Variety (Aug 1941)

Wednesday, August 13, 1941 HOUSE REVIEWS 23 STANLEY, PITT Pittflmrph, Aug: 8. Shev *Held» Orch (14), Gil Lomb, ijithrov ond Lee, Dorothy Allen, Pot fSw 'Hineside jrfoisic' (M-G). Nothing ventured, nothing gained -and so Shep Fields is venturing considerably on his new and revolu- tionary (in the band world, anyway) setup. There's nary a ripple in his new rhythms, and in its place is muted music, both swing and sweet, nrovided by nine reeds and the con- ventional rhythm section. It's com- pletely listenable melody-making but Uiere's just the slightest note of monotony that creeps into it around the three-quarters marlt of his cur- rent show. That, however, may not be a basic fault Reason could possibly Tje in Fields' routining since he doesn't start mixing 'em up soon enough. Emphasis almost all the way through Is on sweet and It isn't until pretty late that Fields sets out to prove that Miami, Aug. 8, his woodwind outfit can also appeal yola GcUi, Raymond Wilbert, Rom to the jitterbugs with some sho-nut;o„(j Bennett, Floyd Chrisfu and Bill swing. Band might do well, for; Brotijn, ■ Mirth, and Macfc, Hottv stage worlt anyway, to inject Vtia.t \ ^gg^ House Orch;'Sunny (RKO). denionsuaiion^ earlier and aUernate —: AU cheers and no jeers for his neatly packaged, well-balanced bill. It's socky summer entertainment, and acts rate plus plaudits for ability to rouse stubholders from lethargy induced by the cinematic wake. Yola Gain. late of the N. Y. Rainbow Room, is tabbed as a Latin chanteiise. She must have arrived via Scandinavia. With her Am.a' She ' also registers on smooth, rhythmic performance value. Wally Guterman's girl or^ pro- vides adequate musical support with one of the orchestratloni .a stand- out. Mickey Anderson, from the band, essays a comedy song and dance routine which is not too forte, while Marian Manners, a stately warbler, manages rather well witti a couple of numbers. Ross Sisters, a trio of double- jointed acrobats, uncork a couple of back-bending stunts that are paralyzers. The handkerchief tricks, as performed by these girls, are tops ifl that category and drew big divi- dends in applause. The Carlos Romero hoofing line is mostly for flash purposes with a fan ensemble near the close rather spectacular. Biz in orchestra on opening after- noon near capacity. Mori. OLYMPIA, MIAMI EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSBBELS) inore frequently. For a large dose of sweet played almost exclusively with reeds can in time get to sound slightly like chamber music. No doubt that ex-rippling rhythm maestro has corraled a flock of ex- pert tooters for his new experiment. They do everything but make those saxes and clarinets talk, doubling on oboes and flutes as well, but there's t^H "nf'^lfiir ''A^holf'tmmnLt Uck chassis and blonde locks she's a sUther; Uomboi^To'^^ can « typical Nordic. Appearance not- * ^^w^iiM^innrt tim« For tJ^^ withstanding, her pipes are definitely minuti what*F^^^^^ to iouth-of-the-border solo- I -ra^Hr 1^^^ h'^neanra^e-sMitt &%Tn'Js%%tT^er;e pUed.^ A.an^^^^^^^ presenta- pointed in order to get a little more color into the tones, and the rhythm section could possibly be featured oftener to alternate the emphasis. Fields is doing a good public rela- tions job on the stage with his cur- rent setup, explaining to the audi- ence exactly what he's trying to do and making the spiel very gracious, not to mention convincing. Audience reaction today (Friday) was good at the getaway and got better as the day progressed. Band is carrying two vocalists, Dorothy Allen and Pat Floyd CHiristy and Bill Brown are right in the same groove. Zanies score a homer with their slapstick aero routine. Pair are aces at biz of getting tangled up in their tricks, splicing their lifts and holds with some guffaw gags. Had to beg oS. Wacky antics of Koss and Bennett are also good for a giggle. Miss Ben- nett, who sounds like Bonnie Baker, gets in quota of teUing shots in cross- fire patter, and is easy on the optics. Ross holds up his end as the straight Foy. Gal's a looker, with plenty of man and displays some talented s.a. and voice to match, and Foy has' terps. He can eliminate the vocal a corking set of pipes but needs to | jibs though. They're