Variety (Oct 1940)

Wednesday,. October %, 1940 HOUiSE BEY1EW8 57 STRAND, N. Bobby Byrne Orch (15) uiith, Oorothv Claire\ Jimmy Palmer, Rdy wilherCThi Coldstoiis, Three Pitch- ^ weW-'Gity -©/-iCianquesif Jievie.wedin :■ Variety, Sept. 11. Bol>by Byrne's improved tand and three. fairly effective tvirns , support the jaines Ca(»ney-Ann Sheridan^ film, 'City: of Conquest.' Byme'is crew is friesh: out of a long summer Btand ■ Sii, the Glen Island Casino, New Rochellei, N. Y., its first date of . any note. ' ' ' Leader and bis band make nice stage material, He's a youiig,, cleaii- Ipoking leader with ah in^atiatih^ : way of hancUihR bimself. ; He doesn't have the smoothness of a sticks waver that's used to handling iaudiences, but the boyishness of his unfaltering announceraients get him over with case. He attempts much less isolo ttombonirig than he did- at the out- set of the Glen Island diate, and the result is much more effective. Then be tried too hard to carry, the band on bis own musical ability. Here he plavs most often ias Dart of the i-est of the brass, only taking one or two major breaks. One of : 'em here ;is a pretty clean job on a' famillai^. but' unbilled, standard; ; : Band itself, doesn't > pos$es5 any particularly outstanding attributes. But it's a good unit, a diicided im-^ ptbvement over the outfit that started out at Glen Island last spring'. For one tiling, the drummei: has been changed;. New one has- a tendency to devote too much attention to cym* bals, biit he's strong and steady. Sax and brass sections,' four rcied. three / trumpets iahd . three trombones, be- sides, Byrne's horn, are solid and : elean> Arrangements are interesting without being too ; intricate, .and above; all, dont stay in dnie groove. . They're neatly mixed here, band ■hifting from swing to sweet and striking a medium with ease.' : . ^ Dorothy Claire, outfit's ; Vocalist; works, in two spots.. $he ' lyricizes . easily in a receptive voice, .biit has an aniidying; habit. It may be: natural for her to accompany her stufi with Impromptu satieiBls and mild jitter- /; Ing, but it almost alwayis .appears false and overdone from .thie other ;. side of the foots. iVs okay, howiever.: in her vociallihg^ of 'Stop Ftetending,' where mugging fits the lyrics. Also does 'Corn Pickins" and the: finale •Rhumboogie.* Jimmy Palmer, thbugh. ■ appearing very hitrvous. hahdled himself okay: on two tunes at this catching. First Js 'Can't Resist You.' second. . a , production ' dh .: Trade > Winds.' Four muted trombones line . up one side of stiage under pale blue spot and Palmer and reed group Op^: posite under white VsPot. . It's neat and well hahdliid. .. . Another piece, bbwever, Invblvine the band*s orig- inal tmie. The Right TRme,' Is n.s.g. At the begitmihg of the nuihber, . which is written lirouhd the Lucky Strike time :spiels, avClock, faced with an iad for a w^tch msinufacttirer, is hoisted above and in back: of the band. Cheapens the setup. ■ ; Riy Wilbert has been around with his bicycle ' rim hbops: routine for some time. Here his act is confined by the limitations of working on a small stage. Begins with various : tricks of tossing three, four and five hoops^ then shifts immediately into throwing the rims Onto strings stretched' across stage. ^ First it's a single strand, tossing the rim half- way across, onto, the rope arid' the backspitt TCtumihg it to him. ' Bdw- . ..off: successively hops the rim upward on each of five ropes held in his fist, after first being thrown onto the lowest strand; The Colstons ate fehockabbut^ bur- lesq uers of dance. Female half "^"Wlsnrks on Ifie audience's-funny-rbone- with comical postures, inbgging and falls, and is the whole act Much of a good impression is due to the fact Jhat. she appears to enjoy her wiackr ■ stuff, ■.