Variety (July 1925)

■^T^'?' ■ .717\* 'JLIWU SPrWiJO.'^^t f.^^. T " o<Wednetd«y, July A IMS • ),•' - VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS VARliETY IS it-,1 «• K •; PALACE On* of the. kind of ahows thkt mad* TAUdcvfUe tb« nation&l !«-, door BW*- i* *^ ^^* Palace thl^. we«^ The satiated theatregoer wha 'can't.find entertalnn»cnt. of variety ' and of a plenty, on t;he eiffht-act MU of fare «t ttie »ce bou«9 of the „ Keith-Albee QrcuU duFlng th« cur- I rent week, will have to stage, a re- , vlval of the Fall of Rome with the • otiglnal cast to get a kick. < The bits pile up like rocks during ■ a landslide, and are as plentiful as "lookers" on Brosulway. In the first half every act In the alcove xoomed over, the show building up to a wow flnisb for that section, with Ous Edward's "Fountain of Youth" of 1926, which include*: as clever a hunch of youngsters as the Ponce de X<eon of va)xle|vllle has ever 'scouted up and the best looking ' "bunch of girls, leehltv a varlfety adt "since Monk Kastman* turned square. .£dwards has wisely ^whittled ' dowp bis ad libblng ««kd allowed thie "children" to take the bit in their teeth. The result Is one of the bent acts he has ever assembled., In the cast are Sanajr, one df the few holdover* from former Bdwards actai George Dou«{a«, a d^nokig comic who has been aroilna, almost as long as Gus, Biny Bradford, ia , Boston Kid with. "Charleaton" Jiab- ' ift; Dprta Wilker aita Rakel Johi^- " Bon, tW4 harftionlzhig baeieiJ;*Joe Basse with a Ukfe Ik» Edwa^d^ Imt- -<atlon specialty; Vivian Fay, "toe daneei^-rwho'lL t>e beaod fromi Mar- gie Roopey, ft , ))eadt<ful Ingpnu© with'a kweei voice a^iid persdnality 'to iriatch; Pesfgy Hoovei', a little ■ blonde beauty -^ho llashM tt mtoap •toe specially, and Belle Davey, wln- • ner of the Hi^podroaaa "Charleston" . contest and)ChaUe^xger of Be« Jack- . con's clalni to tjtie i^tlonaJ title. Bdwards JUs on aj\d off making a *^Ick out" nunaber but''of "Life's ."One Beautiful Ofrromt indulging .In intimate "repartee" that nniB • . mostly I for, tJie end book and the musicians. The acts sum up as an amaslng amount of entertainment, lavishly produced, but 04 minutes of a revue calU for more comedy than Sandy and DoUglas were al- lotted. On this bill It was so neatly •pliced among laugh getters It wasn't noticeable. The comedy hits went to Herbert Williams No. 3, and Benny Rubin and Co. next to closing. Rubin has come along like a prairie Are. He is drawing the -mtosfcat > ctkn^dy^ ■cotttS'Uke oil draws'oftiMnp*> Vau- ^(devUU.'Wouldn't beJleve SuMnwhen he »ssaMd m;t,wo.*et, S9.J><% «w^ light. They opened the second half successfully. Business healthy on rainy Monday evening. , con. RIVERSIDE Mkes 'a soused, framing an Alibi lor irate spous^. Earl Hall '^w celpable^ lltral^t a* ihe" atelsti^g friend* -rehettrslng' him ' in tlMT «tibi. •«dy BceAe)»-C-"fi'otn burleaqtire." ■ His assistants come in for lots of credit. Harrr Lang does ii heavy stntigrhC t^tlMtt^ags. HIa boas voice helps the „ ensemble fUtgIng and his play tag. of [ with G»c«», Osbome ess^o^teg the a hard boiled copper who black- jaqka Rubin,.into a. phoney confes- irton is masterly. Rutifn hahal^' dialect* Ilkii a soft roller d6«i atct His Hebe dialect is as tanglM all it 'handful, of shredded whUit,- s;nd hia Dutch, eaually funny.. Ia addition Rubin knows values, can dance, sing and Is a showman ftom head to foot. May Usher does a splendid opposite in the "Chauve Soujriy" travesty, matching Rubin's Bebe xlialeAt with one equally> falthfuL .XiUciUe Meredith, an unusually ,. pretty brunette, Victor Stone .and. Gene Doyle, complete the splendid support. Tbey made Rubin, beg off "in a speech in whlc^j he tried to ^ave the