Variety (December 1922)

Friday, December 8, 1922 VARIETY AMONG THE WOMEN At the Century theatre Tuesday afternoon Mille. Cecil© Sorel. before i^ large and enthusiastic audience, gave aa fine a performanre of ^Oamllle" as I ever have seen. In fact she la the greatest Camille of the laat 25 years. Just to watch Sorel arrange a vase of flowers is a lesson In acting, and the death scene was remafkable. Mllle. Surel'8 clothes were magnificent and her Jewels, regal. A ball fown of silver brocade was gorgeous. The skirt was draped to the front with two huge loops at the back forming a train. A fllmy cloud of lace hung over the arms. Very handsome Sorel was In the first act in a coral dress having ex- tended sides. The trimming was of feather banding in several rows. Garlands of flowers decorated the bodice and skirt Stunning was a garden dress of the finest lace over delicate pink. The skirt was in two flounces and the top made with high neck and long sleeves opened the tiniest bit at the bosom. A wide sash of pink satin was hung quite low and tied in a graceful bow at the side. Blue velvet was another gown heavily embroidered in silver. Made In long straight lines two long panels hung from underneath the arms to the hem. Stitched down but one side these panels flared open showing silver lining. Fringe edged the panels and hem of the skirt. For the last tragic act. Sorel chose a simple white pegnoir tied at the waist line with a cord. Very sumptuous were all Sorels wraps and she showed five. One was coral velvet inside and out with an abundance of chinchilla trimming. There was an ermine one of course and silver cloth was lined with flame co'or feathers and a yellow cape had a chin- chilla collar. Sorel is a bobbed Camille, although she attached two long curls to her tresses for the death scene. ;;; .,- Clever Etta Pillard! How she worked Tuesday night at the Columbia theatre in 'The Social Maids". Where on our musical comedy stage have we a dancer like Miss Pillard? They may sing better but they can't dance better. As for dressing. Miss Pi'larJ showed excellent taste. The first dress was of pale pink eilged with silver lace and belted where the waist line tB. A small hat had a fine pink plume. Bright red velvet had a full 4kirt picked out in jet ornaments. And this dress followed not the long Ugly waist line of thi.s seasons vogue, but where a waist line should be and how gracefully a proper waist line ."eta of a figure. Miss Pillard then followed fashion's decree and wore a long walsted gown of white and crystal. A garland of roses decorated one side. Very handsome was a pale blue gown with extended sides. The blue material was smothered in festoons of lace served perfectly flat. One cloth dres.s worthy of a stroll on Fifth avenue, was of palest tan trimmed at the hem. collars and cuflfs with black fox. It was very smart. Greenislf gold was a dancing costume made with full bloomers and a short ruffled coat. Pale hue was the lining. Elenore Wilson's type I was beginning to deplore as vanishing from Burlesque. Very few Wilsons are left, the big stately kind with the well formed limbs. Miss Wilson wore several gowns, mostly of the metallic materials draped closely to the figure and slit up one side. Although I did like Miss Wilson in a huge lace hoop skirt. The chorus in the Indian number looked the best with the girls in costumes made entirely of short ribbons. Rose Duffin and Marie Hart wore several nice costumes, a red one worn by Miss Uo«e Duflln was especially beautiful. It was very short cut in small ruffles wiili a huge bow on each hip. Bebe Daniels looking more like Mabel Normand than ever In "Singed Wings", is first »s a Princess, in the long flowing velvet robes of the fairy story books. Living in abject poverty, her lace house dress was a little out of the picture. The one evening dress was of solid crystal made In straight lines with a girdle. A wrap was velvet and fur trimmed. NEWS OF THE DAIUES Mme. actress, Pierre Achmatoff, Russian was released from Kills Island upon her statement that she was to join the Moscow Art Thea- tre which Morris nest is bringing to this country, yhe was in danger of becoming a "public charge" when her release was permitted. The actress went in the custody of Methodist missionaries, who took her to the >retliodist Immigrant Home on West 11th street. Mme. AchmatofT