Variety (August 1949)

Auguet 10, 1949 IV* 'll’ Benekt Orch. (18) with Buddy Yeayr. vic"“Di!nS“: . 4 genertlly satisfactory stag* K«w which maintains a good enter- pace throughout. Ironic- ‘^enough. though Vic Damone CUVw© . 4|%41 m/\nnAnf HOVSB REVIEWS 85 •*|y,;“Dienty hot at the moment to i wries of click records, and ffAnrte are the star, of the , it’s a juggler who runs off ISh^the top kudos. An applause would clearly have showed Sim standout, when caught. i If the reaction of the first show p„dv Canderas is the guy. A J audi^ence at the preem of ‘Palace siitfhtlv built personality vaude is any indication, there is niiiM hard from start to fini.sh, no doubt that the Hub welcomes rr^SSwUh a handful of shaved the revival and will support ii. 5 Indian clubs, three large ! Literally hanging from the rafters, a batch of small | the payees, well springled with ones’ and three top hats, oldsters, rewarded each act with what he does with them, ; Plenty of mitt action and an cn- ^'ll.irilv the three large spheres. , thusiasm seldom see« here. Lay- Kr laughs as well. It s a .slick out was plenty fast with no*letup V/if its type. On for about 10 i oown the line, acts apparently minutes Canderas got tremendous aware of the importance of this ^pplIlTsi from » packed house, , ^eoff present^ and giving oul n»mone fresh from a run at Bill Miller’s Riviera. Fort Lee. N. J., , Opening with the Edwards Bros.. Hd running hot on the strength of i the lads got the hill off to a fast tit ‘‘You’re Breaking Mv Heart” start with a solid sesh of aero and is also a .solid turn, though on l balancing in chairs on top of four the basis of performance caught bottles and atop a grand piano, he could stand a bit of polish on , Yvonne Moray billed as Dyna- Sandling of him.self. A nice-Iook- , >«»te is just that and her clowning, ing guy in dinner jacket, he turns * singing and wrestling with the ton via “Again.” then a rhythmic , nuke regi.sters solidly. The Euro- pe Girl.” “My Bolero.” an ex-' Pean importations. The Marvellos cSent new melody. “Heart” and ‘n third spot, although billed as a "Sorrento" the la.st of which frac- musical act. baffled the .stub- tured the audience. In his work holders by making musical instni- Damone imparts an impression of . jnents appear and disappear into shyness, a sort of “little boy” de-' thin air. Cook & Brown colored meanor that's di.stinctly in his steppers follow with a fa.st ses- favor. On the other hand, that re- I smn of terpsing. ticenc* is carried to an extreme. ! Steve Evans, no stranger here. If he could strike a happy medium, scores w!th his comedy impreshes, he’d have something. i the drunk bit good for plenty of Tex Beneke’s crew', made up of yocks. His new bit, impressions of an audience, could stand some tightening but was w'ell received. The Appletons, two gals and a boy. in the sixth spot, have a fast Apache routine that is plenty knockabout and includes a knife- throwing bit. Soex climax has one of the girls being thrown style. Yet, ^je doesn’t use it here. Ihrough a window. He opens with “Blues In the Night Billed as a "One Man Juke Box.” March,’’ a new RCA-Victor record- Frank Ross & Anita La Pierre, ing, then does “I.over’s Gold, ’with ; breeze through a comedy routine Glen Douglas, in a spot that, for and throw in a few impressions of example. “Kiss and a Ro.se,” a re- w.k. bandleaders for okay returns. Boom.** Follows with impreshes of Harry Lauder, Jean Sablon and Sophie Tucker for additional plau- dits and winds with ”Ave Marla” to rock the house. Solid all the way. Charles Dant conducts excel- lently. Zubc. nine brass, including two French horns, five sax. three rhythm, plus Beneke, is a good band. It plays cleanly and with enthusiasm and good rhythm. But. the pacing of its tunes here could be improved upon. Maestro recently has desired to get back into the Glenn Miller cent disk following the Miller bal- lad style’ could be used. Later, he does “Lavender Coffin.” also a disked arrangement, using the Moonlight Serenaders. It s okay. , . . ... Beneke sines too of omirsp in ' ^or repeal of wartime tifket