■ - ~ Three Pitchmen get over sti"ongest with a solid routine. . Trio of co medians explain that this date is their first try on Broadway. They have built a, hieat comedy turn around small-mouth/ gadgets Isome- what like kazoos, but circular. Their tag springs from the fact that they . formerly sold the Instniments on the grounds of the N, Y: World's ■ Fair. Their firi^ date.of note was re- cently in the Hainbow Room, N. Y. T^ keep their audience in a pro- longed giggle by simulating too many things to describe in detail; In be-^ tween chatter iand homemade props, including violin, trumioet; tronAbne, etC;, which fall aport iat will, to- gewer ;with,,thei. rioisr -nakers. they . up a turn thM'^ ridvel ,and strong. One of their funniest bits eoneems hitch-hikers. ;Wdod. PALACE, CLEVE. ^ ; GUucIana, Sept. 28 , Ken Murray, Bietty Atkinson, Patk ond, ^ Clifford. Milton Chesterfield, Carole Landtsi Tito ■Giiizia.f, Bert Vngtr*$ pit O rc/y 'Du Icy <Jf^G). ; . More Hollywood names than the i-alace hais. had for nionths. afe crammed into current bill, its biest 2?® the season so far. Ken Biur- J^y, Carole Landis and Tito Guizar ; not only pack a lot of marciuee ^-P»wer7but-they^lsoecOHat>^mootbl3 *na with spontahicty. Bert Unger's pit orchestra climbs up on. stage for show which, is MuTr «y s from the st4»t to-finish. Comic has been away ^ several scimesters, uses practically his old act, but it hasn't lost any of its sock. He's out front as emcee when the curtain rolls up, pitching gags, running dbwii into audience for a burlesqued how-^do and weaving together • acts with showihanship;- -—— .; Betty Atkinsdnv leading off, bene- fttis mostly from hiis buildup. Gal has elegant gams which are nicely exr posed, taps iso-so but bowls over the crowd with her tricky, . glittering baton-twirling; Murray follows her by diving ihtp his well known rou- tine.of wheezes and horsieplay With Milton Chesterfield, hi^ ^Oh, yeah' 'Oswald* stooge. Latter, Who ; caiiie out Of 'retirement' for current tour, shows' that vacation hasn't slowed him by tearing bff 'Burpble. Bee' on .accordion;kicking out Russ steps with pep and taking droll prattfalls. Their rasslihr bit seems a bit dated in hokum. Soine fresher quips by Murray would take mechanical flavor Off it. AVhile he pulls a: good, quotsi of laughs with them,. some ofi his gags are tob blue for this type of farnily house.., A last-niinute booking to add "more zing to the predominantly male bill, Carole Landis, docs just that; Holly- wood actress : makmg Vaudie bow doesn't do much but jplrbject cbrisider- able oomph. Blonde .looks stunning in revealing gown, of ::ChartreUse. aiid white, and ^expresses ain' agreeable perisdnality but ah undistinguished singing voice. . After. brooning I'^I'm Nobody's Baiby* so softly, that band nearly drowns her .out, she revives •Baby, "What Do You Eto?', sitting on top. of piano. ! . Oldie sounds jpretty inept but, curse. is taken off it by kidding treatment wben; she puts . on sireri. traivesty as Murray throws' in heavy ribs.. Rather 'schbol-girlish, biit it gets by, due; to her charni. : Not such, good spotting is demon- strated in placing acrobatic .turn, of Park and Clifford in middle of bill, yet '^ey. puiactuate it with a classy routine, of strong-arm stuff and smart handstands that garner compensating applatise. Guizar . cbp^ the : biggest response despite late appearance. Latin, singer, a. romantic, dark type, turns loose a load of appeal bs .weir as a. rich^ ringing voice .in Spanish, and Amerir can ballads... Soaring .rendition of 'I'll Never Smile Again' won oyer this house isd; ehthiisiasitibally that he bad to repeat it : Returns With guitar for final two numbers, double- cinching himseU by doing 'All This, and Heaven Too' and a lighter piece in icurtain bowoff with enure troupe., Friday (27) openetr slow. Pulten. FLATWJSH> B'KLVN STRAND, SYRACUSE Syracuse, Sept. 30. . • \Funzafire* unit unlh Benny Meroff Orch; Al Devit6, Her^ and.Rov Pdige,^ Wynn Twins, Four Buster Browns; Alr'Spiro -arid ' Billys-MoToseoi-Eight Daughters of Satan, Louise Shannon,, plays an intricate .show Doriald O'Coifinor; "The . Mummy's ' B.