Variety (April 1957)

’Wednesday, April 17, 1957 l^siiEfr HOUSE REVIEWS s» Palace, N. Y, Duncan Sisters (2), Joan Weber, Lane Bros. (3), Mac & Lorraine, Jay Jayson, Jank Sieman & Archie, Myron Roman-House Orch; “River’s Edge” (20th), reviewed in Variety March 27, ’57. The Palate, in a temporary fi¬ nale to four-a-day with the Liber- ace engagement starting Saturday (20) has .come up with a bill which pairs the Duncan, Sisters, a hold¬ over front the halcyon days of ' vaudeville, and singer Joan Weber, a product of the electronic days who hit the bigtime suddenly with her Columbia waxing of “Let Me Go Lover” and hasn’t come up with an equally potent bit of wax since. In the case of the Duncan' Sis¬ ters, now of indefinite age, shoufc manly ability is, with- them even after many years on the boards. They’re the r ‘Topsy. .& Eva” twain, a delight of former generations of theatregoers, who' still punch out like they never heard of a calen¬ dar. Of course,' there are many oldfashioned passages to theiivl numbers. Their - recollections of 1 .Spain are a good example of old vaude routines/ They took on some bright numbers of former years, “Smiles/’ “Fm Following You” and a few others that had a lilt and lift. There was quite a. collection of oldsters in this audience that gave them-a resounding mitt.. Miss Web»er, who first came to attention ■ as a star with her big waxing, seems to be getting to be a performer. In the .case of the Duncan girls, it Was more logically a process of becoming performers before they became stars. The lat¬ ter way is much more difficult as far as the personal appearance technique is. concerned. A. singer gets to be a star before she can capitalize on nitery work, and un¬ less there’s an immediate followup of hit records, many' become lost. Miss Weber now handles herself well. She has voice arid movement and puts over a good effect. How¬ ever, it’s unfortunate that, aside from “Lover,” she doesn’t select numbers, representing her time and era. Each tune she does is a couple of decades old. It may have • been a concession to the oldsters congregating here, but it didn’t ex¬ press herself. Nonetheless, she ex¬ hibits the earmarks of a. strong singer capable of working a wide variety of situations. . Bill openers are Mac & Lorraine, a pleasant terp twain who bat out a personable set of tap routines. Youngsters have a pleasing style and a good quality that brings on good mitts. Ventriloquist Hank Sieman works with a pair of dum¬ mies and gets either musicians or audience volunteers to work with him in simultaneous conversations. It’s a fairly good trick, although difficult to follow. The writing that precedes this bit has a small- timey flavor and can stand a ma¬ jor overhaul. Comedian Jay Jason has some good material, but at air¬ ing Caught couldn’t get started. The New Act on this bill is the Lane ‘Bros. (3), ^tyron Roman showhacks' capably. Jose. Boliino, Paris Paris, April 9. Mar jane, Gar cons De La Rue (4), Ballets> 631. Mary Jo Weldon (8), Eddie Vitch (3), Silvan, Robert Ripa, Earls (2), Helmut Gunther, Maurice Horgues; $1.75 top. Mar jane brings her big, belting voice back to the Parisian house boards for the first time in six years. Her U.S. sojourn shows up in her mdre measured piping of her torchy songs, Neatly gowned In red, and smartly groomed, she gives the lament proceedings a big boost with her large, larynxing, but’ relies too much at times on man¬ nered glissandos to exploit .rather than enhance the song content with her interpretations. However, the voice, poise and professional assur¬ ance are there and it will be a niatter of finding the, medium be¬ tween the more, straightforward Lallic song slamming and the U.S. punch & moan aspects. She scores well and looks to slip back into the French groove as one of the more showmanly large-voiced staples here. . Garcons De La Rue (4), dressed m black striped turtleneck jerseys and bowler hats* bowl over the audience witlr their - well mounted numbers dealing with lowlife street scenes. Wellfused quartet benefit irom excellent firings arid fine pro- duction work, .blending this into s nifty, offbeat choral group that me now definitely worth U.S. in¬ terest for special bpite and video Usage. , » kaHets 631 Mary Jo Weldon are , « mixed octet In a series of well- a good house entry. Modernistic, acrobatic and easy on the eyes, they are a good addition to the usaully puerile pop dance groups here, and should find a place the boite picture here. A U.S. choreo¬ grapher, Miss Weldon has done a good job in easing these French dancers into .more’dynamic activity than is usual here. Eddie Vitch (3) does a panto bit of a maladroit character eating his first meal in a posh restaurant. Aided by a snobbish waiter and a looker hatcheck girl, he makes a yockful stint out of this. Silvan is a slick magico who does a series of familiar material bits with style and showmanship to make this a fine filler. Earls (2)’ do their per¬ fect and agile- hand-rto-handing and then segue into a fiercely stylized fight segment to m^ke this in for mighty mitts and peg them one of the most graceful and forceful hand-to-hand aero duos extant. Helmutr Gunther is a fast and nimble juggler who winds with upping seven bowls atop his head with each joined by sausage-like holders between them. It is a good filler. Maurice Horgues gives out with some funny patter and Robert Ripa is a welcome troubador who backs himself with a guitar to some well-selected songs. Dynamic and sincere, he m.akes an impression, though voice’ is standard. He looks to emerge a regular in the support¬ ing singer corps here. Show is a well-planned affair and should have a good run through late April. M-osk. Opera Theatre, B. A. Buenos ^ires, April 8. Edith Piaf, directed by Robert Chauvigny; with Jacques Leibrard, Marc Bonel, Chorus (5) $1.20 (54.44 pesos plus 5.45 peso tax). Preceded by the French “Folies Bergere” (Orbe Films) in spectacu¬ lar color, this is a fine start to the series of attractions which" the Lococo circuit plans presentirfg this year in its major Opera Thea¬ tre showcase. Customers give a startled gasp of disappointment when, following the film, a spot picks out the tiny figure of Edith Piaf on the huge stage, wearing a rusty little black dress and sandals. The big voice they are familiar with from disks had given them an impression of a big, slinky-type vamp. Seconds later, disappointment vanishes un¬ der a spell cast by this actress in song who holds them for an hour or more, without any props, backed only by the swaying curtain. She creates a whole atmosphere around each song, from that of Paris in “C’est pour ca,” or the Hamburg dockside and a departing ship in “C’est a Hambourg,” and the dusty roads and an obsessed motorcyclist in “L’Homme a la Moto.” She sings as one possessed by the content of the song, which she projects to her audience, whether or not it understands the French words. S.ome songs’ she sings in Spanish and announces the explanation of what they are' about in painstakingly learned Spanish which proves her to have a fine memory. In each song or role she goes through a sort of transfiguration. She did eight numbers opening night, plus encores. There was some initial microphone trouble, but these are contretemps accept¬ ed and usual in this not very' tech¬ nical country. “C’est pour ca” and “Je t’ai. dans la peau” are well- knoAyn here, but “Padam,” the typ¬ ical Parisian Waltz carried to ex» cess and reverberating with dra¬ matic effect, is a novelty. Then “C’est a Hamibourg” and “I*’Hom- me a la Moto.” Thereafter ‘ the program develops dramatic inten- . sity. with “Hyipne a l’Amour” and r 4~ ii Bravo pour les clowns,” and as encores, “La Goulante' du Pauvre Jean” (known here as. “La Cancion del Pobre Juan”) every newsbpy’s whistling song.