Variety (Oct 1939)

VARIETY VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, Octoher 4, 1939 APOLLO, N. Y. (Continued from page 14) In a production piece in which the hnuse line also contributes some neat routines. It's a cold-belt scttinfi, with line Rirls alternately in abbre- viated and slci costumes, emerRing for the start from an igloo-painte4 b?ckdrop. Kaloah and Wessel Ro through a bit, slightly suggestive in spots, but tame to what the custom- ers expect after Wessel bounds on- ytage to join the girl, both in scanty dress. Tim Moore and Joe Byrd are new- comers to tfie comedy ."^lot at thi.s house, which usually rotates comp- dian teams. Pair don't click as their contemporaries usually do. mainly because of poor material. Delivery, too, leaves something to be desired. Song at the outset is so much filler while another point against the two engages in a IS-point match with Fred Willard. Starr Yelland, as an- nouncer, keeps up a running-fire de- scription of the game through the mike. Commenting on politics and cur- rent world affairs in his scrambled English, Senator Murphy registers his usual large quota of laughs. His subjects, of course, have been brought up lo date for the most part The Wynn dancers are on again at the clo.^e for a bit of swinging. Big lower floor filled and balcony partly popiilcilcd at conclusion of first Saturd;:y night (30) performance. Rees. CENTURY, N. Y. Cnrlos & Renee, Jones & Dale, Tticfcer 4- Smith, Page, Dodge & Page. Siems & Kay, Mary Harrison, Hy Pali's house orch (5); 'Sweet- hearts of N<wv' (GN) and 'I Was a Convict' (Rep), dtial. KEITH'S BOSTON Boston. Sept. 2!). Thrcf Chords, D<jn Caininings, '. Joxcpliine ■Hu.'iton, Lewis & >lmes. is their coldness. Cu.ttoniers. here i (jj.^ f;.raii.<t. Lnrri; flint Hoic."!C Orch; •Coii.tpirarjr (RKO) and 'Way Down Stnilli' (RKO), dual. like the informal, whnckv .>-tyIe of delivery it's used to ■ KCltiiij; from aforementioned teams. EARLE, PHILLY Phitodelphia, Sept. 30. Phil Spitalny's orch f23> with Muxine, the Three Li(()f Worrt.<i, Evelyn June Lorrfiiiic Midne Fel- loxoe.'!. & Johnny McCoy; 'Dancing Co-Ed' (M-G). The Earle, with Phil SpiUilny's.all- gal orch on stage, puts on a swell show, moving smoothly through 55 minutes of music, impersonation and comedy. The only male inter- lude comes v^h the classy hoofing hTs"st^d'ard*g^"aJrd a'e<5od"as' Medium-grade bill hasn't got enough boxoflice potency to get by i on its own this week. Three Chords, youthful male I scat vocalists, open the show. They I click handsomely with their imita- I tions, vocally, of instruments. Their ' biggest click is a series of band im- 1 personations: Lombardo. Busse, Clyde McCoy and Artie Shaw. The finale 'Dinah' is also socko. Most of the instruments have been success- fully imitated before, but one of the boys gives a very realistic impres- sion of a cymbal, a distinct novelty. Don Cummings, the rope twirler, in full dress, returning with some of Johnny McCoy. iShow opens with a sock, band playing a fast and classical version of the Second Hungarian Rhapsody. Lighting during this number is par- ticularly good. This is immediately followed with a medley of solid'jive. Instrumentalists featured are a svelte blonde clarinetist, a pair of hot trumpets and the skin-beater. Latter really beats it out getting ter- rific plaudits when she started to send at this catching. Maxine, a looker in a red slinky gown, with deep throated voice, vocals 'It Ain't Whatcha Do,' backed by the Spitalny Glee Club. At this point the gals slide right from this number, with its racy lyrics, to 'Ave Maria.' The Three Little Words,' from the unit come in with a grand slam comedy interlude, doing 'Beer Bar- rel Polka' and Tavern in Town.' Blonde of the team is especially good with a drunk takeoff. Evelyn violins 'You and Night and Music' and 'Deep Purple' niftily. In latter, she is joined by the. other five fiddlers of the orch. A funny bit is Spitalny's expose of what a femme band rehearsal is like, with the gab- bing, hairpuUing and heckling that's supposed to go on backstage. June Lorraine, brunet, clicks with impersonations of Charles Laughton, Lionel Barrymore and Bette Davis. Midge Fellowes, who is introduced as 'someone we just auditioned last night' proves to be hefty, shouting edition of Martha Raye in a rendi- tion of 'Jumping' Jive.' Show ends with the band and vocalists joining in 'Begin the Beguine.' Biz big opening day. Sh<il. MINNESOTA, MPLS. sortment of new ones, is standout in view of his socko reception it's puz- zling to fliid him