Variety (September 1923)

r,riKlPi--r^7?flr''rT:p,-r. :j .I^WWH^'l-T^- NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK f iiw iiii wniMHP III imiii!immiii>iin niijj ii ■ uppij iiii Thursday, September 80, 1923 PALACE Tliore may be a ihortaKe of head- liners In vaudeville which could ox- plalii till' presence on this week's Palace Mil of Julia Sanderson and Donuld Hilan in two dlCterent nctB; also there may be a shortage of other turns, which ml£bt possibly explain why there was not a lauiVl> In the Puluce bill Monday evening until ».15. There were laughs after that, but they were scuttered, and all brought about from vaudeville's most valu- able commodity, aiipnrentlj~—Imke. The lauRhs started with Roy Cum- mlngs' hoke, the biggest laugh of the nife'lit happening right at the opening of the Cummings turn, when he was slapped from behind the drop into the footlights as he started to sing. This may have later hurt Herbert Williams (Will- lams and Wolfus) biggest laugh, when Wolfus was thrown Into the same footlights as be started to make a speech. Hoke seems to Be hoke without a wide variatfoti. The laugh in between was Kd Lowry, with more hoke, but he stood up while doing it. Three comedy turns In a nine-act bill may be this seajion's percentage. but the show could have stood more. Again In the layout of the bill it could not have been termed good booking to have placed Hmmctt O'Mara (Xew Acts), a single singer with an a eompahlst No. 2 (even If May Tully did "present" him), and only three acts ahead of Donald Brian, a co-headliner, and also a male singer along similar lines, also with accompanists, closfng the first but two turns intervening. il Is not "protecting" featured lapse. O'Mara (New Acts) aecond was on the stage altogether too long and did no good to Farnum's turn or the rest of the bill through his unduly prolonged stay. Mary Uautler and Co. (N'ew Acts) closed the show with an act that would have helped by opening it instead. BImt, 7v Nor at any time during the first ' half of the program were the full "• house lights turned on. leaving the Htage a succession of sjpots of dif- ferent hues, and bright light enough but with the auditorium continu- ously dim. The Palace was capacity with a straggly -le row of standees to the rear of the orchestra, attesting that nothing was drawing other than the show, aa the standees were un- der the usual. Both of the headUners passed along, with Miss Sanderson's name the most attractive. If cither at- tracted at all. since It's her vaude- ville debut. Each did an act that might be expected from a musical comedy "name." One noticeable repetition Monday evening was the "clacque" nuisance. It appeared to be working two or three times, and with one of the turns held It on for over 20 minutes where 12 minutes would have been plenty. It the clacque stuff Is fool- ing the bookers as much as other stuff sctms to be, they should re- vert to their older and wl.«er days Roy Cummings la back in vaude- ville after a series of engagements In Shuhert production.i; Willl.Tms and Wolfus recently left a produc- tion (Ted Lewis' "Frolic"). Irene Sh,iw Is with Cummings, \5-lth the s.ime flexible and bounding di-op, Cummings taking the slaps and the falls, getting a howl for every ohe, and not much In between. He has a new breakaway piano that's also a good Liugh. Tho WlUiams-WoIfiis aot la nhiut the same, and was next to closing. It's liked liettcr it seems In vaiidevillo tlitin in productions. Everything In and about it In vaudeville stems sure fire whether evciyliKdy nUo in vaudeville likes it .nil oi- not. The lUl Lowry turn, opening after lr.ti_'imi.''!<ion, on his Becoiiil we'.k, had a hard spot. Lnwry ha.s two big moments in his turn, both to- ■w.ird tho closing of It, when ho dances and when he sings the "Mag- gie " number, a comic that has nil of tlie earmarks of an KngHsh song vliich may have had It.'! lyrics re- ^vrilten for this side. They were enough to put over Lowry on the holdovfr niul against the position, besides following Cummlnss. lloth nre "nuts." Lowry is telling the ".