Variety (August 1924)

"1. NEW Wtdwwdayr Augutt S7. 1M4 llOITH CAPES' "CREATIONS" •oitsa and Dane«« V- It Mint.; Full (SpMlal) ' •1st St. A nice looking Interlude, not so strong on dancing, but carrying a tenor who can sell his voice for ef- ' fNit within the Intermediate h6$se. ' while backed by anoth'er boy, doing ; but straight hooilng' euflldent to i Btand out from the work of the three I girls. The act is presented bjr MisN' Capes. Dolores Longton, Joy and Boi>b>y Almour are the girts named with 2he latter pair always teaming, while Miss Longtln flashes on for a bit of kicking and adagio work with the tenor. The general routine is so framed KS to. have the songs leatd imme- diately Into the numbers for , a favorable effect, but the actual foot- work of the quartet is lacking to raisiB it above an average classiflca- tloB, niuston Is the turn's strong point, despite imposing outbursts of applause that seeoted to favor.one member too much to be other than' from friends. Skiff. (4) SAMMY TIMBERG and "THE REBELLION" (13) 1 Band,. Qom«dy, Song, Danes 21 Mills:? On* and Thrse (SpeciSis) Broadway .ALLMil^N mful HARV.^Y ' ,! ;. i "Sohgs and Talk ''. ;,. "IS Mins.; Two; (Special) ^ •1st St. Tw;o men working before an Arctic scene h&ving one foiling the other who is > in, blackface and closely resembles the attire of Ciift Kdwards, even unto the cap turned liidmrays, the uke 'and the method Of a brief bit of singing. «{. Kuslcally thft act brings forth 'three numbers (pr which the straight man must needs light his ^,^iiP« .before plunging Into his solo, ^^hU« the latter, strums his o^n ..accompaniment ,upon the stringed, ntshrument. .. The talk, snch as it is, confines , its«U to the temperature and,shines .. ;not much more ]!han a loaf of bread, \but manages ta e«L8e Itse^^.by for a. ...few snickers. The voices of the men predominate, with the turn being rightfully spotted at this . house. No. S, although programmed as next to closing, which would be ' the biting off of the provei;biaI ,,,.nammaith chu^k. . BMff. i<,a? satt: rt=*: COOPER and JACKSON "T4ll(aiMISoM«k '^< '"••' • 14 MIn«.J One 'AnMiriean Roof •■■''•■ The only resiMte fr«m bftf^dom In "this turn come* with th*' vocalitlnfe *• of t#o songs b* t<rti StNflght in a " tt68t pleasing baritone. Fo«: the rpst ■' It til a wearisome succejisloh bl re-- '" trailed itnd bnfunny-gags', soM in .' eonventlonal two-man cross-lire "'"style. ' ' The comic Is of the Sam BernarA "' school, explosive and Wildly ge«- ' tlcAlaUng and #Ith an exaggerated „^ , , , , ,. « Dutch aiccent. His work Is liot par- There is one precious record left, "The Rebellion." starring Sammy Tlmbetg, written and produced ; by Herman Timber^;, his, brother,, 11-' lustrates what, thought and origi- nality can. accomplish in the way of'band turns. - Vaudeville has seen about All there Is in the straight dance orchestra routines with'ttielr attendant scenic effects, but .all more or less on the same stereo- typed order of a page-boy changing the cards on the easels as the dif- ferent numbers are announced. "The Re||ellion" has .^^ust the necessary amount of plot to ele- vate the act above the others and make it stand out. It is an ad- vanced theme wher*in Public Opln- Khi in the guise of a bewhiskered old ipan, a la Father Tiptoe has. been making the rounds of the various cafes and annihilating the Jass orchestra, shimmy shakers and "blues" shouters. The exterior ot a cafe is the llrst scene, ,^ with P.ublic Opinion having Issued ,his ukase to the Jazztsts within. They have but 20 minutes' rei^ite until the end, but tbpse sole survivors decide to make the most of It. Bver^body «^e has been killed off (including White- man and Lopes,.'according to Sam- my Tiail>erg's announcement), and tso' the pretty woodland- set in "three* 'finds the Bill Pike orches- tra[ wkli Sanimy Timberg as ^ the laugmented member at the piano, making the most of -the precious moments with their syncopations. Bill Pike plays the banjo (see Band Reviews in Music Department for detailed notice). They, open with "Limehouse Bl'ueS," and vkry good, too. Tim- berg features bis piano vrork in t«rift<snatcb«a. Senta MeroR enters as the only ragtime singer to have survived. Sha does a mean "blues" topped off with "Red U«t teomma." A lightning change, to abbreviated ^kirts! discloses a pftir of good rea- ' sons therofori .. • ' : wA talking machine cabinet runs on the stage with old man Victor of the Victor Phonograph Company .emerging from the interior, bew4il- ing the iact all his records have been smashed by irate Public Opin- ion in h(s crusade against .Jazz. *J ticularly Impresstre now, but with better material it might register a ' whole lot differehtly. His accent *"' seems to be studied, particularly ■ when he aWs ^ "hanqe" Itiflectlon to ^' the Oerman pronunciation. *'' The straight, except for a bit too much complacency. Is' satisfactory, although his efforts too are wasted . f>a everything but his two numt>ers. ^^flPhe ajAlonty of the talk is com- v%rlsed of such gags as "Do you know :*Xjlnooln's Gettysburg address?" ^ ^Jfope^ I don't even know his.phone . jiumber." ,What few real laughs ^he^re are come with wheezes thait are threadbare, ,for instance, "Yo« ,,.^an't harness up a Jackass and a! '; horse." "Don't yoif d^re, call me a .' horse." , The Qten had a storqiy time i<)t it ,. on the roof, third,, and there wtU ,; )iave to be a huge improvement in . .routino if thfy are tp .ICai^e better « aiiywberf than Ia the sticka,. THREE NELSONS ./^ . Aorobatics.snd Tumhling: '.;..., : ,.• Mins.; Full Sta«S..M ....... lAmerican Roof , ... The Three Nelsons lare two .men and a woman in an ordinary routine I, lof ■ bandrtskhand acrobatics, bal^ anclngiand tumhUng. Whatever un- usual merit the turn possesses • comes in the last mentioned field. . ' The woman dominates the act with a series of hand-springs and other more dlfflcult feats of tumbling that are of exceptional quality. Because of the unpretentious rou- tine and the limited selling ability, the trio can only hope to play the lesser houses as yet. '*» P. DODD ACKERMAN SCENK STUDIOS, Inc. 14$ WEST 39tl> STREET r"'" NEW YORK ; ' ; of Highett Clasm * Vii^dtpittm, Pr9dnctioit$ ' » I I ^41 ^. ".* T -. i I ' . ' • 1 ! It... , y ' .11 ,>:,t,ta (I I ihCJ.11 1.1 although cra.'iked. Victor places it on the machine and the band plays the accompanying selection. A unique bit was that of'having the turn tablsi, run slow with the band accordingly, retarding fts tempo in simulation of an unwound phono- graph and iater accelerating it to the proper tempo as the phonograph is wound up again. It ^as one of the many distinctive touches that stamps this act for what it is. Enter Bfarion Kinjston, a "look- er'* (said to be only 19) and, as wicked a shimmy shaker as has been seen. Miss Kingston shims on slightest provocation. She is the sole survivor of the tribe, and since she too is .condemned to extermina-. tion bi ■ pnt>llc opinion, she gets her good work in while she can. KoUoTs another band number fea- turing a siszling trumpet who gets the spot det9e;rv?dly, and Timberg's piano wo;-k once again. Old' ]4[an. Public Opinion retiirns 4t the f^tal minute and bewails what Jass ha,s done to the classics and the songs, of yesteryear, and '!lhat for; couvert charses too, it's a. pleasure to kill you." . On the coMnt of three he will shoot. ■ He counts one and,sees the ^personable shimmy shaker: two, anbther look; two and a. half, another look; two and three-quarters and then back to one, being loatli to ftre. While (If has been hesitating Timberg strikes up a classical strain and the Old Man U content to exit. No sooner has he left than it chan||<es to Jnsz. He retiirns, suspic- ous. There is a quick change to the classics'flrtd he ligAin leaves. Still suspicious, he returns to ca(cfi them |i^ the fuct pf playing "blue" While his back ^M turned, and ^o hi Is de,-. termined' to Aieie out th<> |Wo<8t wh^n tl^e shimmy' shbLker arr^^ts blip.' ;tt ^'"tdsup with I*<iMfc Opin- ion .Reaving ^i^ bhoutd^rs'I'n unison .with, tfip. Jazs. (t«eo .<|^aizet imixeir- s^natfs tt^e old ina,n, 8pea,k,ln^ l^is lines'we»)-.,, -. .,,, '.''.,, •' Jt's a corl^lng (In^sh 'for ^n' liTt^a' (urn (hat^is a sur^-ilre.'^^eadiiner 'in anybody'^*'vaudeville. .^ ' lAkef.; ELAINE LETjrOR Daneoa , 10 MiAB.