Variety (March 1959)

REVIEWS Pfi&lETY Wednesday, March 25, 1959 68 VARIETY BILLS WEEK OF MARCH 25 NEW YORK CITY MUSIC HALL 2* .R, Paige Ore. Schola Cantorum BOXY Kovach A Rabovsky ; ^ ZV' TSchreiber’s Chimp ; Dorothy KeRer Mary Tremain | Troopers Corps de Ballet j Balladeers Hockeltes i Robt. Boucher Ore AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE Tivoli Brazillana Dancers Johnny Lockwood Martha & Adolfo E A B Carley Leu Lowe . Sue Peters _ Barton A Stuchb’r’y \ Nicoli Bros. Lloyd .Nairn ! .Tack Monnier Frank Ward j Edit Juhasz Deidre Green I Jeff Parker SYDNEY Tivoli Sabrina Andrea Dancers Horrie Dargie 3 S A M Harrison Billy Baxter Mistin Juniors BRITAIN BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome Earl A Vaughan De Vere 3 Margo Henderson Warren & Jean George Meaton Gaby Grossetto Ray Alan Murray Camobell BRADFORD Alhambra Dave Morris Lindy Sis Canine Rev Walker’s ■ Keith Derek Blue Harmony 3 Rogers A Coward BRIGHTON Hippodrome Dickie Henderson Freddie Mills Anthea Askey Suzi Miller Skylons 5 Robertis J & S Lamonte Betty Fox EDINBURGH Empire Jack Milroy Robert Wilson Grace O’Connor Cornkisters Sydney Devine Crotchet A Jeannie Will Starr GLASGOW i Empire Ruby Murray Francois A Zandra Stan Stennett Monograms Audrey Jeans Wilson. Keppel A B Saveen Rexanos 1 HANLEY • Royal i Jackie Dennis !Kay A Kimberley I Sharpe A Iris • Desmond Lane i King A Jo Day Liddell Triplets ! Larry Grayson ■ Eve' Valere LEEDS Empire Cecil Sheridan i Helen Turner i Nico Ferry 3 ;Joy Brennan | Tom O’Neal Cecil Nash LIVERPOOL Empire , Billy Daniels JBenny Payne ! Ballet Montparnasse ;S & P Kaye l T A P Derrick 1 Peter Quinton .Richards A Yolanda iMone-’doTs A Aim NEWCASTLE Empire David Whitfield Clarkson A Leslie [Tanner Sis ■ Rene Strange ; Alan Randall 3 iTris Sadler f Billy Burden ■ Jack Beckitt SUNDERLAND Empire i Bridie Gallagher | ^ank Carson I Billy Livingstone j Alexis Tr icertie Wine : De:rdre O'Callaghan J Pat York Frank Mcllroy Tommy Moran I Harvey Sis Gate of Horn Ban A Nama Josh White London- House Carmen Cavallaro Mister Kelly'e Sarah Vaughan Marty Rubinstein 3 Marx St Frigo Palmer House Dorothy Shay Ben Arden Ore HAVANA Hotel Capri Lucy Fabery Ri vieras Raquel Bardisa Hotel National A M Martinez Casado Gina Romand . Manolo Torrente Ana A Julio Manteca Godino Singers “Dancing Waters** Hotel Riviere Ramon Veto* Rene Cabel D’Aida Q Gina Martin Raul de Mesa F. Guerrero Ore Liduvino Ore LOS ANGELES Ben Biue's Ben Blue Helen Boice Roberta Lee Sally Blythe Charles Vespla Sammy Wolf Dick Bernie Richard Cannon Ivan Lane Ore Cocoanut GreVe Tony Martin Freddy Martin Ore Crescendo • Anita O’Day Geo. Shearing £ interlude Jimmie KomacS Earl Grant Gateway Singers Matt Dennis Moulin Rouge Andrews Sisters “Wonderful World" Slate Bros. Don Rickies Ann Hathaway he Players Statler Hotel Dave Barry Paris Sisters Ed Bergman Ore Ye Little Club Ann Weldon Joe Felix Roger Nichols LAS VEGAS NEW YORK CITY Blue Angel Shelley Berman Fav De Witt Ruth Olay Jimmy JLyon 3 Bart Howard Bon Stir Phyllis Diller Mae Barnes Tony A Eddie Jimmie Daniels Three Flames Murray Grand Casanova Jo6e Duval Alex Rosati Chateau Madrid Los Chavales de Espana Ralph Font Ore Panchito Ore Candi Cortez Copacabana Frankie Laine Henny Youngmnn. Zeme North Ron Stewart Lou Donn Ore Pagan Ore Downstairs Room Demi Dozen Sylvia Shay Jane Connell Ceil Cabot Jack Fletcher George Hall Gerry. Mathews Stan Keen No. 1 Fifth Ave Bobo Lewis Joe Layton Robert Downey Harold Fonvilie Joan Bishop Hotel Astor Irving Fields Hotel Roosevelt Guy Lombardo Ore Hotel Plaza Marie McDonald Ted Straeter Ore Mark Monte Ore Hotel Pierre Earl Wrightson Bill Tabbert Dolores Perry Joseph Eicz;rdel Ore Alan Lo'ian Ore Hotel Taft Vinceo. npp> Ore Hotel Sf. Regis Bill Hayes Florence Henderson Ray Bari Ore. Milt Shaw Ore In Boboll Herman Chittison Bob English Latin Quarter Keefe Brasselle Karmen Dancers Happy Jesters Romano Bros. Dick Curry Pony Sherrell Jo Lombz-rdi Ore B K-ir’.ci'Ve Ore Le Cupidon