Variety (Dec 1944)

SB LEGITIMATE Wednosday, December 27, 1914 Plays on Broadway l.nt'l'iiift ll«M»H Oiilv S4i,i'.> Al I .*■•• f,..n.i.. II.' u V .\:<. Kllln'l ^ 1 If (I'.f'l. p. I i ii-v 11." Sl;ii s I il>«-t .\ .1"'. . (■ li.i. l.il.u>.-. ' ■■ .... ..1 .1 .Mi l'iliily. .M.il I I !:■ n ii-l 'i . h-l ('.«■>■ II. .1% I. i.i .\ \i.'ll>l.:ini. |:i ■.. -i.-i : li.. .InllH .Mill ri> \\n ' .....l ;.,\ Il.uiv K;niCiii;iii i'.- ■lit] lyi;.-,.li\ IlnililH J.Llt'V. ■• .mil .I'lliii^i.n :in'l . lIilK'-"-- It^ i:ni.iTl Alt-m. ffHui--^ ■"■ 111- Si.-.\Ii'i c'Ii:iiii-.\; till h....i i.i l... .r,.;..i M.'M.-nau' iillii'lM i'l (IIIoMIt'K I. J:\:iii... K'iii.'il l*.i..i"H. r.xii. .1. . itiiiiix. ri.ini.\ i:.i\Mir.iM.. r.ili^ y.-'irt YcMMK I'liiil.'" '.-.\iiii:i. li'.iM.-si .1'. ]<..!.I.. Hullfl, l-"i-.i'ti.> 1 l.-iuU-i ...'i. M.iiiiI'li'Vi'l. Sii.ii'ii"ii l""-i''. ' -''l-"' ' ■' ilxii. .\lil<..' :i"l U>:Uli';i Viriii'ii I i4tilli Sl.'iTl's I i.-- I'lliplilisi 'l'cl. w illi jlivo nibbils c;in;i'ft in tlii' h'isIos b.\ 'I'l'v.',','," ^ sl'oo.m's. \\ ■ ■ On llii' (•l.iiiri-'":!;'!'!!!'' I'lii' Mill:' ;ii\cl Ihiri won rn'.--l li«'ni>rs ;il Ibo '■ ■ dobiil iiiul will iiii-.iiru;c IncliiU lliii.t ',•1 s.... I wiw . TiK'.v li:iv(- l.uu .M'lii iMi; .rmi- ■ ■ 1 liniv-. orii- iiU<.'i:p'>l;iUsi inl l);ilKl lUiiiibci". .M.-^vi I'.xfi-llcnl is .1 ' K:iUii-.vi> Lee. win. «mu m.K-nlion ■ 111. i-i ] wIhmi .she (l;iiiri-ii iii llic Music H:ul. ! R;Kli() Cily. Mi.-:>^ l-<'>" •.ippoiii''^ I" i:i" ■• , ill (>vcii boiUT (unii hen- with lu-f " ■ i.»>' win U. ami tliVn' :iu> li;ill -.1 clozon I !■ iris on llifii- lonlsii's iis cnspmble ous foreign seKiinfiits ill town , to Unit tlK'in closiev in the tics of AmuiHanisMi. .-V bigolcrt lownsmari, jo:ili)iis cil llH'Si> -piisliinK foicifiu- oi-s," ti'ios 10 piovciu Ihc dinners. SmiM-al olhci- plot stiands—a ro- maiKc- bdwoon Sophie and the post- man. aiuilluM' between Sophie's dau.uhiei' and the bi^ol's son. and a sDinewliat tainishcd alVair between Sophie's C'll .son and a );iil who has boi ne his child-add to the hectic comedy ! (lualit.v of the proceedinps. Iiv nil. the . play larely rises above a pcdcsti iaii level, ucspito .some e.xira- yood moments. There is an aimisinu (irsl-aet scene when a picture cil' SOphie and sol- dier-son is bein.s; taken for the Play Abroad Sirlkt* It AfKMlii London, Nov. 30, , ^ I woieklv paper. The son's scene with ■ I'I hackuroiiiul On later is lAiu Wills. y,,, i^, |,;,^ spurned; the sceiio Jr ah cxce|)li(inal acmbatic tap' - .. . . dancer ~ ' ' In the conn!(ly. departmeni 0&.) Al points during the iiremiere it jiHUilgo in a pitinomover Ijurlcscjlie jceiiu-d like Olseii and .Iuhn.~on were - Uiafs lunny. With llie aid ol O Don- on the veit;e of paraphrasin.i; .\\ J.ol.- I nrW Blair' they make a bum Out ol son saving- • You ain't seen nolhin;; I iho music bo.\. wreckiiiK it niore than yet" bul thev refrained. "LalViii.u jiminv Durante I'ver does. In a box. Room Oiilv' is. as expected, a rouuh- , ijlnise and his sjaiiK Ko into all sorts hon-e musical melanjie played on the • ol antics, the aides bem}; Maryot Ktaue alon;; the aisles, in b()xes--.iiisi ; Brander (who does the. Eleanor like b&.I'.s other nutty concoctions. Roosevelt bitsi. Viriiinia Barralt. "ncUzapoppin" and "Sons 0' Fun. ■ Dippv Diers and Andrew R;(tolishcll. The show will draw plenty ol the 1,1 the lobby ■ before the show there, con-edians' fans. are Harry Bonis. Billy West and Standm" out like a lishlhouse is Diers. Burns 1 formerly of "I Think the ocaf s renfilh of the show. Yon Touch" vaude ame- appears in suanse a r an O.