Variety (Jun 1946)

24 nCTOIIBS Wednesday, June 5, 1946 House Reviews state, N.V. Frank Parker, Slate BTOs.Moxth Jay Carroll (4), D'lvons, Joe Phillips & Patricio Flviin, Miller Bros. & Lois, Crosby Sisters (2); "flood to Ufopio" (,Par). Stale's show is on the spotty side,, but <or the most part manages to make its inipre^ on the payees, Smoothest part ol the show comes ■with the opening dance turn of Miller Bros, and Lois, Slate Bros, and Frank Parker's appearance. L.at- ter gives out with a technically smooth vocal product that's easily assimilated and good for hearty re- turns. In the dance department. Miller Bros, and Lois, the openers, would do better in a more advanced spot, but being the fastest turn on the bill had to open by necessity. This Negro team mix fast and smooth terping, much of it • on elevated platforms to give the house a neat ■warmup. Opposite end of the bill in the closing end are the D'lvons, whose ballroomology isn't of top cut, and whose routines need some gimmick to perk up interest. Their occasional spins aren't sufficient for that purpose. Comedies by the Slate Bros, hit their mark here. This house seems more appropriate to them than the across-the-street Capitol where they recently played. Smaller house helps them in getting a major quota of yocks. Joe Phillips, the vet vaader now working with tall, statuesque Patri- cia Flynn, works a patter turn with antiquated material and while there are occasional laughs', amusement re- turns are small. Crosby Sisters display an unsubtle brand of comedy mixed with singing which needs extremely heavy mug- ging to put over—more than is re-- quired in the interests of good taste. But in all fairness to the act, they hit the audience at thisjshow ard walked oil to several earned bows. . Jose, Tower, K. €. KoTisos Citv, iVfov 31. Larry Collins, Sutton & Lee, The Arthurs, The .Sinfline Weouers, Johnny Pearee, Tower Orch (9) toith Don Tiff and Beverly Cassady; "Spider Woman Strikes Back" (U) ond "Stronoe Conquest" (U). Carlyle appears to sing "Glowworm" with the unprecedented accompani- ment of all the Jones accessories, in- cluding bells, whistles, horns and washboard. "Old McDonald's Farm" routine and Candy Hall's screwy version of "Lady Be Good" arc other highlights in a standout show. Customers relished Jones all the more because they've been fed a heavy diet of bands that take their music seriously. Everything else in the show is so outlandish that nifty dancing Of Dorcse Midgley, tap styl- ist, comes almost as surprise. She gets a nice reception. . Corb. RKO, Boston Boston, June 1. Milt Berth Trio, Lorry Sfeucns, Sylvia Manon, Denas & Volev; Joe & Jane McKenna; "Badnian's Territory" (RKO). Lois of talent romping about the RKO-Boston stage this, week. The Milt Herth Trio wow with ingenious improvisations on the organ, piano, drum, traps and zylophone. Herth arrangements of "Tea for Two" and "St. Louis Blues," not outstandingly original, but. plenty of zip, get good response. The trio works up to a flnale which has all performing at one. keyboard. Larry Stevens,, late with Jack Benny, put across "Blue Skies," "Laughing on the Outside" and "All Through the Day" with plenty of heart throbs. Joe and Jane Mc- Kenna tie music to slapstick with sonie clever burlesquing. One of their stunts is parody on the adagio act of Sylvia Manon, Denas and Voley, a' team basing its success upon the use of a girl as moppets toss beanbags. While stressing music a lot, show does not get monotonous. Dame. Oriental, Cbi Chicc -- June 4. Connee Boswell, Jackie Greet}, the Albins (2), LeRoy. Bros. (2), Ray Lang Orch (11); "Hoodlum Saint" (M-G); This bill in 40 minutes comes oil somewhat above average, mainly due to the punchng of. Larry Collins (New Acts) in his own turn aiid also doubling as emcee. The regu- lation fare of standard acts and am.winner are started off by the orch and Beverly Cassady on "Sioux City Sue," In the deuce are The Arthurs, an aero and adagio duo, up to par. They ^ive way to the Singing' Weaver twosome who deliver "Sun- ny Side of the Street" and the.faves from "Showboat" in satisfatcry manner. Weekly am winner Is Johnny Pearce i na tap routine. Sutton and Lee