Variety (February 1925)

I PRICE 20 CENTS AMUSEMENTS PRICE 20 CENTS ■ f. Pnbtlahed Weekly at 164 West 4«th St.. Naw Tork. N. T., br Variety, Inc. Annual Mbecrlptlon ST. Slnfle o«plM St cwtta. Bntered aa eecond claaa matter December IS. IlOi, at the Post OIBce at New Tork, H. T., under the Act of Mareh I, 187*. VOL. IJLXVn. No. 12 NEW YORK Cmr, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1925 48 PAGES B'WAY HAS 27 SUCCESSES CHAUTAUQUAS ARE MOBILIZING lAGAIN^KLANTAUQUAOPPOSISH Secret Meeting Held in Chicago to Curtail Inroad* of K. K. K. Units in Former Lyceum Stands— r Ways and Means to Be Adopted at Next Meeting Chicago, Feb. t. The first concerted Chautauqua move, to overcome the menace of the' klantauquas watf taken Jan. 80, when various Trflicials of Chautau- qua companlea here, met to dU- OU8S ways and means of keeping the K. K< K. organizations from go- ing Into their territory. No defin- ite plans were decided upon, and althoufffa many were discussed, the •ha,utauqua men were at a loss as to how to turn to overcome the op- position, which last season caused (Continued on page 21) SHUBERTS OPPOSE F.P.-L WITH NEW FLA. HOUSE ■ Erecting 1,600-Seater at West * Palm Beach—First District Competition for Famous Miami, Fla., Feb. 8. p. Ltee Shubert has closed a deal for the erection of a 1,609 seater at "West Palm Beach, the theatre to be devoted to legit attractions. The new house will be the first opposi- tion the Famous Players-Boutiiern Bnt^rprises have had In this ter- 'rltory. Although no definite stand has beea taken regarding the Shubert Inroads, It may precipitate a slap back by Famous in routing their features as road show units e;cclus- • Ively t|>rough the Erlanger booking jtyn^lcate. Houses controlled in this territory by t^amous are devoted to vaude- ville and pictures. HOTELS PROnTEERING Hotels in New York without rec- ognised ticket st.tnds have been Working a heavy graft on customers toy securing tickets through the cut- ratea and then sellinK them at the usual premium, meaning at least a 100 per cent profit. Last week an Instance was brought to notice when a customer kicked to n theatre manager on the location of his .scat and by tracing his purchase It was fouftd the lintel had sold him the pasteboard nnd that the ticket was In the allot- •nent to a cut rate ageooy. STOPS RADIOING OF AMATEUR SHOW John Pollock's Wire HalU Broadcasting of '^ed Widow" Atlantic City, Feb. t. John Pollock, brother of Channlng Pollock, stepped in the other night and stopped an attempt on the part »t the Morris Guards, local mili- tary organization, to broadcast' the dress rehearsal of "The Red Widow," a musical play by Chan- nlng Pollock and Rennold Wolf, in which Raymond Hitchcock starred years ago and which the Guards are using as a vehicle for an ama- teur presentation next week. Everything was ready to broad- cast through WPG. Atlantic City's municipal station, when a telegram was received, signed by John Pol- lock. It read: "Red Widow can- not be broadcast without permis- sion; protected by copyright. Authors' League fighting radio and will enforce copyright. Be sure you make proper arrangements be- fore proceeding, otherwise unlimited trouble will follow. This notice both friendly and official." It ig the general belief of officers of the Guards that the royally paid for the presentation of the play should also have included radio broadca.stlng. This would have Lecn the first time that such ii rehearaal had ever been put on the air. WORLD'S YOUNGEST BAND Hou.ston, Tex., Feb. .1. A Juvenile band, composed of bo.v.s all under .lix years of age. will wel- come Paul Whiteraan and his or- chestra upon their arrival hereTrl- I day. IPPROKIMITEIY HtlF OF LIST PiFIME Bis Number of Hits Stimulat- ing All Busin es s * *Love Song" Leads Ust With $44,000—12.Muskals and 15 Non-Musicals Rated Hits—Stornu No Deter- rent Last Week to Trade NEW SHOWS PROMISING Continued big business on Broad- way throughourJanuary Is regarded with surprise by showmen, who are giving no explanation. It Is quite evident, however, that New York (Continued on page 17) "KIDMWcCOY SAVESSLAYER Los Angeles, Feb. t. Kid McCoy, a