Variety (July 1942)

Wednesday, July 8, 1942 HOUSE REVIEWS 49 STANLEY, PITT. PittshvLTgh, July 3. Tommv DOTsey Orch (27), with Prinfe Sinatra, Jp Stafford. Buddy Bich Ziggy Elman, Pied Pipers (4), nruc'e Snyder; Paul Regan, Lane & war* •Gmtlemm After Dark' WA). Stanley's house record is in danger this week. Getaway was a blazing rapacity, with the ropes bulging ati the break, and six shows carded to- morrow (4) for the holiday and five every day in the week. That means 31 performances and if Tommy Ddrsey maintains his' opening pace, and indications are that he will, Kay Kyser's mark will be either just about matched or bettered. TD's been here before but interest has never been like this, and it's combination of reasons—the new band, the jukeboxes, the- radio and pix, with his 'Ship Ahoy' (M-G) al- ready widely publicized since it opens a block «way at the Penn on tus closing day at the Stanley next Thursday (9). Band justifies the enthusiashi, too. With nine fiddles and a harp to back his five saxes, four trombones, four trumpets, guitar, bass, piano and drums, Dorsey has an outfit that can take everything in its stride, includ- ing the symphonic swing that's often talked about but seldom produced. Music has an exciting quali^ always, is wild and abandoned when the tune - calls for it and £an be soft and silent when that's the nature of the num-r ber. Through it all It has class, and ' while it's way oil the beaten path, it's still abreast of the times. Sample of what Dorsey can do now comes early in the show when strings take oS on Jersey Bounce,' melt in with the saxes for some bril- liant effects and then let the brass take it away. A corking arrange- meht and a show-stopper. Two in- strumental stars, Ziggy Elman and Buddy Bich, both wow 'em, latter with his flying-piston skin-beating on 'Hawaiian War Chant,' from 'Ship Ahoy,' and Elman with a display of iootiDg that must send his blood pressure sky high when he reaches those high notes. Unusual for . a hand vocalist to get the closing spot in a show but that's the lot of Frank Sinatra; he fills it—and how! Crowd simply wouldn't let him get off-and ran the Opening performance over- time by at least IS minutes. Sinatra warms them up with 'Without a Song,' then goes into This Love of Mine,' with obligato by the four trombones, has the Pied Pipers with him in 'Just As Though You Were Here,' a recent recording, and tears ■ down the stretch with 'South of the Border,' a comedy novelty as done here, and 'Poor You.' On the femme vocal end, Jo Staf' ford clicks almost as sharply. Her first is -Yes Indeed,' with Bruce Snyder, from the sax section. With the Pipers she does a swell job on 'Beyond the HiUs in Idaho' and a great one on 'Embraceable You.' Gal has the pipes to melt any tune into sweet surrender. Dorsey waits to give his fiddles a real workout until near the end, on a concert arrange- ment of 'Sleepy Lagoon,' -and they do him proud. Dorsey has plenty of show right la his own outfit, but for good measure WB deluxer has tossed in a couple of first-rate acts. Lane and Ward are a cute couple of hoofers and even jpanage to get some original con- Unuity Into their routines with that Teading the funnies' to an acrobatic pounce. Paul Regan is a first-rate impersonator who^s been fouled by the booking ottlce in being pen- cilled in with just a week between him and Dean Murphy. Not that he exactly suffers by comparison, but their subjects are the same with few exceptions and anyway mimics should be rationed over * a longer sketch than just a few days. Didn't affect Regan's showing, however. He was over here Jike a house afire. Max Adkins' house crew had an overture of modernized Shubert melodies at the first show, but he'll Pjoowly get a rest for the remainder. Mthe week, what with the Stanley "Ting to squeeze In as many appear- ances for Dorsey as possible. Cohen. South Carolina camp; Canada's new mosquito fleet and mine explosion >r_ctice, and a gas alarm drill which ij-i been ■ extremely well photo- graphed. Very Impressive is Ruth Mitchell, who was in several enemy concen- tration camps .nd tells of some of the tortures she has witnessed. The sister of the late Gen. Billy Mitchell was applauded here. Queen Wilhclmina also makes a brief address on ^he war effort, and it's effective. Netherlands Queen has a rather go \ English-speaking voice. Among other nersonalities in the week's newsreel releases