Variety (Dec 1939)

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Wedncsdajf December 6, 1939 VARIETY HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 47 CAPITOL, WASH. Washington, Dec. 3. Robinson and Martin, Frank Paris, Kiitit Craven, Carter and Holmes, Larry Adler, 20 Rhythm Rockets, Daraan & Guthrie and Mr. & Mrs. Scoti'ie Fridetl, Sam Kaufman with house orch; 'Intermezzo' (UA). This is another parade of straight vaude punctuated and atmosphered by a line of gals. Although mouth- organist Larry Adler is taking top honors, the publicity grabber is a bit of hometown enterprise, this time having the gals doll up" in Indian headgear and ' tear ofl something labeled the 'Redskin Romp,' evolved as nod to local pro grid team. Foot- ball stars even showed up Monday night (4) and went through some gag hoofing with the line. Sam Jack Kaufman, m.c. in this house some seven years ago, is back for two weeks of guesting in same capacity, presides over unusually ■well received classical overture and does smootli job of introducing acts ■via pit mike. Line launches show proper with fast rhythm tap in cute white, orange and blue ensembles, melting ott to show Robinson and Martin seated on divan between two floor lamps at rear. Guy in tails and gal in white chiffon run through neat acrobatic ballroom tap, plentifully sprinkled with kicks, spins and cart- wheels that win strong hand. Pair follow with ballroom tap, succes- sively working through waltz, tango, fox trot and jitterbug rhumba mo- tifs for another hefty reception. Travelers close and stage goes dark for baby spot which follows puppets worked by Frank Paris. An acro- batic dancer, sepia rhumba hoofer, Dopev the dwarf, jitterbug trucker and ice-skater, all cleverly costumed and strikingly natural in -movements, build steadily for smash finish. Ruth Craven, attractive blond. in yellow- creen satin gown, next warbles for nice hand. Travelers open on full stage with white columns against blue sky, 10 gals in tophats and' (ails working with 10 gals in white satin gowns for adequate rhythm ballroom routine. Curtains close as Carter and Holmes move on for their nut acrobatic hoofery and slapstick. Strenuous challenge specialties get 'em off to pood hand. Kaufman introduces Larry Adicr as 'truly a musical fienius and a virtuoso of the har- monica.' Chap walks on in tux and concert manner to tear off 'South America Way,' medley of 'Night and Day' and Tiger Rag' and knocked 'em for a loop with long, spectacular arrangement of Liszt's 'Second Hun- garian Rhapsody/ First encore is 'some American folk tunes,' consist- ing of 'Oh Susanna,' 'Swanee River,' 'Pop Goes the Weasel' and 'Dixie.' Three bows merit second encore, 'Scatterbrain,' drawn from audience verbal suggestions, and third is 'South of Border.' Kaufman drives pit band to drown out applause as line troupes on in feather headdress and abbreviated Indian garb to warble 'Hail to the Redskins,' theme song of local pro gridders, and goes into something akin to lindy hop, presented as 'Red- skin Romp.' as pit guitarist does vo- cal reprisal on same tune. Finale finds young local pair, Ed Dargan and Elizabeth Guthrie, doing jitter- bug version of 'Romp' and middle- aged Baltimore couple, Mr. and Mrs. Scottie Fridell, doing it 'like our grandparents would have,' all adding up to strong curtain. Biz light. Craig. PALACE, CLEVE. forever, but with fine showmanship they nip their finale clean to boost Wheeler. Herzogs, five trim gals, cut the ice with smooth serial trapeze act combining iron jaw work with good humor. Stooge from audience con-, tributes comedy of a continental flavor while clowning on flying swing. Steve Evans, well liked here, repeats his surefire Mussolini, Pop- eye and Hitler takeofls with his i;sual skill while corking charac- terization of a stewed, Polish fac- tory-worker is.still uproarious as far as this polyglot town is concerned. Third spot is held by Deval, Merle and Dee, who freshen up the con- ventional satires on ballroom dance teams by doing as much slick air- to.ssipg as clowning. First show's biz excellent but fell off the rest of the day. Pullen. STANLEY, PITT . Pittsburgh, Dec. 1. Loiiella ParsoTis, Donald Reagan, Joy Hodges, June Preisser, Jane Wyiitan, Susan Hayward, Arlecn Whelnii. Fii;e Jewels, Marc Ballero, Mecca Graham, Max Adkins House Orch; 'Intermezzo' (VA). ' Clcueldnd. Dec. 2. Five Herzogs, Sieve Evans. Deval. Merle and Dee, 4 Inkspols, France' Malloy, Bert Wliecler; 'Barricaav (20th). Not Pittsburgh's one of Louella Parsons' towns, via Hearst's afternoon Sun- Telegraph, which means a .flock of space for her act and plenty of free billing for the WB deluxer. Not a bad turn she's assembled either