Variety (Oct 1938)

Wednesday, October 19, 193^8 VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 17 . APOLLO, N. Y. hucky Millinder Orch, with Grace Grainger, Trevor Bacon; Roy White, Dorothy Jones, Sunshine and 5am- •my. Sleepy WHliarhs, Sonny and Shirley Dall, Sandy Burns, Johnny LaRue, George Wiltshife, Vivian Harris, House Line (16), 'City Streets' (Col). It's all production at the Apollo this week, and plenty overboard. Current show adds Up to 95 mlns., which is too much flesh when a good ■portion of it is tl6d into dances, etc. Lucky Millinderls Orchestra (Band Eevfews) takes a healthy bite of the tiihe, being O]l'^b6ut'40 mins., but it's made easier to take, dye to his two vocalists and Sonny and Shirley pall. • Opening setting, fe striking bit of production, runs 24 mins. It's tagged 'Heaven to Hell* and starts out in a druniiatic vein through a comedy skit, and. fades with the house line ahd Roy White, White and Dorothy Jones duo, 'I Married • an Angfel,' which ftts neatly into the .thebe. Sandy Burns, George Wilt- shire and Johnny La Rue pull , their antics midway, in a skit which has Wiltshire togged as Mephistb. Line Is in abbreviated red costumies, en- tire scene, after shift from 'Heaven,* lighted by dancing red flame effect. Ball-bearing bumper from the chorys.gets in a few licks here. . Sunshine Sammy and Sleepy Wil- liams, is the only outside turn to ^work alone. Colored acrobatic tap- sters get themselves over without any trouble. Top hat and tails in the getaway 'Posin" number gives 'em an overdressed appearance. Dis- card the kellys, however, for follow- ing soft shoe and aero. Turn is fast and well liked. Sonny and Shirley Dall come in on Millinder. after the band shifts from pit to stage. Boy and girl dancers' forte is the shag, which by now is passe onstage. But the way these two handle, it gives it new life. First call is a mixture of shag, truckin and what have you, with the terps not half as interesting as the' excel- lent rhythmic treatment given them ' by the girl, in black-pleated, full- length evening outfit and red bolero, and boy in tails. Clean, fresh ap- pearance helps, too. Dorothy Jones, nice-looking col- ored songstress, follows the opening bit, preceding Sunshine and Sleepy. It's an added turn done in one while stage scene is shifted. Her selections are bad here; Does 'Now It Can Be Told' in a high, thin voice that's un- natural key for her. Previous *I Married an Angel' was more her style. Line is on again about midway lor the outstanding production piece. It's a nursery setting, with the ponies togged as' youngsters and Miss Jones as teacher. Bit is built around the tune, 'Swingin My Nursery Rhymes.' Incorporates some good work by the girls in unison taps, helped immeasurably by the solid swing from the pit. Comedy setup is on once again be- fore Millinder emerges from behind a drop. Two comedians, Wiltshire and Vivian Harris, use a meaning- less piece that earns 'em a few laughs. Grace Grainger and Trevor Bacon are Millinder's vocalists and covered under his band review. STANLEY, PITT Pittsburgh, Oct. 15. Chick Wehb Orch (16), Ella Fitz- gerald, Lindy Hoppers (4), Chuck & Chuckles; 'Touchdown, Army' (Par) Only letdown in Chick Webb's ses- sion of molten melody is at the get- away. After that, it's scat, jive and everything else in the new musical dictionary, with the customers going for it all. . House has never seen any thing quite like it, not even in Benny Goodman's palmiest days here. Those Urtinhibited balcony jitterbugs were practically dancing in the aisles, stomping, cheering, moaning and. otherwise working themselves into ecstasy at show caught. • It*s a first time for Webb here, but that's of small consequence since -his discs and radio time have preceded him. Crew's virtually all brass, but Webb also has a flock of specialists whb can step out and beat away the hottest solos this side of jitter land. There's about half a dozen one-man jam sessions on the roster and they add to the frenzy, Webb keeps in background, letting his drums talk for him, while an un- billed, good-looking batoneer fronts lor the outfit-\ Maestro is wise in holding his show down to the 45 . minute mark since too much of this wild swins tends to grow wearing As it is, there's just enough and Webb leaves 'em clamoring for more. Weakest portion of the layout proper is Webb's five-man jam outfit, but it's only a brief session and doesn't slow things down too much. Prom a b.o. standpoint, just as im portant as Webb himself is Ella Fitz gerald, .so