Variety (August 1922)

vnpa<MW ^day, Augmt 1 19gt VAUDEVILLE INIONDON r -r T '■ London. July 20. * f» i« very seldom in this country Ait "judge tittlng on an Important K: expresses an opinion as to the idty of anybody, but during the rtnz of the case New Varieties, ."^m Henry Thomas Brlckwell, .f*Justice Russell in the Chancery Wfiilon suggested to counsel it ■.i«ht shorten the case if he (the Sd«e) said he did not believe Brick- SSl The case arises out of a Sniftcial dispute. Brlckwell. who Sm at one time connected with the fiUrick and other West End houses, tiiow the manager of the Canter- C|py a one-time popular music hall SSdch has been turned into a kinema. ft has a six days' license and the liindon County Council granted a Mven days' license on their usual Sndltions that the takings after Moenses were paid went to charity. Defendant told his directors that the nroposition was a losing one but he had found a man who would guar- antee them £ 19 every Sunday night. Inis would be clear profit. The al- Wtion was that having paid this Sin out and a further small sum for expenses defendant converted tlwremainder of the takings, which were considerable, to his own use. In giving judgment Hi.s Lordship laid he found that Brickwell had concealed from his employers the new arrangement with tl^ L*. C. C. and that he was running the Sunday shows for hl« own profit. He dis- credited nearly every statement he had made in the witness box. Ho would have to give an account of the money taken less £ 19 paid to the company and £7 paid to the Coaters' Benevolent Fund. During the evidence it came qut that Gunner Molr, a one-time pugilistic favotit*' lere. was receiving £3 lOs. weekly I assistant manager. The affairs of Sir Thomas ieecham are drawing to a satisfac- ory conclusion. The terms by rhich he will pay 20 shillings in the wund came before the Bankruptcy Jourt again, July 20. The scheme 8 to pay preferential creditors out n full, then pay the others five shillings forthwith, a further five hillings in three nru)nth3 time, a hird five shillings in six month.s. ;nd the fourth and final five shil- Inga in nine months. The Official leceiver estimates that £29,620 will required to pay the first install- aent. There was £i taxation claim ainst him for £24.483. That ould probably be withdra"Wn but ke commissioners had not yet de- ded. If it was not withdrawn the 2),620 would have to be increased y £15,785 because some of the ount was preferential and would ve to be paid in full. On May Mr. Justice Eve made an order powering the executors of the te Sir Thomas Beecham (the In- ntor of "Beecham's PilU—Worth Guinea a Box") to borrow £190,- 0, of which £40,000 might be used help carry out any approved heme Sir Thomas might make 1th his creditors. A«letter was also «d by a man (name withheld) of- rlng to lend debtor £20.000 for his heme. The scheme was opposed the senior ofllclal receiver on the tJund that it was a departure from e scheme originally accepted by e creditors. Ultimately the case M adjourned until November. end of the war. Besides Marie T^hr the cast includes George Tuily, Dion Bouclcault, Alfred Bishop, Jack Hobbs and LK)ttie Venne. J. E. Vedrenne will shortly pro- sent Fay Compton in a new play "Secrets." The title is a famous one and originally belonged to a strenuous blood and thunder drama which-made a fortune for its owner John J. Preston. The title wa.s "Secrets of the Harem" but after trouble witU the Turkish Ambas- sador the authorities ordered Pres- ton to close down or change his title. He changed the title to "Secrets ?" and under that title the drama has been a staple road and suburban attraction for many years. R. A. Roberts, who.se name is in- delibly associated with the vaude- ville protean act "Dick Turpin," has completed a drama on the same sub- ject in three acts and a prolog. This he will produce in conjunction with Andrew Melville. He will him- self play the highwayman and Robert Min.stor has been engaged for the part of Tom King. The produc- tion will be a provincial one with a view to a West End presentation later. That ambitious attempt to ideal- ize and uplift the stage, the Kvery- 4nan theatre, Hamp.stead. has met the same fate as the majority of such enterprises. Its affairs are now in the hands of an official re- ceiver. It was stated that of the £30,000 nominal capital only £2.712 had been subscribed by the public. The liabilities were £19,261. the as- HetH £51. Which goes to help prove that the British public does not want to be uplifted and won't pay anyone to attempt its conversion. POLITICAL JAM Produced twice In America, each ne with signal failure, H. F. altby's comedy "The Rotters" re- ilns one of the big successes in li country. Arthur Gibbons has oduced and revived the play on teral occasions in London and the ovincial run continues indefinitely th no signs of business falling off. >cently the show played the Em- re