* She winds up with “La Vie en Rose”, to a deafening wall of applause and innumerable curtain calls. (In addition to trie Opera per¬ formances, Miss Piaf is booked for six Mundo web broadcasts, spon¬ sored by Grimoldi footwear, but though Paul Kutscher of the Em¬ bassy nitery signed her for the Lococo circuit, she is not here for any nitery work; Kutscher’s big new club on Calle Suipacha not being ready yet for opening). The 60-peso admission scale is high for B.Aires at this time of crumbling economy. Advance sales were on the slow side and have not continued too brisk. The marquee trade. which can shrug its shoul¬ ders at this price has already heard Miss Piaf often abroad; the lavish- spending labor classes don’t go for Gallic chansons, and the middle classes who would flock in at a cheaper scale simply rian’t '’afford this price. * ’ Nidi / Palace, London London, April 10. Victor Borge's “Comedy in Music”; $2.80 top. Victor Borge, an unknown quan¬ tity to British .audiences until he did his one-man show on BBC-TV last summer to unanimous acclaim, has now brought his “Comedy in Music” to the West End. And there can be no doubt as to- dhe financial outcome. This can safely be predicted as a b.o. smash. There had been a substantial advance in the kitty before opening night and word of mouth will more than take care of any available seats. The star introduced the show as the 1,348th performance—a strik¬ ing comment on the success he had previously achieved in New York. And from then bn, apart from a few serious interludes on the pi¬ ano, he has his audience convulsed with his non-stop flow of dry hu¬ mor. He’s a master at stating the obvious in *simplified terms and making it sound ridiculously fun¬ ny; much- of his humor derives from the adroit use of that tech¬ nique. Borge makes several thrusts at the expense of another pianist-en¬ tertainer who had recently played in London. He scores his first jibe by announcing that his Steinway- was modelled on a certain well- known swimming pool and, later in the program, does a cruel, but hi¬ lariously amusing takeoff. “I want you to know that I wrote and asked Liberace for his permission before I did this. Unfortunately, I have not had a reply.” Among the highlights of a pro¬ gram of exceptional quality are the integration of a number of “re¬ quests” into a medley, and a de¬ monstration of his phonetic punc¬ tuation trademark. As a comedian, he’s quite unique. But he’s also an accomplished musician and, in the rare moments when he does play it straight, he reveals a flair and feeling for good music. The com¬ bination of these two talents adds up to a boff'entertainment. The program is in for a limited season only of seven weeks, but could easily hold up for a much longer span. Myro. Empire, Glasgow Glasgow, April 9. Bernard Delfont presents Frankie Vaughan (with ■ Raymond Long, Murray Campbell), Harry Worth, King Bros. (3), Skylons (2), Joe Church, Billy Dainty, Keefe Bros. (2) •& Annette, Dancing McKennas (3) , Billy Dowds orch. Frankie Vaughan is nearest Brit¬ ish reply to American singers who have the teenage girls a-sighing. With black shock of hair, good- looks, a showmanship style and lotsa attack, singer (looking like a younger and*more handsome Vic¬ tor Mature) ranges through current pops and introduces such of his latest disclicks as “Garden of Eden” and “Green Door.” Singer has catchy and infectious chuckle in> his delivery of tunes like “Give Me the Moonlight” and “You Left Me Lonely.” Also gabs re his new pic “Dangerous Years,” singing “Cold Cold Shower” from same. Switches to his earlier tunes with a medley that includes '“Hey Jo,” “Look at that Girl” and.“Sev¬ enteen.” At one point in act he descends into front of auditorium and serenades femme customers to good results. Vaughan has a new pianist in Raymond Long, who handles the ivories capably, and also his own. trumpet man in Murray CampbelL On this showing he’s a surefire kave with the younger set, and has potential to attract U.S. interest, being less reserved in style than normal run of quieter English warbler^. Rest of layout is solid, acts all being strong in entertainment val¬ ue. The Skylons, two males, offer aerial thrills with dental spins and trapeze work. One members sings as he swings aloft, spicing audi¬ ence gasps with yocks for this. The other, Charles Skylon, gets a 'burst of applause for his 30 one-arm planges, an aero chore demanding skill and strength. The three King Bros., teenage rhythm group, score in “Honey Hair,” “Oh Priscilla” and calypso “Marianne.” Keefe Bros. (2) & Annette segue standard balancing with some neat comedy by their own brown poodle pooch, which joins in acro-balanc- ing and garners heavy iriitting for cuteness. Harry Worth adopts a forced