Variety (Sep 1938)

Wednesday, September 14, 1938^ VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 47 Penn Newsreel, N. Y. Treated opposite the Pennsylvania ra K station, in toe heart of the SSment district and close to several S commercial hotels from whwh if looks to draw, this is . the sixth newsreel house to be opened in Sew York. Trans-Lux built four, two of which, since have adopted features, while the pioneer of them all Embassy, continues on Times square in opposition to one of .the Sixer! Over jn the Grand Central, a smaller bandboxer; too, is in op- eration. Last-mentioned best money-maker of all. ^Trans-Lux once considered a lo- cation hear the Penn and Long j Is- land terminal nearby. Independent oroiect seats only 456 but covers considerable space, with a spacious Inner lobby and boxoffice on both 34th and 35thT streets, Nut is prp- oortlonately larger than most news- reelers due' to ground rent, main- tenance of premises, etc, but admis- sion scale will run same as at others, 15c. up to 1 p.m.; 25c. thereafter. ' House is operated by Joe Steiner, for years in production and lab- oratory field tf pictures; Stanley Heller, a Wall Street broker and William Klein, 'attorney for the Shu- berts for years. ' Corporation is known as Penn Newsreel Theatres, Inc. Nut on operation will run.$2,500- $2,800 weekly, it is understood. Thea- tre- was constructed by : the Tishman Realty Co. from plans drawn by Roach & Roach. House is roomy, with .homey chairs, divans, .etc. in. the inner -lobby while seats in the auditorium also permit comfort: Gen- eral scheme is modern though not too elaborate. Management has contracted for all of the fiye neWsreels, Fox-Movietone, Pathe, Paramount, Universal and Hearst, but in. addition to selecting 40 to 45-minute programs from' these, house will also use March of: Time once monthly, plus short subjects. Opening program Thursday night (8) included clips from all reels, but with more Par and.Hearst used than . others; March of Time and first release in a new shorts series: Initial newsreel show highlighted by Cardinal Hayes' death; President Roosevelt's ■ political invasion of Maryland; . .Quebec and - Colorado floods; Bendix Air race Winner and other No. 1 items. Suffer, some repe- tition through use of too many clips on some things, principally Cardinal Hayes and Capt. Roscoe Turner's fly- ing honors. The biggest, news of the moment, the Jimmie Hints trial, Wasn't touched. New house ought to do all right, location^ suggesting good possibilities. Another newsreeler, on. upper Broadway, at 72d Street, will open .shortly. Char. APOLLO, N. Y. ford's vocalist, sells her tunes neatly. Abbreviated . flesh section seems more compact, - and more speedily paced without the drawn-out pro- ductions. On'the whole this show rates: above par for the Apollo and Lunceford's crew makes it that way. COLISEUM, LONDON Jimmie Lxmceford Orch with Babe Matthews, Lucky Sisters, Jim Penman, Satch & Satchel. Serge Abagoff, Joan Lee, House Line (16); 'Passport Husband' (20th). Embassy Newsreel, N. Y. . Paramount provides the early' glimpses of the final church rites for Cardinal Hayes in St. Patrick's Cathedral, but shares equally with Universal on the colorful,: historical church event.; Otherwise, the week's parade of events' by the neWsreels is somewhat repetitious and not r- ticularly exciting. Metro assumes the most virulent tone regarding the Czechoslovakia- Hitler affair, by briskly .'calling at- tention to the fact. that Germany, which is demanding- such extraor- dinary rights for the Sudetens in Czecho, is itself a country where the simplest of rights is denied all mi- norities. But all-told the sight of Lord Runciman, with President Benes, and ;. Hitler with Admiral HOrthy, plus Czecho soldiers on pa- rade, the. German, fleet at Kiel , and the rltish fleet in the North Sea. is striking enough to whip up ap- prehensions of war. All the reels contribute to this collection. Universal has a flash of an east- coast Florida train ' wreck, which killed two, and the regular departs mentalized novelties. Paramount finales baseball, prior to the World's Series, with Hashes of the National League leading Pittsburgh Pirates in action and the Yanks, pace-setters in. the American circuit. Movietone is heavy on football,- ith glimpses of Dartmouth and Navy in training, and Universal offers the Narragansett Special, Won by Stagehand, - all in- teresting. Movietone also offers a bit of Jap baseball, which recalls that, pecu- liarly enough, the current program offers no Sino-Jap war. stuff. Inci- dentally, .the program; also is minus any