Variety (Oct 1938)

VedpcBday, Octaber 26, 1938 REVIEWS VARIETY 45 Variety House Reviews NEW BENNY PAKER With Jerk>3r Brandow, Jeffrey Gill IS Mins<; One »nd Audience > State, N. Y. 'All the World's a Stooge' is Benny Baker's billing, now that this stooge alumnus is back with b mild- Holly- wood rep and tyro stooges all his own. Starting as a foil for other comics, Baker developed" into' quite a' celluloid funster on his own, and so his current, engagement at Loew's State on Broadway is in the- light of a 'personal appearance,' and there are autograph hounds at the istage- door. What saves Baker chiefly is an engaging, boyish personality, go that even when- he 'talks back' to the audience he's free ltoin the danger that's usually attendant to such;ex-, cursions: into audience repartee. Thisi came to light via a lon'gwihded story about 10c. worth ,01.pepperjn(iints,, and it's all .right tor BaKer to ad. lib that, 'anyway, it's-cleaft;'that's a new thing- nowadays,' bvlt when. h6. offers to send a mike out into tjhe iludience lor repartee and a two-way conver- sation^ that's, something else again.. He was being heckled , at this catch- ing, but it was an .incipient affair. His opening Hebe gag, his over- emphasis on Al'Rosen's name as the. manager and a couple of other things: -•were on the negative side of the; ledger. The convincers are his aides, Jeffrey Gill, vocalizing'Thanks for the Memory,' and Jerry Bran- do w,^ corking-tapster, who also'Tings in a switch, bn the staircase routine. Brandow and Baker reprise a 'chal- lenge dance' routine that's quite funny, and it takes them all off brightly. Baker, during Gill's tenoring, goes Into the audience, in order to better view 'my stand-in voice.' (The tapster is allegedly his stand-in hoofer in Alms). That makes for a little comedy. Of basic vaudeville heritage, Baker at least tries to be different and for- tunately only makes the Hollywood thing a casual baclcground. He was originally Lou Holtz's stooge. In the present trend towards minor picture names in what seems to be a growing nuinber of vaudfllm dates, the b., o. response has been good. Baker falls into that category and should please, if not socko. Abel. FOSTER and AbAMS Comedy Dancinr 7 Mins. Nixon Cafe,- Pittsburgh Foster and Adams, have a classy little dance act that needs only a little more situation material to go places. They have a nice panto- mimic flair and specialize in the slightly satirical rather than straight- forward burlesk. Their barbs are shot in quietly, without any to-do and might be pointed up a bit to widen their audience. Something showier on the sock Bide for a finish would help, too. As it is, they're too matter-of-fact about everything and much of their best stuff is so incidental it escapes the eye. Starts off with the gal, a nice looker, going into a sneezing spell at. every crucial spot in the routine; then Ro into a bullfighter satire with swinging capes, that are always go- ring the wrong way. Right now, f.or the swank floor spots. Need additional body to' the turn for the stage. Cohen, HARTZELL and BENSON Singing 11 Mins. Show Boat, Pittsburgh Not unknown to radio, Hartzell and Benson should have no trouble in the niteries either. For the class- ier spots, particularly, they're a good bet. Boy-girl team go in exclusively lor the light opera ' arias. Here they're sticking to a medley of 'Vag- abond King' tunes, with a couple from 'Blossom Time' tossed in for good measure. Team looks good and pipes match their physical appearance. Suggest the typical musical stage singing team of a few years back aind need only some stylized arrangements to carry them along. They go it in- dividually, too, upon occasion and each in his own right- a top-flight warbler. Over big here. Cohen. THRtlE TITANS Acrobatic 10 Mins. Paradise, N. Y. A sock acrobatic act, the Three Titans will not have to go begging for work. Equally suitable for the- atres as for floors, the turn has the class to command the best engage- ments in these fields. Routine of the three men, all ath- letic and young, is almost poetic in its smoothness and beauty. Also dif- ferent, with slickness another ele- ment, Titans do irioStly hand-to-hand work, combinations, endurance stuff and the like. With one man wrapped around the body of another, a lift from a prone position oji the floor provides a strong finish. Act did not open with new show here couple weeks ago, having been added since then. Char. ACTS FREDDIE FISHER and ' SCHNiCKELFRlTZ BAND (6) Hokum Orchestra 20 Mins.; Full State, N. Y. Freddie Fisher's Schnickelfritz Band (jS) comes under the 1937-38 heading of novelties along with jit- terbugs, quiz programs and kindred contemporaneous phenomena. A corny-hot sextet, the Schnickelfritz- ers .commanded attention when at their hideaway Minneapolis-St. Paul roadhouse, to the degree that Decca's records and Warner Bros.' $25,000 (for a Rudy Vallee film, 'Gold Dig- gers'in Paris') carried their rep m wider fields.