Variety (December 1924)

^."'»w,'^fc«'i'j'.'T.i^> 5 fe-r?»*' *^.'T PWednesday, December ii, 1924 VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS VARIETY 11 PALACE piMtr of legltlmat* atinoapher| rund tb* P*Uc« thla wmIl. Two gMTUlta ttoja th« regular house* SJ[r* present In WllUam Courtlelgb (jfew Acts) and Robert Benchley Y^w Acts). First penciled In were Ylolet Hemlng and A. B. Matthews, gtts of "Spring Cleaning." Some- ^tiigr went wrong with the booking «lth no particular reason given. It !■ said the English couple will be uSMred later. Announced In Sun- f^s advs. were Mr. and Mrs. Hale Bamilton (latter Is Grace La Rue), ■ebjlduled In a playlet, "Mr. and Mrs. Mason." In Its stead the Courtlelgb Itct was secured. There was quite a mix-up aside irom that. No less than six changes ^re noted from the posltlon»-Nln the program. The switching may have been the matter with the per- formance, which was sumbersome, • few bright spdts cropping up here and * there. Monday night's house ws* distinctly ofiC In the lower floor rear but that would not necessarily hold scoring under normal. Victor ,Moore, and Emma Llttle- lleld were scheduled to close but they firmly refused, saying they h^d trlea that once before and preferred «ing the audience's faces than eir baclis, n6 matter how cUrly position. With the Moore and tlefleld turn spotted No. 3, most __ the turns slated after Intermls- V^n were brought forward. "Change Your Act or Back to the Woods" has been played by Moore and Littlefleld for about 15 years for a total of over 10,400 perform- ances. The act Is only exceeded la longevity by the Mclntyre and Heath skits. Moore is wearing a wig to cover his silver hair, un- covering at the flnale for a rhymed explanation,.probably figured neces- sary^ because of the younger genera- tlonl There are some modern tbucnes, one coming with Miss Lit- tleReld's entrance. She is seeking a four-letter word meaning a punch en the Jaw. "Change Your Act" ettU provides giggles and it served well In the spot. Maurice Elliott as the fresh property man Is ex- cellent. Not often Is a single woman en- trusted next to closing at the Pal- ace, but no mistake was made In •ending Mary Haynes Into the 6pot (prolpramed No. 6 with six acts In the 'flrst part). Eben Lltchfleld is the pianist. Miss Haynes is cred- ited with a hit Her numbers- are apeAlally written (by Blanche Mer- rill.,according to report) and prob- ably the song cycle is new for the ^otwe. She started fast with "Cry a Little," a trimming song, and IKnded best with a beauty parlor number, with comedy chatter be- tween choruses getting laughter. Miss Haynes got a good break for there was very little singing pre- Tlously. Her success was genuine, bo.wever. , Jack McLallen and his "Sarah" •pitched from third the second part it the show, the best scoring com- edy of the evening. He is the'mu- MtH skating clown who learned Trench from colonge bottles. The Courtlelgb playlet following hardly Added to the gayety, though It has 1^ sentimental value. Miss Haynes ylcked up the show then with the , Carclnetti Brothers closing to the retreaters. The latter. turn was hastily booked before the matinee When Moore and Littlefleld declined the finish position. ' Nonette flashed on No. 4' with Harold Solman at the piano and a Special setting which gave her full •tage. The singing violiniste is Ming several songs well. She is .Ulonest and Truly," another "Gypsy frail." ^^The Wright Dancers closed inter- mission. The turn is the product *• Dexter and Anita Peters Wright, wlio have a school in San Francisco MWIar in idea to the Denlshawn ••tat>ll8hment In the southern part et the state. The idea of a tenor Ringing of the foreign land^ he tlslted as cues for the Introduction W dancers in .costumes and steps typical of those lands has been used Before. A tableaux finish Is pro- dded but no pi'oductio'n otherwise save black velvet drapes. Had the torn been given something additlon- 4lly decorative it might have im- masaed more favor»b'.y. The gjrls dance well. Helen I'achaud, fea- tured, attracted plenty of attention with her Indian number, especially the slow back turns, which disclosed slender protection. The Four Casting Stars thrilled the early arrivals, who continued applauding until this exceptional quartet was given an additional cur- tain. The Mitchell Brothers with their banjos pleased,' second. ' Ibce. doalng the flrat half cUc|(Led for top honor* la that portion. The bill ran along quietly enough. With auch conversation aa was present being of questionable value in these vast spaces, which con- forms to previous happenings. Mc- Grath and Deeds, No. 2, particu- larly suffered