material .on the American po- litical fight, too. Lew Lehr confines himself to' familiar zoo clips, plus a shot on an eccentric, 75ryear-old aero cyclist. Paramount has an exceedingly worthwhile,' interesting clip on Jacqueline. Cochran (Mrs. Floyd Od- ium) , winner of the Bendix air race, : first woman' to achieve that distinc- tion. In this clip Miss Cochran tells about her flight, and very well, too, for she's not only camera perfect but her speaking voice , is most ef- fective. ' , J Also, there are the lads who sailed the globe in a small ilboat, plus some unusual. auto racing and mo- torcycling. Movietone provides a pre- view of the Atlantic City beauty con- test, which gets by, but isn't par- ticularly exciting. Movietone digs into the library for a rehash on Rushmore Mountain. and Borglum monuments being fashioned -there, which will take another year to com- plete. Shan. ' STRAND, N. Y. ^Apollo has cut its stage time con- siderably this week. Ordinarily con- suming about an hour and half, cur- rent show runs about 75 mins. There's only one name on the bill, Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra (Band ' Reviews), but it- was enough to pack the house at the last show opening night (Friday), Bill was supposed to have included Dynamite Hooker, hoofer and jive artist, but he was put due to illness. Slicing eliminates some comedy sequences, while Lunceford's crew plays considerable of the show on the boards behind a drop. It doesn't emerge until its turn. This date marks the fifth anniversary of the band's New York debut and it's presented with a prop cake, deco- rated with five candles, "at the start of its bit. House line then does a Poet and Peasant', for Lunceford, the outstanding production work of the show. Girls .tap to orchestra's' play- ing of the tune and sock it home. Satch and Satchel take a little time to warm up the audience .with their comedy, but when they do the payees are in their laps. Gal gets, off fast, double angled jingles,, some plenty blue, but is prevented from finishing most of 'em by her partner. He's a jive- spieler and gives out with lingo which more or less originated m Harlem , and which the Apollo's colored trade appreciates: ' Opener, a flash bit by the line, neiped by . a male chorus of eight, f*J? by. Chorus pipes two pops wnue the terpsters dance around it i,me is getting sloppier weekly. Girls were at one time easy to watch. .WfKy Sisters, harmonizing hoofers, lotlow. Duo ears well on the. tunes and are well-liked on the leg work. J-ap. a rhythm and fast tap with semi-acrobatics. Juggler Jim Penman does his act m tails. Trickster doesn't do much out tries to hide that, with a fast !"ie of chatter and stale gags. Uses T„i-- cane and weighted balloon. -9, clubs an d the usual ball rou- «ne. Crowd likes him though. Rus- »» ' ?u nce number near the finale Sjjs the stage for a short stint by. I .jegse Abagoff. a miickie. .with Aba-. ,f°™ tossing a few knives in imimbly'. S. g . fa shion and doing a coti le of Russian terps. »«i an Lec - f i'om the line, doesn't ««■ much chance to e::crcise her P'.Ws, while Babe Matthews, Lunce Ozzie Nelson Orch, with Harriet Hilliard, Johnnie ('Scat') Davis, Wayne Morris, Evelyn Poe, Three Sophisticated Ladies, Frank Paris; 'Valley of the Giants' (WB), re- viewed in Variety. . London, Sept. 13. Gene Gerrard with Bobbie Com- ber & Billie Hill, Ken Johnson Orch, Donald Peers', Maurice & Maryea, Cliff Cook, Russ Denny & Jack Curtis, Rupert Hazell & Elsie Day, Conierford Irish Dancers (12), Milly Jackson Dancers (10). Crude handling -of this show slows it Up considerably. Marquee weak- ness is another factor. Topliner is Gene Garrard, stage and screen player, with Bobbie Cum- ber, a stoutish comedian, and Billie Hill, femme, who' sings, whistles and does burlesque bits. Performance consists of 27. minutes culled from Pellissier's Follies,' which had a short run at the Savllle earlier in the season, and in which the trio ap- peared. . Big flash is Ken Johnson's swing" orchestra, which gets over. Donald Peers, billed as 'radio's laughing cavalier of song,' is neat-looking and sings pleasantly. However, Peers' voice clicks better on the radio. Ballroom steppers Maurice - and Maryea, Who are billed as having ap- peared before.the English King and Queen, are nice looking and dance well, but their mechanical work, in- terferes- ith its rhythmic appeal. Smash is Cliff Cook, an exception- ally original, youthful contortionists comedian. He sings neatly, has pleasant stage presence and a-re- markably facile anatomy- that per- mits him to do a handstand ith his body bent backward, in which posi- tion lie dances. He formerly . did a dancing act here with, a gal and is at present doubling in a nitery. With his patter smartened up, plus the ex- cellent method he adopts to put it over, he might do all fight in Ameri- can night clubs. Russ Denny and Jack Curtis,- with a male stooge and a female feeder,- fail to entertain to -any appreciable degree. Also , from the air are Rupert Hazell and Elsie Day.