^siness gbod at the supper snow batics.. Standard tricks and suitable for the getaWay. Dinning : Sisters came over firom their radio job. at. NBC. hbre to turn in a highly satis- factory pop-sinking session. Girls are ijevelbpinjg, steadily into a top vocal trio, selling .their tunes smartly. •: - Walter -Davidsbnls: house, orchestra plays an intricate .show with skill.. Hond'; iV),: Saturday (28). Cab Calloway Orch, AtHa Andfetos. Three (Chocolateers; Six Cotton Club Boyis,:C6zy Cole, Benny Paine, 'Spoon** flrwon; Shorts tend JVeu?*- reelis^: : .V After ' Benny P.'Iferoff's 'Funzafire' revue at the local opry this week, they may. have to rebuild the place. Cast of 'Fuhz' keeps dropping in on the audience from all bver the place and the customers eit it up,- hokiini and all..' '-.^ :; :; it's, all a mad riielange,; fromv the Usual bickeiring^in-the-audience giag right': up: to the ^finish, .and while wackiness. seeims to be the motif, there's still- plenty of solid, 0nter- taihment packed into the proceed^ ings. to .make this full-week stand by Meroff et al; rate- right with the best seen here. : It's, so clickful that even .at hbme-tbwii boy,, Al Devitb, has trbuble getting ,his shaire of play from :=the' audlence,i even : thoulgh Deyito's drum routine is. topnotch. ; If there is anything new in the revue, no :Orie hps bothered tb un- cover it. It .byerwhelms with quan- tity,, variety ahd a pace that leaves the audience br.eathless. » The Five Buster Browns do a cleyer : tuniblinfj act. . joe ^ Beniiet does an ants-jn-the-piants,. rubber- legged dance, all the time he's saking. Louise Shannon', reatly executes her tap nbvelties and Ken and ROy Paige bat each other's ears off in the best slaiostick tradition. • : ;'- Devito manages to cbhsume a boxr lunch while pounding the drums, be- tween visits by the ; Wyhn twins, the marhmbth and the midget pair who keep. Wandering around like kidis at a sideshb'w. . Soifte place: along the line, a couple of guys with mbre stamina than a-,sijt-day ..bike^ racer, Al Spirb and Billy Morosco,- come flitting on and; off, as well ias sun-: dry other anonymous persons. . The , only items that seem, this ^side Of the \ dream world are Merofll's band, a well-greased rhythin butflt Even: then the. leader's hat-rollinjg, juggling; hip-swinging and acrobatic baton-wielding are definitely: suspi- cious. The eye-filling line of eight is. on and off as miicb-ias the come- dians; it seenhs snappy. And then, of course. Donald O'Connor. With Doniald. .whb sings the 'Smiall Fry* number ivhich he did in a Bihg Grosby-Par filin, are brothei- Jack and sister Patsy. Patsy came so hear stealing the shbw, Meroff must be dreaming^ of firing all the comedians and finding himself a flock of eight-year-olds who can put Oyer 'When Irish Eyes are Smiling' and 'I'll Never Smile Again,' They throw in some tough taps for good measure. ■ ■ , - The b.o. Is prbfiting:. : Soff. HIPP, BALtO Boltinibrc^ Sept. 29. iic.an MiiTphy, Jyine Forrest, Cart :Philiddclphta, iSept. {W. George jesael. unit, toitfi: Rbchcll* Hudson, Jean Parker, Isahel Jetbell, Steffi Durid, . Lya Lys,: Betty Jane Cooper, Jfano_JSiua,_.,/ean.;Jffln4en8,I Ijou Schiadef's Orch (20); .Kildorc Goes Hoine:.'. ■ Philly!s prodigal : son—'bigtime vaude—returns here this week after; an absence of nearly , 11 mohthis, and ' the fans; are tossing beaUcoup-shekels at the b.b. The initial offering on the.boards, heavily ballyhooedi is George Jessel's . ton .Emmy • and Dogs, Do lores} Hollywood troupe, which, is much Dancers (4), Cae Foster Roxyettes (16), Phil LaTnpkin House Orch (12); 'He Stayed : for Brcak/ost' (Col). . :v: y - ■ weightier on the talent side than the usual run of units that coihc out of the cinema capital to personal. Much of the credit for making this above-. average entertainment is Jessel. him- Izzy Rappaport, is breaking in a i . , . i^. . • '^.V.