Variety (Jun 1941)

44 HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesdaj, June 4, 1941 STATE, N. Y. Gus Arnheim Orch (13) trith Carieravho handles the ivories In the Kay Vernon, >lndy Ruatell; Jackte, ^gnd. Won heavy hand for 'Inter- Edwlh C. HIU, Boake Carter aiid H. V. ' Kaltenborn. Tosses in a Bonnie Baker for good measure. Favorite with audience is Frankle STANLEY, PITT Miles, Trixle, Rosario and Antonio, Barbara Blaine; Woman' (UA). - --i ■ meuu , his own 'Sunrise Serenade That Hammon 'Hindustan.' Larry Cotton sings' Max Adfcins House Orch : 'My Sister and I' in nice tenor, and is^ 'MtlHon Dollor Baby' (WB). joined by Mimi Cabanne on 'Lady Pittsburoh, May 30. Victor McLaffZen, Simone Simon, Lorraine and Roynan, Wesson Bros. (2), Stuart Morgan Daneen (4), - • (16); SoUd hour of enterUinment With in the Dark.' Ronnie Kemper sings I Plenty of marquee strength lor Gus Arnheim's surprisingly good 'Cecelia' and 'Good Bye Now," which j holiday week and plenty of enter- band and a hard hitting m.c, Jackie he has been plugging to radio audl-| talnment, too, with supporting acts Miles (New Acts), plus the Rosario ences for some time. Fred Lowery being principally responsible for the and Antonio duo and Trixie's out- is solid with his whistling of 'Flight latter. However, Simone Simon, standing juggling, the stage portion of the Bumble Bee.' Jerry Bowne who looks like a million bucks, net, 1 of the State's layout ably supports sings his own composition 'Friendly these days, is something of a sur-1 That Hamilton Woman.' Coupling Tavern. Polka.' Heidt takes the prise as a singer. Last time she was i chouid turn UP a good figure at the piano while band joins on vocal 'In' here, year ago at Nixon in Three b.o. Combinations of hoops, large rub- ber balls and plates make up Tnxie s opening juggling turn. Gal has been balancing her props for a long time, and repeated reviewing takes none of the edge off her teeoff spot Forte Is juggling one ball on a small stick held between her teeth. Rosario and Antonio present un Indianapolis Town,' a tune with After Three' for $3.30, her voice was , switchable lyrics adaptable to all so slight customers in the back rows dates. 'thought they had suddenly - been Closing time is given over to stricken with deafness. Stanley 'Answers hy the Dancers,' during mike, of course, helps, but that's not which people chosen from the audi- the whole answer. Experience, more ence fill in the blanks of questions assurance and additional study have asked from musical cues provided by the orchestra. Heidt has a company of performers —. - - . , who can double at almost everything usual, but talented, fresh versions of j^em working all the Latin terps. ApparenUy the steps jj^^ ^j^^^ achieving a fastmoving they work on are authentic Castanet- ^^^^ Its appeal is based on novelty heei-and-toe routines. They're done in easily di,eestible rhythm. Pair displays a wealth of energy and a likmg for their dances, which goes far toward racking up solid returns. Took an encore at show caught. A few weeks out of George White s shuttered Gay White Way spot on Broadway, Arnheim's band shows up' as an outfit that fits easily into a modern groove. Date- is Arnheim's more than on musical fare, a cinch to make good In any house. Ktley. KEITH'S, BOSTON Boston, May 29. Count Bemt Vict 'Pan-American _ _ _ Revue' with a(l-g<rl orchestra (12), flrTN!'Y^'thVaUeTtondta>ars'The fine (8), Paul Kirfcland & Co.. (2), has been on the Coast). Composed Mary Gloria & DaniOe. RocheV^ of five sax., three rhythm, three and Bebe, Sondy La»H7 & Co (3), trumpets and one trombone, the out- Wi I and Gladys Ahcorn; 'Paper fit usS^ highly enjoyable and saleable Bullets' (Prod) and-The Gay Vagon arrangements, showing itself to be bond' (Rep). dean-playing and extensively re-j, hearsed. Among the saxes Amheim | Count ?erni Vicl's unit has been uses a straight soprano, which Injects playing around, and when it came in a slight Glenn Millerish touch, but here two acts Joined the show—Will not enough to label it .a copy of Gladys Aheam and Rochelle and- Miller's style. ' Bebe. ♦ ^i^»*^J^ Jhr'U^JSf^^™^ ' The Ahearns, playing next^to-close, 1T« ^et band%e'th^oes it good respiSse to their unique goto' th^'ot*er"exWeme^*It a l^J'^J'J^ 1^*^^'^^ wioi .'l^.l Bstenable middle course under tasty. enckcli^Mm Mi^ iSi rhythmic tempoes. leader'does not, jJltvf » project himseffinto the spot either,'! ?itL » i«f«P^JJn ,«ffT; remaining in an unobtrusive niche f^^^^^ a longer solo spot for ii?epTtor^ouncements and the °i ''^^li.