had 20 pieces of baggage With her. Personal property of the late Itillian Russell will be offered at an unre.stricted public auction sale to be held the latter part of next week. The whole is released by Alexander P. Moore, of Pittsburgh, who was Mias Russell's husband, and by the Union Trust Co. of that city. Joyce Eleanor Pont, actress, was recently married to Rodney Sturgis. a broker of Boston. The girl last appeared in "Marjolaine," and will continue her i»rotessional life. Her father l.s William H. Post, now playing in "Seventh Heaven." ■' Isadora Duncan is scheduled to deliver a sermon and offer a dance Christmas Eve in the Episcopal Church of St. Mirk'a-in-the- Bouwerie la New York. The ser- mon is to be on 'Tlie Moralizing Effect of Dancing on the Human Soul," and the church pipe organ will furnish the music for the dance. The Rev. Dr. William Nor- man Guthrie is rector of the church. William A. Brady Is also to put forth a Shakespearean production. His idea is to line up the "old school" of actors against the new, and to this end has invited Sothem, Hampden and Mantell to appear together In "Julius Caesar." An attempt was made to rifle the receipts at the Park music hall. New York, the thief "jimmying" the door from the manager's office to the box offlce. It is thought the burglar was after two days' gross, removed Fri- day night. The robber secured |200. Mrs. Henrietta Jolson, former wife of Al Jolson, was married to Jack Silvey Nov. 8. The ceremony occurred on the coast. It is understood Mme. Melba Is organizing an opera company with which she intends to tour the world. CLEAN UP CABNIVAIS (Continued from page 8) by an assessment, pooling the total cost. This proposition died an early death, and was unceremoniously in- terred. Another proposition was that a new contract form for use between fair associations and carnivals be drawn in which there should appear a speciflc clause providing against girl shows of an objectionable char- acter, gambling devices and other abuses and providing further for penalties to be paid in the form of liquidated damages for infractions. They didn't siay this proposal out- right, but it was tabled by being referred to a committee which will report, either at .the, February meeting of the board in Chicago or at the 1923 conv^tion in Memphis. It was the belief of observers that the proposal has been put away for the present. Progressives 'Silenced The net outcome of the conven- tion appears to be that nobody for the present proposes to do anything about the objectionable phases of the carnival. There were half a dozen progressive fair officials at the gathering who went to Toronto deeply interested in the plan of ending the wholesale delivery of privileges to carnival companies and disposing of them to local in- terests. Also many fairs are figur- ing on the proposition of buying and owning their own rides. These men apparently lost Interest after the convention opened or figured the time was not favorable to dis- cuss their ideas. Certainly there was no open consideration of the new scheme. Another significant detail of the meeting was that although Johnny Jones, perhaps the best known and most representative of the best class of ourdoor showmen, and one of the most popular, was not heard in the gabfest. The reports that reached New York of the convention proceedings were extremely fragmentary and vague. Charles Rlngling stopped off on his way back, but went on through to Chicago the next day. Johnny Jones stayed in New York only a few hours, continuing on to I Florida to ioin his carnival com- pany, which closed a week stand at Charleston. S. C, Dec. 2. Elusive Resolution Accounts disagree as to what hap- pened to a formal resolution putting the convention on record as opposed to graft and indecent shows. The resolution was drafted and put in .<^hape to be presented and voted on. But there were several versions of what happened to it. One version was that the resolution was for- mally adopted In the late proceed- ings; the other that it had never been presented. Neither Ed Ballard nor Jerry Muggivan was present at the con- vention, although they probably were represented. Louis Floto was there, but whether he carried au- thority for the Ballard-Muggivan group was not apparent. One of the main groups on hand was made up of the novelty supply Jobbers from Chicago, St. I.