is Attorney General Biddle, who promises a vigorous prosecution of the eight German saboteurs recently captured by the FBI. / Tex McCrary, in an Embassy special, does an interesting com- mentary on the Air Training Corps of America but th^ stint is rather long. Also overboard on length of footage is the other Emb regular, H. V, Kaltenborn, who each week theorizes on war questions asked Jpy patrons of the theatre. This week the commentator gets somewhat tiresome. . A March of Time release, 'India at War' (RKO), fills odt Chor. EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSBEELS) , A varied assortment of news Items, mostly bearing directly or in- airecUy on the war, makes up the fresh bill.here, headed by highly wterMting shots of the sinking of the Bi i. '^"ipston a few weeks ago. t-wtures, in motion, have just been released by the U. S. Navy. ,,f8ken by Par a short distance from the Ul-fated carrier, the shots li^.y^'^ striking. With the clip Is 1^ J "? covering the return to Port- land of seven survivors of the-Lex, sons of a local man who's also in the service. yhlle no actual battle scenes are ttciuded among th- current clips, wose of particular war interest and on the action side deal with unsung onj°'* of tankers, sinking of a, vessel 8 rescue by plane; instructions JO «AF flyers preceding their recent ► raid, with a couple pilots {«UJng about i;: secret Yankee air owe m New Guinea with planes coming back damaged, one having a crash-type of landing, due to logs M wheels; Churchill's visit to a EARLE, WASH. Washington, July 5. Roy Rogers, Sons of the Purple Sape, Nash & £vans, RotIy/& Vema Pickett, Roxyettes, Joe Lombardi House Orch; 'Larceny' (WB). Hie west moves into the Earle this week for a nifty to-do. Around Re- public's cowboy star, Roy Rogers, plus his horse, Harry Anger has cre- ated a dyde ranch atmosphere with entire show in cowboy regalia. All clicks; Rogers Is glib, knows how to put across a gag and -can sing a senti- mental cowboy ballad to sock re- sponse, He plays his own accom- paniment on the guitar. Rogers' horse is neatly trained and responds perfectly. The Sons of the Purple Sage can sing and, with their musical combi- nauon of guitar, accordion, bass viol and banjo, clicked . solidly. Their bullwhip handling is effective, too. Eddie Howard solos on the banjo and is excellent. RoUo and Verna ' Picket, also dressed in cowboy outfits, got good returns with their stilt dancing. Nash arid. Evans with their lariat stunts, plus their chatter and danc- ing, also registered. Marg. CAPITOL, WASH. WoihtTigton, July 5. 'Victory Revue' u>ith Cynda Glenn, Murphy Sitters, Jeanne Devereaux, Lane Bros., 16 Rhythm Rockets, Sam Jack Kaufman House Orch with Lynn Allison, Art Brown; 'Magnifi- cent Dope" (20th). Patriotism Is the keynote of the current Capitol show. It opens with a Sam Jack Kaufman medley, Kauf- man doing the narration and Max Zinder wielding the baton. It closes with a terrific ensemble, 'Wave That Flagi America,' with Fague Spring- man singing the solo - and the Roxy- ettes taking part All sock show- manship. Planted In between these two ef- fective offerings are. the Murphy Sisters, back after a brief perioa, with new songs and scoring solidly; Cynda Glenn, standard comedienne, with new material that gets across particularly well. Her presentation of 'a French diseuse from Brooklyn' and her society girl bit both click strongly, and her entanglements of body, legs and arms on the piano had the Jiouse in an uproar. The Lane Bros, get over, too, with their acrobatics and rope-jumping, Marg. Casa Loma C, Charleston, W. Va.; II, Castle Farm, Cincinnati; 14, Lo- ^an T., Logan's Court, Ind.; 15, Ke- nosha T., Kenosha, Wise; 16, Oasis. B., Michigan City, Ind.; 17, Fruitport T., Fruitport, Mich.; 18, Trianon B., Chicago; 19, Argone B., Chicago; 21, Melody Mill, Dubuque, Iowa; 22, Soldier's Memorial Park, Memorial Park,- Wise.; 23, Starved Rock Park, La Salle, III; 24, Roof B., Galesburg, III. ; 25, Frog Hop B., St. Joseph, Mo.; 26, Shore Acres, Sioux City, Iowa; 27, Neptune B., Sioux Falls, So. Dakota; 28, Roof Garden, Arnold Park, Iowa; 29, Palais Royal, Galena, lU. Van Alexander, July 10, Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Woody Hermmn, July 10, Royal Grove, Omaha; 11, Turnpike Casino, Lincoln; 12, Meadow Acres, Topeka, Kas.; 13, Tower B., Pittsburg, Kas.; 14, Skyline, Tulsa, Okla.; 15, Aud., Oklahoma City; 16, Trocadero, Wich- ita,' Kas.; 21, Paladium, Hollywood. Clyde Laca% July 10-17, Stanley T., Pittsburgh; 17-24, Palace T., Cleveland; 25, Hershey Park, Her- shey. Pa.; 26-Aug.