Variety (November 1924)

V^bicadaj, If ovimlMr It, IMf VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS •wj.''«Tai^T..T''nflP*^,;_^. VARIETY PALACE Quit* a lot of brother* en this Lrcek's P»IM« BiU; Howard*. Tlm- l^^flfa Mid t^iMera. A lonoly sister Otherwise a P»^ty fairly balanced bill for eDtertainment and a short Drogram as Palace ahowe run opened at 8.12 (overture) and closed at 11 sharpk Not many vacant aeata Monday nlcht. perhaps 10 empty box seats S^statrs. That's a tribute to the return d»ta. and a quick one. the Howard* ara'artabltiy- Of course Cecil Lean and Clao Mayfield may mmm they are there, and they are, Ztm n from Shubert productions, while H*maa Timber^ 1* apt to make a hoUer OB the eradlt line for draw. «lthe«sh Herman when last at the P^a^waa No. 2. for "totamal rea- Th'e Luster Brothers are acrobats and benders, opening the show, and Bwlftly. also neatly, which let them out of the brotherly Jam. The bmtheriy Jam thereafter cen- tred between WUlle and Kucene Howard. No. t. and Herman and Sammy Timberg with -RebeUlon." cloeinfc the performance with their double and production acts for n atretch of 87 minutes In all. Monday morning Just about re- hearsal ttane Sammy Timberg de- veloped an attack-of ptomaine pol- aentnc. appendicitis or some stomach trouble; be didn't aeem certain what iCf^a and a couple of doctors called la couldn't find out. The doctors care Sammy medicine artd he took n Meanwhile he was on a k>unKe upstair* in a Palace bulMInK office with Herman Anally reportinur Sammy would appear Sammy •tarfed rehearrtn* th^ production act and ^va the afternoon a* well as the niKht performance without trace of illness. No one yet knows what attacked Sammy, and if he knows himself, he has kept hla se- cret Well And the Howards were a riot The act, despite the short return date, aantalned plenty of new material. One of WUUe's impersonations was of the late Frank Bacon in the court scene, and another of a Yiddish East Bid* actor intpersonating Harry Lauder singing "Safest in the Fam- ily." EUigene Howard Is his uenal excellent straight and singer, but '^'inie can slag. too. Willie can do a k>t of things that the Shubert stortiiouse shows have never brought out It's understood I the Howards have but tbia season r^m^iniKg of their Shubert contract. If Willie Howard does not receive bids from other producers it will be a surprise, for here's a great pe former of apparently unlimlte range—or versatility—and with voice, a combination that does not elswwber* exist In American abow Perhaps the Shubert storehouse shows trougbt the Howards back to vatidevilie at 12,5*0 for a few wecrks before they go out in another of those, but Whil* the three S's may hav* ntade WUU* Howard a vaude- ville card, they have kept him buried in the ctlcksC aomething *imUar to what the ShnbCTts tried to do with Bddie Cantor, ahd missed. Jolson is bigger than any manager, whiiA lex- yialn* that, while even th* l^rx b*ys are gains to g*t a reguUuMHro- duction for next season—and there are others. .Many may b* thankful for the SbubMTt stbrebouse shows, and there are many who may live to regret them. The Shubert* played their vaude- VllXe in the "Winter Garden for one ■eaaon to save the )30(I,MO invest- ment two musical productions there might have cost. It will cost the Shuberts another |30«,«00 to bring the Winter Garden back, if that can be done, even with Jolson. The Timberg* are no stranger* to Shubert management, either. They were with a eunuch. So aot only la It a brotherly show at the Palace this week, but there are also four acts out of the nine of the Shubert tinge. The fourth is James Watts, often in a Shubert produc- tion In the past. Which still leaves open the ques- tion whether It Is better to stick to vandevine or the ShuberU, for many vaudevilHans say they are not recognised properly remaining In vaudeville, while here are Instances of unquestioned recognition after having been with the Shuberts. The Tlmbergs hav* a new two- act, talking and music, with Her- man^frlmberg also going in the "Redemption" turn for the first time thM week. The Tlmbergs following the Howards as a two-act on the same bill were handicapped a* any other two-man comedy turn trying to follow them would have been. At that, however, the Tlmberga' two-act stuff didn't sound fancy and there's plenty of room to im- prove it The production turn got over, closing, through its fast action. The Watts act was moved up to No. 3 at night, having closed at the matinee. Other slight program change* were nnade