Variety (Dec 1939)

Weilncsday, December 13, 1939 TAUDE—NIGHT CLUBS VARIETY 44 Night Club Reviews LA MARTINIQUE, N. Y. Dario, George Tapps, Etviro Rios. Deinoelo and Porter, Djck Gasparre fl2) orid Fa«sto_Carbelo orchs (7). Ramon (and Rcnita) and Dario (and Diane), topflieht ballroomolo- gists wlien active, have made their La Martinique, the original La Conga site, a quick cliclc. since flrst statting out Proving that performers Can also be good business men although, considering their long experience in class cafes on both sides of the At- lantic, it's not surprising that the boys know all the answers by now. Medranno and Donnn, now at the Persian Room, teed off as the first dance team, that being a smart idea, thus eliminating the thought that the tcrping bonifaces would show- case themselves exclusively. Only recently, Hamon and Rcnita decided to do their sturt professionally but he's out through pneumonia, result- ing in booking of. De Angelo and Porter, neat . ballroomologisls, just ■ closed at Chez Parec. Chicago. This is the pair's first N. Y. bookir \ since the Hotel BiHmore two and a half years ago. They're a personable team, doing their sequence of waltz, fox and fast finale in suave and ef- fective manner. George Tapps whams 'em with his stepping. He has a new conga taps routine that tops his tango tap con- ception. Since his Hollywood -so- journ in a couple of fllmusicals the young hoofer manifests considerable polish and improvement, particularly in a softer hairdross that's less severe than the traditional sleek- streamlining. Elvira Rios with an unique manner at the mike, doing Cuban vocals, is a holdover, and worthily so. Misis Rios has been on. the Coast and is cur- rently getting an NBC air buildup. Dick Gasparre's dansapation is sond, his team of 12 doing .marathon sets. Alternate combo, maestroed by Fausto Carbelo, is also unusual with its Latin rhythms. Gasparre plays for t°.e show as handily as he does for str.night tcrping. Room is in the French Colonial motif, suggested by the island of Martinique. Marachino at the door is garbel as a Friench admiral and the waiters are in picturesque Mar- tinique mariner getup. Jimmy Ver- non, of the Dancing Vernons, is the >iew manager. Darion and/or Ramon alternate as hosts and emcees. Abel. HARLEM CASINO, PITT WALTON ROOF (WALTON HOTEL, PHILA.) Philadelphia, Dec. 7. The Vncht Club Boys (George Kellv ond Charlie Adier) with Benny Kendall, Berry Bros. (3), Frank Gab]/ with Joe Kototik, Bob Russell, French & Dom, Glamour Girls (12), Weil Fontaine's orch (12), Helen Heath, Mona Reed, Sally LaMarr, Herb Dubrow, Bennv Ken- dall. .George Kelly and Charlie Adler make their bow as a duo after the break-up of the old Yacht Boys quar- tet, and though their act is still in i charge of the cxtra-curricu)ar acti Pittsbutgh, Dec. 7. Sunset Royal band (14), Genevieve Glover, Froshine, Ralph Brown, Jillie Smith, Earle & Frances, Myrtle Wil- son, Faye & Jimmy, Dewey Taylor. Snappiest all-colored floor show this burg has seen since swank Show Boat's hey-day when it went sepia with Fletcher Henderson's band and George Dewey Washington, That was almost a decade ago. Since then, colored entertainment here- abouts has been* pretty so-so. Har- lem Casino's been closed for a year, through booze violations and. rent bickering, and is under entirely new management now. Formerly oper- ated by Lew Mercur, it's now being run by one of leading figures in Pittsburgh's Little Harlem, Gus Greenlee, well-known sportsman and long-time manager of John Henry Lewis, former light-heavyweight boxing champion. Greenlee's giving -the town a lively, well-run spot for mixed crowds, and he has also installed a revue that should get his spot a lot of word-of-mouth. Price is right, too, with food and drinks both mod- erately scaled and no cover or mini- mum, except on Saturday and holi- day nites. Sunset Royal band of 14 pieces is a brassy, blaring swing outfit that occasionally plays music, but the emphasis is with those who like their dansapation hot and low-down. Crew can take a sweet melody in its stride as well but doesn't bother much with that. It's presided over by a little gal named Genevieve Glover, who wears male attire and has considerable rhythm in her lithe frame. Watching her weave, writhe and stomp with the music .is almost a show in itself. Orch also carries a vocalist, billed simply as Froshine, a cute looker with pipes that are sweet and clearly-defined. She also works on the! floor. Ralph Brown m.c.s and is a clever tapster, too, who polishes off a brace of slick routines with an okay im- pression of Bill Robinson going to town. Best bets on bill are Earle and Frances '(New Acts), flashy hoofers who could fit in well any- where. Vocal part of layout, aside from Fro.