Variety (Nov 1937)

20 VARIETY VARIETY HOflSE REVKWS Wednesday, November 17, 1937 STATE, N. Y. Twelve pink-cheeked girls on a gaudy cafe set atmosphere Dave Apollon's nii)e-man Filipino band. House orch stays in the pit and the so-called ^-evue includes Cass Daley, ^axine Lewis, Max and his dogs, Annavan and. her adagio boys and the five Hollywood Co-Eds. Film, •Lpst Horizon' (Col). Biz, good. Ribboning Apollon's band With a dimpled line, thrdws the show ,off balance. It's vaude with dressing and it begins, laggingly, but subse- quently scampers into pep and speed. Of. course, ApoUpn m.c's and, with his band,'raises some laughs. Sen-' satipn of the show, however, is. Cass , .Daley, effective rhythm singer, Avith style,. verve and great comic sense. Ought to be ,in'pictures. Apollon's go-getem attitude some: limes clashes vwith his Roossian chat- ter. . Co-Eds open in song and .wind up in an exchange of eccentric aiid • aero, daqce steps. Okay stilff and Maxirie Lewis 'deserves better spot- ting than she gets. Is a good" singer . who pleases without effort ahd in • this aggregation should come up ahead o2 the .sight and dumb animal acts. • •' • ' Max and his dogs give an,intric'ate, display of 'man ahd animal 'co-oi'di- natibn.' An&van ^nd her adagio'boys do' fancy ' body - hurling toward the end of-tWe show. On the whole the • costlimes ' Ate ciorif using.'~ ' Lighting eff ects might have been bettei*. Per- formance-runs f6r about an hour 'ahd okay that way. The big Apdllon reVue, withal, is a-click. Shan. CINE-ROMA, N: Y. It- may b4 ironical, but factual nevertheless, that the last reniaining two-a-day variety hqtise in the IT. S. 'is a spot secilung Italian patrdnage primarily—and getting it exclusive. Rfeason: theatre is ballyhoo'd in Ital- ian circles only, and all the palaver .in the show is couched in the tongue of The Boot' ■ . At a $1.25 top the Cine-Roma is gi:abbing stout biz, and the reason for that' is the American" debut • of Carlo Buti, who packs a vast fandom in Italy, which has been conumini- cated to the Italian-Americans here through phonograph platters. Butl has a fine-Italian touch, that is more or less the equivalent of the Bing Crosby manner; Pop tenor, his style ,is strictly: that of his native country. His looks and personality make him a femme heart-flutterer. With p. k. pipes, he has the surfacc'-emotional- ism 'of his audience, causing therti to rise and shout ifi. bevy, of 'bravos' for both his apiiearanc^ which are timed before- thfe intertiiission and at th6 end. ' $1,000 a week lor this stand and, since he personally Is dravifing the..l,90q-seat house to near capacity each p^rfprniance, the tenor IS eminently worth it. After v/inding up a four-week= stand at the Cihe- Roma the corporation . Is taking the show on a .tour of one-nighters through New England. ;. As a show it certainly isn't up to two-ja-day caliber by any stretch of imagination, but when caught it had the ^onlookers munching out of 'the palni of its hand, . Chiefly, it is an assemblage of vet minor-grade U. S. dumb vaude acts to supply the . novelty and most of the- more robust entertainment, It is blown out with a .line of 12 girls,, and a sketch in • Italian, .'Navy, Women and Love,' Played by seven actors.- Sketch is . much, too talky and actionless, but the Italian manner is expostulative and the. playlet garners a quota of cackles,.- Tedium is somewhat -re- lieved by the .insertion of the line girls twic.Cy on no provocation. • First is a can-can routine, followed by a prefcision di-ill.. . Also worth mentioning that there is no wai'bling on the bill save that supplied by Buti, • Layout of the bill was- also very faulty; e.g., the Roma Bros, hand balancing turn (New Acts), followed ah adagio routine done by a single man and woman, Wales '&hd Brady. • Cantons do their old sleight-of-hand and pdper-cut- ting magic act, Man •' and woman, neither Chinese, are still dressing up their hiild, small-time turh with Smo-suggestive clothes and setting. Geoirge Gordon hasn't'changed his st6w' slack-wire .act in 10 years. Ballroom' dancing of fitontfe?: and Marie is not so smoothly stepped, but the man handles thie woman nicely