Variety (Jan 1941)

WcdniBsday;: Janiiiiry 1, 1941 VAUHEmLE 97 Reviews sCpntiniicd Xroni page 36; Victor Hugp, Beverly Hills and doing s UltiieSlpr-fr^^^ . The Bernie band is; new here as are its sojbiists,; It is a refreshing! collectioin of youthful melody makers^; and fits perfectly-for' the terpsir , chorean requitements. Theii: rhund- i bas and -congas are especially suited ' to the dancers; ;/ ' v iSernie carries five chanfers, two lemjne, and> three .yoiiths. Gals, the; Bailey Sisters,' are ~a comely, duo with melodic voices- that; - blend: beautifully in torch renditions, JVjth musical p'icts' in. offing, it's .likely- the gals may get set: in a,film. or so around here. Same goes . for Billy Carey, wtio goes foir. the j^itterbug type of iriyodizing. Other chanters are an Irish tenor; John Timothy Ryan, with' a sweet; melodious voice, and baritone Dori.Saxton. - .With good balanced troupe, draw is strictly cbiitirigent' on^Bfirnje, who has vast .iacquaint'ah'ce. and fQllowihg her? and who: will.-: undoubtedly bolster tfade in the;establishriient.v ■ •'■ •■ ■ v't'.W::' CHEZ PAREE, CHI .' .CWcagb, Dec. 26. : Four Ji^ronlcs, Juvclvs - (2) / Jonc Fromdn, /oe' E; LcuHs, Fred Evans pallet (16), I.OU - Breese Ordh, . Don ' Orlando Ofch: ^ The Ghez maintains its generally . high entertainmeht, excellent serv-; Ice and splendid atmosphere oh the current show, with Joe Ei . Lewis holding over and further demon- strating that he has become a triily great comedian. Lewis' standard •material Has be- come classic already in.; show busi- ness, and he is constantly brushing up With new piecies. Of more iiti- iwrtance is the distinctly stahdout comedy, style of. delivery that he has Dolished to a high brilliance. He is strictly the best muggs'; comic around -today, though also one for. those of the upper strata who like their humoi' lowdbwn. Also shining is Jane Froman, who seemingly geis. better each appekr- ance. /L looker, she whangs any . audience with her inimitable vocal style. Even powders 'erii with strictly baritone tunes as- 'Ain't , Necessarily So.' Impresses as, one who would bie most' happy with strictly ballads and torch stuff, but she insists on doing a general , lihfe of vocals, and at present Miss Fro- man can do no wrong. . The Four Franks have grown rapidly in. the past couple of years and are now getting a bit too jnature for saxophone .playing and .kid clowning. At least the blonde'girl has the basis for an adult turn with her hokum comedy/ the brunet, figures for some neat solo ..dancing in adult style, while the two fellows can drop thfe saxes for ^ome'straight hoofing.. The Juvelys are ah out;-. -Standing novelty acrobatic balancing co'iple. Their .head-to-head stuff is strictly, original. /Lou. Breese orchestra ; is' back at the old stand and is a real welcome sigh. Always a neat musical aggre-r. gation,. it proves itself with nifty . playing of this sho,w and for the dancing. : . ' ' y To Fred Evans goes the nod for putting on a stirring dance number. •Birth of the Colored Dance' is the Ijast word in rhythm, 'choreographyj style and expression. With the cos- tume assistance of Frances Pallester and the Breese. orchestra musically, the number blossoms as something to see and talk about. Gold: BLUE ROOM, N. O. (HOTEL ROOSEVELT) New Orleans, Dec. 28. Bill Bordo'a Orch, Mortort Doibnei/, Esther Todd, Ori . P^sici, Darlene Wilderj ahd Maurine an^ This swank; spot, with kood sho'ws as a rule^ maintains the stiaindard ■with Bill Barjdb's versatile ; crew. Spot continues to. attract capacity cro'wds; iJbtrceable is shbrthess vof show, put it moves in good tefnpb: ahd:iri entertainment value is ;a hbli- day package wrapped up with all the :trimmin§(s;. ■ ^ Oh strength of previous. : visits, here arid an; entirely pleasing,' wtork- nianlike; creW»;o9ardo V is drawing them in large numbers. /Batdb i:i an easy-going mVc; enhanced by the ab- .sehce bf a patent-leather ;finish, and is a wise selection for a. holiday sea- sbri meant to: be friendly .and jubilant. No slouch on violin,., he batolns- orchestra; from the. 