Variety (Apr 1939)

YARIETr VAMETY HOUSE BBVIEWS Wednesdayt April 12, 1939 Rose s "Big Show'Lavish. But Dull in N.Y.Casa Mamma Debut Bitlv Ro«« present* Show; starring James four ports; staged ana John Murmv Anderson; Fetter and Buly Suesse; settings, Raovl 'The Bifli before at ttie Halnbow Room, and Is Borton, in equaUy socko In the more al frwoo Itohted by Casa Manana.- Harry StockweU and OCT*.".. Itfrict. Ted Yola GalU handle Trours lor a Song. ^«; miic, Dana likely ballad, and the Berry Brw^r Albert Johnson; colored legmanla trio, wind it yp Pen* Du Bois;|Thus, while captioned Cine'52: Bists of session of gagging, impres- Bions and a bit ot hooteiy, somewhat precocious In deUvery. but effective nevertheless and an audience pleaser at show caught George Tapps follows with three sessions of intricate tapping; marred a bit by lack of room in front of band setup, but a soUd sock just the same. Legitimate handling of dogs PARAMOUNT, N Y. LOEWS STATE, N. Y. Bste$, EiyOte Wrtqht, 25f_i'«V^{2f | ^^fJ^Morton; Honew Familv (6)! Gatw, (3). Jacic Leonard,' Frank •Skiet^ Hurfurt; 'Midntoht' (Por] reviewed in VAFOEry March IB. Moderatfed swing rhythms and and' evidence ol baUet Uaining gives 1 special arrangements of t:.e Tommy act aura of class that reflects itseU &ct &ur& in audible audience response EsteUe Taylor, a rather quick re- peat here, handles adequately a rep- ertoire 01 vocals that include This Can't Be Love.' 'Only Make Believe,' 'SUU of the Night' and, as encores, 1 arrangements of 'Deep Purple' and „«d^ii Fre^?^chlJt^as,Berr« surrealistic costuming, wherein Da Kos 6 D^bwoirs. Do»^ Borclau, Bois again manifests much novelty ^Irl 'role Dancers (3), Hdn/ Stock- and imagination. The Debpnairs get f«UCreoty^c^is(»).Chas »"0' their stindard Dance Mechanique ^?^7„ ram Jack^Johnsin, Lucicnne plausibly into this sequence; the I As&S K«rt (4),^The ^,ght showgirU flash some^ unusual & Ashour,_ A»«t Tiebor-s Seals, getups; Harry StockweU (the off- songs and Bar- N Y.. ot ?S scoie; -ni/ij'""! ion s oia arunK scene, "The Pest,' is -.f^^m 42 50 ond $3 (Soturdays worked in under the caption ol Cafe !^rfhiitidflus) Society ol Tomorrow. IGne and Aina and holMWys^- Constant are the couple heckled by •niii, TJnse'a newest Casa Iftanana Barton, whose drunk panto is still a ^^W^aSneWel^'rJ^ir'^^^^^^^^ hours exactly, modestly James running sans intermission, although a American Shjw Busine^. ^^^^ ^ intended belore Parts 2 and f^i"*" "S^iS^ md rtaged. The 3, and would be advisable. Circus ^f**rJ'man^lpreteS" 26 minutes; VaudevlUe, 30 mins.; P*?^*o«l fS^^'cSl^howTif s more Cinema, 35 mins.; Television, includ- tt^e^tL^^bweT'Vet, d^- ing finale and reprise, another 30 M^M%?S^Vio^ai'l''s^^ score by Ted Fetter.Rose I'^.ffL? I^SSi It-but is and Dana Suesse hasn't much chance hv an embanaament lor standout amidst the wealth ol tal- ^i^^i .J SmhiHoSess that eht Ozzie Nelson works In yeoman ?;-5.^f'5f.*"*^i^ Biit^Ukrin^|l«shlo^ but marathon dansapatlon onstage, and Jay (nee Jeny) Free- man is equally proficient and hard- wofBng. conducting the' long and difficult show. Rose needs heavy shears on this one. He has the makings ol a "Big Show.' per his title; but right now the oversize weights It down.' Abel. Dorsey band, supplemented by the trombone playing In which this maestro excels, are not new to the Paramount, yet not too worn lor this temple of Jive to slacken in draught. House Is getting a heavy 'Alexander*. Made It rather Wd lor I play from the jitterbugs "uring the Rex Weber to follow with more war- ^ drawn by Dorsey, and a sturdy Wins, but comic touch and tricks of 'r^'' ■ , _,_v/*— iv- luriH. Tommv Trent, Joan Davis & si Wills, Ruby Zioerlinir's house orch; 'Cafe Society* (Par). Once a- surefire entertainer in front of a Filipino band, Dave Apol- lon. a dialectic comic now pacing a straight-playing swing crew, isn't as. effective, if not entirely out ol place, as he was with his lormer novelty bunch. Apollon'is present band was until recently Henry Busse's, a plenty top. notch organization when behind its ex-leader. Busse swung over to Local 802 (New York) musicians to bllng, but comic touch ana xriciis w I — . for the picture. Mid. ventriloquism, send latter over lust- one 6f beSt feature: ily. and w k. «n«il"o» '?'