Variety (Dec 1937)

,4.4. vARiEtr YAtJDE-^ Wyiitcsdayi December 1937 BIG^APfLE REVUE ■■ ■■(CAPlTOt,. AVLANTA):;:--, . : ; Atlanta, Dec. 19.; Owned and produced by Dart Fitch, - old-tim'e" TJfin'^riel; iavorite, who rii. c/s, this unit has enough standard vaude, interspersed with App]e terpihg to hold it together,; Unit features . champion AiPPle dancers of North iand South Gai-oliria, Viipginia aM -Floridav 'selepted in ' coihiipetition sponsored by Publix theatres in- those States/ It statts with champs, girls in eve- ning dress, lads giirbed collegiately, doing Apple shakes iSnd; twists, with . some. vocals, .v... ■• • , ' , Fitch then ihtroes 'Tiirji' McBee, Jr., xylophohist, who does a mietdley of rose tunes, featuring The Only Rose,' and then goes into a tap rou- tine while pounding, pkayi Louise Hackney ahd Frank Mur- phy* Virginia Apple , champs, then {►ut on a fast exhibition and are folr; owed by Celia and Buddy Durham, brother and sister ArkaAsians, who offer a nifty hillbilly turn that,scpres. Ah acrobatic adagio by Robert Renous and Melva Mendez^ nian and wife team, also scores, as does an- other Apple exhibition by Jane Wil- liams knd Jimmy JCnight,:N. C, cham- ■pi6ns.y:.. ■ Saiah Troutman's semi-classical tunes ;on. vibhn arie iapplauded heart- ily -by- patroii^. .Edna -BiSby and Raiymohd Hood, S. C's ApplC chaiDps* ■follow.- -■•■■•••■^■ v: ■ Y--':--:^ '- ■ ■ Rehbus reapt>ears and.pleai5esjiidth. some difficull hattdsismds atojpi a rickety table,, getting ai big hand for his two 'lhumbs and two': index; fin- gers'pushup.' : 'TurkMtfcBee is back for » groilp.of. blues songs, getting, gooid^haad.: Bit's: joined by Fitch and they ga thcdugh. tf blalckface (sans mak«up) rdtitinr: that clicks. Skit is ian origiAal by Fitch and. every line's a laiigh; Finale brings en five cotqples, all doing Bigr Appte: Ther<('s 18'in com- pany anch«h6w is nicety :pa^cd^ in 4& tnins, Music, of - bahd, is Wfitet ttian; .lisuai; F^ic is 'Night Gliib Seartdal': (Par) end there . w»e ^hdees after .first show broke Sundky. , Luch. • FpLLiES REVUE ■■ ■•Sait;i^e^^City,;';D«c^ After four weeks of passable/fl^K entertainment; R6xy's ciinrent vaud? filiner btodies. Six^act bill,. heaSed by Maurice Cash, inisses so far as (audience approval is rTOhcerhed. It isn't stimulating the: b. 6."'either. Present bill iiitroes Bill Pieibr and his band;' local boys, whqise. cleffing i$ ragged in spots, due to the lack of Erofesh : gloss of sfeven . musicians. )Ual . pixes, 'Three-: Legionnaires,' (Geh'l). and 'Talk of the Devil,' fad. to register. . ■• Cash in; c.'s in a style .reinlnisceh^ of :the;:h6rse^biuggy .era, His rou- tines lack socko delivery. Fresh ma- terial would also'help^:: : Opener by band playing 'Gettin' SentimehtaV followed by 'China- ■ t 'n,- • diirinig:; .which the- orchiestra leader, a-' sbpriaho sax player,- allows everyone, but himself a-solo lick. ■ Terry , and his pail, ; Jei:ry> a. 'six^, year-^bld collie dbg, spotted next. Dog comes :on stage lugging a smalL suitcase in his mouth and' is sent through a -routine of . standard .caiiihe tricks by his one-fairhied incister. Most uni(|iie trick is rolling, a ball oft the flat of hi^ head into his mouth. Ah- .master/s other is his balancijig .shoulders;'-. ^■■■u.j:^ Drake and Diaria, billed' as the tallest dancers in the woi-ldi' fairly float. Couple of youngsters, each ranging over the, .77ririch. rnark,: they display gfSce and agility In a Spanish 'folk dance arid acrobatics. ■■. . , ■ Appearance of Edna Palmer, blues singer, could have been penciled. Her 'Never in a Million Years' was ragged when caught. Jan<> Mundjr and her three frereis, in nejit 16 closing sppt, take top hon- ors. • Sister V' leads the r fpursonie thrQUgh a; i' ;rShoe, -and an; adagio for. an encore.