Variety (Nov 1939)

Wednesday, November 15, 1939 VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 81 MUSIC HALL, N. Y. Robert Landrum, Jeanne Francis and Jerry Grey, Betty Bruce, Hilda Eckler, Nicholas Daks, Glee Club, Bal- let Corps, Rockettes, Music Hall Symph Orch under direction of Erno Rupee; 'Ninotchka' (M-G), reviewed in Vabietv, Oct. 11. Leon LeonidofT again clicks with a four-part show bearing the title of Tempo.' Running only 33 minutes. CO that extra turn over for 'Ninotchka' (M-G) may be attained, Leonidoft's rostrum presentation is highly enter- taining support for the picture. An impressionistic dance billed as •Jungle Serenade,' with music by Debussy, opens the stage display. Jeanne Francis and Jerry Grey (New Acts) herein are the prin- cipals. J With Robert Landrum at sidestage, singing 'Rockettes in a Row,' especially written by Pnul McGrane, the Rockys do a routine which em- ploys the new light filter here, pro- ducing instant changes in the color of the costumes. Extraordinarily ef- fective lighting by Eugene Braun, again with' the filter, is used in the closing scene. Taking down their hair., the all- male glee club goes collegiate, with one of the men acting as m.c, the whole mood of the turn being in a lighter groove. Betty Bruce is woven Into the number, doing a tap to vocal collegiate backgironnd, and scores nicely. Ravel's 'Bolero' brings the show to a forceful and pictorial close. Hilda Eckler and Nicholas Daks, regulars here, provide symbolic dancing, while, the Rockettes and ballet corps are combined for a line that forms a big U. The cluster they, form in the center of the stage at one point at- tests to the skillful staging. Florence Rogge set the routine. Char. EARLE, WASH. Washington, Nov. 12. Dagenham. Girl Pipers, Lyda Sue, Bob Ripa, Patricia Norman, Gene Sheldon, Georges and Jalna; 'Eliza- beth and Essex" (WB). Leaving the marquee decoration to the picture, house is concentrating on vaude that balances the pic's heavy drama and still pleases a pre- dominantly class audience. Setup, presented as an 'International Revue,' represents most consistently solid acts offered here in months. Al- though show begins and ends spec- tacularly, most of it is presented as straight vaude with the house maestro m.c.ing over pit mike. 'In- ternational' angle is worked In by spotting the supposedly representa- tive acts from those nations. Dagenheim Girl Pipers, who rated plenty publicity when they were re- ceived at the White House by Mrs. Roosevelt day before opening, lead off by- parading from rear lobby down center aisle, four blowing bag- pipes, two rolling share drums, one walloping bass drum and another twirling baton. Gals blare through several traditional Scotch airs and wind up with 'Swanee River' and 'Yankee Doodle.' Music is just a lot of racket and no attempt is made to swing it. Their highland fling, done straight, and military marching, with emphasis on keeping straight lines and nuts to giving 'em the old smile, also is out of the groove. Bright plaid costumes, trick baton-twirling colo, bass-drum specialty and general novelty of bag-piping, however, get across what is more of an interesting demonstration than a smart perform ence. Lyda Sue, who also is 'Scotland's contribution,' appears in plaid scarf which she quickly doffs, steps out In white chiffon gown and goes into light, smooth, rhythmic acrobatic ballef that wins two bowS. Denmark gets the next spot via Bob Ripa, in white shirt and pants, who gets 'em l>y juggling six sticks, catching rub- berball tossed from balcony on mouth-stick, and finishing balancing two balls and three sticks on head while tossing six plates and holding third ball oh ankle. Agility end en- thusiasm double already strong re- ception for his stunts. Patricia Norman, representing Ire- land, is introduced as 'girl who made 'Old Man Mose' famous,' but she steers clear of it, singing instead medley of 'Good Morning' and 'Hav- ing Any Fun,' 'South of the Border,' done both sweet and hot; 'Rancho Grande,' half in Spanish and half in English, and encoring with 'Alex- ander's Ragtime Band.' She pleases both elements of audience for solid hand. Gene Sheldon is introduced as America's offering,' which gets a howl when he appears in tramp cos- tume. Any insult to the super- patriots, however, is overcome when he goes into his perfect dope panto- miming, his sneaking up on banjo lying on chair and his sour-note banjo solos. Gal stooge, who works second half of act, also helps estab- lish act. Climax is scwing-flngcrs- logether