Variety (December 1950)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

42 VAlTDlEVIMJI P^-RIETY Wedneaday^ December 20, 19«'>0 N^t Chib Reviews ^ Copacabana9 V. Henny Youngman, Luba Malina, The Skylarks (5), W.ynters & Angeline, Jecin Caples & Chuck Brunner, Betty Harris, Mickey De- vine; Copa Girls (8); Michael Dur- so and Fernando Alvares bands; $3.50 and $^,50 viininmm. Lacking namepower, the Copa inanagement makes up in. quantity and; by . fortunate happenstance/ also in Quality for the. absence of names such as Danny Thomas, Tony Martin, Frankie Laine, jimmy Durante and Martin & Lewis who are booked in p6st-N.ew Year's. The Copa made an abortive try with a new nitery face via Phil Silvers who, while proving his floorshow expertness, somehow found the pre- holiday shopping competition a little tod rugged. For a change of pace, what looks like a not costly lineup in the Luba Maliria-Henny Youngman parlay plays bigtime, as unfolded this w:eek. With the same surrounding show—in fact the gals' gloves and stockings show unseemly fraying for the stahidards usually main- tained by this class bistro ^ the four new components shape up in- to thoroughly satisfying fare. The other two are The Skylarks and Wynters & Angeline, both under New Acts, and both also okay. The costumes are as striking, as are the beauts and the Douglas Coudy standard of production, but it is the cavalcade of the new talents that grips the interest, holds it and pyramids to a socko payoiT. It errs only, perhaps, by generosity. After it is figured that Miss Malina might leave them surfeited, Youngman proves they are not, al- though he, perhaps, went a shade overboard. But his quips are ever surefire and his delivery certain. Some of his freshest material got a sort of TV preview on the CBS “This Is Show Business" show the preceding Sunday, a rather hazard- ous break-in, considering the hep Guest Appearances JOHN CONTES fV Show l^ead Vn •annie^get GUN pNt Stadium Jackie Hellers 1 BEVERLT H**-*-* OCTOBER \ Cncinnat.. Ohio ,, .r>ec. 5 . 19 ^®- Montreal Hera .•It ’3 a wonder to Normandie Deel currently at .1 ^ some en- toWwood talent snout terpnsing this town. Lure long she can rocking deUtni . , gj,. Kj,,gS!d?t- ddus vei-sat'n"- ' : . , •‘Sandra Dfiel took, storm this in “Annm.^et „ tion ot Annie OakW^ Ma«dlou..tr... . Your Gun. , Press. , . Heller some .o^gh ^‘Shrewd Jackie ^ sandra Heel weeks ago . signed^ that Tor his Carousel on ^ e,l,e*d be a tremendous Stadium^. Get Your .. betray .him and Jackie’s hunch j n- ^terday aj'-^ . was all smitcb .. gj^^dra a - reading the >^^%ViVll headline , th^ performance. _ v/cek slatti g T:arousel show Monahan. Monday." ■. pitlsburgh-Sun j &.^’50 • • ..A constant delig^o the ear. Miss Deel is wonde f noiembek SOMERSET HOTEL Boston Sandra Variety . Well-groomed b that freshness tnSnediate hit made , her .^j^t plus ® °nXerthat"arrledav«>ed . eong list .'^tth ?n®“®rieu)t. .. aitb of talent. As a ^ “A tetriac. as an singer. as actress, sh^ • j^g terrific. Ih comedienne she^ naatter fact she s. terrin j^gr^and how you look she’s certainly y/ard. at, too. The Cincinna«^n 9 ut 0 - •*A show -stopper.' Sunday ^-^®j^lTuolds large “The type that hoio theatre , Xian Fra;«cre . bound a • • ^ Exclusive Mgi.: BAUM-NEWBORN AGENCY II West 42n<l Street, New York - BR R.6377 Copa opening ftrstnighters, most of whom are video-minded and prob- ably saw his stint gratis, but the material paid oft buUishly. A good show biz’fillip was given by Milton Berle doing the offstage mike introductory for Youngman. There was some fly ad libbing about Berle as part of Youngmati’s monolog. Miss Malina unveiled a generous stint, all good, fortified by some excellent Eli Ba.sse material and parodie.s Such as "Schneider. In the Sky"; “Bake a Cake," a la Berlin, Rodgers & Harnmerstein; her “Show Business," cavalcade, built around “BubUchki" and another good parody on “Nothing Like A Dame." Poised and possessed, the personality comedienne punches over a strong single. Jean Caples & Chuck Brunner with their terp-vocai specialty, and Betty Harris and Mickey Ddvine for, the other nunlber-leading are holdovers; as are the Durso and Alvares bands. Abel. I Col I oil flub, Miami B^eh ! Miami Beach, Dec. 17; I Smart Affairs Of '51" with [Larry Steele, Marion ■■ Bruce, Butterbeans 8e Susie, Smilm' Sam Jacobs, Bob Parrish, Janet Sears, Jimmy Smith, Fontaine Bros., Four Congaroos, Jimmy. Tyler*s Orch, Beige Beauts (10). Produced by Steele. Minimum $3.00, First of the aU-colored shows to hit, this town should^ proye^ a definite pull with: the totrrisfand resident trade, based on reception it earned opening night. With spot renamed the Cotton Club (former- ly'"TCitty Davis’) to stamp it with a label associated with such pres- entations. Larry Steele, the pro- ducer. hasn’t .stinted in .setting up a full array of talent and group- ings, cast comprising some 40 people. Much of the material is original, and as u.sually obtains with this type of talent, accent is on the dance side. Steele himself