Variety (January 1950)

S4 noIJSE REVIEWS W^WiBiay, January 11, 1950 RalaeeiX.Y. Three, 'WelleSi Johnity Doxmis, Great OaLd^e fit Shirley., Three Wiles, Dick Drake, Gabot, & Dres EArle^ Phllly Philadelphia, Jan. 7. Louis Prima Or chi Keely Smith, , [Jiminy Vincenty Martin & Florenz, Tap work of Wmton and Diane the Honey Bros^: **Without Honor*' palminjg coming in steady stream. The mutts work in perfect coordi- natibh with trainer, for maximum results. den, Gil?/ Kibbec. Poiikties, Don I ^ AlbM:s}Paiace Oroh; •n'raftoling ' SetS; ^11 wrth tt^stubhold^s as ^ 5alpswonjaji;’Vrcrtd«>fd in Variett I did the-^^ X)ec; 28. stringed ttmemakingi The yet per- former sells his ukulele, banjo and pleasantly entertaining lineup otj • rj^s Rhod^ and house orch eight acts in conjunction wUlv the ^ film. •Travnlmg Saleswoman.'’, and : Wbd ^n. apt. joD pn me ^napK seems to be ihaintaining a steady; sroyua gs- \ : pull on patrons '^•hd like old-style vaude in heavy doses along, with hims. Ho.use was well-filled when esught earlj’ Friday 16): evening. €ii$iiia. Torpiito ; ■ Toronto; ajan. 6. Dorpfhu Doneadh: 3 Rockets. Show is launched ;bn; the ;usualA/^y^ no\ei\\'hh ihe Three,Welles, d 'bling and balancihg act consisting j ^ of two dullj*%Qstumed girls and Rn niale understander. They perform ■ Make Belteve. Ballroom (Cpih the fundamentals and a few un- usual tricks, winding up with the usual three-high, Johnny Downs is in the deuce .doing the same vocal and dance act he’s been working with between .films for years;:' It’s a ! Always a prime fave in this town, Louis prima and his orchestra knock: themselves out to please thd stubholders at the E$rle. Prima’s showmarishlp may have a high corn content, biiV it pays ;Off, particuiarly with his^bllowing, which is always enthusiastic, He’s virtually in-and-out here all year around, with appearances kt such spots as the Click and Palumbo’s^ in Addition, to the vaude: house. Playing for hisfSpecial devotees, Prima offers all the tunes that have kept , him up . there through the yeafs. “White Cliffs of DoverV lets loose tile bedlamv With, the ah established name of records^ stage and air. Threesome weayes in goodly quota of fun around their standard rendition of -Hindustan-' and theme, ^‘Twilight Time;" they add vocal work- to “A, Adorable,V and story in song built on montage of pop tune fragments. It's, their inning, and they make it a big one with solid approval from the cus- tomersi^---— /■' -/ i-.-^ Week’s gross headed for hefty figuresi even though ; 1,847 seats are. not’ too ahiple, arid vaiide has made a step: towaj^d firm fpotirig with this entry. ,-^Chicago,’Jan.'7/ Vanderbilt Bros. (2)., Eddy Mdnsony Viola Layrie, Ritz Bros; .(3), Louis Basil orch;: **Always Leave Them Laughing." XWBL that saw every act crowding for top honors and begoffs wheri 85- miriutes session caught. Dorothy bright turn. Great ^pelage & I Donegan,. held over, presold on; her gHirley, Three Wiles, o^ick Drakey ^ accomplishments. She Guy Kibbee and the Rbulettes all are covered in detail (New Acts).; Cabot and Dresden are a smarts looking and working ballroom team that does its stuff in a full stage setting. They •woi'lc out two grace- fully and neatly executed routines, the first of- which: seems slightly overlong, incorporating a number of expected .arid unexpected lifts arid spins. A'Wood. P9loitiai*9 Seattle Serittlei Jail. 5., Phillips &. Evelyn, Zarate Sc . Pa- quit a:; Pat Rooney,: SL; Ray Eng- Msh, Pied Pipers, Ray Watkins House "brcli (8) ; • “Red. Hot and; Bhie"r(Par}- ;. This? first in the series of big shows at the Palbmar Will be; a hard one to top. Sparked by the Pied Piprirs* top melodics and Pat Rooney's • tried and true rodtiries; the show is a boff from start to finish. Ray Watkiris' augrriented (frorii former 5) pit band adds to the entertainmeht to round it out Phillips and Evelyn . open with a balancing routine that would be a top turn on' any bill; Jsyrichro- nized and finished down to the least detail, their act has a boff finish in Phillips’ one-handed lift of Evelyri from a prorid posUion and. up to his feet. Zarate and Pa-; qiiita dreW a nice hand for their songs arid Zarate’s fiddling. Pat Rooney, on