for the evening. Watts Is doing his travesty dance as a dame, also some talking with his straight man (unprograramed). Watts amuses a vaudeville audi- ence, although some of his fly and flip remarks keep on flying over their heads. The Lean-Mayfleld act must be a vaudeville classic. Perhaps it's . . ■a Lean'* personality and dcatlfriee smile or Ml** Mayfleld'* beauty, but they do aome back and often, with- out much effort evident in material Miss Mayfleld's gowns were built by Harry Collins, according to the program. Accordingly Mr. Collins could hav* made the gown for Mr. Watts, but Mr. Watjii didn't say so In his billing. Anyway the Palace program has a special advertising section handled expertly, it seems, by the program's new director. Elmer Rogers. The urbane Mr. Rogers may have been too busy "cutting" Monday to have caught the credit Ihte, but vaudeville had better look out for the credits. In musical comedy you can find out who gave away parU of the equip- ment or furnished material at re- duced prices for nothing but read- ing the Itemized list of "credlta" That's known as making a produc- tion on promises, and If the show builder* get nothing else out of it often they get their name* on the program. Mr. Lean, now that the baseball season is over and football can draw up to 10,000 or as many as a stadium can hold to a game, might have his baseball song rewritten to fit football. And also, as a gentle suggestion, the "fat wife" numl>er should go out. It'* all right per- fectly clean and hold* comedy, but it must be terrifically embarrassing to a woman slightly or more stout who may l>e In front with her hus- band. Many a guy could use the song for an excuse. Otherwise Mr. Lean and Miss Mayfleld do please and because they have class. Class in vaadevllle Is OQUlvalent to charm in the legMmate. The Thomas F. Swift skit. "The Gob," did well closing the first halt It's all Swift with a company of four, three of whom are girls. The third repetition somehow wears out and bat two of the girls wouM shorten the turn, making It snap- pier. The scheme of the playlet Is funny and Swift must do the rest though the scheme doea the most Ann Gray was No. 4 with her harp and songs, a nice looking turn in "one" but on a large stage at the Palace, lio. 2 held the Corelll Sister*, singers and harmonists, both brunettes and "class" singers wjth piano.* not away firom the coa- tomary routine of these rapidly de- veloping Kouns and Ponselle*. A special slide was employed to commeOrate Armistice Day with a timely injunction f-^r Petlee Ftorever. i'. AMERICAN ROOF Uneven vandevlUe at the roof first half this week, keeping th* ettf- tomers alternating cheer* and yawna Businea* Monday night was weak, partlenlarly on the upper Ud. The gang groaned at the introdoo- tion Of a harp, kidded tiM esthetic dances and raised so much Hail Columbia at ether tlases that Nat Nazarro. Jr., was forced to request in hardly gentle tones something about letting the entertainment take place on the stage. Nazarro. more than assisted by his versatile darky Aoo. Buck and Babbles, swept everything before him next to closing. Nat's Im- promptu srack* were often too wise for this audience, bat the hoofing of Bubble*, the piano work of Buck and the gieamlng personalities *f all three cannot fail to impress anybody. Three encores with the last <me a furiously paced snatch of "Charleston" by the agfle Bub- ble's were In order, and even after that there could have been room for more. The only other outstanding ap- plause hit went to Raymond and Kaufman (New Acts), third, two men whose talk wasn't always top- notch but who ^Sfang their way Into Immediate favor. They were fol- lowed by Adelaide Bell and Co. In a spot that begged for fiaah of some kind but that only held Miss Bell (formerly of Grazer and Bell) and a male pianist. After intermission PbllbrIck and Devoe started promisingly but ended their turn quietly. This mixed couple has been, around for some time. The man's talent as a comedian and his partner's as a feeder la unquestionably there. But, In spite of two or three very funny Ideas, their act doesn't average In comic moments and the closing number is particularly weak. Cortea and Ryan, second, are an- other team seemingly suffering from the wrong *ort of routine. The harp I* not the Instrument to use for jazz and if it must be intro- duced one slightly better class num- ber should be played. The woman's Imitation* ran get by, providing only the audience has never t^^n the originals, and the other two songs used