in this reapect to the extent that they evidently switched the flnish to allow the bass singer to Climax with his solo. It was a happy thought as the comedy talk brought' little and the vocalizing supplied the needed boost. Irene Ricardo was another who seemed handicapped by the interior dimensions, but, at tlfat, fought it out to win by a satisfying margin. Her opening comedy number regis- tered because of a certain lilt the melody contains and her voice with the success of the remaining songs also an attribute of this specifica- tion. The Rleffenbach Family, holding over from last week, pleased with their circus ring offering and were given a number of house girls to dress the stage at the opening. The Midgets, it is presumed, are doing two new bits in a cowboy episode and a woodland fantasy. The former has about eight of the men whirling lariats which leads to acrobatics and pyramiding. An added starter Is anofher miniature person, oft seen around NeW York, who has been Inserted for comedy purposes. The 'woodland presentation had one of the men "thundering" the story of the pantomime from the side of the stage, which was some- what ludicrous in this, theatre, al- beit the action was reason for an- other lavish costume and scenic display. Each of the. additions, if new, is a decided asset and lends strength. Otherwise the act re- mains much as of yore, old excep- tionally well and will hold for an- other week. The second week of H»e evening picked up speed, although the Weaver Brothers . with their rune music were the first turn to actu- ally ripg the gong. The two men, neatly spotted, made the most of the opportunity getting over both for comedy and Instrumental enter- tainment. . Leavitt and Lockwood openeA after the interim and frolicked throug;h easily, although marking another skirmish between an act and the physical proportions. Leavitt did plenty of Work on this sthge and that he connected in al- most every desired Instance speaks for the vigor with which he launched the attack. Sielle and Mills, ballroom dancing team, p^incipaly scored through one fast number and an appe; to the audience to lieep time with a Rus- sian interlude. Backed, by a seven- piece orchestra minus both brass and reed Instruments (and under- stood to be the band which will go in the new Ciro's dance place scheduled to open New Year's), the act was augmented by three times using the 16 house girls. Mr. Sielle and Miss Mills carry the appear- ance traditional with this type of work. The girl might improve the impression were she to modify the tendency to reveal her limbs (though they may be a Red Grange model) and tone down her nil efforts at comedy. The act is well up with those of its class and if nothing else the couple have given a new twist to the conventional fast whirl- ing step, in Chat the girl faces the same way as her partner. Miss Bayes probably took Into consideration the house when hold- ing herself down to three songs and an encore in 16 minutes. Under that stipulation it amounts to about the best act she has ever done, for here is an entrant who can always be counted upon to linger around the half hour mark or more—more often more. It may have been the house which caused the. briefness or t'he experience she picked up in Lon- don, but either way .Miss , Bayes supplies hiore entertainment in 16 minutes than she does when pro- longing hersel': into a six-day ev>nT. Flowers brought over the lights and delivered with a bow by a house attache was cause for the singer to mock the act of courtesy, impressing as very bad taste. It removed the edge from an other- wise corking performance. The Christmas flnale had prac- tically the entire bill on the stage and was but a brief flash, although !Including an acrobatic troupe which brought forth a girl doln/g lightning whirls that were beauties of execu- tion and hit the high spot of the flnale. Hkig. for getaway and were equally well liked. Crawford and BrodeA<^ next, were a comedy panic with a bright line of nonsensical chatter and songs that were materially helped by Miss liroderlck's droll characterisation of a wise-cracking dumbbell. Several songs Interspersed the repartee and were sent over for top Valne. with the team clicking aa one of the out- standing hits. The Royal Siamese Entertainers provided both novelty and color in a series of dance divertissements and athletic exhibitions, aided by their own musicians playing upon weird Instruments. Jimmy Hussey, toplined, closld the first section and, of course, goaled ihem. Preceding Hussey's entrance ^<everal minutes of screen stuff showing the comic in travesty combat with his pal Johnny Dundee at the