Variety (January 1950)

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WediteBdayy Jahiiaiy 2 S, 1950 Strand, N* ^ Y.. Mitai Benzelh Qordim MacRae# Paul Gray, Walter Long, Mitzi Maviaif ' DancBTS (6), Dave Schoo-. ter House OrcH; *-The Hasty Heart** iWB)t. reviewed in Vabiety Dec. 7, '49. ' \ ‘ There’s a lot of charm iii the cur- fent Strand show with a pair of singers, Mimi BenzeU and Gordon MacBae, providing the bulk Of it. The program has pacing and va- riety. ^ • MacHae, a regular on the Warner lot ai'd prominent on radio's ‘‘Rai^ road Hour”, has an easy stage pres- ence as well as hearty pipes. He sells himself easily and each suc- cessive number enhances his stat- ure with the crowd. As a firial fiil- lip, he duets with Miss BenzeU iri “You Are Preei” In this number, the vocal blend, is good, but Mac- Rae was obviously taking advan^ tage of Miss Benzell's naivete in certain matters 6f Vaude deport- ment. His upstagihg virtually forced Miss BenzeU to Work with her back to the mike. Norietheiess - the number makes for a charming ■ Curtain,:' Miss BenzeU is one. of the Met Operas younger and charming col- oratura’s. She’s ju$t starting her singing, for the masses, having re- cently appeared at the Cotillion Room of . the Pierre hotel; N. Y.i and this is her first Vaude stand. At the very outset, Miss BenzeU is victimized by countless comics who previously Would introduce some buffoon as: a singer from the Met. There was some derision when she was announced, many in the crowd obviously expecting clownihg at this, point However, Miss BenzeU -soomsold^the-mobLon..the.desirabik ity of class entertainment Opening with VEl Relicario” and afterward going into ’‘Over the Rainbow” arid the coloratura aria “Sempre Li^ bere” she does quite; Well for her- self. Encores with a. modernized ”Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark,” all to excellent applause. Comedy is provided by the schol- arly-lookirig Paul Gray, who pur- veys a funny brand of talk.. Some of his throwaways are fairly fast for vauderies, but general tenor of his zanyisms is good for hearty re- turnSi Walter Long has a line of ef- fective taps arid softshoe which goes over well; The tap impres- sions of one crossing a busy inter- section provides a humorous note to his terpS; The Mitzi Mayfair Dancers (6) are further discussed under New Acts. DaVe Schooler’s House Qrch shoWbacks capably. Jose,- ^ailslino^ Tcsrim Toronto; Jan. 20. Bob Hannon & Johnny Ryan, The Sherwoods (3), Ross & Stone, Thelma Frechette, Jimmy Sc Shir- ley Carheron, Charles Oregory Line M8>, ArchiC: Stone Hoiisc *‘Barbary Pirate** (Col). [ P^iETir nOVSB BtBYlBWS «s Cheek” finish. Youngsters make a neat appearance and score. - .Kudos also go to the line girls who, supplied with esicellent Ward- robe, are working harder than usual this week and pi'oving that they, can be a more integrated part of the presentation. In silver gowns and elbow-length black gloves, they are outstanding in their glee club numbers and their Hollywoad Ic© R©vn© (MADISON SQ. GARDEN, N. Y.) „ Henie-Arthur M. Wirtzr Wtlltani H. Burke production in two acts, starring Sonja Henic! featuring. Freddy Trenkler & Michael Kirby with Paul Castle, John Farris,^ Jimmy Kelly^ Carol Williams, Mickey Michael, Janies Treloar, Alex Lmdgren, Herman vocal echo backgrounds. With miri-Line (481, iature megaphones, to the finale staging, Catherine number of the Camion duo: Qji\ Littlefield; costumes, Billy Liv vocalists as musical backing for their panto antics. Boyce A Evans, eccentric softshoe dancers, com- plete the in-between turns with six minutes of okay hoofing. Don Tannen holds down the comic spot on the bill. He won respectable response from audience at show caught, but failed to dupli- cate the socko success he scored in the local production of “Borscht* capades.” He clowna a number of songs and registers best with gen-, tie kidding of ventriloquists, using staging and costummgreurrent lay.' „ Kositf, Mme.