-; Thb three boys, ap- pearing as fecent graduates from the tyiro clasS|^ - have sheepish grins Oh their faces thrbughiJUt the act; Miss: Miindy reveals isin ingratiating per- sonality. Of the two spiecialties, the adagio rates best. Effective costum- ety elevates act above others oh; bill, Cash's tiii-h buttohs up the bill. Dressed as a hbke Negro .preacher; devoid - of blackface!, bomic employs- pants-salesman dialect in .attempt to :pass; as eightrball: lihgo. The audl- encO/ finds ho solace in his; assoried storied spun before a mobile mike.. Sahdwiched in duringv the finale is Flo ;iBiart, who makes the stage sag under more than 350 pounds of spir- itied blue singing. Her 'I 06t Rhythmi' is a takeoff..of .ah Aunt' Jemima sper cialtyi She gets - a xall,' moaning- 'Basih; St; Blues' for a good hahd. ; • ' :\'^::'■:-:.■■.■■■.'.•■ ;:•■;:-■■ ■'•■Cum.- ;.. Holiywdbd Sketchbook . . .. .Ltncolh,. Deci 19. Starrers are still Franklyn Browne and . Kate; Xiayelle,. doing, crossfire patter that's all right; ' Weakest'por-^ tion of the ^ow is the, opiener, tap' session of Milam and Marlowe. .Kids mak^ good ap|>earahce, but the .girl fakes : her- steps, getting;, by, on the, lad's .cfcho^si' 'Ttiey: appearr twic,e,;the latter a hiU-biliy number, :n.s.gl ;'Three"Byrbn^ a trio pulled out of the acro^Six £iiglish .^ Macks, helps .^ow ^limb. / Theirs is knockabout and roiigh. Clnttier is good, but was falling tPat when caught. Bill Oyth- rie, /dress-suited warbler of ; cowboy times, is a bit stiff, but in pretty fair voice with: three numbers.,; Dolores Norton toes iip for, ohe; of them. ; Unit starts comihg to-a head with the musical work of . Weymain . ahd Macki Girl handles the violin very well, and the- man takes, his out on guitar and banjo. Play pops and. classic, and rate a swell hand. Six English Macks, teeterl>oarders, have' speed and are good tumblers. Management is by Ri Patrick Sut- ton, son of the headlinersi. He leads the orchestra and ni.c' besides be- ing given stage credit each perform- ance: for Writing the act's materiaU Runs. 52 minutes/is.a bit slow getting- away^ but finishes well. Doing;biz herei. with all other houses sharply slumped, ■■• ,,.•;';"- Barn. : (iDAPITAt, SIOiDX CITY) iSioux City, Dec, 19:' Opening here is virtual brfeakin for. this new unit, as -only a couple of small town stands separate it frbm rehearsals ; in Omaha whe^^^ it was built-' .^ ■';: :' ■ It's; ;, all Negro ' show, carrying -Clairehc€i-_^use,i^scieenl_ actor Jtrid^ singer^ as nanle attraction,; with six acts and orchestra/ .;. ■ Besides Muse, company includes Three; Giants of Swing, -Chickie, ;Carl and Harryette, Al 'and Toni Cortez, The.THEATRE cf the STARS Otto Easoh, P^dro and Dolores, and King Hunter, with ijiusic from; Les Carisler aridTiis 10-piece crew: / ^ ■ Giants are Omaha boys who. have made good coming .up through night clubs and 'rkdio. This trip;, boys in- corporate most of their regular rou- tine into show, and work with or- chestra remaihder. Best work of unit comes;; from Eaison, Carl arid - Harryette and the Giaritsi Easbh dbes a; Bill: Robinson on roller' skates; with- plenty of speed and variety; ;Carl arid Harry- ette exhibit ah intricate, dance rou- tihe cleverly timed/ :/;• ':; Al arid Tbni present a rapid patter tiirn, with Al at the piario and Toni at the rnike, Pedro and Dolpi^Os are a ballroom;;team.'