^ .I-er. supplied by man.v bits, mostly in the aud.cnc;e. Frfcd Warine's Glee Club, without and does a neat lOb: Theresa Poca-. Warintv Othfer vital saving graces tello. Idaho" bil thal s ji'misnifi^. Joe ai-e ill dances, both, specialties ' Young ■ bems on with O&J. Willie, and ensemble The show couldn't bo West and McGinty appearm then- done wit'nout .<itoogcs. and vhere are familiar carpenter nonsense which plenty, Frank Libnse havin.!i a larfie I guts over. . . col cct oi. of same. Some, in fact. I There s a new version of the !;ood comics in their prime "Boomps-a-Daisy ehorme-audiencc ''I' I where Sophie's dauj;hter iclls off her number up and down the aisles, be ing- billed "Hcllzapoppin Polka." Libuse w ith his screwy "Musical Moments" is in the liist part. The baldhcad .squawked because some mechanical stnfl went wroni;. !<o Ol- son put the ad on aeain in the sec- ond part on oponin.u iiiuhl. one rca- soii whv the-show diriii l ring down Ibvc. No|»lli<' I'MNllH'll." S:illilli'l l.< were \-ery . and still arouse sijSUles. . Nalurallv. for two birds like O&J there's a licap of shooliiiH but- prob- ably not as much as heielofore. and perhaps ihafs due to the gunpowder shortu.ye. Idea of the book, il any. is a chanue of pace between Wo.scov. An Theali-e. drama and O&J slLifT. brama of a sort starts the works: but | f./) as the show proceeds one wonders - - when the talent w-ill come on. Show , reallv starts to become somelhini; i during the last half hour of the lirsl j ^^^^ ,„^^..^ ,,,,, portion, hoofers. Belly Ciarrell and , , ,;,„,.,i> i„ ,1,, :,ns 1, the Waring mixed crew- coining 10 11-. r. i.i. 1 the fore. - Tiiere is rather a runninw idea about tl-.e ensemble dance interludes. and it's mostly travestying the ballet. Bob Alton has worked out the step- ping sections excellently aiid it's the sort of stua that average audiences understand. Miss Garrett is the class warbler of the proceedings, a pert songstress who lovs with the score's top tunes. "Stop That Dancing" and "Sunny <;alifornia." "Got That Good Time Feeling" is led by Ida James with Glee Club support, and there's also Pat Brewster on the singing end with the Waring crow. Latter bunch counts with ''Fussin'. Fcudin' and Fightin'." O&J being principals in shotgun wedding, Kentucky moun- tain slvlc. II develops into an audi- ence luimbcr with quite a few males waving their kerchiefs to a "Wave That Devil Away" interpolation. Travesty or burlesques of promi- nent publicans dot the entire per- formance, with caricatures of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt too Ircquont for good iaste. New York's Gov. Dewey fs ribbed plenty, too. Olsen is pull- ing a Jack Benny, playing fiddle sev- eral times, and it's.the McCoy. Stan- lev Evans and his grizzly bear. Big Bo.i. ha\e an iiilerUtdc. "llarvcy" craven-heai-leil suitor; the scene where Sophie pleads with her son's girl to .stay with them —Ihese are ineniorable moments.