routine, which smashes. Georges and Jalna, France, get closing spot with their clever com- promise between ballet and ballroom jitterbugging. Jalna, in white net, and Georges, In light blue suit, open with Viennese waltz, follow with Polish mazurka and close with fast musical comedy number done to 'Darktown Strutters Ball,' Slick lifts and spins, plus perfect rhythm and grace, enable them to get away with touches of the ballet. Because it's not what they do but the way that they do it, they top the show. Applause at performance caught lasted throughout finale, which has 'living fountain' gal at rear of fullstage and acts taking successive bows. ■Biz big. Cratff. LYRIC, INDPLS. IndiaTiapolis, Nov. 10. Borrah iWincuiteh's Harmonica Rascals, Bob Williams and Red Dust, .Ada Brotun, Masters and Rollins, Balabanou Fiue; 'Pack Up Your Troubles' (20th), . With audience accustomed to bands on stage, house has added two pieces to pit orch and moved it be- hind the footlights to lend weight to this week's five acts. Set is nicely, hung and lighted and all acts work in full. Balabanow Five open with accor- dion, playing and. their 11 minutes are well broken up with aero dance by one of the girls and toe tap by another. Ada Brown follows with socko selling of songs done in the Harlem manner. Does 'Comes Love,' 'Laziest Gal in Town,' 'Some of These Days' and encores with 'Jumpin' Jive,' Forced to make beg-off speech at show caught. Masters and Rollins depend on horror faces by the male half of the team and body contortions of the femme for laughs. Masters' imita- tion of Karloff doing a slow-motion dance threatens the audience with nausea. However, act is saved by giggle-getting antics of the girl. Bob Williams and Red Dust are one of the best dog acts to play the house. Williams gets the usual laughs by refusal of dog to .obey his command at first. His approach is different, and his pleasing personal- ity has audience laughing from the midriff. Dog then relaxes com- pletely while being tossed around by his master. Finishes with some sit- ting up, walking and jumping-rope tricks. Minevitch's Rascals close with us- ual slapstick antics and nice har- monica playing. One of the band members takes place of the long absent leader. Dwarf in band still gets chuckles as he's shoved around. Pop tunes form background for the fooling, with two numbers done seri- ously and excecdling well. 'When Day Is Done' and 'Beer Barrel'. Attendance only fair at third show Friday (10). Kiley. STRAND, N. Y. TOWER, K. C. Kansas City, Nov, 11. Tex Hall. Horrison ond Carroll, Wilde's Bulldogs, Fats Potts, Alta Lee, Senorita Beatrice, Don Harris, JVoDOline Payne, Glamour Girls (house line), Jocfc Wendover's House Orch; 'Too Busy to Work' (20fh). Featured spot going to Tex Hall and his Hollywood (iowhands paces 'Barnyard Follies,' this week's pro- duction. Fifty minutes of the open- ing show Friday (10) showed some rough spots. Line in gingham gives out with a peppy starter, followed by dance team of Bobby Harrison and Joan Carroll. Team sets a tall standard in attempting imitations of dance stars, including Ray Bolger, Eleanor Powell. Fred Astaire—Ginger Rogers and Bill. Robinson. They get the show off well. Novaline Payne, house standby, steps down from the bandstand to sing out on the 'Martins and the Coys' to set the singing standard for the show. She keeps pace up to snuff. Novelty niche is filled with Wilde's Bulldogs. Seven hounds reputably show full repertory of dog tricks. Gals In overall costumes offer a neat novelty, clicking sandpaper in their hands against sandpaper patch pockets. Don Harris, m.c. warbles 'What's.New as his contribution to the show. Harris calls Tex Hall to do a bit of verbal sparring before the mike while stage is set for the cowhand troupe. Hall m.c.s from . here on. Pace undergoes sharp revision at this point, from that of a zippy vaude show to the more homey show at- mosphere of the range. Hall's crew of seven takes over for 20 minutes, running the gamut of accepted western acts. At the opener the crew was lagging, with this bit of the show in need of considerable condensation. Five of group instru- mentalize, with Alta Lee being fea- tured as yodeling cowgirl. Modern songs are left her partner, Senorita Beatrice. Latter drags 'South of the Border' too much, but recovers a bit on :E1 Rancho Grande.' Miss Lee then offers the pep of this outfit with 'I Want to be a Cow- boy's Sweetheart.' There's plenty of fun with Fats Potts, bull-fiddler, and recitation by Hall to round