Variety (June 1925)

iJW-w»"" WedncMlay, June J, IHff IVAUULVILLL ULVILWIJ VARIETY PALACE ProiMiUr not_. ^, .^ Ittack ©C W«fc U»»fc*t,uro. «>5<P«*- Knil hot weather v*udevlu«. jt is, S iS fwaSi^Wlth bewcoup laughs happny inHWperiM, ■ TPhat the W«aBi«r. foU6winr -4 «Aea«ant •eB«»oi» <©« o©totortaW« tem^ perature. caUgWi «h« *o«»e i»an»«eH nent uaaware* .w»« •vl4«nce4. jn two taaUnoca. TJ»e, N#dlck> .»ta,n<l Jn the alley waa not, twctloaing nor were the hand tana although theee were aomehow magically produciKl luat before lntetinl*8lon. They were niucbly in demand, the audiepce rep- reeenttng a awaylng picture of wav- ing cardboards. Buslnesa Monday night, naturally off wa« surprisingly good conalder- *ar as waa the matinee trade. Some- how that Palace drawa them In all weathers and with coolers and a.l other little alceties (not alighting the orange Juice stand) working, the house In truth Is odoler than ent- . doors. The tinusyalnese of the Kelth-Albee ace house as a lode-^ •tone bscame mpre noticeable as Ibe other houses along the streets were viewed discharging their com- paratively mea^<9'patronag* Mon- day evening. The vaudwVllle''=^o " productions- *ack-to-vaude^lUe idea was ilhis- trated In the three biggest spots.on the bill: Johnny Dooley, Just out of "Keep Kool'*and the "Follies" (rpad Show). Harry Carroll, back fron^ the coast where his "Pickings" li. M>8 Angeles coilnprls^d an entire eve^ lil.ig's perfotmance, and that • Itt-' Imltable pair, Clark^ McCullough, out of the "Music Box Revue." Bobby Clark and Paul McCullcugh; might be t«rn»ed, even if extrava- gantly, a truly Mnkiue and extraor-. dinary team- plark's sense of the- comic is unusual and a Question If he could be replfided. Doing tlietr "Senators" STld the "bathroom' skits, it was a merry and ofttlmee lillarlous 24 mitrutes from curtain to «urtaln. , Johnny Doolejr Is doing gpme of the skits from Paul Gerard Smith's •'Keep Kool." Japk Waldron, Laura Lee, Adele Ardsley. Richard Ifvlng, —Harry Kooper, D or othy Pattwson, Irma Dale and Dave Porter comprise the supporting cast aidtiig anJ abet- ting Dooley In his nonsense. The sneeslnK mellerette. "violent ward," hoke acrobatic and other skits dove- tailed nicely for a bright Intertade. Harry Carroll's Revue (New Acta) closing the first half is the be«t of the Ulented composer-actor-pro- ducer's offering^. Mantell's Manikins opened. Theftr |>uppet stuff is the last word in man- ikin production, the "peMt cabaret" Idea having beea elaborated with, talking Interludes and other bits that qualifies this (or a "spot" On the lesser bills is, coQcededly. a cork- ing opener. I^es Qrohs, mixed trio, with contortlvo specialties are a standard In their line, selltag them- t selves smartly. Dooley next artd then Bobby Ran- 'dali. self-styled "a better man than Qunga Dtn" who was spotty and generally funny^ Randall was a blackface comedian befora taking a "CO." with him as latterly and is re- turning n his old standby with the "single." Back of it all. even at those times when hts comedy be- Oftmes overly familiar or plain an- niniy. Randall has a persbnallty. iWhethec it can be nursed and coached to blooqi into the Jolson- esque or Cantorese proportions Ran- dall aims at, depends on the in- jdiyidual. Randall may deny thei Joison-Cantor comparison btit his Irork is muchly a la that stellar air. His "mammiy-home" song i^ A' ttositlve Indlca^r. Some thing Xtandall should watch against is his ■unconscious lapsing into Jewish dia- lect. And of course gags like get-i itAng $30 a day in the army (once . a. month) have been heard around . f>e(ore. Everything considering^ )iowever, Randall managed nicely tl^d proved himself a good enter- tainer, discounting the Gunga Din ' '«omi>arl8on. '■* Harry Carroll closed the first half, •<f<>rced to a speech, seemingly caught unawares, with Pat Rooney in the fjf9nt row sln«l«d out as a llfet- saver. Pat obliged and mounted the rostrum and exited with Carroll' Intermission was cut short. The Lorraine Sisters, assisted by Roy Sheldon and MiUy Taylor, have a neat dance and song ^uttne. This sisters' terp work is spotty. At times it impresses and then ag&in misses. They seemed to have many friends and well wishers in the au- dience which brought to mind the unjustness (^ ^^uglng a turn with- out audience consideration. (It's the same parallel why Variety pic- ture I'eviewers do not "catch"* pre- rOleases In private ^projection rooms in view of the coloness of the bare walls, preferring a surrounding lay audience as a barometer.) The Lor- raine Bisters are a neat enough team. WLsely enough, they do all "'Wieifr Stuff !ft duet, foreffoing the: cus- Homary i<o1o stuff by each. The act itat gorgeously mounted. It's a high- iigrade production. Koy Sheldon who ui4i jcr^dlted J'or the special lyrics and -jfljusic is 4t one piano and Billy .Taylor, vogaUst, at the other.' thfe '^'Titter ■ (ilicklng With a "PagriacclV ^ aria. ' "^hfe '^sisters' Tahiti and • rharlestoh (hnisW) were particularly ''ICSOdv ',''■■' '■•>;.