Variety (April 1920)

VARIETY 23 HISCEIIANEOUS REVIEWS i gFT.TH.FLOTO CntCTTS. CblcaKO, April 14. a Otto Woto •"4 Harry Tammen iijrt toto Chlcaco to review tho|r Infant E.-2ff »l the Coltaenm they found'that the feSS tad rrown Into • real clant of clr- ■ •SSoin. Tbcy »1«) touhd that the nood of •-Smtiener florlea, Sunday aupplement »r- ^' ^StTuitwe •torles and all the othir •JjJ^UIng with Which they (lad swampjd t^uo faa brlDKlng them va«t returni. ■JSrartt week played to approximately :. 2r«0C. Had the ahow done capacity bU8l< yj^jj every perfonoanco they would have *J«« W the neighborhood of $73,000, and f ZwU not been for the bllizard on Sunday ti:.^ Moniay they would undoubtedly have (■^t> mighty cloee to that Ogure. !■ balnty Marie (Meeker), Who waa en- fi^^j^ as an added attraction at the CoU- ISm^ Is a tremendous bit. She mati's her " Ssearince In ft Stula roaaster, driven 2«TOd the hippodrome track by a Hrerled ^nffeur. She takes an announcement Jt*_^jp half around the track and then fln- l^iea the drive to the center ring, where Pahe'removes her elaborate cloak and steps iSS^her -rigging In ' a. ault of. pure white ^^'khta that reveal every beautiful curve. Sgju'^iosee with a neck bang In the Span- Itoh web, singing In a voice that reaches It* every part gt the g^eat bu'ldlng, and fjjwliw' the hearts and the applause of the Efaadlence. ^' Berta Bees^n (Slats) holds down an en- W^lir* number with his dainty, dances on the [li'lljlit wire, and with hie chli", attractive ifffke* "'"' '•"■ Wmaelf a place In the |*cele»tlal sphere.* Slata is one of iho very I'^itW i»en who can do an act In make-up a ^without overdoing it. His drcsaes are bu- |-tp«|), he wears them beautifully and his t ■actions would never arouse even Oie falnt- j;. j»t suspicion that he Is anything but the fi Tlvaclous little laUy he appears to be. ^ UlJ «ct unquestionably stands alone aiitpng I'iiBgle wire acts of its description. * Before' the tournaraerit Kreddle nigss 4^pts laugh lifter laugh, working thc.lilppo- *7<roWe trdck as a vell-drefsoj wonmn, tin: 31}»terlcu.'5 Widow. Ue makes violJiit love ^:to some of the clrcusguers'. faints In the (ijarms of oihere, and he docs th^e things ^io well that he Jms the best of ihem P'fcbled, Thi lournnnicnt, ••The ^Uv'.i r.f a S&Tjtalnbow," !s the uuual daznU of protly ^women, flashing wardrobe, splNtod. horses !}|and, playful clowns. The llrst display Is rrfth* bucking mules and revolving tablcF '^■■'i(Bmber and It still'gets laughs. The Bulls ■ :'folU»w with nothing particularly new to '■'ofter. Tlie Wright fJuo holds fli-st poaitJon 'ViD.the' third number with an unusunf l;idd<>r 'balancing act, the Xelson's diublc ,trap.i, : -the DcCnrros, Aerial llarvnrds. Mary ^rlleU, Louis Orlebfl, Arthur LaKluer, Sweeney and Newton, Blucho, Carl Slclvo ';and'wlfc and John Murlnelio complete this ^iiinbcr. JIarlnello, with his curhing ring ■^ct, J8 nearly lost In the crow<i. ■(■Charlie Hooney, still a master of somcr- ^aault riding, nod(,'lnl, and the davenports ^jBOnstitule the next number. Tiion the : itipwns begin to get In some of tliclr work Kui it is gocd. Marcclllne and his ciown :; FJband get a lot of laughs, but are too ob- fvlously unacquainted wiih each other. |:iMnce«8 Victoria (Cadonii) Is the feature of iv'number six with her slack wire act. She j' Ihelda down the center stage, with the Ray- ,xmoDds In number one ring, Freddie Biggs J.'-1b "naniher two, Arthur I.aFlfUvr on the ■'*BlKer stnge and the I.uel:ey Sisters and I'Fktyd Shoot In the third and fourth rings. 5-'. Miss Cadona docs a very pretty wire act ^and gets the house with lif-r closing .swings ^ 'after an announcement, but she might' do !';;.nuch better by changing her routUe to ^^'Mbstltute the board trick for the side bal- x'V>» bops that she dors earlier In the act jrwd put In the hops after the announce^ ^■■Mit, where (hey belong, as they are much r were difficult looking than the board trick, S and she Isn't getting enough out of them I Where they are. S- Tb« statues pleased and the high school IS knaes got their share of appreciation, ;; neatly by reason of the.