comnletely identified now with 'A-Tisket,' which she popular- ized, that they were yelling for it ttiinute she put in an appearance on opening day. Gives them three other numbers first before swinging the nursery rhyme and then sticks around for the torrid finale. Miss Fitzgerald at times has a style not unlike Maxine Sullivan's although she doesn't stick exclusively to the quiet, rolling vocal quality, giving her throaty pipes a stiff, booming workout as well. Curtain alone got her off. Webb's also carrying two acts, Lindy Hoppers (4), who do every- thing but toss each other over foot- lights. Kids, however, seem to have more energy than talent but. they iget by, although not in a class with other hopping turns that have played here recently. Chuck and Chuckles hit the groove with some comedy hoofing and a short splash of patter. Slow in getting started and should tighten the routine. Dave Broudy's house orchestra in the pit Wisely goes to the other ex- treme in its oveirture, sticking to a medley of light Viennese waltzes. Biz big. Cohen. Embassy Newsreel, N. Y. History in the making is the way Fox describes the Embassy's feature clip, and history it is. For here, with all the inordinate pomposity dicta- torial arrogance could muster, the victory of militarists over democ- racies is shown, and with no holds barred.' Here, as Lowell Thomas describes it and Fox unspools the Munich par- ley, there's no questioning a chas- tened Chamberlain and Dsladier, representing England and France, re- spectively, taking the bitter' pill of subjugation from Hitler and Mus- solini. For Hitler and Mussolini there are shown wildly cheering crowds, hail- ing their .conquering heroes as if they had just come home from vic- tories on the battlefield. For Cham- berlain and Daladier there are, too, demonstrations, and yet with a cer- tain native restraint. There is shown the actual signing of the ac- cord that guarantees the Reich their territorial rights in the Sudeten, with all four signers penning their names, in closeups. Fox and Metro get good closeups from planes of the oil fire in Lin- den, N. J., for what are probably the outstanding clips on the bill as far as photography; is concerned. But for the rest of the card, it's football that takes the top spot, with the house featuring Columbia's 20- 18 victory over Army, narrated by Ted Webbe. From the way the reels were showing off the Army backs, one might have suspected that Army won by a lopsided score. Since the show opening ran over the usual hour, house cut a couple of the football games after the ooen- er, namely, Pitt-Duquesne, So. Cal.- Ohio State, UCLA-Washington and the New. York Giants-Washington Redskins pro game. The verbal challenges of the American Federation of Labor's William Green and John L. Lewis, head of the Committee of Industrial Organization, are mere continuations of the rivalry between the two groups for labor control. For the screen and headlines, it's dull stuff by now. An ii^teresting feature reeled by Pathe of a hitherto unpublicized talent of President Roosevelt. He's an architect, too, it's revealed, and the plans..for a country home he's drawn, and their realization, are shown. Metro shows British soldiers In Palestine, attempting to stem the fighting between Moslems and Jews. There's some war stuff in China, which has been forsaken of late due, apparently, to the Euronean crisis. But it's more , or less dull. Par has an obvious publicity plant - in the Martha Raye.-David Rose marriage. Miss Raye is under contract'to Par. . March of Time has a clip on Great Britain's gradual forge into' the foreground in taking a stand on Hitler aggression. Its preparedness, the attitude of its people—they're all designed to show that England has been slowly rising to meet an emergency : should Hitler's im- perialistic designs exceed its bounds. ROXY, N. Y. 'Eternal ^Ire' Initial picture in United Artists' World Windows series of shorts, 'Eternal Fire.' fits trirtly into most programs. Opened at Radio City Music Hall.