- new policy here. Holding on to the ■ Quick .to sense the mood of his 16 Gae Foster Roxyettes as a perma- trouper was iri , good form nent feature and wrapping inter-1 show caught (Saturday (28) polated specialties around their njfht), and though it was the last of changing routines, he hopes tb de- ' a five-a-day, he managed to keep the • a weekly presentation . angle , ball rolling vwith^ plenty of zing. • ' Jessel kicks off the 55-minute turn with Lya Lys, the weakest of the septet of gals he has in tow. Her stint consists of gagging with the comedian, anent her .'ignorance' of U. S. currency. In ^e deuce: sjpot is Betty Jane Cooper (Mrs. Jimmy Although Cab Calloway and vir- tually the ssime lineup was at the Pai-amount, N. Y., little more thah a month ago, this sweeping collec- tion of music, hilarious comedy and dancing is the lively fare which is spelling terrific, boxoffice at this Brandt operation. Standing. room only at the start of the; last show Friday (27) night and capacity biz has r, prevailed since engagement started.. Changes since Cab Calloway had his bunch at the Paramount are the Three Chocolateers, who are in for Stump and . Stumpy, plus 'Spoons Brown. Latter has improved mightily siiice he first introduced his.: sooon- tapping routine, but is not up to standard of others with Calloway. "Chocolateers;—who've—been_at—th« Cotton Club, N. Y.r and in vaude for several years, register well with their clown dancing. : Introduce 'Hickey Rickey,' new dance conceit instead brtl^eif "old" 'Peckin' hUmfaer.- Solid hit here. Calloway* the always-in-motion maestro,. asserts his fine showman- ship by dominating the jive addicts and just plain rowdies, who last year frequently enjoyed disrupting pro- ceedings With their alleged humor. He took several such attempts in stride, and always was in command of the situation. It's the same neatly galted show which Calloway intro- duced in N., Y. late in August, from the Cotton Club steppers through the ballading and instrumental bi-jinks down to Avis Andrews. MissAndrews, one of the ace, sopranos of her race, still is warbling 'Man I Love' and 'Yours Is My Heart Alone' to tremendous returns. In the more dignified mood, too, is Benny Paihe's vocalizing of 'I'll STATE-LAKE, CMI _v [ Chicago, Sept. 29. • Intcrnationol Hollos (4), Dinning Sisters (3), Sidney Miller, Bruce Cabot, Bob Hall, Vilma and Buddy Ebsen, Walter Davidson and House Orch; 'Sporting Blood' XM-G) . • Plenty of show here and a suf- ficiency of names to satisfy any average audience. Picture people on the stage make up a heat rustle of excitement for this easily excitable set of customeris, and they were more than satisfied with the general uneup. Coming Up with a surprisingly good turn is Sidney Miller, who cleans the bases with an out-and-Out variety act that's solid. After a lit rather than the straight vaude at- tempted heretofore. - Current layout is titled 'Janiborec of Rhythm,'. and bpens . with . a wooden soldier routine by the line in a special, full-stage. set. . Nicely: worked out precision number leads into, introduction by girls b£. Cairlton Emmy and his well-trained dogs. Utilizing platform for neatly-exe- cuted .and skillfully-paced setto of canine tricks, Emmy uses a." swift line of: smart chatter to point uo the highlights of the act and builds to a highly satisfactory finish. Ekes but a goodly round of laughs. . June Forrest, vocalist does 'Never Smile Again,' a medley bf musical comedy numbers and 'Blueberry Hill.' Latter serves to bring on the Roxyettes for. a nicely .drilled pic- ture number utilizing parasols for series of groupings before • a special drojp. - Makes If bod spot for Dean Murphy, fast-working^ mimic, : who': utilizes a smart continuity to set off. his im- personations. Gives out with the usual characterizations. Closing take- off bf F.D.R. is very strong and a Clincher for good response. 'Indian Sumn^er' provides an elab- orate workout by the line of a be- feathered number to offstage vocal and a background of the three-way adagib by the . Dolores Diancers. Quartet of three men and a girl fea- ture the usual throws and catches, all strongly handled and an excellent flash. Makes for effective finish with specially built three-level stage rather nicely lit ■ Setup generally results in pleasin.e stage interlude. Top' early to tell power of change or effect on b.o. Interpolation of stronger specialties should help in that direction and a little extra attention to production would, also not be far amiss: Musi- cal support by Phil Lampkin and pit orch helpful : Biz when