- .Their stufll". defies description, ex- cepting . that it's_. offrthe-cob, but' with a tongue-in-cheek • attitude. Their theme song-is 'Oh, Mr. Corn,' to begin with,, and they disprove everything about America'^ alleged swiiigomania .and hyperi-'sophistica- tion in its dance music, about in the same ratio that-Jan Garber enjoys a vogue .with his long-underwear dansapatioh , ■In this case, the Schnickerfritzers essay weird. stag6 pictures for neO- hot effects; they try to trick up their reed- and horn work . (maestro Freddie Fisher—not to be confused with'the vet songwriter ^rf that-nartie —^manhandling a clarinet and a' burping sax), and go in for all sorts of • comedy hoke and byplay. Combo has been' around- on per- .sonals, but this is the first New Act listing, chiefiy for the records; Their buffoonery is frank and unashamed, and Fisher further takes the curse off it by coming down to the foot- lights and asking the customers, 'Stinks, doesn't it?' In between, how- ever, their hokum R.R. band effect, their corny-hot version of '12th Street Rag' and the like, round out an acceptable 20 minutes of rostrum divertissement. Abel. NORMAN BROS. (2) Comedy, Dancing 6 Mins. Folly, Brooklyn Couple of straight men in need of a comic. Candidates for an S.O.S. call. Lads look like the two stooges who were in vaude with Al Norman a couple of years ago.and much of their material is the same. It wasn't exactly hot off the griddle then and it's getting no warmer fast. One lad is a deadpan feed, the other deadpans lame-brain answers. Also a few ludicrously burlesqued card tricks. If laughs were curves they couldn't make a pretzel. They end up with an eccentric dancci Not bad. Hobe. TERRY WALKER Songs 6 Mins. Leon & Eddie's, N. Y. Terry Walker, singing starlet, has been playing feature parts in films, includmg with Paramount. She is long on both looks, voice and per- sonality, as well as having a flair for selling, t'loot show setting seems to be something she takes to readily. S-win^ of. the rowdy brand is not Miss Walker's forte. She has a nice soprano voice, range of which is above average, and her numbers are selected to fit. Miss Walker did two songs here, when caught, and over well. Char. MIDGIE, THE WONDER HORSE Trained Pony 10 Mins. Leon & Eddie's, N. Y. Going in for animal acts over here and seemingly starting out by favor-- ing horses, another little equine being on deck in the shape of Midgie, who's billed as the Wonder Horse. He's all of that, the same as Texas Tommy's pony was, in ahead of him. Midgie unties handkerchiefs wound around one of his rear legs, picks 'em off the fioor, understands counting and either- nods assent or shakes his head when asked various questions. Customers are picked out as subjects, trainer asking horse color of some lady's hat, or other things. Char. CARLISLE SISTERS Dancing 4 Mins. Leon & 'J'idie's, N. Y. Very fast team of dancers is ideal for floors where the pace is gen- erally rapid. The faster the;better for this sister pair. Carlisles engage in tap dancing that is • characterized by speed and a Pood deal of pep. The music they lise is of the fast swing type. Tech- nique is good and appearance the same. Char. ADELE, TRENT AND SAWYER Ballroom 10 Mins. Folly, Brooklyn Adele, Trent and Sawyer have gone novel in this one, male having blonde and brunet femmes as his foils. They're garbed appropriately, but their numbers little agility. They do a waltz, which is very trying; a musical comedy number that's only slightly faster, and a rhumba, which is their best. Act needs considerable speeding up. PEPPER MARTIN & MUDCAT BAND Music, Comedy 14 MiBS; Lyric, Indpls, Making their first stage appear- ance, big league baseball players are greatly in -need of their rep on the diamond to put them over. Band is composed of Martin, Bill McGee, Francis Bordagaray, Bob Weiland, Rip Collins and a youth from the