and over very nicely here. No. star names in the act, but the performers have all been in enough pictures to give 'cm some marquee pull, and they deliver nicely, backed by the inevitable Parsons buildup. This marks an improvement in the unit since it tried out in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. ■ Hollywood's fabulous chronicler of things cinematic gets her inning chiefly in the trailer preceding her appearance, wherein Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Tyrone Power, Eleanor Powell. Sonja Henie.and Errol Flynn all bid her good luck on her personal foray, but she's also in evidence suf- flciently to make it quite certain that this is her act. There's always a baby spot, on Lolly in the background while the twins are doing their stuff, and all precede llreir specialty with a stop at the sanctum sanctorum to thank La Parsons for all she's done for them through the column. After, wards, with Mecca Graliam sckking for her. she retails some current Hollywood gossip, a few spot news items and answers a few questions, a sort of behind-the-scenes glimpse of a newspaper lady at . ork. Hardly very' novel, but she's enough of a name in these parts to get over the usual. Of her 'Starlets of 1940,' top honors go to June Preisser, who was a stage name (Cherry' and June Preisser) before Metro took her west for 'Babes in Arms.' Film experience, however, has given her more poise and she's twice, the surefire turn of a year ago. She whams over a song with plenty of personality to precede her spectacular whirling around the stage and had to come back to plant a couple of kisses on the Parsons cheek before the crowd would let her get away at this show, ■ Another in-the-groove Is Joy Hodges, likewise a stage personality before films claimed her. Does only one song, 'Bjue Skies,' but could hand out a couple more. Gal sells well, has pipes to bolster the salesr manship and looks plenty scx-ap- peallng. Second vocalist, although she's never done any of. it on the screen, is Arleen Whelan, slinky silken redhead who gives 'em Carmen Miranda's 'South American Way' and manages to get away with it very nicely. That clinging satin ftown would .sell her anyway, every (hing else being unequal Onlv male in party is Ronald Rea- gan. WB featured player and a per- sonable young man who makes him Boston, Nov. 29. Kay Kyscr 'Orch (14), Ginnj/ Simm's, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, Ish Kabibblc: 'That's. Right, You're Wrong' (RKO). Long ago, Bo.<;ion went sour on band show.«;. but the Kay Kyser unit is drawing droves of his radio-dance fans at tilted b.o. faves with his bri.>;kly-paced unit. On the merits of its playing alone, the Kyser outfit is one of the best to visit this town. Boys play solidly all the way. Individually or collectively. Kyser, ns a leader, is neither mild nor wild, but socks over a fresh, peppy personality with his College of Musical Knowledge turn. Pulllne six of the audience onto the board."! for the musical quiz, which comprises the second half of the act. Is what makes this unit stand out. Ky.>;er is aces oii adiib, skillful at handling sudden, upsets, embarrassed participants and new situations. As que.?tloh-.shooter and. m.c, the band leader make."; the answerrguessers look a lot smarter than they would h the hands of one le.ss deft. Winner of the quiz gets $5. second best $3 and all contestants get guest tickets. Front half of the act is patterned along the lines of most band shows, giving groups and Individuals a chance to .strut their stuff. Four vocal soloists are quite a quota for a band, but they all have a following. They are CInny Simms. Harry Babbitt. Sully Mason and Ish Kablbble. Miss Slmitis gives 'em 'St Louis' and 'What's New?'—and they want more She returns with the others in the finale for a daffy rendition of 'Three Little Fi.shies.' Mason registers with Scatterbrain' and Babbitt ballads Blue Orchld.s' niftely. I.sh Kabibble (Merwyn Boque) is featured in the comic stuff connected with the Fi.shie.s' number and encores with some sappy poetry. Fox. P;.lar^-, r„ri!„» .H^f^l;^^^'„.