on whirls and liftsl Three Girton Girls still the same old' act- formerly billed Doris Girton ahd Co. Miss Girton, on her bike, is as slick as ever, and the- two tiimbling femmes expand the turn nicely with their spotters and butterflies; Act not seen around in some time, vaude boolters should not overlook the ex- .i^tence of this vast turn that can do especially well in faniily houses. Among the four routines the 12- line lassies romp through, the stand- out for eflfect is the one that has 'em doing the Mussolini-land, equivalent of 'truckin' >in an exercise which has as its background and rtiotif the flag of Italy. Number:gets a big patriotic rise out of the. mob. Show is said to be costing around $5;000- a week; while quite possible that figure seems fractionally tall. Pit orch goes elaborate with ah over- long overture of Neapolitan airs. Operators of the Cina-Roma '(orig- inally the 'Bro>dway, built for legit, on fin upper reach of Times Square) deny that the Italian government lends the project other than moral support Wide supposition has been that Fascfstic funds were behind the policy of the place to keep it going through any lean weeks. However, in the current show there is distinct- ly no propaganda sprinkled out other than the flag-waving chorine routine. Bert. CAPITOL, WASH. Washington, Nov. 14. Using the title 'International Re- vue,' house has rounded up wealth tt talent and' set it oft with rich staging and cleverly- worked-out -lighting. 'Pop vaude olfering town has seen in months.. From a trade point of - view chief interest is the new Jeanette Hackett line, 12 lookers,' who 'romp through- three elaborate production numbers, originally conceived, staged and costumed in miniature by Miss; Hackett'for the Shoreham hotel'win-, ter opening'here last month. Ideas may not be unique, but they're de- veloped smartly and. colorfully". .First IS chef niunber, with, gals dolled up in white'dresses and caps^ carrying small ^uare trays of 'anchored fake food. Troupe out around the pit on a ramp and then back to stage against chef drop to Big Ap]>le while Emcee Jackie Heller warbles the open- ing lyrics written by Miss Hackett. Middle number along firefly' motif brings Miss'Hackett on for the first time, line wearing light' -bulbs on their heads and swooping,aboiit with transparent win'gs a la- bsdlet; Line dioses with; fast modernistic ballet springing froAi hula hula' inspiration and winding' up with galaxy of bumps, gals wearing bs little as pos-!- 'sible, yet allowing Miss Hackett to get- by with less. Goings-on get under way with' an 'overture,' also showing e^tr'a effort this week by tying in with CSeorge Washington U. annual homecoming week, using college medley and vocal trio to warble the G. W. U. ditty. After getting on and off with the girls. Heller takes over with the opening announcement as m.c,'work- ing this week on stage for all intro- ductions and, 'by staying away from attempts at gags, succeeding nicely in a smooth straight job. Johnny Barnes, who got his start year ago, gets the first specialty spot to tap out ai smooth, soft rhythm, with walks, slides and struts with and without music. Saved novel crippled tap that got him off still at peak after simple thank-you spleech. Next is Lia Foun Chinese mixed troupe,, ml young,, and. tl)e fenjmes tmusually ptretty. Open' circus style, with swift 'succession of group and solo acrobatic dancqs, take d few drum roUs for contortionist special- ties, .and finish with plate-spmhihg, done in :^raltz time with sweet music ^hd soft lights. Efiect, besid^.eq'iial- ing any array of tricks seen here of late, has fluidity and rhythm that sets > it head and .shoulders above standard' Oriental turn. Heller, is on next for his bit, giving 'Remember Me,' "The One Rose,' That Old Feeling,' and then reverse ing the -mood to knock 'em out of their seats with red-hot 'You Can't Stop Me , from Dreaming.' . Encores •with 'Veini, Veini,' his best, and rates a second encore of a trick arrange- ment of 'I Can't Give You Anything but tK)ve, Baby.' Gals are on for their firefly num- ber, ahd Heller presents Al Trahan and Lady Yukona Cameron, who rock' the house" as' always