Variety (Feb 1941)

HOUSE REVIEWS B.O.; 6 J) Pay 40G for All-Star By JOE. SCQOENFELD . r Kaye,- accompanied on the;piano by At 3:55 Saturday morning (22), as, his wife. Sylvia Fine, .-■'■ ..'-.: Gracie Fields backgrounded : with ,The DeMarcos, lpne ballroom team 'There Will Always Be. An 1 'England/, in 'the show, were one .of^its put- Queen Victoria, in the person of . standing. smashes with' the Levitsky Helen Hayes; brought the curtain Waltz and a routine to Begin the down on the 'Carnival for'Britain,' Begulne/ .. . - '■■ ■ at Radio City's Music Hall, with the. . Moors and' Gaxton ., dramatic: pledge' out. of 'Victoria Victor Moore and William G-axton, Regiha' that England shall not die, singing new lyrics- by George S, In her extraordinary makeup as | Kaufman to 'Wintergreen for Presi- Brltain's renowned queen, and flanked by the monster benefit's en- tire' cast and the "color guard of the British Great War Veterans of Airier dent/ aided by the ensembles from 'Louisiana Purchase* and 'Panama Hattie/ plus the M.H.'s glee club and the outside, choirs in . the show, were lea, Miss Hayes was an electrifying other outstanding features. Peggy climax for a star-studded show. Shei j wopd, currently in 'Old Acquain- brought the theatre's, capacity audi- ance> . was; likewise socko In her tnce to its: feet in; a spontaneous s i ng i n g stint, doing one of the num T burst of applause: ■ ' • • . bers from 'Bitter Sweet/ in which A distinguished, ; ^htte-tie-and- he . starred in , London for two years; tails audience, *t a shigh as $35 J Qn the ot her hand, Joe. Cook and seat (for the. side-stage tables), £lled Howard L i n dsay had little to do; b.e- the monster-sized theatre io. over- mer ei y springboards for, the .ap- flowing, and.nearly all \o££«n re- pe | ranGes 0 , Miss. Merman. Miss mained glued tojheir^eats until the Waters and Robinson. Olsen and early-morning blowofl Up ahead U h br0U ght their 'Hellzapoppin' they saw an array of talent, which nsefnble over for the «Boomps-a- no theatre fcould afford to pay in one. show, slough 'em in en joy ably monotonous succession. This .was truly a parade of stars, with talent so superb . that: even a vaudeville booker's : nightmare, , of Slaving three single women ^singers Pllowing one another, turned . Into a triumph, singly and collectively. First Miss Fields, who flew in from the Coast, wowed *em with 'The Last Time I Saw Paris/ 'The Biggest Daisy' routine with the customers The show had but two disappoint- ments, Walter Huston, who went to Canada,- and Burns and . Allen, first announced by Brock Pemberton, a surprisingly potent m.c„ who then said they weren't on hand. • . Other m.Cs were W. G. Van Schmus, the M,H.'« mahaging di- rector, who made a brief opening „ speech about the cause, and Arthur apidestra in the- World/ 'Co-op* preacher and Boris Karloff, both of - v ■ - - - - —•"•«-•• 1 the latter also brief. Erno Rapee conducted the. "M.H/s symphony, spotted on the rear stage platform, which played the show excellently Other M.H. contributions were . the .Shop' and, after an ovation, a cpmr •dy number dedicated to. Mussolini titled -He's Dead, but He Won't Lie Down.' Brock Pemberton, emceeing at the time, best summed up all pos ; (the war), money lor .the broadcast could not be accepted. As a result the broadcast was- tendered to WNEW and confined to the metro- politan area as a sustairier. . Hitler o 'Dog' or •Ape-'f Brock Pemberton, chairman of the committee on the programs and pub- licity, figured in a controversy oyer the use of Maxwell. Anderson poem,. 