are either old or un- becoming to her style. One bow at this performance. The bill ran seven acts Instead of the usual eight with the Mann Brothers opening smartly on the wire and Oscar Martin and Co. closing with exceptionally good acrobatic balancing. "•Captain Blood" was the film. HIPPODROME Only 10 acU at the Hip this week. one le*s than osnal, with the weight fairly well diatribnted. Not an over- abundance of comedy, and De Haven and Nice thereby enhanced their value In the flrat half, while Gaston Palmer clicked nicely in the latter portion for the same reason. Other- wise it was straightaway vaudeville, with the house upholding Its reputa- tion of not being a theatre tending to sponsor applause. Sophie Tucker, Madame and all. swept clean in doing 25 minutes and seven numbers. The madame's fast delivery wasn't any too audible in the rear of the lower floor, although a semi-ballad registered clearly and for full effect. The songstress has seemingly remained unaffected by her Broadway revue sojourn, and skipped the piano medley of her two boya to make way for a 10-year-old violinist (age so announced), who fiddled once and abruptly left Fair enough, at that. De Haven and Nice and Frank Famnm broke Into a number of rou- tine long enough to garner a few laughs, while the manner in which the madame I* leading up to her song* continue* to be an outstanding point in her favor. Soph was "In** at this houHC Monday night as soon as she started. In the earlier half Charles Purcell about paralleled any other accom- plishment when adhering to his for- mer routine of an introductory med- ley from past muslcala Oolng on to sing three more ditties Furcell regularly scored, and although the response listened a* somewhat light In texture, that can't fairly be Judged a criterion within auch por- tals a* these. The Plcchanl Troupe gave the gun for the evening, trailed by the Texas Four, quartet, who took oft nicely with a ainging ensemble, but seem- ingly died away when going out after comedy. The total result hardly ap- proached the results other act* have achieved In the same spot, albeit the position Is acknowledged to be the most difilcult to fill at the Hip. Takka Takka is evidently wearing more clothes than previous. The oriental setting and staging continue to be eye-filling, and. while the se- quence caanot be said to build up to an entbneiastic response. It'* in- teresting, Mm evidenced by the quie- tude of the patrons during the run- ning tima Tba art appears to be especially well aoited on tbl* stage, and. ahonld tber* be a doubt when the turn leave* to fnlftU other en- gagem«>t*, the remedy logically Ues with Takka Takka herself, who. un- der those drcumstancea, might be permitted more freedom In move- ments. Charles Kellogg (New AcU) fol- lowed the Fable* flfan, which in turn was preceded by a brief organ solo from Frederick Kinsley, who seem- ingly Is securing better results from the Instrument than some of the organlsU in th» local pietore boo***. Gaston Pabner was No. ft. Adher- ing very mach to his fornter sched- ule, the Juggler kidded his way to fair success, and at least hdd all the attention there was to b« gained. - Frtd^ Pope and Gerner, on lee, closed. Assisted by the diorus, th* proverbial winter aettlng ««* in vogue before which tb* maneuver* on the steel runner* made an at- tractive app«nrance. Gerner at- tMided to th« Jomplng, while Ml*s Pope and Flrick confined themselves to figure skating. Th* act was a picturesque termination. BJttff. 5TH AVE. The Fifth Ave. "FoUy Girl*" mon- opolise the three sheets in the neighborhood as the peek's feature. It's a new edition of the gals, rou- tined by Earl Lindsay, only nine of the advertised 10 appearing. They are a likely bunch of youngsters and made a favorable impression with thehr one big number in the fourth hole, an audience song idea. Virginia Franks led the octet, all pronc;ent tap dancers. The Four Casting Stars achieved the unusual of stopping the show in the opening position. The quar- tet does some flashy casting work ar.d doubtlesny merited thU extraor- dinary approbation, but the house also evidenced an exceptlor>al streak of stttblx>rnncs*. Because the lights were doused too quickly, they re- fused to be halted by the fact the No. 2 turn was already on. As a result Pablo de Sarto and Sergei Barsukov (New Acts) bad to exit to make way for anotlier bend and 4ben cue for a relntrodoction. Joe Freed, a borleaqu* recrvit showed a comedy act of punchy if brash qui^llties. It's the sort of low comedy the customers