closlns act from the ui^al retreat, but failed. •^ ■ Herbert Wlllia'mH, minus the part- nership of Hilda Wolfua, is doing the former two-act of the pair as- sisted by the comedy leader and the comedy butler. Wllllanis'^ only new pipce of htikbVn is "hnltatlons;* . and "The Bells." He retlPei to a V bath house and portions of wearing ' apparel are. thrown out. • Williams ^appears in hif. regular; g^t-up. The bit pulled a laugb but needs smooth- ing out. John Halpln, EJd. Ruby and Bob Qulett, hfs' foi-mer aiislst- • ants, are programhied, but'the girt ••Is ndt. *.-• • ■ . .; •.Ed Lowry cBave a masterly exhl' , Wtion »f palesmansUlp In the num- ber four spot. Lowry 4o«8a't do much of any one thing, but he ever- lastingly sells what he does do. His dancing Is always sure and his in- gratiating personality also. King and Beatty deuced, and gave the show a hi'arlous start with their corking two-man piano and «ong routine. Th? songs Qt the pair like one-piece bathlng^sults. Both handle their specialties In big league fashion. They made a decided In^ presslon as number two, and cer- tainly sweetened things up f6r the .P*J|ance of the flnst .b*U of the blQ A bpeedy show at' the Rl^verstde this week With comedy features and dancing predominating. All of the nine acts carded regintered with the slim audience In and combined to make diverting entertainment that will be talked about In the neigh- borhood, but won't pack 'em in be- cause of summer. At the very outset Stan Kavanagh, the opener. Juggled witty remarks with his various objects sounding the comedy note early, and waking up the languid spectators for the follow-ups. Kavanagh manipulated his Juggling skilfully and passed along quips that were genuinely hu- morous which met generous re- sponse. . Alice. Morley ha> discarded. her former flash and Is wording aga^ as a "single," with a song routine In the deUcK She continues the "high 1>r©wn'*' make-up, -and utilises sev- eral i"coon' songs' 'that wemt over neatly. William Brack and oom- pany, a flva-people male, acrobatic turn^ h^l(l foUoytr.uD. pleanipg up 1^ dsual with their fast rpuiine Of risley atid tranitioHne fedts' tbat give the act class '^hich' feW other turns of this class' oto approach. This audience generally unrespon- sive to acrobatic turns rallied to this troupe, rating It as one of the Qutstanders of the show. [' „ Joe Laurie, Jr., back from '*PlaIn Jane," was another bright fipot' -ih No. 4, reviewing his Intinnkte Uiie of chatter, captioned. . "Familyology," and goallng .^em as usual with, a' seeming nonchalant .delivery that hai^ made.the pint-qize cOmic si4re- flre air aidiig the line. . Lau'rie'is chatter ■ Is ' of 'a' droll ■vkrtety. made eVen funAler tbroligh tiU ttethod'of delivery. • ' • ' ' Roye and .Maye< closed the flrrit half /with their pretentious dance revue th^t i^ easily the classiest of its kind. The. ol4-fas))ioned number and the SpaiiilSh' glv4 the featured members splendid opportunities to display their finesse as dancers. The four girls appearing In their sup- port also know their stuff, and are given aniple opportunity to send It over. "Tbe costuming and scenery Is both tasteful and elaborate snqaeklng of class, and probably, representing a neat outlay Of coin. Charles King clicked In opener after Intermission with a new song /outine,-.a^ ;^llUe White presiding atthe.ivories.,, .•..■■., ^y,. l»ip*a AvdktKi ekmV'M'ft' wlfft hia '«omedy'aklt;^<*'MeitfDehi of tb'e'Sainl« KOlub," '.VMch . ttadiri a- fOMnidab]^. next' to «loser. Tegistarlns ^eavyioti tl\et cpmedy tbpough/ArdaAh'^.d^- l^neatlop of, a, j^iUjOi^e^ints l)V4ban4r soused, framing aA.. Alibi for >i|s color, a sure-flre combination. A new encore bit Is his uke accom- paniment in Cliff Eklwards' check- ered cap to her song and Charlef- ton. That "Charleston" bualne«s here is getting to be aS sure-Are as a Yiddish crack at Loew's Delancey Arlys and Stewart (New Acts) closed. Aftel. FIFTH AVE, smart frau, who knows ev^ry ftH^l ^ver invented,.,. . ., Isirrls and compan^^ closed tliat.