latter's training quarters put the mob in good humor for the en- suing repartee. For a wind-up Hus- sey delivered several comedy songs and could have held the rostrum for the remainder of the evening had the supply of material held out. In-> stead he ga«'e them just enough and undisputedly walked away with the show. Miss Patrlcola, on after Intermis- sion, clicked, as usual, with her singing, dancing and Instrumental contributions, and was followed by 1<'ay and the two boys assisting him for tomfoolery that hit for a bulls- eye. Bert Lahr and Mercedes mopped Up in next to closer with a fast eccentric comedy, with Bert panick- ing them with his "hick" cop delln- •eatlon. Zoe Delphine and Co. closed with a nifty line of wire walking and dancing. Edha. AMERICAN ROOF Nothing on the roof the flrat half to scare the pigeons. Just an,ordi- nary eight-act bill, with much too much hoofing, each act hopping the buck about the same manner as the dancing ahead. The Russian danc- ing got a big play, but Crelghton and I Lynn (New Acts), next to shut, copped the dancing honors, follow- ing all the others. Even "Bohemian Nights," one of those flash singing acts which used to harbor the operatic songsters, had. a Russian dancer in It. The dancing started early after Stanley and Attree opened with a ring and trapeze routine of neatness and ■dispatch. Healy and Garnella <New Acts) were, the first dancers. They did nicely, followed by Clifford and Bailey, two colored talking, singing and dancing comics. This pair t>ulled the usual routine of eccentric and slitle stuflf. They made a neat ap- pearance in tuxes, but their cross- flre was composed of released gags. The comic wore a, brown deVby for atmosphere. "Bohemian Nights" closed without starting much. The act Is a mixture of singing, dancing and vlolining. The singing consists of semi and classical songs, with enough pop ^tuff. mixed in to keep the shelves quiet. This is the flash type of turn which has dijappeared from the big time and taken most of the straight classical singers With It. R was re- ceived mildly. * After Intermission Smith and Cantor, two-man, comedy combo, did nicely. The pianist wears Persian costume, with the comic in Turkish get-up. They cross-fire, sing single and dopble songs, and register mildly up to "It Ain't Goln' to Rain,'' which. Interspersed with topical comedy limericks, made such a strong flnish it held up the entrance of Jules Jordan and Co. In their sure-flre comedy sketch, "Business Is Busi- ness." The troubles of the two partners a la Potash & Perlmuttgf were very amusing to the roofltes. Crelghton and Lynn followed, and hung up the hit of the bill before McGoods, Lenzer and Co., a corking trio of hand-to-hand balancers and •acrobatics, closed the vaudeville portion In an unusual offering that can close the best of the bills. The feature nlcture, "Wages of A'lrtue," held nearly everyone. Con. binatlon of four people In a comedy skit (New Acts) did right well until the flnish that flopped so hard It carried the turn down with it, not leaving enough for a t)end. But the turn can easily be made for a comedy act .of value. Ahger and Packer had the. tough spot of the season, next to closing and following the band that was a vaudeville show in itself, while the bike riders closed the vaudeville followed by the picture. . Beege and Qupee on roller skates (New Acts) opened, doing very well with hard work after arriving. The O'Connor Sisters, No. 2 (New Acts), seemed framed up wrong in several ways. They did fairly here in the position but not enough to hold the same spot in larger houses. A main fault is that the liveliest girl doesn't understand how to handle herself for the most returns, while the other young woman does little to warrant a return. After the Thursby skit (with Helen Birmingham, later looking nifty and doing a nice little dance in front of. the band), Warren and O'Brien did their comedy acrobatic turn, a travesty on lifting, etc., both boys taking some hard falls. They started slowly through talking and business but developed fait and fln- Ished strong. They should be given a chance o nbig time, as they have comedy traits and with a little bol- stering of the early section should make the grade. In the Thursby act is a sugges* tion, and not a weak one, of the late Bert Clark. That is covered in the New Act notice. Straw hats were most heavily played, two being soaked in succeed- ing acts on the bill, the first with Thursby and the second with the Warren and O'Brien turn. About the only other off-<8lde stuff in the show was the trombonist of The C^ommanderd, who was at the Sth Avenue as the trombonist-solo- lst-lead«r of West, Virginia and West when that act last played this house. Bime. HIPPODROME Christmas week drew away its quota from this vaudeville stadium •swell as the others Monday night to offset Che pulling power of any "names" or a house reputation. ir Nora" so billed and In the ion of Miss Bayes .scaled the rhts as to billing. Just before an ■Wropriate Yuletlde aftermath she Walked out to somciliing lens than If a house. Singer's Midgets lalanoed the draw theory and RIVERSIDE Plenty of comedy in current bill and good attendance for the Monday night before Xmas. Few vacancies 6n the lower -floor, with a large the- atre party booked in, and Frank Fay. doubling from the Alhambr.