third, hasn’t changed anything. He takes it a little easier than he did, say .30 years ago, ■ but he still sells bis soft shoe to ‘•Daugliter of Rrisie O’Grady,” “It Seems Like Old; Times’’ and “Tea For TWo’’ in great .fashion, winding up with, ari iinitatibn of joe Frisco that drew a big hand. : Ray English .. has elevated the praltfall almost to an- art. All of his patter, songs and impersona- tions are built: around falls and he does a great iOb. linpersonations of Kiimphrey Bogart, Gene "'Kelly and a drunken acrobat are fast and hilarious and he winds up with a - rib-tickling version of how a bebop dSnee began. The Pied Pipers, with Virginia Maxie ably stepping into June Hut- ton’s place, start off With “Shine” and go into a medley of turies, in- cluding “I'll Never Smile Again,” “Trolley Sorig,” “Dreain,” and “Yes, We Have No Bananas” tp top the bdl handily; Virginia Maxie scores; nicely in “Herman” with the beys joining to really wrap it up;, and the quartbt winds up with a top novelty tune based on Vir- giriia’s problems«With three men, that is a sock finish. Current layout is swift-‘'P 2 ^cbd for | leader turning Pied Piper; he leads sock receptibn on playing values [ his musicians from the stage and ■ ' ' up arid dowri the' aisles of the house, giving his patrons their kicks, right in their seats. ; "The gravel-voiced cbniedy-mae- stro leads the orchestrar c h b i r through such Prima standards as ^’Oh Marie,” “Oh,: Mama,” ^“The Flame,” .-T No Warina’' arid “Yes, We Have No Bananas.'’ This last item is supplemented by Prima tossing candy bananas out iritp the stalis. Prima’s pressagerit tried; to riiake a tie-up with IFnited Fruit Co. to toss rear barianas out into the audience, blit the Fruit Com- pany didn’t like the song brigiri- ally, they said and refused to eri- coufage its revival. Keely Smith, who is a l.lboker as well as a lark, lets loose .With her pipes onJ'Charley, My Boy,” “Em- braceable You,” “The Hucklebuck” and an Indian arrangernent. Jimmy Vincerit, Prima’s showy tfap^man, tskes off fori a drurii cadenza dur- ing the playing of “Dark Eyes,” Jn the, supporting array, Martin and Floreni, a pair of puppeteers, fare best with their carircan daric- ing dolls; and their takeoff on Sad Sack and the Army sgt; They also offer puppet impressions of Jimmy Durante arid Carmen Miranda. The Honey; Bros., who never relax a minute on stage, are a flashy trio of acrobatic terpers. Gdgh. .* V displayed her usual piano virtuosi ty, coupled with some exuberartt vbcals, that had the> hoogie-beat fans in a< frenzy for more. Over solid for.^^ecisibri hobfirig Were The Three ; Rockets, with some nifty Ghailenge steppirig,. but it is their disciplined conGertb trio work that brbuglit the booriv response. Another potent click On talent arid; persbriality is Larry Foster, in for good-riatured song mimicry that had the enthusiastic audieribe pleading for inbrie. His robust repertoire, using the juke boX de- vice of introducing; i h c l u d e d Vaughri Monroe, Perry Comov Car- men Lombardo, Tony Martin and Frankie Lairie; all. excellent and oyer for . solid returns. Also well Up in front on audience kudos is A1 $chenk for sophisticated yarri- spinriing, song satires and darice parodies. Line opens in a boudbir number in full stage based bri “Singing in the Bathtub,” Comp 1 e t e with bubble-bath, a polite but tease towelling fputirie, and a nice high- kick finish in fetching negligees. Kids are back for a startling tbteiri pole drill, With fluorescent lighting interludes; thatV are; an effective spectacle. Jimmy Gainefon, on for vocals in the two dance prcK ductioh numbers, splits the miC, duties with Jbe SterVing. Whole package is; one of best in weeks here, MeStay* F 0 X 9 St. . St. Louis, Jail. 7. ; , .Ala Ming^ DawnS Sisters (2ij, Burns and White, Fred Sanborn, The Sid: Langs, Ray Wencih John Paul Lebel, Joe Schirmer; Frank Pahus Orch; “Trapped" (EL). Olyiiipia^ Miaiiii ' Miriirii; Dec: T john Paul Lebel; a dimiriutive tenor with swell pipes and plenty of know how is copping top honors in the currerit layout that is re^ plete with entertatnriient- values. Lebel mixes the classics With the pop stuff and scored solidly