Variety (Dec 1948)

Wednesday, December 22, 1948 HOU$B REVIEWS 47 Paramount, TKenn]) Goodman OrcH (17) with middv Greco, Terr?/ Sioopc; Piero ?ros (2), Buddy Wer; "Palc- fflce" (Par), reviewed ni Variety 5ct. 20,-48. . ^•f "Jrsf ?hK boSwng^'tt "Ihis V'^t .'^""Pl^. «f i fast "paced biii'to add ;im'to"d:oop. ^/clL tVnm a three^dav run ^^-l",**^? ^'^^li*" graduates going ing b o. and empty s( " " ' ' house, asi_de | wild_.in South American dances i pre-Christmas session duies °* Capitol, Wash. Ruth Harrison and Alex Fisher, | dance satmsts, scorejn their terp i Capitol comes up with a tight, , St paced bill to add vim to droop- ; ing b.o.; and empty seats this dull essaying okay impressions high>j lighted by D«nny Kaye and good [ for pleasing audience response,; i Following June Brady's vocals, Cane & Murphy contribute .a funny interlude wrapped around a fighter being sent through his paces by a Night Club Reviews Si Continued from pag« 46 ; ^iniss 4'halet, Chi talky manager with okay mugging ' ".^w jofw- Handsome sppt .de- and panto earning ?eal relSlts signed by Kern Weber in modern- Clincher is allotted to Walter '=^<?.d Swisptyle, has expensive ap- Half-filled i Schreiber, boy singer with pipes of Pomtmeiits throughout including "0".u ' ctTto Hartford And B G v.- u,- Mi " '^""=^"-<"' ■ pre-cnristmas session. Half-filled i Schreiber bov sineer with nines of Pominienis iiirougnoui, inciuuinB at the State, Harttoid Ana a act and gar„g„ ^^^^ received: unusuallv st?^^^^^ deserves a lot of credit tor trjing^ ! quartet of acts with enioVmerit and' co^^^^ Low ceiling shuts the build an Idea upon \vhich_his , Howell and Bowser, sepia comics.' Jlnrh,.<:i.-,"ni * enjoyment ana , cocious p r e s e n c e t^^t '"^^^^^^ I door to acts that need -leeway over- to buua an luea "t'"V , Howell and Bowser, sepia comics, work can be more interestingly ] ,,.hiie leaning heavy on the oldies prefented to a theatre public, by, ^gep the audience happy. Uke- now somewhat.weary ot tne stereo- playing member baritones a French .type styles of presentation byiduty, "Darling, I Love You," and name bands. "Money," while partner heckles. Written by Sherman Marks, who > Duo get off to fine hand to chorus nenned the George Gershwin show I of "It's Delovely." ht the Sherman hotel, Chicago,! The Langs, youthful sextet of wliich has elicited wide band busi- teeterboard performers, win gasps ness interest, the idea used by' in split-second timing of stunts. Goodman traces his band's history | Sock closer has blindfolded girl from the 1930's. Its a sort of! doing a mid-air somersault and enthusiasm; Surprise of. layout is reception' ing by Jo Lombard! and his house accorded old-timer Bob Hall, who o'"cli on stage, a definite assist. Biz all right. New Acts musical travelog of tunes that have been associated with the leader through the years, backed up by Slides of outstanding artists that have sprung from his band—Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Ziggy El- man, Gene • Krupa, and many others. That the idea is great is obvious. BG plays the same music. Plays ail old music, in fact—material that can be heard on disk jockey shows day in and day out. Yet, presented as it is, with B.G. and landing in chair 14 feet. high. Zabe. Clinton, X.Y. (YIDDISH VAUDE) . -The fotmer split weeks of vaudc vlUe sometimes have a strange way of connecting themselves these days., For example,, the Clinton may have struck a nostalgic chord in some veteran vaude goers, but [ was obvioiLsly a pleisant surprise ', to majority of payees. Hall's rou- tine of extemporanous tunes and i talk has just the right amount of' homeyness and corn for Capitol's family type audience. Ilis genial GEORGES ULMER air of coziness brings the entire, sonss Comcdv auditorium into the act, and gives, 25 jij'„s it the same sort of warmth a com- vpr„,iiip„ xv.