^^^T^^^l medley of his own tunes, for which he pianos near the close. . the patter are okay. Kay Vernon, femme vocalist, wins RochellePand Bebe come on mid- approval with *I Understand' in neat way and make a fair showing with voice and delivery. Only sour note the two' comedy ballroom routines, in Arnheim's end is the vocaling of Vici's production is, as usual, color- drummer Andy Russell. IjUs voice fiil and flashy, with a generous quota Is untrained, he doesn't know nbw to, of beauts in the line and specialty use a mike and is too loud and force-' numbers. Big flash Is Sandy Lang ful with tunes such as 'Amapola' and i and Co., roller skaters ripping off an •Walkin' by the River.' | exciting routine on a special pktf- Barbara Blair breaks into the form equipped with strobolites. band's portion with a short, but ef- fective, routine of high kicks, etc. under the Intro The Dance Oriental. probably been chiefly responsible | for turning the trick. Now she sounds as if she had been < warbling in front of an audience all her life. Always a looker, she has glamour plus at the moment, with hair down to her shoulders, and gives out in a rich, pleasant voice with three numbers, 'Chi Chi Caste- nango,' from 'Meet the People'; 'Bfcr Sister and I,' and for a bow-ofl 'I Got to Get Hot.' First is by all odds her best, second isn't bad, but closer is the weakest, and she should look around for a new one. Otherwise, a showy dame with an okay act And one screen name who makes no ref- erence to any of her pictures, not even the film she's Just finished for RKO, 'Devil and Daniel Webster,' still to be released. Miss Simon's nice click was made imder difficulties, 'since it's not easy to foUow an act like that of Lor- raine and Rognan, who open the show. First time for this turn around here, «nd they can come back any time they like, judging from the' palm-pounding this afternoon. Gal's a screwball comedienne with lots on the ball, and her partner has an easygoing manner that's light heart- ed, funny and entirely ingratiating. Material is fresh and has the quality of soundnig almost spontaneous, and their dance satires are socko all the way. Not many two-acts today have as much as Lorraine and Rognan, and they're headed for places. Following Miss Simon, Wesson Brothers (one of them, (3ene, looks after the m.c. chores) come on for what they call their two-ln-one sa- tire. It's supposed to be a series of impersonations with one of them doing the voice and the otiier the fa- ciial expressions, but they drop that after 'Wally Beery' and go their sep- arate ways until the Charlie Mc- Carthy-Edgar Bergen bit, which would be a show-stopper on any man's bill. They're nice looking young fellows, and turn has smash written all over it either in a thea- tre or on a nitery floor. Boys' only mistake is their twin take-offs on FDR and Mrs. Roosevelt, and, al- though they precede it ■with the nec- essary apologies, etc., that sort of thing seems in extremely bad taste these days. Didn't seem to matter few months ago, but times have changed. Next-to-closing spot Is reserved for Victor McLaglen, and he's a boom- ing, friendly, fellow whose material needs a hypo. If he had asked this afternoon whether there was a doc- tor in the house, a dozen writers would probably have stood up. Some of the stuS with a half-pint stooge, who, by the way, does a corking AH«.nii^ e^ih,, T«.no Edward G. Robinson, is faintly amus- Atlonttc City, June 3. jng^ ^ut there's not enough of it to — — w~.~.,, Milton Berle, Dinah Shore, Ben flU a good-sized decay, let alone 10 back to five on Monday and Tuesday, 'Jfosfs Singers w, The JaTisleys (4). minutes. Mc^glen pulled a great and with the record in sight spurted Tip-Tap-Toe, Eddie McKnighf s, hand at entrance and took it big off back to six shows for the Wednes-. House Orch; The Great American at side of mike before going into day. and Thursday finish. Running Broadcast' ' ' • • - time was cut to 45 minutes on the heavy-schedule days, -v»ith the audl^ Makes for a neat change of pace. Wood. LYRIC, INDPLS. I . Mary Gloria and Danille also score In two ballet turns—one in gilt paint as a feature of the 'Indian .fantasia' and again in a 'Mechanical Ballet' Lighting, scenery and costumes rate okay. The all-femme band is competent, but on show caught was pumping out with ear-bending volume that came close to nerve wracking. Paul Klrkland clicks in the deuce, getting giggles and gasps for his ladder balancing and the hokum Indianapolis, May 