^ ^ ^ out is the best in man.v weeks; Groce Houstoti,- settings, Becker I PWe “s opt IS the best in many weeks. MeStay. Capitol^ Wash* Washington, Jan, 20; ,Vait,ghn Mohroe & Orch (21), ...id-U n/f ^ J /.a j, -T.■ ' ■ ■ Bros.; music. Jack Pfeiffer. At \ i j n/i- tt* 'u wY M«diso« . .Sg,iare GoraWf ' Jan; 21, ’49. $6 top. Sonja Henie’s personal maghe- the best musical support from the ' pit crew at opening pefformance. Brog. Continued from page A. Murray Little has riot only loosened the piirse strings this week, but has put the line girls in evening gowns for effects that show that covering up the epider- mis may have mofe glamor than briefies. This week, the girls are also on for choral backgrounds for commendable results. Bob Hannon and Johnny Ryan, however, are the marqiuee draw for renditions of their hit recordings, with Ryan at the piano in a full- set with white sequin back- , vuwyiMt mujbTue or utcu lAi-/, tism is nrobahlv thP mhsf ^4^ FarllHum^ ingredient in the field of; glacial. Jaj,. LaTCrcnce; "Story of Molly ' >rvi^ ^ sellout hoUses in the few selected I elects to make I comes through on Its usuarsmooth,' nprsOTial flnnpflranrps polished manner. Outfit, despite [P%up l osq^ditinn rif “Thf^ Hollv • a discouraging drop in: b.o. overa icI'Revie^ is hMbably the oast Caoitoi stints leave*! riofhirie .P^peapiy me . burned over, the tact that of the to be Sd'ln pVbdSnTS '^^ by the work or Hep entertainibenfe: A re-; timihg ir bre?*hTa*£M and indi- i ™ and pop- cent Constitution Hall concert may cites a hbalthv disreiard'nf biiaff- !'^brn: concessions, producers didn’t be partly responsible for biting In, et. -The' staging is staiWr ifr ■ f^stve anything, ; VI should like to current take; ’ high kev and tenor of the orOduc- he queried, “how much The Mbnrc^ pml^ Under^he casr i ti4 is m kee^ng Witl^J^Sd- candy they could sell if there ual hut capable baton of its -.maes--■.Qi.ds set bv rirevious’editions ’ i no pictures on the screen.” . i wSW bighlS^ Departnient of Justice," ^ TtW alonrlL Samr^l^eet S f sal®/ turns _br the; said, “is doing everything romp tons on thp iiikp oarade r ^ - mu - ” ful the west coast. They had better or corne mps on me juxe paraae. .foj. many years; There are other .fbprP won’t hp an inHpnpnHpnt nro^ Maestro gives .members oJ his cast „ that hit o£E well; Her t be an independent pro- a break in individual stmts, but : french and Spanish 'solbs^^ there s no doubt he s Star Qi: the crowd-bewitchers, which proves ^ Goldwyn disclosed that the S6- show, whether Wielding the baton mat Miss Henie is still able to ciety of Independent Motion Pic- or^ in his solo chores. In laU^^ populace. Michael Kir- ture Producers intends to bring a: ■pwides-^^vatt-e assist in series of-suits,-^-&imilar-4;Q-.t;^he=>-one. k twoUnited Detroit and Hands Bamboo \^11,^ De^ Even if Miss Henie. weren’t in Michigan Cooperative combines, in rnl .1 Mnnrop’c j thc .show, file vpi'icc of odmission order “to protect the interests of law romintic stSe SurSe for ^'?‘‘p be Justified by thfr presence the-independent prbddcerV’ Gold- lazy, romantic style is surenre lor of Freday Trenkler, whose irre-^ ^wn caid there Wa«? pollution sighs from 3 uve fans, though the , nressible clowning takes top mitts. ^ ® couusion in his work His gallops over the | ^«‘«4, tha^ some wwld^have to frozen pond are high hilarity, .and; S® to jall once it lyas .exposed. , , X. u u XT u a .s his returns are strong enough to Goldwyri opined that divorce- ing for the boss. Number is dressed I warrant successive bows. ment of the major distfibs from up with Western costumes Ah,d j But talentwise, there’s little else.. their theatres would be a “healthy much - horseplay, built , around ! A few .sbck|Specialties interspersed ; thing” for the Whole industry.. He “Movealong- Monroe,’, an obvious m 0 tween Miss Henie and Trenkler j said that affiliated circuits were and ribticklirtg takeoff on current Western