« Full Stam^-T^Tv— ! Hippodromo This is the jrpung^ woman Pt^" clslimed as the godchild of Hor Ma- jesty Queen M«ry. She U a lithe, lissome Interpretative dansouse, beautiful, and trained to the Con- tinental perfection, wh|ch takes no' note of sensationalism. Her train- ing brings exquisite reisults more apparent to a connoisseur of the classic in dancing art than to the seeker of the racy. Surrounded with ail the Foster girls and many production novel- ties. Miss Lettor appears at her best and finest here. For trade purposes she must be Judged as a single, however, or with the support of a few others in dimensions fitting the regulation vaudeville house. Stripped of the truly stupendous Hipp surroundings, therefore, we find a lovely young girl, tall but not slender, developed to. the last fluency of physical graces and art- ful use of hands, limbs and body, doing two Egyptian numbers neither melodramatic nor pornographic, yet instantaneously telling in every gesture and expression, for it is ap- parent at once that the girl "has |t." Miss Letter is a class headliner with publicity possibilities as well as an artiste of sterling effect in the theatre. She is a new beauty, and her potentialities are promising al- most beyond prophecy. If this If a true sample of the foreign Importa- tions to come, the Keith Interests have done well by themselves, the public and the theatro. /xKt> -...-■ . j. 11' ,i" I ■ ORVILLE and PATTI HARROLD SOQSS 12 Mins.; in "OnV* ,r '-v, 5,«... , '■. Hippodromo — ..~«-™r' -r;-^ This combination of father ^nd datighter, notables in their res{»ec- tlve fields of grand and light opera, Is a "natural." The "sjmpatby" angle Is not to be overlooked, hav-. Ing alwayi proved a strong start wherever father and daughter ap- peared -together in ^vaiMevilto, in support of which there are many precedents. ' ' ~ . , In this instance they are two known values and they blend. Har- row appears first with "Rldl Pagll- accl," single, using a canvas door- way to stagger oft with his broken heart Into the oIi^ihs tqnt. Patti then does a light operatic with ■"Alice Blue Gown" following, sup- piorted by the Hipp girls, whoso dresses mysteriously turn blue -vith a trick lighting device; veryatronjc numberi • * Then the father sings "Casey at the Bat," a splendid mid-act bit combining light delivery and a good voice, followed by a duet,' a new song by Irving Berlin, "All Alone," which is a plaintive successor to "WhafU I Dor The baUad went for a click. On names, straightaway values and an vaudeville traditions, this is a feature tea^ good for as long as it wants to play. Lait. VIRGINIA RUCKER and BEAUS (4) ... .. Danono' ?• ' < 13 Mins.; One and Full («p^i*f) American In one a front door drop Is sus- pended, with four boys calling . for the same glrL' She appears (Miss Rifcker) , and the dance routine starts. The qtUntet do a straight front line step to. "Bamballna," and the specialties begin. Before the drop one of the bdys doos a sliding split that brought ap plause, while the girl, working full stage, did some whirls and toe work, but never reached the sensational class. '^Neatly costuoMd, however, and cast with 'hloe booking . boys and with Miss Rucker horself being shapely and neab>.looking, the goes over ior exactly what it small time dance flash. . Biik. WEST, McQINTY and COw Knookabout Comedy - '■ 14 Mins.! FwU SUbo^ S paa la l Hippodroino This trio ktin>''shoed lnt» tile a(e« feld "FolUes" I&st yeaf-in tioM-awP- son and ra^de good, though little publicity ensued. Typtcal British low comedy of the best Karno school (though not ot that origin as far. as known) this' trio does a cyole o< falls, hokum and low-broad foolery in a special Set showirfg a,cottage partly built, with the thre« 'as me- chanics on the Job. One Is the elec- trician, the other the carpenter, the third the handy man. Falling plaster, tumbles into tubs of water, convukrtng aaw and ham- mer bits, a burlesque on the noon whistle and the hinch with oodons. and other edibles combine into ani unbroken run of ludicrous silent applesauce. A novelty, a scream and an audi- ence wallop; should land in Ar.ieri- caln vaudeville and start a lot Of imitators." While the technical un- derlying method is not r" or strange here) of late it has gone out of . fashlo'h. But this manner of clowning made several Billy Reeves and Charlie Chaplin stars, and is sound, wholesome and entirely wel- come whenever it Is effectively done, especially when surrounded with an idea whlc^ gives some mental mas- sage besides the plain buffooneries of falls, smacks and duckings. ABBOTT and