^beautlful. horses. !^ .Munber eight la made- up' entirely of cora- ;,'a4y acta, Art Monette'a comedy acrobats, I to the center ring, get a good share of the ^'hngha. Allic: Johnson does a alack wire |;act In a monkey suit that pleases; Burk- ■;; kart and Unmmelman, Toung and Adell ,:_ind the Bluche Brothers complete this dlo- jPlay. 'Wjth Bonimorc's Arabs getting most ;»f the attention In the center ring, and with Marlnello, Idah Delno, Otowaga Jap- ; ancss Troupe, Threo Portia Sistera, Vul- ^°' ^"*'*'" »""> Mateland and liUward • Corson another big display is completed. Hooncy, HodginI and the Hobsona corrj'- •ng act make up the next display^ which J. * followed by Dainty Marie's act. There :.*n two feature numbers In the next dis- play, Beatrice Sweeney Uklng an announcc- j Kent before her swivel contortion nnish. i;,Mter which Alfredo Cordona is announced. ' ii!l!ii '" *°* ""* heel drops are the big ; .WJU of the show; be lakes bows all the w«y around the hIppd<3rome track to the en- wance, and ho deserves them. The first ;.r^wn entry comes rather lute ou llio pro- VWa; it might bo used to advantage to iven up (he early part of the show and jrobably will bo after the vrograra Is more aennltciy arranged. Boeson follows the ."o»n entry and asserts his showmunshlp »rom the time he enters until ho closes; « has no dlfllculty winning the approval « the Collsemnlies. The riding dogs and monkeys nil op the next number and are »lk>wed by the Nelsons and Cordona-g "ylng acts. Next U an Iron Jaw number. »ne Sweeney .Sisters, Stella Roland. Luckey woupc, Clara Cordona and the Raymonds; K Is a. beautiful flash and pleases heartily. The show closes with the Indian riding ■cta-fast, furious riding that holds most "the crowd until tbo'final whoop. The Jj^rohs, who are unprogramcd, hold a wromlrent poslUon In the contortion num- rer The supremacy of Jhelr act makes •weif felt with the circus just as com- pletely aa It does In vaudeville. It radiates «i!f*l. •'*'■*"'»> the clown cop, who worki »• hippodrome track, gets most of the •wwn laughs. He, together with Freddie »'««, who works the track before the wurnament, mre the only two comedians *•* "land out from the crowd. Am a whole, tba show I* a crowning sue- ceai. It liaa_ everything that goes to make a big circua big, and It to displayed In showmanlike ttyle from ttart to finish. More clowns, more music,- more noise might help to liven up the early part of the show, which drags a bit, but this will no doubt bo taken care of later when more thoroughly organised. AHERICM KOOF Typical three-a-day bill at the American the second half of last week. Nothing on it of suOlclent claaa to lift it beyond that sphere. Tho first two turns, Gormley Sis- tera and Castle, Kelo and Blalr;_(New Acta). Retter Brothers, a team of"" acro- bota, come nearer to •"class" than any- thing on the program. The straight man works with a aurencss of operation that Is impressive, with Immaculate' clothes The mliflt garments of the comedian are also spotlessly clean, a mbst unusual thing tor acrobats on the lesser, circultii. The comic's burlesque wrestling match Is very ludicrous and the act scored a big bit—de- servedly so. Moora and Fields, colored comedians. have some crosstalk, a bit of warbling and exceedingly graceful and complicated triple- tap hoofing, scoring healthily. The GolJen Bird consists o' a girl violinist and o chirping canary, the bird being pa9.sed around tlie audience while the girl fiddles and sings, the bird chirping an accompani- ment, afterwah) Imitating other feathered anlma'a. Tlie girl boa k pretty little voice; but sliould be drilled In the art ofniBklng her announcements nhlch, In their present form, smack top much of the small time. Octavo opened after intermission — a double-voiced female with a good baritone and a falsetto soprano, singing three or four numbers and strolling up and down in ■•one." After hearing the change of voices once or twice the act becomes niunotonoUB. Charles and Sadie McDon- ald and CO. (New Acts). I.. 