Variety (July 1923)

■■^#t '^'■^ ^'■ft^'H'^ f '♦"«r ■/ ■*':^ ■**^ -{'."■J NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK / PALACE Wben Mondar nlght'a perform- hue* swunar Into motion it looked a« though there would b« empty spota. imt the house elowljr fllled up. Boxes on the lower floor held full quotae. while upatalre the eide flichte of boxes which range gallery- waxtl also became peopled. Drop- Ine from out-of-townera were quite •vident. which la to be credited to ;the Palace'a reputation. Ethel Barrymore's name out front meant even more to the box otnce. The star is an ever welcome visitor at the Palace, and that goes both ways. Little did she imagine that Barrle's "Twelve Pound Look." first used by her as a curtain raiser at the Empire, would become so stead- fast a vaudeville property. Here la a seasonal appearance at the Palace In the playlet and. from the manner of Its reception now. It will •erve for seasons to come. Miss Barrymore is charming even down to acknowledging the many calls from the entrance In response to the sustained and genuine ap< plause. Her charm as the typist in ••The Twelve Pound Look" is the ■ecret of Its longevity. A young comedian appearing afterwards re- marked: "Ethel didn't say, 'That's all there is; there ian't any more,' and I don't believe U was her," but without her there just wouldn't tiave been any "Twelve Pound Look** In the show. Tha second half of the bill was far too quiet Miss Barrymore was second after intermission, which was opened by a young prima donna, Fleurctte Joeffrie (New Acta). A lively low comedy turn was needed to change the pace next to closing, but there was none. Hawthorne and Oooke were scheduled for the ■pot, but were moved up to fourth after the tnatlnee, exchanging plactfs with Charles Crafts and Jack Haley.- The latter are neat lads and clever enough in their sphere, yet they probably did not aspire to the late position iior perhaps did they relish It' Some of their niftfes amused but lightly, for th^ routine Is after all a moderated nut act.- Crafts took a chance with a slow tempo ballad and It was not 'surprising that some walking occurred before the act was half over. Vincent ]^opes and hla Hotel Pennsylvania band« which he bills aa an orchestra, carried the first section and ree^stered the evening's top score. It is his second week of what la supposed to be a summer's engagement at the Palace. Last week the numbers were not re- garded as properly routined, btit there was no such fault Monday. The fait of the selections was labeled "Bouquet of Roses," It combining a number of the "Rose" songe of the past few years and cleverly orches- trated. It called for two girls ap- pearing on the platform set behind the back drapes, being disclosed from the petals of a large rose and indicative of "Roees of Picardy." Another platform picture, that of a Southern cabin, was shown during the playing of a mammy song, which number got furttier notice via a novelty mamn^ figure in cardboard in the lobby. Lopes is billing the GRACE EOLER and Co. (S) Dancing 11 Mint.; Thres 68th St Grace Edler was formerly of the Bdler Sisters, offering a straight dance routine. Miss Edler now has three girls besides herself, all open- ing in male clothes (full evening dress^. They change to female at- tire eventually and' look nice in either. The dance formations are more or less conventional, although Miss Edl^r is an exceptional specialist In what she does. She Is shapely .and pleasant, appearing Jn her abbre- viated costuming which under- dreescd the male clothes. The act closed the show and clicked. Ah€L BREEN and HELENE Song and .Dance 9 Mine.; Three Bedford, Brooklyn , Man and woman in conventional song and dance routine. The woman is in rompers-costume, showing bare legs to thighs and looking cool. The man in Tux. His contribution in the legmanla ranges Irom mediocre to occasional flashex of familiar flash stepping, suggest- ing he may have been faking it in spots. His partner makes three becom- ing costume changes. The flnish is weak. Opened here. Abel. BLAIR and PENNINGTON—; — Song and Dance 13 Mins.; One 68th 8t Nice-looking girl and male part- ner affecting 8eml-"nut" style of working. The routine is a succes- sion of song and dance specialties, the girl flashing a pleasing >volce, and the vakn doing the acrobatic stopping. The act was a bright No. 2 at this house, and /hould repeat ^ound the big small time. Abel. individuals in the band and Iks credits for the various arrange- ments are also present in ths pro- gram. As the band gave the house orchestra a rest it immediately struck up at intermission, playing throughout that period and pleasing with a rendition of "Wlldflower." Hawthorne and Cooke delivered hokum from all