30. Horace Heidt Orch with Larry Cotton, Mimi Cabanne, Franlrfe Carle, Fred Lowery, Burton Pierce, Red Ferrington, OlUe O'TooIe, Donna and chair-balancmg involving a leggy «. T »» /_ aifl TMST.tTlAT. FOX. a smash reception. Perfectly at ease and working in street garb, Bol- ger's approach is Informal, his patter and panlo clicking as solidly as hla admittedly amazing stepping. Quipping he's present not for per- sonal apnearance with 'Sunny, in which Ee^ featured, but 'to work,' he burlesks a Hollywood preem with its customary inanities. Then goes into an old-faahioned soft-shoe dance, which he milks for .socko laughs, topping himself successively with a pantomimed Spanish acrobatic dance, a flock of trick breaks and stumbles to the tune of 'Let's Make Believe,' a gag political speech and miscel-- laneous comedity bits. Works plenty hard, with audience' satisfied to let him keep going until exhausted. At show caught Bolger was spotted in a long closing slot. Usually at this house a dance act or line number polishes oft. Girls appear only once, opening in with a parasol routine to make way for Chester Dolphin, niild balancing juggler, Dom Brothers and Mary, collegiate trio and Faye and Well- ington, smooth dance team. - First show-stopper is Bob Parrish, Negro, who has nifty pipes and is smooth as silk. Opens with a vigor- ous 'I Live the Life I Love,' debuts Irving Mills' new 'Stay Away From the 'tj.S.A.' and closes with 'Swanee River.' Coyld easily stay longer, and should. Comic Don Zelaya, with piano and patter, is spotted just ahead of Bol- ger. Rotund tunester uses a medical chart to illustrate musical tones in the human body, a routine which flirts with blue but is loaded with beUy^hakers. Perfect act for a Frisco audience. Male half of Faye and Wellington dance team took a dangerous spiU at the opener when a prop chair slipped during a wingbver in a ballroom acrobatic turn. Recovered quickly and earned an extra hand from the, customers. Pair, with boy using tails, topper and cane, and girl in blue carrying parasol part of time, main- tains a smooth, fast, sweeping tempo. Collegiate Doms and Mary g« Tor Jive and Imitations, including F.D.R., Uncle E^a and the tobacco auc- tioneer. Youthful zest puts them over and the gal shows promise as possible material for decorating a hot band. Wcm. STATE-LAKE, CHI Chicago, May 31. Don Hooten, Dolly Arden, Whiff Guards (8), Lalage, Prof. LamberU I (2), Willie Shore, Walter Davidson & I House Orch; 'free & Easy' (M-G). Outstanding is m.c - comedian WiUie Shore, who's been brought back to the house within three weeks of his last date. For several years a solid attraction in the town's top I cafes. Shore now is coming to the fore rapldlv for anybody's stage. j Shore today represents a comedian with great all-around ability, being ' a basically fine performer and with material and average breaks should register further. He -works hard, introducing the acts and working with many of them, particularly the White Guards for comedy and then winding up on his I own with a fine comedy and dancing act. His dancing suggests consider- able background. Don Hooten opens with some rope- twirling. All more or less stereo- typed and well-known, it takes plenty of buildup and milking to get any sort of a rise out of this au- ience. Dolly Arden presents a good enough acrobatic dance specialty to fit in neatly. Ben Yost's ubiquitous male vocalists are known here as the White Guards, an octet that goes through the same vocal routine which has been standard through the years, the constantly repeated 'Stout- - hearted Men,' "Lover, Come Back to Me,' 'Song of the Musketeers' and of course, the college medley. This au- dience liked it however. Prof. Lamberti has enough show- manship to go over with the average mob. The knockabout xylophone clowning has its laughs and the audi- ence enjoyed it well enough. I«lage is a rinjg performer who goes over neatly, particularly on the one-arm ■turnover. Biz good at the first show Saturday (31). Gold. HIPP, BALTO her Son J-uans, Ronnie Kemper, Jerry BotOJie; 'StraTige Alibi' (WB). girl partner. About two years ago Horace Heidt end his crew moved into the Lyric for a week's stay and set the all- time house record of $18,200 at 40c. top. Then, it' did five shows Friday, six on Saturday and Sunday, then STEEL PIER, A. C. (MUSIC HALIi) ence moved into the orch pit and on to the stage_at some of the per- S°^^tTSlt'tSr tMTeS-* ^^-<^" '^-''^ .Vn caught Sun^ turn, but the guy's so matter-of-fact about it all