Variety (August 1925)

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i^T.-.:^ jyadoegday^^ A^W*^ ^ ^^ BURLESQUE I- VARIETY i-': FOLLIES OF the; DAY Bam«r Owmrd'a 18tb an^aAl ^"ToUlea' iot tM Day." In burlesque, U 0losinc the siunmer aeaaon at the Columbia, New York. It opened Auk. % and will remain there until Aus. II, taUns It* regular new seaaon'i gtart for the Rlchmond-'Norfolk split. Mr. Gerard's ahow la a regulation Columbia Burlesque attraction in Bersonoel, but considerably beyond that In production, having the elaborate mounting built tor the "ACuaio Box Revue" of two' seasons ago. With that expensive equipment and the personhel kn mentioned, "Follies of the Pay" might pus^le Two of Variety's beat and oldest critics, LaU 'adA Jolo. Since V>oth have tried reviewing burlesque In by-gone days ^Without either having been a algnal ^uocess, it la chancod that their ^«flpefltlve opinion about «•« of the leading Columbia burlaaquo attrao- tiooa would be aa follow*: By JOLO -f It la aald around th« Columbia Cbaatre, where "Follioa 0|f the Day" la current, that the Drpductlon is not new. The program faila to mention thla and the program al»o says everything. Including production, has been copyright*! by one Barney flnrard. (. BurlMque does not -aeem te •baoge: It's over, elgut years «lnce 1 liavet'Seen a burlesqvpe troupe at Qie Colimtbia, and here again.:is a burleaque show trying to maaque- rade as a musical comedy revue. ffliich ;makes it neither muMcal' comedy nor burlesque. • If this Mr. Gerard wanta to repro- duce the "Music Box Revue" and purchased that production, why didn't he buy at the 8a;ne. time the original company"? Wbv attempt to (leceive the g6od - hearted pteople who atlU believe burlesque, la fynnyT Clark and McCullOugn weiit to the JCuslc Box from • burlesquei Why couldn't Gerard have tak,ei). them back from the Music Box into bur- lesque? If burlesque la to be isle- vated it must be by people, not by scenery. Burlesque managers should MiVe discovered that after talking about it for years. . In Sngland there ia burlesque, but thesr call it tour}ng shows. Karno has them, so has^'Tom Hearn,., For comedy the shows havie comedian^ with red noses. If you dop't like red noses you don't have to accept them as comedians. That makes the Elng- lish system more simple. In BnRland also if a near-bur- lesque show Is good enough It gets into Liondbn and the West End, but If not that good it gets in the wrong end. : However, aa suntmed up, bur- lesque, must b« the smalt time of mnaical cpmedy, and aa when in the Statea some time ago before becom- ing an accomplished tea hound, I coined the expression, "Good for the email time," it may .'be said that ^FoUiea of the Day" Is good enough. It might be stated that I alao founded the phrase "small time," In- dicathig No. 2 vaudeville, but I fSon't care to claim too much at one ■Ittlng. . Jok. By JACK LAir This reporter in his long years of Inaklng a typewriter tell a printer what he thinks has reviewed many « performance, from a dog fight In Calgary to a monkey show in Ten- nessee. In between burleaque once in a while is not ao' bad. Burlesque does. not seem to change. This week at t^ie Columbia Gerard's "Follies of the Day" stamps that as a fact. In it are comedians, a aoubret, prima, ingenue and girls, besides eome men. Among th^ oomediana, if there •hould happen to be more than one, is Bozo^ billed as "The Man Who W^ver Speaks." Hearing Mr. Bozo keOp silent during the entire per- formance, during whl6h the others •peak or sing, says Mr. Boao's wis- dom is beyond reproach. , In the soubret line of Columbia's niable box office bargains is Betty Burroughs, a little cutle, who may not be so little, but she is blonde, and the cutie still stands. A large per- ■oli Whose name must be Sam Green, since that Is the shbrtest name there, *>ee the straight work, bit boister- ously. Mr. Green has a raucous Voice that sounds harsher after Jjweet little Miss Burrouglin uses her jnin pipes, although Miss Burroughs *■ "Ot so little, hut she is still sweet. There Isnt any inside stuff to thl« wow. Gerard went Wild buying ex- X^nWve scenery. He may Intend to wm. It out to tabs after finishing {■•J "ea«on, but the production la 2* ,<»«tly for the time It Is play- ?IJt♦**».i^• company .in it excepting w; w® r'"y Burroughs girl, who A vi"'® ""'* °'^^y on the nifty. U^r.A^'^ audience at the Columbia Monday night Hked the Burroughs rSvZ^l"* ,?'