Variety (Jul 1937)

Wednesday, July 21, 1937 REVIEWS VARIETY 61 NEW ACTS ItUSSELL SWANN (1) In swank environments of the type , such as the Cafe Lounge in jfew York's Hotel Savoy-Plaza, magicians today are giving out their abracadabra where, in former years, Sipy'd b* -No. 2 acts at best. So maybe for these fortunate few the der^lse of vaudeville is something to be thankful for. Specifically, a small-talk magician like Russell Swann these days plays the geographical range of the world's smartest hostelries from New York to I^ndon iand back again, with in-. Nervals in Florida and Hollywood. Coining to attention at the Waldorf- Astoria; Swann has played London since and is now back in N, Y. His': magic, per se, is of familiar natt^tn, but his address is Swann's 100%.''That is, he's an affabk' en- fiagiHg"and welli-set-up pregtidigita- teur who wears his white , tie with ease land distinction. That's half the battle for any personality performer in the intime confines of any nitery, partiifiulaTly if its a class spot. He'^ perhaps a bit too fly in spots. Swanh also overdoes his self-joshing, 'Isn't ' it silly?' catchphrase, and hok6s it a bit too much with his Celestial stooge, but in toto gets over handily. His. real trick, of course, is the usage -of a robot straight man in the form off a phonograph. record. It's one of those 33 r.p.m. 18-inch disks, so he can and does get a lot into the -crosstalk, addressing' the disk as 'Preston' and maintaihing a fine running barrage of lingo back and forth,- with the waxed straight man. The topper-offer is the trcy- of-hearts trick, making 'an audience ringsider select the card, with the disk-voice identifying it as the trey. Since you can't change the canned " voice, Swann, of course, must see to it that his audience aide is slipped the right card—or else. For the rest, the S-P's cafe lounge Is still a recherche environment, with one of the completest and most intriguing drink cards of summer potables. Emile Petti dispenses. the dansapation as fetchingly as he has all through the past two years. With- al, an OK summer spot. Abel. TEXAS TOMMY Pony Act 5 Mins. fiainbow Koom, X. T. Texas Tommy is a slick cowhand— anyway, his spurs and chaps look .dudish. His pony is called Baby DoU. Between the two they do a slick act for anybody's nitery di- vertissement. ■ Being a cute little pony, well- miinnered and clever, and suavely cued by Texas Tommy, it's a cork- ing novelty on any cafe floor. And the snootier the environment, the more effective the results.. Hepce, at the Rainbow Room it was a prar- ticular wow. Tommy straights well for Baby Doll, and the equine performs nobly and well for the sugary rewards after each series of tricks, . From the vet vaudeville viewpoint, the old hokum bucket about *how many days in the week?' and 'one and six are how many?' is corny. But it's all new stuff all over again, as the pony taps out the counts with his hoof. What's more, now, as then, it's sock variety fare. That's Why acts like Texas Tommy should come in for a renewed vogue all over again. But instead of opening vaudeville bills they're slated for features. Texas Tommy was the hit of the bill here. Abel. MARIORA Jugffler 5 Mins.: One SUte, N. T. Among the new talent in Benny Davis' unit show this girl is an- nounced as hailing from Holland, Femme jugglers are a rarity, and therefore a novelty. Togged in white tennis skirt, Mariora exhibited a routine principally of rubber ball and chop stick handling that was in- troduced over here by Rastelli and others. One of her exceptional feats is bal- ancing the ball while bent backward almost to the sta.ie. Mariora also handles tennis rackets, but her top- per is at the routine's finale, han- oling two sticks while juggling plates and manipulating a ring with one leg. She would be an opener in the yaude that was and will prob- ably land in the night clubs. Ibee. KEN and ROY PAIGE Comedy 10 Mins.; One State, N. Y. Benny Davis introduced the Paige ooys as the future Mitchell and Durant. They are knock-about comics of tiiat tvpe, but without- at- tempt at acrobatics. One works .'Straight with the brother taking all the falls and wifi- ing up the stage, no easy assignment a hot evening. Wrestling bit intrps the comedian's antics, which includes a dive