Variety (Dec 1938)

42 VARIETY Wednesday, December 7» 1938 ntoiEcnoN OK GIVEN YANKEE ACTS Di RIO D'Aguair Mendonca, U. S. rep of the Casino Balneatlo da Urea, Rio de Janeiro, returned to New York Thursday (I) after a five-week visit to Rio; where he investigated charges that U. S. acts were being buffeted around. He returns with full power of attorney and will devise new con- tract to insure full protection to both act and buyer so there will be no duplication of chiseling that has sometimes occurred in the booking here. Now that Urea, whose inanage- ment also operates other casinos in Brazil, has established its own office in N. y., it^s^ believed U. S. act ex- ports to Rio will be favored more. IMendonca had only bden in U. S. a month recently when he. returned to Rio to get lowdown oh beef? ema- nating from this end.- He has already set Kenneth Lane and Edith Carroll, shag dancers, for date at the Urea, opening Dee. 15. Pair, ;agented by Charlies Alien office, sailed from N. Y. Saturday (3) ior-Rio. They will be followed by The Bryants, >yho sail Dec. 31^ opening Jan. 15. MAXME SULLIVAN'S 3D ENCORE At CO AST CAFE Casals Vaude (Continued from page 39) Pittsburgh,. Dec. 6. MaxihQ, Sullivan, who headlined Stanley show last week, is heading to Hollywood by way of Chicago, where she stops off next week (14) for month's stay^ at Colony club. From. there she goes back to Phil Selznick'js cafe on the Coast for her third engagement at that spot. Sepia swin^ songstress will re- sume her dBS Bustainers from film place, where tovple ot'more pictures have- been lined .up for her. GqI's first two fiickerSr 'St. IjOui$ Blues' (Par) and '(;}o|ng Places' (WB), are still to be released. Bnster Wes^ LuciSe Page To Sa3 for Anzac PAs ,. Buster We^ and LuciUe Page will sail for Australia Jan. 18- to open a tour .of ., the Tivoli. circuit. Qpien in . February at the Tivoli theatre, Mielboume. Swarts, Serves Year, Freed in Manslaughter though scaled at $1 minimum, the capacity of the Horseshoe, in the basement of the Paramount hotel, makes it possible. Frank Libuse, Tom Patricola, Clyde Hager, 4 Man- gihis, Delia Lind (moved over from the Casa, where she's current), Eliz- abeth Murray, Emma Francis, WilUe Solar, Fritzi Scheff, Joe E. Howard, Harry Armstrong and Noble Slssle's orchestra comprise the show. A cavalcade of yesteryear New York, embracing Rector's, Steve Brodie's, Ziegfeld Roof and Delmon- ico's, is the theme of the Horseshoe revue. Miss Lind will personate Lillian Russel therein, and the vet- erans. Misses Scheff, Murray, Francis and Howard, will participate. Present Casa show folds Dec. 17. For this and next week, Jack Hol- land, June Hart, replaced Veloz and Yolanda, who dropped out because of prior London commitments. They sail this week. The Elderblooms (11), trom the Coast, are added starters. An intensive rebuilding job is necesary before Dec. 31', in order to put back 1,750 sesits into what was originally the Earl CarroU theatre. Of these, 1,000 are on the lower floor. When Clifford C. Fischer and his as- sociates took over the house for their French Casino (now the Casa), they ripped'out the seats and put in tables and chairs. The large stage apron, under-built with cement, must now be ripped out. This was the dance floor as well as the rostrum - for the artists. The bars upstairs and down will iremaih, but only for soft drinks since ABC regulations forfend serving liquors in theatres. Cleveland,. Dec. 6. William SwartS,. former manager of the svirank private Mounds gambling cliib,' wti$ released last, week from Ohio Penitentiary, vhere he served the i)(iinimuiia of ti l-to-20-year sen- tence for xtianslaiighter. Swsrts was, sent up for the first- degree claying of his one-time body- guard,. Harry (Chamit) Joyqej which occurred behind')9 downtown hotel In May;. 