lax. addition to the’ r^oC'd of bringing all the HeaKs BucfdrVeJSer a ru^ together for finale brought pter for . comed.v Jocil of ' I , *f*y ^ Wrong.” It's noatly done, “Dishing punch is lacking. Cy Reeves, comic, completes the layout. A deadpan type of funster, ***. g.a r n e r s belly-laughs with Elie. ChivMffo* rhi Chicago. Aug. 5. riginal in their sonK and t)anjo and “poor me" offerings which i in heft«otic.s gathers plenty laughs. • Reviewed under New aA^ Loretta Fisher’s foiling sets things rs.v,.._= noei ]\«w Acts. Sheldon’s slap.stiok bits, which l 7 «a .'"oniacs. vMio have i eorPin- *or ^ncioon s siapsncK re.^P.B 00 d returns One m K ■ and iost «.s speedy hef(„ (.. Tlirec-high garner Whlu^A^t reception. o>s i^'enty yocks with ^ORed «!fi« Jack Bennv's al- . , , apinoc DPs.s. sharp dialect presh on “California Here I ( ome. ^onnf-anH Gordon. Jerrv Co- ”Kol Nidre.” “My M other s Kyes *0an SnKl^"'*'''oos satire of Ger- and a Cantorish “If You Knew Itill uVooianne commander, it’s Suzie”—all delivered with plenty RKO 9 Baston Boston, Aug. 6. Edwards Bros. (3), Yvornie Mo- ray, The Marvellos, Cook & Brown, Steve Evans, The Appletons, Frank Ross St Anita LaPierre, Gus Van; ''Roughshod'* ( RKO ). Gus Van with his collection of old songs and gags, clo.ses the bill solidly, winding with a pitch for the support of vaude and urging payees to write their Congre.ssmen Oriental* Chi Chicago. Aug. 4 . ouickfv Wrii/gsr, I George Jessel, Chocolnteers Xn Hioc in every so Gene Sheldon with i^stoT Loretta Fisher. Carl Sand's Orel,.: hh staff “You’re My Everything” t’JOthi. • 1 K outstanding, but it does ; finish is a parody lyric of or Man River.” Biz big when caught. Wood. Amidst the hub-bub, fanfare and ballvhoo connected with George Jcs-sel’s farew'ell (but positively* appearance tour, a well-paced, highly entertaining layout emerges on the stage oflthe Oriental. Cur- rni L''lark- Bros. <2>. rent layout, hypoed by Ann Bax ^oie Robbins, Bill Norvas & Up- ter’s p.a. had payees queueing up a rhi I ^ o ju fi 1 /1 n c s <3*. block long. Filmster clowns with n Hoi/.te Orel,.; "Take Je.sscI and gives out with a “llolly- ^ False Step” ,U). wood isn’t such a bad place after Tfn, ^ aR” garners plaudits. I r^i k Coast celebs would build Hour-long show adds up to click »s**n**^* ®*^nnnd themselves such family stuff w'ith Jc-s-sel’s emceeing ^as. vaude theatre and stories scoring heavily for iDurt n t’njoy a sudden 1 yocks. “Forever^Ln^v”'' After fast band salute to Jessel. on the Haru R" Chocolateers. who 'vho hold Mf.ntf • tap team, with fast hoofing, knee slides •tering and f ^ .P" ^nd comic stuff for a begoff. Jessel’s knack of clowning with GalA n Ku- ' the acts and warming aud holds off I^nsh thrush, starts attention and keeps audience in Go’’ hTt “Everywhere You high spirits. ‘‘Again’’ i Kitty Kallcn tees off with her delivery di.sclick “Happy Talk.” then goes ’iam With '"n® into a special. “Please Take Me '''ell, Team« ?. ^ Home This Moment.” and impre.s- of “Babv ire sions of Ethel Merman. Lena *olld returns * ^ ^ ^ Outside for jiorne and Ella Logan singing “No '-sh'ter.r'* dance i * Plause. Acrom Jes.sel is the dominant person- , o:-. iicioi'e 1 hrec-nign ality in the lineup and his solo -Kaway and the fast tumbling stint, which winds the sho«. provides the belly-laughs, nosl.dgia and songs the seatholders have been waiting for. Jolson im- conie tn*k ®^*ngsterinK customers of schmaltz—is surefire s EnchantArt p*’’ *^'*Kins with “Some’has the rafters ringing. K«„ -nied Evening” and rings the | Carl Sand’.s hou.se ore Clancy Lowers the grounds effectively stuff and Mmmie Hall, N. Y. “Sea Breeze,'* with Peiro Bros. ^2),Clifford Guest, Anthony, Allyn St Hodges, choral ensemble, corps de ballet, Rockettes, Music Hall \ Symphony Orch. with Raymond : Paige, guest conductor; produced by Leon Leonidoff; settings, Bruno Maine; ehoreography, Russell Mar -1 kert, Florence Rogge; "In the Good Old Summertime'* (Metro), reviewed in Variety, June 29, ’49. Counterbalancing the high fah-i renheit suggested by the title of the current Music Hall pic, Leon Leonidoff is serving