angles and they landed in the changed position. They started out by announcing a song by Rooney and Rent, who were out front with the family. Pat was In to watch Lopex in action, as it was in Rooney's "Rings of Smoke" that Lopex flrst drew notice The nut comedians "got 'em" with the "ear tricks" and "make me serious," with the phoney instrumental bits worked up to a good exit. Grette Ardine with John Tyrell and Tom MSck were heroic in the heat on third, fori theirs is a tough brand of dancing in the summer- time. The boys' work is certainly cut out for them. Miss Ardine being no featherweight. A Jaxx number sounded like something ^ut of "Chauve-Sourls." Sammy Lee staged "The French Model" and there are several good inventions, the swing- ing of Miss Ardine by the boys early In the going being particularly so. Florence Brady, who has been groomed for a year or so, got her chance at the Palace and went over nicely on second. She has a natural way of handling lyrics, added to which is a vocal variation trick. Into her style also has crept a bit of the style set by a prima donna in "Shuffle Along." Miss Brady seemed much too plain in appear- ance, appearing in - a frock more suited for street wear than the, stage. Van Ij^rn and Inez opened with a roller-skate spinning exhibition that cotfid not fall to bring returns. Percy Oakes and Pamela Delour closed in' a brief and effective dance routine. Oakes'«speclaity commanded attention, while the trim flgure of his partner supplied a graceful ac- tion picture. Ibee. ^'jEFFERisON Music In the air at the Jefferson' this week, with all sorts of instru- mental work on the program, in- cluding the playing of a washboard, a saw and a trunk.>. A comfortably- filled house Monday night enjoyed dn entiipely adequate show, the qual- ity and diversity of entertainment shown being much above the stand- ard of this theatre. * Stanley Galllnt and Co. opeired with a shadowgraphy turn ihat is out of the ordinary because of it| attractive letting and color work. Dolly WUson, a chlckenlsh lltUe blond, with a pretty bobbed marcelle and a flgure ne plus ultra, followed with to\\r popular numbers that the 14th street crowd swallowed whole. Miss Wilson is a Jaxx blues singer, but she has the saving grace of dainty femininity. The ballad in the blue *spotllght is strikingly de- livered, hut she might nvake it ev^n more effective by standing erect in- stead of crouching to one side. Hibbett and Malle were third with a line of chatter that dealt exclu- sively wfth their "table-flnishlng mammas." A little of this is always good in the intermediate houses chiefly because it strikes home, but in this case it is carried, too far. The same goes for the hand-shaking bit, which Is repeated monotonously time and time again. "The boys have appearance, stage pretence and pleasing southern accents, but they need a routine that occasionally at leasty^ets away from the subject of women and their food-digging ways. Gus Fowler completely Justified his success at the Palace last month. "The Watch King" is a showman of merit, and "his palming and illusions with doxens of timepieces is ar- tistry of the highest sort A splen- did applause hit, and deservedly so. Pert Kelton and Co. (New Acts) met with frenxied approval, neces- sitating bo/s innumerable, show- stopping and a speech. George Moore and Girls had a tough spot following the previous act's riot, but they soon hit their stride and scored their own suc- cess. The singing is no worse than usual in a turn of this sort, the dancing is exceptional and Moore's comedy is thoroughly enjoyable. He is now doing a Mexican "bad man" as well as the EngUjih Johnnie of his former acts. Some more talk about girla "who never even give a knife and fork a chance to cool" is used, but in this case it is not over- done. Pinto and Boyle, next to closing, with their standard comedy, banjo and singing turn. The act is good anywhere, any time, and it mopped up laughs and applause alternately. The numbers used now are not as up to date as they might be and should be replaced by some of this year's vintage. Another standard act, "Shadojrs," with three new people, close#^and held 'em. Collete Blain. a 17-year- old girl *of striking beauty, has re- placed Lucy LeCoRte In the turn. It won't be long before the man- agers wake up and get hep to her. because she Is a marvelous little dancer. No praise can describe her grace and her nbility, and, handled properly, she should have little dif- ficulty in ascending to the peak in whatever terpslchorean line she chooBcii. "The Scarlet Lily," feature pic-, lure. BRIGHTON R looksd as If ths Brighton show was just going to bs ons of those cut and dried vauderiUs line-ups Monday night until nearly ths final belL And