craze; elders in the audience go for it too. Best best for chuckles and ap- preciation is the show’s finale, with Mooririiaids ard Moonmen chorus Ziggy Talent is on hand with his zariy tunes. Scores a hit with an inanity dubbed “I Ain’t Goriria Take It Settin’ Down,” Jriy Law- rence does, well in the comedy slot with a series of impreshes, while Cece Blake steps out from her Moorimaid, fole to solo in “You Told a Lie” and “I Gan Dream, Can’t I.” Earl Hiiinmel scores on his harmonica. Lowe* Apollo, H. Yk* Buddy Johnson otch Ella. Johnson, Arthur Prysocki Deep River Boys (4 ) , Keye Luke, Stump Si Stumpy, 2 Olympics, Earl Sc Frances; **Ringside- {SG). . _ ,s^id that affiliated circuits were inight ^ve made this one^of tlw me most demlict in spending coin stremgest shows .she s^ver headed. I on advertising because the distrib ^“efaeSa? leTps® and the S4W specialty by John Farris and Jim-! ^n./wnv niy Kelly, there are some stage* anyway, Goldwyn said,, but waits between top numbers. ] now fhe majoi; prod^ be : Naturally, it’s a show designed the same boat as the Indies in. around Miss Henie, biit noriethe- dealing with the circuits. Divorce- less some sharper skaters in the ment, he said, “would also have a subsidiary talent brackets would make for a greater overall effects Probably the real star of the show is the lush costumes; The Spanish and the Fountain riiimbers hit the jackpot in iavishriess and picturesque and colorful mieii of the wardrobe is enough to bowl over any audience. wonderful effect” oh raising pro duction standards. Concerning • teleyisiori, Goldwyn: said the new medium represented A needed challenge to the industry. He was confident, however, that Video would ultimately turn to Hol- lywood for Vgreat entertainment.” Goldwyn said he had ho personal Miss Henie is in the Garden un- , ■ til Fob. ,3 with a couple Of breaks ; , Thgi Anniin hfl*: fl ewift well ^ Schedule to perinit for prc- tion in the foreseeable future, h inz^ ciitreW V ^ wlh' iViouSlv scheduled commitments. . Pl-®du®er is plannin^to leave for paianceq swnza curreniiy, ^*8" b,,* ^yen with the breaks there’s Europe in early. March on an un-! projke; which he will: the loot of the Boston Brinks’ complete with a foreign company.; Large*Sereen TV Continued from page 4 video. What plans the company has for the iriediam have not been revealed but it is believed; it might build Special prograinSf either live or on film, for sale to the UP-cir- cuit and other theatres,. in addi- tion, PPC holds patents to the film storage method of theatre video, -of the two systems now in use, and so might manufacture equipment for sale to th.eatrcs. Disclosure last week that 2Qth- Fox is dropping applications for its five video channels to concent trate all efforts on large-screen tele indicates that the company also will stick to theatre TV when and if it is; forced to:; divorce its theatres. Be f o r e ^divorcement threatened, 20th had lined up spe- cific , plans for programming : a string; of 22 Fox-WeSt Coast thea- tres with 'large-screen pr^^^^ (jompany will thus probably go ahead with those plans, whether divorcement is ordered or not. In : addition,, the company recently; re- negotiated its co-development pact. with RCA for the instantaneous projectiori system of large-screen video: *;; ' J- In announcing the appoint- ments of Halpern and O’Brien, TQA exeC director Gael Suliivan. declared that the film industry has “nothing more important, on its agenda for 1950” than plans for an butstariding job in presenting the industry’s case to the FCC. “Ther« arb"sb~mariy -requirements to meet;'" so much time arid top brains will be required in formulating this presentation that industry leaders mUst be prepared actively to asr slst in telling their story effective- ly to the Commission.” : Sullivan emphasized that the in- dustry has never before had such an opportunity to show the Gov- ernment and the public “how and why we can continue to