*•" appeared heavily 5S>«mIV, "***"* appearing pleased, •■Peclally at Betty. bhow f"'*^?'"*'*^ t*^** the Gerard oftL""!!*"/ '" among the leaders k ch.!»r^-^*'' *•'•■ '•*P«'-ter would be • cnump-to go against the opinion wh *t **" buyers, regardlfiss of wnat his opinion may be or what his W«J, r",V*^ experience for many years J:°'^-.tf"s him. but Betty. If,you call yP the Variety omce leave your Pnone number. TjoU. Barney Gerard has reproduced his "FolUea of the Day" of last season, adding a few new comedy acenea and a couple of numbers or so. Ge- rard's "Felllea" ia a aUndard in bur- lesque. It ia the oldeat burlesque title now on any wheel, having come to the Columbia rrom the old Ekn- pire (Western wheel), and is. 18 yeara old, .but one year leea than Ziegteld'a tiUe of "FolUea." ■ Aa a matter of report it not of record, i Mr. Gerard thought of "PV)!- llea" for a name 20 years ago, but in tt^oae days no one in the theat- rical district knew whether Follies was spelled Witli one 1 or two. Ac- cordingly Barney held it over through being Isusily rehearsing, and Ziegf^M niust have heard about it Hyearsago. Thlrt aealson's "Follies" Wtth Its Mualo Box e<9ttirTg8, playing In citlta wherever the . Mualc Box Revue played, will please people who never visit, both shows. . For Gerard agaip has Bozo, a Gerard feature for aeyfin years. Bozo!aa a pantominilst; st^Ads almost' alone.' Were It not tor Ar- thur Marks (Marx 'Brothers) Boto ceuld claim 'the credit of tlrs only American comedian in a musical show who never speaks while on the stage. It'a a-cortain distinction in either event, and play i^ made of it in the billfng. Bozo works in all of the new comedy scenes, atid'once started he is frequently upon the stage. The comedy high light is the piano mov- ing as of yore, with the most ambi- tious new comic bit that of an iron or wooden full-sized horse Bozo tries to ride. Whether the horse is iron or wooden, the scene is sure wooden aa now piayOd. It may be made funnier and It will have to be. A male quartet is often dlatrib- uted throughout the running; there is one series of chopped up storlea for bits in a scene that calls Cor "acting" by varioua prlncipala. and they all try to do their beat Sam Green ii the large oppoalte aAd "boss" of Bozo, With his EJd Hayea' build and methods. Johnny Weber is the other comio, who gets fajl^. very long nMnute from a atage box In the first a<t. Later Mr. vfebAr is in a funny ^xtet or octet, although made a septet. It was funny-enough without thb travea- tled attempt': • . • A couple of worthy women prin- cipals came to light. One is Betty Burroughs, the soubret, who misses much through attsemca of direction in thla show. Miss Burroufiiu has looks tmd possibilities. Beatrice Tracey is the prima, with her voice often lost in the specially written score (show not using Music Box nunabers. only scenery and ward- robe), but In her own specialty aong in the theatre scene Miss Tracey's voice was surprisingly more agree- able. Elsa May, sub-featured to Bo2o .8nyd«r, Just Slipped along, while a Miss Blackburn, esAA to be a niece of Raymond Hitchcock and debutUng here in burlesque, needs to increase her practice and improve her steps. Aa a pick out number for the the- atre scene the choristers given a chance started little, the