then the punch arrived— Lou TeUegen in blaok-faca That was unusual enough for ten vaude- ville ihows. To see the celebrated romantic hero of the Alms working in cork and comeding with Jack Wilson 20 minutes after he had been tearing up the scenery In his "Blind Youth** dramatic sketch de- served to be the knock-out it was. There had been little comedy pre- vious to the Wilson act closing the show, and with Wilson following di- rectly after the florid dramatics and ranting of the Tellegen sketch, it was as soft an assignment as any comic could ask for. Wilson had been getting laughs up to Tellegen's entrance^ but they were Just laughs, not yells. But with TeUegen walk- ini^ on in Wilson's whlt^ street eleaners uniform, with face - min- strelixed—that cinched it Tellegen incidentally play^ the saxophone and essayed a dance step or two. The sax playing wasn't bad at all and the dancing was funnier than the black face. A midget Willie Ward, in the Wilson turn, has one of the most tuneful tenor voices heard around i in y»ars, and the kid can imitate and step with the best of 'em. Given a chance, hft'd run away with the Wilson turn. Wilson held 'em in with the aid of his lassistants. ' Preceding was the Tellegen sketch, "Blind Yputh," with Tellegen doing a pleasing bit of characterization as a dissolute artist The sketch has 4>layed around frequently, but it never went better apparently than at the Brighton Monday night. Tellegen's score warranted the speech he mode, and the bringing out of his assisting players for the final bow was a gracious bit of stage etiquette that might well be imitated by others in vaudeville whose efforts are supplemented by a supporting cast ^ , Rmma Raymond a^d Co. opened with a wire turn (New Acts), that got the entertainment off on the right foot. Caits Brothers, second, made the welkin ri.ig with their hard shoe dancing. The ibat and hard shoes brought back a reminder of the days of Hammerstein's when no show was complete without at least one team of hard shoe hoofers, and always with^ a mat The Caits act wowed 'em at the Brighton, the talk getting laughs and the dancing raising the roof. That's doing something second anywhere. William Kent and Co. next with "Shivers." Kent mi^le 'em giggle, yell and roar with his comedy "souse." That Brighton aMdience was a great laughing bunch Monday night It always is when there is a theatre party in, and there was a big one Monday. The comedy lines of the "Shivers'* sketch that re- /beived such big Ixiughs at the Pal- ace last week again knocked 'em, silly at the Brighton. Kent is a real comicMOroving it when he ca»make the oldest of gags go over for howls. The big hit of the first half were Healy and Cross. This team has galloped rapidly to the front of pi- ano and singing turns. They were accorded a wow of a reception on their entrance and cleaned up all the way. Healy's tenoring of the harfnony stuff is a trifle too heavy at times; many times, in fact The voices would blend better If Healy would subdue his vocalixinif con- siderably. Burke and Durkin, pcogramed for fourth, exchanged places wtih Healy and Cross and opened the second half. That made two piano and singing turns on the same bill. buV there was no ^noticeable conflict. Burke scored heavily with his rou- tine of pop Songs. Business, capacity Monday night. Belk far numbsrs ths bojrs carried off oas of ths hits of ths svsning. Thsir stylo met with Instant approval, with applauss in their grasp all of the while. Leon and 0^., No. S, with a routine of magic, myfetifled and held the attention. Leon possesses several original effects which are worked out effectively with the aid of Bdith Parker. The Bushwick audience, although limited in numbers, gave the act its strictest attention, with the closing tank feat 4>ringlng ap- plause. Fenton and Fields followed in a good position for their comedy efforts. They experienced little dif- flculty in unearthing laughs. The flrst half closed with Bekefl's Theatre Grotesk, a Russian organi- zation possessing considerable merit. Presenting several styles of Russian entertainment the jja ncing proved the outstanding feMh'e. The turn has been artistically stagefl, with the costumes appealing. The act proved something entirely new for the Teutonic Bushwickians. who are rather inclined to enjoy It, although rather at sea as to what it was all about at tiifles. The act should hit a,responsive chord In most of the larger houses, especially on the strength of the publicity given Rus=-^ ^ian organizations. 