minors, Olaf Brown, who appears in bare feet. Collins is the smoothest talker of quintet, appearing in street clothes to act as m.c. Others wear gay: baseball uniforms with cowboy boots and 10-gallon hats. ' Followers of the horsehide pastime probably are satisfied with' an eyeful of their heroes, but they hold little talent. Quartet gives out on home-made bass, harmonica, guitar and fiddle on' •Blue River Train,' *IUincho Grande' and a nifty called 'Willie; My Toes Are Sore.' Oliaf Brown', whom Mar- tin, says they picked,up hitch-hiking! on the way to'fill the date, swings; a harmonica on 'Just'Because.'; ..Qnly, baseball atmosphere, outside of the •uniforms, is story- told by Martin arid ribbing .of. Collins about CUbs losing the Series.'. Finish -with- 'Chicken Reel,* ■ in which Weiland and Bordagaray imitate barnyard fowls, with, others sending -out the rustic ■. rhjrthm. . Hardly strong enough to ratle headline billing. TEXAS JIM LEWIS ^5) Instrumental, Singing 25 Mins. Weller, Zanesvllle, O. .:' A better than average tqrn of cow- boy instrumentalists (5),' all good singers, adept, musicians' and nice looking. They're garbed in costumes of black and white. Lewis himself has quite, a reputa- tion on .the networks and is a ver- satile entertainer. He possesses a good voice and makes a capable leader for his crew. Gets a lot of laughs from his 'hootnan'ny' and con- glomeration of horns, gongs, wash- boards, bells on wheels. It's pleas- ing family entertainment. First time in these parts, playing mostly one and two nights in smaller town houses. Mock. THE MacARTHVRS Dancing 9 Mins. >^ Boulevard Tavern, Elmhurst, N. Y. Here is a smooth' class act that should do equally well in night club or theatre. Darrel and Joyce Mac-. Arthur are personable blondes with interesting routines set to musical arrangements -by Bunny Berrigan, Barrel's brother-in-law. .- Conventional exhibition waltz is the opener. Steps-are familiar, but grace, rhythm and airplane-spin fin- ish garner good results. This is fol- io-wed by an eccentric number in sailor outfits with good acrobatics and slides by both, Joyce carrying off her partner at the. close. Skillful and shownianly. Gilb. LOIS KAYE Singing il Mins. Boulevard Tavern. Elmhurst, N. Y. The Boulevard Tavern thought it had found the answer to its prayer for a warbling looker when it booked Miss Kaye and offered her a long- time contract, but she opens Monday' (31) in Chicago with Jan Garber at the Blackhawk Cafe. Young and long on appearance, she sings stand- ard .pops and pop ballads. Good ar- rangements, and well-modulated de- livery in the lower registers get her across nicely,, but the high tones* aren't all they should be. 'Little Lady Make Believe' and 'I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams' are sold effectively. Cilb. AUDREY NOONAN Singing, Dancing 12 Mins. Boulevard Tavern, Elmhurst, N. Y. A subdued edition of Martha Raye, Miss Noonan isn't realizing as much as she should, or could, with the proper material. When caught here, she sang conventional pop tunes and followed each with a tap routine that wasn't outstanding. Undistinguished arrangem ents aren't enough for this performer. She needs punchy material and dit- ties that provide an outlet for a strong voice. Gilb. MICH/S 'MORAL PROBLEM' Rum Board Would Segregate Un- escorted Men and Women Detroit, Oct. 25. Michigan night spots face added building costs if state rum board car- ries out proposal of separate bars for unescorted men and -women. Edward W. McFarland, board chair- man, said plan would be patterned after Ontario (Canada) setup and would 'go far toward solving a seri- ous moral problem'. Order would require many spots to ' provide space where unaccom- panied men would have to do their imbibing, and a separate room for unescorted women and mixed parties. McFarland named Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Pontiac, Jackson, Kala- mazoo and Muskegon as cities where plan may be tried out. STANLEY, PITT (Continued from page 44) manship and the oldsters come through, with Leonard going into •'Roly Boly Eyes' and 'Ida,' and Brooks delivering his impression of Bert Williams before sitting at the piano and knocking out a couple-of his best-known songs. Present gen- eration may not know Williams, but it has a good instructor in Brooks, whose mimicry is tops.. Standouts in eaily section are Six Gales, thfee boys and three girls, in some classy