^^i sclf generally u.seful, first in a scene Palaces current edition is one of ^ith oomphy Jane Wyman, which includes some humorous references to their forthcoming marriage, and then with Susan Hayward, in a short antic sketch that's geared for laughs The Hayward femme's another looker who could easily capitalize a bit more on her DIetrichs. At the finish they all come back in a change of wardrobe for a collective bow with Lolly, The Parsons act comes last, follow, ing couple of extra turns. For opener, with Max Adkins m.c.ing from pit, 5 Jewels contribute a nice dlsDlay of juggling, proving that isn't a masculine accomplishment exclusively, and they're followed by Marc B.nllero, impersonator who would be twice as .effecti-. with half th,i act Youngster has a lot of tal- ent, but too much extraneous ma those rare bills primed by real troupers, each so excellent in timing and spotting that they earn many honest laughs and encores. Four Inkspots' radio and recording reps are doing the drawing; but it's Bert Wheeler, whose name has little b.b. appeal to natives, who delivers tlie most riotous goods as the closer. Second show's thin crowd crimped him but it was an education to sec him smart-crack it out of its cold lethargy. Act is snappier than one- he had last year with Wheeler and stooge slinging swell gags at expense of Theatre Manager Ken Mean. Re- partee hits a brisk pace in mirth when redheaded Francetta Malloy heckles him with songs and an acrobatic nut offers more interruptions. Silk- hatted, apple-munching Wheeler -so „„, . ingratiates himself with convulsed 1 terial. Best of his lot is the impre.s- KEITH'S BOSTON clients that he went long over his allotted time at this show in his In- timate curtain speech without hear- ing one fidgity cough. Preceding him ore the dusky Ink- spots, who are such musical .sockers that anybody but Wheeler following them would be dusted off. Although on their first visit here, their fast, tricky songs catch on instantly, from Jeepers' to their nifty 'If I Didn't sior of Joe E. Brown, and amazingly life-like. For the others, there's the u.sual collection, Fred Allen, Roo.sc- velt Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore. et al. Adkins' overture this week Is a medley of symphonized ballads, nicely arranged, and featuring pianist o:i 'Deep Purple' and trumpet on 'Lilacs .in the Rain.' First show biz good, with full PARAMOUNT, L. A. Lo."! Angeles, Nov. 30. Ritr Bro.s.. Woltoti and O'Rourke, Julie Gib.soii. Ed Morley, "The Bilt jiioretrcs. Fnnchonettes. Jimmie Grier Orch; 'Wight oi Nights' (Par). The Ritz Bros.—Harry, Al and Jimmy—are panicking the customers at the Paramount They're snaking their first local .. age appearance. Unfortunately their opening day de yeloped tough opposition, a Pacific coast conference football game be tween UCLA and Washington State at the Coliseum at night drawing heavily of potential theatre patron age. As a background for the three lunatics, Fanchon & Marcc 'ias the Jimmie Grier orch and several other acts, including the Bilt morettes. trio of clever femme acro- bats; Walter and O'Rourke's puppets, the house Fanchonettes and Ed Morley and Julie Gibson of the Grier entourage. Orch opens with a hot overture and then the Fanchonettes are on, garbed in cowgirl attire for roping and at manipulation routine as prelude for the Biltmorettes. Latter are proficient acrobats and score heavily. Decided novelty is puppet act of Walton and O'Rourke, particularly the strip-tease number and the skat ing routine at the finish. Ed Morley pipes 'South of the Border' lustily and then does a number with the Fanchonette.s. warbling 'You're Lovely. Madame.' while femmes ex ecute slow routine garbed entirely in white. Julie Gib.son Is typical of the torchers u.scd by name bands throughout the country and- makes quite a hit with the jitterbugs. Her numbers are 'Having Any Fun,' 'Oh Johnny' nnd 'fTomie.' The 'Rit-^cs'. offering runs the .eamul of nonsense, offered as only they can dl.sh It out One of their high srjnLs is a .scene from their pic- ture. 'Kenlurky Moonshine,' satiriz Ine 'Snow White.' which is good for solid howls. An opera bit, with Harry at the mike, is another top- notfh rendition. With their hokey chatter, song and dance, brothers are surefire arid should have no trouble building up a substantial gross for town's prin- cipal stage-film house on current week. Edwa. tear of the past summer, at the Frisco Fair and its subsequent lour. How- ever, it still retains a sufficient Gallic touch to distinguish it from run-of-the-mill offerings of its type, | many of which rely on a .spicy tille solely, and it still has in abundance what it takes for male word-of- mouth enthusiasm. Ensemble numbers are specially strong in originality. Opening. Beauty Factory' sets the atmosphere for the .proceedings, its slightly sapolioed chorus cooch being a teaser and tipoff for what follows. The 'Parisian Shop.' culminating iri modified strip and blackout is especially striking. 