1036. At: his trial he testified lie was carrying a payroll of $2,250 bnd shot Jpyce, not knowing who he Was, when attacked from behind. State attempted to prove that he shot the musclemaii in the back when the latter was iabout 15 feet •way. Frank Fay's .Vande Hollywood^, Dec. 6. Frank Fay has^been signed to head a Shubert-backed vaudeville, show at the Cort, New York. Harry Delmi^r, who win produce, left .for Broadwiaiy^; Saturday (3), to line up the preliifcti*- n£iries. Venture is called the Frank Fay Vaude Show. . Shubert "financing of Fay is be- lieved to stem from-their successful- backing of Olsen and Johnson - in Broadway's current boxoffice leader, 'Hellzapoppin,' at the Winter Garden. Cort theatre opened Saturday- (3) with 'American Landscape'-a legit at- traction. Arrangement calls for the show remaining indefinitely. Fay used the house several years ago for Sunday night vaude shows. Another Shubert house which'may be used instead is the 46th St: which originally had *Hellz9poppih.' That spot gets 'Blossom Time' around the holidays and will be cut-rated, >ut engagement is- not expected to be ex- tended.' Kitery Reviews (Continued from page 40) NEW ACTS EMA^s Shindig Fifth annual entertainmeht and dahce of the New York Entertain- ment Managers Assn., booker, group, held at the Capitol hotel, N. Y., Thursday night (4) saw the first public ^slam at th$ recently formed Associated Futertainnient Directors by the EMA. Shindig was attended by about 1,700, who saw 35 acts, performing gratis for managers About 10 acts were turned aiway be- cause show 'ran too late. '; Event was. well attended by rnem- bers of out-of-toWn EMA groups, First time these were represented at a N. Y. ElVfA affair and was move to cement relations for formation of . nailpnal. association. Latter move vfds not completed, as expected, at meet log earlier in the afternoon, but an organizing. committee, headed by Howard iWheeler; was formed. AEDt. which stemmed from the EMA, forming aboyt six weeks ago, wUl tender Jts first social event Feb. 12. Burlesque Review CASINO, PITT Pittshurgh, Dec. 3, 'Stripes & Stars'.unit .ioith Al (Gol- den, Diana Logan, Max Cdleman, Boots Burns, Benita Francis, Frank Penny, Saul Fields, Allene Dole, Sani Gould, house line (16). This is probably the best enter- tainment the peel wheel has sent around so far this season. Not al- ways out of hurley's upper drawer, but c6mpared to some of the. earlier units,' it's almost Ziegfeldian in stature. .Production itself is above average In sets and costumes. Chorus looks as if it actually feels that pep and vigor aren't criminal offenses, and comedy is in a cohsistently - smart vein. That pan be attributed in the m^in to the presence of Al Golden, one of the better heads in the biz and a fellow who's surer of hlmseU since those Rudy Vallee broadcasts with Rags Ragland last summer. Golden came up as a straight man, and he's jstill doing that, but branching but at the same time and snagging some laughs for himselt In that department, he has for his chief accomplices Max Coleman, Hebe vet, and Frank Penny. Cole» man's stuff smacks a bit too much of the eommon and routine., but Crolden manages to achieve a .nice balance with him without cutting in too much. Skits are of the customary timber, but Golden wisely sees to it that the emphasis oh- dirt is never too pronounced. He's added a little nov- elty punch to the usual, working from the audience occasionally, bringing back the old two^man Joke supper show she did the bubble. Dora ' Maugham, vaude oldtimer, made her reappearance in this coun- try after several years abroad. Both Miss Maugham and the Three Non- chalants have worked with Miss Rand before. Miss Maugham's risque monologs are a bit surprising from one of her silver-haired,'rather refined appearance., Her stories and character unpressions ring the bell. The Nonchalants, excellent tum- bling team with amusing patter, are well received. Dancers Flower and Paul, teamed for the first time, have plenty to offer. Both are former bal- let dancers. The Martinique,' with Flower and Paul as 'The Lovers' and the Dou-Dou Girls doing the Biju, is one of the high spots. M. c. Alah Carney was somewhat lost in the shuffle when, caught. Later, he has his chance in 'The Things They Do in Hollywood,* dur- ing which he impersonates screen celebs, his Charles Laughton and Lionel Batrymore being especially good. Some of his stories in Cari- catures', are