comedians working It up for them and also smothering them at the same time. Gerard's "Follies," however, has Its own clientele along the Columbia wheel. In new territory It's cer- tain as burleaque through its sump- tuous garbing, from drops and drapea tO clothing. Of the ti cihoristers several look .new and rehearitals won't harm them. The 8ta«ing as done by Sey- mour Felix and Frank Montgomery is adhered to by ^he girls, who look better in some' coatumes than in others, with the look average- not. W?h. > Before comlpg Into the Columbia Barney "broke in" .with three daya 'at Mike Glyti's house at fatchogue, L. I., selling the show to the IjOng Islander for $1,900. McGlyn is said to have played to $4,600 for the three days, probably the record and more than Bamum and Bailey could get at Patchogue, but there lire the fig- ures, Bubjecf to youi' own uplimited Kllacoiint. -^ . " . ' ' ' It's a good rurleeque showad a' burlesque show. Next season malffee •the second' for .thiB purchased |>ro- duction, leavipK it % nice.Investment ifor Gerafd.'who probably didn't, pay,. Sam Harris any more than it was worth, and second-handed the "Mu- 'sio Box, l^vae" mounting wasn't Worth much. . ,i,„Bime.. ' DON ROMINE Who with WILLIAM CASTLE 1« making a pronounced hit irlth hiM comedy characterlxatlona. Novel?—Most assuredly. Original r—Positively. Entertaining r—Conaeoutive book-j ing ptxntm that j Funny?—The next to oloains apot' alwaya ia proof. State, New York, this week (▲«- gust 3). Kelth-Albee Repreeentative— ; . MORRIS 4 PEIL Gtt Ha Agak Set Back tHE FEMININE SIDE *f ; '.'If .' ■ 11 ■^■''' PHm Wrongly Titled Th«re la aometbing a:bout the title of the film, "A Woman'a Faith," which defeaU the purpose of the atory Taken from Clarence Bud- dington Ketland's novel, "Miracle," it faila to atreas the real point, the working of a <nlracle Upon an atheist's eyes. Flrat during a fight he U blinded. Then, by faith, he ia cured. The word "woman" may have been uaed to atreas the'preaenoo of Alma Rubeaa In the film. Aa Neree Caron, a girl accused of murder and who restores the doubter'a faith to him, ahe doea fair work, but there are tlmea when ahe la not convincing. Percy Marmont Is the atheist. Zasu Pitts, aa a French-Canadian girl, provldea comedy relief. Jean Heraholt la the villain. There ia a good piece of business where hia hands grow . ao moist with fear of the fighting look In the atheiat'a eyea that a clammy imprint Is left on the table. Despite its defects, the film ia Impreaalve toward the laat. ▲a a prelude to the film. "Ave Maria," famous Bach-Gounod aria, ia ■ung in coatuma. The program oC the Colony gives neither Bach nor^ ; QouAOdcradlt toe, 4he aria. I..--. ;!i»,-- Nl'Si.*'.Uy^flt -^ Eitlalio Jenaen Standa Out > The real honoci for, the feminine characterisations in "The Ranger of, the Big Plaep." ftim, go to Kulalie Jensen, and not te Helene Costello, whoae name.la:ia lighU and programed a* well in big type. Miss Jen- aen make* of X'taa.Wetherford; ownerof-a diuitrhash house at Roaring Forks, an intenaely interesting cliaracter. Miss Costello, as the daughter, goes through as though, walking If^ h^r sleep. The part haa very little to' it. Aimos^ auy girl whose health was good and whoae. feet were matea' cquld.h%Y« dona the aaxne thlpg adequately. .',>i.