'Wolfe Gilbert, with Harry Donnelly at the piano, and a Miss Leyton osKlstine 111 the wartiling, oltercd his now familiar song-plugging turn, which Included sev-. ej-al of his newer ditties, together with a ninlley of snatches from his old hits Richard Van^Tour and Co. (New Acts). Jolo. • CITY. The CHy d'd not boast the usual ra- pacity mob It usually fetches on Mon- day nights. At Ihat, It was pretty near capacity by the time the overture filled the auditorium. Lieut. 'Theliun ana Co. opened v.lih a shooting act. The lieuten- ant was formerly one of the leading "aces" in the French aviation corpa He spQris tlie biUe-eray uniforrn oi France, as does his female assistant. Cecljc. Weston and Oracc Doro. (new acta) were- No. 2, and warranted a better spot, If their reception is any criterion. Marry Oaks and Co. in the third spot accounted for theniselvcs In great style with their spiritualistic boko sketch. The nature of the oftering Is timely in Itaelf, although it Is handled in travesty fashion liere. A clairvoyant, her Urlrn- tai male assistant and a. "rube" (Mr. Oaks) comprise the cast. The hick Is divorced from his coin, but after spiel- ing a sob }'arn to the accompaniment of "Hearts and Flowers" that the coin was to pay the proverbial mortgage on the equally proverbial farm, not only do tho conspirators return the dough, but slip him an extra half century for good meas- ure; whereupon said rube tagllnes, "Oh, h—I, I sold that farm two years ago." It got the customers with a bang. A good deal of comedy la exacted through the hoke conversation between the spirit chaser and her assistant, she commanding "Fels" and the imposing Oriental coming back with "naphtha"; she, "geflllte" and he "flsh," et al. The turn could weather the big.time. Following the Fox nelws reel, the Tem- pletons k.o.'d them with their unwigging on tho flnlah. Tbeir Eltlnges fooled the bouse completely, and what they lacked In the Intermediate aong and dancing certainly warrants tbo surprise flnlsh, for an audience lovsa to be fooled that way. Jack Roddy pulled down the hit honors in the fifth spot with his aongs and personation*. The concluding "dope" number la a gem and Mr. Reddy was compelled to beg oft with a little speocli. Ue opened with a "souse" number to "Alcoholic Blues," delivered IP an orig- inal manner. Ho worked hard to please and more than succeeded in his'purpoae, as a result of which the audience was loath to have htm leave. The Versatile Sextette, a jaz2. band aggregation, de- ih-ered In the No. 6 position. The turn smacks strongly of cabaret rearing, but at that It Is excellent vaudeville mate- rial. The violinist should refrain from soloing too much, some of his specialties, particularly on the shimmy end at, it, appearing farcical. The little stepping he exsayed passed muster, however. Julia Kelcty, Just out of "Always You," received a royal welcome. She opens with her old "Somewhcro tho Blue- bird" number, that is sure flro on its fat-iutlful melody alone. A timely leap year ditty followed, after which some rather risque patter was perpetrated in the gulae of a special number, "Roses of PIcardy" earned -a recall for "Uude- lon," rendered Id French. Parish and Peru, the. latter misbliled aa Feree, closed and, as usual with a closing turn, were greeted with • "little premature walkouts, but kept 'em standing In the rear after they got tbeIr, stuff going. 