a bit too blue. The nine gals in Miss Rand's line are lookers and capable. Milt. MINNESOTA TERRACE (MINNEAPOLIS) Minneapolis, Nov. 26. This class spot in the Ralph Hitz Hotel Nicollet has Bill Carlsen band featured. Crew has two vocalists, a <iomedy trio and ballroom team, plus instruction by the Arthur Muriray dancers to ro\md out one of the least pretentious shows offered here. Carlsen's 14-piece band is yndis- tinguished, with nothing in the way of. outstanding arrangements. How- ever, it plays well enough for danc- ing, which is most important here since most of the customers come fpr that purpose. With strings predom- inating, band cohfines Itself almost entirely to sweet music. Paul Skinner ballads expertly while Gil Rutzen nuts over some torrid numbers with comedy em- bellishment. De Mar and Denise, smooth-ballroom dancers, are clicks, while the Zilch brothers, from, the band, are comedy vpcalizers. Rees. EL CHICO, PHILLY Philadelphia, Dec. 3. Tommy Monroe^ Betty Mann, Me- lita Moore, Leila Rose, Lewis Sis- ters (2)» El Chico Orch. El Chico is.the new tag on thc^- former 21' Glub here, which diut-j.- tered about six weeks ago after it had run'into• several snarls. .Spot was takeii over recently by Herbie Frank, formerly 0f. 1412 Club. Except for changes in the name, management and some of the help. El Chico is pretty much still 21. It's still an intimate spot, with ca- pacity at 150.' Show is pretty typical of those in spots this size, handicapped by lack of floor space. Present setup has Tommy Monroe as m.c. He's an okay looker and ■ personable atid brings 'em on' satisfactorily, but lacks oomph in his owi^ turn,' canarying, except for ah acute knowledge of how to end a number to catch the plaudits. With very little'encourage- ment he sings three numbers and takes two lengthy encores. - Best of the other .pipers, all femmes,. is Leila Rose, who's got a throaty voice that's pretty fair, is a looker, and has. style in her ar- rangements. In addition, she's a good salesman with her eyes and features without overmugging. Does 'Cuban Pete,' 'Gypsy in My Soul' and 'Alexander,' latter best. Lewis Sisters (2) are blonde kids doing harmony that's got considerable charm. Rest of the canary corps consists of Betty Mann and Melita Moore, neither accounting for too much. Former does 'I Went to Havana' and 'Ol' Man Mose,'. exhibiting pretty good tonsils but not too much flexibility. .Miss Moore overmugs with a wrinkling of her nose. Should cut down, too, on the number of choruses. Fact' is, whole show would be improved by-holding It down.. . Herb. and getting away In many other ways from the usual. Comedy is even extended to one of the strippers, Boots Burns, who does a hoke sharpshooting bit with Saul Fields that's good for flock of laughs. Other peelers are Diana Logan (Mrs. Golden), who comes on only once, and'-Benita Francis, with latter specializing on the arty end. . Frank Fenny has for his straighter Sam Gould, with a pretty! fair set of pipes, too. Allene Dale, easy on the eyes, is around for general and help- ful duty on both the dialogue and vocal end. Really behaves like a skit performer instead of like a fugitive from the freshman class in dramatics. Line is divided Into 10 ponies and six show girls, not bad looking and certainly a departure on the circuit this season. More imf>ortant, how- ever. Is the fact that some of 'em can even dance. Cohen. 'GANG BVSTEBS' Radio D^amn, ' 16% Mins.t Full Stage Earle, Phiiadelphin No doubt one of the most unusual vaudeville acts of aU'. time has been achieved by Phillips H.' Lord" in transplanting almost bodily to the stage his 'Gang Busters', show, now in Its third year on CBS under the. sponsorship of Colgate-Palmollve- Peet. Dramatic cops-and-robbers scripter, which has built Up a huge thrill audience with Its crash of sub- machine guns, sirens, blood-curdling cries and all the otheir hoke, makes its first flesh appearance on the Earle stage this week. Will follow with a lengthy tour if sufficient dates can be had. As in the. radio show, a true crime, and the manhunt which followed it, is adapted for the stage version. It