with “Sweethearts,” “Berceuse’’ and “The Song Is You.” Runnerup to Lebel is Fred Sanborn, xylophori? ist with a comedy . flair who won the mob with his serious interp of “Shine,” “I Gan Dream, Can’t I” and “Harvest Moon.” Bill is opened by Ala Ming, a shapely Chinese femme who has a heat tight wire act ori Which she executes some dance steps, skips a hoOp, juggles three Indian clubs while twiiding a hoop on one foot and then climaxes her stint With a split and a back somersault. The customers rewarded with a merited mitt. The Dawn $isters dish out a clicking cbmedy ballet rioutine Orplieiiiiii. K^C. Kansas City; Jan. 6, Three Suns, Penny Singleton, Ross WysBi Jr., and' Peggy. Wo^ mack, The Four Evans, Billy Rayes, Gil Torres and House Orch (11) ; “There's a Girl in My Heart" (Mono).. Vaiide is back after many years in this house. Which once was the talerit flagship of the area for two decades. This time it is Under the Fox Midwest; management, arid marks a major policy : move for the circuit. After thoroughly re- furbishing the house last fall, cir- cuit has used house as a showcase for topflght films and had a fling at legit; Now. it is trying vaude, this bill being the; first of three Weeks of bookings on an experi- mental basis. If these click, vaUde Will be a frequent entry although probably not a Week-in-week-out ' policy. The circuit is doing it up brown, with name attractions and strong support throughout., the bill, on a very respectable budget, to the credit of all concerned. In 65 min- utes this assemblage is pleading a strong case for yaude, as it’s a fast- niovlrm, solid entertainment pack- age from open to close. The Gil Torres house brqh works on-stage arid starts .show off with brief “South Pacific” medley, with Billy Rayes doubling as m.c. Four Evans take stage as first standard turn and hit a lively pace from first step. Mom and Pop, Sis and Soririy run the gamut of tap, youngsters opening, with a fast rnodern number, parents following With a yesteryear softshoe. Sis takes a turri at kerb adagio, men come through with a shoe-kicking tap, and family winds up with, a With the exception Of the open- ing act arid the Ritz Bros;, rest of thik orie-Week ; bill seerns Wri^k; Perhaps the interjection of the headliners throughout the show inight do something to pbp iip the bill but, as' is* until the last 20 minutes, .things proGeed at a slow ■pacev\ ' Vanderbilt Bros, have several attention-libldmg aero tricks as a single hand head: stand apd back- warid shoulder stand sbrnersaiult, but could lachieve better reception with buildup for stunts. At pres- ent^ it. looks all tpb easy; Eddy Mansbil has the Usual repertoire of harmonica players and While he acquits himself Well, a refUribish- ing of his library Would be bene- ficial; He gets his biggest hand' on boogie diioirig With Rudy Wag-, rier; pianist, on “St. Louik Blues.” ■Viola Layne, well ’stacked bru- net, uses a somewhat ofigirial idea. With interspersing her vocal im- pressions arourid a flash back to high schpol days. Howeyef, riibst of her carbons are faint except for Rose Murphy. Her closer; embel- lished With Wig and hat; of Mae West singing “Gome Up and See Me Spmtime’“gets her off neatly: ; Whilri the Ritz Bros, delve in the dirt. arid sWish bits overlong, zany characters stili; break up the house. After a mumbie-jumble opening the trio recall their rise to success through the old days at the Palace—that is. Palace, Hart- ford, Conn, Their repeat from the films of “Show White and Seven Dwarfs” with Harry Ritz as the* Wicked queen is still hilarious. G r 0 u p intermixes “Some En- chanted Evening,” “Marie,’’ and others tp bring a present-day touch to the scene. Brothers have a new closer, a takeoff On the present crop of French male crooners, which has little songy but a great de^al of misinterpretation, of the Frerich language heavily laden with bprscht: ; Louis Basil house orch backs tightly, Zabe. Or]^ieiiiii9 F. A. - Los Angeles, Jan, 4. Jimmy Troy, Tommy & Jeanne Mahoney, Norwood Smith, Andre & Delpliilie, Clifford Guest, Ted & Flo. Vallett, GeOrgie Kaye, . Stump 8c Stumpy, Rene Williams house orch (Id) with Herb Kefn; “B6dy< hold" iCol). ' a ragamuffin