• , ; , I Ctawk Mufc. M«CullougH wt>liUB^ 'em. That expresses the acme of vaudeville attainment. Kate and Wiler (New AoU) closed. Aft«i. HIPPODROME A typical warm weather bill at the Hip. featurlnf piowning and dancing, and with tnat master shovy^- man-mystitfer' /Uoudiui. playing a rtepeat date, reVtVihg ^oitt'e of the stunts" htf ovelrlbolred during his previous ettgagement^ also continu- ing his expose o< fraudulent spirit-' uaiistlc medluihs. Nine gets are carded comprising two hold-overs from the previous week, seven changes and all estab- lished material among the added starters. In fact the current bill Is an illustration that the Hip must look to standard vaudeville enter- tainment in the circus season. Despite torrid weather the house held a good crowd on the main floor and a f^ir group in the first balcony Monday night Ge6rge Uetrnkti, the "Danflng Skeleton" attd on6 of the hold-overs opened with'a'speedy dance offering, assisted by the Allen Foster girls aj» dancing apookit ^nd finished to good returns, , Rector apd Hip G^ng, a clever ctintne novelty held follow up arid ftmii'sed' Wltjh a routine of dog antics thai i^er^ equally well re- ceived. . •■ • •'■■•■' Roteoe Ails, Kate Pullman and band, (new acts)> livened up the trey.spot to a.^icety with their fast line of hoku^, singing and dancing. I^ate'q left leg has not recoveredj from its recent injury \(^hlch cow- pelled her 'tb forego the opening dance although she made valiant efEorts in her succeeding' numbers but could.not^ however., conoeal she was working under considerable difficulty. Ed and Tom Hickey, scored as usual with theil' delightful buf- foonery and dancing. Their travesty on mind readers was as hokey as they' come but the mob loved it. Houdini closed the first half and nu>pped up ^ usual. He con- tributed his needle trick for an opener followed With the trunk mj'stery feat and then engaged In an 'expose of alleged spiritualist fakirs. The demonstrations in- cluded an expose of the flying trumpet which Houdini had de- tected and exposed In Cleveland and the slate writing stunt showing how through an optical illusion a special table is used and a girl secreted un- derneath to do the writing. Houdini used a copy of a table he had exposed, at a recent seance. It defied detection on the lighted Hip stage »o it needs no great elastic- ity of the imagination to believe it would work perfectly In the dimly lighted rooms of a medium. Houdini devoted the final five minutes ta open forum answering all 'questions regarding spiritualism and his expose and reiterating his offer of |10,MO for a manifestation by any medium that he is unable to detect. In answer to one of the queries Houdini madesclear that h^ was not attacking spiritualism as a religion but jnerely exposing fakirs who had been bilking the public for years. He,cited one Instance where a medium refused to accept his challenge oh the grounds of it be- ing biakphemous but pointed out that the same party had no qualms in taking the saps over for J2 a sitting at seances. The Four Diamonds opened the second haV with a fast routine of clever 9tepping interspersed With songs and served" uP In a likeable manner that won them Applause throughout and prolonged hand- slammlng at the finish. Powers elephants held the follow up with the mammoths contributing their usual stunts and dancing with the latter getting the best returns on Its coming novelty with this audi- ence. Billy B. Van and George Le Malre (hew acts), held next to closer in "Hello, Central," a travesty on • crowded telepJwne booths and prolonged continuity into the closer an after piece— "Stepping Out" in which they were assisted by the entire bill (the ele- phants and dogs excepted) and with the Hip danclngf girls contrib- uting a genuine revuesque flavor. Dividing the comedy scenes In the afterpiece were specialties con- tributed by the Trado Twins. Wood Sisters. Jean Holt, Frances Holllday, who are part of the Van and Le Malre act and others of the bill who had previously contributed their liHIvIdual speclal- tl^ also working in the afterpiece and contributing singing, dancing and additional clowning. Most of the routine clicked neatly and was helped lots by additional garnish- ment and the snappy precision dances of the Hip dancing girls. Kdba. RIVERSIDE They .sure were tough at the Riverside Monday night, as -every act on the eight-act bill could tes- tify after the performance. It may have heen the heat but candor com- pels that