^ix-umbrellas-under-the-arm" gag, first told long ago by Jack Nor'- wnrlli. No. 3 had a production turn with Frur.l: Farnum heading a company of 14 Ii,eluding Jones' band of eight boys. Tlie Stuart Kisters and Miihr and Pcteison wore the team.* with Dorothy Woods dancing with Far- rum. It went along nicely enotigh tor an ai?t of Its size In the position, with tho dancing carrying it Fo'ir Rc.nt.i Ind been held In a stage box for the expected appear- ance of Jack Dcmp-'cv with I'abe Huth as escort. ^\■Ililc the Keats were there, the athletes were not. But the Pathe A\"cekly hud a poor nttcnii)t at the tight pictures. Open- ing scenes must have been snapped at Ion:; range, as Britten he'd Ihe camera rights. What I'athe ;;ot wasn't worth showing. A title -lid In said that owing to inter.state com- merce laws tho pictures of the flulit eould not be shown. It wa^ a nir" out, for If they had been shown at that range no more of the fuulicnce would have known what they were about than did almost ail of the ■ringside" soathnlders on the lleUI lit the nctu il fight. McSovcreign opened the program with fllabolo work, a.s.m.^ted by a girl. It's light and slight hut nice to wataii for a few moment.s and Mo- .Sovcrelgn Is expert at It; he nuisl be to come back with It In Hist vl,ts< vaudeville after diabolos Ion- ALHAMBRA Another avalanche of comedy and song In the eight-net bill here, with at least six of tlie contenders regis- tering mainly in the yell I'epaitmont. Kven the other two. dumb acts, also had a delicious strain of comedy cropping up now and then. The latter were newcomers, namely Amac, Illusionist, opener, and Jug- gling Nelsons, closers (New Acts). Business good Monday night. All three sections comfortably filled. Undoubtedly the best house since Its reopening two weeks ago. Rae Samuels, vivacious as ever and with her inimitable delivery, oc- cupied the coveted spot of the bill and goalod them with her latest col- lection of songs. Rae did her stuff "In one," with Sylvia as h*r accom- panist. A novelty number served as an adequate opener. She followed with a blues, countered with a "See America First" number, and later sent them Into sp.tsms of laughter with a corking good cooiedy rube number. This was the logic."*! Hnlsh of her act, but since the mob -In- sisted upon more she obliged with several encores. Even after having exhausted her repertoire she had to clown her way oft with a comedy speech. Yerkes" Flotilla Orchestra was an- other happy feature, offering clas- sical Jazz Interpretations of stand- ards at.d also the pop hits of the hour. The boys utilize, symphonic arrangements, make good -xppear- ance and play well together. Sev- eral of their numbers were enhanced by effects. Their outstanding con- trlbotlons were a classical J,izz In- terpretation of an operatic pot-pourl and an oriental fantasy, although practically all of their numbers were well done and brought many rounds of merited applause. Gcorgp Moore, assisted by June Astor and Victoria Miles, scored as usual in a combination of songs, dancing and clowning. Probably the best contribution of this trio was the laughable travesty on "The Bad Man," with Moore contrib- uting a screamingly funny impres- sion of Holbrook Blinn. George McKay and Ottie Ardlne also de- pended heavily upon comedy In sending thefr skit across, although their dancing proved every bit as valuable In aiding them to register. Not content with resting upon the comedy laurels of this turn. McKay did some additional clowning with the Juggling Nelsons that was a wow. Harry and Dennis Du For, spotted second, did some remarkably clever hoofing, a semblance of clowning and a song or two that gave balance to their offering, although the foot- work overshadowed all else In their act. Moran and Mack, blackface comics, were also valuable assets to the com- edy department, offering their fam- iliar line of argumentative ch.