out the offering. Troupe has been touring smaller circuit houses through Iowa and turning in longer performances as a complete stage show. Shortening here leaves its imprint Quin. Bob Crosby Orch with Kathleen Lane, Ray Bauduc, Bobby Hdggert and Jess Stacey; Paul Winchell with Jerry, Sunny Rice, Hudson Wonders, Lew Parker & Co.; 'Roaring Twen- ties' (WB), reviewed in Vabiety, Oct. 25. Strand's show comprises a hodge- podge of medium and low-price turns that provide 54 minutes of passable entertainment. Four acts added to Bob Crosby orch for this show give a degree of entertainment Usually associated with a middle- grade nitery ratlier than a top' Broadway sho\yh6use. Crosby's crew is a lifesaver for the jive fans with its mellow swingology and nifty instrumentalizing of hot novelties. Cats out front seemed to be in the minority when caught, at late show opening day (Friday), for much of the topnotch orchestra work went almost entirely unappreciated so far as handpatter goes. Crosby might be wise to substitute some standard pop stuff. Instead of the al- ligator meat, at the evening shows. He could also brush up his produc- tion considerably, particularly, at the blowoff, which comes as a letdown. After a hot one, there's a sudden cessation of music while the batoner gives an unnecessary speech . of thanks for his reception. Then he announces his theme, 'Summertime,' and the orch begins to play it. A blend here instead of the jerky stops and starts would strengthen the fiinale. On the instrumenial side, com- parisons of Jess Stacey at the piano with Bob Zurke', Crosby's ex, are in- evitable. There's no doubt Zurke's missed, which is evidenced consid- erably by the comparatively scant opportunity given Stacey to perform. He's also played down somewhat in his turn with the 'All-Americans,' quartet, consisting of piano, traps, bass and sax, giving out in the Dixie- land manner. Bobby Haggert, on the doghouse, and Ray Bauduc, skins, give their well-known duet of 'Big Noise From Winetka,' but retagged, for the Stirand audience, 'Big Noise From Brooklyn.' It's a sure bellringer with its whistling interludes. Kath- leen Lane does a couple vocal choruses rather poorly. Lew Parker & Co. top the vaude funnymen. He's one of the older style funnymen, working with two stooges on stage and two in boxes. Sur- rounding crew is good for a consid- erable number of laughs, although the whole thing is rather mild and Parker's finale vocalizing of a parody on Negro classics could certainly be eliminated. Paul Winchell's dummy, Jerry, apes Charlie McCarthy in voice and mannerism even to the crossing of an eye. Blockhead is plenty cute and Winchell's ventro work is tech- nically sound. Material is rather sad, however. Hudson Wonders are two femme aero terpers. They do such stuff as no-hand backflips with a half-twist and other toughies for nice response. Costumes with more oomph would help. Sunny Rice, tapper, gets off some unusual foot- work, much of it without music, a fairish turn. Biz overflowing when caught Herb. vehicles. Name value of act at b.o. is unquestioned. Bright spots on the bill include the Harrison sisters and Evans, who doubles with impersonations of Joe Brown, Hugh Herbert Popeye and Mussolini, and tops his single with a drunk characterization worthy of a Garr or Barton. Vocal acrobatics of the Harrisor.s— June, Joan and Jeri—are well modu- lated and prove pleasing entertain- ment in front of Joe Fecher's house band. Trio warbles 'Honeysuckle Rose,' 'Hawaiian War Chant' and 'Comes Love.' • Femmes are attrac- tive, vivacious and well-costumed and should stand up against better- known combinations engaged in sim- ilar purveying of pop songs. White and Manning are capable In Hartmanesque dance offerings. Burlesque of ballroom terpsing and bit of hilarious misfiring magic lifts house off its hands. Diminutive Dave Seed and Ama- zonian Lillian White mug their way through seven minutes of pretty thin dialog, capitalizing on their differ- ence in size to catch laughs. Mann, Dupree and Lee open show with ballroom dancing, punctuated with several specialties. PARAMOUNT, N. Y. ADAMS, NEWARK Newark, N. J., Nov. 13. Dead End Kids (4) with Sam (Schlepperman) Heam, Steve Evans, Harrison Sisters (3), White and Manning, Dave Seed and Lillian White, Mann, Dupree aTid Lee, Joe Fecher Orch (11); 'Smuggled Cargo' (Rep). Things are humming at the Adams b.o. after slow start opening day (10), but talents ot Dead End Kids, the headliners, are interred in more or less moribund material. Result is letdown after m.c. Steve Evans has worked hard to build up show. Schlepperman, cast as a recruiting officer, doesn't do justice to the army and his a(tual comic ability. He aids and abets Leo (Spit) Gorcey, Huntz (Dippy) Hall, Gabriel (TB) Dell and Bernard (Milty) Punsley. Kids are caching loot from chorus gal's apartment as skit opens. Off- stage sirens and police whistles send them scurrying to nearby recruiting station to seek refuge in Uncle Sam's olive drab. Schlepperman rules quartet too young to .