follow with a novelty turn at the blacksnake whips. Sutton snaps them closely around Miss Lee while she holds out papers, cigarettes and ribbons for the whips to slit. Work- manship is good, and Miss Il«e's foiling Is okay. Collins takes over closing spot, rousing the house to its best ap- plause with his variations on a trombone. Besides a bit of whist' ling and some patter, Collins runs the gamut of tongulng and sliding tricks with the trombone. More than tearing his horn apart, the customers went for his novel arrangements on standard songs and the act could stand more of this. (}uin. Circle, Indpls. . Indianapolis, June 2. Spike Jones It His City Slickers, tuith Red Ingle, George Rock, Dick Morgon, Condy Holl, Mickey Kafz, Dr. Horatio Q. Birdbath, Koye Bal* lad, Dorese Midgley, Helen Greco, Eileen Corlyle; "Ding Dong Wil- liams" (RKO). Lightweight affair at the OrienUl staggers along till sewed up solid by Connee Boswell's sock song salesmanship. - Stage is darkened at teeoll with the LeRoy Brothers, in luminous demon-masks, manipulating break- away skeletons in stroblite. Also do a sorso Jitterbug couple, clown who blows up. a balloon, and a drummer shooting off steam, introducing a new character, a vibe player bang- ing out "Stardust," to close. Latter dummy, who really plays, is the standout.. Alblns do their standard takeofts on ballroom duos, to which another could be added in lieu of the guy's unfunny Karlbft-Siiiatra roAine. Jackie Green contrlbs some parrot f*P'o takeoffs on Jolson, ink Spots, Durante. Cantor and Mr. Anthony, getting off okay. Miss BosweU gets a lot of anima- tion into her numbers, despite the contraption she's wheeled out on The velvet pipes are aU there too, jn, the quintet of tunes—"They Say It's Wonderful," "Oh. What It Seemed to Be," "Perscmallty" with smidgeons of "Hey-Bop,*- a deeply emotional "House I Lfve ln," and ' No Can r»o •• .Vj.." Mike. Spike Jones, who has been somC' thing of a stranger around here, finally opened here to start the cus- ' tomers on a six-day laughing jag, Although starting a day late, while Spike watched his entry in the 500- mile Decoration Day race, show is giving this house one of its biggest weeks this year. Slickers begin dispensing musical corn with "Der Fuehrer's Face," fol lowed by "Black Magic," "Clink, Clink, Let's Have a Drink" and "Hotcha. Cornia" so fast and with so much business, customers have a hard time keeping up with all that goes on. Red Ingle clicks plenty with his familiar comedy version of "Chloe," and gang wins a big hand lor its imitation of Ink Spots imitat- ing City Slickers singing "You Al- ways Hurt the One You Love," Kaye Ballad also clicks with her hilarious parodies of "My. Heart Sings," "It Might as Well Be Spring," "My Man," "Doctor. Lawyer, Merchant, Chief," "Ole Man River" and other favorites. Gang rises to a climax when Eileen Orphenmj A. * J B May is. ro^"?? , ^'"»«». Wesson Brothers ;5t' n^.l-^r"* ""^ Mel-Tones B ^i' ^"."J Thomas, Bud Hughes and Fol, Al Lyons Orpheum Orch (17)- ' In Fast Company" (Mono). inl^'l^i" Hi* ^J^™* staee book- ing for the Orpheum. After 13 years • of being Los Angeles' top fllmyaude house, theatre goes straight films June 11 and the stage policy shifts down Broadway to tfil Million Dpi ar. Next week straight vaude bill will be used by We Orpheum without a name booking is fort^"*""! '•.'""'-off Andy Russell Ln^ ^fc A local boy-made-good and with a large following, Russell ^^'^f^'l^ "P,? of artists whom click handsomely rSs,^ sells vocaling grabs heftv B=im pounding, although a f?w mafes 7n appetrT^thr?''' to^S'h^s ??Slht H» „t ^emmes at show caugnt. He opens with ."What a Difference a.Day Makes." tlien goel into "Laughing on the Outside'• a medley of "Sesame." "XSor" and •"Magic in the Moon ightT Encores SSL:7,^"'t Begin, to Tell You'"a„d liverils All are boff de- h.P'J, l*"er tune, Mel Torme and fl^,!*^!'"^""*" with Russell on VoMi'^^r'""* *■? •''■^"e "curtain down Vxtcal group, m addition to Tome ?wo m^irc"""41' l<'okers?Tnd harmSiv "nn ^^^^ narmony on "Onezy Twozv" R&tnH'2 "Ole Man Hiver and a novelty piece tekine «dio singers. Grouf pfegVr/h"tify'''"^ "^'-^•^^' To?^'"S?