with Al's go6f pianoing, the Lady's would-be serious vocalizing, the chewing gum business, ' the super-'violent 'Romeo and Juliet' workout, and the • com- pletely slapstick firiish, Al chokbs it off with a perfect curtain speech, and lets the' line on to finish and send 'em home raving. Pic -is 'Stand-In' (UA). and biz fair, . Craig. ROXY, N. y* Paul Ash band cements together half a dozen acts and specialties; here to good results. Basically the whole thing is as minced as an omelette— acts th^t would hit the nail in a £en-< uine Vaude dispensary, vis-a-vis typical family, touches, and the gowning of the inevitably Gae Foster Girls (white satin dresses, for in-> stance,, with .pale lavender and red' scarfts,?i la 14th street)—but it all pans out auspiciously. Ash emcees sparingly. .His band, on stage, and tooting in sweet tempos entirely, does- background work but no solos. Of the performers further out front the majority has. been around so long, that their notices in the files read like a Greyhound tour of the U. S, . . ■ .. . ; Foster Girls start the kettle sim- mering with a number built around heaving of - miammoth Eubber- balls, the latter apparently having been' purchased for a similar number the week- before, or at least used there. Dawn and Darrow, slick baUroom terpers, follow with a sweetly'paced spefcialty that puts the punch m the right places. Hector and His. Pals (dog act) appear next. It'sT a 'good act and especially strong -for family trade. • Couple of the- canines have been taught to stooge for Hector-and are periodically seen chasing' each other.'(supposedly amorously) around corners of the wings. This bit, which could have been too broad tO be ef- fective, is pulled off- with' maximum zip. ■ Raymond Baiird, sax tooter,/ fur- hishets a nice instrumental' specialty interpolated with tricks and straight stuff alternately.. Gaie Foster hiimbier are Tom Waring, whO should pick something other than 'Old Man River' tor his solo; Poley McClin- tock, the frog-voice drumnver, 'who still is a'crack clown, and Scotty Bates, lanky, disheveled nonchalant, who previously brought out only the title cards, but now has a hilarious inhing on the stand and makes the most of it For the finale Waring is still doing his dancing dominoes stunt, with the trick flashlight forihatipns, and 'it's a sm^sh curtain. Show was overboard .when caught, and had to be cut. Shame, too, because it's all sure-fire. CohcTi. FOX, K. C. ' Kansas City,'Nov; 12. Scarcity of good standard acts available 'for vaude outposts, such as this, is plenty apparent here this week. With the exception of two good production numbers, the outlay smacks of an alphabetical list ot all the old wheezes in the biz. The only act that doesn't get giggly from; its O'wh tickling is- Brengk's Golden Horse, posing novelty. . - • • Nag gets the top billing. Four, people in Indian rigs pose with the hoss, featuring well known Indian paintings. This turn opened, which left nothing of importance to follow. Perry Twins, who have been seen here before and to better advantage, dub their hoof routines with some indifferent gauging, They are still using their impressions of how various, dance steps were originated and the boxing bit. An okay hoof duo that would do better to suppress- some, of the comic urge.' . Walter Nillson rides a number of unicycles ahd chatters.' He totes a handlebar ihustache and his gags .are from the same era. Pretty weak," Chic Thomas looks funnier than he talks. He mulls through a disjointed .series' of cracks anent his w'aii^days; air familiar stuff. • - ; ' Line's two numbers in'clude ' an artist and model routine that serves to bring on Brengk's hosSj and a voodoo .nuniber that closes. Judy Conrad^s band is heard from the pit this trio with John Tompkins, tenor, Harlan 'Christie now in his' twenty- fifth 'week as m.c. tio\ft. breaks into a tap 'terp by the Xar, throps ahd' Vitginlfr' Xl<5&^ whose'jsiifev- ity fits'toto'tWt' Ifoi^'dtily because family fahdOih has seen ^6 miich tapi- pihg thkt eVeh 'jfi'g^dfadma' can' disr tingtrish- ac'gddd ^^'"irtim a ciike- walK:,:»-lYr6%V^^^ t^tak^y: T[es,', mf imr^^o, war- bles « CQUpfe px nump.ers .to f?ur