there's no offense. Just It's a knockout show MUton Berle a shame he didn't equip himself bet- put on for the holiday weekend, ter before setting out on his p.a. which officially opens the season at Encore, closing scene from his Acad- ■ ■week. Heidt has been back since and done okay, but nothing near his former mark. This time, he is de- termined to better his old mark, and many appear-1 ances—showing up in every act on with the bill and emceeing as well. | their the three husky guys doing best to tear the fraU litUe blonde dame apart Sort of stuff that has the audience talking deep His bantering with the audience, rerminea to oevier nis oia martc, ana gags and batch pf new yams di'e'w . breath and a mlchtilv pf- has a 50c. top to help him. The ex- rounds of applause from the crowded "^ct^tefn Max Adfclns' hoi^e tra dime should make a difference of {la^J' t-^- ^ ^ introducmg ^^''^js'^^'Sie ^ge lenrine She about $3,000 in his favor over the P^^. Shore he had customers giv- °" SSfd^^ffLrtfvrfv former price scale. Loew's, opposl- "^Sbig hand and cheers before gal "nd letting OM inXc^t thfbMto tion house, conveniently play^ his ri^-^e ^>',?PPei''^,"*' «"''""?«?,'1^^«*of^tt^ picture'Pot o: Gold'the week before 'Amapola,' and 'My Sister and V C licks ^d nmnter elve^^ , the Lyric opening, and wbUe Loew's were enthusiastically rw^ved, and e°ii'^^^ists AdlciS^n his e^caS didnt get rich on the date, the extra at audience request she did 'Yes, My clwl^t k^iuded ^ moment or two publicity couldn't help .but give P^rhng Daughter'; which scored "a™«ugiuded, a moment or two added impetus to the present box- heavily. ">^he sgot^ht. office, tallies. At show caught Fri-: Ben Yost and his Varsity Singers,' a'ways.tMt way returning for another season, re- ceived warm welcome and sang day (30) running time was 68 min- utes, but this was r.educed to SB mln- hereabouts oh the first show of a holiday afternoon. Coheft. utes to get in an extra performance familiar numbers. , Again Berle over Saturday and Sunday. Donna and Her Don Juans open joined this group for big response, The Four Jansleys put on a good ■with "Hut-Sut Serenade' while Heidt act in fast and furious acrobatics, do- roves the audience' to get participants ing some double somersaults and back for his 'Answers by the Dancers' flips which went over big. Tapping Idea, ■which he uses as a tloser. out some snappy rhythms. Tip, Tap Burton Pierce does some original toe and Toe came in for four bows, and heel work, and also gives his im- Berle was also in this act and drew GOLDEN GATE, S. F. San Francisco, May 28. Ray Bolger, Bob Parrish, Don Zelaya, Chester Dolphin, Faye and ciuu xim wujijL, aiiu Buv Btvcs uls ml- xicne wao uiSM ui uiis an ttiiu uacw "rfuJ^T^^^^^i^s *^i^??' ^-^.S^ A^l' pression of BiU Robinson, Fred plenty laughs with his ferryboat' tap S?"!,, n^^' JiS^',,S^''% Astaire, Eleanor Powen and finishes dance. . ' -^^V'J^^I^^ with a Gypsy Rose Lee peeL Redi Besides the vaude, the feature and t««vO> <"«» B aer-Lot u* .fight pix. Ferrington, who is Used ■mostly to Louis-BUddy- Baer fight pictures, , laugh up Heidt's quips, hai^'ji^spot there^were Bob'>^rOtb$^s tUrcb play- Proof that films have never yet of his own to vocalize «»'Iruh: ing :lilit4he Marlias' Bimro(»tH'!»Iex utilized full abilities of Ray Bolger . ^—^ '"■^-'i-ij^ aeaionstrated on the Gate stage tmi 'week, where the bamboo-legged medley. Olltfe O'TooIe. fcdlc^^-Mth' BarOuf** UonU'^bandf aild'^theiii^ai soihe nicely timed Impredsions;-^of clrcut-x«]l iDtInded<<ln!'dii^ al radio, news conunenfaton. Including missions : '' ' )' '"Carter. 'formelr vaude itar clowns blf way .to BaltiTTiore, June 1. 'N.B.C. Radio Rodeo' with Tom Howard & George Shelton, Ruthie Barnes, Powers' Singing Models (3): Norman YouTig, The Four PoUfca Dots, Jimmy WalKnflfon, Felice lula House Orch (13); 'Sunny* (RKO), Baer-Louis fight films. This highly potent layout, gener- ally associated with radio, has been labeled 'N.B.C. Radio Rodeo' and is being advertised in conjunction with current Jump of Station WBAL here to 50,000 watts. A trifle overboard on music, setup nevertheless packs considerable entertainment, nicely highlighted by practiced comedy turn of Tom Howard and George Shelton. With house orch, ably sticked by Felice lula, brought on stage, lineup opens with okay reception for Jimmy WaUIngton, who, mixing in a gag or two as he goes along, keeps things moving nicely enough from getoS by Ruthie Barnes, tapster, who whacks out a brace of well-sold routines. Deuce serves