°*/''. , Sil«ff°\d^*,^%itwith femme^^ combination of Dorsey and tte Ljuck the standby orchestra rap, and n^r^""ing h«liSsto ffihL*0^ ^""^ " 'X"'-nf 1,.= ♦o.mpr hnnoT, «n singing, is good ftSr plenty of laughs. Walter Dare WiOil. assisted by stooge in comedy knockabout and hand-t>alanclng, closes show in re- sounding fashion and precedes rein- troduetion of principals In vocal finale by ITanni Biz very big. Burm. STANLEY, PITT Pittsburgh, April 7, Jimmtf Joy orch (12), Tony Mor tin, Ben Oakland, Betty Kane, Ames Colbert-Ameche office natural. Stage show with Dorsey, his spe- ctaliste. and other acts which aug- ment, is longer than most here re- cently, but sustains the time with- out strain. Modestly giving his people ijtiost of the spotlight, the weight of the band show is carried by Jack Leonard, Edythe Wright, 'Skeets* Hurfurt and others who front for solos, or other doubling assignments. Hall ol the time, or more, Dorsey is on the bandstand With the boys away from the mike and the pit apron where the others are perlorming. His ^nrnfnar theme tune, blends Amo, Kdtherine WestJIeld & I happily for a band st)nt with a fine rionettes, Gai Moran;'Blockueir* arrangement of 'Hawaiian War slows it to a waltz. But Uke mMj ol Rose's shows, expert pnmlng usu- illy achieves haPP**''?''??' , .„„ the case opThe Big Show,' con- sidering the general costUness. tte Kpresario aJght wisely have de- terred the premiere unttt It was a ^^w'^ t^ four parts: Circus, Vaudeville, Cinema and Television, latter looking Into the future. Giant- acreen likenesses of Bamum. Ham- merstein and Boxy precede the first three branches. , _ The Story of the American Show Busbiess,' of course, was a good basic Sevelopment, although, actually, Rose la already doing a toad company oi the same thought with his current show at his companion Diamond Horseshoe nitery. The new Casa show is merely a more ambltous elaboration of the show biz caval- The switch back to girl, shows, away from the vaudeville tgrpe of entertainments which " ™ STRAND, N. Y. Guy Lombardo Orch (12) featur- ing Carmen. Lebert and Victor Lom- bardo. Gene Sfieldon. Doris Hhodes; 'Dodge City* (Wfl), reviewed tn this issue. Marionettes, Island' (WB). Btillboards' announce it as Tony Martin and his band, but it's really the Jimmy Joy outfit, popular in the dance q>ots, with Martin confining himself to his own closing special^. Joy handles, the show, doing the Chanv "Swing Low Sweet CHiariot' and other special Improvisations, in- cluding the night club tour session which draws ttte show to Its close. In the latter, the s^les of Hal Kemp; Cab Calloway. Henry Busse and other leaders are woven Into an ar- iioy uBuoitsi. utc Buvw, uvius •^^i I rangement that also embodies vocal- m.c.'lng and grabbing off for hunseU, jzing by Leonard and Miss Wright in the flesh, the bows the heralds don't toss his way. Martin's the topper, of course, and looks even better thu time than he did at the WB deluxer just a year ago.. He works easier, voice- sounds more socko and he's developing a flrst-rato sense .of humor that goes a long way. While working with the "band, Martbi also has a pianist, but not an ordinary one. Fellow's Ben Oakland, the songwriter. He's not Srogrammed and