks and was seen by an average of 35,000 people weekly. Show is geri,erally. goOd for another six months in the big prbviricial spots after its ! Blackpool run, where the grosses never fall below $10,000 per, with some weeks as .high as $12,500. VALLEE, RICHHAN SCORE IN LONDON Loridon, May 4. Rudy Vallee opened at the. Hol- born Empire yesterday (Monday), going over splendidly. First show's biz. was sparse, but second show was capacity. Vallee. is doublirig at the Firisbury Park, where he also clicked, pulling two capacity houses. Other. newcomers ori, the Holborn bill inelude Stone arid Lee, a re- freshing comedy duo which , should be in demand, here. Harry Richman operied at.the^ Cafe de Paris. He recbived an Ovation on appearance and held the capacity audience fbr 50 minutes with songs iand chitter. He got June Knight to duet one number With him and, without doubti proved the best at-, traction the cafe has had in years. New program at the it? has Hildegarde in bright li She, too, scored strongly.. Rome Legit Continues Active Through Summer Roirie, April 23. Four of the ig regular theatrical companies will carry on diJiring the sumntier season here. They are Rug- gerb Ruggeri'S Co. with Margherita Bagni; ArrriandO Falconi's, with Riha Morelli; the Garidusio-Cafli ... and the Moi«»to-BefrOne-Cari " Projected run of a review com-: pany, in Rome . during the sumriier, much talked about, is .now to. come Off. Company will play at the Bar berini Cinema, and will featiire the debut on the reVue stage of Pabla BOrboni, film actiress. Miss Borborii Will continue, her picture wprk at the same time. . Mine. Simbri and hei- Frerich co, is making a tour of Italy this nriionth Starting at the Politcariia Margherita in Genoa,, arid finishi up at the Argentina in Rome, visiting in all seven Italian cities. Prpgrai has not yet been announced. Nitery Season Ends Cairo* April 18. Cbntinental, one of the smartiest cabarets herCi has closed for the season. Final night was marked with a gala festival and masquerade, at- tended by high society. Paris, April 26. With the opening of. the expositions scant weeks away, precious little-has been done by the bOys who are.. planning to please the custorners in- side the grounds of the sho w by way of eritertainmerit. But while those on the inside are' riierely making plans, a few of thps takirig place on the outside, are v Among other things five night clubi will Open before the middle of riext morith^ Tops of these is the Restaurant des Ariibassadeurs, where Clifford Fischer has the booking rights and practically has the show he Will preserit for the opener On May 19. Two bands have been engaged. They" are the; Drena TVIusette Band and Willie Lewis, latter recently at Chez . Florence and riow at Cher Ray Ven- tuira. Fischer also has the Abbott Daricers, Dario and Di , dance team; George Campb, comedy-acro, and A. Robins, clown,, and Max and His Gang set for opener. To these Wili be added, several'European acts which have not yet been decided upon. Two new clubs, both located In the Montriiartre, ..cjme next. First is the; Cabaret do. Monseigneiir, cated in the rue d'Anisterdam. Raquel .Meller will stat there, while an American singer, Spiyy, wiU also be on the openen Cbsta . Barleaza and his Gipsy orchestra .with Balbgh Will furrijsh tl>e heat. Other in the same naborhood is the Bagatelle, forrtxerly- Chez Jeari; Tranthant,> which was closed last year following the killing of Louis Leplee.. Max Spiro is operating this spot but nothf< ing definite has been.set. Openings aire for early next month. Not far away, in the rue Pigalle, Bricktop is going tO get behind her own cash register again and. hand out the type of anriusenient that proved , so popular in this town, in the bonanza days years ago. The Etolle's Boom tip in the Champs-Elysees dist^^.> Max- Frarizesco is .reopening the former Chez Josephiriie Baker club, but without Josy. He hopes to cash in on exposition crowds as the cabaret is arily a stone's thrOw from one of the principal entrances. Jim Witteried has been delega:ted to line up the band and talent for this spot. In the same snooty atmosphere is the Villa d'Este, which shuttered not too long ago after a fire. M. Romier, who alsb operates the^ Caprice Vi- ennois, will have the say; here, with bobkings.ha:Vlhg a chance to. play the two spots, but ,nb openirig date set. On the music- hall and reyUe side, two, and possibly three, new revues will rhake their appearance during the exposition. Henri Varna is work- ing on one of his nuder than nude shows to replace a French Misir- seilles revue at the Alcazar and Mitty Goldln has stated he will run a revue, at the A. B. C. during the expo. Edmond Sayag, operator of the Theatre des Ambagsadeurs, now cinema, says he will, put in a revue if he can get the talent.. He has hi eyes On Anrierlca for that. Revues now at the Casino de Paris .starring Chevalier and at the Foljes- Bergere starring Josephine Baker, it is .understood,^ are set to. run throughout the expo. New show re- cently operied at the.Bal Tabari created as ari exposition attraction. Among pther.«!, Joscphi Baker- has expressed, the desire to open another, night club, ;.this ti Moritriiartre, but no "spot decided upon. Story in China Shaii|ghai, April Rex Story's 'Npri-stOp HollyWbbd Vaudeville ISeVue,' after 10 we^ks in Japan, Shanghai, Tientsin, Pcl- pj'rig, again Shanghai, is now play- ing Ho.ngkong. Will probeed.to Ma;- nila, Singapore, India , arid Africa. With Story iare Rose Lee, Erilily Winsette, Eva Alexander; Donna Day, Mitzy Lane,' Glori Gray, Fay Skeoters, Andy Rice, aind Jack Dale. Odet's Play in Melbourne Melbourne, April 17. Clifford Odet's 'Paradise Lost' will be produced here next by Brett Randall- at the Princess. Randall haS met with sbriie suc- cess here as an indie procTucer, 'es« pecially with Ivor Novcllo's 'Full House.'