WrtlTB i - Songs 1» Mins.; O.IMI ,. ; r , ,- . "- Amorioan. .,;■,, Bimore White is at iho piano'and his partner handles the vocalizing. Abbott Is built Something like John McCormack. His voice, white not sweet, has a strength that is needed where it has to combat cigar smoke and a neighborhood audience. Bis song selections show common seAse white his delivery is in keeping with the traditional delivery of pop songs. In the middle of the turn some comedy is indulged in and it ap- pears to be forced. The turn did tremendously here, and from an audience point of view, deservedly so: ■ The boys worked hard and were willing. In. anyjnter- medlate house they should be.,the bill favorites. «<sfc. PALACE »emg P" a<^^ BEASLEY TWINS Sister Aot 10 Mins.; Two (Special) American Two girls who come on singing, one later going to the piano and the other taking a vlollp. Some team work dancing follows and the turn , (ptoses with boUi tirls working the violins. Both the- Beasleys are pretty, have th^ appearance of being young and work with a commendable profes- H6AAI atUtude. The violin work is falri't^e daVtclAg irets'the same rat- ing and the tilrn, as a whble, while hbthlhg tb take %h extra drfnk over, is good enough for a'faii^ staiali ^Ime 8p(fL • ■ • ' aUk. , ii'i..> Sll.ll 1.1 1,1^ : I iv Not so f^e . vaudeville for the ace Keith house, bothnaa t6 qimlity and quantity. The show was cheated on, running. seven acts as against the usual nine or ten. The line-up showed eight acts through Oeorgie Jessel doUifc his stuff in two stansas. The first half had him In the sfclt with Mary Lucas and Lillian Price.. The comedy wow act with "Mamma at the French Play" and Qeorgie interpreting the French expressions into Yiddish for the benefit of "mamma" (Ann Lowenworth) topped off the bill in (he closing position. There were several high lights in the running. Vincent Lopes and his Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra were an undeniable hit. Lopes booked this week to break in some new material for the "Oroenwtch Village Follies," this being the band's final vaudeville week before opening with the production. The popular bandmen did nothing particularly new excepting the "In- dian Dawn" number, which may be a production entry, his idea being to start the actual experimenting with show material from Tuesday on. A new touch to the routine also is the elimination of the usual an- /lunclator cacda of the song titles, a microphone l>eing placed on the pedestal before the conductor and he announcing a la his famous WEAP manner, "This U Vincent Lopez and his Hotel Pennsylvania orchestra, broadcasting direct from the stage of the Palace theatre through the courtesy of the Keith exchange; -I^p«». talking!" The same Idea was con,tlnued throughout with the. introduction of the various numbers. In view of Keith's re- ported objectiona to the libpez nd's broadcasting, thU radio touch las extra significance, although it was Lopez's contention at the time that he officially had no intimation of the bookin«r^flice objecting par- ticularly to his radio efforts. They opened with a fox trot ar- rangement of "I Hear You Calling Me," followed by "What'll I do?" (including a strikingly pretty set) and I»pez's Inevitable piano solo, this time "Btng Bing" in lieu of his familiar "Nola." B. A. Rolfo ,1m- l>ressed as ever ■lylth his "sweet" cor- neting and Bob Effros' "hot" trunl- pet work was another highlight. "Stars and Stripes" (Sousa) in lox trot tempo topped oS to a hurrah with Its fiashy cyclorama scenic back-up. Lopes can return to vaude- ville any time he desires. Judging from the Monday night impression. Mile. Dupree and Co. in a series of artistic porcelain statuette pos- ings opened quietly hut daintily. As far as canatie Judged the act includes three women and a man, since they 'POse in dilTerent' groups off ^and on < I If > oaii '11 * .>v. • and do not' take 'ait ihsembto SMI bend. ' * v,:.^. . ,.Th9 PaudsmHh Prothera. la .tlir . ,»eu«e ^aid not .ivc(;ele;-ate ^n^Uw* • a»o«-- i«*y' *hey aret a atand^d opaipnc ie»>»v but.ltV* naisUka to IspoT *them. Their sense of comedy valuoa at best'are pUbelan, although soma neighboring kiddies Aeemed to' bo havlnis a gloriously' hilarious'thna. The'general apreclation did not ex- ceoJr that nmlt mUChty. ^ Henry Hull and Edna Hibbard, assisted by Frank MacDonald, with their delicious playlet,' "Five Minutes from the'Station," by Elaine Sterne (L^wisandgordon produced) really started something. >It's a quick re- turn for the.aot, which debuted at the Palace a month ago. It's a clsssy Utie sketch from the Patacs down. George Jessel, with the two .girls foiling his quips, impres.