Just dropped in on lartln here and Is sticking around for the week. Fllckerite sings snatches from several of Oakland's These two - are special downstage vocalists carried by Dorsey. Both sell themselves In specially arranged pop tunes In a very effective man- ner. The "East Side, West Side' number with Miss Wright Is par- tlcularUr effective, -screen slides being used to heighten the effect, as in the nitery tour portion nearer the sign-off. Three outside acts' are booked with Dorsey. They are the Del Rios, excellent mixed acrobatic trio, two men and a girl, who played the three months ago; Barr and ApoUon got his former bunch on the rebound. This is Ua first week together, which may explain''a lot, but not everything. The ApoUon comedy, the Russa effusiveness and corny applause- comeons Just don't fit with this type of musical group; yet they're all In- cluded. Likewise, his manner ol in- troducing the specialists; they're overdone comedy buildups that be- gin to wear when backgrounded by deadpan olayitootets.' Also, Apollon loreets that the .bouncing, wiggling style of fronting a band passed out years ago. As for the band's repertoire and arrangements, these mistakes can be - laid to the newness of the combina- tion. Right now .It's n.g. almost en- tirely, plus being hampered here by the lack' of 'mikes- on the bandstand. Also, a valance hanging up front muffles the trumpet and trombone sections, ■' ' Besides his -own expert banjo- strumming, highlighted by his ac- companiment at Ruth Petqr singing 'My Heart Belongs to Daddy,' Apol- Ion's best bet is former 'hillbilly' Henry Morton. Latter does a jit- tery, deadpan bass-whacker, also as aecoihp for Miss Petty, and Is A come<ly smash. Miss Petty, once with Johnny Ferklnis. Is the band's vocalist and s^es across nicely. OnW other specialist with the crew u Mildred Law. a Bill Robinson pupU. A rhythm dancer, she's been caught before under varying circumstances, and apparently is an In-and-outer, her Impression here opening night , ^ ^ , . * « ,, J, , Itoxy three months ago; , ^ ^ „„_ A lustv western meUer on the h?***®^ J^S.™ ^^^'^\ Oaklmd's Estes (New Acts), pomedy-dancing (Thursiay) being hardly as big as serten ^odcfci^' mm J?S S« ^ totroduces one combination, and the stapdar d Frant in other Uistancel One drawback is ™^ »~ri^fcjlr« Ti!v.K;'..j^ 15. Kflt'«»by'Benandafriendof —^ • ----- mooth. soothing Lombardos on- y^ygf Martin), stage are a happy coupling this and starts with *FDR Jowss,' then Into J2IJ£*4""* '?J?'^ :Deep.Purple; 'I Marrled'an .Ase?!.: seems to augur strong b.o. Ifs a 1 "rhaiig for Everything' and 'I Cried - - - . - ■ clarinet for di Hose operated good blending of contrast, and from fifY^.'pickiag uptSi for nearly a _ year here, is inspired the name band perspective un- k finale to duetwitt J« by the expected World's Fair influx, doubtedly a welcome relief com- mie fenune stuff Is generally being pared to the run of recent Jive ex- primed for the visitors. ponents. , . . Surrounding a costly array of tal- in- Lombardo, too, there lies' a ent, headed by James Barton, who showmanship object lesson anent the ^ts star billing In 'The' Big Show, salon or londiair music, despite some Rose has 16 ponies and eight show^ of deprecation from the 52d street girls, a'chorus of the prettiest things disciples of murder music. Guy In town,' to quote the Dllling. Lombardo and his smooth team of 12, Talent Is standard. Circus (No. 1 which numbers ttiree other Lorn- art) is The Great^. _Show onjbardo freres among- 'em—Carmen, I<ebert and 'Victor—have been ric^t up on top of the kilocycles, hotels, niteries and theatres for more than a decade, and still well out in front That speaks more tor. Itself than asythlhg else. Excepting that Ifs patent