not for this relax. Sings with a dead pan that world. doesn't match what he's selling and could be terrific with a personality- polish. Even as he was, opening day mob couldn't get enough of him. Stanley show has two acts in^ ad- dition to Fields. Gil I^amb, going from here to St IiOuis Muny opera for 'Red Mill' and late of Al Jolson's 'Hold On to Your'Hats,' tore ' the house apart with his loose-limbed tomfoolery. Still doing the mouth or^an howl with Tommy Sanford, using the swallowing routines for a In the deuce spot are Mirth and Mack, highstepping hoofers, whose legology is secondary to their mimicry. Pair's impression of Groucho and Harpo Marx is. best ever caught here. So letter perfect it's almost unbelievable. Had house rocking. Raymond Wilbert is a smooth jug- gler, but aside from fact that he does utilize continuous line of chat- using me swauowing routines lor a ter to bridge the duU spote m lus flnisfi, but he also has some new hoppspinmng routmes, l>es^^stand- Interesting insight into how Rus- sia has been able to keep the Ger- man army at bay is obtained here this week from a ' Russian-made newsreel which carries the Para- mount imprint This reelage, which is astutely edited and given an en- thusiastic narrative via its sound- track, draws much plaudits from the audience and proves by far the most 'exciting event in the hdur's runoff. The Russian reel shows the So- viet's tanks and fighting planes in action along the front; Stalin and the British Ambassador, Sir Stafford Cripps, signaturing an agreement for British supplies; Ukraine peasants rushing to guerilla positions; de- molished Nazi planes and Nazi prisoners, and Russian women in in- dustry and at home. The exposition of guerilla tactics is especially ab- sorbing. The equipment for this non-uniformed contingent is limited to revolvers and hand grenades. Also of revealing import is the episode In which peasants, reacting to a wam- ing bell, rapidly proceed to move their horses, cows and other stock to the rear. The Dutch East Indies, which cur- rently rate as the No. 2 center of attention for world eyes, receives pictorial and commentary attention from Metro. Two clips picture the harbor of Singapore under destroyer patrol and the military preparation going on along the Malay peninsula and parts north. Metro is likewise the source of a somewhat dated in- cident from the conquering of Syria by the Free French and the British. An Allied troop is filmed takin? po- session of what is described as an abandoned fort. Vichy enters the week's clip ta- bleau with a saddening touch. The scene, taken by Paramount, is that of Petain greeting Frenchmen re- turning from German prison camps. Some of these soldiers are in tsars. Another report from the Eumnean front is Universal'."! «napshit of Win- ston Churchill and Harry L. Hooklns looking over American-bui't. manes. Universal a'so reflects the Far East tension with a recital of the Jiner Tatu Maru puttinf in'o S'n Fran- cisco with a careo of iW.OOO.OOn worth of raw silk after lying outside the port for several davs. Paramount and Ur veral Join In treatini? wi»b humor f^e threatpnf;'^ shortage of sUk sto'^kio-s, wh-'- Paramount alone pxna+i'tes on jtDl another pressin" domes*'- oroblem resulting from th° war, the to conserve gasoline. Odec Army Shows Brodie s Continued from page ]f dispensing the $500,000 handed it by the USO. Neither the Army nor the CC, ob- servers vehemently declare, has exhibited the' large-scale, long-range vision needed to adequately provide entertainment for a military organ- ization that now numbers 1,506,500 men. Program has been carried out on a drop-in-the-bucket scale, as evidenced by the Citizens Commit- tee's current coverage of almost 200 Army posts, camps and stations in the United States with four slim vaude troupes. Blame Morale Branch Fault is said to begin with the Morale Branch, headed by Brig. General James Ulio, and work back to the General Staff .and from there to Congress. Latter has appropri- ated virtually nothing- for morale work, although it undoubtedly would, were the representations of Gen. Ulio to his superiors and they in turn to Congress loud and con- Marchin' Music Unlike European soldiers, America's army is