tramp outfit that adds to comedy uavor. Tommy Jeanne Mahoney af® a fresh tap darice team, nicely cos- tumed and equipped with good rou- tines. Andre & Delphine supply fariew adagio lifts aqd twirls aV their contribution to the bill Baloneer team of Ted & Flo Val- lett is almost a juggling act in the way they kept: the batohs iriov- ing: ; Norwood Smithes good baritone voice and personality help put over his singing stint. Vocals come across nicely arid as soon as his stage presence adopts a few pro- jection trteks. he’ll have;; no trou- ble selling his wares to an excel- lent fesponse. Enunciation is clear and the tones are robust on such nuriihers as “Love Is Sweeping the Country,” “These Foolish Thirigs.’^ “Glory Road”, arid “Sci Iri Love :With You.”-,'; Vvv \ ;-.; Good backstopping for: the acts is furnished by Rene Williams and his pit crew;: while Herb Kerri arid the Wurlitzer supply the audience- sing Warriiup. Brog; With the smaller ;gal; a continuous 7\/roA.A... n/rx^,. * i guiU CheWer pulUng some clevOr ^tid most of, the rpugh In the next slot hVhw Orcir ••AlSaVs i ^ bailee; \ challenging session. RayeS js then '.team scored - with their interp of J On solo for his own turn of mo- Laughinq.y JWB) ..“Who Do You ; Think • ^ I Arii,'^ |nology and bat tossing. jugglingU^^ ^ ^ :;“you’ll Never Know” and “Let’s, 1 while he gives his “impersonate Components of the show on; tap Swing’’ in addition to some swell; Which are: not imitations.” He’s a . add tip tp satisfactory i tap steps and aero stuff. And the) smooth performer and ha$ the & vaude fans. I gal aliso Won ;the mob with a bur-{.house with him all the way. Weil staged, stint of the Mefry i lesk ' of a strip' tease dancer but; Following her recent exit from MacSi radio quartet who handle - holding it mild. The Six Langs,radio, Penny Singleton is faking themselves with; ease, and .show- evenly diyidOd, between gals and! her case to the public. Wrapping rrianship for “iri flesh” appearance, lads are a sprightly teeter board j it: up in sorig, dance arid chatter, goes for full mitt measure. .Blend- sextet that is climaxed When the ; $he prtakes a full-fledged vaude Ing in of. the arrangements keep smallest gal, blindfolded, :is capa- turn of her entry,- rather than ariy pace biiiiding,for inaxiniUm impact.,i.pulted into the air for a two and a: seriiblarice of an: approach as a film Novelty. is added via dance - - - -- - - - - 1 - - - • ^ Worked into •nostalgic song patt Hillbilly nuiriber and “Just Arc the CornerV’ also standouts.^^^^^^^: Ray Wencil,. the monplogist, | GUstomers readily lend her a hand, Gary fMorton iSr okay the in-^ could use sOine new stuff arid mpst ,■ Next to closing Ross WyvSe and tros; aud in own Slot purveys, a ■ ofe hi.S chatter is of the ancient corn : Peggy Won^aek pick Up; the corn- well versed series, of standard im-} variety. However, he executes a ' edy assignirient, and hold it to high level laughter With, their long- standard turn of wisecracks and aero nonserise. The Three Suns, MOrty . and Al NeViris and Artie/Dunn, make their first appearance in K.C., locking preshes, plus trumpet Wox’k arid a i tap routine while strumriiirig a -J • . • . ri J. \ Li --.I i-1 ' • t- mixture of; familiar and fairly new gags for healthy rcturris. Gautier’s canines, billed as “Ex- tiny Uke and the mob appareritly forgave, him for the corny chatter. Joe Schirmer, the b an cl's tab cess Baggage,” almost . rOmp off i ented banjoisf, closed the session With the proceedings. Tricks of I by whamming over “Wheri Day Is the group 'under Ann Gautier’s; Done” and “Banjo Boogie” bn his hOme; the closing spot With their guidance keep the gaspa and the ; favorite instruments Sahu, j pecordion-guitar-organ combO, npw Current yaude bill offering has soine good acts mixed in with standard turns. Heading up the top spots are a very clever ventrilo- quist and the closing comedy-dance team. . Clifford Guest, playing his firtt local date, although riot neW to the states, is aii Australian voice manipulator. He has a load of tricks that make his act a refresh- ing 14 minutes of solid chuckles. It Stands well, above -Usual veri- triloquist turn. The patter is smart, as are the