^ but they are only monienls in a waste of hectic contrivance. Mme. Paxinou gets a goo<t deal out of. or rather into, the pari of Sophie, her fine si)eaking voice and goocl diction, despite-her accent, having a great elVect towards a charming, characterization. But the surprise of the play is Ann Shepherd, young radio actress in her (irsi major legit appearance as Sophie's daughter. She's a brilliant comer who rales close to Mme. Paxinou lor the evening's acting honors. Donald Buka is good as a hot-headed: irresponsible GI, whose tlviid-act scene with his girl hits the dramatic peak of . the eve- ning. Will Geer is dryly amusing- as Sophie's dyspeptic suitor. Louis Sorin gives some flavor to the lazy brother-in-law role and Jerry Boypr is sulTicienll.v obnoxious in the con- tinued cycle of obstreperous kids.' But the two last-named as well as rest of cast are mainly types in an c.ssentiall.v^ slock slory. Samuel Lcves Czech kitchen-liv-. in.g room set is nolew'orthy. Mich.ael Cordons direction keeps thin.gs moving : without liiaking the story stirring. Broii. < l.r ■ illli-iiiiii III Kii<<c> St.iilii..- t lali'iM'/.il;. - l.N .\ii>s l.-'i'l. Sl:il> Kiillllll ^|..l lt.\- .\lirli:ii-l I-.itriliiii: HOI. <-ii.<lill.ii..-. Uti..':' |-.-ii;;<l;tnii(l. upi.tu'il :ir l'l;i.ill<illM.. .X. .•i|i(.)i iii^- iii;;l)l. .\inii.- ll;ilf«li.''.M; i- ;i-nf>i.i iiiirikiiiK. ■. 'runt Ht':ni('IV:ir<l: >..:. Cliol 1!l:iiii-h;inl ]''i-!UlK'iO I lliliMli'-/.IU Sit-^illii. I|iili.|ii-/.iK (i'Nir^i* (lil:iiiii!4 Mr. l-:iiii>.T. . . ..:. ii- otif llitli'iifzlk .Mrs. Si-il«lili*r. . . Cain, -rii.initiiii : Mai'K'- .Ni-lsim . . . Alll'ii) 1 lali.ni-/.ik Klsii', his "ir-. . 111'.- Sauil-ilay; , uilili'i . . . . .Villi .-^lii-pllfiil Will Ciii i- . . . nil-liar.ll UOUlio ,. ..ifiiti ,M<-(;iivi.'ni . . . . .'niiilalil ItllUa . . Kiiliiia . I'ii.xiiltiU . ..Iiiliii llariiiitii Kuri Uii-havil..' itiiina Ki'alli hitris nU-li Kiiiia III Alexiiu'lpi' .Xhtri^ilOrUo C'liriou ....... I .MiiiH SiU'iii _J'*.«l:i l*,tMJ*y .MvTii> .1'*'i'i V .r.iiynr Play Out of Town Tli«' Y4»iih|{ Know llcMi Boslon. Dec. 2». r. -sii'iUii.i iMiiiiiii-iiKti iir itia.v ill ii-iv II', K.'..iii.^i i,> .\i'iiiii smu.'ii Mill li.v rlal'fiiro I I. ((iii'liin I ii'iiiii't 1, Di'f. mil: S:; Kiii.i'iiii riiiti .VlaxiiM' ,\10ii. . .. I>a\iit .Mll^it .)i>liiiii.\'. ICii 1{. . . . ."i.iit Willi *ipl l.i •M llii; (.-.Mill.). ,Ullll->: Miil^llill, . . . . (,\ imp I 'aflT-r .llarliara lt..|ilMMi< .... ItaliOi l--(irlio>i . . l^i.tial'l MurpIt) (It'iirvA blai K l'»vin» ill 111 HcPlii'S. Slin-ii Sill I'-ii'M: fi.;llil:i'ti ,lttlr.v- UeJUtliuiil''. Slu-r- liiif .W.'ii'l.^- 'r.-M*. .llli* \t-.-^llHlili'», .Nl.ir^iiiiM aliil I'liai'li'i*. r.i.liiii ('.illPaiiii. .li;.. 'rul'lnM- .M'.il-I.Mi. iiiil'Prl.i lliili."-. I'l'illiiMl lllliilfl. Siolhi. .MaM.. Mini Mini .lii.\-i*e. ti.'.<i;;iii'il ami piiiillif l l'V .Mi'i- Sliiiilki'. IlHliii'S l>,»- \V..ii.Iv 'I'liM'- t'l'-f'-iiii'rt :il I'riii*-i^ tif \\-alPi* llli.a;i'-.:N.n-; 1'^. I'.'ll. Show is supposedly a sequel to "Slrike 8 New Note," which played at this house around 12 months, and helped introduce Sid Field as, a new comic to London's West End. Black brought in show quielly, insiders hinting he whs peeved at scribes for having blasted hi.s two last elVorls. As a whole. Black has /allied to "strike ■ again." this second elTort kicking the spontaiveily of his pre- vious show. Also, Field, w'ho became an overnight rave on his first ap- pearance, is no longer a novelty and lia.s weak inateriHl. Show takes qiiite a while to warm up, first comedy coming from Free Frenchie Sherkot, with his burlesque apache and football referee. Having beeii vaudeville standard here for years, he is fai-'from novel. Neither are comedy antics of Margiaret and Ciiarles. Hungarians. Boiiar eolleano, Jr., offspring of famous family, clever youngster with poiisibililies. is wasted here, with sev- 'oral bits lacking merit. TPPPer Mar- tvn. youthful newcomer with series of tricks with hats and ball juggling, scores. Best of