Kilburn at £800 gross bigger [ ■mess than the theatre had done » en with big vaudeville "stars" 1 the result was dates rtt several »er Gulliver halls for either the iginal touring company or a dup- *te. This meant the cancellation the .sohe^luled vaudeville bills and e switching of the artists else- iere. t ;• The next production at the Duke of Yorks, which of late has been un- fortunate, will be the Mexican comedy drama by Paul Dickey and Charles Goddard., This will be pre- sented by Gus Bostock and J. Gordon Bostock by arrangement with George Choos. Alan Brooke, will stage the play. Thurston Hall will appear in the cast and efforts are being made to get other Amer- ican players over. The production date has been fixed for August 15. Fred Kitchen will shortly sever his connection with the old firm of Fred Karno and will join with Marie Blanch in a series of managerial enterprises. The first of these is a comedy sketch. "If the Cap Fits," which will be produced at the Hol- born, July 31. This is booked for a couple of months, after which they will be associated in the production of a new musical play by Wal Pmk. High rentals have compelled Fred Terry and Julia Neilson to cancel their arrangements for the produc- tion of the Maiy. Queen of Scots, play, "The Borderer." in the West End. They will therefore start a provincial tour at Blackpool Aug. 21, when Julia Neil.son, who is com- pletely restored to health, will re- .sume her part of the unfortunate Scottish queen. Provincial correjspondents state that Mrs, Patrick Campbell pro- duced "Voodoo" with the full necro company at the Opera house, Black- pool, July 20. Beyond saying that the authoress was present and took a call Ihey made no comment on either the reception of ;he play or the performance. The South African Theatres Trust has made arrangements for Percy Hutchinson and company to tour its theatres early in the new year. The plays he will prodiice in South Africa are "The Luck of the Navy," "NiKhtie Night." "Hull Dog Drum- mond." and "Brewster's Millions." An Australian tour may follow. *ff8- Joan Dorothea Welchman gruntod a divorce from her 2*'^d Harry Wolrhman. now y|ng in the "Lady of the Rose" ii mI^*^' '^"^y ^^- Counsel for ■jntlff. vvho is profe.s.sionally ,.^" as Joan Chaloner, mentioned 101?^ "I'lrriage took place July J»l3. VVh^n the restitution of 'jugal rii^hts action took place t H 'k ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ '''^^^ wrongly jea that the parties were mar- " m 1918. He m»»ntioned this inuZ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^'^^^ caused tho t u "^"^'^ P'««" ^s it Inferred > L ♦ ''"*^ ^^^^ husband liud been r ng together prior to marriage. i^heamals for the Arthur Wim- « ver.^l,>n of "Le Refbur" which JJ Lohr will produce at the *• as "The Ueturn" commence at Jpa of the month under the ^»on of one of the original ors. No alteration has been ^n V I'^** lof^alo of the story, the Iakmi; place In Paris at the f i- i t A8K D. D. H.? ABOUT Andre Chariot's next revue at the V ludcville will be entitlod "Snap.s." Clarice Mayne. who ha.s only been soen on the stage once, and that at th«j Hitipodronio gala performance, sine** tho d«Mth of hor hu.sband, James W. Tate' (That") will be in th«» cast, and ho will Cicely Deben- ham. During a recont meeting of the Actor.s' Association Miss Horninian .stated .she had liopes of shortly re- establishing her r.'pertory ronipanv in the We.st End. Mis.s Horniman wa.s the pioneer of first-cla.ss rei»er- tory in this country. When Edward Laurilard produces hi.s revue at the Empire, in ill prol)- ability in association with Sir Alfred Butt, Connie Ecliss will be the star and the principal comedian i.s likely to be Harry Tate. Lady Forbes Robertson CGertrud*' Elliot) sailed on the 'Saxon" July 14 to fulfill her entriRenr-nt with the South African Tii-'itres Ti ist tak- ing a full WcHt i:nd company with her. When MatheHon Lang returns to the New at the conclusion of his "Wandering Jew" tour he will pro- duce A new play by Alfred Sutro JM frvivm.* nn^iivvar^ftt dUCe A nCW piay oy All! JN JOHN BROWN" entitled "The Or^at W-ell." Sale of Property Starts Somethmg in Jersey City The sale of an irregular parcel of ground near the Summit avenue station of the Hudson tunnel in Jersey City has started a political wrangle in that town. The plot faces Frank Hall's State theatre acroHs what is to be a civic improvement into a plaza, and the buyer is set down in the record as named Thomas Davis. The mayor of the town is Frank Hague, a regu- lar democrat. His Honor's political enemies on the republican aide of the fence allege that the Davis mentioned in the transaction Is the cover for i^omebody in the Hague administration. The fight starte'd with innuendos from the republican side and about tha same time it became known that the Keith oifice had ruled that Hall's State was "oppo: ition." That started the story that Keith inter- ests