- He -tells- funny 'stories and plays the one string fiddle: Miss Day sink's. Definitely outmoded. Troupe of 10 girls and. two boys, the-Commc-rford Irish Dancers, and another .troupe of girls, Milly Jack-, son's 10 Acrobatic Dancers, round but the bill. They fail to, get'by. This is the second'week of Sir Os- wald Stoll's-return to vaudeville at the Coliseum, for years an ace house in the field. Jolo. TOWER, K. C. From a boxoffice standpoint, this show should be a strong draw. But from an entertainment angle it's not so potent. For the marquee, Ozzie Nelson's band, Harriet Hilliard, Wayne Morris and Johnnie ('Scat') Davis make an Inviting array. But it doesn't help very much on the stage. Latter three are reviewed under New Acts. . The orchestra, for the most part, is just background tor the individual acts—and not a colorful or arresting one at that. Crew rises on a plat- form out of the pit,, slides across stage and remains there for the show, dropping into the pit again at the close.- Offers only three numbers, open- ing with 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' then later, with a slight amount of production, the comedy, 'Wave a Stick Blues,'with a. vocal by Nelson. As a finale, it does '.I Can't Givt; You Anything But LOve,' with Miss Hil- liard vocalizing and Davis adding his trumpet. 'Alexander* number is fair, 'Wave a Stick' is strictly comedy and the finale is just a finale. The rest is- merely adequate accompaniment, but nothing/to show off the band. _ As for the acts, they likewise fail to imDress. Miss Hilliard is an ac- complished singer, but. her effective- ness is lessened by her cool stage personality. Davis tears the top off the house with his trumpet and fairly bulges the walls with his scat singing, a little of which goes a long way. However, he's still just a glori- fied band member on ah outing. Morris is merely a Hollywood name looking ill at case as he tells tie fans about making pictures For the rest, they're a little bettcr- than-average filler acts that'll be a lot better when they've had more experience. Evelyn poe (New Acts) is a cute tyke, who may be a be- -•witchfafir singer one of these days. The Three ■ Sophisticated Ladies (New Acts:)'.uncork moderate la^gh- i ier with their comedy, dancing and 'Frank Paris (New Acts) provides a I pleasant novelty with his puppets; |. Hobe. Kansas City, Sept. 10. Johnny Perkins, Billy Blake Mur- tah Sisters (3), Bob' Kino, Betty Obefg, Three Titans. House Line, Judy Conrad house orch.; 'Gateway' (20th). The Tower this week has Johnny Perkins leading his 'Ton of Fun'.- re- vue, a slight contrast to . the usual ToWer style, with Perkins as m. c. Perkins opens the show With some of his rough and ready stories. Some of his material shows plenty of rough edges but It gets the laughs anyway. Of the supporting show, Billy Blake cops major attention. He's a high school lad with a mean trumpet, imitating Henry Busse, Louis Armstrong, Clyde McCoy, etc. He also' achieves with his trumpet the trombone effect. Four curtain calls failed to appease the customers opening night, but Perkins finally got the : show on its way again by his insistence that the boy get a. rest. . . The Murtah Sisters, vocal trio, feature swing songs and ring in some mirth-provoking facial contor- tions. Acrobatics, are handled by the Three Titans, featuring three sizes of gymnasts. Their work is done in an adagio pace and impres- sive. Bob King, ventriloquist, rounds out the talent. He uses a female dummy,'a little on the ■ dumb side, dnd a male, on. the. wise-cracking order. Shows himself to possess a capable baritone and works in sev- eral songs. House'line, the Adorables, Is back this week with several new faces, and for > number . filling out more than 50 minutes of show, little longer :thrn usual. Biz medium. NEW ACTS HARRIET HILLIARD Songs 12 Mins. Strand, N. T.