Variety (April 1950)

NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS ^edncsdayt Ai>ril l2« 19S0 1-Man Concert Part Rudy Vallee has nialcings oft i one-man concert a, la. Eddie Can-‘ tor, and gives pretty gootLevMence thereof at the Hotel Roosevelt, N. Y., but does riot qtiite found it out. In a lesser degree he evi- denced that iri televisiori last year; His keynote is a harkback to the Golden ’20$, and it’s wel^attdried to the pfesent cycle of Nostalgic Days in iDixie. The public yen for the yesteryear styles in song, and story, as is being fully manifested with the 1949-50 crop of pops, pix and published works, ; riiakes grown-up caihpus kiddie Yallee, a natural.: As a niatter-of-faet, . the turnaway. turnout for his opening, and the general theme pf both his routine .'arid his aippeal to his .clien- tei e are geared to that metier. He does a good job with it, too, in the main biit the show Stalls for a lack of. the proper peaks. He kids himself r as a neo-AK; - calls past-40 the “great divide’’; talks Of his Yale days in the early ’20s; rer prises his trademarked ,^^‘Mairie Stein Songs,” “'iCitty from Kansas City,” ‘‘WhiffenpOof Song” (includ- ing a Dewey parody!; waxes rather fulsome bri his ‘■Alouette” corri- miinity sing; kids his appellation of “Vagabond Lover,” but salutes thafe song, along with ‘‘Honey”; re- calls ‘‘If You Were the Only‘ Girl in the World,” among others. : Of the riewies he does ‘‘Riders in the Sky” deadpan straight; like- wise ‘‘La Vie En Rose,” but errs in doing the ‘‘You’re Too Dangerous, Chefie” version, >Vhereas that, hav- ing flopped, has been more lately feplacei^ with an Anglo-Anierican version"' which retains. the lyric content, title and-flavor of the orig- inal “La Vie” as Edith Piaf iritend- ed them: There is also a yentriloquial bit With a colored dummy; a poise arid ease that has always distinguished the Vallee showmariship, only it’s now more so, tinder maturef pro- jection; and, of course, the inevita- ble campus flavor, even unto two fraternity songs. For the Roosevelt, Vallee is a sock showmanship booking. It’s , a tVro-ply threat in that, along with the ex-maestfo now turned soloist, there is a tiptop band combination in Larry Green and his rhythmic grbup which includes five brass, five reeds, piano, string bass and percussion. This; is a sWitch from Green’s fornierly dominant fiddle setup. Besides the forthright terp , tunestering, they do a good show job for Vallee-s . riiore than, solid hour Of sOngalog and reminiscence. There is also an alternate relief quintet for the between-sessions. Trade-wisev the Roosevelt may be setting a pattern in double-fea- ture attractions. There are niani- festations thereof with other hos- telries and niteries; quite appar- ently the public must be given extra Values nowadays for every- body to do business. .Vallee and Green are thus a two-for-One com- bo, as against the traditional Guy Lombardo perennial at this grill- room, as it has been for the past 20 years: Trade-wise, also, Willard Alexander, in booking both the band and the crooner, sets a prece- dent here since the Roosevelt heretofore Was traditionally an MCA exclusive. There is' a $1.50- $2 convert for the supper patrons. This combo is in for four weeks and looks fair to do boff b.o. . Abet, ing aggregation. The girls are garbed in crisp, sequinned gowns by Kathefine Kuhn, and Were most refreshing arid enthusiastic in their Work as they trotted out a sturdy catalog of tunes for dance intermis- sion, ranging from fa$t-stepping numbers like “Crazy Rhythm” to beautifully-arrariged Latin tunes. Opening aUdience, many of them of the sedate type that only an un- usual attraction like this can lure into the nightclubs, crowded around the bandstand like school kids at a prom during the terping. This portion of the Spitalny eri- deaver is geared strictly for danc- ing, arid sparked by his new- found know-how in the dansapation field, is a solid success, ; * Of course, the high note Of the Spitalny offering is the 73-minute show he put on Opening night. It is a nicely-balanced package of 12 production numbers. Climaxed by Evelyn’s stirring interpretation of “Hora Staccato,” and boasting ex- ceptional lighting and smooth etn- ceeing by the maestro. The