Variety (Apr 1939)

Sft VARIETY VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, April 26, 1939 EMBASSY, N. Y. (Continued from page 35) cerning international aflaiis Is served, Most everything is of a brushoff nature, developing only slight interest In what is being talked about by newsreel commentators. And latter could learn plenty from the radio bunch in many ways. A muffled hissing item concerns Bergdoll, the draft dodgers who wants to return to the V. S. Lind- bergh's ' arrival here' is just a flash in the pan and what Judge Douglas, elevated to the supreme court bench, had to say is not recorded, Univer- sal having supplied this item. This reel shoots silently. As entertainment, "Going Places' (U), short, ranks with the Lehr laughs as far worth, the trouble of; coming in here than most of the rest of the show. Char. crisp hoke. Wells' rubber-leeged hooting and comely femmes make a corking closer, and Angelo Vitale's pit 6rcnestra clinches it Biz big. Pullen, FOX, PHILLY Philadelphia, AprU 21. Ben Blue, Virginia Vemll, Lam- bertons. Bob Rtpa, Four Jays, Goe Foster Girls (16), Adolph Komspan's house band; 'Lady's from Kentucky' (Por). FLATBUSH, B'KLYN Don Bestor's orch (16), Three Samuels & Harriet Hayes, fstelle Taylor, Walter 'Dare' Wahl & Jonnte Tramo, Harry Richman; Tough Kid' (Mono). Harry Richman is tossing the full book of nltery erotica at the family trade here. Headlining and m.c.'ing, he's oil long and dirty all the way, And it's so unncessary. He's still plenty socko as a singer, but as' a singer. he has apparently mistaken ideas about comedy. - Richman, Estelle Taylor and Don Bestor's orchestra give the Flatbush nice marquee strength, and biz at the last show Friday night (21) was quite good. The layout is further enhanced by acros Walter 'Dare' Wahl and Jonnie Trama, surefire panto comedy team, and the Three Samuels and Harriet Hayes, mixed dancing quartet, who also register easily. Bestor's crew plays the show nicely, also doing well in its own musical innings, hi^lighted by Bes- tor's clavichord. There's a mixed team of singers -with the band, but they're - imbiUed and Bestor's Intro of 'em at this catching was not clear. That's just as well, however, the kids not registering with their one ba^-talk song. The Samuels and Miss Hayes open, doing mostly military precision dancing after Miss Hayes' initial esthetic aero routine. The two boys Inject some nice light comedy, u- though their initial gag anent one boy's prattfall is also too blue. Miss Taylor, who has vastly im' proved as a canary in tiie pas^ couple of years, is given a buildup by Rich- man and gets by nicely with three tunes. A 'wrestling', bit with Rich- ban is her enciore and he then brings on Wahl and his stooge. Richman Is the closer. His singing windup of old tunes associated with his sMe somewhat dissipates the impression of his dirty comedy, but not altO' gether. Sc?io. STATE, CLEVE. Cleveland, April 22. Neiss Troupe, Stuart & Martin, Eddie Peabom, Billy Wells £ Four Fays, Judy Crarland, Angelo Vii* ' orch; 'Midnlghf (Par). Vaude comeback at the State Is being put over 'bo solidly by Judy Garland in the ice-breaker that the house shouldn't have any trouble in recovering its old rating, as a flesh stand. It^ a nicely framed, balanced family bill with enough name^ appeal to make one- wonder why lioew's doubled costs by putting In 'Mid- night* (Par) with It On her first visit here. Miss Gar^ land is going over emphatically with localites, who are ordinarily not very hot about Bollywood juve prodigies. This is a big barn with over 3,400 seats and hard to- warm up, but the little singer does it with her infec- tious manner and finesse of a vet- eran. No amplifying'mike is needed as she swings into T.DJt Jones' in an unbelievably ftiU voice. After an- operatic version of Tlianks For the Memory,' she sells a pertly comic number tagged 'Sweet Sixteen,' but her ace Is 'Deep Purple.' The briskly professional way she gets off and on stage doubles effectiveness of her act Because he Is a former ClevC' . lander not seen hereabouts for nigh on to six years, Kddie Peabody stands out particularly favorably. Not only as a banjo virtuoso, but also as a jack-in-the-box m.c. who ties up the show nicely. From his 'Hold Tight' take-off to double-banjc tricks and 'Poet and Peasant Over ture,' he whams out hot rhythms without ever a let-down. For good measure, Peabody adds some mon- keyshlnes on a'violin, something he didn't reveal here before. Three standard acts fill out the show nicely. Neiss troupe of tram' pollne acrobats establish the tempo by flipping through a fast flash