'Vulpine Physiog/ panning Hitler. It was especially, written for the program, but the British War Relief heads ruled, otherwise. Rhyme referred to Hitler as a dog and also likened him: to- an ape, one of the dailies printing it in-full. ■■'■: When Anderson: was contacted, he is quoted saying; 'I only called. Hit- ler a dog. Worse things than that have been said about him/ Pember- ton had asked Anderson to write the verses as editor of the program and burned when it was turned down; He said 'The British are fighting for. freedom, . which includes, the free> dom of expression, and yet they cen- sor the program book by turning down this' swell poem/ Anderson prefaced his verses with 'That man's face is a 'disgrace, to Europe/ It was. reported that the British Relief heads passed the buck, to Peter Colfax, press, man for the're- lief society, and Lloyd Ring Cole- man, of . the J.. • Walter Thompson agency, which places advertising for the society. Coleman said the poem was a 'little too hot to be published in a charity program booklet/ Peo- ple 'around the society's; offices opined that the words 'dog' and 'ape', were 'conservative' descriptions of Hitler. ••' :.. . .•>'.■ . ,. Pembertpri received messages pro and con of the poem's rejection, one telegram ending with .'J. resent the insult to the dog/ Wednesday, February 26, 1941 MUSIC HALL, N. Y. I PARAMOUNT, N. Y. Arnaut Bros^ June Forrest; Robert Shanley, Marie Grimaldi, Nicholas Ella Fitzgerald Orch : (14) under direction of Babe Wallace , with and Chuckles, Bob Howard; 'You're the One* (Par)/reviewed in Variety, Feb. 5i. -, All-colored : aggregation on the' Paramount stage this week, headed by Ella Fitzgerald, is slick and Ballet, Symphony Orch under direc rion of Erno Rapee; 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' (RKO), reviewed in Variety, Jan. 22. . " Rather than having Its usual streamlining,' though it has that in some respects, this . week's stage . c .. s .. . . table d'hote ii a short repeat. It shpwmanlyi As topper Miss; Fitz runs, but 25 minutes, while the gcrald whams . across varied lineup orchestral overture consumes eight, of smooth and swlngy lyrics to-re- Erno Rapee's large symph outfit that leave little_doubt.about, plays 'Valse . Caprice/ written by the a^enee^ ,^°. te ;. u F !^ € . 0 Clock Richard Mphaupt, a young Euro- Whtstle' and 'Whatcha Know. Joe 1 pean composer. It's getting its first are possibly the most appealing as performance here. The work em- novelty tunes, , with •'A-Tisket-A- bodies fragmentary theme* of out- T?skef wisely, tying in with Miss standing waltzes and is generally f W* record and radio popu Viennese in character. SomeWinter- I lanty.for a clincher, esting passages figure. Leon Leonidoff. the theatre's senior producer, calls his little stage unit 'Sweethearts/ It's In four scenes, all agreeably entertaining albeit without any particular sock. The first is billed as 'What is This Thing Called Love?' and embraces hit tunes by Cole Porter and, „, 1t- _ , „.., „-„v . Rodgers-Hart,; with the. arrangement warbled by Wal 8Ce^^Band^eaches credited to Anthony R. M6relli. Gl^e Peak club, in afternoon dress, gives the | sequence its opening, while for a vocal interlude Robert Shanley and June Forrest serve as a romantic double, later winding up things with Babe Wallace in front of the band, also doing vocals, , turns in a swell job of batoning the former Chick: Webb orch, which lun,ctiQns expertly. Musicians' playing of 'Chicken Ain't Nuthln' But a Bird/ with Wallace vocals, stand out. following their 'Rhythm Man' and 'Santa Fe Trail' (ballad), both of latter 'also ,being ORPHEUM, MPLS. when Teddy McRae at the.sax and a guitar solo, are featured. Peg-Leg Bates opens strongly with some clever tapology and draws re- _ _ turns which prompt crack: 'Ericour- the gleeclubbers. the voices of the age me and I'll break the other leg/ S.hanley-Forrest twain are pleasing. Comedy patter is light but one-leg- Nicholas Daks and Marie Grimaldl ger's acrobatic number arid intricate ffront a graceful but not especially maneuvering on stump is nothing ingenious routine for the . ballet- short of amazing, bunch. Theme is colonial and the Bob Howard turns In a sock per- large manse ballroom setting, nicely fprmaflce : singing 'Melancholy Babsr designed, matches. - Costumes' pro- with comedy" interpolations, fol- vide old-fashioned warmth as well as lowed with cute novelty imitation of color. : mechanical player; "piano. 