- New York, last week. It's a skillful treatment of color backed by a superb musical score. Simple story," if it can be called sUdh, merely depicts the inner workings of Mount" Vesusvius, the ruins of Pompeii as uncovered years after buried beneath lava from the vol- cano back in 79 A.D.. and the mod- ern-day Naples situated near Vesu- vius. Photographers have secured excel- lent shots of the molten lava and the smoke coming from the volcano's peak. Odd situation is that while color photography is highlighted, the amazingly dramatic musical score, nrovidin" background for the scenes, really makes the picture even though the patron is likely , only to exclaim over the color effects. Wear. Stroud's 50G Fire- Stroudsburg, Pa., Oct. 18. Stroud theatre, in the center of the city's business district, was swept by fire early Idst Wednesday. Building, for many years a play- house, was reopened as a picture theatre only six -weeks ago. Damage estimated at more than $50,000. F&M production with Abbott & Cost^llo, Mario and Floria, Jeanne Brideson, Variety Gambols (7), Gae Foster Girls. Paul Ash pit orchestra; 'Suez' (20th), reviewed in this issue. Current Fanchon & Marco stage presentation, despite 'Suez' as the major draw this and next week, no cheater. It's a fast, compact but not too hooverlzed set of acts which Paul Ash Introes from the rostrum, later descending for his pit batoning chores. Abbott and Costello, comedy team from Kate Sniiith's radio show (and with a program curtsy, to Ted Collins), have traveled fast and far since their first stage, appearance in Brooklyn early this year^ Their stuff now pars their strong radio impres- sion, the two-man combo feeding the customers d. highly impressive total of laughs. Mario and Floria are preceded by Jeanne Brideson, conceit violiniste, who does light foxtrot ballads and wisely eschews anything weighty, considering the popular idiom of an auditorium of this nature. Miss Brideson, a repeater, at this house, is given a ballet group surrounding to dress the picture, this, in turn lead-, ing into Mtirio and Floria's waltz and tango, both impressive on their graceful execution, plus some new and difficult poses. Variety Gambols (7) comprises four men and three girls in a cute rah-rah. costuming that blends well with the collegiate, Opener. • The gymnastic septet .featiure the whirl- ing-dervish Arabian school of ground work, plus . three-high, pyramid- building, and a little trampoline work thrown in. The Gae Foster Girls introduce a new, tough sequence, this time walk- ing on ladders. Like their, past highlight performances on cycles, spheres, etc., when ij-epeated the line will undoufjtedly be more proficient in .walking its unbalanced ladders than this tirne out. . Abbott and Costello are in the tail spot. Bud Abbott is the bombastic,, neo-Dutcjh' comic; Lou Costello a corking line-feeder. Jack Megley introduces them, a la radio program, and their stuff is supposedly a visual broadcast against a CBS background and a prop on-the-air signal, even down unto the applause cards. Lat- ter aren't needed, however, as the team's results are spontaneous. Biz big opening day. Pic had been given an extra heavy ballyhoo in the dailies. Abel. NEW ACTS TOWER, K. C. Kansas City, Oct. 15. Orrin Tucker Orch (16) with Bonnie Kdker, Bailey Sisters, Gil- bert Mershon & Joe Strassburger, Bob Meller, Dale Wiiithrop, Emery & Harriett, House Line (12), Jtidy Conrad House Orcli; 'Affairs of An- nabel' (RKO). Vaudfilm at the Tower this week is a happy combination of Orrin Tucker's orchestra and added acts, the best stage show here in months. Band played a one-night dance date here last spring and with that ex- ception the theatre booking is its first appearance, in Kansas City in about four years. Present date virtually inaugurates the band to theatre work, and as a stage unit it clicks. By Friday (14) night it was' proceeding without a sag, although running 30 minutes over the usual stage show here. Tucker as m.c. leads the band off in a due of Jerome Kern num- bers which evidence some produc- tion behind them. The Bailey Sis- ters then do • a couple of swing songs; they're okay. Joe Strass- burger imitates Dizzy Dean in pan- tomiming the national pastime, and classes as something different. Emery and Harriett take over for a jitterbug routine. They're local winners of a recent dance contest held in the Muny auditorium and this marks their first professional appearance.- Their jittering is in the groove but they need. a few more performances behind them. Band here becomes a glee club for an arrangement of .'Carefree' and follows with 'A Little Kiss,' with Tucker vocalizing. Production shows again to strong advantage in these numbers. Bob Neller, with his dummy, Diz?y Dugan, is on for a ventriloquist turn and closes by cleverly using Tucker as his dummy. Neller's ability is 100% and his material is more than . adequate. The Adorables (12). house line, ca- vort in a modernistic routine done to Rachmanioff's . 