had bought the plot for a the- atre to fight Hall and James Gan- non, commissioner of public safety, and also a real estate operator, let his suspicions become known. AILS;jOUTE Accepts Orpheum Time from Chi cago—Turns Down N. Y. Offer Roscoe Ails and Co. have accepted an Orpheum route, it was learned this week. Ails was signed through the Western Orpheum otflce after turning down a route tendered by the Eastern Orpheum bookers. Ails and his dancing partner, Kate Pullman, have been reported as heading the Finklestein & Rubin Shubert vaudeville unit, "Hollywood Follies." Their names were includ- ed in the official list of unit casts announced by the Affiliated Thea- tres Corp. At the Affiliated Wednes- day it was said Ails had been ten- dered contracts by the Affiliated, but had not signed as yet. The Orpheum route which Ails is reported as having turned down was said to have contained a "cut" from Ails' last season Orpheum salary. BEE PALMEB'S BESOLVE Bee Palmer, reunited with her husband. Al Siegel, is rehearsing a specialty which she will open either in vaudeville or in la Broadway revue within a month. She says .she will never appear in a cafe again. NAZABBO'S ACT IN imiT Nat Nazarro's "Buck and Bubbles" act has been signed for the Herman Timberg-Shubert vaudeville unit to be produced by I. H. Herk. The Nazarro act Is at Keith's Palace, New York, this week. SUITOB SENDS BILL (Continued from page 1) bought, the bouLIeg acquired and add the total up and send the bill to the girl that "gave you the air." It's been done, and tho fellow who got away with it Is Bennie Rubin, of Rubin and Hall, who played the Golden Gate theatre here some weeks ago. The girl who paid Is Sheila Terry, also of vaudeville. Sheila admits the truth of It with a giggle and says she thinks It's only right that she should pay. It started back In Chicago. Ben- nie Rubin and Sheila Terry were on the same bill. Bennie looked at Sheila and her heart fluttered. She says it was the "bos.sy" way Bennie had. They got engaged. Sheila was .strong for Bennie for a couple of months during which time he bought her hats and treated her royally. Then Sheili .says she got tired of tho "bos.sy" stuff and they had their first row. Then they had another row and in San Francisco Bennie got hi.s engagement ring back. About thtfj time Roy Sedley, play- ing in .Sheila's aet, grew kind of strong for Sheila and told her so. She said "yes," when ho put the vital que.stion. They got married. Then Bennie came back into the s'^enario. He heard about the mar- riage and lamented the many good dollars entertaining his former in- tended. The more he thought about it the more woful he became until he figured up what it had cost him. It was %]J0. He ffot out a letter- head and made out a bill whif^h he sent ta Sheila and Sheila paid it. She says so herself and doesn't question the ethics of the proposi- tion for a minute. So Bennies got his ring and his dough back an<^ now all he's out is his time. AMUSEMEIfr STOCKS JOINING IN FORWARD PRICE MOVEMENT Cliques Mark Up Quotations—Desirable to Forecast Prosperous Opening of the New Season—Famous Players Crosses 85—Goldwyn Backward The amusement group of stocks got under way this week in a move- | ment that had the surface appear- ance of a determined demonstration of the cliques and pools. Famous Players crossed 85 Wednesday In fairly brisk trading, the high tigure representing a net gain of around four points in less than a week. Orpheum got up to 19^ at the t(.p on a moderate turnover and Loew t'ouched 16 several times. All the stock named hold firmly near their best for the period. Traders figured that the motive power behind the upturn was prob- ably pool buying. In the case of Famous Players especially the syn- dicate is said to have had diflflculty in creating a following that would follow the price up. Under the cir- cumstances it would be good tactics just at this time to engender a feel- ing of optimism for the film shares. The new season is on the eve of its seasonal revival, and a brisk move forward in the ticker price might be expected to inspire a feeling of cheerfulness over the prospects of good business in the autumn. Improvement Forecast Advances in the stocks would in- dicate buying to discount expected improvement at the boxoifice, and there arc indications that such a development might be logical. Fa- mous I'layers' sales department lets it become known that there is healthy demand for its product, and three monthf of listed releases has been scheduled two months. Sales of first run rights are reported sold up for the metropolitan district, and elsewhere exhibitors are reported contracting on a generous basis, both of price and quantity. Revival of picture business Is dis- cernible to almost anyone in the trade, and those on the inside may have a long distance line on the prospects that justifies the aggres- sive bullish maneuver, but in any