^hine's contribution, is con- fined to Jillie Smith, heavy-set bari- tone who goes in for the usual sepia chants, 'Old Man River', 'That's Why Darkies Were Born,' etc. He's more shouter than singer, however, and cacophony of sounds he produces doesn't almost make for eat-ease. Somewhere there's a voice, but it needs development and restraint. Casino's usmg a local team of jit- terbugs, Faye and Jimmy, and kids are in the groove. They're garbed a la collegiate, jive style, and unload a bag of tricks in a whirlwind ses- sion of dips and spins. Bill also includes Myrtle Wilson, with plenty of s,a., who comes up with an exotic bumping-weaving session that's the ringsider's delight, and Dewey Tay- lor, mouth organist who makes the instrument talk. The night show was caught, Ethel Waters and 'Mamba's Daughters' troupe were guests-of-honor, and customers got an extra show for good rheasure. with Willie Bryant (Gilly Bluton in the show), a former Harlem bandleader and m.c, taking where he clatters aluminum trays and scares up, enough racket to stop Winter cold for tepidly amusing re- turns. Between gags and introducing the acts Walsh lights ciggies for femme ringsiders, yells to the maitre to 'put up the ropes to keep this mob in,' and then organizes a glee club with six of the footers and a busboy. This develops into a lot of zany stuff, with not a voice in the outfit, outside of Walsh, as they sing 'Thanks for Everything.' Using a busboy as a stooge and a mike as an electric razor, with the trumpeter supplying the 'buzz,' Walsh also gives the bus- boy's face a going-over. Walsh's burlesk of Ted Lewis warb- ling 'When My Baby Smiles At Me' is sock. His rendition of Three Lit- tle Fishies,' in phoney French, and 'Old Man River" precedes his own okay tap routine. Brooklynettes re- turn for the closing with a tap, being garbed in top hats and white satin, abbreviated tails costume, making a pretty picture. Winter's footers play softly and are a swell inducement for customer dancing. Management dis- courages jitterbugging. Sahu. PENTHOUSE, N. Y. Paul Tawbman, Beasley. £Ii Spivak, Ann Harry Owens to put It Over. Re- sults have been heartening. Caught on a Sunday night, the town's blight, room was three-quarters full. Tavern has been made over to con- form with the coaster's idea of what Hawaiian decor might represent. Straw hats and leis naturally pre- dominate. It's a perfect setting for Owens' Royal Hawaiians and his dancing girls. They've been around before and. well liked, and their stay here should put the room back on its feet. Maestro, who composed 'Sweet Leilani' and scads of other island ditties, keeps himself and his music well restrained. He sticks strictly to native harmonic;; but tem- poed for terping. Hawaiians in the band are in minority. Grass-skirted trio of hula dancers are easy on the eyes and do their hip waving without a suggestion of the vulgar. They keep it on a high plane and go through their soft, swaying movements with verve and minimum of effort.' Alvin Kaleo- hani is the native vocalist and Kenny Allen tenors alternately. Owens takes up the muted trumpet occas- ionally. Room has three CBS wires a week, two cross country and one along the Coast. Owens is in for six weeks but Hull says he can stay as long as he wants. Helm. the rough, they have the makings of a sock team. With an alinost inex- haustible supply of their original wacky numbers, they were forced to encore three times in their opening , show (Thursday, dinner). Their best are 'Spain,' 'Riding Over Hill and Dale' and 'My Wife Has Gone and Left Me.' The pair gave out with eight numbers before they could leave rat" tha'opencr; A" short dance by Adler could easily be eliminated. Team is accompanied by Benny Ken- dall at the piano. Heal dicky is the ventriloquist act of Frank Gaby. Working with a dummy, Mickey Finn, and midget Joe Kotolik, Gaby has plenty of funny gags with the woodenhead ribbing the deadpan midget. He also uses the midget for a blockhead turn. Don French and Kitty Dom, win- ners of recent local jitterbug contest are holdovers. The pair, making their pro debut at this Jack Lynch vilies. Cohen. BROOKLYN CLUB (BROOKLYN, ILL.) Brookli/n, III., Dec. 8. Sammy Walsh, Anita Jdkobi, Mc Donald & Ross, Three Randall Sis- tCTi!, Hal.Lewi."