choir tees off this portion of the shoW; with a novelty number, ‘•Song of praise to California” (‘‘Where the fain doesn’t rain, it just drizzles dhainpagne”) j, with Evelyn spotiighted, on u SC's ‘‘Alma Mater,” and the choristers on ‘‘America the Beautiful.” The com- pany then segues evenly into the Khatchaturian “Sabre Pance,” so terrific that it will shake, the cocoa- nuts from their mbprings, and Glo- ria’s syrup-smboth sbprano moves in as a shoW stopper on ‘‘Merry Widow” and ‘‘South Pacific” med- leys. Her “Younger Than Spring- time” gets her off to a sustained volley of applause. There is a truiripeter hamed Jeanette, whose .triple^torigUing is up in the master class. The bass section comes through beautifully With “My Old Kentucky Home.” Viola, the drummer, is a femme Krupa, arid in a duet with Helen bn the flute, turns in a terrific specialty. Viola is a natural per- former and displays socko show- manship With her renditions on the top shelf; A vocal trio winds up this section of the endeavor with “Flight of the Bumblebee”^ and a comic renditibn pf the“RigOletto Quartet reduced to a trio.”' , Spitalny has a pianist, Louise, who is a natural for. the concert field. Her brilliant keyboarding is Calciumed in “Rhapsody in Blue,” interspersed with real lowdown clarinet and brass passages. New in the grbup is Jeannie, a sexy brunet with a corking con- tralto. iShe sings “Begim the various Ihstrumerits with the verve and enthusiasm that ^he employed in the days when he led a band. It’s a house orch that he usea as the foil in this case, instead of his own. ■ ^ Markedly graying but still with that youthfuL urilined kisser that makes him the perennial 3 uve, Rogers has the customers in hi$ corner all the way. For the two weeks he's here* there won’t be any customers coin plaining that here is a Hollywood personality who has come dnto a cafe Unpre- pared. Added' to that is Rogers’ unassuming, bd y i s h announce- ments: With him is; a young siriger-^cbmic, Bobby Bhields, Who be-bops all. over the joint to get a nice response; • ; Buster Shaver, with Olive^ George arid Richard, are still socko with the personality song- and-daiice act. The midgets afc as Cute as ever, with; the: nbrinal- sized Shaver whammirig across his ballroom darice withV the under- Olive” The “Carmen” production ser qUence, • f e a t u r i ri g Songstress Ernestine Mercer, is a little out of sorts the way it’s done, mainly because Miss Mercer, dpesn’t have the voice to go with it. Incldem tally, the show in its entirety is marked Uy the too-conspicuous presence of Miss Mercer. She’s in practically every number. LUcienne arid Ashbur, With their knbckabbuf vapache stuff, are still applause-getters, and the Ballet Sevillano, holdover Spanish im- ports, are among the bill’s standr outs with their ensemble; stomp- ing. Linda ^ Lombard, songstress; Frances and Grey, standard ‘‘ser- pent” act* are among the show’s other hbldovers, Kahriv of his theme, "White Gardenia/ he comes on for* “Hello, There, switches to a medley from “Song of Norway” and >then iiito “All of a Sudden,’* mixing Danish lyrics with the English for salvos. Patter between songs arid .c®5Ual irianner sells his routine in strong fashion, The Brissori charm makes it pos- sible for him to put over ari audi- ence participatiori.without any of the usual awkward breaks or em: barrassmerits. Perennials such as “Pink Cocktail,” “Angelus” and “Champagne and Music” still draw plaudits, but “Enchanted Evening” used for a begoff picked up heav- iest mitting. j Dick Lewis, who has background- ed the Brissbn tunes fbr many years, played the, opening show, but turns the acebmp job over to Joe Burman next Week. Buddy Clarke orch supplies neat musical backing for Brissori and splits dance sets with the Chamitov Hotek’Cover Charges Spots like the Hotel Plaza’s Per- sian Room, the Waldorf-Astoria's Wedgwood Room, the Empire Room of Chi’a Palmer House, the L. A. . Ariibassador's Cocoariut Grove, etc., have been charging $1.50 to $2,50 couverts for years and seemingly thriving* particular- ly if ‘they had an attraction, Straight niteries like the Gopa- cabana, N. Y., the Chez Paree, Chi- cago, arid .the like, have done mightily ori the technique of $3, $3.50 and $4-,50 