^TM ^yer In^pn "*" e Harris and . , 'A 'Versatile Revue." and «uf- with "^J (ered somewhat thfrough the late spotting, yet h«ld>np neatly under the handlcapt Harris t)a4,M)rround- ed 4ilmself with capable support. In- cluding the Crane Sisters, r«ahni» ftlbera, Helen Joyce,' Arndld New and Frankle, an eccentric comie, Vhose'pantomime stuff and comedy dance was the hlt^of •tire piece. Har- ris handles two solos and «lso plays various instruments to .display ver- satility as a musician which leads up to a snappy dancing flnalk by all. ; » • Edba. : On paper It, looked light, the "It" being none other than the Bth Ave- nue ihow Monday night, and In the running it was lighter still, the bill being the sort one might expect in a family neighborhood on a, mid- summer night. The house was light, too, 80 everything seemed to be In proportion on the light summary. No big "name" was outside and that accounted no doubt for no b. o. stampede and the rainy weather, too, might have had its effect. Les Plerrotjrs opened the show. This is an act of three persons, two men who db an effective rbutlne df acrobatics and hand balancing In which the. work of the smaller man stands out and a woman who Just acts as 9^ "assistant." Once the woman was used in a balancing feat, but otherwise ahe Just flUed 'Ethel Roiiktns -sfarts right ok with an alibi iHiy she doeiin't sing grand opera- and doesn't attempt dancing, declaring that before she could do the latter she would havle to go on a diet. This was a sly little way tbe lady had of saying s^e was plump but had Miss Hopkins read Mon<lay's papers she would ha.ve learn'ed that fa^hl^n's latest decree glveii thfe plumpness the edge and that she Is right In style. HbW- >iver. Miss Hopkins' doesn't have to dance as long ae her vole* stands her in good: steflid and she displayed some ot t^e vocal prowess that has kept,, her In th* "pinging flnglea" classification. Ernest Anderson and Marjorle Burt in, "Thb Dluy Heights" gave colorful atmosphere to th* bill with their skit of the Alps, a travesty on mountain climbing that held atten- tion all the way and bad some amusing crossfire between the hon^ymooners, that was written by Paul Gerard Smith. The act has comedy strength all the way and closed to'bfg laagh returns. Both Andersoii aUid Miss Burt work hard to keep tb«. sketch- breealng hloni^ and they handle the comadjr .«X' change advantageously. ■ . One of, tlie bright .spots of the l^lll 'was tlie sbiig and teusi(ial^flrm 4t S&^nt 'ai>'d'Ltiwis. ThVs* boys irfaotr tekinworic on the tocttl Muff find while 'they -nllg up a feyr 'wheexe»(^<lt's their harmony gnd th? jmualcal ac«;onipanlment w^oh. pvta .them'In,favor,. ..> -...; . f .v7h«y hjkd. no troub)«,:Ia hanclng up a bit. . J' • Th* ^iQiu; Camerons folloirftd and the comed/ wprK of th* "son* Icept the act*frdm fainng' from grac^ The encore finish which la aided Mad abetted, by Sarg«nt and Uewl* rHm surefire. Bob Hall was next to closing. It's not bob's first time In this neigh- borhood and he scored as usual. In the clMtng position wbm the Bralle and Palo Revu* (New Acts>. ^ Jf«r*;' COAST SALARIES UP (Continued from page 1) hard pressed to obtalta leads of box office draw. The question of female stars Is one that Is causing the in- dependents plenty of trouble. There are many with good names that will do no further work for Inde- pendentSk tUelr contention being that