'Franklin The Arriauts dp their old lovebird Di Roosevelt Jones' highlights the turn and. relinquish the stage to the | Howard act, which closes ,with take the ballet, with which Maria Grir maldi and Nicholas Daks soloed. Although George S. Kaufman was originally scheduled to stage the' benefit with Vinton Freedley, he had to.-forego because of the press of other .work, and Freedley carried on aione. Latter did a masterful job on the: whole. ■ible praise for Miss Fields when he Rockettes, a near-flnale smash, and ■How can we let down a-coun- try which produces such preat artistes as Miss Fields.' Ethel Merman Boffs'Era Shortly after Miss Fields, Ethel Merman, in her •Panama Hattie' set- up, boffed with 'I Get a. Kick Out pf- You,' *I Got Rhythm' and 'Let's Be Buddies/ Then Ethel.Waters, with, . what appeared to be the show's top Sudden BOOItt III TlCKet reception after her singing of •Stormy Weather* and Taking a Chance on Love*: from her show, •Cabin In the Sky/ Bill Robinson made it two colored clicks in suc- cession when he followed with two. dance routines. There were a few slow spots, but on the whole the 'Carnival* was well worth the price of admission. Ger- trude Lawrence, though currently Sroadway's top star via "Lady In the ark/ was In the strange position .of opening the show with a special shortwave hookup via WNEW to Charles B. Cochran, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and Lord Mayor George Wilkinson in London- The three show i>iz w.fc/s were' repre- sented on the stage by empty, chairs Minneapolis, Feb. 23. .. Clyde McCoy Orch (13) with Ben- nett Sisters (3) and. pick Lee, Gil Lamb (2); Hudson Wonders (2); Ray and Trent; 'High Sierra' (WB). lighted with the names of 'Cockie/ ♦Vivien' and 'Larry/ and their .voices coming over the p.a. system was an Initial thrill. The effect lagged, how- ever, when the conversations ex- tended into platitudes and great Sales ; $12,000 Program The 'Carnival for Britain' held from Friday (21) midnight until dawn Saturday (2-2) at the Music Hall, Radio City, could have been spotted in Madison Square, so great was the demand for tickets. The price scale, ranged from $10 to $1 One week before the event the Hall's directors and the Theatre Wing of the British War Relief Society, which conducted the show; were in a panic over the light ticket sale. As soon as : the show was advertised, how> ever, there was a weekend rush for the boxofflce arid orders were given to cancel further paid ads, SRO be- ing assured. All was not sweetness and light among the members of the several committees, .'which • included a num- ber of socialites. One of the latter sent word to til* Rockefeller aides who conduct the Hall that she could thahks to Miss Lawrence rather than not afford to be identified with a all of American show biz for its help failure.. She. is said to have sent out to England. The Lord Mayor's 1,000 letters requesting ticket pur- speech about England's 'carry I chases, When the surge of patron- through' was a saving grace towards age calmed down, the Theatre Wing the finish. • . I group wondered how requests from Another' slow session was provided well knowns could be filled. Quite by 'Information Please/ which was a number did not obtain tickets, spotted on the pit elevator, with F. P. How the tickets were suddenly Adams. John Kieran, Oscar. Levant snapped up was explained by mass and Clifton Fadimari as the experts orders, one from the British Relief arid Deems Taylor as Interlocutor. Fund bemg for 2 ,500 out of a total Dan Golennaul, producer, was seated 0 f 6,200. Other big orders were ac- alongslde Taylor, who made.the an- ceptedi w jth the result that no. tick- nouricement that Golenpaul wouia ets were available even for the press, contribute $50 towards British R*l ie i committee in charge saying . it was for