up a coolly garnished and trickily staged revue i under the heading of "Sea Breeze,” i Integrated via its marine and sub- i marine motif, this show is paced a trifle too slowly, but there are , enough spectacular production trappings and technical wizardry; to stun the patrons at this tourist mecca. I The trick staging, as frequently 1 is the ca.se in the Music Hall shows, j cops top honors in this layout. . Virtually overshadowing th% per-, formers, the lighting crew has rigged up a series of oceanic ef- fects through the projection of film on a gos.samcr screen. It’s an effective bit of sterbpticon to un- derscore the ballet numbers. Too much accent, however, is placed on the corps de ballet, re- sulting in a slow runoff. For the finale, there’s an over-lengthy bal- let piece that loses It grip despite 1 the glittering garb, lavish under- water .setting and the ornate choreography with Bettina Dear-! born and Charles Laskey as the i dancing stars. Midway, the Rock- | ettes execute a snappy number w ith their usual sock precision technique. Among the visiting acts, the : south-of-the-border Peiro Bros, are standout with an unusual juggling routine. Teeing off with some in- tricate Indian club tossing, duo ex- , ecute some astonishing stunts with some blackboard pointers, manip-; ulating a stick in mid-air in de- fiance of the laws of gravity. Top trick in their repertory is their twirling of hats in the air by , means of the pointers while en-, gaging in some horseplay. They are a surefire item. | Back in a return booking at the ' M.H.. Clifford Guest, an Austra- lian ventriloquist, delivers a clever i turn. Guest’s best results stem from his dummy’s recalcitrance; towards being packed away in a traveling kit. Guest’s encore bit, | in which he reproduces echoes and 1 the far-off sound of a drill ground, i is okay, but is much weaker than ' his puppet’s back talk. Comedy | acro-ballet team of Anthony, Allyn & Hodges under New Acts. I Following through the watery; main background lor the revue, the glee club and choral ensemble also deliver a brace of sea chanties in good style. Raymond Paige. I guest conducting in place of vaca- j tioning Alexander Smallens, brisk- ly paces the symph orch through a .stirring overture of Tschaikowsky , themes. Hcrm. | youngsters belt from walk-on, with a smart assortment of vocals, terps and clowning. Misa Ryan garners healthy laughs via her mugging and comedies, and in the terp slot with McDonald adds to overall im -1 pact. McDonald’s hoofing top- drawer. Offed to solid applause. In the emcee slot and in own spot, Jackie Green socks. Person- able mimic-come(Uan is an ingrati- ating introer; then in own spot scores with impreshes, toppers being Cantor. Jolson and Durante. June Edwards is aViother clicker. Lass works her acro-terps while balancing on head, topping with the kerchief pick up for neat recep- tion. Comedy-violining of Duke Dorell , goes over. Works the range from ' concert to broad stunts on the strings for full returns. Juggling work of Lee Orlando is okay. Freddie Carlone backgrounds in usual capable fashion. Lary. { Apolhi* X. V. Andy Kirk Orel,. tl2*. Mills Bros. ».'>•. Dinihills i3). Conor & Jenee. Connie i'arroll. "Puimeat” Markham & Co.; "The Incident” (.VIoilo >. with another Your Eyes.” five reed and al.so registers several other Mills Bros, lend sparkle to what otherwise would be only an aver- age bill for the Apollo. In closing niche, the veteran harmony group tackles some six numbers for solid response Besides the more con- loniporary tunes, the boys shine with an instrumental interpreta- tion of “Basin St. Blues” and wow ’em with tlie rlassio “F’aper Doll.” Following their brisk opening. Andy Kirk's band dresses up “Por- trait of .lenny■’ in coneert style. Lanky .limmy Anderson croons the vocal in a dreamy fashion and wraps up his stint slow ballad. ’’Close With three rliythm. four bra.s's. the orch with the payees on pieces. Buxom Connie Carroll warbles an okay “It’s Cold Outside,” but tunes in the blues idiom are more in her forte. Es.saying one of the latter, she gels across nicely, Cor- tez & .lenee are a boy-girl adagio team whose work is quite similar to the terping of Jack Cole’s troupe. Working in bare feel, pair contribs lifts and spins followed by somewhat suggestive gyrations. Gal is especially vigorous in mak- ing with the humps and grinds. Duo. however, .scores handily. 