fbai U's not being done with mirrors; that unadulerated dansapatlon isn't some- thing that has proved lasting Just by accident The Lombardos, for one thing, know tiiat.the melody Is the tiling, for the masses, whether in the abstract or even for , blessed by the P. T. Bamum background, and has Harry Stock- well as ringmaster. Capt Tieber and his three seals. Barton, The Jnvelys and The Yacopis are the highlights. Latter nine, one of the greatest ris- ley families in -Uie business, were palpably nervous at the premiere and blew several ol their more dil- flcult tricks, but also got in their cUcks. Barton's sequence in a clown getup, with a prop- rowboat—looks much like an old Ferry Corwey set- VP—was slow. The Debonalrs (6), Joy. 'It's good inlormal stuff, this flniai, and over big. In fact Martin's entire session Is right in the grooye all the way, Joy's been around for years—^It was Irom his outfit that Johnny (Scat) Davis and Andy Andrews sprung—and he's still among the un. sung biggies in the biz. Musically, the crew's solid, but just hasn't foimd itself a style in ttie current craze for a definite identification tag. Joy might have wise^ Inserted a few whams of the moment In his repertory, instead of . sticking to the standard brands, but that's common to orchs switching suddenly ' from the ballrooms to the thea* e without much experience In the latter field. Opening number,- swing version of ■Prelude in C Sharp Minor,' Is well done, but a mistake so early In the show. Gal Moran, Joy's featured vocalist Is on next and got tough breaks at this show, warbling first number into a mike she didn't know was dead. Second, "Melancholy Baby,' is over-arranged and too long Gaby, with his ventriloquial partner and a midget Gaby is a solid audience bet with his novelty turn. He always was that wherever he played, but his act now Is possibly better than ever before. It's a match, if any act is, for the Edgar Bergen-Charlle Mc- Carthy technique. In addition to laughs supplied by Gaby and the Biurr-Estes team, Dorsey provides 'em fair diversion with 'Skeets' Hurfurt, who some day may be stepping out on his own as a comedian-singer. He does 'Kermlt the Hermit' in which brother bands- men participate. In a p'articiilarly salable manner and tops that witti a ^eddn' session with another lad that proves all right ' Char. FOX, DETROIT radio abstract or even lor more Bong and dance precision males, work vivid dance purposes. There can be hard and often throughout the. show, rhythm without eaeaphony and, „ e™ ^rlcally setting the atmosphere. coupled with a basic knowledge of | getting started, while the drunk oar- Part 2, 'VaudeVUle, is routined a la how to mix 'em up, it's as effective ody la In bad taste for a femme old-school variety lines. Including as any of the solid-sending and out- She's a looker and even with aver- annunciator easels on the sides, Al- of-this-world Mde' stuff. age pipes could get over nicety with len Sc Kent with their-standard past The Lombardos have also capital- proper choice of material. As it is highlighted Ited a tin pan alley showmanship of she's Just a filler. ' not being afraid to tackle new, Betty Kane (New Acts) follows worthwhile tunes. When they click, with a slam-t>ang tap session neatly the band takes pride in having been tinged with sat&e. and then band the first to Introduce this or that new goes into 'Sweet Sue' with those ditty. In between, of course. Car- Coca-Cola bottles; good novelty, men vocal solos or the trio breaks Katharine Westfleld's marionettes it up vocaUy. They're not 100% next with the spot on the tiny pup- Christian with their acro-dance rou- tines, and Cliarlie King, leading the line, round it out . He medleys C^- hanlana, but King's yesteryear 