open- ing turn. Charlie Stuart and Harry Martin Jump Into their rapid-fire repartee, bruising and droll Knock- about atufi without any preliminaries. For the finale, Billy Wells and Four Fays speed up a continental acro- batic dance, mixed with a lot of This layout is a hodge-podge of vaudeville that's very mild entertain- ment, with results acutely noticeable at the b.o. Endeavor was made to replace the band idea by a novelty .that hasn't been seen here for several years—a line of girls. It's a change, aU right but questionable. With Ben Blue the only real marquee name the nut on the entire business, of course, is down steeply from some recent stanzas, so the house is due to come out not too badly in the end, . Blue is a laugh-grabber and clicks fairly well. It^ unfortunate, how- ever, that since he last appeared here a year ago he hasn't charged his gags and business. He meshed much more solidly a year ago, also. Per- haps .repetition is wearing the act thin. Blue wears fiis perpetual mohair suit and derby. He opens with phony card tricks with one of the bands- men in the pit which is good, then swings into a skit with a blonde who's supposed to be a hostess In a dima-a-dancery. Follows this with a Russian dance satire which, even in the repetition, over the years, is still plen^ funny. Show this canto has no m.c. In- troductory duties are handled by gals from the line. First time it's a single femme, rather cute, and after tiiat two of the ponies announce, the num- hera in unison. Works out satisfac- torily, although the first gal is far superior to the dual team and it would, have been better had she been used throughout Line of IS Gae Foster terpers is strong from the looks, angle. Weak- ness is on the personality side, almost all of them dead-panning throughout. Precision is fair, al- though considerably off from the work of the original Foster line at the Roxy, N. Y. Opener by the line is a military routine in Scotch kiltie costumes that are attractive. Second is waltzy stuff with large hoop skirts. Final num- ber is a World's Fair motif, with the ^Is balancing on small perispheres. This routine scores the biggest single click of the show. Virginia Verrlll (New Acts), gets over only mildly. Charles and Char- lotte Lamberton, deaf mute ballroom team, are a fair novelty. Aside from being told that they are deat it is not evident to the audience in their perfect rhythm. They are. both - ex- tremely long on looks, particularly the femme, which adds a lot Bob Ripa, juggler, is in the deuce, following tiie opener by the gals. He's skillful at balancing balls on sticks. Added to the bill are the Four Jays (New Acts), who vocalize band imitations. They are getting the week at the Fox as reward for win' ning local talent contest Herb. ROXY, ATLANTA Atlanta, AprU 20. Gae Foster Roxyette* (16), Milt Britton's Band (11), Andree Andrea, Irving Jaga, Tommy Rafferty, Joe- Britton, Elinor Cheiry, Chubby Silver, Mike Segal't house orch (14) 'The Family Next Door' (U). Managing Director Moe Baranco has worked out two openings for Roxy's current stage bill. No. 1- is straight with standby tobters' over- ture. Second works In screening of Will Rogers fund- appeal and, In- stead of nshers passing plates among patrons, stage is lighted and Roxy- ettes, clad in colorful peasant cos- tumes, swarm out of wings and col- lect cash. This over, femmes re- turn to stage and to dance to 'Swiss Miss,' tune coming from Britton's band behind traveler. Offstage voice introes Britton. He brings on personable blonde Andree Andrea, who does a snappy aero dance. She's followed by Irving Jaffa, whose, trick violin playing pleases. Jaffa is also in Britton's company, as is Tommy Rafferty, dancing comedian, and Joe Britton and Chubby Silver, comics. Roxyettes are spotted next' and then Miss Andrea returns for a comb toe and kick routine. She joins Milt Britton in a skit with other mem- bers of troupe participating, plus a donkey. Elinor (Aerry, who has been heard over Mutual web. works with house band and sings 'Heaven C^n Waif 'Got to Get Some Shuteye,' 'Dlpsy Doodle' and ' Jeepers Creeners' pleas- ingly. . Britton's band then plays tunes by classic composers, putting swing Interpretations on them after few bars of stral^t stuff, following Into the wJc knockabout Finale brings on Roxyettes armed wltti brooms and they clean up messy stage in a rhythmic routine. Snow's clocked In 55 minutes and moves speedily. Patronage was sparse at- this catching, -second of four shows on opening deqr, Thurs- day (20). liuc*. LYRIC, INDPLS. . Indianapolis, April 22. Abe Lyman's orch., Bob Neller, California