'Dunhills. three ofays garbed in tuxes, have a potentially .strong terp turn once the uneven edges are smoothed. Stepping in uni- son. their precision routines rather lustreless. Trio shifts challenge stuff near the finale wind with a smart acrobatic max “I’igincat” Markham, usual, elicits his always enthusi- astic reception in the house com- edy bit. Gilb. are into and cli- per Si4*ol Pier* A. r* Atlantic City, Aug, 3. Three Suns, Whitaker Bros., Star Spangled Dancers (16), Sam Lin- field & Co.. Johnny O'Connell House Orch.; “The Fighting Fools” , Mono *. Three Suns live up to the reputa- tion made via their disks and over the airwaves. Artie Dunn and AI and Morty Nevins with their accordion, organ aijd guitar combo, are solid with the vacation crowds which are packing this big hall "Twilight Time.” their radio theme song, and “Lover’s Gold” register best with the payees. Tops, too. is the “Alphabet Song” and other novelties, wherein bits of pop numbers are woven together to tell a story. Comedy repartee between Dunn and Morty Nevins gives offering an added fillip. Whitaker Bros, score in carbon- ings of Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Dennis Day, et al. Sam Linfield and Co. (6). in “Kra/y Scouts” please grownups and voungslers alike with their c o m i e actrobatics. Dressed as scouts, the five men (two midgets) and a girl, offer a fast routine of slapstick and tumbling for nice re- turns. Star Spangled Dancers get over neatly, with minstrel number with slioholite effect getting top re- turns. Walk. Olympia* Miami Miami, Aug. 6. Vetigxi Ruan St Ray McDonald, Jiickie (Ireen, Lee Orlando, Duke Dnri’ll, June Edwards, Freddie ('arloite House Orch.; "Sorrowful Jours'' ^Fari. orch back- Greg. f)nc of the better bills to have pla,\ed thi.s house In recent week.s, with reaction solid all the way. Teaming of Heggy Ryan and Ray McDonald is a happy one. The Pallailiiim* l..oniloii Londem. Aug. 2. Frauces Langford, ndth Jon Hall; Carl Hrissou, Ted Ray, Cass Daley, Chaz Chase, Doe Marcus, 7 A.s’h- toiis, John & Era Ketumy, 2 La- conns. The Boleonibes '2i. Woolf Phillip's .Skyrocket Orch. For the holiday attraction the Palladium lined up a good inter- national bill. I'rances Langford on for 2.'> min- utes goes through her repertoire of songs for sollcl returns. She is joined by hubby—film.ster Jon Hall for coy cro.ssfire. Songsters’ stint includes such pops as “Night and Day.” “Black Magic” and “I Don’t Know Why I Love You Like I Do.” which .she whams over for happy returns. Rival for t(*p billing is Carl Brisson. who opens act with a med- ley of song.s he introduced to Lon- don audiences many years ago. Reception given him left no doubt that he is still a big fave with Lon- doners who admire his talent, per- sonality and his vigorous .songster- ing to win and hold the audience. Another visitor from acro.ss the pond is Hollywood's Ca.ss Daley, who walked off to almost the top applause of the evening. High- spot of her rep is “Laundry Girl’s Lament” This and her other num- bers coupled with her comedic in- terps made her an easy winner. Chaz Chase is anolher clicker who keeps 'em amused via munching of lighted cigarets, matches, etc. Britain's own Ted Ray, now al- most a resident comedian at this house, and doubling from “lee Vogues." is in top form. Show is opened by the Lacona.s. who displays perfeet team work on a double ti ape/e. Doc Marcus held o\ei freun previous bill, con- tinues to entertain with hi.s magic. The Ralcomhes, opening second half of show, provide fun and thrills on a revolving ladder John and Eva Ken)my. also holdovers, continue their slick comedy acro- batic act. Myro. Palace, X* Y. Btim* Twin* k Evelyn, Gracm Drysdale, Jack Anthony St Harry Rogers, The Fontaines (3 ), Cole- man Clark (3), Ben Rochelle Sk