Variety (Jul 1937)

R AD IO SCREEN STAGE Published Weekly at 164 Wast 46th Strevt, Now York, N. Y„ by Variety, Inq. Annual BUbacrlptlon, |6. Single ooplea, IB cent». Entered an second-claas matter December 22,- 190S,° at the Post Omce at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 'i, 1B7D. COPXBIOHT, 1037. BS VARIETS, INC. ALL RIGHTS KESEKVEU NEW YORE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 7,1937 64 PAGES Dramatic Critics Rank Dwmdlet Mergers of Dailies, OAer Causes rama reviewing has become th* inwt highly.specialized vocation in the professional theatre, which fact was - emphasizeid by the changes in the newspaper., field within recent . seasons. ' There are fewer theatres |ind legit shows, while there has beeti a trend towards merging or scrapping dai with' the result thgre are considerably fewer critics. What, applies to New. York, goes double out of town,' When the road was rich with attractions, there were criti6s whose reviews attracted much attention not only in their respective CQtnniunitieSr but in newspaper and' mctroiiolitah -theatrical circles. Most of those reviewers have long ,ceased to function in that direction. . pi'amatic., desks have been com- bined with the motion picture de- partments in the out-of-town dailies while the critics, have been assigned to varied writing, tasks* Essentially being reporters, they are filling the new berths competently. Some have gone afield of show business, several writing politics, at least one becom- ing a foreign correspondent and an- other covering .professional sports which many in theatricals regard as part of show business, pthers are" regularly covering, 1ms and the ., number of picture critics has correspondingly increased as' thie dramatic' critics have de- (Continned on page 63) 2i YEAR OLD CHILD PRODIGY TO H'WOOD St. Louis, July 6. Mary Christi Dunn, child' prodigy, Bonne Terre, Mo., Who re- ceived an intelligence quotient rating of 185, 45 points higher, than usually • identified with.'genius,' by Washings ton University psychologists after a mental test given last April, is headed for Hollywood. Several ^eeks ago at invitation of Winfield R. Sheehan, parents took their 2'/^- year-old prodigy to Chicago for ,i - terview. Sheehari suggested child be taken to Hollywood for screen tests. .Since that time several companies have negotiated for Mary's services but. parents will await outcofne of screen tests before signaturing for young un. Recently Mary was inter- y^^wed in her home, over air by JvWK and almost spoiled broadcast by finding, carefully hidden broadr casting apparatus. London, July 6. Pembroke Devonport is collaborat- ing with Joe Linz, of the RKO- Radio office, in writing the music and score for a new Jack Bucha:nan filmusical. Devonport is in London and Lini is in New York. Procedure adopted, by,' the boys, is for Linz to cable the lyrics to Lon- don, which Devonport sets to music, and as each verse is completed, the work is submitted to Buchanan for final approval. Thing, thus far is working out satisfactprily. What New York may expect when the: American Legion convention comes to town in September is re- flected in preparations currently being made quietly by the city's police department. Influx of large groups of Visiting peasants is always tough on the authorities, but in this case police officials are taking spe- cial precautions .and have called off all vacations. Flatfoots wiU be on call 24 hours a. day for the three days the Legion is in to.wn. Revenue produced by the visiting Legionnaires will undoubtedly be tremendous. The boys say it will be the biggest convention in history. Such blowouts, however, always provide plenty of headaches for the hostelry owners. Legion conventions because of their size are the ultra in; mass celebrations, exceeding even a college boy's idea of a jamboree. The cbllegiates, however, are usually forgiven on the grounds of imma- turity. Legionnaires, who are still celebrating their victory over Kaiser (Continued on page 57) BELLHOPS BROADCAST FROM HOTEL LOBBY I^rovirig Again Iron Bars Do Not a Prison Make Detroiti July 6. ] j-E n t e r t a i n m e n t departiiient/ Wherein Southern Michigan Prison inmates will be taught dancing and feting, has been formed. Convicts' emoting and hoofing will oe under direction of Walker Her- bert, ex-actor. iSeattle, July. 6,. Exeter Apartment Hotel is making a double play for patronage through its weekly program, by the Four Bell Boys, colored harmony team.. In ad- dition to listeners it looks to get its message to persons accepting the inr vitations to visit the hotel's lobby and see the quartet in broadcast ac- tion. The program clears over KOL, Foursome formerly originated from the KOL, sladibs. When the request for tickets to. the broadcast got heavy the sponsor fell on the idea of cashing in on the demand by making the lobby the source of the Friday evening airing. Se^ Campaign to Obliterate PerfdrminflT Rights Society Ultimately Turning Agiainst Union Musicians PLOT CAMPAIGN American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers has ob- tained the active support of the Anierican Federation of Musicians in the fight against the legislative at- tacks by broadcasters and other users. Joseph N. Weber, Ai.F.M. prez, is personally cooperating with E. C. Mills, of the Society, in laying the lines for a 'Music Front' joint campaign to stave off further anti-ASCAP legislation among the states, invalidation of such measures already on the books. Weber has stepped into the situa- tion with the sanction of the Fed- eration as a whole. During the re- cent A.F.M. convention in LouiS- vUle, Weber asked the delegates to endorse his proposal to ally the