re- sults. .4^ittihg ]u4a or adolescents on the boards ^.la Deanna Durbin is at best , a precarious procedi^'e because no 10 out of 100. patrons can .tell whether the delivery: is. any good, and the major angle has to be pa- rental sympathy. Miss lies should thus find the Roxy to. her liking. But her personality should be built up along with .her singing. As the tiirn now appears, it's just singing, and , most kinds of singing aren't qyite enough by themselves to cause an uproar behind the foot- lights. Ross. Wyse, Jr., assisted by June Mann, closes the act portion of the bill with acrobatic tetping and nut comic stuff.. Acrobatics are "oke, but Wyse's lingo is non-coiisequential. It's , at this point that . the. Foster Girls appear in their yrhite. satlhs with those lavender and red scarfs— a bit. Qf gowning, that looks like a nightmare from the east side push- cart, alley.. All the acts are. intro- duced by Ash for. the .finale, their names previously not. having been mentioned in any-way. ■ Pic is 'Second Honeymoon' (20th), and. biz. on Friday, eve .(12) didn't look as though it maxed any .too well with the rain, , Edga, STANLEY, PITT. . Pittsburgh, iNovi -15. . .^ter all is' said and done, Fred Waring ahd His Pennsylvahians are still .the daddy." of thein^ all.; Back again for tjie' ttrsji, .time, in three or four years,, th'ey'ire .-cfoing exactly what th'-;,-'ve always>.dbne around here for tne last decade, choking, the aisles and dishing out.^;a .brand of entertainment thaj.'?',.pretty close to the top. It W:p.s .raining "cats and dogs outside. beforfy tljle ^^rst-show at the opener, but the hoiise .'was jammed to the roof, and not' because of 'Breakfast for .Two' (RKO) on the screen, either, . ; . . Waring stumbled into a.sock for- mula a long time ago, and it hasn't .been altered since, only improved upon, Penhsylvanians have severe,! newcomers, and at least two of them are as neat as anything Waring has ever picked up. One is Betty Atkin- son, blonde looker who did the drum- majoring with ,them in 'Varsity Show,' Gal-swings the baton high wide.and handsome, turns out a few tap, steos iat .the same time, and fits perfectly into the Waring plan. Other click Waring has acquired is Art McParland, one of two twins in sax section, who merely sits there and heckles Waring, a la the Beetle-Phil Baker pattern, all through the per- formance, and collects laughs galore. . Remaining,-new faces since the Pennsylvanians were last here are Feme, striking looking femme "fiddler who first comes out for a solo medley and. then takes her. place . on the stand with the boys: Al Bottorf, xylo- phone wiz: Three Fellas, male vocal- ists; (jordon Goodman, tenor-, and Ethlyn Williams, singer. Latter two haven't yet caught on to the Waring style of personality presentation, but they should ease' un. They .weren't heliled any, either, this. afternoon by band s own p.a, system; it was geared too low. and voices .were hardly audi- ble, . Waring hjmself spurns a n^ike most of the time, an^ that's, some- thing .of a mistake, since some of his be.st patter vjs Iqs.t, . Pcnnpylvanifjns miss Johnny Davi.«; and Lane Si.ster.s. who staved behind On Coast v^ith WB;contracts, but their deflection has,been minimizecl by-the many .recent addUion's, Still around LYRIC, INDPLS. Indianapolis, Nov. 12. 'Hollywood Bandwagon' occupies 58 minutes of show time and is f' tlayed up 80% in ads over 'Alcatraz pland' (WB), which is helping out more than 20% at'the b.'o. . Presented in revue fashion^ ."with three. ];ieadline,acts split into double spots pn bill. show, is opened with kne, tagged Hollywood Baby Stars (16), .' doing a singing and dancing rviitine while holding reins of a. fiat stagecodch piece to carry. 