'Little Nellie KeUy' routine is the major flash. Part 3, Cinema, Is the longest take. It glorifies Boxy and his presentation style, tracing from the' Rlalto to the Capitol to the Rdxy and finally the Music Hall. Don Barclay spiels the Nickelodean reel, an old silent ter- rible according to present-day stand- ards, with Harry Carey, Lionel Bar- rymore and the Glsh Sisters. Yola Gain sopranos an aria to recreate the Sioneer 'presentation' Idea at the old :ialto. The Six Debonalrs glorUy the Roxy usher; Barton handles a clown ballad, "Keno, Screeno and Love'; and 'I Wanna Go Back.to Bali' back- grounds the finale flash. The Bali- . bese motif permits Raoul Pene Du- Bois to do his stuff with costumes, end Albert Johnson's settings are equaUy effective. Jack Cole and his two lemme aides wham 'em 'with their Sumatra stepping, scoring the and present hoofing, ixe _ _ by the old-time palr'ii hoofing, of which tiie woman's-essence and 'foot- work, easily tops the 'tyrta's efforts. Jack Johnson, the great colored' ex- beavyweight chainp; does a boxing bit with Albert LeVoy.. Don Barclay and Barton, primed for comedy. The _^ . . ^ acrobatic Juvelys -and Sylvia and ballady, going In for novelties such pets and gal working behind ttiem Saxle Dowell of Hal Kemp's band, and also woriiing In comedy and bits with Gene Sheldon and Doris Rhodes. Latter two are under New Acts. , , That's ell the show, save for a in^ imusual about turn until the end, Looneytune, newsreel and a trailer with Donald Duck's cavortlngs sav- ior 'Confessions of a Nazi Spy,' ing day for Miss Westfleld. which latter_ gets considerable ap- j _ Orch comes up with nice arrange- as that new ^fish' sQng_authored by ] In the dark. In turn,~she introduce Cesar Romero doing a rumba, be- wigged cutie hi a waltz to 'Alice Blue Gown,' Joe E. Brown as an ec- centric, clown hoofer, and finaUy Donald Duck on roller skates. Noth- plause. Biz big. HIPP, BALTO Abel. Iment of "Penny Serenade,' leadfiig hito a hot drum session by Tom Summers and Joy's work on two licorice sticks simultaneously, which precedes Ames and Amo. Knock- Baltimore, April 9. I fbout ballroom satirists are regular Hudson Wonders (2), Jerry Mann. ^^'Jo" *« ^J? Stanley, but still mop George Tapps, Estelle Tavlor, Rex "P^wlth their screwy antics and zlg- _. . •» _. r.'- — ^, «.v I zagging spins and falls. Gal's the Weber, Wafier Dare Wohl &), l^eUce lula's house orch (12); The Story of Irene and Vernon Castle* (RKO) Plenty of talent in this layout of standaicds and socko doings Is the result Paced nicely by Jerry Mann comedv prop, but her partner looks after the rough, tougher work. Over big here, as usual, Their exifs the signal for Mar tin's entrance and he shoots the •w.—» . —^ , -., down the honws streteh a win- as m.c, with house orch spotted on per. Opening performance didn't get travellng_plBtlorm, show opens with Hudson Wonders, two nicely put-up Individual hit of the^ow easily In femma tumblers, who score s^on^ this sequence. Cole's exotic costum- with well-sold aero routine. Make ing and dancbig has-been« highlight I spot for Mann's portion, whidi con- under way until 3:30 p. m. Frii (7) on account of Good Friday oh' servanee by theatres tmtil 2 p. m., and biz was way off. That was ex. pected, however. Cohen. Detroit, April 7. 