'When it came to the barrel root the applause was as spontaneous as If In the middle of the show. They accepted an encore. JEPFESSON. Undoubtedly the cause for the S. R. O. sign Monday waa tho first showing down- town of the now famous picture version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr, Hyde," featuring John Barrymore. The management played up< tb« engagement In an extraordinary manner, and the box office receipts at- tested to the splendid advertising cam- paign. All over the front of the l-lth street 4iottse were printed and paintod signa anent the film. Another good reason ascribed for tho un- usually lai-ge turnout was due to the snappy vaudeville bill of eight acts. Every- body came early and stayed late. The house was'Jammed when the Rosa Reii(<; duo, an artistic balancing act, opened. They were still coming In when No. 3 was on. Beck and Trust, singing and dancing, delighted the audience with their rapid work.. Beck was at the piano and Trust d'd moit of the vocalizing. "Vou Ought to See Her Now" was put over big, as was a parody on It, a telephone talk with ChrlAopher Columbus, who wanted to know "How is Amerfca?" The reply was thst the country had gone dry end tbat things In general were topsy-turvy. No. 3 was a corking act, labeled "True Pals," featuring one of the smartest dogs in captivity. His master had him hang his clothes up, bring h:m cigars fiora the top arawcr cf one of his desk!, play ilie part of a drunk, and >vrnd up with saving his boss* t>ankroll by placing it in the safe while burglars searched high and low for It It Is one of those bite of-dog humor- esque that should make good on 'big time. Following this comedy came O'Connor and Dixon in a sort of a rough-lioune action. They were a riot to the balcony for the 15 minutes they occupird the stage. They did too much talking and too'little, singing. The rendition of ".\icoholic Blues" was good, so much so that the boy;i upstairs hollered for more. An act that la destined to remain In small time for life unless some of the objectionable Italian stuff Is eliminated was "The Beauty Vendor," (-umposed of four people. One of the tliroe women ploys the Sunny Italy port to perfection- she must be an Italian—but the insertion of llulberry street lingo to denote hor anger with the vendor' was very raw, Tliey carry a special curtain. It Is badly staged and drags along as if It didn't know where else to go. ^"Adrian" made It tlu-ee times in a year and a half at this house, and. as usual. the balconyites laughed themselves sick ovel- tlie (inties of the star and his four "assisinnts." One of tho boys sang "Daddy" splendidly. The act as a whole is frir. ■ Some \vh:rlwlnd dancing was e'en and enj.\\ed as given by the Six Vagrants. BOOKED FOB HONOLULU. The Selwyna' "Weddlngf Bells" company, playing this week at the Riviera, is booked for a summer trip In JXoxutiulu. ^ FIFTH AVEIJUE. . House managers often lahc priilo in till- ing where their houses draw from lUir.ily a renident mannger aroiiinJ New York but who ran figure ouli why this or (hat sub urban conimunity KhouM and iloes p3troiil:«' his theatre. They have had a good chance thi.s week to (est out with ilie strikes heav- ily on. Tiie Fifth Avfiiue. for liistftiioe. mlb'iil be suipected of inducing Jors'^yites to coine over, nr the 23d Siiwet would surety claim it if the Flflb Avenue ,)|.ln't. Whether the Fifth Avenue iloos or nut. the chances are that It doesn't, fur iK-forc 8 Tuesday night the house wan Jammed. • It Isn't partlcuhir, anyway, but once In a white something like a strike gives a thetitrn a better line on its iratronags than could be obtained through hearing a r.oupie ill the lobby. «-bo ara probably hiding away or think they are, speak of their home village, leaving the Impreseion that the house is drawing from afar, like that time, the C8(h Street declared Stelnway "oppo-' slilon" because the OUth street bridge is the |i«l>ulAr highway from Ixtig Island. The Palace, New York, coBid say- the same thing about the CoUseiun, London, throui^li people from, both sides osuaJly using the ocean. Anyway, any kind of an argumctjt Tucs- .day