'Blue. ; Danube* to the cbhga. .'His boys play ; the music .of . Argentina, of nostalgic America, of modern- swing—the lat- ter with special gusto. Young' aind old. -went for. his music in a big way on openinjg night, the oldsters, for :the waltzes and the yburigsters for the jive. ■: Band's mxisic is a' nice blending bf ."Wind arid istring.although the brasses . were a little heavy at opener be-^ cause Bardbi like every leader who comes to Blue Room, has difficiiltty at first toning it.dbwh,to size bf 'the room. Combo, also provides excel- lent background for the sihbw. Boys in the groupi are also versatile^ ih putting across gag niimbers .as part of floor show. ; , . Topping acts Mbrton Downieyi- who cbntributeis several familiar American, ballads of .other years and reaped plenty of palm ' pounding from- first pighters, But wheri he sang, ..'When Irish Eyes. Ai-e Smiling,' crowd barely would let him go. . . Esther. Todd, looker with nice pipes,' ;W.orks easily-arid - sells a song. . Menibers. of band join in choruses and novelty tunes for. good change; of paice.. Daflehe Walder,, acrobatic dancer,; does a number of nifty routines to. get nice hand.. Ori Pesci, handsome .Vfarbler, clicks with his singing. Femmes go for him. ih big -way. ..' ■■■ As a dance - team, : Maurine' and Norva step into originality by; ap- pearing in Argentine costunnes of the plains intead of the usiial formal iat- tire.; Tbeir Latin routines Sniack of the. rea; -thing and they click strongly .Pair left crowd ^aisking fbr more after a cbnga lehcore. ;> . Doing swing arid swieet with equal ease," Bardo's band had little trouble keepmg the dance floor crowded be- fore and after the show. : Liuzza. liYNck'S, PHILLY :. ' :(WAL*rQN'.HbTEL).'. Philadeiphifl. Dcci 26, ■. ;. Bob Russell, Lee'. Lambnt, Gracie George, Paul LeJ?oul, Patricia King, Chaney and Fox, House Line (14) ; Neil Fontaine Orch 0.5); August Sanahia's, Rhumbd Band (6) ivith Felicia, Lou Morrisoji, ■'■ Nino Ndnni, Helene Heath, Siisan Lang, Rochelle Gprdon, Vera Niva; No Covers J/o Minimurn. . .. '; .. Plenty - of life for the holiday trade in this week's offerings at Jack Lynch's. Walton Hotel Roof; Al- though he iis still sticking to the no- name policy, Lynch's; show has plenty of talent and entertainment. Standout-act is the hobflrig dub of Chaney and .Fox, longtime Philly faves making their umpteenth re- turn, here. The couple feature a Cakewalk to the tune of 'O, Dem Golden Slippers' Which is .the theme of Philly's New Year's Day Mum- mers' parade. The team's entire repertoire has plenty of zing; Among their steps are everything from waltz to..,boogie-woogie, plus a sock take- off of the Castles' 'Texas Tommy.' The tempo of the rest of the bill is also geared to festive spirit! Grace George (New Acts), the latest 'find* bf Al Siegel, knows: how to'sell a song. • ■., : Paul Le Paul's magi act is still one of the best in the riitery fields He doesn't takie the legerdiethain- biz Seriously ' and. his . clowning catches: on With the aud. Best trick in his bag. is changing a live canary iritb a corsage. Lee Lamont does her usually good job bf tap-terping. Patricia King, a brunet looker who's being gandered by pix scouts, does