'The second half of three acts in- cluded Ben Smith. Harry Holman and Co. and Harry Fox. Smith gave it a start, taking the spot pro- gramed for Leon and Dawn. Fol- lowing a conventional line of chat- ter, mostly on the confldential order. Smith introduced some v^^cal work, for the best results. Some of the early gags could be brightened up, as much of the chatter has had much usage. The returns were sure for this single with his songs, his applause winnings i>elng up with ^the leaders. Harry Holman with his standard offering, "Hard Boiled Hampton," had little to fear second after intermission. A strange buz- zing sound came from the stage throughout the Holman turn Tues-' day night but fal)%d to disturb the players. The sketch held Up well in the late spot, with Harry Fox taking the dosing assignment. Kid- ding with the stage hands at the start led up to several laughs, with the light comedy* efforts and songs getting over easily. Hart. ' <» • XT. » ♦ » ■. .»-■ ^vandmy, July 12» 192S rassats considerable production, oarryinsr several flashy back insert* in addition to a cydorama. Tha girl classical dancer aoorsd In her "archtry" numbar and ths hock stepping of D. Apollon at ths flnisli won rounds of applause. Tlia speech in "one" a la Balieff can gs out It isn't necesaarj^ "Slippy McOee,** the First Na- tional feature, closed an excellent bill with about-three-quarters of tha house fllled on a muggy evening. VW' BROADWAY . BUSHWICK A typical summer show at this Brooklyn all-year house with the bill slightly under par in entertain- ment value. Too great a number of men hindered the smoothness, with the second half of three acts having two male singles, both of the sing- ing and talking variety. The flrst half held two male doubles, although of different styles. Tuesday evening business was light the heat having increased as the day progreseed. An amateur picture with local people and in- cluding audience shots taken last week failed to combat with the heat and draw business. The picture it- self was a dismal failure, the pho- tography and condition of the print being such that it had little value. Few in the audience appeared in- terested, probably largely due to the fact they were unable to identify themselvofl when their likenesses were flashed on the screen. The picture was shown after intermis- sion and wasted several minutes which could have been used to ad- vantage in other ways. Hasel Moran started the vaude- ville after a Topioe and Fables reel. The rope-spinning miss moved •along easily, giving the show tho necessary momentum at the start. Bert Rome and Honry Dunn. No. 2, gave It a big push In tho right dlrec- Itlon. With up-to-the-minute popu- FIFTH AVJE. A pip of a seven-act bill and fea- ture picture at the Fifth Ave. the, first half ncith three strong comedy ^ts among the entries. All three scored, with Tom Smith shouldering the toughest assign- ment. Smith is-never funnier than when spotted against odds. He has an irresistible sense of travesty.that bubbles to t|le surface whether he is flopping or otherwise. His acro- batics are as funny as anything in their line and in addition he is one of vaudeville's cleverest dancers, but It is as a "nut" that Smith reg- isters. His attempts at a "nip up," a stunt that has been copped, by the way, are built up into a scream- ingly funny piece of business every time he attempts it Smith ran to a speech after he had encored with his "ventryoqulsm" and "mind reading." Charlie Ahearn in the trey spot also tickred their funny bones with his thoroughly enjoyable burlesque and hoke offering. Ahearn's com- pany consists of a girl dancer used for travesty purposes and a couple of midgets. His trick bike riding, and dance burlesques coupled with his comedy band rounded out a thoi^ughly enjoyable act. The Ahearn troupe can go anywhere on any bill and do it La Fleur and Portia opened. It is a man and woman combo. The girl is a contortionist of unusual capabilities. The man does iron- Jaw stuff, flnishing the turn with a "human top" spin from an apparatus in the flies. The girl's flash stunt was holding her body erect in a con- tortion pose supported by a teeth grip only. It's an unusual and entertalnin^F opener or closer for anywhere. * Boyle and Bennett, man and woman dancing duo, nleuced and de- livered. This pair crowd more legitimate dancing into their alloted space than half of the dancing acts in vaudeville. Their double eccen- tric and soft-shoe tap dances are cleverly routined and flawlessly de- livered, but they don't make enough fuss over them, to sell them to the pop house audiences, who won't be- lieve jt unless you say it with wav- ing arms and much lost motion. An "encore'*'dance, with Boyle carrying the time and dancing on the- up beat, is a classic. They took four healthy bows. The Bennett Twins, fourth, over- stayed a bit The kids could have ducked the dance encore or closed with the dance and passed up the song Just ahead. They are a