<)ed %vith the skit about precocious stage aspirants. Miss Price wns noticeable for her poor make-up. That should be cor- rected. Otherwise it was- a happy quarter of an hour all told. .The Lopes band closed the first half. After the "Topics" and other short reew, Maryon Vadle and Ota Gygi reopened. This Is the turn Miss Vadie first showed, with Flet«hrr Np'rton assisting, although the \''adie- Gygl Cbm'Dlhatlon nhfe.ltitcs t^at Mary Isant is the^pUntste, with'the following ddnce ''artl^tfi assisting: Gladys Patterson, ElixulKlli Collins, Miriam Shackleton, Beatrice Nea«, Comfort Collins and Portia Cooper. It's a quiet, classy turn.. A practical consideration might be to eschew tho tendency to soft lights throughout and permit reference to the program for the printed Interpretation of the interpretative dances. Miss Vadle's solo stepping and Mr. Oygi's vJolln work impressed favorably, as always. ' Bob Nelson, In the next to «hut. sang ditties in the same eccentric Style, interpreting comedy ditty and baUad alike with the same St. Vitus physical movements. His comedy interludes were none too good, that one about the Scotchman making one wonder if the Palace managentent is letting up on its usual restrictions against olf-color material. After oarefully impressing the audience he wiU not tell a naughty story, he PfUls a wheese about "this penny tells m* y»ur father wa» a bachelor." Possibly the "Actists and Models" training has something to do with that. . ^ Mr. Nelson could be a satisfactory purveyor of pop ditties it he toned down his tendencies Ho "act" hl.<i songs. In introducing a pop "rain" song he heralded' it with a spiel about its being I "the most beautiful balled evar penned," which, of course, takes In considerable territory- and could hardly be excused even if Mr. Nelson were Ube author thereof, which he Is not, although sounding like having:,^ Qngeyr in the royalty pie SOmowkenr. Johnny Wright -ac- cpmpanled. 4iscreet]y .at the piano, (jieorge , Jessel and his compfinr closed the show. Business up to the usual Moiwlay night a R. Ol Ahtl. * HIPPODROME ■■J The opening of the second Hi|((po-> drome season as a Keith tem'ple ot vaudevilla - spectacle entertainn^ent finds this mammotli theatre crossing a new threshold, nearer. Um .pro- 8crit>ed destiny. Now it is, indeed, an Institution standing all alone—different, bigger, establishing an atmosphere and a character which must bring about in a measure a renaissance of spe- cialty amusement in America, for It is certain that as this policy de« velops, crystallises and takes final form its possibilities will point new standards, new styles and new scopes for that theatrical i>anacea-;« vaudeville. . . We find now more than' 80 peopio In one "vaudeville" perfo;rmance; several times there are three "acts" working slmultaaeouaiy; -several times there are efCsots and produc- tions which cattnot travel and which are bbvlously built and created for this show in the theatre > Itself; every few minutas a troupo". of trained girls, 24 in number this year instead of It. bolster up a tun* or are woven Into a "drcus" with three Or four teams and trios; this ^ith an ariny of freaKo and animals be- lo^ for Intermtaslon entertainment and a first half-'finale in which' an brehestra of grarnd opera size In''the #it plus a band oti the stage plus ail organ all 'swell'Into one huge Vblume-^fit maklUr ohe who thinks of "vaudeville" bJlnk 'and think. The inaugural show reveals in- tensive rehearsing and preparation as well as the results of sklnlming the seven seas . for new marvels. There is no. comparing this season's presentations with laSt year's. In costuming, numbers, production ex- tent and high-power utility the Do Ytm Wani Work? HARRY DANFORTB 302 Loop End BIdg., CHICAQO Can Oet You Plenty of It Hoaktac Bnctaslvelr wHh ^I^Mtcni Ofllc« B. r. KMth Bsfluiage, Orphr«a> "^ WMten TsadevIUe MaaacMv* Ass's \\V>I, #»•».•) .tvn-l! i> 'I l.I').. n'■l•lr^^