a coiiple of modern dance num- bers and one with maestro Neil Fon- taine. . Bob Russell, longtime hold- ever, m.c.s handily besides, givihg out with .sevei-al ba.ritone numbers, the best bf them being 'Donkey Sere- nade,' 'America I Love You' arid 'Wagon Wheels.' Russell also leads the community sing that is the flriale of. the .SO-minute show. The house line appears in three production numibers, beautifully, gowned, and well executed. In keep- ing with the Christmas Spirit is the openirig number in which the gals appear as nuns, holding candies with, the entire company singing Yuletide carols frorifi backstage. ; ■ Fontaine's band, going into its sec-:, ond year here,, is how a smart, tune- ful aggregation. Its arrangements by pianist Eddie De Luca, ex- symphony . key-pounders; . are ear- soothing, both during the show, and for: dancing. The relief band, Saha-: bia's rhiimba sextet, fills in neatly with Felicia, a Latin looker, handling the south-of-the-bbrder vocalizing. . Lou, Morrison and Nino Nanhi bang the ivories in the -cocktail lounge/with Helene Heath, Susan Lbrigi: Rochelle ; G'prdon arid Vera Niva (ioirig the; chirping.; Shah . m FOtUES'HEADS Unit Reviews Revue Iiiteriiationale . (Continued from page 36) . 'South American Way.' 'Beside^ put- ting the,: accent on some revealing costumes designed by Francis -Pal- lester, this- numbef marks vaiide debyt .of Spanish .team bl}led as Manuela Del Rip and: Alberto Torres. They are riot..bnly unique-but .ex-; trabrdinary in doing a native daiice ^yith; clicking: castanets. \Althbugh starting klowiy. they work up. to a fascinating pitch in. vivid rhythms that have: an air of Spanish authen- ticity. .■ ■ .^ . '. Truzzi is a Latiri juggler'Who:does best by. manipulating glass globes on wand, between teeth or. phos- phoresdent balk in dark. Missed tbp often here bri balls thrown frorii audience Top:hits of the shindig are Nonchalants,> trio of' knbckaibout acrbbats whb nearly slap each.bther silly • to cop; a :iaugh, which they usually get. . Boys are clever: in ef- fortless strbng-mari stuff, too. Singing Maririies; returnirig; for finale , in blue, uniforms, look too. rnuch like chprus boys, but corny touch is taken' off. by hearty singirig- bf 'God Save America'.as showgals Whip , up flrst-rate precision taps, in red, white and iJlue costumes.; En- tire effect has a terrific patriotic wal- lop that is more the result of high professionalism in production values than anything else. In that respect,: as well as in extiravagarice 'of set- tings, it's far superior to the ordi- narjr vaude road show. . JPulicri. MIDNIGHT IN MIAMI (B|M>ABWAY, CHARLOTtiB, N; C.) Charlotte, N. Q., Dec. 13. : Newrnari: Btosj, .Kohn i&. DePintb, Joe : WcGfOth. and Jack Dieds, fait arid Boorie; The Rossini Troupe (4)',' The Miamiettes ilO), Harry Shdri- non's Band (5).; 'Jennie' iZOth). 'Midnight in Miami' is ah excep- tionally well-balanced unit of high- calibre . acts combining dancing,; comedy,. -Wire acrobatics, sorigs apd instrumental : acts.-.; Though no single act cbuld rate as sock, the total effect is distinctly pleasing. Helen Taft -and Marvin Boone, tap team, open "with an. above aver- age routine, highlighted by a revue of rage dances of the past two decades, .including Charleston, Suzie Q .and others, culminating in a nifty jive nuriiber. ;• The; act is accoriti- pariied by ;pbetic patter which adds interest. -Newman Brbs. ' follow in comedy turn that is spotty, with a few clever gags. On the whole, though,' it's rather weak. Mahnie Kbhh and Jimmy Depinto do an instrumental turn tops. in showmanship. Kolin plays fiddle and DePintb aiccordion. Although