'Lace Wedding' features the Di Gantanos in their unique ballroom dancing, but the decor of the number is badly show- worn. The bareback painting ..stunt is still a click with the girls forced to use only their arms for breast cover- ings, although the comedy relief of the scene tones down what , might otherwise be objectionable. Tito Valdez does a breath-slopping, seduction dance with an unnamed girl substituting for Corlnne. who was rushed to a local hospital for an appendectomy before the show opened here. Understudy shows talent and s.a. Harold and Lola's smooth, effortless snake dance draws a v/arm hand. Comedy is headed by the vet Emil Boreo. working to disadvantage with a bad mike on opening day. As usual, he milks the crowd for the last spatter of applause with his tunes. Fred Sanborn's comedy xylophone act draws substantial recognition in laughs and applause, both his clown- ing and music being top items. The Bryants contribute their standard, surefire tramp knockabout which remains as fre.sh and funny as ever. The Shyretto Trio have an ex- cellent and unusual bicycle routine. George Bruay m.c.s neatly, adding a class touch. House has upped the admish to 5.5c. for this engagement which may be questionable as it conflicts with a standard policy, but the show, even in its present condition, is a bargain at the figure. No programs avail- able, nor are there any stage an- nouncements as to the identity of the performers, which is deplorable from a showmanship viewpoint, but. means that the Ulent must earn its recep. tiOn on merit solely. The heavy re sponses speak well for the lineup. Business hefty, with standees at the opening supper show. Burton APOLLO, N. Y. LYRIC, INDPLS, Indianapoli.s, Dec. 1. Lum and i4buer, Shep Fields Orch (14), Da«7it/ Gay,Claire Munn. Jerry Stewart, Hal Darwin. Beverly Hull; 'Man from Montreal' (U). 20TH CENTURY, BUFF Buffalo,. Dec. 2. 'Folic.s Bcrycre.' icith DiGrtntn7ios. Tito Vnldc:. Harold and Lola, Fred Sanborn, the CcoTfie Bnia I RKO;. Hou.se,. which alternates between band and' vaude .shows, combined both this week to good effect filling the first 30 minutes of stage fare with Shep Fields' orch. following with 28 minutes of the Pine Ridge rustics Lum and Abner with a local aero turn sandwiched in between. Fields' orch sticks to modern times in its rippling rhythm style, with some of the arrangements a little too torrid for the elderly audience attracted by the radio rubes. Band consists of bass, guitar, drums, two pianbs, accordion, four sax, two trumpets and trombone, sounding okay on pops but with no outstand- ing sock to the turn. Open with 'Apple for Teacher', with vocal by band trio. Accordionist follows with solo fligfit on 'Bumble Bee', de- tracting with mop of hair that would not stay in place. Claire Nunn scores heavily with her vocaling of 'Gaily Star' and 'Oh Johnny' with trio. Al.so does some hot pianolng. Hal Darwin sings 'What's New'/', and 'South of Border', latter being cinch for miltslaps. Danny Gay provides a few hot licks with his vocalizing and trumpeting of 'Sunny Side of Street'. Jerry Stuart also performs In the .song de- partment offering 'My Prayer'. Band finishes on a scorching nole with, a medley of ragtime hits. Including 'Alexander's Ragtime Band', 'St Louis Blue.s', '12th Street Rag'. 'Memphis Blues', ■Farewell Blues' and 'Tiger Rag'. The bowl of water effect i.>: used only once, which is an improvement over the repeated gurglings evident on band's previous dales here. Gar- l.sh backdrops are helpful while lighting on band members could be softened to relieve facial whitene.ss. While set is being changed for Lum and Abner appearance, Beverly Hull, 13-year-old local moppet does well with three minutes of contor- tion dancing. Charles Pamet's Orch (16), Mary Ann McCall, Charlie Harmon', Fran- cos Brock, Julio Gordiicr, Sundil Burns, George Wiltshire, Vlniau Harris, M'cCain and Ross, Maxie Arnmrong, House Line il8); 'A Woman Is Judge' (Col;. Charles Burnet's band on stage in- stead of the customary colored crew is the big boxoffice draught this week. Management Is .striving to dale white name aggregations to pep recently w.ining biz. It's Barnet's first local booking since a lire recent- ly at the Palomar. Los .\ngeles, de- stroyed the band's instruments and library. Change is okay as Indicated by terrific business—it was, virtually standing room—.it last show Friday (1). Barnet's crew is a likely choice to start off hew policy. He played the same house several years ago, be- ing the only -white aggregation at the Apollo under present .setup. No question but that Barnet is drawing the crowds. Otherwise, there arV-few new faces to the cus- tomary Apollo layout. Band plays behind a scrim on the stage for early turns until spotted on its own during Ihc last 3d minutes. Output includes four trumpets, as many saxes, three trombones, piano, drummer, bass and guitarist besides Barnet with his sax. 