Varsity Eight, Bud Hughes & Pals, Rose Blane, Red Pepper, FronWe Parrish; 'On Trial' (WB). Playing a few midwestem theatre dates enroute from the east to do a four-week stand at the Beverly HlUs night club in Cincinnati, Abe Lyman is appearing in territory where he hasn't been seen in person for a decade. .Without being magicat his name is fairly standard here, how- ever, .and he brings. along a good 'commercial' band made up of 15 men who make a generally favorable Im- preission. Lyman holds the band Itself down to only three numbers, 'I Got Rhythm' is the opener, "Melancholy Baby' is-used with special glee club effects as a middle number, and 'Farewell Blues' serves as the finale. The accompanying acts really make the show, although the band- does a better than ordinary job of playing their music. (jalifornia Varsity Eight male octet in flashy uniforms, do 10 minutes of light operatic singing as the show's Opening act. The act is on earlier than it should be. but it helps to get things started well. They appeared here a few weeks ago, and two of their three groups of songs are new this time. Their early spot on the bill allows the boys tune to change into tuxedos and reappear through- out the latter half for choral effects with the band.. Bud Hughes and Pals follow the Varsity Eight with an okay dog act Hughes opens with a mild sleight-of- hand routine to tiirow the audience off guard and then really gets start- ed when he brings out two poocltes for a series of hand-balancing tricks.. The act runs only five minutes, but it scores solidly. Frankie Parrish, former local boy. Is next with some pleasing vocalizing of 'Penny Sere- nade' and 'Deep Purple'. Red Pep- ler, heavyweight' comic with the >and, follows him with trumpet imi- tations of Henry Busse and Clyde McCoy and then blows out a lusty 'St, Louis Blues' for a finish. Rosa Blane, the only femme in the entire show, is welcome relief to the eyes and ears with her rousing sing- ing of 'F. D. R. Jones,' 'I Cried For You,' annoimced - as Lyman's own composition, and 'Old Man Mose'. The next-to-closlng spot is capably filled by Bob Neller, young comedy ventriloquist Technically his work is very good. In the matter of ma- terial, however, he tries too much to be an ad-libber. Neller easily rated an encore, however, for. which Ly- man served as stooge. . . Biz good at last show Friday (21). kOey. HIPP, BALTO Baltimore, April 22. Milton Berle, Shirley Ross, Jo> Morrison, Floria Vestoff, Confclin & Donohoe, The Jansteys (5); 'Streets of Neto York*. (Mono). Giving a clear-cut demonstration of how flesh can hypo b.o. response into important activity. In spite of weak-sister support via the film end, MUton Berle takes command here in masterful style to send 'Streets of New York' (Mono) into a booming town-leading gross. From the very tee-off, and weaving in and out of a nicely proportioned bill of support- ing standards, comic dominates every minute of the doings and leaves me stub holders hollering for more after a solid 59 minutes of really top-flight entertainment . Lad has certainly gone far since his last appearance ere some five years ago. Preceded by a phony trailer, which includes a couple of shots from pre- vious film, efforts,. Berle takes hold with avalanche of fast flip gagging, skilfully spliced into a flag-waving vocal which combines all'the 'good old U. S. A.' material, available, a cinch for any audience and a solid sock on show caught Brings on Conkling and. Donohoe, - personable mixed duo of youthful shaggers, who give out with two beetle routines in the proper groove and act as excel- lent foils for additional clowning. Floria Vestoff in okay rhjrthm tap holds pace nicely, making an ideal spot for Shirley Ross to follow. Leaning on stocks of all the famll iars, rather than special arrange- ments, femme warbler from flbns utilizes a sultry pair of pipes to good advantage and sells a song In socko fashion. Does 'Could Be,' a medley consisting of 'Blue Hawaii,' 'Blos- soms on Broadway,' 'Two Sleepy People' and Thanks for the Memory' and, for a closer, *The Lady's in Love.' Berle gets in considerable funny business with her, which would be far more effective- If cut a bit short A top-notch rlsley work by the Jansleys follows for usual bell-rlng- ing ptmch, and participation by Berle enhances the value of this standard act A rather tough spot here for Joe Morrison, with more vocalizing after the tuUsome supply up ahead, but lad takes hold In pleasing man- ner and whips over solid , spot with 'Begin the Begulne,' 'Deep .In a Dream,' the inevitable "Last Round Up' and Deep Purple.' Berle