minimums, sans- convert, hut quite obviously more than making up for it by sundry hidden charges on bread and but- ter,: upped scales, on food and combo. As of May 9, Buddy Clarke ^ drinks, and the like: Sombhow the <bbws out of this, room after a five- no-cuV technique strikes a happier year stand, and Max Charriitov note with the customers, regard- takes over with an eight-piece unit, less of the fact that the average General entertainment policy .of cheeks are the same, room Will be changed in . On top of this, whichever the name acts will give way; to a femme technique, the hotel robms with line, comedian and specialty offer- eritertainment, like the independ- ent cafes, have hrid that 20% Fed- eral tax to contend with. In the heyhey war days, with many cus- tomers ‘^spending the Gpvern- merit’s money” (out of excess profits),; there was little mental Newt, Blue 11001114 Wasli. (SHpREHAM HOTEL) Neile FisHef Jerry Ross, with hurdle that the $40 average check Jack RusseTl,: Howard & Wanda for a party o four came to $50, Bell, Barhee-howe Orch (10); and bver, counting the loCal city cover 50c., $1. sales takes in most communities. Bilinore Bowl^ L. A. (BILTMpRE HOTELV Lbs Angeles, April 7. Nick Lucas, Cabot & Dresden, Gdli, Perry Franks & Janyce, Paul Neighbors Orch (13);. cover !:$1.50. Coeoaniit fvrove;, I..* A. (AMBASSADOR HOTEL) Los Angeles, April 4. Phil jSpitalny, with his **Hour Of Chdi^** AlhGirl Orchestra and Choir, featuring- Evelyn and Her Magic Violin;. minimuTtis, ^1.50, $2. 91 Phil Spitalny has a tonic that the bistro boxoffice rieeds, especially establishinerits with largev capaci-: ties. His aggregation of 27 soloists* and specialists is the class for alb around accord and approbation in a night spot ; Spitalny, Who has been doing , concert and riadio, tried the riight- club rbutirie, at the Last Frontier, Las Vegas, last December, and proved it to be the top attraction in its history, He has proved it par excellence for his Ibcal engage- ment,' which brbke iri at the. incep- tion of Holy Week. Although his opening was riot capacity, business started mounting froiri Wednesday on, with indications that his four- week stay here will be socko. Spitalny is in on a guarantee and all cover charges, and looks like a natural to put himself a chunk of coin for this engagement. The Grove’s podium was redeco- rated fbr the first time in more than 25 years, arid with the. gals in resplendent costumes it makes a beautiful picture of a singing*, play- Beguine” and “Through the. Years. Spitalny. will be lucky to hold on to Jeannie and Gloria, because the picture boys are liable to get a peek at these two gals and try to snare them into the studios. A swing production nrimber, hypoed by soaring flights of reeds and brass, brings: Louise back for another session of ivory swacklrig on“Bumble Boogie.” Of course, as the piece de re sistance of the groiipi iri the next- to-closing spot, comes Evelyn, an eyeful in a daringly low-cut cloth of gold gowri that rocks the femme ringsiders. In addition* she jolts them with her Intense* vlbrat ing rendition of “Gypsy Airs, “Some Enchanted Evening,’* “Fid die Faddle,” “Hot Canary” and “Hora Staccato” on her magic vio- lin. The choir sounds, off the finale I with the “National Anthem March. Breakdown of the Spitalny aggre gatioq finds five brass (three trum pet, two trombone), foUr reeds (three saxes arid brie flute), five strings, five rhythm instruments (iricluding harp and guitar); and five vacalists. This is a surefire night , club at traction that can’t miss in smart arid. large places. It is what the bistros need to keep the customers coming arid the sheriff far, far away. Ung, u 1 But those days are over.; It’s Maxim Lowe, who books this particularly true of the hotels. The popular robm> hecanm enampuredi:.pj^jlQgQpl^y qj public rooms with of the Fisher-RossHu^^^ bntertairiment. In former year.s, while watchmg H on yideQ^ anq they served as good ex- reaehed out to New YorkJ^o bring pipitation for the hostels’ funda- it here for a fortnight, itin. The nierital business ---* selling rooms, result appears to be successful for put in inverse ratio to. ciistoiriers ^^L^b^'^^rned. . . > being toughe; to get, likewise ho- The act has Neile. Fisher ana tel rooms are more