'Prelude.' Bonnie Baker cops the honors. Gal is strong on personality and voice. On for a duo ■ of numbers, she's called on for several encores. She appears to have picture possibilities, but hasn't been used in anything but shorts (Par) to date. In a five-minute turn. Dale Win- throp, K. C. taoper, marks her re- turn to the stage after a layoff caused by ^n accident at the Tower a few months ago. Band closes with another • nro- Huction number, involving Gilbert Mershon. tenor, leading the glee rlub; Tucker and the gal singei's doJng fln old-time number In a va- riety of rhythms. Quin. FREDDIE BARTHOLOMEW Talk, With Film 14 Mlos. State, N. T. Metro's 14-year-old boy star makes an attractive personality as projected from the State's stage. Combination headliner and master of ceremonies, he is,, at the same time, a young man who needs little of the self-con- sciously written lines of apology put into his mouth. Whoever piloted him thought it wise to build up the boyish uncertainty. Actually thei lines about being niervous were the least plausible and convincing, be- cause Bartholomew's cool deport- ment belied any jitters. After all, the State audiences are accustomed to real stage fright—newspaper col- umnists, for example. His preliminary routine, at' the. house p.a. pedestal, consumed about four minutes. Thereafter he reap- peared to introduce, with little com- ment but excellent diction, the vari- ous turns on the bill. Main dish was a specially-produced exchange with' Judy Garland. First they speak to' each other, she from the screen, he from the stage. Then, he joins her on the screen for an exchangie in which Mickey Rdoney Steps in for a comedy touch. Miss Garland ,whams over a song from Walter Pidgeon's next picture, and Miss Garland bows off. Bartholomew then resumes in the spotlight. whole thing handled in a show- manly and intelligent manner. Land. C, RAT SMITH Marionettes 10 Mins.; One Strand, Brooklyn This turn looks to have been around plenty, act never getting that much finesse, in a rehearsal room. It's a puppet turn without illusion, Smith standing out front and work- ing with spotlight aid on very small portable stage with backpiece. A plenty oke deucer. . Starter is a doU diva with music coming from phonograph attachment by aid of an assistant. Went off night caught, with Smith having to bring second entry to line quickly. Ballroom dancers take' second spot normally, but filled in for mechani- cal difficulty on recording. Diva later returned. Closer is a monu- ment to ambidexterity of Smith and his assistant, who enters for closing trick of 'a piano duet. Use two long- haired dolls at baby babygrands. Piano duet offer medley of three songs, which from out front looks very much like two midgets banging away. Actions are the ultimate in cleverness, they're that realistic; don't overlook a mannerism or bit of biz and are perfectly timed. Similar turn is done by Bob Bromley, who also uses an operatic diva, colored hoofer and pianist, with phonograph accompaniment. Only Bromley doesn't use an assist- ant in manipulating the puppets. Hurl. ELIZABETH T.kLBOT-MARITN Mimlo 8 Wlins, Rainbow Rooi.:,.N. Y. Elizabeth L. .uot-M'artin is a mimic from U.i west coast. She's n.g. for the e:... coast, at least so far as her bag of xxcks as shown here is concerned. ..ay. pass as a parlor entertainer, bu:, t»ie ballyhoo anent her Ruth Dr. .cr penchant is so much, exaggei.. Ion. Miss Talbot- Martin may ^c. saivage herself by proper routini: ' and extra material, because she ev. iices some fiair for that sort of th but she's as lack-> ing in materia ^ as in a proper sense of presentation. ■ She :does a 1 t of little things, but they add up. in.'./ nothing substantial. Her Mrs; Rocs .alt takeoff; her Hep- ,burn version oi 'How Now Brown Cow'; her satire on Aimee Semplo McPherson; h:: conceptions of the Russian ballet, he Siamese school of dancing and \ :e Martha Graham style of terp-in ■:rpreting a dramatic love scene, nev:^r wholly Impress. Miss Talbot-Mc;tin needs an author and a stager. Abel. KEATON AND ARMFIELD With Duke Comedy, Dancing:, SonffS 8 Mlns. Folly, Brooklyn This is apparently a vet act, with a new addition for novelty. The regular act is pretty much standard vaude stuff, but the novelty addition is surely novel. It could be worked into a bright combo. Keaton and Armfield offer the cus- tomary crossfire of chatter, with the girl doing a fairly amusing imper- sonation of Hepburn, plus goofy in- terjections. She also offers some agile dancing of various styles. Not exactly a smash, but it's faintly reminiscent of Charlotte