ate up. Prank De Voe, from musical com- edy, assisted by Eddie WlUls at the piano, makes a dramaturgy out of a bollnd and as a result was a hit. De Voe also baa a happy quality of singling out unusual and little known numbers. In "Twelve o'clock at Night," a song almost a year old he sounds refreshing because the number wa* but little heard around. "The Folly Oirls" Were sand'A iched in at this stage. Bill Robinson, the debonair col- ored gentleman, Is, to this reporter, the most enterfaining colored per- former in while man's show busi- ness. His free and easy clogging cliclied from the start. Arthur and Darling (New Acts) closed the show. .Abet ALHAMBRA Rae Samuels (New Acts), headlin- ing at the Alhambra thia week, mode them forget all about the houae limit of two bows and no speech* (Hlppo- drom policy). Th Harlemltes made such a fuss over Rae she had to do thriee encores and make two si>eeches. She Is equipped with a corking cycle of special songs by Billy Tracey and Daniel Dougherty, with Mildred tjmd at the piano. Miss Samuel* was credited with be- ing a considerable "draw'* uptown. for business at the house Monday night was the best In weeka She held the next-to-closlng spot. The entire assembly of nine acta worlced out Into a smooth, well-play- Ing variety bill. The house chorus has been dropped, and straight vaude- ville la once again on tap. Les Plerrotty'* (New Acts) opened In a European acrobatic novelty that clocked differently, followed by Evana. Mere and Evans (New Acts), three boys from the middle west, who scored strongly No. >. The Griffin Twins, next, made a decided impression with their danc- ing turn. The Twins' movement* are marveloasly synchronized and l)ie dances interesting and nicely stagcJ. They make entrances from a rirge picture frame. Their quick change* eliminate the *tage-wait problem without the necessity of carrying a Jazz band or pianiat. . Hawthorne and Cooke followed, and scored their usual Harlem wow. Everything they attempt In the nut line convulsed the customers, from the opening song right down the line to "laudunum." The pair are doing their old art. which hasn't changed since their plunge into musical comedy. "Sunshine." with Jere Delaney and Mary O'Moore featured, was another strong offering, following. Warren Jackson. Lillian Baker and Mrs. F. I. Frayne rounded out a good cast for the miniature musical comedy by Harry Charles Greene and Charles M. Smith. The act has a little plot concerning two ex-convlcts. On*. wIk> lives in a hick town, where his mother runs the eonntry store, in- duces his pal to return home with him and go straight. Complications arise when 200 buclcs are needed to pay a note held by the invisible but none the less villainous Deacon Skinner. Delaney is a capable light comedian aad a good dancer. He has two numbers with Mary O'Moore that were good for individual ap- plause. Warren Jaekaon has a pleas- ing tenor voice, and hoM* np tlie close harmony of the musicnl doubles and enaemble number*. It's a whole- some little act, and different William Bbs opottd after inter- ml**ion and Fables, and completely fooled tbem here. The *V*ntrilo- quiar drinking e( the liquid while the dummy sang was wildly ap- plauded, which made the *urpri*e all the more pronounced when Ebe slid down out of the trick table. The midget lia* a real novelty, but mor* and more it appear* th* my*t*ry would b* deeper if he didn't "expo**" at aU. Mabel Ford, in her dancing act, goaled them next. Miss Ford flash** four fetching changes of costume for her dances, the last two of which are ■n "essence" and "buck and wing" OB the mat, with "rolls," tripl* time and real wings — always good tor a Mg hand where they undOTStand tap hoofing. Vor the lover* of the otb«r styles she does a Spanish Castanet dance and another kicking solo. Golden and We*t. two male*, turn on some good eccentric doubles; the Hope Twins, two girls, do tbr** dancing apecfatltie*. and the Jaas band accompanie*. The act t0 beau- tifally ataged and aure fir* on any bill. Rae Samuel*, next, wrapped the show Up and then gave It back to the Takewa. two Japanese, in a corking routine qf aerial risley stunts, the top-monnter working from a platform atop a pole bal- anced by the other Takewa. A pin- wheel by the top-mounter on a hori- zontal bar held by the oth^ wan a flashy closing trick. Co*. WRIGHT DANCCRt Dancing ' 'r^ 24 Mine.; Full (Special) 81st St. ./ Reported a* Itaving prevlonslif.. played In the west, titis "fiaah" epi- sode of Leo La Ulanc features Helen Parhaud. supported by seven girl* and a ^male singer. Full stage hang;u.