^tter that Is suniclently good to stand a repeat hearing .anywhere. face the barrier with their aongs, talk end dancing. Th« girla ar» a pair of nifty steppers, taaving a double and individual of eccentric and eeml-Jaza Btei« which are most Impres.slve. but It seems as though they devote a,jittlc more time than they should to songs and talk. They have voices which do not harmonize or blend and the less the audience hears the more satisfactory will the balance of their endeavor Impress. Next came the Flvs Petleys, a casting and trampoline turn pro- vided by three stralKbt men, a comedian and a woman. The men do the casting while the woman does ground equilibrium feats. The cast- Ing' is mostly flying, while the bounding antic« of the comedian are superior to th* average tricks of this type. TbU comlo has no master when It comes to bounding on the trampoline, for his routine of straight and comedy stunts are thrilling and entertaining. Though little Is done by the woman, the men more than stone for this negligence and carry the turn over in great fashion. Robb Wilton, a recent English Importation, assisted by Florence Palmer (New Acts), submitted a character satire scene entitled "Sherlock Bill." With his semi- cockney dialect and the humorous situations in the repartee. Wilton found the going rather easy. Next Miss Coates. a singing come- dienne. Smooth sailing It was for her with her catalog. She gave the folks everything In the line of syn- copated melody and a ballad or two and wlien completing she was the first to bring the proceedings to a halt. Closing the first part we#» the LlojTl Ibach Entertainers, formerly five musicians and now eight and a dancer (New Acts). Opening Intermission was Jean Sothern with her songolog, '"Boys Will Be Boys."' The spot was,none too ea.«y for Miss Sothern, but she strove to please and did so. Th when rendering his violin solo seems to try more for the limelight than does the principal. Next to closing were Dougla.s Leavitt and Ruth Mary Lockwood. aided by Bay Leavitt. In a comedy and song skit. "Ourselves." Leavitt Is a comedian of no mean ability who knows what laughs are and how to get them. The routine Is sure-ffre and does not miss In a single Instance. Mr. Leavitt, who conceives the substance of the turn, might be considered guilty of tree- passing with the use of the melody of "Bamballna" for hid closing lyrics. This ditty, which Is a novelty set to the catchy tune, carried the itirn over with a bang. couple of solo dancers, cUoaed. Anna Brails co-featured with Andre Pallo shows unusual ablUtr as a premiere. She Is graceful, adept at aplit* and whirls and forward somersaults, but needs practice on cartwheels. Biz months Instruction at a flrst-class ballet school would ready her for a Broadway musical show. The talent is there but needs development. Owen Moore in "Modern Matri- mony" picture. Ben. JEFFERSON Audience here was keen for enter- tainment and enjoyed every bit of what was a fast and snappy pro- gram. There was an abundance of musical Instruments brought forth during the bill with five qf the eight acts either using them throughout or bringing them forth at some time or other during their turn. Opening were the Phondelf Four, two men and two women, club swingers and jugglers. This quartet have just an ordinary routine. Next came Ulls and Lee, two men with popular numbers. This duo have a faculty of selling their wares which brought the turn into the class of show stoppers here. They were the first to Inject a musical Instrument »hen the clarinet was brought forth by one of the men. Davb Harris came next, assisted by Miss Joyce, a brunette, and a man named Mike, who appeared toward the end of the turn, played a melody on the trumpet, danced a bit and tied up the show for Har- ris. The main endeavor of Harris consists of showing his versatility on musical instruments, singing published numbers, endeaxfiring at comedy quips and giving his con- ception of how Al Jolson sings a ballad. In this latter number JIIss Joyee appears in overalls and recites about her dirty face and hands, but falls to give any physical evidence of this fact. Harris at the piano le.ider whom she carries In the blt4-ehants the lyrics. Fortunately he RIVERSIDE KiUlie Cantor last week after