self-conscious and refuses to sing as it marches. Morale Branch, as a result, is experimenting in providing the troops with harmonicas and ocarinas and it is said to be proving rather successful. Not only do the instruments igive the ,boys the spare-time pursuit of learning to play them, but the soldiers seem to enjoy tooting as they march. It takes some of the strain out of long hikes. Experiment has been on a small scale as yet, with three grosses of the blowpipes shipped to a southern camp about three weeks ago by the USO-flnanced Citizens Committee at the re- •quest of the War Department. stuff since last year and his impres' sion, while seated, of a jitterbug watching the stage show at the Par (N. Y.) theatre is one of the funniest pieces of business on record. Lamb fias the puss and the legs to make it a great routine and he cleans up with it More than just a clean-up; in fact it's a panic. Other turn is dance team of Lathrop and L,ee, for- merly Lathrop Bros, and Virginia I^, but down to just one man and a . girl now. They're both crack hoofers, doing the smart, sophisti- cated steps they used to do as a trio, and the duet registering almost as solid'y, although not quite, as the former threesome. Cohen. ard. CHICAGO, CHI ORPHEUM, L. A. Los Antreles, Aug. 6. Faith Bacon, Wolly C^uterman and All American Girl Orch (15), Marian Manners, Elizabeth Talbot Martin, Corlos Romero line (10), Ross Sisters (3), Peggy Ryan, Mickey Anderson; aia lor mauj j^^^-, ~ - ^ 'A Shot in the Dark' (WB) and I and Jane McKenna. They've altered Chtcapo, Ab0. 8. Andrews Sisters, Joe and Jane McKenna, Betty Bruce, Lou Breese Orch (16); 'Kiss the Boys Goodbye (Par). Here is a bang-uo bill from start to finish, with plenty of name strength to bolster the b.o. Andrews Sis.er; are a!v"(ys a big draw here and the Lou Breese band also en- joys a big local foUowing. Coupled on the same bill, they should bring a fine money week. Betty Bruce, tall and shapely tap- ster, is impressive. Has nifty tech- nic plenty of class and ability to score well. A routine which she an- nounces as from the musical Keep Off the Grass' is her best presenta- tion and k.o. for any stage. Familiar knockabout turn, stand' ard for many years, is that of Joe •Bachelor Daddy' (U) With nothing more promising than a title, 'Sweater Girls on Parade,' and fan d.mcer Faith Bacon for the marquee, Sherrill Cohen has come up with a pretty solid variety show. Peggy Ryan, from cast of 'Meet the. receipts o'ee'^i, « People,' serves up one of the tastiest jouder and the customer acclaim tap routines gandered here in many' more sockeroo. Solidly show-wise, months. She's an adept terper with i remains tops in the femme vocal some intricate twirling ideas that: group field. They were little short attain flash proportions. Elizabeth: |( sensational with these customers. Talbot Martin, another 'Meet the .phe Breese orch has won and de- their turn very little in years, and there is no need to do so because their comedy adagio work is ex- tremely funny no matter the num- br'- c' reoetitions. Each Ume the Andrews Si^s mi-.vvi an appearance the boxoffice receipU get bigger, the recepUpn Heavy Wampum s Continued from pace inals than any other plant in town, buying but eight originals, 13 novels, six legiters and five mas stories. Columbia, on the other hand, has made no book purchases, laying in, instead, 15 originals, three plays and four short stories from magazines. Warners has snaffled five orig- inals, five plays, six novels and one short story. Universal purchased 13 originals, one novel and one short story and Republic has invested in 11 original yams, one legiter, one novel and one magazine piece. Writers in these parts have begun to be at their typewriters at a rol- licking pace after the two most re- cent purchases of originals brought their co-authors rather sizeable sums. War themes, besides incur- ring the displeasure of Congress and providing an excuse for isolationists like Senator Wheeler of Montana to leap on the industry, haven't been too popular with film patrons. • Several Latin-American countries allow Nazi propaganda pix to be screened in their theatres while turning thumbs-down on American films that depict Hitler as an inter national