evening could have been enjoyed m much aa tb* show. It was a Jerliy per- formanc*. with what could be called the small time class af the big time upon it. Some of the turns were a little better than tbat, others ware not so good, and ao the average meant little. A ooupis of bits strolled along, and one act made Itself look like * bit copping bows. If the electrician at the Fifth Avenus aver tsmembers to tun oB the ilgbts down there it will speed up the show and perhaps kto ft turn having a crink In the neck. I'he best of the first half bill wns Fried- lander's "Care Man Lore,'* a production act with ft better Idea than anything else, though the music at times is as catchy as It Is familiar. Frledlander's dialog draws lauchK a.t odd moments, and barring some coiivontlonsU matter, mostly st the out- set that brings shout a drag, the little musical comedy will do. It Is helped most- ly, howtvrr, by the people In It. Another full stoge act was "The Stmnger," ft drapiBtic sketch, played by Robei't T. Haines and Co, It takes a long while to And out what it Is about, and then no one knows. Just talk with its only present value the ineoiniiig rush of 8l>lrltuallsm. If the playlet can get past the gallery in many houses until tho meat is reached It wUl then pass on to its fln- lsh. The audience commenced to grow ic^tlesB after • few moments, but laiter quitted down. It was only Ur. Haines' reading tbat held thetn. The piece has played throughout the season, so It must have heldl btit at the very liest it was not a good selection. Marguerite Pa;du)ft, aomewhat new around here, Is a pianist who sings, carrying along the turn by makliiK tovs to any Iwy picked out of the ftudienee. In one number she whistles to blm. Mlia Fadala's regular singing rolce to light and thin. She de- pends more upon a amiling personality. A decided bninct, Miss -Padula's personality Is pronounced in ft way, bat there Is noth- ing else Id the lura to ereate a blg-tlme commotion. Ortb and Cody did reiy well No. S. They worked la aa.tka bouse and the loocer they remained the better llkod they were. The position' helped them. Fraser and Bunce.^ft two-man turn, were No. 2, with their opening bringing them forth dressed similarly In Tux suits, light derby hats arid white ties. They, ran along fairly well, although the bnliad with Interrup- tions dldn't'^strlke right, the interrupting portion. It was unnecessary, though it ran into another bit.' Martyn am] Flor- ence, with their club Juggling and Mian Florence's array of. clothes> .opened the show. Walter Brower was next to closing, with Sylvia Mora iand Duo ending the pirformanoe. ' Sitnc. 23RI) STREET. • The exp'oltatlon campaign In advance of the sliowing of "The River's End" had the effect of drayrfng audiences, as was at- tested by the line that extehded vty toward Sixth avenue Tuesday night. Manjiger M. J. DufTy, of the house, W'ent to this picture hook, line arid sinker, and topped 'hi.s vaudeville with It, with the result that business wns capacity. Tueh^ay night there'' wan a Jnm at the back of the house from bifore eight o'clock ui\tll the end of the show, the standees being four deep during the entire time. Billy Juilge and Anna Gale opened the vaudeville section wUh ther routne on (he rings, the woman's doing a triple disloca- tion unnounced managing to draw the ap- plause of the act. Tyler and Croliun. in the second spot, got- a .number of laughs. The woman of the act starts rather slowly, but finishes strong. Doris Hardy an<l Co., In "Her Bandit" (kew Acts), had the next whirl at the audience, and managed to msKe them laugh. A combination of "Topics of the Dny" and the news weekly spilt the b:tl after tho sketch olferlng. John Ncff got laughs with his "I don'l pay for my J<*es" Idea, which he works ihioughout the act, taking gags from X\ Jol.son, Frank TInney, Ben Swor. Walter C. Kelly and others with enual ease. Me annnwticvs them, and