with the exception of Ben Meroff and Band, who closed the first htilf, the Show was a series of 'hrodies from' the opening beU right Mirough to Bradley .and . Hennossy, Who closed' to a few of the taith- fuL A cohversation between taro pa< irons would convict Harry Jolson, brother of AL of being a draw in the neighborhood. One patron looked around and remarked. "Cjan you ims^ine this business for a feller Ukie Jolson?" Second iMtron; "He alh't the san^q like he used to be ddvm hi the"W^n^ ter Gardeh." • ' \ ' • First patron, '"I knoW It. When I went down there to see him I already had to get my seats from the speculators." Second patron. "Well, that was the Winter Garden, this is the River- side. Nobody knows he's up here." For one thing the bill lacked a comedy punch in either half. Mat- thews and Ayree (New Acts) were the comedy entry In the first half, spotted third to add comedy to that portion of the bill and with nothing ahead of them. It was a tough as- signment, considering the apathetic audience. Deucinc: it was Marie Cavamu(b, sister of Lucille and Bud Cooper, the song writer, (hooper has an over-assurance of minner Which went for the ^nd book here. His announcements;' fairly well dis« guised, disclosed Him as the author of several current hits, ? ut that failed to get a rise. Miss Cavanagh's dancing fared better. She is a ^weet looking miss and can hoof. Her har4 nhpe waltz clog and other dances measi|red up with the best seen around. * Meroff opene4 to a reception and closed to the orily enthusiasm wit- nessed an evening. Assisted by th^ Frank and Milt Britten's orchestra, Meroff played and danced his way to big returns. He is one of the best "type" hoof era in the racket, a first class showmap and all around trooper. He knows his vaudeville and profits thereby. A little nurs-r in$ would have pulled him into the speech making class. Harry Jolson, Nd. 4, also ran into indifference. Jolson closes his turn vidth "request" songs. At the piano Jolson has a singing assistant. The pianist also does a bit of straight for Jolson's crossfire which should be dropped immediately for the good of the turn. Not only is the ma- terial weak, released and unfunny but Jolson cannot handle dialog. When singing he is on safe ground for he has absorbed enough of Al's delivery to make him stand out in that department. He has a symjMi- thetic, musical, tuneful voice and should stick to his knitting. The talk Isn't necessary and hurts. After intermission Ina- Claire walked bn in "Right To.u Are" to the most blase reception she has re- ceived in years. Miss Claire's for- mer vaudeville training stood her in good stead for she went ri^ht after them and succeeded in getting her "intoxicated" bit across. The sketch went fairly weH but quietly. Brady and Wells (New Acts) fol- lowed next to closing. They were walking out all through the turn, leaving a handful for the dancing turn of Wally Bradley and May Hennessy, who closed in an im- possible spot. • Considering the heat the lower floor was fairly well populated. Con. AMERICAN ROOF It seemed strange atop the o!d American' to find ihe roof space facing 8tb avenue closed to the pa- trons of the roof. That neck of the outside roof area leading to the top of the electric sign on 42d Mreet was vopen, and a few of the regulars went out there for a few nvinutes. The show wasn't the best t^sem- bled on the Roof and neither was it the worst, yet several of the turns were voteda hit The Chandon Trio opened. TMs act has been here, there and hereabouts, but hands them a thrill with several of the cir- cusy tricks. North and Keller (New Acts) were followed by Shean and Phillips, who wouldn't have gotten a ripple had it not been for their "Boola Boola" number at the close. Their failure to get that early sec- tion over should have them rear- ranging the entire act and getting some crossfire that has some laugh- getters. Billy Mitchell, colored dancer, and his revue, which runs more to danc- ing than anything, with Mitchell himself a dancing phool, closed the first part. The act needs consider- able fixing and smoothing, although several of the numbers skimmed right along nicely. There Is consid- erable talont In the aggregation, which includes Vivien Harris, dancer, and Sullivan and Floyd, also lively steppers. A straight vocal .solo by one of the women proved an interesting . feature. Mitchell knocked the house for a goal every time he pulled some of his steps, and he has several that are not in the other fellows' repertoires. After Intermission Harry Rappll, violin and songs plus a little talk a la Ben Bernle: in fact, Rappi's en- tire presentment of his present turn reminds one strongly of the days when Bernle did his violin singly. RappI had things well