every question they missed. .Tnen so mucn cohcerried when the sale , followed an almost endless string oi i agge( i that no thought was given I quizzes, most of them simple, chosen thaf angle- ? by 'Info Please's* editors, and at the Total takings went to over $40,000 windup Golenpaul was nicked lor Qf that suni| about: $26,200 came only $100. ^ frqni tickets, while there was $12,000 Fred Allen Qnlpii. I in lids in the program.. Latter was Fred Allen was m.c. at this point to have been given away- gratis,, but and gave the house its two biggest ^ was decided tha't patrons . could laughs when' he said: ■ pay whatever they wished, such coin <THis is the first time Tve been being counted, as-: donations which on the. stage of the Music. Hall—; uppe d the total take. The Music Hall now I know how a termite feels was donated in entirety, as. was the in the Vale ; Bowl.' He followed case three years ago, when a benefit this with the crack that, he had \ was similarly held there 1 after mid- just teamed the: janitor of the -night for American flood sufferers, MM. is. Superman. . There were any number of social: af- Irving Berlin's new tune, *When fairs before and a,fter the show, That. Man Is Dead. and' Gone/ was | while the restaurants in Radio City given a terrific rendition by the colored St. Elmo Johnson Choir, kept open until 6:30 a.m. Timing ooiorea oi. suuu . . was about perfecty since it ushered with Edward Matthews as soloist, in Washington's Birthday, so that tater in the show this same group few except the. professionals, parr joined the Rutgers University Glee ticipating were required to attend to Club and the Lynn Murray Choir in ] business. ■ 'Ballad for Americans/ with strong- . There was an unexpected mixup Voiced-Ray Middleton soloing dra- over , a "proposal- to broadcast the matically. proceedings via': the NBC network. Maurice ijJvans, doing excerpts Leading oil concern is said to have. . . _ from 'Richard II' and 'Henry V/ and offered. $20,000 for the sponsorship. Lamb himself tosses out some come Vera Zorina, reciting 'Fog/ a song Radio heads countered by saying I dy . patter and then stops, the show poem by John Latbuch'e ('Ballad for that if the program was made corn This is an entertaining, if unpre tentious, show. It's built around the Clyde McCoy band, a first-rate swing outfit returning here after a com- paratively short absence, and it has the 'Sugar Blues' aggregation con tributing the major portion of the stage layout. While music predomi nates, there's also a smattering of comedy, dancing, singing arid aero batics to provide variety. Show plays smoothly enough and moves moderately fast and while not of sensational proportions, proves satisfying for most of the custmers, In addition to conducting and furnish- ing some of the standout features with his sock trumpet tooting, Mc Coy also shares the emcee chore with Gil Lamb, lanky Minheapolitan fresh from Al Jolson's 'Hold Oh Your Hats/ and the pair handle the show neatly while the band plays it without ah apparent flaw. The McCoy outfit gives out a lot of swing that's not only sufficiently tor Tid, but pleasant to hear as well. A mandolin, bass fiddle and piano temper, the brasses and there's little blasting. The McCoy trumpeting al ways is good for a big hand. With Tear It Down* for a starter, band loses no time in getting hot. Chet Lang, one of the musicians, has a chance to grab the spotlight briefly with his sax while McCoy': trumpeting Is conspicuously present, too. Then Lamb takes over. He's an amusing fellow who works through- out the show, furnishing at' various intervals huhks of tomfoolery, gags, eccentric dancing and harmonica* blowing. Upon this occasion, he in- troduces the Hudson Wonders, two gals who perform a succession of applause-compelling acrobatic stunts. The three personable Bennett Sis- ters, from the band, croon 'Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me' harmoniously and then go into a swing dance to the accompaniment of 'Rhumbpbgie.' McCoy whams 'em -with his rendi- tion of 'Basin Street Blues' on the trumpet and produces plenty of startling musical effects with the in- strument. ■ . . . 