^ Stint falls to Dick and Jean We^on. an ace brother abt ^^S" seen in person than heard on the air. They play their gags back and forth snappily, keeping audience In a continual up- roar. Particularly sharp are their impersonations and takeoffs on prac- tically everything under the sun. in- cluding, a hilarious version of po- litical candidates. Patti Thomas, a member of the Bob Hope overseas troupe, is a smart tap dancer who augments good routmes with a scanty costume and shapely form. Bud Hughes and Pal opens like a standard magic act, then segues into a dog turn in which Hughes demonstrates the balancing versatility of his pooch Pal. Brog, Apollo, N. V. Willie Bryant Orch (16) uiith Leroy Harris; Ella Fitzgerald, Holnies & Je(}«y George Williams, Pottl Smith, Maxiir Armstrong; "Live Wires" (Mono). of Bette Davis and Jimmy Durante. Audience singled her out for kudos. Weak link in bill Is Ted Claire's tired-out comedy; Claire, who hasn't been in these parts for several years, brings back the same bid gags with no fresh slants. Does a baby-mind^ ing number of questionable taste, a drunk routine and general comedy, j»U of which gets only mild response. Hugh Foigie and Frank Jasoii, badminton champs, make a satisfac- tory closing number. Raiidy Kent keeps up interest with his radio-style comments. LoUie. Orpheum, Oniaha ' Omaha. June 4. Ciiuclc Foster Orch, Dinning Sis- ters, Hoi Stone, Walker Tuiini, Betty Clorfc, Tommy Ryan; "Three Strong- ers" (WB)i of After several years of working around as emcee- in various Harlem hotspots, a couple of announcer stints on local radio shows, and some USO work, Willie Bryant is again fronting a band. Whether or not it'll be up to his past outfits is difflr cult to say at this point since the boys obviously are in need of re- hearsal. At present orch features lesser sidemen from Basie, Hines. and other name groups. Maestro said,. "They did it to me once. Now "m doing it to them," Layout opens with a flaccid piece -uUed "Rebop." and any relation "to the hit tune of almost the same name is purely intended. Maxie Arm- strong picks up from there with a fair rhythm tap routine, dancing nround a bottle. Paul Smith does an excellent job .fakery with a pleasant tenor voice, although a couple of the key changes are a little too obvious. Ex- treme overselling would go nowhere but in this house. Does "Chloe" ■Indian Love Call." and "01' Man River.': Band's arranger, Willie Doggett, Jiano solos on "Central Avenue Boogie.' Leroy Harris is then featured in alto on "Lucky So-and- sp. following with very passable vocal oh the same number. Maestro spends a lagging ten minutes in a fituation-comedy skit with George Williams. Need some material here. ?/ya"t goes into vocal on "Cement ...O'ch in "Coiktails for two," with nice tenor on the side George Holmes had to do solo turn in absence of Jean, who was hurt m fall. Versatile dancer does comic balletaps. a couple of clgaret "f^ gymnastics for good returns. piPlH!? *e, top draw of the bUl, EUa FlUgerald has the house steam- tog after her first number. "Come Wom^S^"™? ^'O"* "St. Louis Woman. In quick succession "Prim ^-Sf? """^ "Cement Mixe?* follow. ChUrper. who Is at her best ^mi5?®«"i''^"'''.warms large theatre immediately and can't beg off. En- cores are;«Lady Be GooS," strict^ Vf^^^J^- f?^ Calypiso. "Kill Ko- body But Me, Husban'." Band's finale. "Round the Clock," has to quiet crowd. ^ ^ ^ Tonim. Hlpp4»droaie, Balto . . Bottimore. June 2. 7 r*"f*' * Stanley. Mack Trip- l*V' ^Vi Th'ee Kings, Felice ^^^S."*^* <12); "Heorfbeat" Strictly a vaude show of the band- revue type, featuring two headliners, Chuck Foster's band and the har- monizing Dinning Sisters. Band is best in "Cement Mixer." "My Guy s Come Back" and a Glenn Miller med- ley. Dinniiigs scored heavy with "Hawaiian War Chant," "Where or When," "Wave to Me. Lady," "Oh What It Seemed to Be" and "Love on a Greyhound Bus." Gals took three encores; . , i Hal Stone's comedy monolbg kept the house in gulTaws. Best effort and most effective is the sequence about ratibning men. Betty Clark sings "Listen to the Mocking Bird" and "I'm a Big Girl Now." Walker Twins contrib neat tap steps and Tommy Ryan clicks with "The Gypsy" and "Laughing on the Outside." Roch. Standard layout is paced by per- sonable ^ emcee, Lee Trent, who handles fairly fresh material to good response. Stroije acrb stuff by the Three Kings, male and two femmes. tS^A 1" w'"^*^^?''"