string of unfunn.v. skits is "Portiail Study,'* with Field &s photographer and Desiiionde as cli- ent. Obviously pansy, it's funny enough to oyercome suggest iveness. Chorus works well and shows good Toye tutorage- Last minute inclusii#n of Field's perennial comedy golfing skit, despite having played in last show for about a vear,,shows iaugh .shortage. Proved as big a hit as before, compensating (or duPier akits. With Field, now boxoffice, new Black revile: should experionce healthy run, but may not duplicate previous show's run. Repe, . TC lleiM'ndiii WhHi Vou M<>nn London, Nov. 16. fti.jM b>- .iiiiu*"' l*'-l- rl f>i>iitii. Willi ^Il^^- PLAY PUBLISHERS . . . ol 'A*u and many oth«r ditliitguithuJ playt SONG Of tERNADETTE TOMORROW THE WORLD LOST HORIZON • HIGHLAND FUNG . EVE OF ST. MARK . BEST FOOT FORWARD •. FEATHERS IN A GAlE ■ MRS. MINIVER - GREAT A elG DOORSTEP ■ KITTY ^-y FOYIE-HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY TM DRiMATIC PUniSHINO CO. Incorporoltd 1887 E.VAN SUREN $T.,CHICAGO S "Sophie" should have been an ideal vehicle to bring Katina Paxi- nou. rinemorable in the pic. "For Whom the Bell Tolls." back to the Broadway stage. But it isn't. The play which George Ro.ss and Rose C. Fold dramatized from the lattcr's New -Yorker stories about "Sophie Halenczik. American" should have been a heart-warming, naturally- flowing story of a Czech housemaid and her conquest of a frigid Con- necticut small-town community.. In- stead, play proves to be a contrived, synthetic series of incidents; in the life of a Jiisi-geiieialioo Czech- American family, with only occa- sional real drama in. the incidents and not much imagination in the telling. Despite some good moments and line acting, play disappoints. Its Broadway chances aren't good. There are several scattered plot developments in the play which only serve to distract from the central figure, rather than being bound to- gether by her. There is a good deal of excitement in the first two acts, which are hectic rather than dra- matic, and the last act is slow and dull. ■ The play is a sort of "You Can't Take It With You" with a tour Freedoms twist. Sophie, who cleans at various houses in the com- munity when shiB isn't cooking mar- velous meals at home, conceives the idea of a series of dinners for vari- !0K SIAGf.SCREFN Act I: A 45-yeai- old Hollywood writer goes to San Francisco to hang around his third and most satis- tory ex-wile wij.h a view to marry- ing her agaiii. He meets his ex-wife's 21-ycar-old room-mate who uses "ain't" in hcj- speech and oomph in her walk. She falls for what is fre- quently described as his'charm and is as ciiger to master grammar as he is eager. He employs her as his sec- retary. "They arc very hard to get; you know." he Ob.serves. Act II: The girl's army pilot fiance returns from the Pacilic and she; having succumbed to lhe_,Avriter'.s grammar, dismisses hiin' forthwith. 'The ex-wife tells the writer it is too bad and that ho should do some- Il<- o.a.v:. Act III: The writer tells tlic girl it is pretty hard for a nian of 4.i to be of adequate service to a girl of 21 once her grammar is in'good shape. The girl, whose grammar is in very good shape by now-, realizes the truth of this assertion and falls into the flier's arms. The ex-wjfe. whose grammar, if a little rusl.v, is still serviceable, falls into the writer's arms. The audience, whose grammar is unprintable, falls into the nearest bar. t'lie. N'-'U'- l-l<lll'■^I.