!,-Broofcli/tiettes, Joe Winter Orch t7). The Penthouse Club (nee La Cre- maillere) on Central Park South is a different sort of restaurant-nitery, operated by socialite Ted Stone, Jr., and wife, who seemingly give it con- stant personal attention. Having taken over the entire building, when the. Cremailler^ ^restaurant moved over to an east side' location. Stone automatically inherited this spot, whereupon he decided tojnstall some of his pet ideas in an intime eatery of this type. Thus he came into the business. Entertainment is casual, informal and incidental to the cuisine, which is quite ultra but not too fancy In scale.. Ann Beasley is a socialite songstress who fits deftly into the at- mosphere; Eli Spivak gives out with Russki vocals to self-guitar accomp; and Paul Taubman, at the piano- organ, is unobtrusive with his tunes. Room is in two portions, one ter- raced and overlooking.Central Park; and the main hall, a bit below the penthouse view, more clubby, with a huge fireplace at one end. and the bar at the other. It's a different sort of-an environment in many respects, and gets an unusual selective patron age. Robert itiaitres skillfully. Abel. LE RUBAN BLEU, N. Y. CLUB ROYALE, DET. Herbert Jacoby. Craziella Paraga, Cliff Allen & Billte Holiday. Caspar Reardon, Natl Blakstone. This coiinterpart of Le Bouef sur le Toit and Le Ruban Bleu, Paris boites, with which Herbert Jacoby has been identified, is one of the con- sistent after-theatre drop-in spots. Sans couvert, but to a $1.50 and $2.50 minimum, it's an intime room of some 50-75 capacity, when jam- oacked, with strictly no dancing. There are quick reprises of intimate divertissement, in frequent succes- sion, and two pianists, at twin Stein- ways, who plug the gaps. Jacoby hosts and emcees. His new lineup brings two new faces to this spot. Nan Blakstone. a seasoned comedienne, now blondined, is more 52d street than Ruban Bleu. How- ever, her indigo stuff goes heavily here, the distinction being that it's forthright and obvious as against some of the more literate but equally paprika innuendoes heretofore dished forth in the Dwight Fiske manner. Caspar Reardon, swing harpist, is another new wrinkle for the Ruban Bleu. He cuts \ip with original and 'St Louis Blues' type tunes on the strings. Graziclla Paraga, Cuban songstress to' self-guitar accompaniment; is a The senorita has been neat starter. Although the casino section of this around before. She has a nice cast side spot is in total eclipse bC' cause of grand jury action, and mid- week biz has dipped accordingly, management continues to book strong shows despite the subsequent loss in revenue. Current unit, with Sammy Walsh m.c.ing, tops anything in this neck of the woods. Walsh, clowning, gagging, warbling i ivories, and terping, does enough to consti-I '"^ ^ ^ tute a dandy one-man show. How- «P0t, are snapVy"but" need'a couple i ever, he has some swell supporting acts, among them being Anita Jakobi <>I novelties to make their act big- time. The Qusky Berry Bros, draw a big saiyo. but make the mi.sUke of "ying to cover too much ground, over-running the stage and making me ringside diners nervous. Their oancing, though, is smooth. Bob Rus- iVi '"•S'5^ 3"'' baritones capably, but t„7* 0' h's lyrics supplementing 'Oh. Johnny' are in bad taste, being too '!il5^e" for Lynch's patrons. svelte looker; '^ftn„ fP«ctacuiar numbers. Neil dan".iL !25'»'"«'s plays for two eye-filling costumes, do 'Sor.../ aancmg anS accompanfes''the''acrs', Yniin» " autumpanies me acis. slnP6lr'l"^''°- has gained poise wLi here two months ago, B?i-°«omps the girl numbers. LaMar? Kfath. Mona Reed and Sally cockh,»' ^'^"dbys here, ping in the Dubroi'''?'";u*«°'"Pa"ied %y Herb UUls * P'="°' <l"«"lnc the Shot. a blonde looker, who scores with an acro-tap. Scouted by Dave Apollon since opening here, she's been inked for his vaudc unit, opening with it in Memphis, Dec. 29. McDonald and Ross turn in Swell novelty terps that are a combo of ballroomology, aero and tapping, plus plenty of knockabout the girl getting the punishment. The Three Randall Sisters arc o.k. as they trill 'Jumping Jive,' but n.s.g. as they gang up for 'The Old Apple Tree.' Hal Lewis, who saxes with the orch. does 'Happy Birthday Tonight' and 'South of Border' with eclat. ^ Show gets under way with the Brooklynettes (4), house line, doing a costume number in flimsy gray gowns that reveal Shapely gams. Gals are showing improvement with each show. Walsh lures Joe Winter into fiddling 'Roses of Picardy,' then sneaks into an adjoining room, brunet personality and plucks a mean pizzicato on the oversized ukc, while chantiiig her rhumba rhythms. Cliff Allen and Billic Holiday, un- adulterated Harlem, despite their impeccable forma! getup, are a killer pianology team, she doing the vocals up front. Allen straighting at the Miss Holiday is a standard disks and sells their lyric values, in rhythm, heavily. 