murderer. Nevertheless, the makers of books, plays and short stories, do continue to concentrate on productions with war backgrounds and the • studios are hard put to find enough material. People' alumna, in a satirical turn, tops the show with novelty takeoffs on Eleanor Roosevelt, Katharine Hepburn, Greta (^arbo and Aimee Semple McPherson. Miss Martin, who also m.c.s, has wisely restricted herself to four impersonations, al- ways using the same material, a dog serves a solid place in the hearts of the Chicago mob. It's established in town by stage and radio showings and serves a brand of music that's a delight at all tirpes. Band does a parUcularly outsUnding job playing this show. And on its own the orchestra has gerel recitation entitled 'Where Has that't" hiahly satisfactory, My Little Dog Gone.' The Mc-, |^ l^^^HP 3thaU^e^^^^^^ Pher.son rendition is possibly the.'"'" j • —'i' zaniest and a panic with the audi- ence. Faith Bacon shares honors with more. Aggregation does choral work, swings it out hot, delivers some good hokum clowning, and there are some Misses Ryan and Martih in lending ^^^^rreT J'vl'lll^'and^kfp M^ substance to the presentation. Miss Warren as^ c 'J.imsell ?r^?a^^o^^J'.;« «o^iSSvaL-'c^'^^ ^ gam display which should attract a pearance as m.c. ^„„„„, hefty stig audience before the week Business strong at the supper show is out: Aside from the strip effect Friday (8). . uoia. Axis Wanted sContinued from page 3; velt's important recent fireside chat to the Nippon News and that other newsreels have been supplying ma- terial to Italy. In this connection, it was reported this week that the FBI is checking on these so-called leaks of American picture material into Axis countries. All five newsreels have ducked using Nazi government warfront ma- terial, no matter how well' pho- tographed or edited, because of its obvious propaganda content. Nazis still want $75 per shipment, paid in U. S. doUars, for this propaganda newsreel material, but the real pay- off as concerns American newsreels is that the German agents claim the right to editorialize the clips, with U. S. newsreels not permitted to alter the original material. tinuous enough. Army itself, how- ever, has never attempted to get the entertainment program out of its two-bit rut: "The program hasn't, bogged lown,' one observer remarked. 'It ,ust never got started.' Apologists for the brass-hats who are so busy spending billions for tanks and guns that they can't get the coin to sharpen up the most vital point in their fighting machine, the soldier himself, explain that the Morale Branch is 'still feeling its way.' Answer to that one, by those in the know, is that a year after passage of the Conscription Act is no time for anyone to 'still be feel- ing his way.' Only soldiers fortunate in the way of entertainment are those in camps within easy distance of New York and Hollywood, where public-spir- ited citizens and groups have got together shows. But pity the lads in Arkansas or Oregon or Texas. Sossaman and Bankin OK Much has been left to camp morale officers; and where there's a good one th^oys have been lucky, other- wise it is too bad. Some of the M.O.s, such as Major George A. Sossaman at Fort Benning, Ga., and Cljapt. A. H. Rankin at Camp Upton, L. I., have displayed unusual initi- ative and ingenuity and provided almost a continuous round of after- hours fun for the troops in their charge. Others, unfitted by either temperament or training for morale duty, have taken the easy way. Number of the commanding officers at Army camps have also displayed a lack of appreciation for the necessity of entertainment, as evidenced by the experiences of the CC shows. This has been particu- larly true in the Third Corps Area, extending south from central Penn- sylvania. Some of the coijnmandants and morale officers were, not only non-cooperative, but downright an- tagonistic. They caused all sorts of booking headaches by cancelling shows on the least provocation and, in some cases, found it impossible to interrupt the camp routine to pro- vide the dozen or so soldiers needed to se<. up the stages on the trucks carrying the shows. On the other hand, the majority of camp commanders and M.O.'s have been highly appreciative