appearance In this class of production hurts thelr^restlge and popularity when they'try to get big money with ^arge producers. . Last. week one of the Independ- ents thought he could get a woman star for a production. He Is still re- covering from the shock when her asking price of $100,000 per picture was quoted him. Agnes Ayres la now near the $3,000 weekly class, with Conway Tearle asking and getting $3,500 weekly. , Stars of lesser magnitude are coming in for their share of the prosperity, with all endeavoring to boost their weekly pay checks at the expense of the't>roduceni hard pressed for names. HOME TALENT TOLUES' land for at least presentation. one year after '49 CAMPS" MVES (Continued from pa«e IX AMEJlICAr^ ROOF Wally Bradley and May Hennessy ,. opened in a pleasing dancing aQt which' coilld have gone do^fh far- "♦her on an brdlnary bill. On IhliB 'hill it was -no slight to start the 1. baU rolling, or to gose it, which foil to the lot of the "Crcc^wich Village Models." who posed to de- I<artlng b&cks. Rae Eleanaf BaH and Borther were the artistic moment and played ' their way to big returns with violin t?'\ '^^"'*- '^**^- "»»'»'8 .v|fhlflt,llpg and bird Imitations nicely woven into th* musical routine were a high The hoofs first hklf show is one of the best framed at this house for a long while. Business was prob- ably the .poorest yet In alo(^^ while, du^ to the' weather. ' From the opener It set ft stilarl pace, with Jack Adams' ttnd Thomps<>n Sisters, variety musical turn; qualifying as a first gifado introducer for any vaude- 1 vUl*. The girls are posseaaed of .personality, .thelt; Incidental, step- ping to bahja. accompanJineni for the getaway figuring strongest for recalls. * '' .•••.• The Abbey Sifters- are'» harmony trio,'unusual In Itself and having fine veioes. <• ThBlr - aout^ne -Is. nicety framed and It gathers momentum with progression. AlB. White had some tough sled» ding due to the lack of spontaneity on the audience's part because of the slim attendance.- He only got to 'em with the Introduction of the as- sistant. Morning Glories (New Acts) closed'^the firpt half. Story and ILiee (New Acts) reopened. Gafney and Walton, mUed team; are big time possibilities with In* teUlgent coaching. The scene la a church exterior. .TUey^had Just been married., Nothing, jinusual in that excepting foy the dlmlniitrve ''groom's" stature, about hAlf the slete of th* "bride.": • Desplt*. her build, she Is- charming in mannert ism andsp«eal) fiai (k>ll# exceUeatly. Plenty of laughs, top. \, . Ilamtree Harrln'gtoH and Cftra Green hgairt ' dettioiistrilited thicir rtdnptnblllty to:'6.ny i»unroui*ding& Not ovet< a month ago they next-to-i Hhutftt live Hippodrome. .Last;week they topped af the ^t^tc^indarc ret peatin'g similarly here. It's a vaude- ville standard and, regardless of DEMPSEY HATCH (Continued from page 3) admissions. Dempsey received $5,000 for this single appearance and forced the promoters to deposit the money before he would leave Berlin. Owing to weather conditions the affair, proved a big flop and the man- agement suffered a loss of $12,Q00 as they had other heavy Incidental ezipenses in addition to what they paid the champion. | . Dempsey.took the flrst train back to Berlin,and left Monday noon for Cologne. ^11,0 has four other towns at $6,000 ea^li before'li* returns to Paris, , ;. ', —-^— •' ' , ^ . Berlin. June I>. L Promoter Z^rlts; who hrougtit Jack De'mpsey to' Berlin and paid hith $ii;i000 for a week at X^iina Ptlrk, brdU^^ht suit fo^ $10,000 damages cla(fnln|: Deinpsey had agreed to 'appear fdur weeks for him at't3%,000 and wanted the cham- pion to'cohtlntiieuhder his mahage- ment'foi- the addUlonil three weeks for $20,000. Demp&ey