'Trumpet in Soades' and 'Echoes of Harlem' are the unit's topflight tunes, although 'Cherokee,' a fave with the band, goes over heavily. Last named brings the four trumpeters to" the mike for a jam session led by Barnet 'Trumpet in Spades,' .aside from the classy arrangement, give Bob Bur- nett a chance to mop up with his versatile trumpeting. Mary Ann McC^all, new singer ■with crew, had. to beg off after three .songs when caught Her 'South of Border' was best, although 'Slue Heaven,' which -was swung, also clicked. She's a- talented warbler who never sacrifices enunciation for swingster gymnastics. Of colored stage entertalnment. the ballroom team of McCain and Ro.ss is standout. They've been here before, and are as popular as ever. Pair are clever, .slipning through ba'lroom- ology with the skill of many leading ofay combos. They're using rhumba and modernistic steps mostly to best effect: Leonard Harper deserves plaudits for staging the Harlem street open- ing, which has his line of six girls and six boys dressed in formal attire. Six other femmes wear abbreviated street urchin garb. Same careful staging is in evidence for the mid- way production number, a moon- Ught-and-silver affair. Charlie Harmon and Frances Brock take care of ensemble song numbers, with Julia Gardner play- ing her accordion and .singing 'Kind of Like You' and a swingy encore. Anplejack Crip is on for a brief soft- shoe novelty. Maxie Armstrong is a better than average tapster, and wows them with his two snappy solos. Sandy Bum.s, 'Vivian Harris and George Wiltshire are teamed In two comedy skits, both with burley ante- cedents. Familiar stickun routine is •followed by the orolonged. but com-, leal, 'get me long distance' .nhone booth bit. Wear. Playhouse, Winnipeg Care,'which skyrocketed them. Af-; downstairs and half a balcony de tor that, they couW stay onstage spite rain, Cohen, D.,.„..>. T,i« .1 Lum and Abner appear fi\-<t In -A Vr ln';^p« 'l?Xn; -makeup as proprietor.^ of their Pine ^<^'"' Ridge 'Jot Vm Down' store. They stick rigidly to characters created on radio, and niahncrisms familiar to air audience provoke solid-giggle.s. Material is somewhat moth-eaten, but it doesn't have lo be frcih for the rural trade thiiil packed the house at show caught i • After .speech by manager Vaughn I Richardson, thanking radio audience! for support, they rclurii in street; clothes to introduce their air char- j aotcrs. Also use a feninie for a ! chaseoff finLsh. Mixed bill was a i good idea, a cinch for the oldens' with the rii.stics and Fiolfl-' orch ' luring the young.stcrs. -Kilcy. Thi.s Clifford C. Fischer unit Is a pretentious affair, hardly designed for family trade though It packs a carload of sophisticated entertain- ment Somewhat .'^hort on vocals, costumes and scenery—and frequent- ! ly mi.a.sing Jirc through poor lighting land faulty amplification at show I caught—It more than makes up for the.se deterrents in talent and, what's more important for this type of I show, in the fulfilment of the prom- ■ i.se of French saucincis. ' Production shows the wear and Winnipeg, Dec. 3. Barr and Estes, The Reddingtons (3), Henry Siemon, Wesley While- house, Dot and Dave Workman. Paul Cadeaux, Don .Wrigirt House Orch. Headed by Barr and Estes, bill stacks up as good entertainment with only one or two weak spots through- out the 70-minute show. M.c.ing is Wesley Whitehouse. Never glib to the point of being boorish, he manages to get acts on and off with little fanfare. During his own spot, at the halfway mark, he passes off some usual magic, but through his manner makes the pay- ees like it Magical equipment con- sists of the standard bird cages, cards, silk handkerchiefs, etc., and he's assisted by a couple of ushers. A tenor, Paul Cadeaux follows the band overture. He played this town last year, at another house, and, sad to relate, he hasn't changed ereatly since. Opening with 'O Sole'Mio', he then tackles 'Irish Eyes Are Smiling.' followed by 'Old Man River,' and finally 'Song of the 'Vagabonds.' In his last selection he really goes over. Dot and Dave Workman, udlizing a variety of gadgets from which they extract music, impress favor- ably out of sheer novelty if nothing el.se. Among other thinj's they u.se partly filled winegla.sses from which come 'Blue Skies' and 'Sleep.' Also included aris some 'organ chimes.' Boy sjn"?lcs' for an imitation of Henry Basse's trumpeting of "Hbt Lip.s' to which musicians would probably mutter in their beard.s, but the audience here demanded an en- core. Finale has boy and girl play- ing bcll.s, winding uo with a photo- finish race with the band. Barr and Estes hold the hou.se pretty well in their palms with their comedy dancing and general burles- cjiic. Barr carries best part of the (Continued on page 49)