% 'V Sam huetig HURt by auto ^,6am Hurtig may be laid up fqr *OUr montha, following .injuries .ro- Jp^tved when struck by an autoipq- »^Ie at Far Roekaway, I,.. I. »Th» Injured w^a.ia the .j««n^i[«r « »W TcoKkmrna, Now York. • T . aiUTUAI AT STKAliip» TOEOKTO The Strandf' Toronto, will play the Mutual Bur'Iesque attractiona tfiiiii aeason. ^'c^)ii>uae TiYlW.be a, fvpl ^epk' stfinjl gn4er tJ^.e w.J^aa«ei^«o^ r J6f i«J*8tor Lavene. * ' ' . ; Gua Hill continues taking lagfl punishment from H. C. (Bud)' Flldier, the creator of the "Mutt and' iTeflr'. cartoon characters. After- Fisber was awarded a Judgment for $23,996.64 against Hill for unpaid royaHlea due from the "Mutt and' Jeff" road showa. Hill appealed to a higher court and waa again beaten. Hilla* lateat ia- at the handa of the Court of Appeals, the htgheat state tribunal, which denied Hill permission to reargue his defense and again taxed $81 eoats on UiU. 1 -.'Pf^ H*" ^ T*"* Spots ICias broadway may not be so susceptible to the charms of dert Lytell aa are many of her weatern sisters, who are still guileless enough to enjoy film heroes, bil.t sh^ has a chance recently to see two of hia pictures'the same w^ek.' He Was Baron Molnarin "Rve's Secret" at the Piccadilly, and Dan Prltchafd. ah American, in "Never the Twain Bhah Meet" at the 'Capltoll Irene Rich's evening gown of gold lace is l[nuch tbo studied in its purpose to be worn by a woman who but recently hiid acquired a taste for tilothOo. Clara Bow, as the Inelegant, rowdy little gold-digger, ia Ja^t that ANNUAL GIRL SHORTAGE Vetemn- CheWotera Dedfliitg Re« hoarsale—OflFerMHl Sow M sa g The annual ahortage of biirlesdue chorus girls ia on, with maajr of the producers offering m bonus to agents and acouta wiu> can dig up the ohoriaea. • The omrket will ease up when the allows are rehearaing a weak or two, according to the prodncers, because many of the veteran girla duck rehearaals, knowing tKer can step into a ahow afty time, aa tiMre are alwaya vacanciea. The producera are trying to figure out some scheme which «HI1 force the chorus girla to live »p to con- tracts. Many of them aign with every producer who approachea them and- then pick their ahots. -Must Be Broadminded'for This One Anita Stewart in ''Never the Twain Shall Meet" puta ao much pathos Into the half-caste tropical princess one' almost forgets it la a story of ititer-riaclal marriage. She haa aome aplendid acenea with Bert Lytell, the^ white man who falls in love with her, marries her, but leaves her to her island and her people. Huntley Gordon is called by the caption writers "a clever newspaper correspondent," and Justine Johnstone is a social register product who had always loved Dan Pritch«. ard (Bert Lytell). 'The correspondent and the broken-hearted prhieesa consoling each . other. • at the laat somehow defeat the story's urpose. Based on that line of Kipling's, "East ia ESaat, and Weat la Weat And ne'er the twain shall meet," the story will not go well in localities where the oitlzens are not broadmli^ded about tropical princesses vamping nice white men. ^The audience at the Capitol frankly likad It but New Yoi^k isn't a city of bitter i>re.<udIoea. One may safely say,that Mlas Johnstone wears some amart looking atreet and evening clothes, but without a knowledge of the styles of • Rl'ira Island, it Is n/ot aa safe ,to pass an opinion of Miss Steirart's so^ and str^nir of beadpl • Women Getting Applause .The wom^n on the Palace bljl this week acs i^eceiving aixplause for a. variety of reasona. Bv4 Puck .Is making the publio .laugh with her apontaneity. Her trick brown ault and funny green hat aid in getting the laughs, too., Ruth Budd allding .down her rope Monday afternoon swung out over the. audience and- ISiPded as aha swung in again on the ahouler of the orchestra leader, leaving a nice i>owdered footprint Bese Boylan and the Meryl Bisters In the vaudeville satire «n "Chauve SQurls"called "Pictorial FliMhea," are more or leas pictorial, bttt n«tt ao very flashy. * - Mabel McKinley'a abplause may have been for her pretty yellow froc^ .a|l embroidered in white, or it (nay have been for her gongs. But one gathers that the audlenoe would like her most any wag. Casts for ManheSm Shows The cast of the S. W. Manhelm "Lafltn Thru" (Mutual Wheel), un- der the direction of Bert H. Todd, will include C!harles Country, "Buttons" Fares, Gus Flalg, Ider- rlM Sevier, DoUie Davles, Dot Se- vier, Marie Loeffle^ and Ed Millef, company manager. The "Band Box Revue" (Mutual) under Frank Cummlnga* direction, win have Joe Penn^r, Lee Dunn, Matt Ellison. Ron Stone. Fred Wil- son, Althea Conley, Bae Keith, Frankle , Moore, "Peaches" , .and Gfor|[a Toung. company manager. STOCfK TSOUPE'S S3D WEEK St Louis. Aug. 4. The regular season of stock bur- lesque at the Liberty Music Hall • opened. with a midnight ahow laat 'Saturday. The company entered oil its 63d consecutive week with the "Silk Stocking Revue," minus l^r- raine Hayea.. ^bo ia on a short va- ^cation. . .