steps out to wind up matters In bes-off fashion with parodies on medley of Burm. pops. Biz very big. CIRCLE, INDPLS. Indianapolis, April 21. Al Donahue's orch with Paula Kelly, Judy Canova with Ann^ Zeke, Dufce McHale; 'Ladies From Kentucky" (Par). At show caught running time was short at 45 minutes, witii band flll- ing all but 18 minutes of the time, due to cancellation of Ethel Shutta, Originally'booked for bill, but can- celled at last minute. House brought in Three Heat Waves for remainder of week starting Saturday (22), Donahue's orch, consisting of three trumpets, two trraibones, four sax and four rhythm, looks very well and Is experUy lighted. Donahue acts as pleasing m.c, joining the band on novelty tunes for the vocals. Standout In band is good-looking femme vocalist Paula Kelly, who sings in swing style. Band opens with 'You Know That I Know,' following with pop medley which Includes 'This .Can't Be Love' and 'Heaven Can Wait' Paula Kelly comes on to sing 'Hold Tight' and 'Heart Belongs to Daddy,' and with Charlie Carroll, drummer, TAint What Ya Do.' Band follows with a nice novelty medley of tiines which 'were featured in pictures of the past Including Terfect Song,' 'Charmalne,' 'Slngin' in the Rain,' 'Sonny Boy,' 'Heigh Ho' and 'Alex- anders Ragtime Band.' Duke McHale does two fast step- ping tap numbers in polished stvie, performing in the highschool class in the foot department and Ipprecl- ated more by pros than by average vaude audience. Miss Kelty returns to sing Deep Purple,' followed by 'Begin the Begulne,'' done by orch. Orch also has a good novelty on 'All American Girl,' with- each member of the band coming down for a com- edy chorus and flnUhing in parade style. Show closes with swiAg num. ber spotting. Carroll In a hot session with the sluns. Judy Canova, Anne and Z«Ace con- tribute 15 minutes of rustic comedy familiar- to radio and film audiences. Sing 'Blow the WhUtle,' Of the Weather Is Good,' 'Jesse James' and 'Ol' Man Mose' In hlllblUy style. Anne adds a nice contrasting note with her piano rendition of 'When Day Is Done.' Act was forced to do ^ beg-off at show caught with Judy tossing in a comedy dance. while partners sang Dinah.'- Biz fair at third show opening day (Friday). KiTey STATE, HARTFORD Hartford, April 22. Anna May Wong, Buster Shaver toith Olive & George, Guy Robert- son, Mildred Fenton, Nancy Healy, Tito & his Swlngtet, Lorraine & Rognan, Sam Kaplante, house band; 'Invisible Enemy* (Rep). - This week*B seven-act blU Is the poorest show put on at the State in a long time. Fault of the house and not the acts, which are standard and good. Needed, but sadly lacking, is a production man to assemble and routine the bill to make it palatable. Eight-piece pit band, augmented by one and placed -on stage for oc- casion, also turns In a weak per- formance; It finds difficulty in get- ting togeth»' with the acts. To be visually effective, another four pieces should have been added to the orch, which is lost on the large stage. Opening the layout Is Nancy Healy, who gets by with some nifty tapping. Her leg work Is clear, smooth and effortless. Personable Mildred Fenton, warblei: of pop tunes, is next and registers. A change in dress to bring out some of her s.a. would be effective.' Tito and-his Swingtette (New Acts), billed as radio's outstanding swing- ster^ consist of three accordions, a guitar and bull fiddle, but are only so-so. Guy Robertson, vet of mu- sical comedy and legit, m.c, offers a trio of ballads, two of which.he claims to have introed several-years ago. Does nicely. Highlighting the bill is George Shaver with Olive and George Bras- nor. They bring down the rafters. Shaver and his two midgets deliver with ease and finesse. Dance be- tween Shaver and Olive is applause- compelling, as is the ballroom spe- cialty between the lilliputs, who also click In a Mae West skit Shaver accomps at the piano. Lorraine and Rognan, mixed com- edy team, are another top applause grabber. Pair Indulge in crossfire patter, with the gal going through a series of funny body contortions. Closing spot is taken by top-billed Anna May Wong of the films. Ori- ental actress does a travelog bit with a running commentary of a film showing her touring through China before the recent conflict Concludes with a Chinese song. Act is the same which she has done be- fore various organizations in con- certed drives to raise money for China. It's aU right for the dub- rooms, but for vaude she should have done something else, songs or a dramatic sketch. Biz weak.' Eck. KEITH'S, BOSTON „ , « Boston. April 21. Don Zetaya, Ross Wyse, Jr.,Dand- ridge