into the orchestra pit. .. Turn furni.she.s 'comedy relief 'tt the Davis unit. Ibee. LOTTE GOSLAB Danoe Mime 6 Mins. Rainbow Room, N, Y.. Lotte Goslar is heralded as Eu- rope's greatest dancing mime. She came to attention in Erika (the daughter of Thomas) Marin's 'Pepper Mill' revue, is a refugee German danseuse,-and evidences an unmistak- able terpsichorean artistry which, in time, may be acclimated for class cafe environments. Even now she evidences capabilities along these lines. It's a matter pf routining, however. She does two numbers at each show; two shows nightly. In one se- quence she does two eccentric pan- tomimic dances. Both being in like groove, it's not for happiest returns. Furthermore, one is announced as 'The Virgin.' Actually, it should be called 'The Spinster' — probably due to an unfortunate literal trans- lation from the German. As result, the parody on the coy, coquettish spinster is militated against by the false impression of the 'virgin' her- alding. Her 'Intoxication' opener is much more socko. Miss Goslar's terps, of course, are primarily for the concert platform, although it's understandable why William Morris, Jr., is reported dick- ering with her for a Broadway stage musical. For class cafes Miss Goslar mani- fests capabilities but will have to better routine her stuff to embrace broader nuances. Abel. LUCILLE JOHNSON Songs 8 Mins. Paradise, N. Y. Pair-haired, blue-eyed lass is the singing standout of this popular Broadway supper spot floor show. She was in 'Red, Hot and Blue' last season. Slender Miss Johnson is a prima donna with a varied tonal voice of the coloratura type. Her renditions therefore are away from set warbling and she has range. Numbers pre- sented are filmusical favorites, start- ing with 'Swell of You,' 'Where Are You' and one of the newest George Gershwin melodies, 'Can't Take That Away.' Understood picture execs recently in town ordered her tested for Hol- lywood. Ibee. KEN NEALY Songs 6 Mins. William Penn Hotel, Pitts. In Ken Nealy, a young singer he picked up in a Baltimore nitery, Happy Felton, rotund dance band leader, has a definite comer. In ad- dition to vocalizing with the orch, Nealy does a session of caroling with his own accordion accompaniment on the Urban Roof floor nightly and has 'em swooning. Needs a bit more pruning, not on the pipes, however, but on expres- sion and physical appearance. Once these points have been fixed he how^Lshould be a^ natural anywhere. Radio looks like "a"Trashover~ for Nealy. Voice has soft quality that ialmost caresses a ballad. His finishes are socks, hitting high falsettos that ring clear as a bell. Always has a tough time getting away after brief floor oeriods around midnight,, with femmes particularly leading cheering section. Cohen. JOHN EVANS Songs 8 Mins. Hippodrome, Balto. John Evans has been winning local arid national voice and radio contests consistently for past few years and has now reached a ma- turity in voice and song handling entitling him to present break on Hippodrome vaude bill. Spliced into Milt Britton's band stuff, boy comes through in rousing style and earns ovation strictly on his vocal ability. When caught, did three numbers. 'Without a Song.' 'Sweethearts' and 'Old Man River' and had to beg off. Could stand some pointers on show- manship, but dreiised up and capably popched lad is a find lor band or radio. Burm. ROSS and McI>ONALD Dances .5 Mins.; One SUte, N. Y. . Duo fi:om Memphis announced in the Benny Davis unit as their first Kpnearancc in the big city. Girl and' boy preci.sion tappers fare well enough. Latter is unusually tall, for which reason he is in action behind the girl for the mo.st part. She affects a white dress suit. Bit with cigarets didn't seem to mean much, but as dancers they fitted into the unit routine. . Ibee. H.irold Arden has returned to the leadership of his band at Englewood Cliffs, N. J., following a serious ill- ness which forced him to go to-Hot Springs. CAPITOL, WASH. (Continued from page 60) enough to rate encore op. 