provide civic leadership for our* communities and prove a helpful asset in the growth of TV.” He added: “We know. that there is a strong sub- stantiation for having theatre TV channels but we need to oVS^uize our very be.st efforts to present our case to the Government and the public; All the wisdom and knowhow of the industry is needed to do the right kind of a job. The granting of a public hearing is just the first hurdle and our big job has Just begun.” Sullivan announced further that Marcus Cohn, TOA video counsel,. will direct legal phases of the thea- tre TV case and will thus work closely with Halpern and O’Brien. combo, Keye Luke, Chinese film- 1 f v ster of the “Charlie Chan” series, , and the Deep River Boys, crack i vocal quartet back after a long Eu- ropean tour. Johnson and his lads, compris- ! ing three rhythm (with maestro at Continued from page J 'i Jose. The producer voiced corifidence in ! the foreign revenue outlook, par- ! ticiilarly in Britain, where, the do-! riiestic industry has learned that it 1 cannot do without American pix: Orphoiini, L. A* Los Angeles, Jari. 18. Al Castle, Everett West, Ginger Goldwyri said he has consistently niano) five reeds and four brass-' said Jie Has consistently i lisf Ivi out wfth Sizzli4 i to produce films abroad ' j ments on their own in addition . merely to thaw frozen coin. ! I capably backing the other acts. .Goldwyn disclosed that he was ' - - • ■® — - - ..jor |H°“se^O™'j '10' ; « i working oh four possible pix to b drop. Boys open with “Dear Hearts : and Gentle People’’ and, then into their “South Pacifip” numbers. Greatest audience re- sponse comes with their comedy impressions, with Hannon doing Frankie Laine singing “Mule Train,” Ryaii at the piano doing Rose Mufphyi and the two doing a^smash mimicry of The Ink Spots’ Tf r Didri’t Care,” with Ryan on the comedy falsetto., Team was brought back repeatedly \viien caught and werfe generous with a quartet, of encoresV Crowding for applause hpriors RoSs & ;$torie, standard act Jhshed in when Stanley Kayne, puled in tha ads, met with a motof a^^cident on his journey here. Ben* uy Ross, more than pleases with his Audience sallies and his robust striging, notably “Rosie” in his own rather than the Jplson style; but the act gets an even bigger re- sponse with the arrival pf Nancy j>tone, a personable blond with A uued baritone voice and lazy de- uvery that belies her figure and grace when she later goes into non- chalant high-kicks. Most of the tune, hbweverr she lies down on stage, while her partner is ■jUTg most of the work, and ya\viis at the applause. . Sherwoods; two men and a «u‘i, have no trouble getting over V*', their adagio acrobatics and c^f^hcing feats. Jimmy and fthirley Cameron are on for a ^Dancing in the Dark” duet, plus Learn to Croon” and a “Cheek to Teeing off with “Good Day’ nice returns as a prelude to Earl' ’u and Frances’ slick hoofing stanza. ' they bring on Arthur Prysock, I . A variety ot Tment released next year. First on the ! procluction schedule will be “Bil- i laienc lion Dollar Baby.” from a script by ! :Tent bill. Some Yordan and Daniel, Fuchs band vocalist, for: solid baritoriing ; Orpheum’s current bill. Sc of. “I Can Dream, Can’t I” and of ■ “ ‘® f®'! i« J®"®- Novel ” to tumultuous returns. The . standard with varying degre fist Adria Locke Langley is working ' cause Olvn^ rif^ team, follow ! success in selling material; is wording , ivvo _ . . . V on another screenplay, as is F. ; in a clever and. breath-taking roll- Orientals get the nod as top. ;TTy^l^ ^ er-skating contrib, wherein male acts. Sing Lee Sing Trio is a clever , tosses gal around iu abandon and balancing turn by two males arid a ' also gets in some fancy stuff on the femme. Act is worth a booking Krims is / working on the , soloYurns. . smpt wh clrwill be based Band takes over again for a number of supplied audi- J^JI,.:^^® Margaret G^sina novel, ! swinging Interp of “Gone Walkinig” ence is