'I'm Gonna Give You Something Tonight Baby' is a standout in their routine. Abel. Hawaiian Blossom Room (ROOSEVELT, H'WOOD) Holliyuiood, Dec. 6. Odetta lolani, Kahala Maparar^a, Leilani Kahoofcahi, Alvin Kaleolani, Kenny Allen, Harry Owens Orch. (12). Hollywood's first hot spot has been an open-and-shut affair since it blossomed some 15 years ago. Pros- pering in the early days, it incu- bated .several name bands and drew most of the name crews that came west. In the past five years it has fallen on lean days and has been pretty much of an albino pachyderm to its owners. Tommy Hull, chain hotel' operator, decided to give it another chance and put it up to Unit Reviews FRENCH FOLLIES (LIBERTY, LINCOLN) Lincoln, Dec. 6. Joe Kelso & Co. iShirley Lee), Jean O'Brien, Maxine Marshall, Jean Sliarpe, Woolsei/. & Clair, Missing Bros.; Eleanore King, Donley Sisters, Al Rags, Wells Bros., Van Horn & Carlos, Jean Moore, Annette De Boise, Harry Shannon, Jr., Orch; 'Saint Strikes Back' (RKO). Detroit, Dec. S. Eddie Pecbody, Alice Dawn, I^tce, Florio and Alice, Dorothy Crookcr, Royalettes (6), -Danny Demetry's Orch with Preston Lambert, Ann Bolen, Chet Everhardt. . ' This spot, steadily building its en- atertainmertt, hits its top on show expendituire with this bill. Formerly the Chalet, which got some bad jiress during the gambling hulabaloo in Michigan, it has been given a neat do-over. Eddie Peabody, helped by a warm house, seems to have all it takes for nitery work. His enthusiasm culls up plenty of din as he m.c.s the show before bringing.himself on. In his spot, Peabody's on 'South of Border' and impromptu jigs get a big hand, but he seems to score best when he fiddles 'I Cried for You,' with plenty of hot breaks, and "Listen to the Mocking Bird.' . They kept bringing him back at this show, and he wound up with his 'two banjos' effect. Alice Dawn, who warbles with plenty of gusto, sells easily and clicks best with . a slick arrangement of 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' Dorothy Crooker, control dancer, also goes over. Nice, Florio and Alice knock themselves out with their rough- house, and the Royalettes go into smaller units to present styles of famous dancing men. Since Danny Demetry's band plays soft music and can make easy switch to rhumba, which has the town nuts, both Pejbody with 'South of Border' and Miss Dawn, encoring with 'South American Way,' cue into the current craze. Durins orch interludes, Ann Bolen. with Chet Everhardt as pian- ist, is providing blues which get plenty of attention. Preston Lam- bert, an occasional m.c. at Ihis. spot, also ballads effectively during the lulls. Pool. Burlesk Review Providing. this burg with its first stage show in more than 26 months, 'French Follies' looks like a b.o. winner in smaller towns. It's taking in money unequalled herie in many a moon. First place, the wicket de- mand is 35-55C, highest at a down- town theatre in seven years. First show here ran 67 minutes, after which the squeeze was applied to get it down to 59 minutes. For unopened territory, the title and the nudity will bring in the customers. However, in spite of this, the show Koes all the way down to the last 10 minutes before the first possible affront to family trade shows, up. Only two turns hint at disturbing the Carrie Nations. They are the Van Horn and Carlos turn and An- nette De Boise. Van Horn and Carlos (he was the Ritz Bros, foil in 'Gorilla,' wearing the monkey suit) do one of those beauty-and-beast routines, with the gal shedding trap- Dings prior to an over-shoulder carry by the gotilla down through , the house. . De Boise femme is in an ordinary under-gauze, no-bra walk that's for the baldies. Both are off base, belonging in hurley.. The chorus sports 10 girls, and does three numbers, an opening Paris!