.; Chickie works as brilY solo with a ;truckiri' riuriibcr. Kirig Huritiir handles comedy dancirig with a dummy. Muse teams with Eddie Carpenter, pianist and composer, in series of dramatic sorigs and m.c.'s, the show, interspersing . ilbt of Hollywood chatter. . Voice, .showing talent, train- ing and personality, carries m.c. job capably. Unit;shows sonie rough spots;which v/ill be; ironed.out when routine gets riibii^e settled; ; ' Running time, 60 minutes, 'arid bke for vaud-film houses: ;; .. Quin. .: JAMBOREE (LIBERTY. ZANBSyiLLE, O.) Zaniesville. O.. Dec. 18, M)rstery, riielody, laughter and dancing are chief attributes of this racy musical revue, newest "effort of Harry A. Gourfain, currently here. It's- better than the average .variety fare and clicks smoothly. A .near capacity audience applauded at the opening. ■ . • .-: Topping is Hardeen, magician, who,, the billing, says, presents his brother Houdini's world famoiis mysteries. His repertoire is: far above the aver- age: and many of his illusions; are new. :■ ■ • ■ •;■ Helen Heller and Geprge Riley, do a brief and laugh-sprinkled talk act that, while old. is still good; Their wardrobe is tops. Five lUgins of 'big top' &me' in the next spot eairh inost applause as: the show reaches half- way mark. The outhtet does almost unbelievable .juggling.: , Tom, Dick and -Harry, comedians, romp through, several minutes of tomfoolery, hkuch to the [ delight of the- audience; Lillian Lovely, stiff shouldered^ but eve pleasing, shows possibilities , as a novelty dancer. Thie Musketeers,. '. aristocrats, of terp- sichore, are youthful and talented. A 12-gtrl line does several routines acceptably, all wArdrobechanges be- ing hew and . appealing. . Not a sag in almost; an - hour;' iillotted to the stage presentation. On the screen, 'A Girl with Ideas' (U). Afacfc. Fire-Eater Badly Burned On Stage ui Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, Dec. 21. Johnnie Garnett^ Salt Lake City tyro fire-eater, appearing on weekly Roxy theatre amateur program Thursday (16), suffered first;:second and third degree burns on his face arid neck, when;his act went awry. .- Performing a new trick, Garnett's small goatee and sideburns becariie inflamed by the torch and ushers ex- tinguished the burning hirsute, His throat arid mouth were not hurried. - -.NEWARK BUBLESftUE ^ Newark, N. J.; Dec. 21. .' Jules Leventhai arid Ray Payton, lessees of the Shubert theatre, /have taken over the Empire, recently va- cated by Harry Brock, and are in- augurating a policy of continuous burlesque and pictures starting Sub- day 26. ■■ B'KLYN FOX SETS VAUDE Brooklyn, Dec. 21.. -The Fabian . Fox wili. join ' the Strand and Majestic theatres in pre- senting vaude NeW Year's Eve. . Tbuhgstown Burley t0 Reopen , Voungstpwn. o!; Dec. 21. Princess here, bvir^lesque - hoilse, dark for several w^ks,' will reopen Dec. .24 with a- griri.d burleisque pbl- icy, ■ Buddy Karie lessee, has an- noiinced. v'^''-' ''- ■'';■ '-^-•■....:■■■ -': ! ; Princess: launched a stock, burly r'uri -last' falij' but poor .attendance, due to; the lull in . steel mill opera- tions hereabouts, was responsible for tiiie.;: house being shuttered several weeks ago. ■ N Week of December 2C . ''iriiioTillRliI ■ ',7iln,l(i.S'-ri,,vri(.', . - All(>n( i,\vt\, . Mt)t<,-Tuo».: Onplieiini,.