-l, Brighton and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. Glenn MiUer, July 16, Hotel Sher- man, Chicago; 17-24, Eastwood Gar- dens, Detroit; 24-31, Buffalo T., Buffalo. Hal Mclntyre, July 22, Jackson Heights Playground, L. I.' Will Osborne, July 10 (4 weeks), Claridgc- Hotel, Memphis, Dick Bogera, July 12, Danceland, Monee, 111.; 15-19, Yankee Lake, Brookfleld; Ohio; 23-30, Hippodrome T., Baltimore. Joe VenntI, July 6-11, Ramoaa Palace, Schoolcraft, Mich.; 12 (4 weeks). Gingham Gardens, Sprlng- fieli m. Herbyi Kay, July 10, Coronado Club, Shreveport, La.; 11-23, PlanU- tlon, Houston; 24-30, Pleasure Pier, Port Arthur, Tex.; 31-Aug. 14, Plantation, Dallas. APOLLO, N. Y. Bennle Carter Orch (15) with Mobel Mayfair; Carl tc Harriet; Tim Moore & Vitrfan Horris; Hector & Pals (2); Tip, Tap 8c Toe; Olivette Miller; 'Take My Life' (Toddy-Con solidated). Draggy, overlong colored stage lineup is relieved somewhat by Hec- tor and Pals, dog act, only white turn on hill, and Tip, Tap and Toe, socko tapsters. ' Bennie Carter band, with an amateurish vocalist, Mabel Mayfair as only specialty, is of mediocre calibre. All the band numbers sound alike, Carter lacking a single out- standing orchestration. Leader's emceeing is awkward and he doesn't seem at ease. Miss Mayfair, who warbles 'Idaho' and 'Somebody Else Taking My Place,' requires Tnust ad- ditional polish before attempting even the less important bookings. Tim Moore and Vivian Harris are teamed in two dull comedy turns. Moore does what is tantamount to a monolog, with partner not even straighting effectively at times Team should be limited to one ap- pearance. Olivette Miller, harpist. Is on for a couple of numbers, one pop and one classic. Rounding out the bill are Carl and Harriet, neat but con ventional tap dancers. Mori. Band Bookings sContlnned from pace 47; Unit Reviews VARIETIES OF 1942 (BOTAIi ALEXANDRA, TORONTO) Toronto, July 1. Oturles v. Tate« production In aimoclB- llon with Count Beml Vlcl ot o two-act musical revue in 23 Dcence. Featuring Wally Ward, Sonia' Cortto, Prltchard and Lord, Magda Loy, Maud -, Hilton. Birdie Dean. NBC all-slrl band. Sets by Unl- vemal Studios: choreography, Frnnccn Lt?; entire production . under supervlalon oc Count Beml Vlcl. Opened Juno »?. at the Royal Alexandra, Toronto; »1.80 lop. Citadel of so-called theatrical eid- ture. Royal Alexandra falls into the vaudeviUe vogue with Jari?"^ 1942' leading off. It's Count Beroi Vici's new ediUon (in association with Charles V. Yates) of a full- length show and should dick any- where. It's a stimuluating presenta- tion, iMcked with plenfar of talent, splendidly paced after that 30-mm- ute paring in the final dress re- hearsal. The weak note is the come- dy stress on vulgarity was as- siduously Uue-penciUed by the man- agement this applying particularly to the so-called comediara. Hit of "Varieties' is Wally Ward with his zanv pianlstics. Hes a^ m c but falls down on this and shoid sUck to the ivories, -niere's also a plethora of mikes cluttering UP the stage and there were audi- ence-muttefings during internUssion at the metallic blasts produced by talent who didn't reaUy need gadgets. This went particularly for Sonia Cortis, Greek nightingale. ■Varieties of 1942' played, to a full, house on opening night Billed as a revue, it's stUl dressed-up vaude- ville, but enriched by forthright talent that has been lavishly mounted on a double-decked stage with the all-girl band sliding out to the foots on an elevated stand. That's a socko opening that drew plenty ot applause. There's a 10- girl line that is excellent on precision and costuming throughout Produc- tion numbers include a South Ameri- can number featuring 'la conga-, with Magda Loy doing some forth- right torso-tossing that scoted; the 'Indian Fantasy' in which Birdie. Dean does amazingly graceful acro- batics; and the 'United' Nations Cavalcade,' which closes the 2^- hour bill Scenic and costume investiture is rich,' this particularly evidenced in "Mechanical Machine Age,' danced before a background of hissing pis- tons and swirling sprocket wheels to Raymond Scott's 'Powerhouse.' Prin- cipals are excellent throiighout That g<tes for Ann Pritchard and Jack Lord in their tap