prisoner la the county jail, proved a life-saver when he stopped Zame R. Southern from bleeding to death. Southern, convicted of killing R. E. Mack, at- tempted suicide and slashed his arms and wrists with a knife. McCoy rushed to his side, tore off his shirt and stopped the flow of blood. Southern was arraigned the next day (l^onday) and sentenced to life imprisonment. ARNS1WS'^AF COMES WHEN WARDENS DAUGHTER JOINS SHOW Fanitie Brice Put Lucilla Lee in Current ''Music Box"—Husband at Leavenwortii Taken From Coal Pile to White Collar Task LOPEZ QUITS CONCERT TOUR FOR VAUDE Especially Training Band of 18 Pieces for Palace March 2 Illuminating Ra^io and Puzzles Hurts Theatres Pos.slbly the reason radio fans have little extra change left for theatre tickets pjay be explained in part by the elec- tric light companies' wtatistics that lately the average ^family's light bill hax considerably In- creased monthly. The. cause Is ascribed to radio due to the fans' lute hours in fishing for dlsitan- - stations. The cross-word puzzle craze Is also keeping many citizens up in their diligent pursuit of the elusive syntmym, which all adds to the Illuminating com- pany's t.irifTs. Vincent Lopez and a concert or- chestra of 18 opens for Keith March 2 at the Palace at |3,C00 a week salary. Lopes Is abandoning the concert tour proposition in f tvor of vaudeville. The stage band will be distinct from the orchestra Lopez will have at the Hotel Pennsylvania. The latter will be trained strictly as to Us dance qualities and the vaude- ville band v.'!ll be coached chiefly for .'ts stage work, a departure In It- self. Lopez was for long the "ace" Keith band in the metrc.>olltan ter- ritory before signing for the "Greenwich Village Follies" and the Piccadilly theatre. New Tork, both of which he gave up. The dilferentlation of the dance and the stage bands will permit Lopez to accept some bookings out- side of New York, having hereto- fore been limited to the metropolis because of the hotel tie-up. The 13,000 flgure is txceptitnal for a band, although Paul Whiteman and his orchestra have had a standing offer of 95.003 for a run at the Hipt>odrome. which cannot be accepted because of Whlteman's concert bookings. Kansas City, Feb. I.' Federal Investisatloa is bein? made Into the exact facts behind the transfer of Nlckey Arnstein, husband of Fannte Brlce and a pris- oner at Fort Leavenworth peniten- tiary, from the coel pile to a soft snap as messenger to Chief OfAcer Lee, of the prison, simultaneous with the advent of Lee's step- daughter, Luctlla, In the chorus of (Continued on page 21) YIDDISH FOJM SLATED FOR BmY SHOWING "Ylskor," Eight Reeler, Await- ing House—Features Mau- rice Swartz Maurice Swartz and the Yiddish Art Company are featured In a Yid- dish picture, "Ylskoi-" ("Thou Shalt Remember") that Is to be screened on Broadway by the Charles Penser-WllIIam Goldberg Produdtlona Just as soon as a house can be obtained. Among the cast Is Dagny Servaes, Oskar Bergl, Mark Schweld, Lazar Freed, Morris Strasaberg. Bertha Gersten, Leon Seldenberg, Jacob Mestel, Izidor Casher, Wolf Oold- faden, Anna Appel, Ellhu Tennen- holm and BIna Abramovltz. The picture. In eight reels. Is a tragedy, adapted for the screen from the play by H. Sacler, pre- sented In the Jewish Theatre, and was filmed In Europe when the Swartz company was touring there last- summer. Sidney Goldln directed. K. K. K.'8 FLOP "JIG" Providence, Feb. 3. The "first grand dance" of the Kti Klux Klan in this state, given l.iMt Friday night at Hhodos-on-the- Pawluxet, was a fizzle. Less than 1,000 persons attended the event. The capacity of the hall Is 8.000. A Methodlst-Eplscopnl minister talked, a Masonic Quartette sang with a woman choir soloist and a Klan official made an addrefs. Yiddish pictures are getting quite a play among independent releasing channels. There are a number of houses In New York displaying all- Jewish pictures, although the cap- tions, in some cases, are printed in Kngllnh. COSTUMES wilt) will make your next ones? Those who have l> (> u K h t from us pay— BROOKS COSTUME CO. 1437 8r*t«»»» T»l. 9tM PWB. N. Y. 0% ii^iflfl Costume*for Rei