T. C. Jones Jean Gibbons Living Room Eddie Heywood Jack Kelly International : Joey Adams A1 Keliy Lou Wills Jr. Jacqueline Fontaine Lane Bros. .McKenna Line Mike Durso Ore Palmieri Ore New Romanian Sadie B-nks Vivian Cook Savoy Hilton Tommy Purcell Ore Town & Country Jewel Box Revue Ned Harvey Ore Sicari Ore Two Guitars Olga Valdi Ivan Nepa Xenia Brante K. Poliansky Ore Misha Usdanoff Vienrere Lantern Vicky Autier Jeanne Michelle Ernest Schoen Ore village Barn Larry McMahan Joni Roth Lou Mosconl Belle Carroll Jim Lewis Lou Harold Ore Village Vanguard Irwin Corey Ernestine Anderson Jim Lazarus 5 Wcldorf-Astoria Vivienne Della Chiesa Emil Coleman Ore Bela Babai Ore Desert inn Gordon A Sheila MacRae Jackie Miles Art Johnson Donn Arden Dncrs Carlton Haye$ Ore Dunes “Nutt De Paris’* _ Frank E. Marlowe Latona, Gr aham & Chadele Dolinoff A Rayh Sis Carrie Finnell Naja Karamura Gwen Hannon Bob Kennedy Allen Conroy Jimmy Cavanaugh Cee Davidson Ore El Cortez Champ Butler Dubonnet Trio Eddie Bush Versatiles El Rancho Vegas "La Nouvelle Eve" Dick Rice Ore. * Flamingo Gisele MacKenzie Goofers Mort Sahl Don Kirk Flamingoettes Jack Cathcart Ore Fremont Hotel | Honeycones rDeedy A Bill j Gayle Walton j Make Believes Golden Nugget Harry Ranch Lee A Faye May¬ nard Sons of Gold’n Wst Riviera George Gobel Georgia Gibbs Treniers 1 CHICAGO Black Orchid Shecky Greene Ford A Hines Joe Parnello (3) - «ue Angei Phyllis Branch Osborne Smith Calypsonians Sena Espart A Camille Lord Christo Blue Note Stan ’-lenton t: ez Paree Mickey Rooney Joey Forman Pat Morrissey Geo. Cook ore. Che* Adorables iSi , Cloister Inn ; Corbett Monica ! Lurlecn Hunter Rziir—v Lewis Trio Ccnrcd Hilton • Hei a Neff "Frosty Frills" Farra A Carter Ben Gee A Bernie Harris Jack Kodell Eddie Ash Manuel Del Toro Inez A Gordon Ken Harris Ore Drake Roberta McDonald Jimmy Blade Ore Ray Sinatra Ore Dorothy Dorben Dcs Sahara Mae West Harvey Stone Louise Beavers The Musclemen Saharem Dancers Louis Basil Ore Sands Johnny Mathis Sue Carson Steve Rossi Texas Copa Girls Antonio Morelli Ore Shown oaf Sons of Pioneers Hank Morton Johnny Cash Merle Travis Silver Slipper Hank Henry Miss Yum Yum Dick Weston Peggy Dietrick Toni A Harry Wham Mark Hall Sparky Kaye Red Marshall Danny Jacobs Geo. Redman Ore Stardust Lido De Paris “Ces’t Magnifique" Vagabonds Wingy Manone Thunderblrd China Doll Revue of ’59 A1 Jahns Ore Tropicana Spike Jones Helen Grayco Johnny Puleo Dior Dancers Nat Brandwy’ne Ore Gene Austin Lucille A Eddie Roberts Miami - Miami beach Americana Marlowe-Kuller Rev Barbara Heller Blackburn Twins Jerry Collins Jack DeLeon Kaycee Jones Mara Lynn Mark Reddy Tyler Ore Nina Ramon Balmoral Dick Sterling Marta A Tobey Rodriguez Revud Bar of Music Arthur Blake Guy Rennie Harvey Bell Jordan A Coby Carillon Lou Walters Revue Ron Eastman Arthur L. Simpkins Tun Tim Daryll Stewart Piroshka A Niky Dominique Judy Reece Jacques Donnet Ore Deauville Jerry Lewis Bobby Van Lou Brown Lee Martin Ore Freddy Bell BTboys Dream Lounge Baddy Rich Ore Rosette Shaw Willie Restum Marty Harris 3 Diplomat Toni A Jan Arden Mai Malkin Ore Eden Roc Maurice Chevalier Brascia A Tybee Walter Nye Ore Jackie Heller Giovannis Buffy Dee 3 Luis Varona Ore Sonny Kendis Ore Fontainebleau Donald O'Connor Sidney Miller Olive Los Gatos Sacasas Ore - Campo Ore Harbour Lounge Sammy Walsh Gilbert A Tracy Tony Matas Lucerne Havana Mardi Gras Diosa Costello Milos Velarde Don Casino Pepe Blanco Fausto Curbelo Ore Montmartre Eddie Schaffer Jimmy Randolph Avril Amec Freddie Calo Ore Murray Franklin’s Paul Gray Murray Franklin Dick Havilland Kay Carroll Sue Lawton The Cooks Eddie Bernard Singapore Lillian Carmen Freddy Stewart Sin Ling Snuffy Miller Dansations Mickey Gentile Ore Harold's Club Buddy Mars . Frank Moore Holiday Harry Ranch Allegro Maakuanua’s Hawaiian^ Mapes Abbe Neal Merl Ellen Glen Rolfson Riverside DeCastro Sis Noonan A Marshall Jo Ann Jordan Chico Vasquez Riverside Starlets Ed Fitzpatrick. Ore JACK ROSS & DICK LANE QUARTET