caught (Saturday): pretty fair. ■'. . . Burm. ORIENTAL, CHI impersonating Jolson, Hepburn, Rob inson, Lionel Barrymore and Arliss. Jolson aping is particularly fine and kept this audience: -blreaking into and can be booked anywhere on isheer entertainment value. r Bruce Cabpt makes it a quick five- minute turn for strictly -a !personal appearance.' A little talk about how glad he is to be here, a couple bf fair jokes iand . winds up with a quickie. re-enactment from a scene in- 'Dodge City.' Not much at any time, but Cabot .rates as pretty stand- ard flicker moniker, and is of value" on a general pop variety lineup, i Walloping click is the turn of Buddy and Vilma •.Ebsen; who smashed through to a resouncRhg audience reaction. They're person- able young people with a , screen background -airid,' what's more, im portant, a stage:. biackground that makes 'em right at home -on any ^^ Stt^'Ae^l^^^^ i^ rostr^.;yilma<Ebs€n.j5 particu^rly ivcvci piiilie -rxB"*^ . Satisfying, with a fresh and imme- Chicago, Sept 28. Rcddinotons (3), Patricia Paytqn, Masters and Rollins. Hudson Won- ders (2), Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys (6), Verne Buck House jprch; 'Three Facet Wealf (Rep) . Much was expected of the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys following the swingaround of the Kids last year to big vaude business. But the mixing of the two kid group- . . . ings makes a hodgepodge which re- 1 *^i?*"**^***^''i?'n^«Its-»»»^P'actica^^^^ on the stage and indicates just an average set of money marks' at the gate. ■ Three Dead End Kids and two. ■ , Induinapolis, Sept. 27. Ozzie Nelson, Orch, Harriet HiU _ liard, Roseanne Stevens, Don. Cum- S^pontmeousapplausev-Millerhahdl himself, with, professional sureness ] up a jumble of routines that have UP m the Air^ (MbnoJ; band musicians. Made to order for this audience is the glibly arranged 'St Louis Blues' by 'the full crew-ahd the Cab Jivers (4). Latter carve out a niche for themselves with their rug-cuttirtg; melodious gymnastics. Calloway's Principal song is 'Ut Ta Za,' which 'he hopes to make as popular ; as 'Jumping Jive.' ■: Six Cotton Club steppers again are clickeroo with their unison tapping. Cozy Cole, Whose work on the skins is noticeable early, again fea- tures that endurance workout on the ion instruments which always out is 'Paradidle,' but it's largely, a test of the drummer's solo skill. : . • Wear. .. . diately • likeable ■■ personality that warms up any audience. The team does . little singing, and .;rnore; 4ai>-; cing. - all of it. With, assurance and showmanship.-. Other acts generally should take note • bf the ciare with which this tarn has been built, espe- cially the highly effective' musical arrangements which help plenty in making this turn 100% clean-cut ■ Boh Hall m.c;!5 and takes his. timb. He does-.a long, turn on'His.own with, his extemporaneous rhyming, -but this audience found him pleasing and full of entertainment. Handles him- self .well and makes .the inost of a. 'ctsTTUW he pbu iids- -novelty-h>d<&*^-thai-lia-; along in .show biz for years; . . Opening .are the . InternatibnaJ_ii__. xauomcss R'ollbs with good roUerskating acroV+Trlday <28). little meaning tb any audience. Of all the kids on the Stage about the only one which the audience was able "to recognize at all was Bobby Jordan^ and after his first .speech he was lost in the shuffle. The kids run around, do a lot of yelling, take some prattf alls and generally reveal that they have come tb the stage without an act. They open with some rough- house wrestling which is listless, then try a burlesque of a dramatic bit which failed to garner a single titter from a usually easy, audience, and finish with; some military drill :clbwning which is as hopelessly in- adequate as the rest bf • the turn. : Remiaiinder :ojE the itibw is pretty standard and satisfactory. Three Reddingtons are an established tram- pbline act and spbred picely in the opener to get the show, away to a good pace. Patricia Payton ' : a young little singer who does all right on a couple of pop tunes. -V Masterst. and Rollins click -solidly with their Ibw-dbwnL ,clowriing.: The man has ia ,go,od .novelty dance rour tine Which might be developed into a ; real high point. The woman's goof us clowning • is surefire with any vaude niob.