that make's it much easier. O'Rourhe uiid Adelphl, two girls, with a pinno and singing act, wok easily the hit of the bill. Five numbers and a piano solo were offered by the team, which cleaned up on applause. The last (wu numbers, iiow- ever. seem Imrdly strong enough for the act, being used, as they- are. one for a finish and the oilier for an encore, ~Nexi to dosing AVtison and Larsen mon- ageil to Interest and to pull a number of lauRhs with (heir comedy and aerobatics. Closing the bill Anita 'Oarvin (New Acts) showed a corking figure and a decided In- novation in the rosing line. Frcd, ' 68TH STBEET. ■V\'l(h;"The .Vew Teaehir'v and 6nra Ilosvard In lights topping the show the ■Vorkvillltcs go( good entertaliimcnt from the h-fiidllners at least. 'I'iie supporting l-rogram happened to be of the same lilgh- grude caliber, so the .'iSth srtreeters had no kick rusiiiiiR. llimbcrg and Patterson (."<ew •'ict!') opened Ttiey warranle,! soinelliing a liitio better, but the aiieclni stuff In "four" every nitcmate turn tarried pro- hllilicd anything but this sj>ot. Frank Juh»>: went v. oil on second with a comedy nioglo act, .'lis asslsllne stage hand."slilH" tukihg core of tliu coining efreciivcly through the mediums of a "simp", expres- sion and a foolish grunt. Jue ami Sadie De l.ler were well received lif the ensuing spot with a'viiriety olTering embracing asng, danre, accordion and wire work. The instrmentul stuff went (he big- grsl. Chase and ^J^ Tour hold down No.- 4 in good style. While their talk Is given to risriue snuirlncss. II can be classified by the irito "it's naughty but nice, " meaning It Is well within bounds. They were a decided hit, accepting a couple of encores. ••The New Teacher," the schoolroom turn, was Ito usual succost, as Was (Tiara How- ard, next to closing. Miss Howard Is de- veloping Into a corking singli entertolner. Itoddiiiglon and Qnint, liampollDe turn, pleased and held-'cm la. KEENEY'S BRdOKLTlir. They did ft tum-away business over here Tuesday night, b re-Issued version of "J>r. Jekyll and Mr. Hyds," made by Fox aev- eral years ago, being largely responsible. Loew'a- Metropolitan, three btochs distant, also had "Jekyll and Hyde," the Famous Players-John Barrymore recently produced version. This, Instead et burling the Keeney business. Increased It, most of the neighliorhood patronugo Catching both pic- tures. Toney snd Norman headlining were the class of the seven-act bill, cleaning np a riotous Jilt next to closing. Toney's loose dancing and the sidewalk pfider aevur went better. Newport and Stlrk, dancing boys, whose work shows wondcrfuf promlw, opened, and slammed out a wtiale of a b^t. A "souse" double bit of stepping, with each doing sumo clever acrobatic work, was of distinctly big-tim* caliber. Merle Itartwell and Marie Franklin (New Acts) were second, and Frank Jerome, playing over hers aa Jos MIctuels, tbird. Jerome hus a first ra.le Idea In pr«o>:d!ng his ground Inmbltng stunts with a well- told gag or two. Aa acrubatic dnnce, with Jerome turning ft aertas et fast ba^dt somersaults, mads a torklag flalsh, sebd- ing him oft for a aoisy Iian4. *- Darren and 'Vaa found Um cotng very soft with their comedy singing and piano turn. Miss Sarrell has plenty of rereon- allty and bahdlea eccentric "hut" atufl unusually well for a wetoan. The tsam kept the laughs coming every minute. George Drury Hart and Co., blileJ as James B. Black and Co., alss did vary well with their comedy sketch. The surpiise nuisb fooled 'cm completely, as usual. Clemens Belling dosed with the trained animal turn. The little brown donkey and the poodle that Juggles a hoop on hla tall palled down hefty Indlvldui^I.'scoreA.. ThU •m the first issae of the ALL WHITE VARIETY (Crade Uftrk Rcglslcrcd) «rwf r^marks a departure from the green cover used for fifteen years. ■ .1 VARIEn wUt continue ALL •;}© >-i^:-:'>^ .. '• -.■ '\,1'f. •:v^'^vo ;:;:'^ nssMSMawMI