and. ballet routines in 'the ballroom manner; Sonia Cortis in her foreign-language songs In the continental manner; Magda Loy in her Javanese dance, dlad only in gUt paint; Carl Emmy atid his ' educated mutts; Birdie Dean in her two specialties; and the Hassey 'MarveUettes' in their tumbling and pyramid-building. One other point should be ,made. The members of the all-girl orches- tra talk too mttch and clown too much when their chore is over and the actors are on-stage. You can hear them in the back row. It's not only a marked lack of discipline which Beml Vici could correct but it's evident bad manners toward the talent going through their stint and to the audience. MeStay. Hollywood Hi-Liglito (BBOADWAT, CHABLOTTE, N. C.) Charlotfe, N. C, July 3. Rosalie & Letois, Bob Nelson .It Henry, Lucile Wroy,. Mr. and Mrs. Nightingale, Duke Dorell, Ray Cas- sel Band Chester Doherty Girls <6); 'I Was Framed' (WB). l^t (M Reviews VERSAILLES, N. Y. MorjoHe . Goinstoorth, Fronci* Abella unth' 'John Tio,* Marjery Pieldiny'i Starlets iRossi Sisters (2), llsa Ketnn, Jacqueline Mtgnac, Mae Blondell, Mary Ganly), Moxtmilltan Bergere and Potlcho orchestras; $2.50 and $350 minimi^nw. Comes summer and this Nick Prounis-Amold Rdssfleld operation Is trimming its show sails to fit the dog days. Without too much of a departure from the Versailles' elab- orate productions of the past season, Marjery Fielding, the stager here, has-woven a pleasant entertainment out of comparatively little. Show's "name' is Marjorle Gains- worth, the stately, blonde soprano making her 12th or 13th appearance at the class east 'side restaurant-- nitery. The only other act is the clever parrot 'John Tlo,' and his handler, Francis Abella. To make up for the paucity of acts, Miss Fielding gathered a chorus that can boast 'each girl a specialist' Fore and aft of the production, this time without lavish costumes ■ and sans special music, the six femmes deliver dance solos that at least furnish quantity if not 1007o quality. They're at least different in having individual talent but opening night were per- mitted to do too much and so the show dragged somewhat The ctite Rossi Sisters do a tap routine at the show's opening; it's okay, but their soft-shoe dance in the finale is anti- climactic; ditto Bsa Kevin, who probably would Impress better if she dropped her opening impression of Edna Mae Oliver and stuck strictly to her straight ballet which she de- livers at the finish; Jacqueline Mig- nac, on the other hand, has two good specialties in her opening can-can and closing acrobatic tricks, done , in what amounts to little more than a g-string; Mae Blondell does a nice impression of CSiarlotte Greenwood up front, but her contortion routine at the close is out of place in the Versailles; Mary Ganly is the prettiest trick in the line, a blonde who had a bit In 'Best Foot Forward.' She's a neat tapper, but duplicates her specialty in the opening and finale. . ^ Miss Gainsworth, who is doubly pleasing in a room of this type by working without a mike, was her usual click self opening night. She wasK handicapped by a couple of drinking jerks who persisted in being noisy, but overcame them and easily won the rest of the good-sized house with 'Skylark,' 'A Tale of Two Cities,' 'Speak to Me of Love,' 'My Hero' and 'Summertime.' She's a fine soorano, good-looking and well- gowred. A parrot In a night club is a novel- ty, proof of that being evident in the fact that this is only the .second sp- pearance of 'John Tio' in a nocturnal playground. With' Abella handling the questions, Tio' - does a cute en- tertaining job via the answers, which run the gamut of imitations to latid ing the Versailles' cuisine. BlaximUllan Bergere's orch, both for the dancing and the show, and Pancho's crew, for the rhumbas, are among the Versailles' more valuable assets. The spot's superlative chef Is another. Scfto. HAPPY HOUR, MPLS. Minneapolis, July 3. Fletcher Henderson Orch (14) urith Thelma Grissom, Three Rhythm Debs; no cover or miTiimum. In this highly popular, well-laid- out and attractive spot, accommo- dating some 500-«dd people, the Fletcher Henderson Negro orchestra, first of a sef ies of nairie bands, is a considerable buy, since this spot ap- plies no cover or minimum charge and drinks and food are reasonably priced. The band plays for dancing and also provides a half-ho.ur show, comprising . novelty and glee-club ntimliers, Fletcher s own topnotch keyboard tickling and solo vocaliz- ing. The Henderson gang, made up of five saxes, the same number of brass and three rhythm, and with the leader smoothly batoning, gives out heatedly for the most part The ntnn- bers are brassy and noisy; yet with- al, tuneful. 