his own way. McCoy and Walton were a large- Hlzed comedy hit. The entire act found a ready response and the *: peppery, vivacious manner of Miss Walton proved a valuable asset In the act's score. The turn was made to order for the f\oot and the audi- ence could npt get enough of their style of fun-maklngi The closing act, two men and a woDnan, Lee Plerrottls. held everybody in, al- though there was plenty of reason if> the<y remained, as "Madame Sans Gene" .picture wAP to follow. The pierrottls do some corking hand balancing and they do it easily and gracefully!. A splendid act of its hind. ■ Uan. STATE Loew's big Broadway house was markedly affected by the heat Mon- day night. Just as all other theatres on the main stem. Comparatively few i>ersona occupied the rear half of the lower floor and the front sec- tloi^ held empties too. The vaudeville section of the bill was above the average, and the warmth did hot crimp the scoring. Frank Fisher hnd ' Eldric Glhiiore. on next to closing, kidded and sung themselves into a hit. The couple's two song numbers,! given in their pwn wa^, lightened the routine at the start and finish, while the "Mod- ern Romeo" bit was sure fire all the way. Th* team probably appeared at the State before,' since they were greeted on entrance. However, both forgot the siae of the house and at times were inaudible less than half- way, back. . . ._, Mme, Doree'a "t>e Luxe Opera," the featured tui^, closed with real honors. The warbling routine sagged in the middle, but the «'n Trovatore" number was warmly received, \8 was a solo from "Travlata." Earlier the "PagUacct" solo drew prolonged plaudits. The singers trouped across the apron at the finale.. and again the house tackled them with atten- tion. "Four Flushing" (New Acts), a farce with song numbers, filled num- ber four well, despite Its length. Just ahead. Wade Booth, with Mil- dred Davis at the.piano, sang and talked successfully. His was a long explanation of "When I Kiss My Six Months' Old Baby Girl," and there was extended chatter anent the ef- fect the lyric has upon audiences. Booth's style is that of a chatty singer, and he came through with the major effort, "The Volga Boat- ma.n" number, Introduced originally by Morris Gest's Russian "Chauve- Sourls." The Lee Marshall Revue, a colored dancing qutntet, woi} something on second by virtue of speedy hoofing. Jack Blrchley (New Acts) opened. /bee. 5TH AVE. About a quarter of a house Mon- day night. Whenever' pesslblerthe management permitted the nplsy electric fans to be turned on but the house la naturally a hot-box and moist brows and fldgetty tarn* nlng were the rule. The show was conventional but. although it never managed to be exactly Invigorating it gave the slim audience plenty to applaud. Frank Fay In his usual next-to- closlng'spot was the top-liner. With his cool style of working and the comical quietness of the routine he proved to be the right sort of laugh act for a scorching night. A new encore harmony bit with his two all-important little assistants was an additional howl. The other important turn was La Bernicla and Co. (New Acts). The graceful toe dancer has a new pf- sentatlon that blares forth class and artistic taste. While she her* self scored tremendously It was Olga Morselll. an uncommonly gifted violin virtu,osa. who received the most enthusiastic outburst of the' night The dance act was fifth, preceded by Ernest Hiatt a. rather bright comic monologist, from the west. Third were Earl Mountain and Cliff Dixon In "WIgglnsville" one of the most attractive of the socalle^l miniature musicals In vaudeviUa Elaine Grey has succeeded Beatrice Roma as the prima donna and lb more than satisfactory from the vocal standpoint. Dixon's sti;alght Is. as always, clean-cut and he is still scoring with the "Yes-No'' number remembered as his hit with Frank Sinclair in Choos' "Little Cottage." After the Kam Tal Co. (New Acts) had opened with the usual routine of Jap acrobatics and Jug- gling Wallace and Cappo followed with a poorly presented dance rou- tine. The boys are hoofers of ability but the only quality in their present offering is speed. In fact they seemed to be In too much of a hurry to get through and even the two or three quick bows taken seemed to. be rather lackadaisical. Their billing "Broadway's Adopted Sons" Is to be noticed as somewhat similar to Fay's, which for years has advertised him as the "Favorite Son" of that historic thoroughfare. Another act that seemed to hurry through Its routine was Frirk and Pope, closing, whose Ice skating feats brought strict attention nevertheless. Besides the bill was rather a long one for the hoase. J*-. ,*,» -/ HOLBORN EMPIRE (LONQON) ' ' London, May IS.' The three headllners sharing the top