ensemble '■ dancing, and Danny 'White, pantomimic hoofer on the antic side, who later C(>mes back with Loretta Lane for a wooden sol- dier routine in Le-wis' musical trav- elog and .even after that for a Joe Frisco at the sentimental curtain. Verne Allen is spotted effectively in a brief ballet interlude and Johnny Coy registers nicely in a short tap session. ' I Lewis Is again carrying a fempne singing quintet for incidental blacks ground and presents them in a nice novelty. Drop iii 'form of huge pipe organ drops from flies and girls' faces are behind openings in the pipes. It's,a good-looking jflash iand^ number..they do.gaihis much by the] sho-wy presentatibn. iStandby, asj usual, is Charles, 'Snowball' Whit-: tier, who's (joing more than in past and making all of it click. • He's doing the 'Me and My Shadow' -bit with Lewis yet, but it's been developed 'further and there's' a nice surt>rise at the end when - a couple of gals, one sepia and the other white, come out at the same time for a distaff version. Situation has' also been amplified and a laugh line gets it off this time. In addi- tion, Whittier has a session with the baton, leading the boys through' a hot 'Tiger Rag' while Lewis sits Svith. the gang and gives out on the clari- net.' Show runs just an hour and it's packed tight. Biz big. ' STRAND, B*KLYN Nils T. GranJttnid, Collins & Peter- son, Dorothy Jeffefs,..Ftorence Spen- cer, Chiquita, Michi Take, Dinore,. Helena Anderson, Tanya Luhova, Eleanor Woods, Ruth Barnes, Hilda Ferguson, Helen Buckley, Continen- tal Thrillers; • Teddy King house orch with''Midgie Fellows* Jitterbug Contest; 'Broadway MusketeerP (WB). . . Nils T. Granlund parades his. unit here this week. House has been do- ing fair with the combo policy since putting it back six weeks ago on- full rather thdn weekend basis which was in effect last year. This show should do a little better than previous weeks, not because its. en-; tertainment value is higher but be- cause NTG's informal stuff clicks better in a spot of this type. Fact that most of his unit, commutes from his Midnight Sun ni'tery, on Broad- way, gives plenty of opportunity for plugs for his spot. House runs dance contests Friday nights in addition to the regular stage fare, bringing in-about a- dozen shag and Lindy teams. Draw of jit- terbug contests as b.o, lure these days is suggested by the fact- that a smooth-strutting ballroom pair pea- bodied off with first prize when caught (21) with house packed. Teddy King, house orchestra leader, foregoes the m.c. chore in favor of NTG and Collins and Pet- erson, pseudo-comedians. .- They work along the lines usually found in NTG units, heckling each other, the acts, the audience and anyone in sight. Some of it manages to be funny, rest is windy but the crowd goes for it. Collins midway trumpets 'When Day Is Done' while NTG and Peterson give him a double hotfoot. Dorothy Jeffers opens the bonafide entertainment with a neat tap done in transparent, blue-legged outfit. Her taps are clear and pleasing but she suffers from poor band accomp. Also in the tap class is Ruth Barnes, wh'b stands-out. Her heel and toe bit, a la Powell, tops anything else on the bill. Florence Spencer, high kicking semiracro dancer, in blue outfit, impresses with a smooth bit. Makes her forte, one-legged kick- ing, done with half turns, look easy. Dinore and Tanya Lubova add up to a lot of nothing. Former does a Spanish tune, which she follows with a few terps. It's a good op- portunity to showcase a couple of neat gams, but that's all. Tanya Lubova is in the same class, though she doesn't vocal. NTG spiels about her aristocratic Russian parentage while being heckled from a box by Collins. Chiquita contributes a rhumba on her toes, which she does well, and Michi Taka a nice bit of tans and interpretive stuff. Cute little blonde, Helena Ander- son, does the same tunes she han- dles at the Midnight Sun. First, a Swedish folk tune, then, 'A-Tisket.' Midgie Fellowes is the band's vo- calist and comes on late for a couple, doing 'Lullaby in Rhythm' and 'Lady Is a Tramp.' Voice isn't bad but her enunciation could be improved. Eleanor Woods does a meaningless passion dance. She's also part of the Midnight Sun con- tingent. Effect here is much better, however, due to better lighting. Continental Thrillers are a stand- ard rollerskating trio. Go through the usual spins, with two men, al- ternating in carouseling