Music. Comedy 45 Mins. Karrah’s Club, Reno Four trumpets in a positive ren¬ dition of “Old Rockin' Chair” intros this sextet of talented musicians in a new act designed to prove versa¬ tility—and a melange of titles and contrived comedy to meet any and all tastes. Up-fronting Jack Ross—polished with the fun bits, and always m full command of the between-title ad libs and patter— emcees a fast 45 minutes giving each of the six a turn to establish solo abilities. The five guys and a gal seldom stray from the beltier stuff, what with auditors in this room showing a marked preference for the Ross- Lane style of fast movement. The act is geared to the slower speeds only on occasion to showcase Patti Richards, a blonde thrush with good control of the chords, to vocal such titles as “Granada” and some of the more serious stuff. Each of the boys doubles on in¬ struments—and all capably—for a variety of sounds that at times suggests full orchestrations. Making for the most combined ability on any one Reno stage of recent date are: Ross on trumpet, cornet, vocals; Dick Lane on clari¬ net, sax, drums, vocals; Don Lusi- ani on accordion and trumpet; Jimmy West on string bass and vocals; Patti Richards on vocals and drums; and D. J. Johnson, a musician with talent-plus, on trombone, sax, clarinet, piano, bari¬ tone, vocals. Lane wins heavy endorsement with leads on clary, Ross on trum¬ pet, and Lusiani on accordion. Miss Richards displays range on the more intricate offerings, and proves her way .around on the beltier and pop stuff. The six make for a.45 minutes filled, with new stuff from the last time around, and a new act that’s well-staged and rehearsed. And from auditor reaction. Jack Ross and the Dick Lane Quartet are well on the way toward hecoming a Harrah’s Club habit. Long. SAN FRANCISCO Backstage Stan Arnold ReneJoubert Blackhawk Cal Tjader 4 • Canterbury Geo. Alexander Benny Strong Ore Easy Street Marty Marsala Wally Rose Ore Fack's. Mary Kaye Trio Fairmont Hotel Eydie Gorme E. Heokscber Ore Gay SO's Diamond Lil Joy Healy Dncrs, Bee A Ray Gorman Dick Keegan Ore Hangover Earl Hines Joe Sullivan Muggsy Spanier Hungry l Cain A Krai Frank D'Rone Frank Buxton Jazz Workshop Uastersounds On the Levee Kid Ory Ore Purple Onion Coachmen 3 Dick A Betsy Bailey Cdthi Hayes Ronnie Schell 365 Club Landers Moro Landis Ore Bill Clifford Ore. RENO Harrah's Club iNoel Boggs Lancers [Frontier Girls Johnny Ukulele 'Lisa Alonso Ross A Lane Kings WB: Happy Outlook - Continued from page 5 —^ spread around Wall Street to the extent that the company’s common stock on the New York Stock Ex¬ change has more than doubled to a trading price of around $36 per share. As fiscal matters now stand, “Auntie Marne” ought to earn in the area of $3 to $4 per share for WB. In other words the company will be this much ahead if all other enterprises just break eveh. How¬ ever, in addition, the outfit has an apparent winner in the just- released “Rio Bravo”; television production is paying off handsome¬ ly; and early distribution of Joseph Levine’s “Hercules” plus “Nun’s Story” are promisingly on the up¬ beat. On the downbeat side is “Old Man and the Sea” but costs of this for the most part were written off in the 1958 fiscal year, meaning no burden for the new semester. Also impressive,, so far as the investors are concerned, is the fact that WB has succeeded in cutting down on negative posts of produc¬ tions as v/ell as operating expenses. There’s no doubt that the invest¬ ment in “Old Man” went too high and WB is now taking steps to safeguard against a repetition of this in the future. Chayefsky = Continued -from page 2 It’s severely doubted that 20th will make “Diary” available other than for an out-of-competition screen¬ ing. “Compulsion has been sub¬ mitted to Cannes. It’s generally assumed that Le- Bret will invite one or both of the MPAA runner-up choices to be shown at Cannes. . 