case it is entirely desirable to make it appear that the amusement issues are about to enter upon a period of great improvement. Insiders with access to inside data may have good reason to believe that September will usher in a good season. Outsiders who spread bear- ish views have little to back up their case. Mbstly they argue from a hunch. If the business structure has improved Bufllclcntly since last January to move the motor, steel and equipment shares up 20 to 60 points, it ought to be a good argu- ment that raoMey from wages and income from small business have considerably replenished the public purse. Talk of the problem of un- employment has been hushed for three months. If the people have more money, or the prospects arc that they will have more in the fall, one of the logical beneficiaries should be the thoatjre box offlce. The amusement stocks have probably done least of all'the groups to dis- count betterment, and they should be in a position to appreciate in value. Bull Market Ahead In tho case of Orpheum and Loew the su.spended dividend is a stum- bling block before a major climb, but the restoration of the payment would go hand in hand with im- proved box olllce takings, or at least prosperity would discount that prospect. Besides these considera- tions thA speculative community of Wall street seems to be fairly unan- imou.s that the movement in the main will be construct! • for a long time ahead, accompanied, of course, by the usual momentary setbacks and reactions. Since the amuse- ments have not kept pace with the standard stocks, it would be good management to give them a flying .start so that surrounding markj't strength and revival of the theatri- cal business would go hand in hand. Coldwyn did not get into the spurt. Transactions were fairly large. On a week's turnover of around 10,000 shares prices didn't vary a quarter of a point from high to low. Denials of pool.s. manipula- tion and the like don't mean any- thing in this situation. It stands to reason that the sale and purchase of 10.000 shares of an inactive stock couldn't bo managed in a brt). 1 market without an advance or a de- cline. The impetus would almost necessarily come from either th« buying or the selling side to swell the dealings to such a total. If th< preponderating activity came from the buying side the price would ad- vance, or Joe Miller is an authoritj on economics. The reserve is tru< in like degree. When the price stays stationary it must be closely con- trolled. The long deferred state- ment of the First National operation did not come out, and nothing reached the public about the propo- sal to apply to the Stock Exchange for a listing of the Issue, which is dealt in on the Curb only. Th« •ummary of trana«otion« July 21 to Auf. 2 incluiiive are aa follows: STOCK EXCHANGE ThuDMlay— Bal*a Hlgh.L.ow. I.Jiat. Chf. Fmm IMay-L... 800 H2%. 82 H2%, + tl r.oow. Inc 000 10% ].^^ 15V4 Urphftum l.SOO 18Vi 1A% ^H% •> H Itoaton sold 800 Orpheum at 18Vi. Friday— Pam. Play-L... 200 82 K US —% Loew. Inc 700 ISMi. l.^^ l^% — % Orpheum 800 18Vi l%% 18^ — % Itoston aold 25 Orpheum at 18^. Saturday— Fam. I'lay-L... 800 82 81% 81% - H Do. pC 100 (H 04 M -)-l\4 Loew. Inc SOO 13% 10% 1B% Monday— Fam, IMay-Ii... 2,800 M\ 82% 83% -f-1% I.>o. pf 200 04% 04% 04% -f % Loew. Inc 2,.100 10 1.1% 1&% -H % Orpheum 1.100 10 18% 18% -^ % Doaton sold 200 Orpheum at 10. Tuesday— Fam. Plax-L... 5.iM0 84% 8.1% 84 •(- % Do. pf 100 04% 04% 04% + % Loew. Inc 2,100 10 l.'S% 15% f % Orpheum 1,400 10% 1H% 10% + % lloRton aold 110 Orpheum at 10%. Wedneaday — Fam. Piay-L... 0.400 85% 84 fi 41 I,oew, Inc 2,100 18 in% 15% — % Orpheum 400 10% 10% 10% -f % THE CURB Thursday— Rales.Hiah.Low Last. Chf. Goldwyn l..%00 7% 7% 7% + % Friday— Qoldwyn 2,000 7% 7% 7% Saturday— Qoldwyn 800 7% 7% 7% Monday— Goldwyn 800 7% 7% 7% Tuesday— Goldwyn 4.100 7% 7% 7% Wednesday— Goldwyn 1.000 7% 7% 7% - % ST. LOUIS' FASHION SHOW St. Liouls. Aug 2. The St. Louis Merchants Asso- ciation's fashion show, the biggest event of its kind yet tried, will open tomorrow at the Auditorium, an open air theatre at Forrest Park. The show will continue for two weeks, the association spending about $15,000 on professional enter- tainment. A special ice rink bus been constru .ed at a cost of $6,000. The ice surface mea.surcj 24 by 48 feet and the ice-making apparatus is guarantee^, to keep the ico solid. A special ice show has Kntie S:hr.idt and Ilanny and Willie Frick, formerly of the Hippodrome; Miller Sisters and Greta Wcikciat, formerly of Terrace Garden (Chi- cago); Fred l*otcr.'jon and May Judels, formerly of Hcaly's, I Te'v York, Tho skaters' contracts c. 11 for about $2,000 for the engagement. Other features are Joe Jackson and a spocl.al dance ballet headed by Ten Eyck and Welly. ENOAOEMENTS Hose and Arthur Itoylan, for •JJlue Kitten" (IlammerHteln). Jack Benny, reported engaged for Jack Singer Shubert vaudeville unit, not closed.