the femme via leg holds, etc. Leads up to the comedy* and, with. stooges from the audience collecting cash from NTG ior volunteering to be dizzied. Final volunteer is the usual SOOvpounder. Hilda Ferguson and Helen Buckley are beauty contest winners on tap at NTG's nitery and are on only for bows. SCALA, BERLIN Berlin, Oct. 14... Georgie Hale Girls, Eleanor Knight, Ed Lord^ House Line, Adalet, OsrKo- Mon> Carmen Rorhero, Buster Shaver with Olive &'Geijrge, Cardini, Lot" tie. Werk-fdeiitjer, 'Miriii Sharp, Hants Somnier, Cuban . Trio, Paiil Hoer- biger, Dave & Dorothy Fitzgibbon, \Will & Gladys Aheam, Gene SheU don. House Ofch. ' ' ' Though the Oetobei;; bill ■ at' the • Scala, yclept ^Broadway Follies,' is pretty much .over-charged with chant- -mgs.and h6Qfings,| th^ manager, Edu- ard. Duisberg, has;dressed and staged it so -effectively-tljiat even those who like their vaude' straight have' no kick. Biz okay. There is iharqu'ee in Paul Hoerbiger, -vet thesper, and then, of course, the .toDcs 'want to get a look at .the Georgie Hale chorus, Hale girls get the show off to a peppy istart and look cute with only ..bare legs and sailor jackets. Eleon- ore Knight, billed as an Eleanor Powell pupil, is on for a short, fast terp, giving way to Ed Ford with the canines, Whitey and Dolly. Walt Disney is said to have called the for- mer 'the smartest do^ in the World' and when'ydu see Whitey in hi^ soup and .fish doing a drunk act, there is no questioning the claim. Gets huge applause. Dolly, standing pn. the very tip^ of one paw, storms the house with her adagio-like posishes and caps this, by doing a double som- ersault and coming back to her mas- ter's index fingef on her two front paws.. House line then appears followed by ^ the Hale gals garbed in very eye-fill- ing ensemblea. Adalet, Turkish, danc- er, looking plenty come-on as she shakes her bustle, is succeeded forno -geod reason by Os-Ko-Mon, who war- hoops into this languid atmosphere. In spite of "being badly spotted, Ho goes over okay. Act starred 6t thb Karl vMay festival-near Dresden-last summer. Niext is the Andalusians dancer, Carm^it Romero, doing a na- tive terp. Olive, a midget; does a ballroom aero combo with- Buster Shaver. She looks eweet, is well dressed and clicks. George, another midget, is also itf the'troupe. Car- dini keeps, the folks interested with thie knotting of kerchiefs that never knpt and the throwing away ot lighted cigarettes that are instantly replaced. 'Whole series of cards in fan-shape keep, appearing in. his hand. Billed as. the only sleight-of- hand artist in the world to work with gloves. Next is a perfonher's club in IJ. Y,, with Lotte Werkmeister, vet'single woman in Berlin,' acting as owner and herself setting the ball rolling with her old mugging still going strong. Warble goes over big. Mimi Shorp does a isong, revealing melodi- dus Voice and theri breaks into high kicks which could be better. Hans Sommer, at the ivories, is plenty hot. The Cuban Trio gives- an of- fering of instrumental and songs that go over well. Romero is back again, in a terp that is even better received and gives way to Hoerbiger, who does two Viennese songs. He should stick to thesping. Second bracket- finds the house or- chestra on stage, looking okay in white and ditto for the lin6; Four Hale showgirls, cute in Mars cos- tumes, have it out with a girl who floats around with the dove of peace. Dave and Dorothy Fitzgibbon follow with two ballroom numbers, go over well and are replaced by- OUve In a Mae West takeoff in black ostrich feathers. Quick change to white and a whirlwind terp with miniature partner storms the house. Miss Knight is back with a good tap but in a dress that's most unflattering to her. Act that takes home the- bacon is the Will and Gladys Aheam team. He can sure twiddle a mean lariat and their dance duet with a lasso is high-powered but it's his Russian floor work that wins the house. And doet he have to beg off! Gene Sheldon features a simple- ton map and togs with nitwit antics that draw laughs all the way. Banjo strumming is tons. Plenty of good business with femme foil, Loretta Fischer. Rousing finale - cl".ses. Trask. Hula Unit to Coast Los Angeles, Oct. 25. Hawaiian spectacle, 'Paradise Is- land,' L due on the Coast next month after playing fairs through the east Bert LeVey office booked turn into Den er Thanksgiving. Hula iinit with 50 people is owned by E. K. Fernandez.