<:oldier, but in- forms kids they may enlist in enter- tainment division. Kids then clown through 'We- Ain't - Got - the -Money-to-Meet-thc- Mortgage' sketch, with 'Spot' built up with bustle and appropriately- placed balloons to play the farmer's daughter. Balloons break when 'Spit' embraces 'Lover' and dialog deteriorates to such lines as: 'What you haven't got the money, sweetheart?' 'No, Lionel, my love, I'm flat busted.'- Bordering'on vulgarity unseemly in juves, material could either be cleaned up or discarded in favor of scenes from kids' stage and film ORPHEUM, MEMPHIS Memphis, Nov.'10. Lum and Abner (2), Stalak Bros., and Pearl (3), Starr and Lee (2), Count and Countess Selandia (2), Tom O'Neal, Nate Evans, House Orch; 'Mirocles For Sale' (M-G), Radio's crackerbarrel comics, Lum and Abner, have plenty of appeal in person, as revealed on the Orpheum stage, the Pine Ridge cutups prov- ing themselves even more satisfac- tory on stage than over the ether. Bill as a whole is okay. Opens with Stalak Bros, and . Pearl, a couple of guys and a girl in a neat acrobatic turn. Starr and Lee, deu- cer, are. an able accordionist and a blond Kate .Smith, with song and patter. Best, supporting Item is the dance team of Count and Countess Selandia, clever duo that goes in for both the waltz beautiful and the comical dansant. Twosome's traip- sing is a highlight of show. Tom O'Neal contributes good job as m.c, plays the harmonica occasionally with swell results and keeps the show moving nicely. Lum and Abner show themselves in both makeup and muffi. One sketch has the boys (Chester Lauck and Norris Goff are their real mon- ickers) at the Jot-Em-Down Store. Chuckles flow rapidly as rustic mer- chants refuse to stop checker game for commerce. Stuff goes oyer well because characters look as fimny as they sound. They come back at close of show in civies and imitate voices of familiar characters from their broadcasts, such as Squire Skimp, Cedric Weehunt Grand- pappy Spears and Dick Huddleston. Troupe is in for four days only. Good opening business. Mart, EARLE, PHILLY Philadelphia, Nov. 11. Hal Kemp's Orch (13), The Smoothies (3), Bob Allen, Jack Le- Maire, Eddy Kusby, Jean Blanche, Ru/e Davis; 'Cat and Canary' (Par). Hal Kemp's smooth-swinging crew continues to be a topnotch attraction here, being good lor a nicely, rounded job. The Earle management has added Rufe Davis, hillbilly fun- ster, and Jean Blanche, a neat danc- ing packages, to make up 45 minutes of stellar entertainment paced nicely by Kemp's first rate m.c.ing. Opener is a fast blues number by the orch, followed by Mi.ts Blanche's appearance. Gal is a looker and has easy, gliding style, with last taps. Her effort is good for an encore. Kemp joins the sax section in the band's second number, 'Star Dust' followed by 'Dream Walking.' Eddy Kusby docs sortie neat tromboning in his solo on 'Mood Indigo.' Jack LeMaire, banjo player with the orch, wows them with an imita- tion of a whacky female jitterbug. With a sandpaper soprano screech, and a waddle. LeMaire is easily the comic hit of the show. Bob Allen, Kemp's baritone, clicks with the femme pcw-hoIders with 'Crazy Moon.' 'Lullaby of Broadway' and 'Mood for Love.' A fast swing novelty, 'Tantrum,' is next bringing on the Smoothies. Trio are right in the groove with their solid harmonizing of 'Man With the Mandolin,' 'Shade of the Old Apple Tree' and 'Jumpin' Jive.' The last number is home cookin' to the alli- gators. I Davis goes over with the audience with his back-country mimicking of ! a steamboat railroad train, airplane, Donald Duck, etc. Also a click are his songs, 'Sawing a Woman in Half,' wi'.h rib-tickling lyrics, and 'Mama Don't 'Low No Music' Show folds .with the Kemps play- ing 'Good Night Sweetheart, with a duet by Babs, of the Smoothies, and Allen. SRO at last show Saturday (11). Shal. Martha Raye, Bob Zurke orch (14) wilh Claire Martin, Wences, Everett : West, Jack Williams; Don Baker or- 1 ganolog featuring Siggie Lan«>j 'Rulers of the Sea' (Par), reviewed in Vaiuety, Sept. 