the swaying tower . con-; ' to set things for Ella ;Jphn??oh,: cdcted from seven chairs, balanced return to the CoasAFeb; 24 for the ' maestro’s sister, for sultry versions one bn the other atop foilr bottles preview of “Edge of Doom,” which •of “Tired Crying Over You” and on a table. Height of stunt has'recently;firiished.shooting, i “Keen Me Close to You” to nice the handstander working on too'' . ^ ' reception. Reye Luke follows arid ; with his feet almo.st touching the ■' ' • . clicks with his Hollywqpd :chatter ,ar^. ^ • V .. - . ; . and winds vvith protean impersoria* ■ Gali, Gali: Arabian magician, is iCorntniied from page 3 I “Murder in the Studio, wherein ; paii le :as_ne runs j.njougn a i_ .jL-TQ>r, Mter a stint rif raflin Uhe filmster .carbons Charlie Chan, : iputme ®f ‘ricks that mystify the ILionel Bayrymdirn, Barry Fitzgerald seat-warmers and the tw®; assist- tng®‘ 7odng. & ! and Peter Lorre, et al. Imper.soria- ants he snags from the audience.; proves successtul, de^:Roehemont I tions are good and the story skein . The way he does it, it seems easy will close the .deal he, now. has ^ ' makes for greater intere.st than the to extract money from .an appar- Pending with the tru.stee.s, of the usual series of impressions. ently uncut orange, make coins 'Vannevar . Bush Foundation, which ! Deep River Boys ; are .sock in multiply and baby chickens appear owns the rights, ' next spot with their antics .and and disappear. . .; “The . Golden *208;” first of • slick harmonizing. Introirtg with Ai Ca.stle, monbpede, opens with lyiGT’s series of 60*minute specials, “Back Hpirie in Indiana,’’ they pleasing .stunts pn bis bicy^^ rat- ha.s ju.st been completed, and will segue into a noyelty riumber for ing nerit hand. Eyerett _ West^ de- be shown to vari0u.s distribs during change of pace, .“Laugh^^^^.a^ the f next couple weeks. It will be World Laughs . With You, All. that satisfie.s the .audience. Ginger nffpfxiri to them in a vi/iih. : in ^Sine ^bt with songs, buL Js a redhead billed as the “Petty’’| ivivx s xanp re- ! fSonery and taWto to registef ‘^girl; and lives up to the^ billing, i jfase, . The yatican. The India , as usual oh the applause; Eddie & Tony are record panto- subject will be ready In a couple. * meter. wsuai, on mi mists who feature femme record months. theatre acquisitions. Hence, they do not constitute A bar against limited theatre ownership. From present studies of the at- titude of both the Federal court and the Dept, of Justice, the show- case principle has been backed on a number of occasions. Lcgalites say that the two tests are (1.) whether the opening of a show- case furthers rather than impedes competition and (2.) whether it selves a iiricessary-function—as—a— means of marketing Hollywood’^s product. Both these standards, it is said, halve been pronounced by the courts in the course of the current litigalioh. If 20th, for in.stance, finds it nece,ssary in New York to showca.$e its own product as a way of building audience penetration testing for prPper terms, and prob- ing the. boxoffice potential of its films; there is nothing on the books or in current deefeels to pre^ Verit the major from buying up a Broadway deluxef for these pur- poses pnly. ■ ; Moreover, the building ;pf a new house by a company in a city in vvhich it rio longer opcratCvS would further compfetitioh rather than re- strict it. Qn this basis, once the monojJolj? curse is removedi it is believed by film biggies that the courts , would not interfejre with^ the company’s move. Regardless of how the courts firially rule,, jt Is how regarded as inevitable that the acquisition of showcases will be piit to the acid le.st in an exploratory mannCf. In doing so, initial tests will undQubt- edly be directed towards situations 'wherri the major involved finds it difficult to majrket its product first^run at a fair rental. Proof of this fact is believed more than likely to lead to a favorable court ruling.