'Hie rhythm and tempo are nifty for dancing, keeping the small floor continuously packed. During the half-hour show, the band does some socko glee-club work, masterfully handling 'Blues In the Night' and a medley including •Time and Time Again,' 'Does Your Heart Beat for Me?' and 'Nightie Night' Novelty band numbers in- clude Henderson's excellent arrange- ments of Tea for Two,' Tuxedo Jtmction,' 'Hiunoresque' and The Henderson Stomp.' At the piano for a'solo offering, maestro is big league, putting over 'Jump Jack Jiunp,' 'Lady Be Good,' 'Jeeps a Jumping' and other skillful arrangements to deserved big re- turns. George Floyd, from the band, arid Thelma Grissom, the outfit's feminine warbler, provide the vo- cals and cover their assignments well. The Three Rhythm Debs Infuse ef- fective comedy, body gyration? and a bit of stepping into their singing act harmonizing nicely and scoring with standard pop numbers. On the night before the Fourth, the room was jampacked at midnight with the ropes up and many imable to obtain table-accommodations, but listening just the same. Rees. "HoUyw'ood Hi-Lights,' last unit to. play house before closing down on vaude. for summer, pleases witii nicely balanced acts. Bob Nelsop and Henry draw heavy lafls with their comedy turn, which actually is a song turn with gags thrown in. Nelson cipens in bi^eezy fashion, pi'^ing 'Lullaby of Broad- way' in peppy and pleasing style. He follows with gags that are only fair, and then turns in a nifty vocaUng of 'White Cliffs.' Henry, pasty-faced stooge, puts in appearance here and is amusing with his treble-voiced piping of 'You and I,' done in high falsetto and scoring heavily. Nelson joins him on last. chorus. Nelson also pipes ^Over There,' which sets stage for patriotic routine by line.' Lucile Wray, semi-nude, proves season's most polished stripper to show here. She has plenty of danc> Ing ability and combines it with style of stripping thafs inoffensive, yet robust enough to please bald-headed row. Dance team of Rosalie and Lewis got a' nice hand for. their opening turn, which combines some nifty adagio tossing by both with gmart baltfoom routine. Team, which sur- vived through a portiim. of' the Jap blitz in Malaya, accentuated the re- ception of their act with neat till- ing and smart showmandilp. Mr. and Mrs. Nightingale, novelty bird act are amusing, but wear a littie thin in 10 minutes of bird talk when ifs all about the same 'thing. Performers, dressed in feather cos- tumes, create bird illusion and lian- die bird whistle* professionally, but act could be Improved by shortening. Act is birilt around male bini mak- ing advances toward reluetant female, who relents only after h^ starts handing out expensive gifts. ' Act contains amusing subtle bur- lesking of human wooing. Duke Dorell pleases in novelty ec- centric fiddling In which he puts- violin everywhere, but under his cliin. He holds bow in mouth, be- tween knees, and adds sock quality to act by holding bOw in ear to knock off quick version of 'Humbresque.' He enhances presentation with nice showmanship. CSiester Doherty Girls are okay in four ajqiearances, best being patri- otic routine used as finale in which they use both wooden gtms and flags for effective results. On whole girls show much training and turn in precision terplnf. Ray Cassel's band backs up acts pleasingly from pit, Fair house on show caught Just Cap's Shows -coattnned from page Is Fox people that he'll only tackle the Roxy if they also, at the Hollywood soiurce, make sure that when a Harry James or a .Glenn Miller, the Nicholas Bros., or Milton Berle, et al., -are signed for films, they '«il£» see to it that the Roxy gets a.first crack at their- services in person, Messmore Kendall, president of the Capitol, has been putting the heat on Loew-Metro for a stage show policy in view of recent film grosses with straight Metro product especially in face of the combination theatres' opposition, not forgetting Radio City Music Hall. "What may happen to the Rivoll and other straight first-runners pn Broadway, when the new bandshow. competition crops up, is problematic.