win- ning a bet on the Dcmi>scy-Firpo fight pent Flo Ziegteld a wire to leave his winnings under tho "door- mat." Literally. Eticlie did the same thing here Mond.iy night. After en- to;talnlng for 23 minutes, during w'aich time several acts on the bill injected thcm.selvcs Into the pro- ceedings, ho slmplj- deckled he had done ctiouRh after four encores and allowed the audience to bestow their over-exuberance on the Pathe weeltly whirh cloicd tho show. By all rights Eddie was per- mitted to do this, for he had worked hard from start to finish and when concluding he had done his bit and mor.e. Hlfl opening following a minute reception was (he announcement of a song title which had been given him by Dcmpsoy, entitled "I can't ici! much about boxing as I've been through the ropes'" It proved to be a wow and provided the opening wedge of a rosy and smooth path. His routine connlsted of ntmierous ."iong.i, Gtorlcs ani a comedy dance. At one stage Jlarglo Coates ap- inared and worked In a doul.le com- edy number with Cantor augmented with cross-lire g.'igs. During the t.ilk Cantor mentioned that Mi^s (-oatcs was doing "piece work'" on ibis bill. That was nultc true, as upon com- pleting her own turn she stepped in Willi the I.Io>d Iljach Knteitalneis an 1 then hopped In on Cantor. Tho band also found an oppor- tunity with I'ddle. for they accom- panied him In a sonu number, which rttrrt—trr-the pTTTtig'? of all eon- rncd. lienny Leonard was there an.l T;jdie, after having the spotlight thrown upon him. told a story at the expense of tho llijhtwelght ehaniplon. All In all. I; turned out to be .a grand and glorious evening for Cantor v.llh the audience ac- claiming the fact that be belonged to them and they wanted to hear ii-io;-i.. of him. The l'iili;.i Ciils were Ihe first :o PROSPECT, B'KLYN This Is Jazz band contest week. Every night until Thursday three or four neighborhood dance orches- tras have been contesting for su- premacy, the audience selecting the winners by applause. The elimina- tion conte«ts win evolve entries for the final Friday night. The three winning bands are to be booked at tho Proipect during October, the three forming an act devised by Leon Kelmer, Prospect manager and winner of two successive Keith managerial contests. It's an-excellent exploitation idea as tho Monday night packed house evidenced. Three bands were there.- Any one who has ever held a sneaky idea that Bomo of tho professional Jazz bands weien't tho last -ord In tunefulness nbnuld have heard a couple of those Monday night jazz candidates. One was pretty bad, another fair, and the third surpris- ingly good. This was the Bobby Orr band, a live-piece combo of cornet, sax, piano, violin and drums. On form shown Monday night the Orr band could step Into any vaudeville show, BO f.ar outclassing the other two bands It was no contest. They assuredly gave them a lot for the money (60 cents top) at the Prospect the first half. Besides the band contests, which excited a great deal of neighborhood Interest, the Dempsey-Firpo fight pictures were shown, arriving in time for the night performance. Five acta besides, with Mrs. Sydney Drew headlining In a high-brow sketch called "A Cup of Tea." It's not for tho Pros- pect and pretty weak entertainment tor any vaudeville house for that matter. Contra'tinfT • wilh the English drawing room fol-de-rol of tho Mrs. Drew sketch, the rough and ready hoke stuff of Weston and Eline was a tonic for the South Brooklynltes. The tough couple doing a c.i'fnel was right In the back y.irds of the bunch out front, and they made a lot of noise over it. Weston and Eline incidentally do that tough bit with a certain correctness of char- acterization that stamps them as artists. Bob >Tiirphy, assisted by a danc- ing girl, and livn l^hut^or, leading man of the -l^th street and Seventh .avenue Ktock. mused the house to a high comedy pitch wilh his com- edy songs and , gaglets. Vnrph-. also announced the Ja^z b:ind« sn^ made the prcllm'naiy *.all;» funny. And tli.it w.i-in't an easy n.i il '.'i.'