6n\ the 'Bandwagon'^ idea. ' Charles Malone cohies on to do a fast tap on his toes in ffonX p^ .th;©. line. . > Followed by Viem. Rath, "who does a .saxophone specialty in one. Tepefy- ing with a fast rendition of *Nola.' Then does 'St. Louis Blues' on the 'clarinet for a breakaway.' ' I^orraine and Roghan split their turn-into-two appearances.. Girl has a sock entrance when she walks on. jWith what appears'to be a fur neck- piece which turns out to''be a dog when unfur/^ed.; Do comedy patter, with girl getting a lot of laughs with bpdy contortions, then finish with a dual rendition of 'Old 97' on har- -monicasl • ' Carol Manners does a couple' of classical songs, 'Giannina Mia' and .'Paro Nome,' with f uU stage as back- ground, and gets a much better hand than usually accorded singers of clas- sical ditties in this house. Second appearance of the line is introduced by Jeanne Lorraine, who .dances on with.live dancer in golli- wog, outfit, to be followed , by the girls with small darky dolls on pup- pet s.trings to guide., them through dancing routine. Finishes with ra- dium walkoff,. with dolls wearing luminous costumes,. • • Buddy Abbott and Lou Costello make their first appearance in sol- dier outfits, assisted by the Keene Twins, who. act as silent stooges in uniforms, with spot done before a tent drop. Bit is a hilarious routine of army, discipline, with Abbott get- ting slapped by his -pardner eveiy time he speaks, and cracked on his tin hat by rifles of the Keene Twins when they attempt to drill. I Appearance of Melba, billed as 'Blue Nudite,' is dressed in produc- tion number, with girls doing roa- tine to 'Stardust on the M6on,' fol- lowed by Melba, who has body paint- ed ' and works in blue spot to do impressionistic dance. Lorraine and Rognan follow -with knockabout comedy burlesque of ballroom dance. Abbott and Costello take their sec- ond-turn to do comedy patter dressed in baseball outfits, with humor de- pending on explanation of the game to .rookie Abbott by coach Costello, with members of team named Who, What, I Don't Know, Because, etc., a big hit with audience. Show- closes with entire company on-stage-in naval scene, girls doing tap routine in sailor outfits, Keene Twins, getting their big chance- with the assistance of two femmes, Vick and LaMarr, doing a series of acro- batic feats. Background proves to be foldover piece which brings on cardboard fleet of naval destroyers with guns booming for final curtain. House filled to last few rows in balcony at final, show Friday.' Kiley. PARAMOUNT, L. A. Los Angeles, Nov. 11. Ken Boker swing band is repeat- ing at the Parainotmt this week, fol- lowing a week's engagement couple of stanzas ago, while Everett Mar- shall, baritone, holds over from last week. Result is that current week's stage offering hasn't very much new to offer the patrons. iFanchonettes do a . couple of pres- entation nun^bers that are effectively staged, while other turns do okay with their respective chores."' Barry and Whltlege, pair of old-time Vaude comedians^, are first of talent intro- duced. Their comedy is ot the broad type familiar to audiences of a dec- ade ago. but not in keeping with present-day stage presentation < type. Three Trojans, acrobatic tumbling trio,, mop up' with their silappy rou- tine. Baker dnd-combo .play one swing ■ number that' registers oke Marshall repfeats' the Russian song he opened with last week, and again closes with That's "Why Darkies Were Born.' New times AVarbled are 'Home on the'RKnge' sftld-'Wagon Wheels.' 'EUnkin'. Parker,, shiajiely blond, in- troduced- as Closing act by Marshall, does a bit of nifty hoofing, indicating there's a lot in stOre for her once she .gets out oif her eiarly tefens",. Screen has 'An.gel* (Par) with'Par News, .'Biist Apple' (Par) and Oswald Ciartobn'(Pal'). Trade heavy j^rmis- tice day matlhfee". ' Edwa. HIPP,BALTO * Baltimore, Nov, 15. Utilizing .Harry Crossley's line of 16 dancers;. Harry Rose as m.c; Jean McCully,. hoofer; Ray Wilbert and .his hoops, Blanche and Elliott, adagio team, and Joe and Jane McKenna in their hectic knockabout, the Hipp has biiilt a nicely paced show this week to fill out its stage portion for the holdover 'The Awful Truth' (Col). , Opening with the line and Rose in specially written material kind swing- ing pronto into an okay hoof session by Jean McCully, who looks well and gives out nicely with the dogs, the (goings get off to a fast start, and pick up socky momentiim with the contribution of Ray Wilbert, Stand- .ard act, he has. stub holders with him. Socko routine of hoop juggling accompanied by some fairly good