20, 1939. Martha Raye and B|ob Zurke split the marquee honors this stanza. It marks a return for the comedienne I after two years to this stand, and the I Broadway debut for tH«j new Zurke ' band. Latter, former arranger- pianist for Bob Crosby, thus com- petes with his ex-associate who is the current band attraction at the opposition bandshow house, the Strand. In August 1937, when Variety last caught Miss Raye at this house she was cautioned for her talking-to-the- jitterbugs as a dangerous hazard: but it was stated then, and it obtains now, that she seems one of the few capable of breaking down the stiff- ness with the wacky kids out front, and still keep 'em under control. She still indulges in ad lib stuff with them, and yet holds her own. Tutored the hard way, via picture houses and in the 52d street bistros. Miss Raye's Paramount screen prom- inence is but added lustre for b.o. values. She has been doing well at the gate across the eountry and will repeat here. However, she's added some furbelows that are debatable. The fact that she's more 'n' more working like a femme Miltonberle may be brushed off [some might crack that Berle works like too many others, although his crisp asides are his own style]. But the Yiddishisms aren't necessary and seem a need- lessly new thing for Miss Raye. She reminds of the old days when every non-kosher act. booked for Loew's Delancey or the Avenue B asked his agent/or a couple of surefire Yiddish asides, on the theory that would cinch him with the regional trade. She doesn't need it on Broadway. Stripped of this caiptiousness, Mtss Raye is a funny gal, no matter how you slice it She sells everything for strong values, and some ot it's quite familiar by now. 'Waiter With the Water' opens. "Three Little Fishies,' as her niece might do it permits for some more hokum. 'Can't Dance, Ants in My Pants' was done by her here in '37, but it's good substance for her hoke Jitterbug takeoff. Thoroughly Informal and casual, working with crazy prop hats and cheap print dresses. Miss Raye Is an uninhibited comedienne who pleases the customers. Zurke, whose band features Claire Martin, vocalist; Everett West singer; and Jack Williams, latter doubling as tapster-m.c, are all un- der New Acts. Which leaves Senor Wences with his unique ventriloquial comedy unaccounted for. He's a seasoned trouper, equally at home in class niteries as on stage, who uses a little girl and a soniewhat macabre man's head for props. He gets away with the latter because of the come- dy business with the prop box which encases the head. Weiues works smoothly, suavely and showmanly. What's more, his comedy presenta- tion and asides are as much as an as- set as his double-talk. Also billed are Don Baker with a 14th aniversary organolog presenta- tion, featuring Siggie Lane, but not shown, at this show opening day, due to the overlength. Newsreel omitted also for the same reason. Abet FLATBUSH, B'KLYN Wilt Osborne Orch, Bemice Stone, Lvnn Burroughs, Dtcic Rogers, James Copp, 3d, Dick, Don and Dinah; 'Mir- acles for Sale' (M-G). Well-round.ed stageshow without a sock draw, but okay entertainment and holds the audience all the way, with several moments of solid laughs. At last show Friday night (10) the house was almost capacity. Opening with the band on .<stage, Osborne offers a couple of straight swing numbers, then does his 'Trombones' novelty, which scores. After that there are various solo stints by individual band members, alternating with the regular vaude acts. It all provides amusement, particularly as there's enough visual stuff to season it Osborne sings a couple of choruses and winds up the show with his familiar burlesque of other noted bands. He's how using four reeds, six brasses, two pianos, guitar, bull fiddle and drums. Of the acts, the topper is Dick. Don and Dinah, knockabout comedy and acrobatic turn. It's standard in vaude; here spotted in final position, where it whams. Boys open with a softshoe routine and the gal does a brief highkick, after which they get down to business. The girl generally hands out the punishment which they sandwich In between some ef- fective tricks. Some of their stuff might be speeded, but much of it is , funny. One bit In which they pyra- i mid the girl on top, then leave her clinging to the proscenium, is a bulls- eye. Should drop the thank-you spiel—it's ontl-climactic Novelty act James Copp. 3d, Is announced as having recently been recruited from college by Osborne; it looks it Offers piano-recitation (Continued on page 54)