-;3 are the set within which the girls do eight num- ber*. The lone male, a* a naval of- ficer, recall* various countries Tie- Ited. permitting the girls to rtm th* gamut of loternatii nal footw< rk. Miss Pachaud gives the act a corking start by a Russian lnterjn«« tatlon that registers as reaching th« limits of feminine endurance. Tba dance la ao *troag she cant follow It. It evidence* a wtailb o* >*wgj upon Mia* Pachaud's part 4arlMg which ah* dimlay* a degree et eoa- trol deetiBM t* fla*h many an ay* with cre«f Bpanlah, KngUali. Flr*Deh. OvWatW' and American cono*i>tlon* trail tiM opening with the girl* In trfo*. couple* and aololng. Other than Ml** Pacbaad th* Ion* insertion* ar* r*» atrlcted to Batty D* Mattia In flMl French number antf Ktarna Piaska as the Oriental soloist Kkch seorcd. Coatmae* ar* conaecatlraly changed, with the finale a taM*aa idea. Franklin Record auffice* In warb- ling thre* nnmbers.. whil* tb* girls handl* tbemselve* nle*Iy la their respectiv* assignments. Mia* Padiand'* Aaacrleaa Indian concep- tion secured a deAntte reepona*. al- though not equaling ber laltM effort The act, appropriately Ar****4t looks well able to take car* at It- self among other* of the type aad that the action 1* not permittad Vt] lag I* a distinct aaaet » "HONEYMOON COTTAaP' (•) IS Mm*.; Full 8ta«* < tw *i«D 5fth Ct. ' "Honeymoon Cottag*" la an attempt at fare* wrfttnff, lat*r« cpersed with thr** or fouv ocre *ong* and daacea A* a a«t it ranks as on* of tb* *een in months. Were It *0m« fairly funny sfttnC* th* earnest effort* of wonM be lost even on tin*. A company of thre* thr** w«n*en *tmggl« wMk Un** ana enly tlM Juv*nil* ea» rffea the crest of them. He I* a«al-a9> pearlng. full of pep and baa * fUr voice, btit must learn to shara tka farce aero** th* footllgbt* a Cttia le** streauooely. One «f tb* w* gets by adeqnately with a song, but aside from tb* performance 1* almost dowa ta level •» tb* writing. Th* aoUwn !• Introduclag a marltail mlx-«|| aC conventional plot have b**n forMd to r**ort to asldeiL ••Kliaal** aatf other tbreadbara tevlc** ta mot* tb* ■lta*tiMt*. Tber* ar* *everal lawgba mor* po**tbIlitle* for tb*** far a tbre*-*-day audience. By eenaMtrr able revialsn tSia turn mickt ka made Into •oaiatbiBg. ^ STATE Very little eemedy at the SUte this week. Any variety bill witbont an emphatic comedy hit or two suf- fers. The State suffered a hcip Mmiday night There was plenty of singing, too much *o, to do the show any good, and a standard comedy act would .have rocked the house. But the bouse can afford a little re- spite this week when one recalls the house-breaking week last week with Jack Dcmpsey and the Keaton pic- ture. Mtroetel and Martens (New Acts) opened, and for a dumb act dis- played some Tashy stuff. Wini and Ed. Shaw entertained with their music. , Race and Edge, third, gave the bill Its only comedy fling, the best- lihed "bit" being the English con- ception of a basebail game. Ber- nardl—Arturo Bei:nar<ll—the quick chance artist, comes back to Broid- way where he startled the natives some 10 years ago with his protean ability. Bem.-irdi seems none the worse for the wear and tear of the vaudeville of y^teryear. and her* he appeared to make quite an Im- pression. The show riosed with Jam How- ard's "Etchings from Life." orig- inally presented with Howard. Miss Clark and Jim Morton. For the EDWARM and QABDNER Talk, Singing and Daneins 16 Min*.; On* 23rtl St. Two "nut" comlc< with a rontin* af nonsensical cbait«r, whose sure-click delivery ahovM set tbem *a etrong next to'cl<M*r* on any of tbe pop bllla Effecting •eml-grateaqn* Aaka< up* they com* on for a eMil*dF aong. follow with dellciooc clownlaK that click* for a wow, te^ off •*•* neat dancing, resume their foeI«rT and dance their way off. Had tbem roped and hogtied la th* N«. t qtot here and ail panicked. OWENS aiMl OE VERK ^ r Camedy aad Seng* ' 16 Min*.; Om» The** bey* bave a roirtin* tkat should be *nr* fir* in artabltehlBf them a* a next to elo*er for bm- dlnm bill*, la cpot* It •bow* •▼•• greater promise. Both are enjoyable clown* ^ grolesqn* make-ups brine i^ on entrance and the ensuing fire of "not" variety keep* tb* In good humor for the remalader of the turn. A comedy *obc aaA some clowning with in*traaMBta al*o belpe lota In sustalBiar tlMif previous breexy chatter and them away to big retnra*. •*ia Loew house it has Jack Melat Frances HoIcoml>e, Mlmi Pofnme and Martha La the principals. The danelan af Mini and Pomroc is on* of tba^Mi^ta 1-^1