timidity via nervous laugh and half-frightened style of deliv¬ ery to win palming before winding with' his ventriloquial bit and a song. Joe Church, a happy-looking co¬ median, Billy Dainty; talented mim¬ ing comedian, and the trio of the Dancing .McKennas are all under Acts.' Bobby P<?wds\ resident, orch showbacks capably. Gord. I Palisades Park, N. J„ Springs 17-Day Pop-Price Tenter Vs, RineKng’s $6,50 By LEONARD TRAUBE George A. Hamid, the-’outdoor impresario, and his cohorts have been heckling -the Ringling circus as to the latter’s jettisoning of its historic tented setup. Although New Yorkers are accustomed to getting the Big Show under a roof at . Madison Square Garden, it’s been Hamid & Co.’s contention that Gothamites want the canvas style. The newspapers have gone hook, line and adjective for a mess of al¬ legations, all calculated to shower attention upon the Hamid-Morton Cir.cus combined with that of Hunt Bros, to make up a three-ringer for a 17-day run in the opening stretches of Palisades Park across the Hudson in New Jersey. Hunt Bros, is an authentic name in the world of sawdust & spangles; the octogenarian Charlie Hunt is the doyen of circusers, with some 60 years on the road. Hamid-Mor¬ ton (the late Bob Morton) is basi¬ cally an indoor enterprise, nearly a quarter-century old and the very kind that RBB&B boss John Ring- ling North will be challenging 09 his tour of arenas. The ballyhoo aspect is arresting. The garguantuan Ringling show settles for three pressagents, the master veteran Frank Braden paired with “newcomers” A. J. Clarke and Howard Y. Bary. Ha¬ mid-Morton & Hunt are, strangely, better fortified as to numbers, with Richmond Cox working directly for the show and the park enlist¬ ing its longtime ballyman, Bert Nevins (22d season), and with Sol Abrams and Max Rosey as his corps. In'addition, Hamid has his own pressagent on tap. Ringling, of course, bedecks the- metropolis with posters; but Palisades was never one to stint on such 24-sheet¬ ing, either: A highpoint in the name-calling was reached last week, a couple of days before the Friday (12) Pali¬ sades fandango, when Hamid sub¬ mitted to “.tough” Mike Wallace, the “Night Beater” of tv station WABD. Hamid stood his ground much of the way, meanwhile get¬ ting over half a dozen,plugs for his show (with Wallace eluding him- on that). Wallace, quoting Ringling- Barnum’s Harry Dube, asked Ha¬ mid for his reaction on Dube’s statemenMhat the park circus was “second-rate.” Hamid seemed to bristle, said that, after all, Dube wasn’t a showman but a program man—meaning publisher of the printed program. But as .to qual¬ ity, he offered to have 10 of.his acts pitted against a like number of RBB&B turns for a charity jack¬ pot with the public as the judge. Such comparisons are odious. The Palisades spread has half a dozen very good acts, comparing favorably with some of the best of The Greatest Show on Earth. The latter could remove 10 aefs and not feel it; Hairiid-Morton & Hunt would be left with a honky- tonk if 10 turns were drafted for such a mythical challenge match. . Wallace also asked the 64G ques¬ tion; Are you going; .to tour the combined- circus; after the Palisades gun? Hamid had,- to-confess that po such plan was in the works. Dube, who some time ;ago appeared on Wallace’s program'arid'’down¬ graded the importance of Emmett Kelly, the tramp clown, was also quoted as characterizing the Zac- chini cannon projectile,act at the park as a “cliche” attraction. There was opportunity here to say that the Zacchini catapult headlined the Ringling show for several years over a generation ago, but Hamid ignored this phase of Dube’s at¬ tack, (Hamid’s office booked acts with Ringling during the Sam Gumpert regime ending season of 1937; North did not continue this.) The .boxoffice competition be¬ tween the two circuses is consid¬ ered to be negligible; RBB&B is in town and a traditional lure while the park tenter is in the suburban country beyond river and tunnel; Big Bertha has a $6.50 top against Palisades’ “movie”'prices, with a 75c general admission for children and $1.50 for adults, inclusive of park admission and parking: By a technique of solo acts