readily obtaiii- Jerry Ross dancing priginal Amer- A icana to the baritone of Jack Rus- his' S'ttflS tof Evelyn Knight and^Beatrice and is Ifven finb hanm Kraft are two very nice flQorsho\y sterns^ from the^“(?Sahonfa»” School items, but a needless hurdle is cre- of entert^nment arid ■ th^^ ated for them by the Hilton Hotels are so^ewhS rieniSiIscent of that management continuing those $2 fine Se team $2.50 cover charges, latter on rhamninn ■ ® Vw Saturdays Only. But if you dine Opening number has them in fn cowboy costume, a graceful mPd- nShPa^^^eSra ern ballet effort with considerable tees off, the $2 per^^ class. This is followed up with a burlesque black bottom arid post-theatre inldnigbt show. Charleston of the flapper era, both It’s a tall order .npwadays for.a well handled. The costuming for polite little floorshow to. draw, in this riumber is a beautiful job' face of these economic standards, which has theHlue Room audience What’s worse, it strikes that the chuclding reminiscently. Windup hotels are self-iiriposlng^ some pret- selectiori is a medley of rustic ty severe barriers by these fancy dances. tolls, especially in this day and This is a young dance team with ag®* aria even .regardless of any plenty on the ball and obviously a IHlirig of the 20% tax., bright future. One of the things So far as the Misses Knight and it must learn, however, is to reach Kraft are concerned, they’re cer- out iriore to the live audience, ere- tainly aft •uesthetic and s.S. relief ating a feeling of greater intimacy' from some of the bearded folk and warinth. ( singers and dancers that the Per- Russell, who sings for Fisher and sian Room seemed partial to of Ross, is a standout baritone with recent months. Miss Knight Is the plenty of ooniph and sock in his same authoritative, willowy blonpe voice. who is both decorative and profes- Howard and Wanda Bell, acros sioriSl on ariy cafe floor. That some who coiriplete the bill, are a high of her routine might warrant r& level pair. What sets this act off editing is sotriething else again but, is the work done by the gal part- furidameritally, she’s a personable ner. Where most attractive and thrush with know-how. She misses curvaceous girls are ifterely stage with some of her straight mike dressing while their partners do all pops, somehow essaying a slow bal- the work, Miss Bell IS a first class lad in a wrong midriff spot; ap- aerpbat. She balances on her head parently spotted there, chiefly, to ^top her partner’s head while he plug her current Decca disk. In- rocks on a teeter board, somer- stead, she might have reprised a saults on his shoulders and other- medley of “Little Birds Told Me” |•wise proves her skill and adept- and those other bestsellers of an- riess. . other era, which would supply Show, as usual, is roUnded out proper zirig. Barilo f Hcr opeUers crr, too, iri that both iri the same: idiom— highly friendly fashion audience numbers, directed chiefly In the case of the Plaza’s new 99 Conscious of the diverrified pa- tronage he enjoys in this hotel spot, whilom entertainmerit refiige for tourists, natives, collegiates arid bc- caribnal diners-put, manager Joe Faber tries to spot a little of every- hing in each layout.: New one is no exception, and if the expected post-Lenten-business upsurge mate- rializes, the Biltmore Bowl should realize something from the book- irig-, Headlining is troubadour Nick Lucas, long-time favorite in these parts. His vocalizing stint, accom- panying himself bn an electric gui- tar, is glared to elicit greatest re- sporise from nostalgia and he makes it payoff nicely. Opening night audience included a sizable coterie of his fans who greeted with relish his reprise of some of his disclicks. Irii second spot is Gali Gall, Egyp- tian magician held over for a ninth week' at the BowL He’s a solid crbwd-pleaser with rapid-fire ma- nipulations arid works closely with his auditors, luring two customers up oil stage to serve as foils and draw added laughs. Magicker is a canny showman who has put a cou- ple of reverse twists on standard bits of magic business for height- ened interest. It’s a return date to the Bowl for dance team Cabot arid Dresden, just back from a year’s tour of Continental spots. Intricate rou- tining