deuced. Six Grays, dance flash of five girls and a boy, are new around here, but swell precision work shows that they've been working together a long time. Routining is good. They alternate dancing with singing, solos with chorus terps. The boy is a smart tapper, blending with the girls in the group numbers and showing very smooth, stylized hoofery in his single. Lewis and. Ames, next-to-close, won an extra bow for their lowbi'ow hokum patter, but had to work hard to warm ' up the morning crowd. Miss Ames is a good feeder for Lewis whose over-exuberance becomes exhausting at times. Couple seemingly did a lot of ad-libbing on show caught, i Josephine Huston, top-billed, fills the trey, with vocals of 'Lady's in Love,' 'Begin Beguine,' a swingy 'Bells of St Mary's* and an encore of 'Over the Rainbow.'. Miss- Hus- ton's voice and delivery not at its best in the swing stufT, but she registers smartly in 'Beguine' and 'Rainbow.' House band's overture features an okay novelty excerpt from Maurice Ravel's 'Bolero.' Fox. ORPHEUM, L. A. Minneapolis, Sept. 29. Jack Mclerich's orch (18), Ma.Titie De Mars;—Jock -Hitliardr "Patricia Wi/nn Dancers (12), Bennett & Dae, Golden. Pair, Coleman Clark (31, Senator Murphy; 'Of Huntan Bond- age' (RKO). Coleman Clark, a former table- tennis champ, and Senator Murphy share headline honors on this show, one of the house's best since its re- cent'reopening. The standard house turns^ack Malerich's orchestra, the line of 20 girls, the Patricia Wynn dancers, Maxine De Mars and Jack Hilliard, latter pair being new singer and m, c, respectively—fit especially well into the presentation pattern along with the four outside acts. A swing arrangement of 'See You In My Dreams,' with Miss De Mars vocaling, is put over snappily by Malerich's 18 musicians, playing on the pit platform. Malcrich also or- gans audience requests. Hilliard, who replaces Lew Brock, is personable; he introduces the acts and sings several numbers passably The 12 Wynn dancers get the show off fast with a lively can-can. Ben- nett and Dae. boy and girl, dance while they wield drumsticks, utiliz- ing chairs along with drums. The boy also snaps his fingers ta imitate lap dancing. Paving the way for the Golden Pair, man and woman balancer.s, the Wynn dancers, in ballet costume, are impressive in their Viennese waltz 'Blue Danube.' Exceptional muscu- lar control is demonstrated by the Golden Pair during their difficult turn. Clark has a corking act, a real novelty that holds the intere.st thor- oughly whether or not one is a de- votee of table tennis. Laughs and excitement are dished out as he per- forms stunts with the balls, illus- »>-i>f»» •<rsi0Vif onH tripV chotc and Los Angeles, Sept. 29. Shatn Sr Lee, Al Samuels & Co., Irene Vennillion, toith Four Trutnpe- teers and Kermit Day; Benny Chavez. The MartindaUs, Joey Rear- don, Al Lyons orch., 'Hotel for Women' (20th) and 'Mr. Moto Tokes Vacation' (20th), dual. Now liiieop of this split-week hou.se goes over with a bang, being plenty good for the 25c. top week days and; 30c. lop weekends.' Biz still is only .<;o-so, despite bargain lineup which includes two features and neCvsrccl.' House orch, which works on stagey is down to five men, originally, being seven with Hy Poll billed as maestro (at piano). Maurice Shaw had been at the helm. Tendency of .several acts to kid about agent's and their (the acts') precarious existence is in question- able toste. It certainly doesn't help vaudeville and is lost on the audiT ence. Lineup includes two excel- lent turns, bne first-rate try, two weakies and one mighty sad.' effort Carlos and Renee, bruncl looker and Latinesque male, open and close, finaling the show with a tango. Their waltz, rhumba and tango show nice drilling. They don't attempt very difficult feats but do the standards well. While rhumba is too tame, the pair possess the groundwork for an acceptable turn. Jones and Dale clutter up their chance with bad, blue patter. The youth is talented with the guitar and clarinet-sax, while l>oth are fair soft- shoe steppers. Male's hard work and rough stuff go well here al- though duo .seem to cry for whole- sale rearranging and pruning. Page, Dodge and Page, youthful appearing lads, have a turn .on a pattern similar, to that of the Ritz and Slate Bros. All three have a fair sense of comedy, as indicated by their fan dance clowning. Latter highlights and is really a. howl. Fundamentally hoofers, they have I the right idea in going in for snappy I patter. Part of it needed rehearsing at show caught and the elimination