1 ] “Middle of the Night,i which just recently finished shooting in N. Y. f has a certain precedent at Cannes where Chayefsky made a big hit with his “Marty” some years back. House Reviews Music Hall, N. Y. Glory of Easterproduced by Leon Leonidoff, and “Spring Pa¬ radeproduced by Russell Mark- ert, with Mary Tremain, Fred Pat¬ rick, Baptiste Schreiber T s Chim¬ panzees, Schola Cantorum, directed by Hugh Ross; Corps de Ballet, directed by Margaret Sande, fea¬ turing Kovach & Rabovsky; Rock- ettes, routined by Markert; cos¬ tumes, Frank Spencer; sets, James Stewart Morcom; special lyrics, Al¬ bert Stillman, Raymond Paige Orch; “Green Mansions'’ (M-G), reviewed in current ispue of Variety. •The annual Music Hall Tribute to the Easter season plus the springtime display come off as an okay doubleheader at this house. It’s a layout in which the religioso feeling is coupled with the vernal levity. The Easter pageant remains one of the more spiritual expressions in the variety field. After all the years of being presented in virtu¬ ally the same way, the spectacle is still regarded as a drawing card for the reverent and a magnificent tribute to the season. The excellent voices of mezzo soprano Doris Okerson and the Schola Gontorum provide a beautiful rendition .of Rubinstein’s “Kamenoi Ostrow.” The sets remain impressive and the feeling of piety and awe are unchanged in the Hall’s traditional offering. The rest of the show lopes along in a colorful display. Aside from a sombre blend of music in a couple of. spots,- the springlike feeling of this Russell Market production comes 4 across. The* outside variety talent calls for Baptiste Schreiber’s Chimpan¬ zees in the opener. Some of the cute antics of these simians fail to ge£ over in this outsized structure, inclusion of more tricks with no¬ bility would help them consider¬ ably. The bit in which one of the chimps retires seems so out of place in the Hall. The Corps de Ballet’s sprightly effort is punctuated by the pas de deux of Kovach & Rabovsky, the toe-terpers who fled the Iron Cur¬ tain some years ago. They show j some excellent individual spins and do a bit of good tandem work. The Schola Cantorum, directed by Hugh Ross, in their own spot have a s rather heavy offering for their opener, Walt Whitman’s ‘Tassage to You” lines set to music by Delius, and followed by Aaron Copland’s “Stomp your Feet.” Un¬ der more intimate circumstances, these would be prime offerings. Per usual, the Radio City. Rock- ettes, stunningly garbed by Frank Spencer and excellently routined by Markert, provide a light and tripping tribute to spring. The proceedines are tied together with Albert Stillman’s special lyrics de¬ livered by Mary Tremain and Fred Patrick, who emcee in song. They go over well. The Raymond Paige orch backs with its usual authority. Jose. Berliner, Berlin • Berlin, March 17. Elsie Attenhofer, with Rudolf Svira. Three-day guest appearance; $3 top. Berliner Theatre had a -memor¬ able specialty to offer in Swiss cabaretist-comedienne-chansonette Elsie Attenhofer. She came along with songs, parodies and one-per¬ son sketches. It may sound exaggerated but Miss Attenhofer is an entertainer with hardly an equal on the Con¬ tinent. Another definite plus for this in¬ telligent entertainer is that she knows to sing and recite in various languages: She’s at home with Eng¬ lish tongue-in-cheek conversation, American slang, blase German, ele¬ gant French, beautiful Italian in addition to her funny Swiss dia¬ lects. She picked out of her wealthy repertory a couple dozen items and it’s hard to say in which depart¬ ment she was best. She sang some “little” songs which she knows to sell charmingly, then a Negro spiritual, “Git on Board, Little Children,” handled also in a very appealing way. Her sketches and parodies contain both political and non-political themes and, again, unlike many *other Continental entertainers who follow similar pat¬ terns, she knows how to give them a fresh touch. The applause was enormous. She gave out with several encores and easily could have