Green- wood's gangling hoofology. This girl has fair looks and a personality. Man is a capable feed. NoVelty is introduced as Duke, the Ghost of Swing. .He ambles on as a deadpan and what follows is appar- ently the nucleus of what' may de- velop into a funny comedy session.' Presently, however, they let 'Duke do his real stuff, which is siAipIy a freak-voice imitation of hot trumpet playing. That's okay for a brief novelty, but is now way overboard. When they realize the trumpet fak- ing is only good for a cotiple of mo- ments and get to work on the com- edy inherent in the embalmed stooge stuff, it should be a very funny act. Hobe. TOY and WING (2) Novelty Dancine Eight Mins.; One Strand, Brooklyn Mixed Chinese tap dancing team are working in front of band here. Theirs is a novel offering. Opener is a waltzy-ballroomy type of tapping while embraced. Smooth- ness of performance, is an asset. Sec- ond routine is challenge- work, girl doing haunch dancing on one leg, high kicks, etc., while boy brings in acrobatic hurdling and trick stuff with his gams. Do a fast puUaway via shagging. Boy is dressed in tails and later a mess. jacket, while partner favors modified Chinese dress of white satin. All very cute but they don't rest on that—they perform. Hurl. CASS DALEl*: Slnsrlng, Com' y 12 Mins.; One Strand, BrocI: n • Cass. Daley i^ dynamic, personable arid able. Sht'j probably as good a singing comerl :nne as is around. Closed show here with a bang after following a pretty good bill. . Miss Daley d.;esn't ape, she's a definite stylist and as such looks to have something to offer Hollywood. Has a throaty though not a good voice; but then she doesn't need it. She's puts too much oomph into her songs to leave room for tonal quali- ties. ■ Comes On stage with a sock and keeps it up until encored off. Has so many facial, body and voice con- tortions that its hard to keep track. Eccentricity is keynote throughout warbling of 'The Gypsy in My Blood' and a medley of several pops. Lat- ter is a novelty song of a hectic ro- mance with lyrics. Vitality is pro- jected clear across lights.. Girl has advantage of brunet at- tractiveness and nice dressing. Wears a white evening gown that shows off her streamlining to advantage. She worked in last 'Zie.gfeld Follies* and has played the nitery belt. She's suited {or any theatrical setup. Hurl. ALLEN and CBOLL Son^s, Dance6,-'x'alk 10 Mins.; One State, N. Y. Man and. woman frolic without much form or continuity, put over in an effortless, good'- humored, lightly kidding style. Not very funny, not very socky,' not very anything. But thoroughly pleasant as they fool around a prop piano with' trick travelling habits. Both are in the modem idiom. Gal lifts an elegant hoop skirt ar- rangement and taps out some better- than-fair hodfery.* She is dainty and petite. He is tall and soup-and- fished. Jointly they re-emphasize the importance of how, not what. Land. BELL and BEDINI Comedy, Sonars Folly, Brooklyn . Act looks as if it had been around. Mixed pair are on twice here, be- sides which Bedini, the male half of the act, m.c/s the show. Each sings a couple of numbers, none too well. Apparently they realize that,- however, for they use the vocalizing only as a springboard for cross-fire and general rough- house. He generally straights and she gets the flippers. He finales by taking off his coat and pants, emerg- ing in' a long white' nightgown. It's that kind of an act. Tipoff on his m.c.-ing is the fact thdt he frequent- ly neglects to name the acts he intros. Hobe, FLYING MARCOS (3) Gymnasts 6 Mins. - Folly, Brooklyn With a bit. more showmanship, this wbuld be a click turn in any the- atre. Trio of lads offer a flock of difficult stuff on three hori- zontal biars ranged parallel across the stage. Tricks are all tough ahd are all done smoothly and^ with, casual brilliance. But they haven't done anything to hoke it up and give the cash customers a treal; Even the really brutal ones are made to look so easy that the spectators are deprived of a wallop. There's not even a net or mat underneath to make it look dangerous. What's more, the boys wear outfits that no self-respecting stevedore would be seen in. Bei^ides its skill, the act has one bright spot. That is the third mem- .ber of the troupe, a tramp comie, whose stuff is genuinely adept and fimny. Hobe. B. E. Pay Seeking Office Providence, Oct. 18. Bernard E, Fay, manager of Majes- tic, has entered the political arena and is runnin" ^".r alderman on th» Republican ticket in the city's eighth ward.