of so much pushing around and mugging. Show's real treat is the work of the Tucker-Smith combo. Al Tucker, fiddler, a vet on the boards, has Smith at the piano. Tucker does much with a violin; those neat Come- dy talk interruptions by him are as funny as ever. Smith holds up his end well with slick ivory manipula- tion. Act is tops on this bill by a mile. Siems and Kay, former virtually the whole show, offer a strong sleight-of-hand exhibition that shows some production class. Siems, an oldtimer with this sort of stuff, does a series of coin and card tricks, then goes into the paper-cutting stunt disappearing umbrella and capping it with a shower of flowers. Kay, pretty miss with a southern accent is a first-rate foil; doing a couple of nifties herselL However, her talk needs brightening. Mary Harrison, blues singer, also 'Lady Be Good,' 'I've Got Rhythm,' 'I'm Sorry for Myself and 'I Poured My Heart' Her fault lies in too much sameness of delivery, but she indicates good possibilities should her mike deportment also be ad- justed. Wear. Shaw and Lee, headlining current stage show, are logically in top spot Oldtimc^aude'comics are still funny' although most of their material is nearly moth-eaten. Pair liven up any bill and their antics at opener (Wednesday) was no eception. Boys, now located in Hollywood, make an annual appearance at the Orpheum, and current booking is one of these. Another repeat turn is Irene Ver- million, dancer, supported by four femme trumpeters and Kermit Day at the ivories. Miss Vermillion is small shucks as an exotic dancer, but when it comes to acrobatic stuff she's there aplenty. Her offering is just an ordinary dancing turn but dressed with proper showmanship so that it stands out and is worthwhile. As a prelude to main stage show, Joey Reardon, spotted in the pit with the orchestra, does some char- acter warbling and band instrument imitations that start proceedings off nicely. Opening act is The Martin- dales, adagio pair, who perform quite a few dexterous routines, all of which were appreciated by big opening-matinee crowd. Ben ChaVez, Latin magician, does some nifty card tricks and sleight of hand. Al Samuels, eccentric hoofer, is as.<!isted by Chiquila and Andre, nimble femmes who add color and merit Samuels is a corking terper, but he should eliminate the unneces- sary -profanity and the thumb-to- nose gesture; they have no place in an otherwise good turn. Tap routine by trio for finish is exceptionally well executed. Shaw and Lee, with their nonsen- sicral patter and pantomime, have next to closing spot Show is closed by the Vermillion' turn. Trumpeters play selections while gal is making costume changes, and demon.strate nroflciencv. Edwa. FLATBUSH, B'KLYN Cub Calloway orch with Cozy Cole, Sister Tharpe, Thr ee Chocola- teirs. 'MtxeS'Dancing Chorus (6); 'S.O.S. Tidal Wave' (Rep). Flatbush, one of the tour vaude houses in the New York Brandt cir- cuit comes through this sesh 'U'ith its third click .show under the new policy. It's strictly Negro, with the Cab Calloway crew being backed up by a mixed dancing sextet Sister "Tharpe and the Thre« Chocolateers, comedy dancers. Standee crowd lapped it up when caught opening night (Thursday). Calloway carries the heavy end of the 61-minute performance and that's all right the band leader being a top showman and entertainer and presenting a crew that musically is at a peak. The outfit, made up of four rhythmmen, six brass and five saxes, gets over a flock of neat an<l solid arrangements, interspersed with some solo tymp work by Cozy Cole and a. jam interlude by a quartet from tlie band. Latter includes bass, guitar, drum and sax and beats out some nifty , bits. Calloway capably handles the m.c. reins, turns in considerable vocaliz- ing and adds an interesting semi- dramatic bit that might make a few Flatbush motliers scratch their heads over their children's seeing it, but will probably get by without trouble. It's a scene in a coke joint with bunks in the background in which habitu«s are smoking pipes. Callo- way, down front, gives an exceed- ingly realistic impression of a coker and sings 'Ghost of Smoky Joe.' It's a sequel to 'Minnie the Moocher* and was a production bit at the N. Y. Cotton qiub. Three thocolateers, going through a variety of comic antics In misfit r1othe«. Bpl. fivf>r well. Trio offers .lome tricky ferping and mop up with their pecking. Sister Tharpe. who was with Callo- way at the C. C., is handed the final spot before the reprLie, which brings the whole gang back to the stage. She warbles a couple straight ancl a couple tricky novelty tunes to her own guitar - accompaniment. Al- though her flngerwork on string-box is firit-rate. she'd do much better if restricting herself more to her orig- inal forte, spirituals in swing. There is none of this type number in her repertory now. Inclusion of .