* balancing and hand-to-hand. Flashy getaway sets matters nicel3r for the Mack Triplets to follow with smooth three-way light proves bill's high- pese youthful gals give out with T!m«"T/i*'" Like (Jw J.!. ""** I?' a well-earned en- wH^^ ^K* " Now." Aggre- gation has developed into a top- flight combo^capabfe of holding own in more ambitious company Lee Trent takes hold of spot on his own next with okay gSgging. ?{"«"y t™ed for maximum%unch trouble taking hold of stub- holders here. Lowe. Bite and Stan- ufinilpPP«^ their , usual socko finish Utilize off-stage recordings of An- drews Sisters and Ink Spote for iv?r"/flS!?"''-^ sender for extra final curtains ^i^okiy. Burm. Capitol, Wash. „ . W<'shington, May 30. riltl LorVoine. Ted Clatre, Hugh Forgie & Frank Josen- "PoslTnon Rings TuHce" (M-G). Layout this week is strong on speed and variety and tops rocent bills. "TMc°ic"I'k'^'**"° hoofers from This Is the Army," pace the show m a fast and neat terp routine. The ex-GIs. all professionals before the war, make a slick conibo. They're snappy appearing. They open with one long number, exhibiting not oply their skill but amazing stamina. En- core is highlighted by individual stints, which click as well as pre- vious team work had. June Lorraine follows with a hep package ^f impersonations of top drawer quality. Gal gets the illusion across the footlights whether she is doing a male or femme personality, going particularly strong in take-offs No Place Like Home] CoDtlnued from page 2-. stage shows, with the various Para- mount- producers for audience. This stunt has already paid off in important film roles for 14 out of 22 youngsters appearing in the audi- tions, ; Pine-Thomas has drawn heavily from those showcased in this way—giving DeForest Kelley and Kay' Scott leads in "Fear in the Night," featuring Charles Victor in the same picture, casting Catharine Craig for the femme lead and giv- ing Byron Barr an Important role in "Seven Were Saved." they also took Elaine Riley into "Daager Street," Roberta Jonay and Renee Randall got important roles in Paramount's "The Emperor's Waltz" as result of the showcasing audi- tions; Larry Young won a .featured role in "Welcome Stranger;" Jean Ruth in "Suddenly It'is Spring" and Richard Webb and Gloria Saunders in "0,S.S." And almost anybody is liable to gei an acting job around the Uni- versal lot these days, what with the new angles in casting being in- troduced by Mark Hellinger 'Pro- ductions. Hellinger is casting two or three unknowns' for "The Kill- ers." on the theory that the known heavies of pictures are so thor- oughly typed that an audience wiU spwt them as killers and menaces right off the bat-^thus taking away from the suspense and interesC of a story that depends on keeping such identities secret until the final payoff. Also, several rrtent Hel- linger and Universal castings have been made on the strength, of voices •lone. Tele Nips Self l^^s CoBtlnned from page 1 to its channel changeover. Station was forced to shift these shows to the evening, hours, however, in order to give ita engineers. a chai}ce''t<r work out the kinks in the station's new transmitter; WNBT telecasts the N. Y. home teams' baseball games, but does so only one or. two afternoons a week. When a Customer wants to buy a set, consequently, he must take it almost as a blind article, since it's impossible for him to learn what kind of reception the set gives until he^ takes it home and switches it on at night. None of the prospective manufacturers, as far as could be ascertained, has taken this factor into account in their merchandising plans. All stations are planning on in- creased daytime programming, but this must wait until the new equip- ment on order is delivered. What with strikes, shortages of material, etc.. it's impossible to determine when this might be. As one broiad- castcr declared, it would be easy to broadcast daytime shows merely by slicking a camera out the window and recording what