Sisters (Z), Three Olympics, Bryan, Rains & Young, Lewis & Van. Eddie Rosenwald's house band: 'Pecfc** Bad Boy* (RKO) and 'Let Us Live* (Col), dual. ' Again ■ dancing and music pre. donunate in the lineup. Not a smash biU, on tihe whole, but there are highlights that enliven the pace now and then. Nothing much happens until Ze. laya comes on In the number tour spot wltb his musical lecture. The chart showing effects of certain types of music on various parts of the anatomy gets good r^ponse; as does his pianoing of 'Deep Purple' and a Victor Herbert medley. Zelaya has kept his act up to date since his last appearance here about two years ago, maintaining the comedy formula and dressing It up with popular musical tricks. Example of this Is his playing of Chopin's 'Funeral March' in swing time. Bryant Rains and'Young, two girls and a boy, offer an entertaining ball- room turn and a more exciting adagio. Some, odd lifts and catches develop as the mqh tosses and twirls his two femme partners. ' This is.one of the most, unique and polished dance- teams of this type seen here this season. Lewis and Van break up their routines with Bryant Rains and Young, so that both teams close the show. Lewis and Van. are neat pre- cision steppers aiid show off this brand of tapping on two miniature flights Of suirs. Their best Is a very fast challenge to close their .turn. Both boys uncork some dazz- ling wings. - Olympics (3), mixed .skating trio, open the bill with a rather conven- tional routine. Work on a circular raised platform. - A body whirl by the femme on a swivel from the neck of her partner is a flashy finale. Dandrldge Sisters, three sepia sing..' ers, get little .response from their rendition of 'It Ain't What You Do' and 'Madly In Love,' but they do sock with a red-holf swingeroo of 'Hold Tight' Ross Wyse, Jr., work- ing with an unbilled girL shows off some good aero dancing, but fails to register with low-down comedy in- volving some tangling -with the girl Fox, APOLLO, N. Y. Eugene Van Grona Swing Ballet, Rul^berlegs Williams, Piomeat, George Wiltshire,. Sandy Burn*, Vivian Harris, Chilton & Thomas, Mabel Scott, Edgar Hayes band (14), Carol Wright; 'Mr, Moto on Danger Island' (20th). The ApoUo takes one faltering step this week that's particularly noticeable. That's in the Van Grona Swing BaUet booking. Not that the latter unit is without distinction. It's simply a case of a house thoroughly schooled In colored vaudeville at- tempting something .beyond accept- ance by the type of audience that, frequents this house. Troupe con- trasts the early dramatic balleting with later swing terjping, but there - isn't sufficient of the latter to dispel the earlier impression. Otberwise, there's Edgar Haye^ band, with the maestro at the piano, as the headliner. Hayes' 14-piece crew shows lack of teamwork, though there's plenty musicianship evident when- several of the crew step out in specialties. It's a case of Hayes getting recent newcomers to fit in. Hayes does a specialty at the keys, but he disdains the spot* light frequently in favor of his sper cialti£s. The-band was off, particu- larly in timing, when playing for the show opening night but irs some- thing: tiiat undoubtedly has since been corrected. With Hayes is Carol Wright who's pleasant to look at but lacks the oompah necessary to' go over. Also, her pipes are weak. Mabel Scott Is singling and she's sufficiently per- sonable to even reach the boys in the balcony. However, that attempt at terpsichore could best be elimi- nated; her jive singing is her forte. She had trouble getting off opening night (Friday). Chilton and Thomas are person- able mixed steppers, with the male doing a couple of novelties in terp- ing. on plates, and different-sized stools. Both click. Pigmeat Cieorge Wiltshire and Sandy Bums are on for their usual burley sketches, which are much too long and boring. Vivian Harris, who's usually a foil for the trio, is just m.c.ing, first from the pit where the band plays the first half of the show, later from the stage. Crew, which has an unbilled girl batoning for the first half, later.moves to the stage for its own sesh: Miss Harris, in her introes, could best eliminate those adjectives. Rubberlegs Wil- .Uams is on in two short spois, smg- Ing and dancing. He isn't so forte. Biz only fair Friday night (21). Jaekson Teagarden orchestra is set for 48 weeks altogether for the Blackhawk Cafe, Chicago. Opens Baay 18 for 12 weeks, replacing Bob Crosby. Crosby will then come back In, the two outfits alternating that way well Into 1940. WhUe one Is in. the other's out on one-nighters, etc.