<ievera] of the spirituals would give her something definite to sell in theatres. She clicks mosit strongl.v with a novelty tagged 'Hot Dog. That Made Him Mad', in which the audience participates on the refrain. Mixed terp chorus makes one ap- pearance on its own. being u.^ed gen- erally only for incidental back- ground. It's a capable and nicely dressed group. Devil dance solo is done by an unbilled gal in black tights. It turns out to be a contor- tionist bit. good in its sphere but not of top aesthetic appeal. Herb. STATE-LAKE, CHI Chicago, Sept. 30. .Three Sparks, Renee DeJannette, Embassy Boys (4), Bill.Baird, Betty Lee, Radio Rairtbler.t (3), Bento Bros. 4 Rita; 'Man They Couldn't Hang' (Col). Seven acts without a headliner add up to plenty of variety enters tainment. both good and bad, with indications for a satisfactory box office session. The nameless show points up mostly that the houee is ' gathering a steady patronage, 'which speaks well for the policy and the theatre. Flock of new acts on the show. Renee DeJannette (New Acts) has possibilities for better things. Em- bassy Boys (4) (New Acts) looks like an outgrowth of cafe strollerism. This turn is not to be confused with a vet turn of the .same name, but with a personnel of seven, which appeared in Variety's New Act files in January, 1U32. though there is a similarity in routine. Bill Baiird (New Acts) is a fine and up-and-coming prestidigitator. Betty Lee is a neat little xylophonist. Bangs both pop and cla.ssical stuff. Three Sparks open the show .with their . hoofology. Work fast and hard, selling mostly by perspiration rather than agility. Smart .salesmen of variety hokum are the Radio Ramblers. Haven't much left of their old act of imper- sonations, but have reserved a quota of clowning and fooling which they sell to audiences as McCoy comedy. And the audience buys willingly. Had a tough time getting off when caught Bento Bros, and Rita draw the curtain with their acrobatics, spe- cializing in head stands and head-to- head work. Finish with a three- high adagio po.sing number which scores. Business satisfactory last show Friday (29). Gold. ORPHEUM, MPLS. EARLE, WASH. Minneapolis, Sept. 30. Jackie Green, Bon Air Girls (20), Alice Cavane, Toni Lane, Chester Morris, Eddie' Garr; 'Here I Avi a Strartger" <20th). 'I'his is the 'Star Lane' revue from the Bon Air club, Chicago, supple- mented by Chester Morris of the films. Show has singing, dancing and comedy,- plus Morris' magic, agreeable entertainment in every re- spect Eddie Garr, as m.c. and performer, dominates the proceedings and does a swell job. 'With the fun burden on his shoulders, there's no dearth of laughs. Morris, of course, pro- vides the top name and also con- tributes his share of pleasantries. Garr fires a barrage of merriment- provoking gags and stories while in- troducing the numbers and winds up with his own smash act. Even though some of his talk is ancient, it goes over regardless. Impressions of various types of singers and im- personations of screen and radio stars leave the payees begging for more. Morris loses no time in getting friendly with the customer;:.. being plea.sant and personable. A monolog anent a screen pldyer's new type of personal—in his fans' homes—i.s only mildly amusing, but Morris sells his magic skilfully, extracting all man- ner of articles from a seemingly empty Chine.se lea cabinet. It's an unpretentious turn, but more than passes itnuster. Alice Cavane. solo dancer, does some tap and whirl routines that get by. The eyes get a break when Toni Lane occupies the spotlight She's a lively and ingratiating swing song- stress and her pops click. The line of 20 girls Appears in several flash production numbers and fill the bill in looks and dancing. Staging and costuming are okay. Jackie Green is a singer who al.so does a bit of dancing. He 'figures in production numbers and comes through solidly with clever impres- sions of Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson. Biz light at opening matinee. Rett. Washington, Oct. 1. Gwynne, Billw Blake, Duval. Merle it Dee, Ann Sheridan twilh Enrl Oxford), A. Robijw, Sixteen Ro.rp- ettes; 'What A Life' (Par). With Ann Sheridan to take rare of the marquee and the line to tie things