he does a lot of mugging, Kohn really sells a hot fiddle. Turn moves fast -with both members working hard to please. ■ Best renditions are Twelfth Street Rag', and *St; Louis Blues.' Attempt to get audierice participation on singing old faves failed to click.; . Joe McGrath and; Jack Deeds are pleasing iri a singing. turn. Both vaude vets, McGrath is a tenor and Deeds. a bass and the combination goes over wfeir.. . They pipe such standards as 'Lonesome Road,' .'After I'm Gone' and 'Old Man River.' McGrath -impersonates a . sick, neglected wife in a . domeistlc .skit that packs laughs. The Rossini troupe, brothers' and sisters act, is exceptionally good in-the wire-per- forming department. Members of the troupe jump rope,' dance, do splits and other acrobatics on wire that make for smooth, arid fastrinov- ing act. Line; on four times, is impressive in opener, a neat turn: with tennis racquets, illuminated for lighting effects, and In . a patriotic military revue flrially. ; Line apoears well- trained and is strong, on looks. Nifty cbsturiiing also enhances. ' Unit doesn't use ari eincee; Harry Shan- non's band plays from stage. and blends in nicely bn acts, with' ex- ception of. playing top .loud on one ■vbcal,. .. . House did fair biz,: ; Just, ':. Internaltiohal Casino , Pittsburgh^ bee. 3L ; • 'Ice Follies'. is doing. .s^irisationaHy here at Gtarderis arid .' will'- knock down close to $70,000 fbr ll--.per- i forriiances. - That's alin.Ost $5,000 'bet- i Iter than rink revue did X^as^^ week •last year; wh.!en its engagement was. rtwo days longei*; Shbw opened Xma-s f night and will ruri: through Thurs-.; i '. day: .'(2), .with "bne matinee and Ne.w j. [ Vear's Eve extra includedj and re- | i mainihg performances V are .praCr. " tically sellouts. ■ . .'Ffallies' will corne back to Gardens next spring for- another, week's stay. Troupe moves from ;.here to Phila- : dolphin Friday (3) for.a nine-day cn- '.gagemeri't,;.';'.:'. ' ■ ■ - Bobby Morris Co. {iV^ Chicik.and Lee,:The De Oros, Martin and Allen, Al Gordon, ■ Betty Lfitdley, Lee Kelson, Whitey's ■.Harvest. Moon CHarhpions (6), Line; (U); Henry Ciiicione House Orch;: 'No, No. Nanette' (RKO). Harry Howard has jrevampe.d his iHollywood Hotel Revue,' now :blb.s-' soriiirig forth under a new.tag. /E-v- erythihg considered, unit is among best to: play this territory, bijt it is obvious-the b.o. will suffer'from lack of big or even fariiiliar names. -Re- taining : the .better prpdUttion. ffea-* ^ .tiires of the. original! show mov.es with exccedirigly . fas,^ paie despite ^ riumerous rough spots still needing i, the iron.. ^ -' ■ '-I The Chester Hale Line is the top feature. Gals are air lobkei".">, like- 'wise b.kay :. hoofers. Costumes- and scenery, eriipha.sized by tHck lightr Ing effects, are impressive. Feature } dan<iing acts, the Spanish De Orbs, I Acti Startil. E TIVOLI, B'KLYN June St. Glair, Elconpt ..Shetidan, Paulrt;. Litid, Sunya Slane, Charlie Countryi Jack' BuckVey, Floyd Hal- liceyi' iGartetc Price, Lenore & Charles, Eight^BHovigxrls,'!!. Ponic?. : Burlesk policy, ait this house Is riew, but the two-hoUr ,presehtatibri by Allen Gilbert is the same old burley doled out in the usual rdta- tioij of strip, skit, dance arid repeat. Ari; atteriipt: is made to bfeak ■■ it tip, also per usual,;with tapi sequences in one by-a :malie hoofer, but this does little to disturb the regular sequence. Show's strorigest appeal-lies in the- costuming and . dressing pf the' vaii'- ous pfbductibn riumbers staged by' Gilbert.' 