to bring on Norman Young, youthful localite (New Acts), In short session of vocals nicely spotted and well received. Makes good spot for Four Polka Dots to follow with socko four-way har- monica arrangements above the aver- age stuff employed by similar turns.. Punch out intricate workings of' 'Coming 'Round the Mountain,' 'FrenesT' and, as a bell-ringing finale, the classic 'Dance of the Comedians from 'The Bartered Bride.' Quartet would gather considerable stature with more formal dressing instead of the sweaters now attempted. White ties and tails and a change from present corny handle would hoist them out of the ordinary. There's enough music on the bill without the singing act that follows, but the Powers' Models take it in stride with plenty to spare. Trio of lookers deliver to the very hilt A smartly planned act, girls open with some special material, after which a three-way rendition of 'What the Country Needs' leads into solo con- tributloiis of'Melancholy Baby' and 'Yes, Darling Daughter.' Intro of Jay Levisbn, pianist, as comppser of 'Good Bye Now,' precedes-- dos- ing voical of that number, which earns a series of bends and a begoff. Closing spot reserved, and rightly so, for Howard and Shelton, is made to order for the material ably han- dled by the vet comics. Effort of Howard to tell an off-color story In spite of frequent and well-tiined in- terruptions by Shelton won many laughs. They had to return for some added gagging. Biz very solid, Burm. Jimmy Loneeford'a musical crew opens today (Wed.) at the Orpheum In Los Angeles. Ella Fitzgerald's femme .orch. moves into tbt same house June 28. ORPHEUM, L. A. Los Angeles, May 28. Sophie Tucker, with Ted Shapiro, Consolo and M^lba, Gene Sheldon A Co., The Kings, Barney Grant, Jimmy Alexandier, Gay Jtforan, Al Lyons Orch, 'KnocJcouf (WB). With Sophie Tucker topping the show, Orpheum this week comes the closest it has in years to the oldtime two-a-day vaudeville, with which the house was long identified. La Tucker was in excellent form at to- day's opener and for 27 minutes kept the near-capacity audience tied up and wildly cheering, It was a grand reception for a grand entertainer and the ovation which greeted her initial Los Angeles stage appearance in several years must have warmed her heart Most of her material is brand new for local theatre audiences, and the way the pay customers ate it up -was unmistakable evidence that Soph has lost none of her oldtime ability to entertain. She wowed 'em with topical patter songs, popular num- bers and then for a grand finale wound up with her standby, 'Some of These Days.' There were many old- time devotees of the heyday of vaude in today's audience and to them, es- pecially, it proved a royal treat. As usual Ted Shapiro accompanied at the piano. Show opens with a brief and snappy overture b^ the Al Lyons orch, followed by Jimmy Alexander, one of the recent' winners in the 'Hollywood Showcase' radio program. Alexander has a pleasing and volu- minous tenor, a likeable personality and ability to piit over aong num- bers, but his forte appears to be on the ether lanes. In contrast is Gay Moran, also, a 'Showcase' winner, who electrifies with swing -warbling, accompanied by gyrations that stamp her as an aU-rotmd performer. She is full of pep and energy and scores decisively. Barney Grant, billed as a Missouri hillbilly, opens the regular stage show. He has been caught before but today uncorked a new type of song delivery that immediately caught the mob's fancy. Grant has an exception- ally good line of chatter, his vocals are in keeping with the character he portrays, and his fast line of stepping easily warranted the recall which he was accorded. Experts in ballroom teri>sichore are Consolo and Melba, ommistake- ably Latins. Both are graceful and their steps are executed' with pre- cision and dexterity. For their third routine they dance to a somewhat slower tempo, the while an offstage voice accompanies with a ballad. The pair registers decisively. Gene Sheldon, standard comedy banjolst with a deadpan'expression which he occasionally varies with siUy grimaces, drew a lot of laSs. The company comprises a femme foil. Upon her appearance act sort of deteriorates mto hokum, with Sheldon ha^vlng too much- of a tend- I ency to use the tongue-sticking gag. However, the audience guffawed, 'particularly at his pantomime. I Winding up the show are The I Kings, tno of acrobatic balancers, iwho provide a novel turn and who I wer« accorded rounds of applause. Edtoa.