„ Vnrk munity sing has. As a matter of ^'^•^^ i:orK fact, the act, played with house lights on, went over in inuoh the same way the organ sing does Burm. Continuing its relatively new- found and very successful cycle of; Gallic talent, Nick & Arnold have opening bill, that vocalists will be. the main fare. Acoustics are very good. Blare is nulled' via soundproofing and a loud speaker system with overhead oxitlcts that permits table cliatter at ordinary; levels during orch num- bers. Menu offers zwiebelkuchen and other Swiss vittles. It all adds up to a parlay of low-budget lay- out and, the "showplace" draw. The Commanders and Dox'othy Johnson failed to impress in rou- tine ' chanting of ■ show tunes and a Strauss number. Best of their so-so offerings were "Brigadoon" excerpts. Joe Isbell, in Tyrolean here. Hall's ribbing of the audi-] unveiled Georges Ulmer who, fori garb, sodels a brace of arias more a pleasant change of pace; is more ; lemiessean than Alpine; Honest a singing comedian than a straight I P*>H§''^.W«:^<??n|»«ste'M<»i^ t. f ^ TTi T-. ■ , u S i the edelweiss idiom. Singer-, got chanteur Ulmer, Danish-born, but okay; returns and :begged,^^^6^^^ enoe is entirely kindly and inof- fensive, and; projects the act over the footlights. Much of his ad lib theatre, on New York's lower east {''"S is oljyiously stock; now and . . , ^ , side, was once paired with the Te- then he strikes a bon mot; but at: thoroughly steeped m the French 1 pigimng ^^^^^^ j^^t vodeling is hard atro. Las Americas in Spanish: Har^' ajl .tim?s i^^^ a ;eoHbic|uial qUal lem in the days when the'-latter and a stepped up pace that sets . . . . house was known as the Mt. Morris ^-^^ customers cheering. Hall ad libs Buddy Greco toUowing a, .script ■ theatre. Today Teatro Las Anieri- —rhyme and simple tune—on line, it's an interesting approach, | ^as is the showcase for Spanish everything, the couple in the front one that gives meaning to every-1 vaude, and Yiddish stageshows hold f^^- "ai^es in news and request thing performed. And the Para- fo^th at the Clinton. It's quite a atopics from the galleries. His act. switch for both houses. . simple in itself, is a lesson to The Clinton now is one of the .vounger comics and gagsters in _ ^ „ „ - ^ „ ^. ^ ^. few remaining strongholds of Yid- showmanship and the human touch ! themes of his various routines, he . been B.G. followers through the disj, yaude, and that's now down to which .strikes the right note of rap- .-esorts to French for the lyrical years, hence _ were not familiar | three days weekly. House lives in PO^t with an audience. ! nngo. His numbers are novelty with the music, it^s the^ seript ap-1 the past with revivals of hit musi-1 Eddy Hanson makes music on character studies, and all register; mount' patronage when caught seemed appreciative of the whole thing though many might not have nitery , and music-hall tradition. ! ^iis throat will remind his Yank audiences 1 j^e De Saivo's rhyhtm group is immediately of his resemblance to , g decided asset here. Quintet backs both James Cagney and Van' nimbly and styles well-received Heflin. ! danceables. Maestro handled vo- . While this is his American de* |.cals in addition to doubling on vio-; but, Ulmer was in the States as a [ lin and piano, Baxt. kid, hence is well versed In Eng^} lish although, after announcing the proach that provides the interest cals of a former era^ frequently [ the harmonica to the accompanir for them. :B;G. may well launch something with this date that, has been sorely needed by the band business, iFew maestros have ever attempted to justify the ccin they ask from the- atres beyond making up shows from successful recorded arrange- ments. While this: "story"' by B;G. is not as refined as it could be due to a lack of time in preparing It, in its present state it is already far beyond the normal type of show. For example, the idea calls for the use of acts that fit into the picture. During one of his numbers here .he uses an unbilled dance team to interpret in semi-ballet form the music being played. Other than that, it was not possible to work out the script idea complete- ly Piero ! Bros., jugglers, and comic Buddy ; Lester had already been, booked. Musically, B.G.'s band is not fully grown. Made up brass • section - of. four From the opener, about the bull fiddle player in the brasserie who suddenly fancies himself the dulcet' with the.same stars who appeared ment of' some /high class piano in the original; A Yiddish picture playing on the part of his frau usually precedes the main dish. Marjory Wells. Manson st arts] violin-cellist at the Salle Gaveau, All that at a $1.20 top; . | slowly, but wraps up the customers 1 to his finale '^Pigalle,'^ he clicks. The striking part of the Clinton's 1 and' gets them on his side by the AH are of - his own writing and presentations is the unabashed en- ] time he winds up with a slick in-1 "Pigalle" especially is now an es- AGVA Notifies TA ' COntlnned front page 45.; mean the dissolution of TA, of ; which Alan Corelli is exec seerer, tary. AGVA toppers feel that benefits have become too frequent ■ and have affected nitery and the- . i atre business. They point out that - thusiasm with which the musicals . terpretation of "St. Louis Blues." 