1 Several of them: garnered spbntanebus applause when caught last show opening night (Friday). Tivoli is a former vaude stand more recently operating under a pic- ture policy. It's a fairly large. hbuse as burley Stands go, seating, approxi- mately 1,600 .upstairs and; dbwn.. It's in the .sariie : rieighborhbod as- the Ray-mond Bros*' Star theatre, which has been, serving Brbbklyh .bur- lesque-goers for years... Tivoli -/gels 65c top for boxes, 55c downstairs and 39c bri the shelf.: Peel section is headed by June St; Clair, who's oil last,and. rates the top spot. She uses ai .tiiriely spiel in verse re the tendencies of soldiers, which accounts for the colorful cos- tuming along military lines. Wears a red cape with epaulets, • etc,. Her strip is smoother and done with more finesse thari those contributed by her coritemporaries, Eleanor Sheridan is on first and wastes a lot of: time before getting down tb the basic idea for being oristaee. She's well equipped for, her calling. ; . Sunya Slarie is mor^ ariimated. She's a : mild edition of Georgia Sothem, employing the same arm- swinging, forceful walk and bumps. Audience approval is urimistakable. Paula Lind is a slim: redhead who seems to put more thought into her strut Her peel is accompanied, by strenuous grinding and bumping. ^. None of the peelers go beyond bead ornaments, being content with slipping brassieres for a quick peek before slipping into the wings. Cover-up attitude is noticeable in the line, too. Not once are the ponies asked to bare anything; but a limb.^ Of the. eight showgirls only: one, featured Bobbie Drake,, goes as far as the strippers in. uncovering. . Coniedy by Charley Courtnev and Ja'ck: Buckley is weak, though the delivery of , the two seems able enough. All of the skits they use, some of which are fariiiliar and others vice versa, are straighted by Floyd Hallicey. Tb open "the laugh segments they use the thread- bare 'I Want a Baby' biz using Paula Lind and Eleanor Sheridan. Two girls work elsewhere "with the laugh getters also, . . Lenore and Charles, adagoists, fit into one of the later line routines. Their lifts arid spins are unexciting. Routine includes nothirig outstanding and occasionally the exiecution be- comes ragged. Unbilled tap dancer, who may be Garrett Price (front office doesn't know) tosses in monotonous work in two or three slots. 'His taps never seem to vary from one try to the other. His last insertion late in the layout is accom- panied by drumming ori. a; chair, Only thing professibnal about that' is the. use of regulation drumsticks. Wood. Waterbtiry Burley Back ; Waterburyi.Cbrin., Dec. 31. Burlesque is back at the Jacques hefe^- ■■ ■ . Waterbury;. .iaridrriark's " cu^^^^ shpwing..^ Louise.. 'Stewart's troupit, twb-a>day, at 77g: topi< .' - ■ and the Harvest Mopri jittetbugs, get by—no more. .■ •■ . ' . .Chick and Lee- steal laurels from chief comic: Botiby. Morris.; Debunk- ing some of the radio people, the. bbys with realistic jmperSoriationS are solid clicks.. Morris garriered a fair share bf laughs in blackouts.' Is haridicapped by necessity. of keep- ing humbr ; out of gutter, the blue pencil .killing his offering to such ari extent that he frequently Ipoks bad. : AV Gordon; arid his dogis as usual are more than OK. Martin, and Air len have a typical acrobatic-muscle turn.^ Baritbne .Lee Kelson displays fine; pipes -in production nuiribers, biit. riewcpriier .Betty Dudley; bb- •viously -• still Suffers . frorii .riiike fright,, .FinalCi building , from the Ziepfeld-type. tableau into a ;;Shbw- bbat' setting via a quick ;6n-stage change, is ■ strong. Business at show caught prily fair '' Sans. :■. San li'raricisco,' Dec. 31.; .New Chinese ;nitery: opened, .here' Friday: (B*?) in ah effort to cash in on the gravy beirig collected by-theiForr. bidden. Cityi home -of • the first Ori- ental strippen. ::'Wrhat's' more, the new spot, the Irion's , Deri, .op,era.ted by Tommy lio'ng,. signed- up the TbrbidV, den City's .talent and thereby Iporiis' a battle. .. • ' : As- near as Occidentals can. figure it out, .Charley: Low, pf; Forbidden City, neglected to sigh his fipbr show tb contracts; . whereupon Torig talked.