claimed that Zerlts had agreed to deposit the $35,000 before he began his engage^ ment and as the prompter failed to do so hfs original contract for. four weeks was torn up. and a. new on^ made for one week only. ; '^oth fcta^ hdd legal rejiresentar ■tlveSr After argulfSg aU'afternoon the-matter was settled'by DempS^y. ptiylng the "f-ost of the attachment and the lawyers, which amounte(| ie"$soo'.''' • -^^^ —• ■ < ■ j London, June 30. ! Jack 'Oempseyj'-before leaving Paris,'said that he was balling back ht>m0 to-fight as he expected- sevi eral' c<mte«<ts in rapid succession. Hf Is hoMing bac4c ort aN theatrical of-j rem until after th« conte.4tri. The Tlvoll hefS* Wanted him • tor tyui weeks, but couldn't meet his price. Within a distance of. only two mil** are dives ranging sfrom th* "blind tl^er" shack to the unpainted. crude wooden dance h{tll;.&nd hotel. Some, have bepfli crepted on the main roads and display their Invi- tations to) tourists in disgulqeid terms.. Some . say. "Your flrtt chancfj;" othpni,"Xour last chance." Some are In rather hide away places on lonely higt^wa^s In the mountain and wooded lake diatjric^il ^o an|d from them as a processLon—at nl^bt the dance^l^alU^ .are, crowjjLed-—wldh girls and yoiii;lg, jbi^eii' apd other^ Usually tb.e,only musical accom- paalment la' furniJB^e^ W A phonq- graph. There are rooms usually upstairs obtainable upon mere ap- pIic4tlon. PRmLECE CAR Ci^ (bontlhtl^'f rbm'']|kg* 1) * Klddisr In' retuMi d'enlahded llt.OOO from the Snapjp*. ^ During thii doiitmi' ot Hm action H war revealed 'thitt a "prlTll^g*" car was one conducted fdr' the bene- fit ef thos* members of the shoWs who desired to stake money on a ctvaaca. In aoc<K4anee with tU^ theory that any ffnanc^l transat^- tions relative to gambling'have tio plac* In court ladge Hardy threw both the actions out. The Sni^pp Brothers bftsed their action upon the allegation that their had advanced KIddir monily and that he owed them for rent, trana- I>ortatloh, board and other expenses. Kidder'cam* back contending they wer* reaU7 'uing |ilm fdr rent Of th* "privilege car" dnd asl^ed the re.turti of $1S,000 already paid for it aji rent $250,000 FDJI RHaiTS (Conitntied from i>ag* 1) upon closing the contract and the balance on the data of releaa*. The attraetion'a. Tua on Broad- way la still indefinite, the weekly pace beinf 189,000. Last week the Chicago company grossed $27,000 and In Boston the takings were $21,000. In addition the London en- gagement continues, the recent pace being about $21,000. The lat- ter engagement carries .with It ^ stipulation ' that ■ any plcturised version cannot b* shown In Ehi|r'- (Continued from page 1) tera figuring they have not been getting a proper break from the :he- at.-e men. In many instances partiea of 400 and 600 were euchred into giv- ing parties at certain attract^na wfth the auspices getting a reduc- tion of 25 per cent on the box office price, only to learn later that the at- traction had been In cut rates for weeks and that their auspices could have bought, the tickets here at a 50 per cent reduction Instead of deal- ing direct with the theatre party department of the theatre. The Increased vogue of the cut- rate ticket plan has wised up many of the downtowners. When th* question of the annual theatre party comes up they Insist upon a draw attraction not listed In cut r%'ea which cuts down the percentage oC profit of the affair furj^er If pos- sible at all to get any ledu^tibn. Theatres housing successes are not sagulne - about these parties unlesa ivt prevailing box office prices and unless th* attraction wanted'Is ar- ranged for many refuse to Join th* party.. The National City Bank of New York rtecently