^- ill llii llii*. (I'li'Snllleil lj\ It.'b^rl ,^ lilll tl-i'iIil»:lK"ii'. I'l'l- .Dhi*vlf(l l>y AlHHlah- Slili. .\iiBnla Prom AliHflB B.->i1iIb1o.v Willhiiii Puvin vlii-siaii- Kim i:i'ori:f rri.iil... Wilfred MVitft Willie .failirii .Mulili.. lilivr HiilliiKUiil I'l iviili* .(f>'Kl" KlUliiiow.. .MKi-K.irfll Barltin VlHcniiiui'ss 'Doilit. ...... .Tim KyvCM.. :: I Ifi-I.ir MiK-iiiliim 1-iiraie Wall'T Girkl«.-. ..-*IliiiB Pavpy . . \Vh1|i>i- Hoy .. .0- B. <'lRreni-o ..Mri- Fin i^i-f»lmni •Thi.s new James Bricjia comedy has plenty of his native wit, some amus- ing observations on. marriage, but is in reality a satirijalion of the BBC welekjy feature, the Brains Trust. Title is derived from, the aln-iosl in- evitabU replies by oiie of the main- stays, of this program, Professor Joad, who usually urefacei his pun gent quips with the "It Depends What Yoil IWean" phrase Elmer Rice to Direct 'Dear Bella' for Todd Elmcfp—Rice is pretty well, set to direct Arthur- Kober's "My Dear Bella" for Michael Todd. The title player has .vet to be selected. Stella Adler had been . mentioned for the part but she won't be in it. Kbber, his sfint at !20th-Fox com- pleted, is concentrating oh polishing up his play, which was on John Goldcn's schedule la.st year. An armv padre gathers a group of local "shining lights" to stage an "'In- formation Please" type of program -- - trooo enl.«rt»inmpi\!.^.The diverse jctibn of characters and the lieal- en di.scussion arisinjg from the many problems provide Ihrea hours of up- roarious entertainment. All the parts are so splendidly played, and the pro- duction so deftly handled by Alastair Sim twho scores as tha well-inten- tione.d cleric) tliat the lack of moti- vation is scarcely noticed. Bridie followers will flock, and will probably attract a successful London season. But It Is hardly worth U. S. consideration because entifely top- ical. ■ Jo\o. I Hot Coin II quently, this moans a spokesman for the maimgomeut, usually the boss himseU, gets up on the roslrum lo- tell his olieiitole that it the.v "don't like it, get out, bill you nnist recog- nize that no rnutter' how one feels about it. the Allies did give us oiie thing, and that is our freedom and ability to speak our minds." That usually shuts 'em up. Renewed /Voqiiuintances Miss Glenn renewed aci|iiaihtance with Pierre Dubout and Pierre Sandrini, who own the Bal Tabarin and which Montmartrc cabaret- theatre she describes -as tl) posscs> sing its best show, and l2i as being the No. 1 fave with the Americans. Whether omcers o'' Crls. the Yanks, of course, have the wolf-call out ii» full force, and the fcmine USO workers, or any other American girl, whether civilian or wearing a serv- ice uniform of one sort , or. another, must caution the boys not to be, well, boys. It reaches proportions where the MPs must be enlisted. It's understandable that the GU go overboard. The sight of a YanU leaching a French gal how to jitter- bug is a real sight, and wOieii that oc- curs the buildiitg literally rocks. Some'of the more hardy GIs have cohtrived what might be called a "French boilermaker"—they spi'ke the champagne .with 'itjO-proof alco- hol they somehow- gel from the American supply centers, and the efle'ct of the bubbly is really some- thing. The initiate, for instance, knows not to sit under anV balconies in the two-story French boiles (like Uie Bal Tabarin) since niany a bot- tle comes conking down. "Oh, my aching back" is the popu- lar GI. password, for no apparent reason at all, when sigliling a. femme. Ben Tyber, who danced with Miss Gleini years ago, is safe and hapi>y In the south of France. An Hun- garian Jew, appai'cntly the Nazi.