<,..;, > ^ew. add i Uqna. to. tlu^ oast are I^ew. 'Lederor, 9^e), Bernard and Mae ^axter. New faces iui thS'Ohorus 'are Charlotte Stevens. Jeaqne Bin- dings and Ella WiiUaiQa . .', ■, ? STOCK AT EMPRESS !! , , , . P^l'-'AKO. ^^$r *■ The Bmprias^ Mlltyaul^e, turmer Mi^^ual ,'.V.h^ei. tioiise, wiU ta,ke on a slo<^ b^rlesquoi jtolicy, with the ;MytusJ going Into ji'ojf. 4 i^aus' .Ga^ety^ formei; ato<;k, p)|»ce. Henfy OoHlenberg has the lease, w^ih Paul 'HOfow/t? his fwsalstaaU MWt .Si\up- ^r, I^',.,^\o.>r c;HfMft«;,«lth an eajrly i^jopenlng expecteidL .>» .»(i» .ni-><- A Vivid Pickpoeket la It Mae Buach? Lon ChaneyT Or Matt Moore f Or all three in "The Unholy Three?" Whoever ia. to blame, the CapUol ia, being packed thia weelc Mlaa Buach plays the pickpocketing Rosle O'Orady.. a deft-fingered miaa. She makes the character vivid. Mr. Chaney -Is "Echo.'t a ventriloquist, who alao runs a bird shop. Being a ventriloquist, he makes his parrots talk remarkably well I Mr. Moore does very well as the lnnooei)t boob accused and tried for the crimes, including nvurder. committed by two of the unholy three. Mlaa Busch has,the enly feminine role. The program mentiona Mar« Jqrie Morton and Violet Crane, but their parts have been deleted. Another unusual feature of thla Picture, which la paclced and Jammed with new twists and pungent Interest. Is the Idea of casting a midget In an unsympathetic role. Tweedledee was certainly a ceookly. aouL , Di.fferent Exiles •The Three Exiles" are a man who considered himself -guilty of mur» der, a dog and a horse. They mnt In the desert and formed a sort* of mutual protective association. To their rescue comes a gold-digger. No, not that sort She's a real gold-digger, fighting valLuitly to retain her father's mining claim. Louisa Lorraine does this very nicely. ' The ending is tar too long drawn oat and mushy. One true thing ill thia picture—the faorae and dog do sqme splendid aoting'i I Penalty of QiH Propoaing ' Madge Kennedy, Clara Kimball Young, Richard Bennett and E^dna Murphy in "Lying Wivea." Madge weara some very lovely frocks, and Clara stirs up some unlovely trovible. Edna smllos none too' often, buH- fleliclously, and Richard Is bis same self, stage or screen. In this pic-' ture E>lna does her own proposing and gets excellent results. But within <iui hour after the poor child fell downstairs and waa kil|edl ' ' ' A, IV. *•; Too Much Atmoaphars ' "t. ' Betty Bronson Is to many women the epitome of all dreamy girls wha jplay make-believers, who reach out their eager hands fo;r hwpplnesa* ^ . . .. V . •' ■, •. ■• . ■ ■' I > • , (ContInu,ed op page 10) . ,. Columbia, N.; Y.. Raises Scale to $2^0. Week Days A nuw scale of prices went into etect this we(;k at the Columbia, j^pw York. AO/l Will remain for the 04W MMUton. There la a tariff of $^26 :(er tn« Orat !• lowil of t.he orchestra ('ii week niKhls, with $1.65 the orchestra. On Saturdays andi' "Sundars the orchestra Wilt be $'2.60j -MatJneeR aienow t(»i»T»ed at-$1.10 ItiHtead of the former 88 cents. With the additional amodnts' the- Columltla's grusa can be lifted about" $l,5bO weekly. , liarooy GerardV "Follies of th». Day" is cu.ri-iK at the Columbia, nn-i. 1^1.>W0 .'.'%U <t.. iL,,.—.^^^ •«_.- .. ^1 fi»r the 16' revs' behind, air against -tahtng out the suinmei* (Heaaon thereu'