- HcniUni,';- ■ '.N'lffjit OwlH'-TTlIowUrd,. llostoii, '; 'iUifi FivctH'—Hudttoiv, Union ('it v, ' '\)\/.zy Da'mofi'—Troc, .Plill.-Klfljilil-i, -. ■/rtini>tori<'—«nyety, ,'VVi»8hiiifirton:; ■ •\Vlilrl.-oC. Olrl3'-^(!n.\^ety; Baltimnre.- . - ''utl PHl-i«(l6-:^G.,r.slno,' Piil.sbiirfjh. . ' :'J-'.lff lleviip!—finyoiy, C'lnciniiall. .. . . .'JSinarl Set'Tr-CSarrrdc.' .St. Loiil.s. , - 'Vftiiity p.iiv'-^Rinno. (Uiicnuo.' ' ;; M^nqe MnVcors'—Cinyoty, IVU'oltv .'Merry-ao-Jlaginrt'—U(>xv, C'levelnnd. .'t;(>.er.<4 n«(V I.auffhler'—C'liJ^iiin, T(ii-(ni(o, ,. 'Jiizii Hnblos'—C,rt.v.(>t.v, . IJuiTalo. ■ RUSS MORGAN With Bernice Parks, Vocalist Paramount, N. Y. 1- i Outfit; is one of the names of the biz, having played, all over the map iri vaude houses, class niteries; hotels, arid is familiar via the air and recr ords. This review is for the record. In present date it is stacked on stage frorit and, besides playlirig; the.; show, bffers "various numbers on its own.; Handles both assignments skillfully. Morgan Is enough of a name to have a distinct style, which is recog- nizable to, all swing addicts:. .Band features the brasses and woodwinds, with sizable fiddle section forrt^- ing a smooth background. Arrange- ments . are novel enough to cop at- tention arid . short enough to avoid moriotbny. Brasses occasionally blare too much . ■ ; .: Leader Morgan, besides offering bit jobs bn the trombone and turning in a too-brief sock piano chorus, vocals several songs. Has a passable voice and definitely .agreeable stage manner. Bernice Parks: is the vocal- ist. Fair enough. Hobc. EDDIE.GARR '-'l',:^ Comedian ' -.-,'.'; is:Mins. - ■■: ' ■ Pajraiiiottnt,- S. Y. ■' Sirice his last New Acts review m 1932, Eddie Garr has changed his stye of work a bit. Mimic's apparent, idea is to get more, and more away frbm the iriipersonation stuff. Seems, a wise mbvei .;■■■• Garr now stresses the straight comedyV which he puts over nicely. Has been around tong enough to have an assured style,- way of punch- ing home a tagline, satisfactory tim- ing and has'learrijed the 'feeV, of an atidience; . Most of - his material is funny, though some is dated, ^ , He holds enough to discard the trivial. For the wiridup, Garr" goes into his takeoffs. Does the usual ones; though better thah most can do them. His burlesque of various kinds of -Ringers, is familiar—and good. • Hqbe. THE MEB»Y MACS. (4). , V- Uanaeny Singing ■,, 11 Mtas. Foursome (three boys, one girl) has been identified with CBS pro- grams for i few years; worked a long sustaining apprenticeship and now appear on the Al Pearce pro- griam for Ford • Motors. \ . ' Act does nicely, having patently nrepared for its stagje showing by sriiartening up its sight advantages. Usually turns, even though accys-; toriied to raidio studib audiences, ap- pear rather awkward wheri working vaude." , • Quartet has drilled itself in some nifty gesticulating to. roundly set off its- smooth harmony chanting. And knows the value of varied selections. All are young 'uns and very good^on appearance. ' Bert. SARA ANN MeCABE Sinclng 8 Mlns., On* State. N. y; ■' Not likely to set the river aflre, Sara Ann McCabe will rnove likely wind up in the ■ Vocalist' class. Has soriie knowliedge of what to do with her hands, and sells mildly. Looks and. form no liability, either, blend- ing with nice soprano. - . In full voice Miss McCabe hits a couple of operatic highs; and certain- ly can- hold 'em. This wheri doing a mild ^burlesque oh a diva-while the house crew swings. 