also familiar to the Ringling show, the park’s three-ringer is able to 4jount 22 displays, including concert over- I tpre, grafld, entry, and ,e?qt march. I ’plus a few clown walkarounds’and I Hamid-Morton & Hunt *^rns. COMBINED CIRCUS Bob Atterbury & Co., Great Monoz, Pat Anthony’s Beasts. Slim Collins, Ferroni Duo, Penny & Trudy, Costine’s Chimps. Aerial Ballet, Mile. Delilah. Hunt’s Ele¬ phants & Liberty Horses,. ViclbeUs Ponies & Elephant, Hunt's Hiah School Horses, Jack Joyce's Camels, Trudy Wilson, Silt vana Trio, Svmnhonettes (6), Flying Mal- . kos (4). Zacchini, Dime Wilson, WisweU’s \Funny Ford, Rudy Dockey, Micky Sullivan «and (Joe Basfle, director); George A. Hamid Sr., general director; Charles Basile, equestrian director-personnel mgr.; at Palisades (N.J.) Amusement Park, April 12-28, '57. stops. Nevertheless, there are sev¬ eral highpoints. Where RBB&B trumnets a novel combination of camel, zebra and llama, Hamid- Morton & Hunt goes" a couple bet¬ ter via Jack Joyce’s merger of camels (3). Hamas (2), a zebra and a pony. There’s a first-rate flying- return act in the Malkos, and ditto an eleDhant distils with a dozed pachyderms capering. More spectacular than Ringlirig's is the Jersey spot’s wild animal ag¬ gregation Wonting Pat Anthony in a joust with a dozen lions. Anthony is touted as the GI trainer, having been t'ffotpd *n the craft under the GI Bill of Rights. Other prime acts are those of Bob Atterbury’s wire, the Fennis Ferroni twosome’s roly-Doly aloft, MRe. Delilah (of the Zacchini family) on single tra¬ peze, more Liberty horses than Ringling boasts, and, of course, the thunderous Zacchini ender-upper, > still a '"'"k rot after all these years. There is also an aerial bal¬ let wtih the girls posturing above the narrow track and billed as Hawaiians, which they’re not. The clown numbers are routine with the possible exception of Wiswell’s ancient trick Ford. Capacity of the tent is near 3.000. The park itself, which also was opened Friday under the banner of Jack & Irving Rosenthal, is a tip¬ top amusement expanse. There was a bit of surprise when it was discovered that the circus egress led to the sideshow and -parking lots, instead of allowing the tan- bark customers to exit into the park at the other end. Rosenthal said he would reverse the proce¬ dure at the risk of leading the crowd through a network of stakes and ropes that secure the canvas. Among the new attractions are Wild Mouse, a kind of Virginia Reel device, and Earth Satellite. Latter is pegged on the scenic design of Howard Bay’s for “Night of the Auk,” Arch Oboler’s Broad¬ way turkey of a few months ago. ^The parkljought the set for maybe $15,000, although it’s ballyhooed as a $250,000 design and setting. The miniature golf course, longtime at¬ traction, has been expanded. Vet¬ eran showman Lou Dufour is pre¬ senting hi^ age-old “Life” show. Executives back at. their posts are Joe McKee, the superintendent, and Anna Halpin, the manager—fix¬ tures, like the Palisades cliffs. Lotsa television tieups opening week and later, including “Let’s Take a Trip,” “Tonight,” “Home” and “What’s My Line.” New Frontier Suit Continued from page 51 monthly rental of $87,500 which later was raised to $100,000. New, Frontier had a deficit ‘ of. $660,000 at end of the first year despite loans from stockholders totaling $1,139,681. In November* 1955, the board decided to sell more stock, issued a financial state¬ ment which overvalued assets and underestimated liabilities. Mrs. Krupp said she was drawn into, the corporation through her trusted advised Louis Manchon, whom board gave the title of acting president and a substantial salary ■ to “flatter” him to induce her to invest. She claims she was prom¬ ised an annual profit of $17,500 per share. Also charges she advanced $185,000 and was preparing to ad¬ vance more when she found her¬ self a target for 33 lawsuits from creditors. It is alleged there was. a plan to have her advance $250,000, then another $250,000, with stock¬ holders eventually turning in their shares so she would be running the company. She asks $375,000 exem¬ plary damages, return of her in¬ vestment and costs of defending" creditors* iawsuits.