-\ at this performance only-as an iid- dition.al treat, for the celebrator:*. IJIly, lady juggler, Introductoried with clever manipulation of various ohJecl», ranging from regulation small stuff to a large rocking horse, and landing sure-fire. Bernard and Garry, two boys in high brown make-ups, clicked in the follow.up with some good harmony numbers punctuated by an eccentric tance STH AVE. The bike riders at the Hip last week were the card the first half at the 6lh Ave. but failed to bring beyond what was expected of the pre-Xm.lB day buslriess. The riders were Walthour, MacNamara and Madden. It was thought that the Sth Ave. hanging around the Gar- den so much, there would be a sort of relationship, somebody evidently not understanding that 80 per cent of the patronage at bike races Is itnli;;n.' An unsuspenteid hit and a bill stopper were Tlie Commanders. - an orchestra of 11 boys (New Acts), formerly playing as the Versatile Hcxtct when It was a sextet. Those hoys Just tore up the house, and had, lior extra measure, some of the others on the program piling up with a bit when doing an encore. i)ave Thursby msirked the flnish With the late Tom McNaghton's "Three Trees" verse with music, the band doing exceptionally with this. Henry Knntrey also has 4one this ver«e in vaudeville. , The Thursby•Birmlngbam com-land toothsome GRAND OPERA HOUSE Not a bad little vaudeville show on tap at the Grand Monday night. By way of reviving a little more inter- est in the fame and doings of Jack Dempsey, the champ, one of his film period^ a'two-reeier from Universal, was on the pictorial end, with the main film "Vanity's Price." The show was typical of the varie- ties, with plenty of singing and dancing and a jazz band for good meastrre. While many forms of 6tage and screen entertainment have passed in review at the old Grand, and this takes in Corse Payton with stock, it will be recalled that Andrew Mack used to pack 'em in at this house. There was an Irish number Monday night that recalled Mack's yesteryear, at the Grand. Needless to add, the number was a resound- ing hit. The management gave away tur- keys, had advertised 10 live birds, but at the last moment, by way of ducking any comment with the ban on live fowls In New York, gave away the turka feather-pl|Cked and all ready for the oven, with a few trimmings to be added. They gave the birds—10—uncounted—10—in a distributive manner unquestionably fair. With plenty of vaudeville and films and corn-fed turkeys, the O. O. H. Is enttlled to its patronage. . Adair and Adair opened. Triple horizontal bar men, with One han- dling the comedy, but both being flashy and pleasing workers. A good act. but clrcusy. The Golden Girls start off with a kidding song about one being fat and the other thin, with each offering solos that didn't get much, but the turn closed to ap- plause when it went in for comedy through the bigger woman using jsemi-comlc makeup and speeding the routine with a dance. The other "girl" does some good "kicks." A rearrangement and a greater try for the light comedy effects would help. Next came "The Trimmer," a far- cical sketch that to the Grand crowd seemed decidedly different from the usual run. Four persons, with a woman playing the manicurist hav- ing the bulk of work on her shoul- ders. An old guy flirts outrageously, hut doesn't know that his wife and the "naildresser" framed it. Cast as a who's adequate, with dialog a little' strained and dragged out. Ed Morton had his name out, and wasn't ashamed of it. Ed soon found a most receptive audience, and he.wowed them with his songs. He added to his score with an Irish song that knocked 'em. Tilyou and Rogers were also a large-sized hit with their comedy acrobatics and dancing. These men have an act that would satisfy them anywhere. Then followed the Chuck Holsworth Band, and the jazzedy numbers and the work' of t^e three •principals" drew applause. The band played the usual style of numbers, including "The Storm," for an