.Ved. Devil t .'ind Ciurey wereEocer.d (Ne'.t -Vets) and Marl'.ii Norrin' "aprl' t Time Follies'" opened (N'ev.- Actsi The London Stepper.*, a i-.irl act with eight I.vely n'..''i:i.n,» and .i announced that he was giving his conception of Jolson singing, as otherwise the audience would have had a rather hard task in figuring the matter out. It seems as though Harris showed to much better ad- vantage several years ago when he had a band surrounding him than he does at present, as Mike just edges his way In and carries the turn over. Variety Pioneers (New Acts) came next and, had an easy road. Following them was Jack Benny, the conversing violinist, with con- versation patterned along the lines formerly done by Bon Bemle. Benny has an effervescing personality and a faculty of getting over his points with a finesse that Is commendable. At the start the going was a little hard for Benny, but he felt his cus- tomers out and soon had them within his grasp to do as he willed. Then came Mabel Ford aided by Dcno an* Rochello, the Doll Sisters and her Band. This dancing turn was Just out for the Jocale here as it was thoroughly relished. Tho work of Deno and Rochelle drew particular attention as the boys in the house appreciated the rough tactics In the Apache and Bowery Dance they. rendered. The Doll Girls had two specialty dances which got over nicely while Miss Ford stimulated matters with her vensatlle manner of stepping which ran from jazz to high kicking. The musicians on the other hand played a few mean compositions and found themselves in favo? also. As a whole the Ford turn is a corking good aggregation and as was Indi- cated here they can always "step on high" and get over. Allman and Harvey, straight and blackface comedians, had easy sail- ing with their comedy skit, "The Lure of the Yukon," and milked the audience for all they could in the applause and laughter line. Clos- ing the show were tho Clalremont Brothers, straight and clown, doing gymnastic and acrobatic feats on the revolving ladders. This duo have a fast and snappy routine and do not lag or relax In their en- deavor from start to finish. They proved to be a capital climax to a fast and snappy evening entertain- ment. STATE A strong lay-out for the State the .Irst half with Myers and Hanford, two weeks ago nt Keith's Palace, Xew York, tho topllners for the en- tire week. Business w.os not quite capacity Monday nig' t but up to the usual average. A notlceabjo fea- ture of the talking acts Is that they carry further back th-j.n ordinarl'y and with" ease, explain.ablo by the newly Installed amplifying system. A. Joseph Jordan, tho State or- chestra conductor, arranged a novel nverturo hosed on "Barriry Google." It Is « novelty and mi<ht be dupll- aAi»d In pi'jturc theatres n.'( an In- expensive presenlAlioni The pop tun» is IntrodUt'.Li by two comedy niUli of four lino vcr:;'.s each, In- teriled fc- comr-rlv l.ut te-.-iibly 'vrlllftii. 'iTiat Is i-.( <!U;;b:c-. however. '■(I'.nglft" Is rnu.leni In jarr. style and lhi»n voi'iou* piiilcs l-.i. -aid It hh it loighi l>e pUiyed in Honolulu, MeKlco, re'itlng. Jenisaleni, demand th« lr.i!s-!iu!a, f.ie.dini;o, oriental .and snmltlc udiipl^tlons. respective- ly, are q':!ie novel. It (Inlnhes with 'Barney fionglo" as played at the Belmont Rae* Trkok. wiUch Intro, duces a snappy march number, con- cluding with a alide to ths effect "Spark Plug" waa so far behind in the first race that he easily won the second. Howard, Winifred and Bunce, man and two women, introduced with a snappy aerial routine, cbncentratlng chiefly on the flying rings. Eacli solos in turn with a spsoialty. How- ard's fly-off from the riogs to a sus- pended Upe catch was a flash, and one of the girl's one arm lift-ups clicked. The girls look fetching In abbreviated costumes. The turn Is a good opener for any house. Gladys Bloane, assisted by a main pianist. Is big time timbre and wilt arrive with seasoning. She does pop numbers which sound restricted be- cause of th* songstress' ji-dlclous selection of up-to-the-second ma- terial. A medley parody number with a golf theme is specially writ- ten and so