- "Hudson' Wonders con- tinue tb gtow up but mianage to over- come this handicap with a continued array of smart acrobatic dance rou- tines and a load of stage training that tells 'em how to sell their stuff. . Verne Buck and house orchestra are in, t he' pit throughout and turn in a good accompaniment jbV Business okay at. the. last show Gold. Wallington) in seefningly authentic Hawaiian hip-weaving number/ At this point Jean Manners busts in without introduction, posing as a local gal trying to break into pic- tures. Her 'tryout' consists of thrill- ing. "Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark/ with bumps. • Isabel Jewell is plenty clicky. Blonde brought plenty of palm-pounding in her rendition of a dramatic monolog portraying a waitress in a hamburger., joint and. her truckdriver lover. Steffi Duna. heavy on the gives out with 'La Cucaracha,' a tiine she introed to the screen.; Her attempt at following up with a form of the 'Mexiconga' cotild be im-. proved; She wheels about the stage for what appears to be a split-second and calls it quits; It should either ; be made into something or elimi'- nated entirely. Rochelle Hudson's voice is far. from ■ professional but she puts over Too Marvelous for Words' in fair style, depending on a cute smile to sell herself. Miss Manners returns in character (She's skedded to go into the cast of CLiL Abner') , and hoofs in wacky style. Miss Parker is the last of the gals to show. Although she's made her rep on the screen in the sweet roles, hier p.a; turn: is that of a shrewish wife in a restaurant skit with Jessel iand a stooge waiter. It's blackout stuff, but went over with the pew-holders.: Jessel's solo turn is new in these parts. It consists, of patter, about the difference between modem' tunes and those of yesteryear, inter- spersed between the lyrics of 'Let There Be Love.' Of course there's the usual self-ribbing about his wife (Lois Andrews) unable to be present because 'she's teething,' fete. It still brings snickers. Finale brings the gals back in coomphy evening goSvns, Jessel wearing a Rhett Butler getup and warbling 'A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody.' , Lou Schradcr's pit band, wearing evening clothfes in honor of their return to work, smoothing plays a popular medley overture. Baton- waving during the show is taken over by Jessel's own accompanist, Mario Silva. Tape* S.R.O. signs were up at this catohing. Shol. LYRIC, INDPLS. Bands are turning up at this house as regular as . records in a jukebox. Nelson and hs crew make an annual trek to the Lyric stage and come back again this time, the same boys in the four-rhythm, bne-trbmbone, three-trumpet and four-sax sections, plus the same two vocalists who have appeared here formerly. . This time three acts are added tb lend comedy, dancing, and acrobatics to the bill. Roseanne Stevens, local gal who joined the band here several years ago, is the standout in the vocal de- partment. She sits with band through firstnumber and deuce act then cbihes down front to: giye modern interpretatibn to .lSix Lessons.' 'No- : body's Baby,' Trnt. a Cat in the Know* and 'Can't Give Anything But Love.* She hiad trouble getting off and was only, released by the audience at show caught on the promise of a re- turn. > Her reappearance is for a stanza with the band, boys on 'Man . Who-Comes Around.' ,— . Harriet Hilliard (Mrs. Nelson) sings next to closing and hasn't changed the book since her previbiis appearance. Opens with husband and wife duet with bandmaster, the : innuendo being a chorus. of Tliat's •', for Me' (meaning her life with the outfit), then goes into 'Herb Comes the Captain,' 'Never. Smile Again,' and; special parody with Nelson on 'Two Sleepy People.' Finishes as itsyal with 'Heart Belongs to Daddy/. Teferfittg again to lier hu&bandr-Her-^ reference to pic appearances lea'v* (Continued on page 62)