«ouis and other points. These Interests are generally re- garded as allies of the Donaldson faction, and they were not particu- larly happy this year. Trade has been slipping away from the mid-Western Jobbers. The buyers of carnival supplies for years did business on a strictly cash basis with the Jobbers on the Jobbers' own terms, but this year they came SOCIAL MAIDS (Continued from page 7) weeks. The former "Maids" had played the Columbia and one or two other houses in Greater New York. Miss Pillard Is as ever an enjoy- able, hard-working artiste. Her dancing was one of the redeeming features. Stone earned applause every time he hopped the buck and got some real laughs with low com- edy and rough-house stuff that was legitimate. Billy Gaston, Stone's old partner, is the straight man. aided by Dud- ley Farnsworth, a juvenile straight who plays a Freijch character in one act without starting anything. Elinore Wilson, an old school ex- perienced prima, gave an all right performance* The other principal women were Marie Hart and Rose Duffin, soubret ingenues who led numbers and danced well. Billy Baker in an anemic comedy role worked opposite Stone in tramp makeup, while Sam Wright did a Dutch role with a putty nose and received most of Stone's rough comedy. It's the noisiest show that has ever played the house. Stone's In- vitations to the gallery were ac- cepted literally, until the upper part of the house sounded like a Saturday crowd at the Polo Grounds. In a short scene which followed a pick-out number, the gallery gods informed Stone that the captain of the ship whom he was arraigning "was right behind him." One voice yelled, 'Take an- other jab, he's right behind you." The Stone and IMllard show was staged under the personal direction of Joe Hurtig. Book by George Stone. It's burle.sque de "lux«" with 24 chorus girls. It needs thera. Con. 'The Ringside," the Benny Leon- ard cabaret in New York, which ^ » # » ., «„.» »■_ ^ , opened last Friday night, underwent j ^^«^ ^°T./'\*? first time and opened a raid within its first three days. Two customers, the nianaf?er and an employe were charged with pos- sessing liquor. Detectives of In- spector's Bolan's staff made the ar- rests. Maurice Mouvet. profe.<5sionally known as Maurice, the dancer, is recovering his health in Switzer- land. He has been there for sev- eral weeks. William A. Brady will give his first of a series of Sunday night performances j.t th»i PlayhouKc New Year's Eve. Throe one-act playa constiluU' the progruni. which will continue for four successive Sunday evenings, tend Ioniser, if a success. Atleiulance is to Lo by subscription. KesKiio Hriyak,'.wa. Japane-o pic- -t^ire strt»'.- will n\'\>>- r i i I'.n mate stawe next nn)ii:li. T.. ; . >- duction is to be the "Tif?er hil%." presented by flie i'liubcrt..! in »om- junclion uiili WnlKr .Jur<ian, Mary Milos M.n;ei- is report-d •<» be en;»n«od to \\i<\ Louis Sh<'i\\ in. rnrm^Tly a diamatic < litli; in .\'cw Vork. Mrs. Jack Bainato, daughter of Fanny VN'ard. was mtnied to I..ord Plunkett, gratulson of the Arch- bishop of Dublin, early this week. Though quite a social event, the l>ride's mother was not present. She is in Paris. Fritzi S'-l'.ffl' ujli Mp"n in a lu-w musical r>iay for .\e.v VoiU .^ome lime next spring. A committee of theatre mana^rers. beaded by Marc Klaw, has worked out a system for relieving the traffic congestion in 45th street, be- tween r.roadway and EiBlith ave- niio. The .«ix theatres on this block were all <lr(»t)i«it'tc their final cur- lain at prat'Tlc'i |i\- the same time, but now. aCter a conference, tlie !li»^aties turn out their audiences at intervals of about live minutes from 10:.-,0 to IIiI.t. Polbe In- s|ierior Davis tliitik.s so well of liie iiba th'tt ho may carry it on to other uver-buiikrind the;»lio «tref»ts. 'Dinfy" Mo«»re's restaiininl. (-n ■IKfh street. oM" Uri.adw.