- Vocalist for • some seasons with Ozzie Nelson's band* Harriet Hilliard has for the last couple of years been making pictures. Meanwhile she has been appearing with her bandleader- husband on a radio commercial. This is her first theatre try eince going to j Hollywood. Singer is still a nifty Item on the, orbs and, when caught (9), she was becomingly gowned in a long white affair, with,her blond hair Worn up. She's, also'a skilled performer, with an. excellently-controlled, metallic voice, admirable rhythm' sense and knowledge of how to build up a number. The only trouble is she's' a bit too cold. Not that her minimum of gestures is a drawback; if anything that's an asset, for what gestures she uses are expressive. It's simply that there's ■ something icy in her pro- fessional manner. And. that chilling quality is projected across the foot- lights. Only that can explain why a singer with so much, on the. ball, fails to set the house ablaze. As*it is, she's good; but she ought to be terrific.' Opening with a parody 'Remember Me' duet With Nelson, Miss Hilliard offers 'Says My Heart,' then presents her best number, a slow, quiet and distinctive,. arrangement of 'Music,' Maestro, Please,' featuring a two- piano accompaniment. She scores: with that. As a finale,, she does 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love,' with Johnny Davis coming on to add his trumpeting at the finale. Hobe. WAYNE MORRIS G Mins. Strand, N. One of those good old personal appearance by ' the glamor boys and iris from Hollywood, Wayne Morris is a personable, amiable and ingratiating gent. He's likable and • exceedingly anxious to please. • But all he can do is give Out that good-natured, bashful and ; (it must be confessed)! very attractive manner he plays in pictures. Prob- ably it's authentic—he says this is his first visit to New York—but it belongs oh the. screen, not the stage. The actor's script is satisfactorily sandwiched with. gags, some, of which are tailored to fit his per- sonality, but it's just too pat—not even a bewildered, picture fan could doubt a professional . scripter. had done the job. For the rest, Morris tells a little about himself, pretends to play a trumpet and is exposed as faking for. Johnnie Davis, and gets in several plugs for 'my.- latest pic- ture, 'Brother Rat.' He's also in the current 'Valley of the Giants.' That's the tipoff — Warners'. plans' to use these stage bills for personal appear- ances to plug their pictures. That may be shrewd film-selling, but in this case it's feeble vaude. Hobe. JOHNNIE (SCAT) Songs, Trumpet 12 Mins. Strand, N. T. Johnnie (Scat) Davis was trui peter in Fred Waring's band for sev- eral years and gradually came to be a sort of featured comedian, with the outfit. When the band did a musical, for Warners last year, the studio plaped. him. under contract. This is his first, solo vaude . stint and he makes a point of a credit nod to Waring. Although Davis has enormous per- sonal appeal; there's a distinct (imit to the act, at least in its present form. The footer is' a lad of bound- less energy and good humor. There's, not a trace of . subtlety to liis work; but he fairly explodes oh the stage, roars every gag, shrieks every song and frequently blasts down the rafters with his trumpeting. That quickly stirs an audience to a frenzy, but only an insensitive spectator can stand It long. Fortunately Davis keeps it 'brief, in this current engagement guesting with - Ozzie Nelson. Although the total time he's on mounts to a re-- spectable period, much of that is teaming with Nelson, Wayne Morri3 or, at the end, with Harriet Hilliard and the whole crew. For the rest, after being introduced by Nelson as 'the Local 802 boy who' made good,' he. shouts a song, about 'Hooray for Hollywood,' storms through a vocal- trumpet . number, 'As Long As You • Live, You'll Be Dead If You Die' does a quiet and acceptable version of 'Sleep.'then winds up With the ear-splitting 'Ole King Cole.' '-, This act is strictly a fllnvte per- sonal appearance to plug the 'Brother Rat,'-picture' in which he'appears. It would never do as steady vaude stuff. But Davis in small dOses would agai be a potent addition to any band. Hobe. STANLEY, PITT Pittsburgh, Sept. 10. Brian McDonald, 4 Vespers, 3 Samuels & Harriet Hayes, ZaSu Pitts with Cliff Hall, Schnickelfritz Bund, Dave Broudy house orch; ' reaking the Ice (RKO). Solid enter inment right from the sun. Proof's in the padding and the one the-WB deluxcr has cooked up this week:, whip-creamed by ZaSu Pitts, hits the groove. In absence Of usual name band, Dave" Broudy's house crew is- on the -tape, delivering nicely. Brian Mc- | Donald. Incal warblar who has built ! up a crack air rep in the last three- years 'as the. Bowes Of a. jewelry- ponsoi'cd amateur hour, on WJAS every Sunday afternoon, .c.'s. Con- FBANK PARIS Marionettes 8 Mins. Strand, N. T. Working in front of Ozzie Nelson's band, Frank. Paris does