1 tablished international song hit, 1 many performers are laying off be- scope and musical depth of a violin as handled by Manson. Next to are received. In this instance, it might have been Aaron Leb^deff's presence as: the lead. 'Audience,' made up mainly of oldsters',;':"can probably remember Lebedeff. Cofr sequently, many are amazed that he's still agile enough to perform longhair bit, goes bVer best the-dances that he did in his youth, hence every hoofing interlude by.; Lebedeff is wildly received, r: The terps aren't to difficult,: being a series of steps culled from folk- dances, but it makes little differ- ence to the faithful. They're grate- ful when he obliges with an ehcore. Lebedeff still plays juvehile leads, but to retain the lUustion; he works with his hat on. So what if of a fine'it isn't quite emilypost during the ^hougj, acro%tTntr are "only"" so-so" trumpets, | love scenes. 1 general effect is good and goes The mouth organ ^ standard size ( following Sablon's popularization t cause a multitude of affairs that and pattern—takes_on;_sorne of the | thereof on thisLside. l once were salaried club dates have In between Ulmer does numbers "ow become benefits. II i: , I about "Mon Dieu, How You Have, the Gershwin number Rouman- changed," the silent pictures pan- lan Rhapsody No. 1," a strictly L^^j^ie'^.^y^ine the "30,560 imi- The Appletons, b a c k after a year abroad,: give a s li g h t ly brushed up and expanded version of their apache routine. : Essen- tially, their "Night in Casablanca" is a dressed up aero terp act. Dressed in traditional apache style, team of two gals and ;a man toss each other all over stage and build up to a su^er shooting-.stabbing finale. Staging is' effective, and three trombones, five sax,: and four | The vehicle on tap is;"Yoshke I vj^eil rhythm, the combo is not yet co- i Chwat," a tale of two lovers separ hesive in everything it works over, ated-in czarlst Ru.ssia who are re Too, the beat is not comparable united in the New World. Cast is tators Of Piafj" the flamenco satire on the radio, etc. He has substance and Is an assured international The latest gimmick, said to have - put the clincher on AGVA's action, : is practice of; club date bookers ^ who recently have approached top performers to work such affairs at less than usual salaries. On a re^ cafe and vaudery commodity and cent benefit, several top names it's a matter of time before he im presses really big in America., Un- fortunately Ulmer came into the pre-Xmas slump but, as bohifaces Nick,'Arnold and maitre d' Robert explain, this compares to the same debacle which faced Ilona Massey last Xmas time when she' was iyeire aslted to: work f6r : $100 be» ;e?iijse>orgahizatloh neglected^^^^^^ TA clekrance, Ajets; that' were 'ap- proached geheryiy get club date. With payment of the lower fee, beneficiary ; Organizatipii< got talent at considerably less than: further cqmplicated b.o.-wise by I the .15% cut that goes to TA for those record snowstorms of last clearing benefits Lloyd & Willis," young, team- of winter. Piaf remains the Versailles' box- comic terpers, make pleasant and, office barometer, incidentally, do- tVlhat" usually "laid" dmVn"b7'a ^ deplete "with vet Yiddish musical r,?::!:^.^";;^.