earns. plaudits, particularly their “perpetual motion” windup. Dancirig of the musicomedy type is offered by Perry Franks and Jan- yce, who provide an okay openirig for the bill. Paul Neighbors* musicrew does the showbacking and handles terp chores with maestro vocalizing oc- casionally, Dance beat is good, and Neighbors has a pleasant voice. • '• Kap. Laiin Oiiarti^r* N* V. (FQLLOWXJP) With Buddy Rogers the riew headlining act iri a mostly hold- over show, the Latiii Quarter is still giving the out-of-town visitors who. frequent, this spot as good a buy as there is on Broadway. With an hour and a half show, plus that $4-$5 food minimum, there is hard-* ly any question about it. Rogers, former film star-barid- leader, is still a self^effacirig per- sQriality kid who retairis the good looks and dash of a juvenile. And on this basis alone Rogers clicks with the Latin Quarter clientele/ ; To top it off he comes through with a pleasing performance on the talent end when he bounds all ovef the bandstand to play IVorinamllo Roof,, MohVl (MOUNT ROYAL HOTEL) Mbntreal, April 9. Carl Brisson,: Bud>dy Clarke and Max ' Chaiuitov Orchs; cover $1, $L50.’ ■:■/ ' • Openirig Saturday night (8) to a crowd just; released from the obli- gations of Lent arid Passover holi- days, Carl Brissbn scored the great- est personal triumph tb date in this lofty boite. The ropes went Up eariy and reception from the regu- lars and a curious, but fascinated, college crowd was terrific. Brisson whamiried over his faves : in usual socko fashion doing a hefty sesh of 45 riiinutes. Always a riatural in this particu- lar robm, much, of the Brissori suc- cess is due tb the pre-show selling of both the singer and his wife, a carefully rehearsed layout and an enthusiastic Danish following. The opening was attended by the local Danish consul and a coterie of fel- low countrymen who cued the palming and called for all the Bris- son staridards. Opening with'dn off-stage intlo with the dancing crowd and intro- duces celebrities to the audience. Lowe, Kiffy Bavis, Miaiii / Miami Beach, April 9. Eddie Qdrr, Los Barrdneos, Sally Sweet, Kenny Davis, Johnny Sib vers Orch; no piininium or cover. , Satisfactory show on tap herb, despite the lower talent budget, , Eddie Garr is standout in tbp- liner spot. Coriiic holds them all the way with his impreshes of Ed* Wynn: Durante, Richman and Ghe- VaUer, and maintains paCe with gags and standard drunk bit. En- cores with the refugee bit, a bit dated, but still a mitt getter. Had to beg off, ' Mistress of cereirionies is Sally Sweet, an irigratiating blonde, who in own spot socks over a calypso turie, then coaxes males up from and for a participation bit ln“She Opened Her Purse.” . Terping spot is capably held by Lbs Rarranebs. . The Latino pair have played this robm befbre arid again turn iri sat- isfactory carito of hip^swingirig and torso-twists. \ Keririy Davis, son of the owners, holds oyer here with a routine of pops and Yiddish songs.Johnny Silvers backs neatly. Lary, audience numbers, directed chiefly to ririgsiders. There is a question, too, whether the accent on ring: side occupants as “the” most de- sirable quota bf custoipers is good psychology, considering that the: backenders’ money is just as good, arid frequently more so for several intra-trade reasons that don’t have to be elaborated on here. Hov\> ever, in the main it’s chiefly a ques- tion of reshuffling, some of the rou-' tine. Ray Sinatra, at the iVorics, gives expert accomp assist. Beatrice Kraft, ex-Kraft Sisters and ex-Jack Cole, has two meh backing her in the -rhythinic East Indian terp routines of the Cpie and Ghandra-Kaly school. Miss Kraft tops these two exponents, if for no other reason*than that she ^ prettier. Always a pert looker, her neb-Oriental tempos, but of a 52d St. rhythm, iriake for a brisk 12 minutes on anybody's saloon flooiv class or mass. She appeals gen- erally; , Bob Grant and Mark Monte hold over with their suave dansapation, ideal fbr a class spot like the Per- sian Room, Iricidentaliy, the Plaza had a dual preem with Maximilian Bergere and Emery Deutsch’s or- chestras bowing, into the Rendez- vous (grill) room* succeeding son Re and Nicholas Matthey’s pf- chestlas after a long semester, i- ' Abel. I