-) never bothered too much in lh« Riviera resorts, and he's been'work- ing steadily In Monte Carlo. C'ollaboralionlNts There are the usual reports about the French showbiz names who col- laborated or didn't. Sacha Giiilrv, somehow, has been liberated and re- portedly throwing swank parties anew. - The black market in U. S. and British exchange is re'i>orled to be another thriving business. Even during the occupation, seemingly, Ihe French knew how to keep them- selves apart from the Nazis in tli«. choicer bistros ciiid restaurants, else the Nazi officers risked being mickeyfinned. That's why Ihoy picked their own - favorite spots tMaxim's, etc.) knowing they would not be gastronomically blitzed. Miss Glenn's unit comprised. Alfred and Lea Wallace, puppeteers; Dawn Peterson, acrobatic dancer; George Youmans, accordionist; and Judy Scott, songstress. All but the latter are still over there, as Miss Ot?''-s.-Vis4-.t.'>-bo fto-rvv i'-,-■'i.J.ifioiiKfl-. of serious illness. Miss Scott, a 8PU VS. 8A6 □ 400 New AGMA-ites 1 Four hundred new members joined American Guild of Musical Artists this year, despile limited field of con- cert work and other war defections. Increase is explained by AGMA ■officials as due to increased interest in.opera and ballet by the American public. . Over a dozen organizations were formed, or resumed activity, in 1944, including Ballet International New Orleans Opera House A-ssn.. Boston Grand Opera Co., Leopold Sachse Co., France Film Co, (Cana dian opera touriug co.), American Negro Opera Go. and others. ' ^ Continued from. pii|« which until now hat forbidden A- junior. members, to do extra work." ■ Funehei Traded SPU slugged right back with the announcement that any players who answered the invitation of SAG to take out A-junibr memberships would jeopardize their cTiances of doing extra work in the futura. Fur thermora, SPU declared, agreements have been reached with Central Casting Corp., General Casting and Studio Service to call only extras already registered w'ilh those or ganizalions, a large majority of whom are SPU member.s. SPU claims jurisdiction over all exlras/who, In addition to.that work, perform bits, parts, stunts, singing, etc. The new organization will not look wTth favor on any extra.s who attempt to, perfect new affiliations with SAO'at this time. After SPU signs- a. contract wilh the producer, it is declared, such players will find It dlfTtciilt to get clearances to ac cept studio calls for extra work. British subject, was detained in Eng- land, where the unit first worked before going to France. They have been abroad since September. A footnote to this Pari.s closeup is "the matchless beauty of the Champs-Elysees," says Miss Glenn, .because it's unmarred by traffic. There are even now but few official i:ars, so the famed boulevard Is a con.stanlly breath-taking scene. Arthur Gershwin, brother of George, eleffcd his first tune in col- laboration with- Doris Fisher and Allen RoberLs, "Invitation to U.ie Bliies," which Gapiloi disced with Ella Mae Morse. GLASSES T)imili«w CONTACT r.ENSKS «!" XOll ,r»'f"f' rliloii nlllioiil iiiiiulllin .voiii liwk-.. Iiifl"!; Ilk. infr, iirol«tl»». c«lllfl>rlalll^. Ni>« wi-rn Oy mniiy «li\ri III lli« ■iltiiwiiinil itmlil. roiniiimilciii. 8:.w 10 r.:5(l,. Iii'liii'lm Siliir- -lay iloiiiU; 'llll S::o. DUNSHAW CO. I3« W. 42n« 81.- Naw Ywt II, N.V. WIUMllD 7-WM 17 Acidtmy tl: Ntwtrli2, N.l. Mllclitll 2-UM