opener, with two girls apbearlng in separate specialties and showing unpovered ^rms and legs, with sec- tions of the back decidedly "un- dressed." There was a boy whd dnnCed by himhelf, and one of the eirU sang "blues" that struck It In the O. O. H. Summed an, ttM show gave ^1 en- lortalnrofnt, includUnf turkeys, fat 81ST ST. This "Yuletlde Festival" across the marquee of the Slst Street may be meant seriously, but the bill inside, with two exceptions, doesn't show ' Christmas generosity. It is slow and pokey vaudeville, which gathers speed only when Bobby Randall and the "Gypsy Wanderers" turn come on. They're spotted fifth and sixih. Business Monday night was on a par with the show—off. Opening was "Tune In," a three- person musical turn which works In "two" and employs a painted radio set as an excuse for their instru- mental stuff. Its people work hard enough, but their music never touches the high heights; K sticks pretty much to the small-time class all the way through. When they were through Miller and Capman, a good male danclns team, went through a hard routine with vim. But alf^heir effort didn't win them the applause they de--' served, .while the Hyams-Mclntyre . act, "WiUy Splnch," written by WllUe Collier and all that, wa^ spotty . In getting Its laughs. Some of Its . gags were so old they couldn't even get past the foots. This sketch team ' has had better stuff than this In the past. Here they went fairly and. with their daughter Leila, held up the trey spot with fair but not dis- tinguished success. Their act over, the three stalled for the Doner and Berkes act, which worked in "two" following the- sketch, which was set a little deeper. Their kidding was good. Then Rose Doner and''Johnny Berkes. Rose has improved since the days with Sister Kitty, but at that she hasn't learned to sing and her personality is not as fascinating as her dancings Berkes. her partner, is a good dapcer anfl a not-so-good comedian. He essays a big pants and short coat get-up, and tears his collar to relieve the monotony of some gags that once set the Five Indian Nations laughing. The act as a whole, therefore, is only fair, despite tasteful dressing and bard work by both Doner and fierkes. New material wouldnH hurt them a bit. But there was Bobby Randall. Some of hla fly stuff smacked the customers for howls. His songs were good enough, but his animation £nd flow of new chatter were welcome. Randall scored plenty, and that's not done by every male singer. "Gypsy Wanderers" (New Acts'^, an eight-people dance turn pro- duced by Joe Howard and featuring Stanisloff and Oracle, closed with big results. "Merton of the Movies" was the film. SUtk. 19 PIANISTS I ■ ' ■■ (Continue^ rrom. page 1) ^t iyn to spread culture In that sub«/ urb. At this concert 19 of the world's most famous pianists will play—on 19 different pianos and simul- ^ineously. If It isn't perfect musi- cally, the event Is at. least calcu- lated to give a thrill. Such names as Ossip Qabrllow« Isch, Myra Hess, Harold Bauer, Gulmoar Novaes, Brnest Shelling, Alexander Siloti, Hutchesotf, Frled- berg, Brallowsky. Leginska, tievit- skU Levlnne, Maier, Mero, Ney, Pattlson, SamarorC Schnltzer and Stojowskl are listed. For this a |10 top Is going to be charged, prob- ably the highest all around top placed on a performance ever held_ In the Met under outside auspices.' That top, however, scales down rapidly, dropping to IS after the floor and boxes have been covered. Arthur Judson In managing the concert, which is given as a beneAt for the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. WMCA STATION r (Continued from {>age 1). are more than 20 national advert tisers signed by the station. - Fagan Is believed to be the flrst agent in this line exclusively. His function is to provide artists to the commercial flxms, using the sta- tion. The professionsls/ usually singers, will use the name. of. the company or Its product In tt^ir broadcasting. They are paid 'y the advertisers, who in turn must remit so much an hour to the sta- tion, while Fagan gets the usual agent's commisalon from the ar- tists. WEAF and WHN have used a soniewhat similar method of com- mercial broadcasting for some time, but have not had one par- Ucular agent to supply materlaL They both, however, like WMCA. have their own salesmen going out to sell time to commercial con- cerns. Fagan plans not only to supply each advertiser with an orchestra, vocal unit or soloist to use the name and plug the product perman- ently, If so desired, but also to pro- vide a different artist for each ad- vertlseAr at every broadcasting en- ^agemeit If the latter Is considered j^«fj^~~]more advantageous.