'Beat Me Daddy* is another ba^nd concession to the jitterbugs and is followed by Lamb's funny impres- sions of a jive hpund's deportment in a theatre during a band jam session. Ray and Trent, two men embellish their tap dancing, acrobatics and hand-to-hand balancing with plenty of clowning. Band comes through with a cork- ing .'Frenesi' arrangement, McCoy again taking, a welcome whirl at the trumpet. The Bennett Sisters are on again, this time doing a precision mili- tary tap number. Then Dick- Lee, the band's vocalist, warbles several 'Hit Parade! numbers, including I'll Never 1 Love Again' arid 'I Give You My Word/ His baritone found a re- ceptive audience. : In a rib-tickling harmonica inter- lude. Lamb has his stooge, Tommy Saniord, blowing some hot; tunes. Rockettes for a flag-waving. finale. Following a brief intro by Miss,For- rest, a setplece, through. the aid of intricate mechanics, evolves into the entrance to the nation's oapitol. Girls emerge from it, coming down the. steps for some terps. They do a routinish type of tap number, dressed in the colors-stripes of the flag. Bruno Maine didn't get such a good reproduction of the cap at Washington. Business fairly good at show caught Friday (21) . /: . Char. off on an amateur singing 'I'm NP- body's Baby/ Laugh returns heavy thfoughout. Chuck arid Chuckles precede.Miss Fitzgerald.., with standard •. comedy and hoofing. Biz at dinner ( show Wednesday (19) nearly capacity in orch. Mori. KEITH'S BOSTON APOLLO, N. Y. Btllie Holiday, , Slim and Slam, Floiirnoy Miller, Nina Mae McKin- ney, Avon hong, Winnie Johnson, Johnny Vigal, Louis . Douglas, Tbni Ellis, Choir (10), Chorus (12 girls, sir boys) t Showgirls- (6); 'Dark Streets of Cairo' (U), This Is nothing but a hodge-podge, one of the slowest and stutteringest shows the Apollo has' offered in weeks. It's a combination of the left-overs of a revue the house played two weeks ago and a couple of names added to 'bolster it Lat- ter are Billie Holiday arid Slim and Slam. Revue, Tan Manhattan/ produced by Irvin C. Miller with tunes by Eubie Blake and Andy Razaf) opened in Washington about a month ago as a two and one-half-hour show. Apollo manageriierit saw it and liked it, selecting its best stuff fpr the original 90-minute Harlem' edition. It clicked so well—arid the band Boston, Feb. 20. Ben- Befnle Orch (14i' with Baileu. Sisters (2), Donald Saxon, Johnny Ryan and Dale Winthrop, Cass Daley; 'Six Lessons From Madame LaZqnga (U). It's mostly the Ole Maestro up to his old tricks this week, with the. expert assistance of the Bailey Sis- ters in his own unit and the show- stealing Cass Daley. Bernie is draw- ing good trade here, the; house run- ning a single film and four stage' shows daily at slightly tilted prices. The ole cigar smoker got a flat- tering patter of recognition when, he first showed in the spot,-.but soon displayed a penchant for hogging the wattage as the band show developed. Particularly noticeable when some of his soloists were performing in their own . spots.. Audience reaction to this technique was clearly clinched' when he suggested that he might step off stage while the Bailey Sisters vocaled, after he participated in a thing called 'Li'l Abner/ En- thusiastic applause- greeted this idea, and Bernie retired for one of their numbers. These girls are one Pf the band's best assets, %nd they """ 'Man Who so policy which the Apollo resumed last register solidly with week did so badly-^t was decided comes to Our House* and" 'Boogie tp play the hour of Tan Manhattan' w 00gie to You/ The orchestra, which.was eliminated two weeks ago. provided with slick arrangements, Result, as_ might be expected, is the giv | s them excelltfnt backing. d 5Sff-'--' Blll i*. Holiday is . a welcome