all his stuff in full view of the auaience. Handles a single puppet at a time, the figures representing Vera Zorina, of 'I Mar- ried and Angel'; Disney's Dopey;: Sonja Hcnie, and a jitterbug he calls 'Polyhotcha.' Henie bit is most novel and was best received at show caught (9). Although Paris is visible, to. the audience, the spotlight.centers on his puppet's, which, are 20 or so inches high. That detracts attention from him, as does the fact that he dresses entirely in dull black. And by. mov- ing about the stage.always in rhythm to whatever action his puppet is do- ing, Paris is able to escape notice and thus add to the illusion. Act prob ably wouldn't go quite as well in a nitery owing to production inade quacies, but is above normal novelty for anywhere. ' Hobe. THREE. SOPHISTICATED LADIES Flo Nell, . Bella Lyons, Renee Randal Comedy Dancing 1* Mins.: Strand, N. T. Title of this act is for laughs. Gals may be sophisticated ladies off stage,, but that's not the .character they show here. Instead, they offer a bit of tap dancing, acrobatics, rough- house clowning and finally lambaste each other all oyer the stage. ; Girls.are Flo Neil, Bella Lyons and Renee Randal. They're admirably togged for the act, with attractive blue-green satin gowns that permit a maximum of violence. Action is kept lively throughout and contains little repetition. Improvement. can gradually be made by- better ti ing of. the rock-'em-and-sock-'em stuff and consequently making it look more realistic. Also, w ith perfected timing, additional details and busi- ness can be worked, in. As it is now, the -act is rather funny, contains', few. hovel tricks and is ah asset to the show, but it's only half complete. Anything that's added will have to be crammed- into the same, amount of space, for the turn is already just a trifle long. Likely bet for niteries. Hobe. EVELYN POE Songs 1* Mins. Strand, N. T. Pert, vivacious little warbler with shiny black hair and sporting a be- coming brown-gold short-skirted gown. Utilizes the mike to get the most out of her voice, has a number of cute tricks and- mannerisms that: are rather appealing for awhile, but that would wear better-if used with more moderation. Goes in for ani- mated style of 'personality' stuff. Gal displays an infectious sense of rhythm with her opener, 'Drive My. Blues Away.' Follows' with !A-Tisket A-Tasket,' with- a amusing hokc-sad arrangement of the finale, and: con- cludes with 'Love Bug Will Bite You,' with a seasoning of jitterbug antics. Lively addition to the show and, when she acquires more experience and gains control Of the cutups, may develop into a sock act for vaude or niteries. Hobe. fines himself to straight announce- ments and show allots one-song for him, a corking delivery of 'Love Walked Right In.' McDonald isn't hew to this department, having, served in similar .capacity at WB's; Enright in the nabes during , that spot's flesh hey-day several, years ago. Since that time, he's been strictly radio. • ill gets off to fast start with 4 Vespers, males, in some slick acro- batic fireworks. Tricks are novel, well executed and fake the boys off to cheers.. They're, followed , by 3 Samuels (one femme) and Harriet Hayes in the same hoofing routine, croup has been reissuing for years. It's still pretty good, in fact even bet- tor than that for the uninitiated,- but about time they're developing some- thing new. McDonald gets his solo sand- wiched in at this point and then in- troduces Cliff Hall, Jack. Pearl's for- mer 'Sharlic;' who; in turn builds up' MisS Pitts. Latter has.a jittery pan- cake hat that moves ,u ,ind down on her head for 'laughs. The two go into a lively line, of patter apropos the Pitts mitts and her lovelorn ex- istence in Hollywood. Winds up alone with a good comedy parady about her hands. Scknickelfritzos, known here only through their screen appearance in 'Gold-Diggers in Paris' (WB). try too hard at. the outset and get away slowly. They come out of it fast, however, with their 'Mr. Corn' and the train bit they did in the flicker, winding up in a Wild instrumerityl frenzy that sends them across. McDonald comes out in the middle of their hand and insists they intro- duce the new vocalist 'thev .told'him. about before the performance.' Leader Freddy Fisher Is he.-itant but finally 'agrees.' At which , they strike up 'A-Tisket' and . Miss. Pitts comes out in a .different, screwy chapcau, a lonK-fealhered. thing, to murder the Ella Fitzgcra!d number beautifully and irrevocably.- It's, a howl, with the oft-key Pitts pipes, her look of iibject bewilderment and her fluttcrin!: hands. ■Biz brisk.