-ty, was raided by the N'ew York police (Continued'on i..iBe "i) up credit lines in some cases of recognized names, direct with the manufacturers and importers. They were on hand at the gathering of carnival men to patch up relations and re-establi«h business connec- tions. They did not enter into the controversy on the convention fiof)r, but they lent their influence, chiefly noise and numbers, to the cau.se of the carnival men In opposition to the faction that f.ivorod a clean-up. The projiosltion came up aiming at the formation of a mutual relief fund to which everyl>ody would con- tribute, the object being to provide emergency finances for any cnrni\al man cau;;ht in a railroad wicck or a bluw-down. This went the way of other constructive i)r()i)o-al3, ILLUMINATED FAIR AGENT'S CATALOG Wirtli r.l'K.fjM-nfeld. n)jtd'»or book- • :>", u.Kcd a i.ovel advertisir.i' device at the l'"air .Se "retJii ies" (■<m\ f'titicn in 'i'oionto \aM week. Ari illijini- naled .'i'. t»rtcto.rr;»ph w.'i.s .»(:t up in the lo'oby of t*ie KiiuT I'.'l.vard hotel, the coiivetillfin lieadMU.ir'.'rs. and di,vplayid colored iliu.'-tiated slid'-s (»f the it' t.s in Hie Wirlh-lSloornen - fi'ld < aUil'>u:. Goofcre Hanii'l, rer)res*»nt I»i;f the \S'irth lUooinenftj'id oJIi* e, «• < wM-d KNICK KNACKS (Continued from page 7) specialty, complete the male roster The Women are Joan Carr, sou- bret; Kitty Warren, Ingenue, and Madlyn. prima donna. Miss War- ren was all over the show, leading numbers, punctuating wardrobe and contributing a corking song and dance "male" Imper.oonatlon In eve- ning clothes. Her buck and wing- ing and other dancing stuck out. M ss Carr worked smoothly and sweetly, despite a perceptible limp due to an accident early in the week. It handicapped her dancing, but she was game and convincing. Madlyn Worth, a voluptuous blondina, with a so-so voice, made frequent appearances, showing pret- ty dresses. A singing specialty in "one" allowed Miss Worth to give the boys a "flash" when she stripped to a one-piece bodice and sheer opera stockings. A slow jazz dance with a sensuous touch got her most. Her song selections, except "I Ain't Givin' Nothin' Away," were ac- cepted quietly. The show is replete with laughs, having any number of good comedy bits. Vaudeville acts have con- s(riou8ly or unconsciously contrib- uted several to the altrafttion. Gal- lagher and Rolley's "rolling chair" bit and most of the dialog were by Kitty Warren and Kenneth Christy, a black-face comedian. They got nothing with it. A mo- ment later, the principal comic and his assistants toolc the scene over and built It up to real laughs with the rolling chair turning out to be a miniature saloon. The bootlegger impersonates a barber every time a suspicious-looking gent appears. He gave one customer a booze sham- poo, then combed his hair. It was a howl. Another good comedy bit was the "African Dodger," very well handled by Silk. Lew Denny'ar straightlng helped here. It's an old bit, but In 1 capable hands, real funny. Other holdovers from last season were the finale of act one, "Honeymoon Song." The chorus In individual fantastic costumes open the scene with a fashion paratle. The bridal party next, with the finish, the bride nnd groom in a parlor car waving good-bye. Frank Vilrano, George Namoli and i'.ob Carney were busy in minor roles. Carney's dancing and the singing of the above duo with Joe i I^Jing raised the vocal ensemble above the average. The production is up to the best standard of the Columbia circuit, all of the sets looking neat nnd ap- propriate. The coRtuininiif of the 18 I-ei)py choristers was in good taste and lavish. Tom Howard Is believed to have I»ut on most of last .season's "Knlck Knacks'* before jumping to the MIn.Mkys Park htock burlesque com- l»any. The program doesn't credit anyone with U. but regurdleHB of who i»roduccd the original. Harry Hustings has an attraction that is a credit lo the wlieel. Con. the at tract lon.s that appeared at the convention banquet, acts from the UW'.w yrn^n'a. I'litWAKPii .md rilnrcn!?. The dinricr arrangements w«'re made by D. C. Ross, sufierinfendent "f attractions fur the Toronto ex- hibition. The new prc«;ldenf of th»» secre- iaric<f nssnctatlon'/s H. A'. Mayfleld, of Waco, Tejj. Thoniri.^Cj:i|le!iI, of Miiincapohs, wa.i cle.Kil vicfe-pr»;i- denf, and Don .Moore, of ^!i.)ux Cil.\' Iowa, was re elcdod .