together, this conglomeration is a highly satisfactory parade of everything from circus clowning 1u super-smart Hollywood. Eiiliroly light, informal and pervaded by comedy and swing, it makes pci fci-t running mate for the pic. Line opens, trouping on in black velvet bathing suits and. huge yellow hats, carrying red handkerchiefs which they 'change' into blue and back again during tap routine. Gwynne, in tails, then enters froi'n rear center with elaborate version of same stunt as line melts off. Magician, working informally with amusing quiet chatter, finds a piRvon in box and rabbit on a tra.v, docs endless-scarfs gag, dancing rooster which disappears and multiplies une g()1dflsh bowl into six. Finishes by sticKing swords into disappearinf! gal in box and encores with slow-motion clbseup of paper-tearing stunt Gets strong applause for clever routine. Trio of linegals in blue and pink sport dresses wart>le 'Having Any Fun' and introduce Billy Blake Plump, boyish trumpeter, announc- ing his own numbers, scores with imitations, including Louis Arm- strong's high notes, and encoring with Clyde McCoy's 'Sugar Blues'. Kid handles his trumpet with plenty showmanship. Line takes it again, working in sock gray chiffon with jewelled halters, heaving small .sequin fans in trick formations for big applause. Six gals stick as Duval, Merle and Dee slip on to start swank ballroom routine. Ciuys stopping to exchange coats is tipoff to burlesque. Tech- nique of spotting comedy occasion- ally in otherwise straight ad:'it;io- ballroom doubles effectivcne.<« on both fronts and flash adagio fini.<-h bangs 'em home. Two linegals, dressed as page bovs; rest of line, dolled up as stageriocir johnnies^ with bouquets, flank Eiirl Oxford, in tails, as he announces Miss Sheridan as 'that beautiful, glamorous lady of the screen.' She enters via doorway and goes riglit into warble of 'Hurray for Spinach' and 'Corn Pickin' medley. Oxford is then back for dull question and answer re oomph, and she goes into three tunes from The Roaring Twenties' (WB), after plug for Jimmy Cagney, its star. 'Melancholy Baby', 'It Had to Be You' and Tm Just Wild About Harry,' are the numbers. Rehearsed talk is unfunny, but Miss Sheridan's smile, her tit inn hair, low-cut black velvet dress .and her pleasing, if unspectacular, throaty warbling, done with plenty rhythm, get her off satisfactory with one good bow. Two line femmes are on in play- siiits to launch A. Robins in tisd'al clowning a la grab-bag overcoat Hauling stools, cocktail set, mops and bananas from pockets, imitating clarinet and fiddle, changing to woman violinist and hillbilly ban- joist and exiting as locomolivs en- gineer in train made up of his trunks click as always. Line finales in sail- or suits, with Blake on to trumpet 'Anchors Aweigh' for close. Biz big. Crnip. EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSREELS) The current crop of newsreel clips fall short of last week's (|uality, which brought the first tragic pictor- ial views of the new European war. Nothing this week, for in.^tance, matches the horror of that scene <if a bombed children's ho.spital in Po- land; the shattered buildings in War- saw and the German fliers taking cIT to renew a rain of explosives. This, in fact, is more or less a re- hash of last week's celluloid. Fox is the only one to show booming guns and troops in action, but the .targets aren't visible and the film is padded by frequent repeats of certain scenes. Of greater interest is Metro's coverage of the trail of conquest, but even here the feeding of Polish nationals and pictures of Poli.sh prisoners are inconsequential for those familiar with the more ad- vanced coverage of the military ac- tions in China and Spain. Also, too familiar is Paramount's first films from France; civilians fleein,^ into bombproof shelters upon the sounding of an air raid alann. In the same vein is Fox's coverage of the crowned heads of England visiting the docks and hospitals; survivors of the Courageou.s, Brili.vh aircraft carrier, which was tiikcn care of last week; British troop movenients and British soldiers in a boxing match. An editor once slated that a pic- ture was worth 10,000 written wordy, but he apparently wasn't referring to pictures of old news. This i.s clearly demonstrated this wctk. There's nothing to really excite or stir the audience, ex-ept. perhaps, Fox's brief glimpse of Hitler on the Polish front He drew a few hisses at this catching. Only clear-cirt standout thi.c week is the study in contrasts. As, for (Continued on page 37)