Bern i e pulls some smooth, casual addition, while Sum and Slam score qu ips during his announcing, and only, mildly. . it's regrettable that he does not go Comedy,.as in the onglnalportion, j n mo re for this type of stuff, rather is weak. It's handled by Flournoy than the: corny shagging he does to Miller in blackface; Johnny Vigal as fr0 nt the band numbers. In his own the straight but the biggest laugh- turn of . fiddling, Bernie gets Over grabbed and Louis Douglas. Dane- okay in a brief bit of hokum and ing, generally the strong point of then in a more serious effprt on chrome.shpws, is; likewise mediocre. 'Meditation/ from "Thais/ He plugs. Specialties., are handled by Avon a certain local eatery so many: times Long and : the; attractive Winnie during the show that it'a "anybody's Johnson (Stepin Fetchit's wife) aridIguess as to Vvhether he's chowing by a line of 12 girls and six boys. | pn the cuff there or owns a piece Of the. place.. .- .• Miss Daley is speko in her dizzy singing session, tearing /the; pants off 'Ole Man Mose' arid whamming, erh with a rugged, double entendre poem -— , . Americans'), with, music by Vernon Duke, were strong sOlo clicks. Ditto Lanny. Ross, Seated: at one of the tables; Anton Dolin, who strikingly danced Ravel's 'Bolero' with great musical - accompaniment by Larry Adler on the harmonica, and Danny ' with: his own unusual performance on a number of variously sized, mouth organs; > McCoy's 'Sugar Blues', on the trumpet'is a sure-fire mercial there would be a charge fpr the time.. That was okay with the Theatre Wing and the radio end was so informed. Latter, however, came enthusiasm provoker for" windup. back with the idea that, as the car- A well-filled lower floor for. the nival could be regarded as con- first, performance opening Friday nected with a controversial subject I (21)^ ftees. Routines, are uninspired in both | planning arid execution. Nina Mae' McKinriey, who appar- ently, would rather have been a. Sarah: Bernhardt than a warbler, I does a cornily Over-acted version of medley based on song titles/ . She 'Nickel for a Dime/ written for the gives it-to 'em hot and fast and they " L ""''*" J " 4 *' * made her beg off.. Easily the stand-; out turn of the layout. „ Dale Winthrop, tapper, was well- received for her two sessions of re- freshing, cleari-cut dancing; and she also is greatly .aided by some sm art arranging that makes the most of a stop-time technique.; ■ Two male singers ,' with. Bernie are . Donald Saxon , in 'Hear a Rhapsody* and 'Ole Man River' and Johnny. Ryan Irish stuff and 'Never Smile show and a so-so tune at best...Toni Ellis vocalizes briefly .'Waking Up the Folks , Below/ also no great shakes. And three gals from the 1 mixed choir of .10 who. do a sister, trio must be kidding. That's the only explanation. ; Miss Holiday smashes over power- fully with her slow-measured- and melancholic throating. Slim and Slam, back together lor their first date : after a separation, have not quite rounded up an act yet. Boys, as befpre, work on guitar arid bull fiddle,, one of them doubling on the xylophone and at .terping; It's not bad/ but too slow,: particularly so when in an exhibition of-bass tech- nique the instrument is made to per- form like a fiddle. 7hat phase is in- teresting but overdonei Eubie Blake' himself .conducts in the pit. Seemed to be missing cues when caught (late show Friday) arid : creating a bit Of a lag as well as lack of assurance in the cast Jferb..: in ^ Again.'. Incidentally, Ryan gets ace piano . accompaniment from Nick. Brodeur, whose work sparkles when it's: allotted-to peek through the' or- chestrations. . ' ■ 'Dear Old Southlarid'. is a heated opener for the band and it.docs all right with 'Johnson Rag- at the half- way mark; Closer is a satisfactory medley impersonating other -bands. The show is well-routined ana Bernie's unit runs through at a more showmanly pace than the average stage, occhjesfra. • * ox \