constructed to appeal generally, whether cohversant with the Scotch game or not. Miss Sloane possesses a good lyric voice. Calvin and O'Connor, two men in "high brown" and cork, have a nov- elty opening with one Introducing the turn in a Santa Glaus disguise about the author requesting strict attention to the prolog. The prolog starts off very melodramatic, with the laugh on entrance of the corked comedlah. Some of the talk is snappy but a few familiars cropping up. A uke specialty recital of dog- gerel verses brought the comic back for repeated encores until he ran Out of choruses. The straight is a neat stepper, scintillating to the uku and kazoo accompaniment of IiIh partner. The team has possibilities. Malette Bonconl. VloUnlste, with a familiar classical routine, was ex- ceptionally well received. She does the "Carmen Fantasle." "l.umor- esque," and "Hungarian Rha^sodle'*- In order named, encoring with '"Mighty Lak' a Rose." A male ac- companist Is at the piano. Myers and Hanford came, saw, conquered and stopped the show. The eccentric stepping and tho mus- ical saw stuff of the ""Arkansas ^'a.- entinos" was an unquestionubln wo\^'. "Sweethearts" (New Actsj Clara Kimball Young featured, closed. Ahrl. BROADWAY Pictures of the most sensat.onal fight at the Polo Grounds last week between Jack Dempsey and the con- tender Luis Angel Flrpo, who proved himself as fierce as they said he was and who Is being touted as the next champion, is the real feature this week. The film was rushed to com- pletion and started showing Satur- day, being continued through this week. Monday the fight picture was shown 10 times, starting grinding at 10 in- the morning. It was projected three times in the afternoon and as many times at night, goin^ on first at eight o'clock, again at ten min- utes past nine, and shortly after eleven. The night vaudeville show was cut after two acts were played, the house In that way takl.ig oara of the standee attendance in evi- dence throughout the evening. There was ample demonatratluii that fight enthusiasts wero drawn to the Broadway in great number. The wide discussion which devel- oped when a big percentage of per- sons at the Polo Grounds never did see tho battle continued even within the theatre as the pictures were shown. Arguments were reported among spectators throughout the day. Tho crowd got a thrill r t of the pictures as shown when t'..ey' Jeered Dempsey for rushing over to knock out Firpo when the beaten man had hardly gotten to his feet after the fourth knock-dovn. And when Flrpo knocked the dhamplon through the ropes with a fusllade of eight right banders the house bubbled with excitement. Some acts were at a disadvantage because of the fight fans present. The show was slow in getting going after the picture was over, as many left the theatre and others tooK scats. Conditions may have partic- ularly applied against Howard Smith and Mildred Barker In "Good Medicine."' by Jack Arnold and Ed- win Burke. Confusion during the changing audiences kept the open bits from being heard back of the first 10 rows. But even after the comedy-playlet was given attention It won few laughs and failed to Im- press nt any time, though It essays a message when the farclal lines aro dropped for a moment. Harry Fox was next to closing, opening with a lyric that meant something to those who know he 13 a impu. The lines said t'lat since he has ono of his own ho Is alwa vs In a hurry to get home, and that ha has an ambition to beat tho record of Eddie Foy. Harry was not quite up to comedy form, but he gradually won tho house and went over for tho hit of the evening. ""Babbling Brook'" was an asset, and ho then remarked ho might get the Jeffer- son. '"Vdu Be Whistling and I'll Come Whistling"' sounded like an exclusive number, and It landed well enough to bring him back to encore with "Ten Ten Tennessee," which ho mentioned was one of his record (disc) numbers. A second encore earned was a Dixie song. Charles Ahcrn with ono neat girl aiding and seven other "hoboe-s" In .iitendance was on Just ahead. A (Continued on page -11)