of the meager entertainment the CC has provided. They have sent their best mechanics 200 miles to repair or tow in the seemingly constantly break- ing-down trucks and turned out every facility in camp for the per- formers. Competent observers feel that the CC is erring in nursing its $500,000 instead of going out and financing hundreds of shows, then yelling for more money to put on hundreds more. It's in an unfortunate posi- tion, however, with jealousies exist- ing between it and the USO over who's to get the publicity for the shows. Its press agent was canned last week allegedly for not turning in enough clippings. Internal staff dissensions have also hurt it, with a reputedly mile-a-minute turnover of employes. I Vinton Freedley, who got the mo- bile shows under way early in June, resigned July 1 as chairman of the entertainment division because* his attention was needed on a new mu- sical he's producing this fall. There's been a continuous search since then by exec director Lawrence Phillips for a successor to Freedley, but none has been found. John Golden has been mentioned, but won't take it inasmuch as he is al- ready giving much time to getting service men ducats. After considerable delay, CC last week started John Carter, Met Opera warbler, on a solo tour of east- ern camps for two weeks. He's paying his own expenses and has gone to considerably more' troublo than most performers would in order to get the CC and Army to arrange the bookings.' Unless volunteers are anxious and per- sistent or a name just too big to duck, it's said they apparently get the brush. CC has also entered an agreement with the National Theatre Conference by which it will finance an NTC man in each corps area to act as an adviser on ama- teur theatrical entertainment. Criticism of the morale program of the Army—or lack of a morale program—is that whatever is not provided by donated funds is vir- tually self-^financed. Only coin morale.officers have to spend, and a good part of that must go for athletic equipment is an allotment they get from the post exchange' iunds. This represents profits from sales to soldiers of cigarets, candy, stationery, etc. Soviet-Nazi War j^^Contlnued from pace contacted. Attempts were made to reach them by telephone or other- wise, but they were reported 'out of town,' although they previoa^ly re- garded clearing up the Equity charges as an 'official' order of busi- ness. Dies has been little in tha press since he ran foutih in a cam- paign to elect a new senator from Texas. Equity is still intent on adopting a measure barring Reds, Nazis and Fascists from being officers or em- ployees. A new committee for that purpose was named last week, when it .was revealed th t the original committee was dissolved some time ago. Reason was that the chairman and others were among thoze who resigned from council, disgruntled over the election. New committee on the anti-radical matter consists of 3. John Kennedy, John Alexander and Roy Roberts. There is no time limit for their re- port on the proposed resolution. Original version was defeated be- cause, in the form presented, it might have opened the way to dis- crimination. '10 p. M. Theatre' rContlnaed from pace Is of leisurely dining leaves tho .re- served loges of Radio City Mftsic Hall as perhaps the only place to go after a late dinner. Theatre will be a revue house^ not a cabai'et, sans food, but with a large bar for service, a la the Metropolitan opera house. Incidentally, the 44th St theatre, downstairs, inducts a six- week opera season of its own Oct. 14, under sponsorship of Mrs. Lytle Hull (ex-Mrs. Vincent Astor), which is when Fischer plans opening atop the roof. Feature of the new policy will be easy, Pullman-type chairs, with a pedestal for drinks, coffee and cig- arets. Costliest item of the Bayes Roof's facelift will be those special chairs, costing around $80 each, and necessitating a $20,O0O icvesimcnt Coffee, cigarets and one cljiaT-yfcr- cUstomer will be gratis; shOtV6 m tv/o parts; bar service at intermis^.on and after tlie second act of liki lev j«, when, also, the customeri v.-:ll rtB.^c« on the stage, akin lo Fischer's pcll- cles in the past ai his French Casino and International Casino wrtuiei in N. Y.