-,ecre;;uy. JAZZTIME REVmS (Continued from page 7) the second string burlesque organ- izations. TheBe people have pep and energy and they spend a lot of vitality in their two-hour turn be- fore the foots. The emphasis on the wriggles probably gets them much at the 14th street house (for there Is no denying the taste of the Olym- pic cllent»le for a good mixture of spice), but it robs the company and the show of class. On its stepping ability this aggregation could shine in a lot more pretentious company. There isn't an organization on the first wheel, for instance, that can match It In this department, and one member at least could take a chance on a Broadway musical comedy and prosper. She Is Ethel Bartlett, a tricky 95-pound mite who is all to the Genee. This girl has real tal- ent and a natural gift for graceful dancing that goes beyond all ac- quired skill. Her legmaniu is a Joy to watch and her handling of a Scotch highland dance is a finished hit of work. It Is worth noting that she did not shimmy once and she was the only girl In the outfit who by reason of size and conformation could have shivered with sightll-^ ness. But the show is framed on an as- cending scale of shocks, beginning, about 10 o'clock with a Kelktinous female of proportions and substance super-matronly, who gets down to an unqua^lilled union suit and shim- mies all over the stage. For the moment it looked like the high light of the evening, but more was to come. Jackie Addison presently went this performance one better by appearing in .a purple union suit so sheer one could easily Im- agine Jackie's satin exterior shin- ing through, and she did some more violent shudderings. getting pretty much all the planes of her person- ality Into the scenario. It was an- other noisy climax for the gang up- stairs, but not the end. Jackie was to the fore again not ten minutes later exploiting her tremolo talents more aggressively if possible, but this time In a loose sheath, ankle-length gown, and was twice as exhilarating as the exhibi- tion in the union suit. For bar- baric bluntness this was the high spot. They tried to go beyond it later, but the effort was vain. Bur- lesque producers are crude. What they should have done was to stage an undulating dance by a girl in a mother hubbard wrapped. Instead they turned Fifi loose In nothing more startling than bare skin and a fringe of dangling ribbons. Fift danced in a style approaching Mil- lie De Leon's utmost, but it was tame compe'-ed to the sheath gown effect, although Flfl did her earnest best to please with the ample means at her command. The Olympic seems to be pros- pering on this style of burlesque. The Tue.sday night attendance was near capacity, a state of affairs that does not ai vays happen, even on amateur night. But tlie show cou'd have made good without the tdiock- ers, merely on its lively straight dancing makeup. Besides, it has enough gendineiy funny moments to bring the average up nicely. Charles ("Tramp") McNally is a young comedian of promise. He has the mark of a natural, spontaneous funmaker. All he needs Is experi- ence and advice, which probably come to the same thing. Most of his present material is dull, but he has good spots. The apartment house flirtation scene, a nemi- sketch, semi-bit that had a set all to Itself, has the elements of a cap- ital turn standing nlone. McNally's business of forcing himself to con- sume bad hooch was good low com- edy, although overdone. The bit has a lot of other stuff worth work- inff up that doesn't stand out now. Overdoing Is McNally's worst fatilt. If ho can develop a casual, unctuous style to smooth out his too aggres- sive method, he might go a long way. Nate Busby did nicely with a blackface part and Benny Moore handled wop dialect convinclntfly. • The three have a lot of poasibllitl.-s. Here they do only fairly well with Indifferent material. The fact that they got away with such stuff at all was the wonder. The show is brightly dressed, and in this respect tops the average by a good dea', nnd the 14 girls are an uncommonly willing lot. Rush. MBS. HERK INJURED Mrs. I. H. Herk, who suffered a serious accident Thanksgiving eve. through injuring one of her eyes whllo hammering a nail into a t;hlcken coop at thu Herk home at I'landome, Long l.slund. was re.'^ting easily in the Flushing hospital Wednesday, following a major oper- ation a few days previously per- formed with a view to saving the .sight. The nnll broke, It soem**, and the pointed end lodged in Mr«. Herk's eye. At first any pos.sibillty of .savin;,' llie .*iKht was despaired of, but Wednesday's bulletin soemed to indieate tho Oi»cr.iliou had been suc- cessful. Variety's reviJ<w of "Over the ilillK," inentiuned Kdgar Allan Woolf • H fhe .lutbor. Kdyar Allan Woolt d'j.io.'., lic v^^ole it. • ' .