'Glory of Love' and a deserved bow. Line back with ball number, in which all 16 go through routine balanced on two- foot white spheres, getting out of line and falling off just often enough to keep house in uproar and win spontaneous applause. Skelton on be- fore curtains for epilogue speech to hope he didn't offiend anybody, promise to be back next week and send 'em away tickled pink. Pic is 'Knight Without Armor' (UA) and biz fair, Craig. PALACE, CHICAGO Chicago, July 17. There is a certain indefinable something which immediately stamps a thorough professional entertainer, as something apart' from the per- formers who are not so accustomed to the footlights and the four-a-day. This was brought out strongly on the show this week, with two trained footlighters. Don Cummings and the Grace and Nico dance tm-n carrying off all genuine performance honors, and left OzrJe Nelson, Harriet Hilliard and Shirley Lloyd to get along as best they could on their radio reputations. Nelson's band i.s a standout name aggregation from weeks of Cro.ssley ratings, yet it shapes up as only , a fairish sta.^e orchestra. Where it would be without its name is a head- ache to contemplate, Nelson manages to warm his audi- ence up after a. long spell due to a certain nice naturalness he possesses, but he also falters with a line of dolefully inept attempts of comic chatter. Miss Hilliard makes two ap- Dsarances once to be sung to by Nelson and second to warble a trio of vocals on her own. Despite a con- siderable background in vaude. Miss Hilliard has stiffened up a bit as be- fits,a person who is a coast-to-coast name. Shirley Lloyd is a second singer on the show. Why there should be two femme vocalists on the same 60- minute bill is somewhat confusing. Miss Lloyd makes an awkward ap- pearance due to poor .selection in wardrobe, but she exhibits a clear pair of pipes that gets her by. There is a whistler on the' show, Johnny Bryant. He imitates birds, traffic cop whistles and carries a tune. Little novelty that really didn't belong on this bill. But the job of stopping all pro- ceedings went to Grace and NicO first, who burlesqued the b.^lJroom dance to bang-up results foe this audience. Recently here at the Casino Parisienne, they return as a smacking vaude act. The girl still gets opening gasps from an audience due to striking appearance. They turn in a walloping roughhouse knockabout ballroom burlesque and had to speech away. And at the end of the show there was Don Cum- mings who has also developed into surefire during the past ve.nv. Mavbe it's the new soup and fish get-up, but probably it's Cummings' added use of mugging for laugh effects. Rope-spinning with a good line of comedy, material. Picture was 'Talk ^f tlie Dsvil' (GB). Business fair enough last show Friday. <3old. UNIT REVIEWS HIPP, BALTIMORE Baltimore, July 16. It's Milt Britton and His Band at the Hipp this week, plus a few spe- cialties and good entertainment throughout. Using up 44 minutes to put over his knoclrabout musical business, Britton is working his trademarked routine with most of the comedy capably handled by Walter Powell and Harry Dugan. Specialties include Sybil Kaye, Earlyn Wallace, Evelyn Farney and the winner of a local voice contest, John Evans (New Acts). Opening with the bandstcrs in one huddling for a college yell and lin- ing up to spell out via letters on sweaters, 'We stink.' curtains part to reveal neon lighted trombone solo- ing in darkness to finish full up on entire band nOw formally attired in tails. Britton, hnndJing announce- ments throughout, brings on Sybil Kaye, vocalist, who goes to town in good style on 'Dinah' and 'Swin.^ Mr. Paganini,' Earlyn Wallace, petite blonde,, follows with capable aero, sold nicelj'. Walter Powell starts the rou.-^h house off with his trombone stuff and the familiar seltzer bottles, fol- lowed by a olORC-in and Evelyn Far- ney, stepping out in one for a vocal and personality tap routine, accom- panied by pit band. Encores with rhumba tap as curtains part again, after which bond does comedy ver- sion of 'Comin' Round the Mountain.' Earlyn Wallace back again for toe stuff to another close-iji. with John Evans next in one, lor an okay, rou- tine of songs, Parting curtains rcT veal the familiar Old Masters and their excerpts, after which Milt takes- hold on the trombone to the usual clowning and instrument MONTE CARLO REVUE (C.