'Roses in De- cember' and, yes, 'Yieni, Vieni,' com- prise-repertoire. An okay pirier.- . • . . . ■ ■ Hurl. MbTTER and DAVIS Hand-Balancing ' 6 Minn. Rpxy, N. Y. A good, seasoned ■ pair of manual equilibrists.who appear; to/have been around a while; though the files lack a listing. ' • - "r The boys' strong-arm balancing feats are of the first water, and they color up their 'work . with, a nice spangling of showmanship. Several' times when caught . thby 'spread the 'susperise,' by. feeling for gripis witri: too much faked;ciution. :.Otherwise the turn has plenty zip arid a strong variety of iriuiscle:! marvel:?.> Bert. 4-A s Rays AFA In American Federattori ot Actors last week was reprimanded, ordered to cease, organizing burlesique'bn .trie,- road and instructed to make a full accounting of ■ all' money obtained, from' burlesciue performers. In is- suing it? decision, ; the. Associated Actors; and Artistes of . America board indicated punishment ;6f the AFA will be; announced Jan. 10. ' Fpiir A's board atfion w'as the r suit of a com^alnt brought by the; Burlesque Artists Assn. According to Tom Phillips, BAA prez. tht^ AFA had' persisted iri organization ; at- tempts in 27 of the .29 bui-lesque houses outside N. y.; He offered ex- tensive and detailed evidence iri sup- port, of his charge, which 'was inade; at a hearing before the Four A's offi- cials Dec 9." Harry Calkins' made a geri^l denial for AFA. . According to the terri:is of; the board's, verdict, AFA oifficials ;were given ,10 days in which to; turn over an accounting of all biirlesque/.perr former dues, initiation fees, etc., to a special Four A's coniriiittee. Sep- arate-clause specifies that if AFA of- ficials serVe notice Within eight, days of their intention of obeyirig the der, they wiU be granted 15 days to carry out the iristcuctions, Defiance of the^ order will be diealt iylth by 'appropriate action;' .4-A's officials indicated. ; - / Supplemental bid by BAA that it be given back jurisdictibri of bur-. lesque in N. Y, will be heard by the board next Monday (27). Such jur- isdiction, was turned ber; to^ AFA when burlesque Cas iuch) was out- lawed, in New York. city, by License Coriimissioner Paul Moss.: Petition by AFA for corriplete jur- isdiction over all burlesque and choruses, in vaude and night clubs, will be heard by thie board Jan. .;17. Basis of AFA's bid for such jurisdic- tion is. :its claim that; the BAA and. Chorus. Equity, respectively, have failed properly to brganize the fields and that AFA is better qualified to handle the interests of the perform- ers therein,. Considered almost cer- tain that the board will dismiss the AFA petition* Besides issuing its decision in the matter of . the BAA complaint against AFA, the board also officially repri- manded the AFA ekecs for state- ments made to the daily press. WILLIE ;^':^#H:oiim:: ' ' p«inrlnic-SinKlnj|| .Comedian HI-HAT CLUBr Chicago t.. t'eutral Bopklbc OfflcW !■«<• MAT DUFFIN SIDNEY FISHER 75/77,. Shaftesbury Avenue PICCADILLY, LONDON, ENG. Christmas Card Agents ; r;arg;e.- profits e.T.iliy; enrhed .. P(»llt»>K now 21 li'oldei' Assorlinent. Sells p>V sislit ; for ?il.OO. . Otfibr' lloliil.iy.., aa-. sortincnts. :. >yrVl8" for p.-trticulars. .' DOROTHEA ANTEL 220 iV«st 7»iid St., New Voric, N. » is NOW LdCATED WITH IRVIN SIMON— BEN SHANIN HATTIE ALTHOFF—TOM KENNEDY Suite 803 RKO Building, Radio Ci Phone COIumbus 5-7772