youth- ful pair of bare-legged harmony singers with a turn running to childhood reminiscences in lyrics. Mild vocal ability, cute personalities and youth proved a popular com- bina,tion. They did well. D. Apollon and Co. were one of the hits, following In a musical dancing revue that ended with a Hufislan number smacking of "Chauve-Sourls." Apollon is a clover musician and dancer, for- formerly in the turn of the Pord Sis- ters. Two clever girl dancers and another man comprise his company. It is a good act of its kind and rep- The intermediate and smali-tims houses are certainly crowding ths so-called blg-tlmers these days. Tha manner that ths acts are inter* clmnged about weekly with standard turns playing sihtll time one week and big time the next sort.of con- fuses the situation, too, so that it resolves itself into a mati-^r of this: A small-time act is a small-timer when^fs playihg small time. When it's playing a big-time house It's big' time. ^^The current show at the Broad- way isn't what might be called a world-beater for a big-Ume house, but for an intermediate house like the Broadway it's a crackerjack line- up, and many a big-time house has had much worse. Tuesday night was one of those sticky, humid even- ings that New York pi^actlcally has a monopoly on in the summer, and the drop-ins were few and far be- tween. The small audience looked as if it was going to be tough for the acts, but it didn't work out that way. Appreciative and. what's more imi>ortant, ^ discriminating. the Broadway bunch appear to know vaudeville better than a good many vhigher priced audiences. Bender aad Knapp, a hand-bal- ancipg two-man combination, started it conventionally with a routine of standard tricks. Both know their trade, and there isn't a wasted sec- ond in the turn. Some ons-hand lifts caught the orowd's attention particularly. Burns and Lynn, No. 2, with one- of those modern-old-time turns. Both wear eccentric makeup and swap riddles like the teams used to do in variety days. , Since Callahan and Bliss started this (he multipli- cation of turns with anient tin-type makeups has been enormous. Burns and Lynn are exeellent - dancers. Any style suits them, and they're expert at all of 'em. The talk got laughs.and the dancing wowed 'em. Chas. Keating next with a kid singing turn. Keating does a mother ballad, turniryg on the weeps copi- ously, An(f the house rose to it unan- imously. Fui\ny how that mother sentiment never failsJn vaudeville, no matter how maudlin or obvious the appeal. The Huckleberry Finn Impersona'tion done by Keating is artistic. He whanged .over a real hit Walters find Walters, the ventrl- loqulal couple, put solid entertain- ment into the fifth spot The con- versations in which the two dum- mies are involved are natural and human and fllled with laughs. Tha Walters were another big hit stop- ping the show. George Seymour ind Co., offering a girl that was away from the cut- and-dried type, knocked 'em for a row of bath houses. For a hot night that Broadway bunch certainly wers enthusiastic They never overlooked a gag or anything that called for applause. Bmllie Lea and Co, closing the show with a high-class dancing turn, held them in solidly. Miss Lea's legmanla work is standard and her dancing partner is also an expert at that styjs of terpsichors. The pianist is a good musician, but forces the comedy a bit. That also applies to the male da.-ing partner. Ben Turpin in "The Shriek of Araby" was the feature picture. Bett. AMERICAN Bareleg" featured the bill on tha Roof the flrst half with the feminins contingent apparently strong for the undraped limbs for the warm weather. Notwithstanding this new feature for a pop vaudeville bill the show ran qu^ts listlessly* Monday night with Ae returns spread out rather equally with no outstanding hit The business hit a fair average. One or two occasions of rowdyism In the upper portion of the house developed. Maxon Bros, and Wood gave the vaudeville its start The male trio presented but an ordinary seven- minute routine of acrobatics fea- turing a pyramid of tables stunt. No. 2 had Betty Washington, sing- ing and dancings vloliniste, who gave the audience their flrst glimpse of bare legq. The start was quiet for this miss who worked up re- turns as she progressed the straight playing of a standard number to- wards the flnish being the biggest applause winner of the act. Con- sidering the audience had not been brought from a comatose state prior to hor appearance Miss Washington did satisfactorily. Weller, Maxwell and Walbank (New Acts) boosted the song divi- sion, with Bob Ferns and Co. clos- ing the flrst half having all the comedy of the early section. Ferns has a standard offering with suf- ficient variety to meet the require-