\l['ITOL. ATLANTA) Atlanta, July 18. Here's ii I'oir.pt'ct, fast show that builds u)) speed us it goes along. Its presentation tt.ht.s only 33 minutes, much shorter than most units that hit Cap stage, but it never lags. Pro- duced by Harry Clark, of Chicago, show beli j/^s to Bill Martin, saxo- phonist-band leader, and made its debut a week a^o at Jacksonville, Fla. Outfit is exceedingly well knit considering short time it has been on road. Carvino.ahd Yovita, man and wife dance tearn, are 'n opening spot in a flashy bolero, full of twists and turns, done to 'Speakeasy Bolero.' They get a nice hand. Blonde Helen Terry takes over as emcee here and introduces Don Beldon, acrobatic juggler, Beldon does tricks with rubber balls, working in some fiip- flops while keeping the pellets /Toing. He then does some hand-balancing atop a six-foot table, following which he hauls up a six-foot pedestal, uoon which he does a ratchet .spin with his feet sticking some 18 feet in the air above the sta^e floor. He \Ands up with sn aero soft shoe number, including heels over head flios with- out touchinf^ the floor, to 'June and January.' All quite good and to a fine recention. Dottie Page follows with a fast toe tap to 'Mr. Rhythm,' which, is fol- lowed bv Belle Dean, singer, who warbles 'This Ts My Last Affair' and 'Boo Hoo' in front of mike. Song- ster encores with 'Because My Sweetie Says It's So.' Both las.^-cs are lookers and got good hands- for their efforts. Pegpv Martin, Junoesoue duncer and wife of the band leafier, then does a snappy-rhumba to 'El Choc- olo.' nleasing the customers. Helen Terry and Johnny Rio on next with a clever musical turn. Fenime appears with . clarinet and man uses a harmonica. They rip off a hot 'St. Louis Blues.' girl rc".lly going to town on reeds. She then imitates pine organ with her instru- ment, while Rio. hauls out a three- foot length of rubber tubin«? and coaxes tones out of it resembling violin, playing 'Rose.s of Picardy.' Rio then grabs a guitar, with har- monica attached, and Helen sticks a comic hat on her head and they do a comedv hillhiHv .son" and march to 'Golden Stairs.' They finish .standing a-straddle of two medium- sized bass drums, into the he-'.ds of one side has been attached two strings tied to bottles. Thay pluck the strings and coax melodies out of them to the tune of 'Under the Double Eagle March.' The act was a crowd pleaser. Peggy Martin and Dotty Page re- turn for a tan routine and Carvlno and Yovita follow with a whirlwind ballroom number to 'Twelfth Street Rag.' Skating trio. Happv Renton. Tom Hickok and Jerry Gray (wife of Acrobat Beldon), are in closing spot. They do a fast turn and their stunts have polish and they close to a good hand. Perfunctory finale finds Terry girl down front bringing on each act at a time for a bow, with skaters doing stunts as curtains close. There's 17 in comnanv, including six bandsmen, . with music rating better than usual. To pad stage time management used an overture on second show, featuring leader Mprtin in a sax solo. Pic is 'Night Key' (Univ). Luch. TED MACK'S REVUE (ORIENTAL, CHICAGO) ^ Chicago, July 16. Years ago, the folks of a small town u.sed to gather On a nice big lawn, and hcwe an ice cream sociable. Elmcr'd sit by Susie, and Stsve'd see that Bess got her .spoons back—the ones tied 'round with pink thread. But everybody'd have a swell time, particularly after the ice cream, when the talented citizens would get up and speak pieces or sing songs. And how they'd be applauded. Ted Mack's revue is an ice cream socip.ble. It does away with aill pre- tenticu.''Pess and sub.stitutes friend- liness. The acts aren't good—they're breaking stuff. Harry Du^an, on here in piano business formerly handled by Tito, goes over fairly well. Will no doubt imnrove as he familiarizes himself with the rou- tine and times the laufzhs. Comedy vcrrJcn of 'Poet, and Peasant' follow.", with Powell get- ting the usucl^puriishmcnt and scor- ing laughs to build un the- .socko breakaway curtain. Audience re- .sponded in good style and Britton came through with an encore that held up all right. Act is undoubt- edly a standard for any houre and with some liew stuff could onswy re- peat. SufTered .some here because of numerous clo.se-ins and blackouts which had tendency to slow matters up, but on the whole did an okay job. Film Is 'Super Sleuth' fRKO). nUis current edition of 'March oi' Time.