experimented with a home Ulent revue, ''The Wall Street. Follies," Which had a cast and chorus of talented employiees and which played to capacity t>aslh<*« for two nights AV- the Marnltattaa opera house at $2 top scale. Macy'g and GImbel's have been do>ng their own shows suocesafully for'ssverai years and have also found /It* \«n- tur*. moc* profitable and a batter draw than a theatre parity to aa in- different attraction. ' Advance Intuit ' 'Th* home talent angle creates' in- terest months ahead of th* prod-ac- tion and carries right along until th* night of th* i>erformance. It him an additional draw value through members of the cast wahtlng t<^ cut- do their cohtemporanea' in' selling tickets which makes for «, croWdcd hota* and heavy receipts for ' th* caus* for which it Is given. '. Next Seasbn will' see m^Ay m<>r* of the big downtown firm*' s(Ag- iagth*lr own sho^ wHfch WilfAln- doubtsdly blow tip a harvest irlhd for k>cal halls contalnftrg'stiftail^'ttat have had. few entertsiitlib*ht*'inkc* iprohi^tloa cam* In' 'ahd hxi'^^ii^en ina quandary h* to'.wfaMh*^ scrap the halls and convert theta t& scAM*. thing more lucrative. ''' :Competition among* th*irarldiM organlxatiens will malt* foi' •y*a better-show* that hav* beeti giWa since augpio*« that hav*. prteViotMl/ experimented hav* beoMn* con- vinced, that such an *ntl»rtaihm*nt is sellable at a hug* profit and also uplifts the morale of th* organisa- tion and keeps its young folks boar with prepAratlon and rehearsals for at least two months pr*c*ding th* production. Many well known stagers of mu- sical comedies wlU also welcome t%i* branch of the bhslness as a side line. Ned Wayburn may handle a lot of the hlgger shows. He Is said to ho interested in this new outlet. The horn* talent show which has been a money getter from year t* year In the bucolic regions will un-^ doubtedly have a good If not a betiisr chance in the large cities to which It may spread after. i\i» out ot towners are ^onvin^ed by th* iffw York experiment that i\ is a e|afl^ money getter. NEW THEATRES IN CONDUCTION Chicaflo.—$1,000,000. 8. w. corner Halsted and 35th Sts. Owner, with- held. c|o architect, Walter W. Ahlachlager. 65 E. Huron St. Policy not given. ! Cleveland.-^$9e;000. 11«0» Lorain Ave. Owner, Paul Ouadanovlc, Film Exchange Bldg. Pictures. Darby, Pa.—Cheste- Road and Boro Line. Owner, W. E. l-'lnlgan, 870 Main St. Pictures. Value not given. .Milium, N. J.—Mllburn Av*. Owner,< Economy Construction Co., 21 Williams St., Newark, N. J. Value not given. Pictures. Milw^auk^e.—$360,00<J. Klnnlklnnlc and Homer. Owner, Bay View Tti'alty Co., 174 Second St., Milwaukee. Policy not given. Milwaukee.—$300,000. 15th and Vllet Sts. Owner. Colonial Amuse- ment Co.. W4 Sherman Blvd. Policy not given. Philadelphia.—$250,000. 1258'E. ChcUon Ave. Owner, Henry B. Jami- son, Kea,! Estate Trust Bldg. Pictures. "' Racin«r Wis.—$5Q.0OO, High and'Patrick. Owner, Alfred Dl Rpse, 1137 I'Virest, St. ..piclures, , . .Racine, Wis.—$25,000. 1637 Douglas. Ave. Owner, withheld, cIo archi- tect,'W. J. Redden, 221 Grand Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. I'iotures,. Roxbury, Mass.—(Rlvoli.) Owner, Now England Thc'itre Oi>eratlnc Co. Cnpricity, 2.000. Policy not given. St. Albans, L. I., N. V+i^flTS.OOO. Owner. Cf-lcman Brothers, E. Orange. N. J. Capacity, l,20j>. ,-»*n'ry not glvrn- St. Loihs.—$1,000,000.' rlrrivols Blvd. Owner, withheld, cjo architect, Levlrie |Md Ruper'., 822-W. 70th Rt., Chicago. Policy nut given. St. Loui8.--0vvncra. Lcs .'inJ J. J. Shuhrrt. :!33 W. 41lb St., N. Y. C. Vitlpe, sUe unA polic / not gi»t>n. .v -■ Springfield, L. I., N. V.- $90,000 Owners, Coleman Crot'iors, E. Or.-\nge, N. J. Capacity, 800. i'oilcy not given.