is shortened, however, from 24 min- utes on the air, to about 16 for theatres, principally by eliminating anjrthing more thdn two-line speeches by anyone, including the announcer. Well-hypoed story used —^in fact, it's sometimes hypoed to the point of silliness—is the robbery of the LaMar (Colo.) National Bank by Ralph and Jake Fleagle in 1928. Law and order, of coursb, triumph in the end. Principal point making the show imusual is the fact that it is enacted in a semi-replica of a radio studio* All the sound effects—and 'Gapg Busters' uses more than ahy other show on the air—are made right be- fore the audience by two engiAeei'S. One handles a large triple-turnable at stage right, producing ^ifkii^ trains roaring, crowds shoit while the other handles pistols, machine guns; slamming Of .dOOjhs walking up steps, etc. At . stage left, the dramatic troupe of 10,.. chosen from the more than 50 used in the radio show,' goes through the story, reading into mikes from script. Cast semi-enacts the drama. They put on their hats when they're sup- posed to be going outside, level gUns at each other whe^i robbing the bank, fall when they're shot, and walk. with.haiids in the air from one mike to another with a gun in their back when they're finally Captured by the cojps. Appears .^Jiat .they do lots more than they Qr^parily would in a studio,- but claim is that Phillips Lord insiste {pn 5\ich' antics -even in the air version .to.obtain added real- ism. Radio Show, is never open to a studio atidienee. Although the marquee value of the 'Gang Blisters'- troupe is mofe or less limited to juves, or at least to juve minds, the actual stage presen- tation achieves pretty broad appeal. For,. except in spots, the script has been carefully prepared, a good story with all the necessary elements has been chosen, and it is 'well enacted. Turns out to be pretty gripping stuff even to si fairly sophisticated audi- ence—^which the Earle has hot. And, in iaddition, when the story becomes a little too much like kid stuff for an adult mind, there's the interesting .diversion of watching the sound ef- fects men rush around like mad and seeing how the various noises, are made. Show opens with a short Introduc- tion by announcer Chris Ford,' cur- tains parting on the production man walking on stage while the rest of the group wait informally around, as in. a studio. He stands with up- raised hand until a red 'On the Air' sign lights and the wax-man lets go With his siren. Production mian, with earphones clamped on, stands in the background ostensibly direct- ing all the time. Lighting is very effective, stage most of the time be- ing black, with a spot fr^om above illuminating the turn-tables and other spots on the actors doing the talking. Blackouts are used for shifts of locale. Show, all in all, Is an interesting and well-worked out novelty, and. although It lacks some of the zip.of the. radio production, it will prob- ably attain .mpre of this 'as the cast gets more accustomed to the switch fronri studio to stage. Herh. ELDERBLOOMS <11) Gold Star Mothers Singtaijr 8 Mliis. Casa Manana, N. T. Different type of act, consisting of II gray-haired mesdames from Cali- fornia, possesses enough talent, aside from the novelty angle, to register. Beside^ their billing that, all are be- tween 60-and 70, the reference to them as Gold Star .Mothers is an added clincher. A terrific hit here, in a cabaret-theatre, and a cinch elsewhere. Surprising element of turn is the number of vibrant voices and the ability of the group to harmonize so well. When they use 'Flatfoot Floo- gee' as'their second selection .and one breaks into a modified version of the jitterbug dance, they are posi- tive panics. Opening with 'Little Old Lady' is a nice choice,'though their, descriptive gestures with the hands seem a bit awkward. That's hot essential. Modern version of.'Martha* aria is a tricky number well done out- side of that forced solo-vocalizing at start. Solo balladlst might well, fit ih and possibly will later, falsetto notes apparently being due to nervousness. For an encore the 11 do 'A-TIsket, A-Tasket' to almost as heavy