5am Jack Kaufman's orch, Danson- ettes :(16), Jimmy A Mildred MuU cavi Shanghai wing Troupe (6), Arthur Treacher; 'Little Princess' (20th). Curroit show comprises only three acts, plus trio of routines by house Une, but withal 45-mInute fare has a fullness and smoothness not often found in a standard five-act piece. It's just suflicientty strong to fit nicely between the layers of a long feature pic. Headlmer is Arthur Treacher (New Acts), Einglish butler of the screen,, who's making initial stage venture. Except for a little tighten- ing here and there, Treacher's offer- ings, abetted by Jack Norton, are down the line of good entertainment. Added asset Is he^s perlectty natural Dansonettes, house line of 16 girls, ring the bell on their three routmes, as usual. Stendout is their bell number, opening show. In addition they do a Chinese bit to Intro the Shanghai Wing troupe, and a Scotch kUt number which spifflly leads into opening scenes of 'flicker. Treacher also has a part in this rou- tine, directing gals through a mlli- tery march. Very neatty done. Jimmy and Mildred Mulcay. adept ■ ^— ,—- ~ — r , with the harmonicas, wind through music for Davis and Wills, several swell tunes, theh: duo on' "r"-—- »■— ^ - 'Blue Rhapsody' being tops. The Shanghai troupe of acrobats and tricksters vary the usual routine enough to' give turn plenty of zip and vigor. Yoimgest member of troupe Is a comer and can be used to more advantage, Sam Jack Kaufman besides han- dling the m.c clioreB, batons his pit band through 'Ave Maria,' embel- her costuming, blue-spangled brlefle, when she should be wearing some- thing trousered to hide rather heavy gams. Nor does Apollon help her or Miss Petty by those threatened body grabs and anatomical refer- ences. Once a sock Russe hoofer, Apollon has also gone straight with his .dancing. He^s doing but one routine, as a challeniie from Miss Law, and it evidences that ApoUon should switch to his old specialty. Show's standouts .opening night were the Oxlord Boys (3), 'who mimic the themes ol name bands with surprising perlecUon. One plays a guitar, wmle others vocalty achieve the musical effects. Their opener Is' takeoff on Busse, followed by mimicry of other topflight crews; a takeoff on Apollon being the finale encore. A similar presentEition is part of Tommy Dorsey^s act at the. Broad- way Paramount The Oxfords' reception was so big the applause ran into the su1>sequent turn, Joan Da'vls and SI Wills, this week's marquee lure. They're man and wile and were partnered In vaude lor several years belore Miss Davis cliclMd In Hollywood. For- merly the act's tag was Wills and Davis, but since becoming Important she rates-the-star billing. She also gets an intro from Wills as the screen's No. 1 comedienne.' Later, however, she tells the audience that, he's her husband, which makes the initial plug strlctty the huts. The Wills and Davis of former years were more entc-taining than the current Davis and Wills. Then they were a vaudeville act; now they're a personal appearance. The difference tells in her overlong, dull medlejr of her picture 'songs. Also, in Wills' bit as a psychic, entelling the oldest gags around. It shows poor preparation and the audience didn't overlook it opening night Onty a few . applauded. They're not Indulging In as much rough-house as formerly, and their blowoff is a reprise of a dance she did in 'Hold "Hiat Co-Ed' (20th), called the LImpv Dimp. It cannot be expected to please the physIcaUy- handicapped in the audience. Ruby Zwerling's pit band, in pinochle quarters otherwise, provides the llshed by a spiffy floral .display and violin rendition by Max ueb, con- cert master. Okay browd for last show Good Friday (7). Pete. Tommy Trent's Punch and Judy act standard by now, is spotted earty in the show. It's an easy novelty click. Hie Honey Famity, evenly mixed sextet delivers piuchy acrobatics at the opening, but one boy's comedy had best be elimi- nated. Biz opening night was quite good, the lower floor and shelf being com- fortabty filled despite a driving Tain.' It's the stage show that's drawing 'em, the film, 'Cafe Society* (Par), having been milked in its first-run at the Pairamount down the street Scho.