Stunts. Jncluded is' an -e&hb, busi- ness that comes over nlftily. The hunting sequence, a drinkirig bit, a broken irecord, the extremely hilarious business- of . trying to put ^. petulant duhimy in his case, and the bow-Off scene of a crying baby all .pack an appiause-eafriing wai- ;'10P; ■ ^ . .. - xStump & jHtumpy,; a tall •arid short Negro team;, work with aban- don, to rate socko laughs. Whether it be. a darice, a takeoff on other personalities or ju.st plairi tomfool- ':ery, the^ys belt their offering at ^risibilities and hit it square op the button, Georgie Kaye Occupies the seven plenty of good patter, show. ;Caught, he played to a , Missouri” ^ audierice but before { Winding; his stint had them fe- sponding to fastly-paced gags and routines. . His impressions of a near?blind taxi dHver and a wacky psychiatrist are expert clowhirig. Kickoff act on the bill is Jiriimy Troy and his higli trapeze. This IS; a^ tufri that usually plays car- riivals and tent shows but fits handily^ onto a vaude stage. Troy grabbed solid returns with some [ daring thrill stuff, that caught au- ydience. fancy. He does. hiS stint in •f 1 , ' .Cpntlitued; frbm page 4 aid’s ; dissatisfaction with hotel rooms assigned them as cause of the; hospital flop. ; Second Army-Raymorid tiff oc- curred at USFA Palladium, where the Blue Danube Network, Army web with three outlets in U S. zone of Austria, had set up mikes on stage for ari: advertised twO-hour. broadcast of thb show. Raymond, emceeing the prograrii. Opened with a three-miriute dissertation 'to 2,0()0: GIs and guesfs present, erii- phasizing sacrifices he and other troupers had mkde to tour Europe for Air Force; Then, noticing the mikes, he vvalked off and insisted they be removed before the show continued: : Hfe gave “blue” ma- terial in his own and other rou- tines as reason. Station had to hurriedly switch to studio turntables, while produ- cer Byrpn Sanders: argued fruit- lessly with Rayniorid in the wings; Air FOrte officers hacked the net- work, insisting the troupe’s con- tractual, agreement for jthe trip in- eluded broadcasting over noh-conv- mercial trarismittefs. But with time a-wastirig and audience rest- ive, mikes were yanked and show proceeded without ajr.: That fouled up the 110th Hospital’s arrange- ments a second time. When the afternoon show had been cancelled Without notice, special loudspekk- . er arrangements, had been set up for all patients, to hear show oyer the air New Yeari’s Eve. : . When, the troupe . arrived at Tulin; Air Base in their special planes, Raymond and others broad-i. cast through. a Blue Danube tran- sciuption without protest, nor did he say anything about not wanting: the actual performance aired. Fric- tion began when, arriving in Vien- na, the whole company was brought to the old-fashioned Hotel de France, where the .Army had arranged to house theiri all under one roof. When the.Raymorids re- fused the Suite offered them there a hurried switch Was made to U. S. Army’s Hotel Bristol, normally pile of the town’s swankiest. Next in- cident came when the stars were uncooperative with U.S. and local fotogs. The lens boys quickly got . the idea and, at a later perform- ance, pointedly snubbed Miss Mac- Donald and Raymond while snap- ping plenty of bulbs bn Slapsie Maxie, Miss Markoff and others. Berle B.0; Continued from page 1 ,tor Claghorri ; (Kenny Delmar), Joan Davis and a flock of other performers with big Hoopers. They j universally failed tp measure up ' as pic draw.S; to their power on the ether. TheyW^ ranged froni; conir plete flpps to mediocre succeisses at best.; Exceptions, in a sense, have been Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Ques- tion there is, howev-er, which comes fifst--are they primarily ra^ dio performers: or film players! They’ve proved to have unuisual persPnalities which get across in one/medium as well as In. the pther. That hasn’t been the case with riiost radio stars. ^ In reverse, pic players have, j proved $tibng Hooperaler,s on: ra-v ' dio; In most instances, it is as guest stars. “Lux Radio Theatre” is, a prime example Of a show which has built a lasting and heavy popularity Ori the basis of pic guesters.