Federation on the side of ASCAP and carte blanche to do as he saw fit was given • him- unanimously. Miiiiant Support Weber's militant support will not only be along state lines, bUt involve any attempts made at having anti- ASCAP legislation passed in Con- gress. Weber is of the opinion that if the bi:oadcasters and other users, are successful in their efforts to break up the composers and au- thors as an organization they will next turn their attention toward the musicians' union. It is Weber's belief that the cre- ators of music and the interpreters of music have a conimon cause iand that any restriction of rights to one would, be a serious blow to the other. . Weber's sanction from the A.F.M. permits him to draiw f rom the international's treasury whatever funds that are deemed necessary in the pro-ASCAP campaign. EEV. JARDINE'S U. S. SPIEL Atlantic City, July 6. This riesort will be. the first city to hear the Rev. Robert Anderson Jardihe in, person. He's the vicar Whose action in marrying the Duke of Windsor and Mrs. Wallis Vyaiiioiu Simpson caused such a furore in the Church of England. Rev. Jardine will speak at the Municipal Audi- torium on Saturday (iO), proceeds to three resort charities. Lt. Owen Cathdart-Jories; the British navy, retired, is acting. as 'advaince mari' ifor the vicar Who will discuss his connection with the Duke's wedding and reaction in. the Anglican Church. Trenton Leads tiie Way in Proposals uarantees ExUbs' New Alibi i Minneapblis, July 5. The fact that Minneapolis now has by far the largest number of night clubs in its history is . believed by local exhibitors to have something to do with preserit pobr busi In pre-prohibition days there, were only a^ handful of niteries. Today there are close to 1,000, including 3.2 beer parlors, most of which "offer either danci or entertainment, of some sort. NEW MUSIC CRAZE St. Louis, July 6. ^ An accordion craze, is sweeping the nation; voice training is booming and piano and violin studying! has fallen off according to report made to 35th annual convention of Mis-^ soUri Music Teachers' Assn. here last week. Ernest Krohm, pres. of assn., said accordion bands are.mush- rooming up all over town; some have as niany as 100 memberis and they play jazz and improvise as they go along. He likened present rage to saxophone craze a few years ago. Under normal conditions Krohn be- lieves those playing accordions should be studying pian9 and violin. Consensus of opinion of members was that radio interferes.not so much With desire as chance to study. With radio blaring from morning until late at night the earnest •piano and violin student can't even ractice satisfactorily he sai , 15 HOURS A DAY AS M.C.; 60 MINS. TO EAT St. Louis; July 6. obby Roberts, WTMV, East St, Louis, m.c. and warbler, is. going after some sort of a marathon record at the Illinois State Fair in Spring- field, Aug, 14 to. 28. Has signpd con- tract to m, . a continuous floqr show that will run without break from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. in E.alks' 'Tavern. Contract stipulates, that Roberts gets only one 60 min, recess for lunch. What is desi£tied as a many-citled plan to encourage booking^ of shows into stands which have played few attractions in the past several years. will be Initiated this summer. Idea is for the citizens in the com- munities to guarantee.shows against, loss and so far the suggestion tor., contribute has been, favorably ceived. •Trenton (N. J.') is the first city , in which the proposition has been submitted, and leaiding residents who were queried indicated that the town is show-hungry. Campaign to raise $10,000 as guarantee coin will, start next Monday (12) when local busi- ness men favoring the idea will gather at . luncheon In the Stacy Trent hotel; If the campaign is siiccessful, it will be proposed in other cities. New York showmen have been asked to participate in the Trenton confab," either financially or ith messages of support. . Idea was re- vealed by Louis J. Alleman, who formerly handled the Playhouse, Wilmington, when the duPonts principally backed that theatre along the lines as now planned. During that i)eriod the tOwh received at- tractions frequently, usually for three days. Alleman more, recently specialized arranging theatre parties in large commercial outfits in and around New York. Plan would have the guarantee fund admi istered by a trustee se-^ (Continued on page 67) THIRD GENERATION OF RINGLINGS JOINS UP Air for Oddfellows New Orleans, July 6. In an effort to build up member- sPiip, the: Independent Order of Odd Fellows has. bought time over WWL for Friday and Saturday evenings. , is is first local instance of frai- ier roup using radio. Schenectady, N. Y., July 6. Paul Ringling, 17, grandson of Alf Ringling, one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus, and son of Mrs. Aubrey Ringling, widow of Richard Ringling and, as sUch, One- third owner of the RB-B&B Shows, joined the big top last week as timcrkeeper, with the eventual goal of general manager. Plans call for Ringling^ recent graduate of New York Military Academy at Cornwall-on-thfe-Hud- son, to work checker-up job for a year. Then he will be promoted, to ticket seller, and in time, to as-: sistant superintendent of the show. Ultimately the youngster is expected to become head man, a post nOw held by Sanriuel Gumpertz, his men- tor. Ringlinig's home is a ranch' at White Sulphur Springs, Mont. legacy Program Now icago,' July . Skelly Oil, new member .of the BlackettTSampIe-HUmmert clientele, thi ing of io Ith an adult show tagged 'Court of Missing Heirs/ It's script show, depicting the many true cases' of Cstfites which are still seeking for living heirs. ' '