- enne, a kiddie rope-hoo and a Cuban bit, in addition to a parade session near finale. The rope number is weakest, probably because "Three Little Fishes' has run itself out. Jean O'Brien,. Maxine Marshall and Jean Sharpe sidle up to the mike in the 'Fishes' turn, second girl routine, and vocal bits of the chorus. Miss O'Brien gets away best with the baby-talk. In the . rhumba, Eleanore King is featured, fronting the line with a heel grind and hip- toss. Joe Kelso and Shirley Lee split their act, doing first a- magic stretch, and later JCelso, imitating Chaplin, goes through his okay juggling. Con- tortions are Woolsey and Clair, who do near dislocations. It's a, slow- mover, but with a fair share of laughs. Missing Bros, are balancers an J comedy aero wor'.ers. They take a long time settling down, but when they do, they handle them- selves expertly. Soft shoe number, and .smoothly done, is by the. Donley Sisters. Neat novelty is Al Rags, who. In one. 'paints' pictures with old hunks of cloth, pieced together. He's fol- lowed by the sock Well Bros., a circusy turn, even to the clO\.-n mem- ber. Jean Moore, sei>arating the two nudes, reaches for the high ones in a couple of tunes, most always making it Harry Shannon, Jr., has the band, and Shannon. Sr., is the company manager. Unit is Mexico City- bound, booked there for a month. Show is A SoUie Childs unit. Bam. TROC, PHILLY Philadelphia, Dec. 8. 'Barrel of Fun' unit with Wauneta Bates, Leonie Thnrston, Peggy Boughton. 'Shorty' McAllister, 'Slinky' Fields, Aileeti Dale, Georoe Reynolds, Denny Lyons, Patricia Cornell, Lew Power.?, Line (16), Mer rick Valinote's Orch (8). This Izzy Hirst unit was still in the process of being" to'Ssed"together when cau.ght. The strippers are all okay on looks, do their doffing ac- ceptedly and work pretty much as far as the conservative law in Philly allows, which is about the same as New York in this respect Wauneta Bates is standout for looks and fprm but she's off in a (lash soon as she gets down to the G- string. Pe.agy Boughton's figure is neat and the boys demand more. Leonie Thurston, always a favc here, is a flashy redhead who bumps and grinds.aplentv while peeling. 'Shorty' McAllister and '.Stinky' Field.', . along with straight man George Reynolds and Aileen Dale, talking femme, get plenty of laughs with the .slapstifk and rough-house. Best bits are the standard hurley courtroom and tatlor-shop scenes. Others wallow in the blue and arc tiresome. Quartet are best in the rough-and-tumble biz and are right in the groove for Troc patrons. Patricia Cornell, who plays an ac- cordion solo, also plays a concertina while dancing with the line in a ballet number. She scores nicely. Denny Lyons does the warbling with the girlie numbers and a brief ven- triloquist .turn. Just fair. Lew Powers, oldtime comic, is sad in his effort to be funny. Production is nil. Chorines are above average for burley shows in looks, but lack rhythm. • Valinote's band plays loud, and that's all. Biz g'ood. Shal. SHOOTING HIGH (BROADWAY, CHARLOTTE, N, C.) Charlotte. N. C, Dec. 7. Oswald (Tony LabrioUi), Carl Freed Harmonica Lads, Jan Murray, Junior Mel Ody, Marie Louise, Madamoiselle Marvel, Line (8); 'Stop, Look and Love' (20th). Ex-stooge for Ken Murray, all Os- wald'appears'to require Is a" straight to feed him the lines to score heav- ily. He gives the customers the pat- ter they expect, and then surprises most of them with a nifty, showman^. like turn on- the accordion, enabling him to score heavily. . Junior Mel Ody, juggler, opens show with run-of-mill turn set off by neat novelty with Japanese parasol and ring. Act is spotty, but bobbles are offset by comedy bits. Carl Freed's Harmonica Lads furnish top entertainment with fast, presentation of harmonica novelties, accentuated by- comedy between Freed and one. of the instrumentalists. Harmonica Lads also double as eight-piece stage band. Freed's spoon-clicking rhythm novelty with band clicks, but capers and corny clarineting drags and mi.sses fire. Marie Louise gets so-so reception for her acro-contortion turn, doing the customary stuff. Line of eight girls dances passably in three tries, scoring heaviest with military revue in patriotic costume done as flag- waving flrtale, with marching sol- diers filmed on backdrop. Line is composed of young lookers and shown to good advantage also in ball- room number. Jan Murray m.c.s acceptably and straights for Oswald pleasingly. Ma- damoiselle Marvel furnishes hip- twitching as scenery for one of Os- wald's gags. Biz fair at show caught (Thurs- day). Ju.ll