* Burm. the talented members of the ice cream eaters — but the footlight barrier is gone, and-they get acro.ss in a big way. As such, the unit is bad theatre, but it's good for the theatre. It brings the audience and the performer together, and that's plenvy satisfactory for most audiences. What if little Dorothy . Meisner does stumble a couple times during her tap dance, and what if her t«ps aren't clean? She's just a cute child, so let's encourage her. Only Dorothy should smile while jhe's up in front of the folks, that's the only really bad fault she has, in this show.: And so it goes, right straight down the line. Acts conie and go, sohie of them istumbling, sonie inciting nil messed up, but, golly. If Mrs. Oriental hadn't lent us her lawn, we couldn't even be here. Behind the whole thing,' creatinsf and permeating the Spirit which puts these turns over is the president of the club, the mayor of the town, or the minister of 'the church, Ted Mack. He's on the stage from begins ning to end, directing his 11-piece. orchestra, introducing the talented folks, and telling funny stories. Ted Mack is .good, plenty good, Not a fast talking, glib m.c„ but an easy, down to earth guy who'd do better than swell as a permanent house m.c, whcf* the audience was. not too sophisticated. One set is all the unit has. FuU stage, straight lined, and modernistic* At one point a scrim is naed, with a cathedral slide thrown upon it, tor a special effect during an orchestra number. Othei'wise everybody works in front of the band. Acts consist of Frances Burke, introduced as a Bowes discovei-y» and proves it by doing imitations of stars during her. song routine. She's all riglit, but that light .blue gown js atrocious; Then there's the Top Hatters, man and woman acrobatic skating team. Both work as under- standers, their tricks are good, and fast. Also on the bill, are The Three Dolls, who weren't ready when first called for, so came on later. Three girls, in gingham kid drcssres and hair ribbons, do acrobatic and knock- about, then finish off with challenge acrobatic, for which they're re- warded heavily in hand slapping. Teddy Lester, one of the orchestra boys, plays nil sorts of novelty and legit instruments. Dick and Lcotd Nash, rope spinning hoofers, are spotted last, and do their usual, un- changed routine. Over well. Added is the house line of 12, do- ing three colorful routines, and cos- tumes are. up to the usual excel!pnt standard. They add plenty to the show as a show, this week. Orchestra does two sessions alone, and everybody leaves, feelin-^ that maybe actors are. nice people, and friendly, after all. But next week, let's iee something a litlle more elaborate and flashy. But. let's go again, and that, after all, is the mam thing—and Ted Mack's revue outs such a spirit over well. Picture at house was 'She H?.d to Eat' (20th). Business last fhow, opening 6ay, just fair. Loop. Clean Burley (Continued from page 1) has not been .so hot, except in the theatres which are air-conditioned. After eight days of experimenting with the new policy, most of the New York houses admit box o.l'ice anemia and it's not the heat wave. Former burlesque fans are re- ported having disappeared after perusing the new brand oE enter- tainment and haven't come to ine surface since. It seems a case bl where do we go from here. One .smart burlesque manager told it all when he observed,,'Burlesque without dirt or strippers is like noth- ing at all. They've scrammed the comics, because a carload of sapolio couldn't clean 'em up and keep 'em- in line. But after all, they were only spacers for the teasers and would have to be educated a lot before being able to work legit a3aln.' House operating mobs are in a frenzy for sJmeihing to hypo the box-office, but in the meanwh'le arc exhausting the aspirin supply around Time.s Square. Hecht No. 1 (Continued from page 1> are George Bradshaw, David Hertz, Joe Eigclow rnd tjCliarles Ledcrer. Quartet of writers also in the heavy coin clf?s:.« v.'ho recently completed work for Goldwyn are Lilian lleli- man, at !';2,00!) a stanza: Kohn^r and Ruby, who got ."iiSO.OOO for 20 woe*:s on 'Goldwyn Follies'; Alice Duer Miller, who w(irl;;cd with thi.s team, and How.'-.'-d J, Green who iAnft chored Pn the picture.