returns as 'Floogie.' Could have taken another encore, but ob- viously not prepared,' so' just bowed off. War mpthers wear light colored .dresses, with nearly, every, color of rainbow represented, but tasteful. Wear. LOLA LANE* Talk and Sonr 12 Mins.; One Oriental, Qhioago Standard type p,a* from a picture gal who tries to entertain on a variety stage yet keep that Holly- Wood glamour cloak-Wrapped snugly about her. It's a makeshift act with its slapping-together being obvious to the most unschooled customer- but there Is enough to it to make it suitable for vaude theatres any- where. She's the oldest of the five have sisters now known to show biz, especially via radio and films.; For the glamour, there is a long unreeling at picture spenes showing off Miss Lane. Which is okay. Lt|ter on the gal arrives to tell some not- so-funny sforles' about herself, and her sisters; and all the fun they have on the set. Just too cute for words. On the. entertainment side Miss Xane warbles a pop tune with plenty Ot energy and earnestness and Winds xipj tossing, off a dramatic bit that fqils to furnish a satisfactory finish to the act.r Shows off two costumes, opening with a sports outfit ahd fln« ishing with an evening gown. • Over nicely in this house. Gold. BUDDY HASSDTT and 3TAN . tOMAX Talk, Songs 11 Mins.; One Strajsd, Brooklyib One of those surprise acts in which an athlete has ' something more to offer than a ne-wspt^per rep. Com- prised of Buddy- Hassett, star first baseman of the- Brooklyn Dodgers, and Stan Lomax, WOR sportscaster, the talky part is the usual Interview. But its reversed, with Hassett ask- ing most of the questions. ' Pair are In tuxedos and confine first half to. expected interview talk and rlbblngi Lomax is seated at a smaU 'table with a - stationary • mike,* while the tall, good-looking Hassett uses stage amplifying gadget. Acts a little too much like an embarrassed pug, fidgeting aroundrbut otherwise apoealing. ' Girls will like him. The worthier portion ot the ■ act has the, former all-around collegiate muscler . (Manhattan) piping two songs. 'Irish Eyes Are Smiling' and •So Help Me.* ' They're pleasantly barltoned. Gets a hefty hand. Hurl. INKSPOTS (5) Singing 10 Mins. Apollo, N. y. Four boys backed by a fifth on a piano and two of their number work- ing but on a guitar and bass.' Act has been around in radio and vaude- ville in this country and England, but not listed in the New Act files. Quartet (pianist sticks to his keys) is in its element at this house and reaches sock classification. Harlem is evidently acquainted with their recordings, and the boys know it, giving out with tunes greeted with Do 'No Wonder,* 'Butcher Boy,* 'I Wish You the Best of Everything,* 'Brown Gal' and 'TI-PI-Tin.' Relieve straight tune delivery with few im- promptu terps now 'n* then. Boys made .one mistake when caught. 'Brown Gal'- was a sock finish, and 'TI-PI-Tin' an anti-climax. Delivery is no different than other quartets, but Informal terps and sundry non- sense provides the click margin here. FLASH and DASH Dancing 5 Mins. Stanley, Pltisbiirgh Couple of good-looking colored lads with feet that should have no trouble ; landing them just about wherever they want to go. Tapsters are from' niterles—did a summer stretch at the Paradise, Atlantic City, last season—and have class, person- ality and showy routines. : Kids make it look simple and give the impression that they're getting a bang out of their work., Result Is that audience catches their enthus- iasm. They're dressed In smart-fit- ting tails and tap away nimbly in spins, splits arid acrobatic maneuvers for a solid click all-the way. Not quite in a elass yet with the Berrys or the Nicholases, but at their pres- ent soeed they should be there be- fore long. ' ' '/ ,,, Names are, a. bit against them; kids would be wise In picking on some- thing a bit'more legit. Cohen. ST. Li CAFE FIBE St. Louis, Dec. 6. ,The,Rock.House club, river-front nitery operated by Alexander Plan- tanida, suffered $500 damages by a fire of undetermined origin last weeH. ' ' . . " Fire occurred In the, early a.m. after everyone had depa^ed.