tie.s the .show to- gether via emceeing, conducting the band, taking singing lead in the production numbers, keying a fast pace that makes the overlong revue hit with .steady impact to overcome the weakne.s.ses engen- dered by the overdoing of the terp sequences. Withal. It’s an ap- plause getter mo.st of the way. Though featuring no known names the talent adds up. Toppers with the aud were the Four Congaroos, whose Lindy Hop routines and screwy acroantic.s wrapped up. Jimmy Smith'.s tap delineations on the vibes was an- o^er standout, his interp of Claire de Lune" bringing sock re- action, Vet vauders Butterbean.s and Susie, with a .standard song and patter canto, garnered a healthy amount of yocks, with his eccentric outfits adding laugh potencJ^ Acro- twists and spiri.s of Janet Sears obtained steady palming, as did the Fontaine Bros, ballet type of taps. Again, in that overloaded heel and toe department. Smilin’ Sam Jacobs, another vet, was okay with his impreshes of Bill Robiri- son, Fred Astaire and Pat Rooney. And to top the load, the line worked in several group numbers blended in with offstage chorals by the company on Steele’.s original lyrics. -Standout in the vocalistic depart- ment was Bob Parrish, who got the way from opener Zing^^Went The Strings Of My Heart to a sock version of “Eifi Elh" for a begoff. Marion Bruce on the femme side, made for an un- sure songstress. Posses.sing a good pair of pipes, her versions of the pops, all of them on the slow side might have gone better had she delivered with assurance. As is, she shows potentialities. Jimmy Tyler’s band i.s one of the best, showise and for dancing to hit these parts in mahy a moon. Tyler himself takes over a spot early in the proceedings ■ with a .sax solo that had them pounding before he was through. .. Lary. _ Bilz Mdiitreal - • . Montreal. Dec[ 16. Martha Wright with Johnny Gal- lant at the piano,-. Joe Settano trio ^ cover $1-$1.50. j n/r^?u engagement of, Martha after, a two-year absence from the Montreal .scene shows a. vastly improved performer and a gal with a .sock catalog of songs plus the voice to carry the artist stylish .Teeing off with “Got My Eye on You, she sells a staunch 35-minute “diking the specials such ut^T Many Men'^ with a torchy Had to Be You" to a lilting ar- rangement of Debussy's “Beau boir that drew plaudits from the Gallic patrons on hand fpr her opening. A few rough moments with a French interp of “Dead Leaves" were bandied neatly. • Hewt, MArtinlquef N* Y» Mary Hatcher & Herkie Styles^ Johnny Conrad, Rosette. Shaw, Mar- tiniqtleens (6), Ralph Font Orch (li), Val Olnian Orch (8); $4.60 minimum* Martinique^s new lineup has a.s its chief bid for the holiday trade the marquee draw of Mary Hatcher, who was seen hereabouts last in the musicomedy, “Texas Li’l Dar- lin’i" She's teamed—after a fa.sh- ion — with her husband, Herkie Style.s, and backed by an okay lineup. Miss Hatcher and Styles do sep- arate stints and then team for a closer. They’re, reviewed under New Acts. Remainder of the bill feature.s dancer Johnny Conrad, singer Ro.sette Shaw and the six- gal line, with Conrad and Mi.s.a Shaw both working with the line in the production numbers. Conrad is an able and flashy dancer, iislng a combination of tap and ballet techniques. He shows inventiveness and intelligence in his routinings and expertness in hi.s execution. Scores most solidly with a softshoe number. Only fau It Is his seeming inability to smile once in a while. Miss Shaw has a lot of talent, but seems too eager to emulate the techniques of other singers. She does a .solid job on “Don’t Ever Leaye Me," but it sounds too similar to Toni Arden’s rendition. She does a nice job of imitating Billy Daniels with “That Old Black Magic." The only numbers on which she does .show individuality are her production bits and a fine ren- dition of “I’ve Got the'World on a String." If she did all her numbers in the fashion of the latter, she’d move a lot faster. Line Is good-looking and Well- costiimed. Gals move nicely and there has been an attempt to cho- reograph their turns, especially those With Conrad. Val Olman orCh backs the show well and supplies good foxtrot sets, Ralph Font orch handles the rhumbas, an important part of the Martinique’s setup,, competently. Chan. Lalln l^sBarlor, Bosiion Boston, Dec. 15, Frank Libuse, Margo Brander, Guy Marks, Winter Sisters (3), Arden-Fletcher Girls (Q), Jack Cas- sidy, Dave Lester Orch (8); $;j minimum. With the Latin Quarter getting a fairly good play of office and company Christmas parties thi.s stanza, current layout shapes as (Continued on page 44) and Yvette NOW PALACE, New York — o ■— • Jiist Concluded iOEW'S WASHINGTON, D. C. Thgnks ta SIDNEY PIERMONT DANNY FRIENDLY DAVE SOLTI HELD OVER I ! FOURTH WEEK OVAL ROOM COPLEY PLAZA HOTEL - 80 ST 0 /M Grant’s Riviera RESTAURANT AND BAR 158 W, 44 S»„ New York LU 2-448B WHERE SHOWBUSINESS MEETS * TALENT contest * IMONDAY NIGHTS Prize: ProfesBionol Engogemertr (OupllcitB Prizes Awardei le Hit Cbm Rl Tlt>