chatter, Crossley girls next in full stage 'by the Sea' routine bring on Blanche and Elliott, who put over a nicely handled adagio and set spot for Joe and Jane McKenna in their okay knockabout and mayhem. Act, ,a steady repeater, here, has them, laughing from the bell and gives the setup the right punch- Rose takes hold here with his usual chatter and' rendition of 'Pagiiacci' encoring with 'Broadway Melody,' Works hard and keeps things moving Without overstaying .or .dragging; out matters unnecessarily. Precision/high kick by-line and the finale with Rose, closes nicely. Burm. EARLE, PHILLY : PWl&delphia, Nov. 15. E^^e s^Q^y-^hi^' iveW is something .of .i^ lettilowTJ from usual standard thfe houtse has 'set . Strictly in the mediocre bracket. Lacks the' spark that sends an audience but with something to tiaDt about. . Slip in quality: reflectetf some;lvhat in biz, with the b.o.. below usual point when caught at the opener., Stronger than Usual pic, 'Music for Madame' (RKO), helped. : . .One of . the things that keeps the show from clicking is the order of the acts. Opens with Mickey Alpert orch on stage; slips from that into a fair vocal, .then into a femme tapper, who's n.s.g. Marquee hypo follows in Monte Blue and Mary Dees, Har- low double. Then Jane Pickens, more Alpert music, the tapper and, finally, the Diamond Brothers, slapstick comedes. Trouble lies in absence of a snappy warmer-upper to get 'em off their mitts and the 100% dearth of humor until the show's about half- way gone. Miss Dees and Blue do a smart and unusual p.a. turn. Lines are' clever and natural, and bring out what the house wants to- kno-w about the lemme who tripped into the Harlow jrogans.- It's pretty much straight talk, however, and in that respect lacks something of a song-and-dance p.a. Blue-comes on first and gives the femmepowerful support through- out He has an easy patter style that fools the house into the belief he's continually ad libbing. ' • Miss Dees is quite a looker) as may be judged from her Harlow resem- blance, has very pleasing personality, good comedy sense, but not. a whole lot ,of voice. Goes in and out of a southern drawl.' Blue does q. and a. bizness with ■ her, getting personal points about age, height, weight, ex- perience, etc. She then turns on him with series of questions. They finish off with scene from HarlOw pic, 'Bombshell,' with Blue taking the Lee Tracey role. Nothing ultra as drama,, but good. Alpert orch is an oke musical ag- gregation, but emcee himself is strictly a dud. Merely brings on the acts in straightforward fashion and offers two short vocals,. Shorter the better, Orch leans heavily on the ear-shatter, stuff with five pieces of brass, four saxes, violin and bass. Its actually directed—and all too apparently—by fiddler, Vernie Faz- ziola.. Much of the time Fazziola is out front swishing the stick. Alpert, when wanding, takes cues from the violinist. Lou Valero shows okay pipes in a coupla vocals with the band, while Tommy Gott, the trumpeter, does a swell turn on the hot side. Real cause of the aud's enthusiasm is the lovely looker, Jane Pickens, of the erstwhile- sisters. She appears in a dress that draws gasps from down front and exhibs a niftily trained and flexible voice. Backed by the house band, which toots too loud but not to well to suit Pickens' style. Gal scores on her impersonation of a diva at a summer Outdoor concert. Closes with 'Cuban Pete,' and after coupla encores has to beg off, Femme terper is Kathryn Rand, who does a sort of fiitting across be- tween tapping and ballet without the good points of either. • Offers an Easter Bonnet' number, with Alpert vocalizing, that's fair. Tripped on her bonnet and took a hard fall at show caught, but came out of it like ft .trouper. " Strong turn is provided by the Dia- mond Brothers in finale spot. Three guys are a combo of the Ritz Broth- ers, and the Stooges. They're plenty lunny. They get some strong chuck- les with slightly, blue gags, and are neat eccentric dalncers. But real up- roar is: brought on by their. falling and slapping each.other around. Also go in for., the nose-tweakin.c. hwir- puHing type of humor, a la . Ted Healey. Herb.