- Nbel Toy, stiripper, arid fbtir line girls' into John Hancbckirig. ori; the dotted, line. ■ The. Mei Lings, classical d,aner' ers, reifused to be teriapted. - Low,' alarmed at (he loss bf his mbney- making stripper, hastened to prbdyce a contract pi his own with -which he. assertedly pacted Noel .for;,.a' fpur-' ■\yeek.period.-: v:^.'.! •:.•■ With Mlss Tby billed to appear iri both spots simultaneously, "TOng went to court to halt Low from getting his stripper back, claiming contractual priorityv;;:.;;- ■"■ ■ ■;; '. Biz has beeri' so terrific at Lowfs. Forbidden City since its, recent Life rhag break that extra shows have had to be-added.:'..Dancirig now; starts; early as ,7:30, .with the Chinese floor show grinding at jB:30, H:;p.m. arid .1 a.in. - ■ - \ BEN RILEY'S INN jUi^^ 283G; UiUHLlTiEl 837G Ben Riley Estates,; iric., operators Saratoga, N. Y., which filed a volun- tary petition of barikruptcy In the New York federal court last week, filed ischedules Thursday (26) show- ing assets of $283;i42 and liabilities of $837,332. During the week Louis Fischer Was appointed receiver by Judge Henry Warren Goddard and a three-man: creditors' cbmmittee was appointed. Of the assets, $248,842 is real es- tate, while equipment, flxtutes and furniture ate worth $32,000. Only secured claim on the liability end is the $318,8Ci0 claim by the Chase Bank,, while unsecured creditors total. $496,> 306. Most of the money oweii is' to Ben C. Riley personally, on -Iparis. Mosic Muff Threaten^ .Chmp on Cieve^ Joints Cleveland, Dec. .31.. Because most riitery owners forgot all about a little matter of expiring music perriilts, about 200 joints were threatened with shutdoWns on New. Year's Eve by Charlie H, Bringman, city inspector of music. Exactly 400 licenses r'ari but on Dec. 31. Up to Sunday (29) half pf the prpprietofs of niteries, ciafes and beer-stubes had neglected pr ignpred . official requests for renewals. In- censed inspector said he was going to get toUgh about it and would take a S(l)uad of cops albng on the big night to shutter eyery offender whb hadn't kicked across'.with $5 for;a six month music perriiit With tool-making plarits and some of the country's key-steel factories here golrig full blast for war or^eirs, impressarios looked forward to a; bPbm Eve :busiriess. Orders for ad- vance, reservations went way' over last year's mark in, iaill downtown spots, with hotels' reporting early. sell-outSi ' ■ :'.,• '■ ' Tsfix MagicbS* Bcioze IVicks in Di^ : --: ■ Jackson, Misis., pec. -SL A magician in this state may snatch rabbits 'from his hat is long as he. wishes;. but if he has any cock- tails in his top-piece he had better kieep' them . there,; Assistant Attbr- rtey-perieral Edwin.Holnries, Jr., has held: that Mississippi's borie-dry hard", liquor statute: prohibits the ' use of intoxicating beverages jn . a ;magi- jcian's .trick-/ ' ;.. . -'^ ':[-:.."...y\ .The ruling was' in. answer; to '"a questiori- frprii C. Jarii'es -. McLeMbre of ind ianapblis, Irid., attorney' for the: Internatioriai ; BrotherhPod of. Magl- ciariSi A similar ruling was recehtly. passed in .Tennessiee,;- ; It chiefly affects such petformers as Think*.a-Drink;'Heffmari,. should he be boPked in eithfer.,state.