Jane Beebe, Timmy Rogers, Pro.s- icee's Tigers, Don Albert house band; "Sand** (20th), reviewed ii» Variety, May 4, ’49. Returned vaude policy at the Palace continues to click for happy returns. That it is far beyond the experimental stage was attested to by continuous long lines and standees at all performances open- ing day (4*. While grosses have fluctuated, some better than others, the fact remains that every week has turned a neat profit. To consistently book standout layouts at this erstwhile American flagship of vaudeville is a tough road to hoe. Some bills have been better than others, but overall they have all been entertaining and a bargain buy at the O.'ic top. Current layout is a eompact package, speedily paced for gen- eral satisfactory results. Burns Twins & Evelyn, two fellows anti gal. set the tempo with fast neat tapstering to .set things nicely for Grace Drysdalc’s hand-puppetry, which registers both on novelty and performance. After manipulat- ing her dance team dolls on mini- ature stage. Miss Drysdale steps out for a dance numher while manipulating the dolls. It gets nice sendoff. Anthony & Rogers, com- edy team. get over nicely in their Italian dialectics, crossfire and .songs, Mo.st of their material would be familiar to yesteryear vaude fans, but it strikes a re- sponsive note with this audience. The Fontaines, mixed trio, exude talent and cla.ss in their ballroom balancing, Coleman Clark, table tennis champ, flanked by an an- nouncer and another player, su.s- tains novelty motif with trick shots and a playoff match. Rochelle & Beebe are soi-k. as usual, with their dance satires, with femme’s comedy posturing grabbing laughs although incor- porating standard ballroomology twists to add to potency of their turn, Timmy Rogers. Negro funster, starts off slowly but gets ’em midway with his barbs and clowing and holds them for neat returns. Proskee’s Tigers, eircjis act which has been alternating in vaude stands for years, is plenty .standout on novelty and thrills. Capt. Proskee enters a rage t»f five tigers, torments and puts them through paces of posing and other .stints with an ea.se a.s if they were kittens. Two attendants — with drawn revolvers—provide suspen.se to turn. Punch is where trainer feeds his charges with hunks of beef and then takes U away from them. Of course, there’s an upris- ing but he manages to calm them to bewilderment of audience A real sock act. Kaba Xatlonal, l.^ville * Louisville, .4ug. S Toni Harper. Lalilanea & Garcia. Christine & Moll, Billy Bishop. Don Cummings, Manhattan Maids <6c Tiny Thomale Orch. <9*; "Lorahle Cheat” IFC) and "Hit Parade* ( Rep). Tom Harper, 11-year old Negn moppet, w.k. through her disciick.« is bringing ’em in this week backed by a solid lineup of sup porting acts. Gal has a winsomi personality and a wcIl-moduIat»M voice, which she u.ses to full ad vantage in giving out with “Goldi locks and Three Bears, ” ’ Ladv B Good.” “Candy Store Blues. ” am a dignified, reverent piping u “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” SoIk hit. Supporting turns are all ofa> with Don Cummings wanning u| the customers. He does satires ui the other turns, and spoofs th patrons with a fa.st line of chattel etc., all registering for laughs Ii own spot, garners howls with hi zany rope twirling. LaBlanca & Garcia go in fo authenic Spanish dances. Pair ar graceful. and male docs som warbling whilst femme partner ex hibits some contortions an<l het clicking which lends color to th turn. Billy Bishop tees off with som standard magic tricks, n-lying o an apologetic line of chatter to gt laughs. Brings couple of lads froi the audience to assist In a rop trick, which builds to a big finisl Guy has him.self tied with th rope, and while his naiios aie co\ ered, he removed rope and in spl seconds, shows that his hands ar again tied. Had the audient mystified, as well as the volunteer and built to a sock finish. Excelling in heel and toe stuf Christine and Moll. Imporle French dancing turn, are a swe act. Guy has a gift for snappin I his fingers to simuooe taps, an (Continued on page 61)