of the billing at the Ho|born Empire this week arf Dorothy Ward. Harry Weldon and ,Ann Codec, As a rule yo^u will no.t see that many, even comparatively new faces, heading the progV^m there. The Holtwrn is one of the Gulllvfcr houses and has been carrying the brunt of the advance vaudeville bookings for the Palladium (now devoted to revue). There have been times when the Holborn would pl^y an act for several weeks, with a week out, and then bring it right back again for several more, not because of any particular drawing powers, but merely because it was booked for London by Gulliver, who had no other place to play it. The Holborn Empire is located Just off Kingsway, in what might be described as the verge of the West End. It Is not a first-class house In the matter of prices, but usually plays the best acts and business is generally capacity. It Is a "soft" audience, with probably 99 out of every 100 acts warmly received. The current bill opened with Bond Jtowell, a rather gOod-Iooklng young man Of statuesque proportions. In evening clothes, singing character songs in a very pleasing rttltfe. Nothing te warrant considering him for American Importation, but he makes for a very pleasing opening turn here. The second number Is entitled "Moments of Melody," whidh cop- ' slsts of a special drop with open- ings in it from which emerge deven women, who sing indifferently. Ohe is billed as "England's greatest lady trumpeter," or, in other words, a cornetist, and another as "the cele- ' brated classical. danseuse." . The trumpeter emits^,staccato tones niot sufficiently unlqhe to regard her,as a soloist, and the danseuse does an . Oriefital number with aii Exposed - midriff. Her figure is lithe and al- luring and compensates for her lack - of terpsichorean artistry. The whole turn is amateurish in construction and work-out. — Ann Codee, assisted by Frank Orth, is now established as a favor- , Ite here and re^etved applause di- rectly her number went up. The clean, healthy comedy of this pair seems to go In the roughest houses, as well as the family audience, which patronizes the Coliseum matinees. Codov and Orth are one of the very few American acts of the present season who have made a, bjlg enough succe^ to remain here all year. Clbslng the flrst half ts Harry Weldom, In 'exceptionally good form the other evening. When his health permits, Weldon Is able to display a remarkable sense of travesty and burlesque. Ha Is one of th* old- timers, and his material is passe, but be would probably be a novelty to an American audience and qn- doubtably could make -good In New Yerk or In i^ome of the other big American cities for a few Weeka. After'the interval'Alan Shaw; the American coin and card manipula- tor, entertained with bis usual dex- terity. Some of his work Is so delicate It Is difficult to appreciate from the other side of the foot- lights. Next came Dorothy Ward, as- sisted by a Tiller group of children '■ and a female piano accompanist. As Miss Ward has been a recognised star in England for the past few years and is regarded as the p^e- miere "principal boy" In pantomime, It is a rather paradoxical state- ment to suggest she is only at the beginning of a brilliant histrtonlo career. With a naturally pleasing voice, an excellent figure and a pretty pair of legs, not to mention extreme regularity of features, she is indeed comely, but in addition Is rapidly developing as an actress. Heretofore she has depended on her voice, her dancing and her attrac- tive appearance. With the assist- ance of the troupe of children and most attractive gowns she put over a pretty song scene, which made . her the applause hit of the show ' up to that time, necessitating a cur- tain speech. But directly the mbment for the following act went up there was deafening applause, a much greater volume than even that accorded Miss Ward, and reference to the program (price twopence) revealed "Peel and Curtis, Irish and Proud of it." Before the curtain waus drawn tw6 men were heard har- monizing the strains of an Irish ballad. The light went up disclos- ing a pair of Hebrew comedians. They go through a routine of Yid- dish cross-talk of the vintage of 1900 or thereabouts, such as "I will now explanation myself." About 10 minutes of this and they essay ■ straight ballad harmonizing and wind up wi,ih a song permitting them to burlesque various na^anal dances. Little talent, common'and vulgar, they were, nevertheless, the applause hit of the bill, amply Jus- tifying the management In allotting thom the next to closing spot. One of the oldest American acts In ICngland, in tlie point of con- tcmpoianeous booking*, is Cornalla nntf Rddie, Jugglers artd comedians, who clo.-ied the show. Vhey have (Cuiilinutd on page 11)