goes on outside the studio, but this hardly answers the purpose of television. ^ Those, manufacturers whb got the jump on their competitors by bring- ing out their sets first, consequently, don't know whether or not they'll benefit from the move. Mountain Goes — Contlnn«« from page I ^ feet In,width, several deep, with painted bockdrops to lend the feel- ing bf distance. The chef d'oeuvre, as it were. City of'Hollywood itself, Is 12 by 12 feet square, covering 45 Hollywood blocks, with 4S0 buildings in this one miniature. Cost of these' miniatures is re- ported in excess of $290,000. for con- struction alone, Close to 50 techni- cians, engineer^, artists, miniature experts and other workman parti- cipated in tut'nlng them out. and plans, preliminary arrangements and construction consumed nearly 10 . years, it is announced. While mon- etary figure seems high, it is recalled . that Colleen Moore spent around $425,000 for her doll house some years ago. which still is on tour and exhibition: Hollywood in Minia- ture is to t>e shown under manage- ment of John Arthur -Productions. No Details Missing Painstaking care was taken to present a faithful picture- of the different siibjecta. Buildings are constructed to scale, and are their minute replica; Chinese theatre forecourt, for instance, has the foot- prints of the stars, just as they actually appear. Facade of the theatre is a museum piece in itself, being made of exquisite hund-carved ivory, and copper. Malibu Beach ininiature shows the homes of the stars and the million- dollar Rindge "castle." now a relig- ious' retreat. HIM avers that this latter building alone in miniature costs $6,500. Brown Derby restaurant shows the original structure, on Wilshire Blvd. Hollywood Bowl, which seats 21,000 .persons, is reproduced at ex- act scale, with every seat and box just as it appears on actual scene. Motion picture studio, a composite of all the studios in Hollywood, has every physical feature which the average studio boasts. Fall Day to Scale Surpassing all these, though, both In size and impressive vista, is City of Hollywood miniature. Hollywood is revealed In this from full day- light to darkness, process covering two minutes and <Hie>-half. Each of the 450 buildings is built to .exact scale bf original, with same number of 'tylndows, and iden- tical elevations and architecture. It is the. same panorama which might unfold Itself were the observer to fly over Hollywood in a low-flying plane. Plan Is to. present these minia- tures in a motion picture exhibit, vvhlch will include costumes, props, life-sized panel paintings of stars. Corporation presently is negbtl- atlng for several spots in New York, and plan is to keep it open there for at least a year, before taking exhibit out on the road. Korda's Deal — CoBttnned from page 3 tail an ouUay of at least $10.000,- 000. which should not be difficult, as Hambros Bank, Ltd., prominent merchant bankers, who helped fi- nance the BLF deal, are willing to advance coin for any picture thea- tre proposition that Korda may hava In mind. Fact that the Shipman & King ajid Southan Morris circuits are at ■present undergoing valuation by Harris Sc GlIIow, theatre valuers and agents, adds color to the story that some' deal inay be set shortly. -As to product,. Korda is eyeing a. few of Rank's producers; He has already weaned some away, with others ready to talk as soon as their Rank commttmenU are wound up. His American contacts with Cary Grant. Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith, etc., ar$ also a sigh that he is after big business. Forecast is that before long, Korda will have quite a circuit of around 135 theatres In which to play his product. BESrs PBOMOTION George L. Best, who has been as- sistant veepee of American Tele- phone & Telegraph Co., was named veepee of ^Western Electric last week. Best' rose through various engineering assignments and iihally* was made commercial engineer in 1940 and two years later was ap-' pointed assistant veepee. In his new spot. Best will have charge of obtaining necessary li- censes' under patents of others' for use by the Bell System, and H-- censing others to use Bell System inventions.