^!", socko biz right up to her clos nr. „«,v,hi„oti«« All fv,«c» ^hr,r.t. perfomicrs such as Vera Rosanka, 1 tnen satirical dance impiessions • j„g ^.ggk. Suzy Solidor returns - - couple go overboard in their bid J after U B.G. combination. All those short comings figure to work out in time, however. In style it's the old B.G. with revised and somewhat mod- ernized arrangements, not always for the better. There's some bop, but in a modified form. When the sextet starts operating, however, the above doesn't apply. In one or Israel Rosenberg, Jactib: Zanger, Ben, BontiSj Maivina; Rappei; Tillie Rabinowitz and Sam Rosenberg, all reliable entertainers who can sing, dance:, comede or do serious work. They generally give a good account of themselves. With the present sad states of the I i- ,. -^- ^ ^ j 1. ^ two of the numbers-It played the Vi^^'f Presentations ,-J^ wi^^^^^^^^^^^^ by e tempo was lacking, but otherwise I are far from opulent, i he.scenery . . »' .- • for laughs. Wedged in between the slapstick* there are flashes of genuine terp ability and moments of clever satire. Male solo buck and wing to tune of ''Swanee River" is sufficiently hep in grace and style'to get appreciation on its then the management unveils still another first-in-America attraction, Yves Montand, who at one time had been optioned by Jack Warner for Hollywood. Ulmer Impresses as a good; entry for the Yank market. He will build. He Is affiablOi has an expert sense of Values, writes his own .material A compromise was'recently efr fected between AGVA and TA whereby representatives .of various.' talent unions would sit in with; the TA board to pass on benefits. Reso-. lution was also passed that no; benefit would be cleared without, 30 days notice. Nix Ciitrate Dates However, in light-of newer de- velopment of the partial payment . for services, AGVA decided on its own clearance. Btaion also forbade talent to accept' cutrate benefit dates at less than one-seventh of . was"solid.EnVores°were demanded I has seen service for m?ny years fast moving -pigalle", is the best' their regular salary. At that it's I and shows it. Same applies to cos-1 ".f''".-^"^"'' ':^'''"'b " _ . .. . . . , - •t this show. lanu Miowa 11. oamc api^nco „y, , „„ „la,.p. Vocally, B.G. uses Buddy Greco! tuming, except for the present day snouia go places. and Terry Swope and men from the band to form a quintet. That's also new, for B.G. He rarely has used a male vocalist and never a quintet. It all adds to the commer- cial value of the combination. Miss modes. That gown worn by Miss Rabinowitz probably was quite the thing circa 1926. Same budgetary considerations applied in the vaude olio. It was Lowe. llippoilronic, Balto. Baltimore, Dec. 19. "Orifiinal Amateur Hour Win- pueu ill iiie ^^^""^ "' u ners" loith June Brady, Paul Jones presentation of a^wedding with, ^^^j^ BeTijmntii, Joiyce Osborne,! rc>»uc ui, wic wiiiuiiiuiiuii. mioo ". s "T 7 'Vi.. ;^„„i„,;H.,ir,r< fVio ro. i L,yie: aenmmm, Joyce Swope, nice-looking, does "And the , Malavsky f^-^ily performing the re- ( 2 ) , Angels Sing," an old B.G. hit. , ligious functions Bad ta.ste^^^ Arne ^ Quartet, raoriie ,-nu i,xu»ta..u . — Piero Bros., on up front, do a worse staging—enough to «'«oui ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^» Murphy, VJaXter Versailles management this has . . .. age matrimony. ; y"^°- \ sehreiher, Jo ^ House i been s shrewd showmanship move. known, and if his Columbia record- ings- get any sort: of circulation, these too should rebound in his favor. If he clicks this: will mark Clifford G. Fischer's third or fourth in a row, as the veteran international agent has brought over Piaf. Les Compagnons de la; Carrol i Chanson, Miss Solidor, now Ulmer, Mortie! and Montand in future. For the nice job. They work out on the usual dumbbells and spin felt hats with sticks. It's an act that has several counterparts, but it's well done and wins a good hand. Buddy Olyilipla, Ullanii • Miami, Dec. 18. Connie Haines, Rex Weber, De-1 Orch (12); fire" (QoU. "The Return of Wild 1 - ovvv. . K^unim iiunn:o, ..v-, -- , Better than average layout, pro- Lester had trouble getting going May & Moore, Al Ferguson, Paige, ^y^ced by Ted Mack, moves swiftly this show, which -might have stemmed from the fact that his turn broke , up the mood laid down by B.G.'s script idea. At any rale, , a combination of new and old ma- terial from his bag of gags got varying reaction. However, he got off to good returns. Wood. completely reversing the field for the joint, both as to the character Of its clientele as well as the talent. Abel. PAULA WATSON Son^s 112 Mins. Chicago, Chi „ Chicago, Dec. 17. . "ajMson & Fisher, The Langs ^o), Hotoell & Bowser, Chris Cross, J^oms Basil Orch; "Isn't It Roman- tic" (Por). While this is only a week fill-in mil, without names, it's enjoyable entertainment and well balanced, inree of the acts have comic over- tones, just right for this time of the year. Jetuett & Kifci, Freddie Carlone ^^^^ g„o(j sequence. It follows and House Orch,; "Hollouj in- ^1,^ Bowes pattern and packs some umph" ( EL). : I fairish entertainment throughout. . , . June Brady is the "graduate em-.. _ , ti„ii„„„_j Connie Haines, in the top spot on , and she handles matters skill- ^arry Potter s. Hollywood, this week's lineup, sets a neat pace f^^y gi^ng with a telling spot of I Riding the crest of her Supreme for a stout supporting bill. Song-, vocalizing on her own. ' diskclick "A Little Bird Told Me," stress offers some top p^ops in gre^^ 1 ^^^^ j^^^^ whacking spoons and , Paula Watson heads east shortly to In Rex Weber tlierc's the vet {"r a '>P«{e..^^:^^8 ^ ..^p^^j. | Her song-and-piano stint is a type of .vauder who K"9ws^ms^\\^aj, ^^^^ ^^^^^ manager from Po-' rapidly-paced affair, with the (iiink," obliges with whistling and ! emphasis of course • on rhythm an all right bit of two-way warbr 'numbers. She diliVers effectively ling of "Sonny Boy." Joyce Os-! and tops an Okay Chanting job With borne contribs some tapstering fol- l a pleasant perisonality that reaches lowed by the Harmonica Kings,'|.her audience.: Gal ha'^ iai; knack of bi ace of mouth organ playing lads j spottiilg her numbers effectively who give out nicely with "Nola" 1 and khoWs. when to toss in a ballad and some boogie-woogie. . [for better result!5 thr6lligh a Change Carrol Brickley is a barnyard : of \pice^: For; the ^^sBialler;: rppipSi "' g matteris for the, she's a fine bet; :With more '"''♦«^* an equally divided , under her belt she probably arbund a stiibholder, with his tight Up-framed ventto ;v<)ealistics. vln' eVitatile is his version of; "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?'"; which he introed some years agq., it clicks as gQ6d'asever4 . v;- V;^j^^^^ Though following .«r:ack Nprton.s ppmie drunk of last week, Al Fer- and Kikis cycle woi^_^misjii ^^^^ Q,^i,.fpt. an eauallv divided . under her belt she probably won t give; have to; rely on "Little Bird" for ronrtti:'"" T":.^.? iiic aiiyw wiiu iooi iviijui f .wii.ii '•">;■' ';j""""'v,Vn,.A.i>,->Ai nut With rineratic excerots to top- notice and should develop: into a Crot^TinL ^""^^-"^ '^^'^^K Chris'of the comic takeoff on baHioomol- ith jperat_jc ex^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ yr„t!^^^^^^^^^ SjV^i^rlddie Carlone and hou.se band ---st elective in sold «^ show offermg^s^^alon. Also^okay ^^^.^ .'■;:.■■•''.-.',:'' '.'';.;:'•;;■;;■(■» jI.^.'!'" ■."!':i''''l'..-'.:: ;■.■.;, '>■■■■'' -^-k . X'r -Z^' :;:'.;■■'/■■'-'. ■'■>.'..-^,'.:.'■■;..■!:"■.;;::- .\ X.\: :':■■>' ;;'■','.■■';;;■''■ v:'".■;•''■■ ■'• •■. '■■'"■t^'v. ■:'■:'■:■'.■..:,t.^:'.'■- considered a concession, since club date scale generally ~: runs up to ■■. one-half of an act's weekly wage. It's seen that unless. AGVA okays benefits that already have been cleared by TA, several affairs may be called off-^r will have to pay talent. For example, a bene-- fit is slated at Madison Square Gar- den for Jan. 3. AGVA's stand on that show hasn't- l)een decided yet.. However, it's seen that with AGVA's insistance upon its own clearance, number of benefits will be cut down drastically. It's been; AGVA's contention that since mu- : sicians, stagehands, caterers, and hall rentals are paid, talent-should : also be compensated. AGVA sent out letters on neces- sity of union clearance to Wil- liam Kent, Artists Representative A.ssn. president; Hymie Goldstein, Associated Agents' of America president; Bob Weitman, Para* mount, managing director;, Sam Rauch,' Roxy booker; Sidney Pier-.; mont. -Loew Booker; Harry, Mayer, Warner booker; Dan;; Friendly,: RKO; booker/ and Max Woolf, M-G''M purchasing agent; who fre- quently have been called upon to stage the free shows. Beckner*s Tex Nitery : Denny Beckner, comedy emcee and bandleader, currently playing the Rocket Club in Fort Worth, has bought a night club of his own,; The Jersey Lily, in Bandera, Texas; .Club will open under Beck- ner's riianag^ment on. New Year's