extended her stint for at least one hour. Hans. ! Empress, Glasgow Glasgow, March 19. Alma Cogan (with Stan Foster), Morecanibe & Wise, Alan Clive, Les Marceilis (2), Maurice French & Joy, Edorics (3), Frank Cook, Bobby Dows Orch. Alma Cogan, English thrush, has a happy style which makes her act bounce. Distaffer also chooses breezy tunes, and would be in her element with a capacity audience ready to join in when she asks them to sing. As is, despite small¬ ness of audience at show caught (a performance when most of the town was at home watching Vivien Leigh in a tv play), Miss Cogan pleased with her friendly gabbing and well-chosen songalog ranging from “Could Have Danced All Night” to “Story of My Life,” “Day the Rains Came” and the Max Bygraves tune, “Hands.” For comedy touch, she engages in light byplay with her pianist Stan Foster, and attempts some local Scot dialect that doesn’t quite come off. Winds entertaining act with “On the Back Porch,” her .current click. Act is. useful bet for nitery, hotel and tv dates in the U.S. Support layout is moderately strong but requires more top names to pull at the b.o. The Edorics are stylish threesome (two males and a femme) who work in a bit of song with their dancing, and exit to good mitting. Maurice French & Joy offer some skillful ’ touches as jugglers who also balance, and Les Marceilis toss themselves around on tobies and with chairs in well- rehearsed aero offering. In the comedy segment, Alan Clive, tall British impressionist re¬ cently back from Las Vegas, does travesties of, among others, George Sanders, Cary Grant, James Stew¬ art and (with horse) Gary Cooper. He also throws in an impresh of Sir Winston Churchill which is n.s.g. Eric Morecambe is a panting North of England comedian with a happy style and (in conjunction with partner Ernest Wise) an ex¬ cellent sense of timing. Pair, newly returned from Australia, gather yocks with their crosstalk, and i wind with “Pretty Baby.” Frank Cook entertains on harmonica and guitar. Cord. Trois Baudots. Paris Paris, March 17. Mouloudji, Jacques Grello, Rene Cousinier ,• Darras & Noiret, Pierre Brunet, Andre Pradel, Anne Syl- vestre, Roger Riffard, Philippe Parmentier4 $2.50 top. Mouloudji is a youthful looking singer with a pleasant, if at times offkey, voice and a stock of good songs. These range in tales of childish wonder to one of a passion murder, plus a biting, right rendi¬ tion of some songs from “Three¬ penny Opera.” His acting background and pro¬ jection help knit his songalog into a personalized, savvy act. Jacques Grello is a soft-speak¬ ing, bespectacled comic with ex¬ cellent material and deft delivery, making him an entry with a point of view. He’s in for fine reception. Rene Cousinier belts his comic gab and has too many tales that have been heard before. He over¬ does Arab and Jewish stereotype jokes to make this objectionable at times. But he works hard and does garner yocks. Andre Pradel is a mime with okay interps of a strongman, a bug collector, etc. Pierre Brunet plunks a guitar and gives out with some witty songs in a one- level voice. Delivery is good but he shapes a local bet only. Roger Riffard is a fey-type singer with a quavering voice and slight songs on life’s little problems, Anne Sylvestre handles delicate songs, sounding like medieval French chants in their tonal re¬ petitiveness, with insight and feel¬ ing on love primarily. She. looms a good staple here but with more limited chances abroad. Philippe Parmentier is an okay patter comic who also brings off aud participation games without pall¬ ing. Darras & Noiret are actors in the highly esteemed state-sub¬ sidized theatrical rep group, the Theatre National Populaire, and enjoy this stint 09 house boards in which they kid a couple of ham actors discussing their illusory triumphs. Somewhat too “inside,” it still gets laughs on the deft imnersonations by. the duo and it looks l ; ke they have a future in vaude if they ever want to leave the TNP. Mosk.