Variety (September 1925)

r VVednesday. SeotembV 28, t9?5 LEGITIMATE VARIETY 27 |I.j)00 GROSSES FOR NEW SHOWS .pitiful Business in Wash- k^ ington Last Week WaHiiiiigtoii, Sept. 22. Washington theatregoers. It would fcnnear, almply vvlll not taWe their : iho'va in the "raw." BuslneHs for ■^ two out of th** -hree new ones here la„i week w«8 pitiful. ^ With BelaHCOS production cl "Ac- cused- m which K. H. Sothern is ■tarred, things were somewha. dif- ferent due in no small measure to. ithls combination of produ .n- and star coupled with a healthy boost .1 ^ the usual scale for new attraction.s. l'»Ii'8 with 'A Lovely Lady,' . «ruund $2,000. National, with "Uuu- Oo«d«ir" about $2,100. and Belasoo Vlth Sothern In "Accused," $" "".SOO. This Week Bulasco, "The Getaway" (new); PoJis. "The Good Bad VVoman"; J4ational "The Tale of the Wolf" (•ew). SHOWS IN N. Y. (Continued from page 23) LOVELY LADY ■.*> ■denly withdrawn last Saturday after playing four poor weeks; melodrama had no appeal and business $4,000 or lebs; "Clouds" i moved Into Little Monday from Cort. fThe VatMibond King," Knickerbock- er (Ist week). Russell Janney's musical production of "If I Were King," in which B. H. Sothern originally starred; listed to open last week, but.held over intil Monday. •The Vortex," Henry Miller (2nd week'). Premiere of this Knglish drama stirred flr.st nighters and critics; business maintained vir- tual capacity for remainder of week (opened Wednesday); ;.ot $10,500 In six performances; fig- ures to do $19,000 weekly. »n"hey Knew What They Wanted," Klaw, (44th week). Theatre Guild • has rented Klaw for this season and Intended keeping "They" in until holidays; later house may be ' used for new productions started at Guild house. •■White Cargo," Wallack's »»th weel(). Stili making money for Earl Carroll at about $6 500 last week; one of manager's new musi- cals mav be spotted in this house soon, however. "White Collars," Sam H. Harris (Slst week). Due out in two weeks with Anne Nichols' "Puppy Love" listed to debut Oct. 12; "Collars" about breaking even; $5,000 or better. "Vanities," Earl Carroll (12th we*.-::). Management reported specializing on undre.s.s features among chorus with idea of further strengthening draw among visitors; estimated around $19,000. Outside Times Sq.—Little Theatres ' "Outside Looking In," getting plenty of boosting by dramatic edi- tors, but subscriptions are holding ■how up at Greenwich Village, and it is not rated good for Broidway; "Grand Street Follies" continues to good business at Neighborhood Play- house; "Brother Elks." Princess. (Continued from page 24) leKOundinK tliud an ofleii lut this one iloe.s. A plea.sing picture is presented of ,1 middle-at;ed couple and th«if "almost" ;;i-yeur-old n»n. The fam- ily good fellowship and love for eiich other creates at times an atmos- phere that, if held, would almost make this the real American play no many have soui^ht. But 'he trouble is this atmosphere is not held. The piece mltilit .ilmoHt be termed a sequel to "The Vortex " • In the last-named play there wu.s shown the after efCeotn of oldiHti women seeking out young lovers. "Lovely Lady" takes you before the "after effeots" have come about and shows the methods the "oldish ladles'" utilize to .seek out and oatoh their young lovers. Rrletly. this tale is of a regular boy; his trymg hard to be a flap- per's sweetheart, his mother and father, and a vamp of uncertain years who boasts of her young lov- ers. The father is the vamp'H law- yer. She gets into flnancial troubles and needs $30,000 which father raises for her under condition she sign for him a power of attorney that win enable him to eventually get his money back. V.amp has al- ways wanted to "land" her lawyer. but he constantly kids her out of it. Finally she runs onto the boy, a young architect, and through st.all- ing the boy along about a home she wants him to design she sets the situation so that it looks like she will surely land one of them. Then the son leams of the father chasing the vamp and father gets on to the son's arhbltions. with each trying to save the other. It ends up with the vamp getting neither. Mother, of course, plays a large part In the battle between father and son to save each other. The cast: Bruce McRrte. always good. Is the f.ather. Lily Cahlll a.<» the mother scpres: William Hanley. as the son. was corking and handled many a tense scene with deftness. Miriam Hopkins is sweet as the would-be flapper, although inclined to be mechanl-^al. Carlotta Mon- trey was cast as the vamp. Her performance was too metallic. There are possibilities in the piece, ^ut a lot of work will have to be done. The two sets are in good taste while the direction of Mr. Kemper is up to the usual standard of this producer. Ucakin. ' ItiMetti"" IS it.H Hoto d ui'-T init while scnrcely the peer ot Hiri i'»t Ho tor »f No 1. Hlie In a gri'-''liil ind 1 jjkilK-d f>erformer ju tur ''«•.< raOE STUFF EDGAR ALLAN POE Wilmingion. DM , rt•^tl 19 Jvimes Kirkwood and Lila I.ee. Iciitlng chiracters tn "tMgxr Alt) Poe," by C.itlieiine Chi»thotm CuHh- ing, did well iccording to the p,aud- its they te<'eived at the pr»iim'r The gl.amor swiTounding I'oc iimI the main evenl.s m his life. I'roin tlie lihie of lii.s (.-xpulsion front ilie Uni- versity of Virginia t<» his death iii a Baltimore hospital, were us^jd '-o advaiit ige. As first .shown the piece in entirely too long, the curtatn not deacendiii*; until 11:45, but with skillful elimina- tion It may make it.i wiy. James iCirkwood mipre.sse.s utid coincides with the mental pii ttire most people have of Poe. Mi-ss Leo, a.t the child-wife of poe. gives that delK ftcy eh»racteri«tic of her work on the .screen. Hum. ON LKGIT • (Consinuvd Trom Miii- I*) critii's. iiiimedi.iti'Iy inser'od .1 line in its latly ads that it 'A'a« "hert* III le initely.'- whMe Ust Wednesday It cariied Ur.se .tpUish adds mhh cxcen i.s from the iipticeA of the critics who had panneti the play tn« iii')Ht. VV()olIii>(t'.s itot;i(i«^>n Oial at one jutictiiri> two critics and four Iivr.rcn hid to 1> ^ liftoit itio :hcir soatM belore t!i- hIiow wis u.sed as a- nnot.ilion lo indicate that there wei e lait?;lis in tlie ^pi.s, while Percy H.inimon.l's line of dc cwi .n iliat "you mu^t see 'Lo.e's Call'" was al.-..> [liciced iit> T»i.> Imk lin." ,.f the ad ivas 'The play that fooled the rific-t " TOPSY AND EVA (2d Poinpanyl Chicago. Sept. lA. 8tar«d, producsd and preirnLed by the I>uncan Slsteni in tbe Seliryn Th»«tre, Cbi- r^Ko'. at a »p«7lal flunJair malntce. Hapt. IS. i^hloe Runic<; Harper Itnolf Tom . VIrgll Jk>h<ini«?n C.tnrgft ?htlbr Roy Strumtlien Mr» Shelby P«t»y Ann O'Neal AuKu^tine St. Clair Qlenn CouUer HenrHaua RoNAttP Shimon t«Kre« Fnnk H<>mlni|vray Ope de* Jule* Wall>n tClisa Joale Walton Rraimnua Marks... Jack Valle Opholla St. Clare B«nlc« I.yle Topsy -... Jan<* l,*e Eva St. Clare Katharine l,ae S. F. GROSSES I - San Francisco, Sept. 22. Outran—"No, No, Nanete," 11th Week. Closing Saturday. This week's advance sale big. with extra matinees. $j.50 top. $17,800. ■ Columbia—Dark, -■ Capitol—Dark. . Alcazar—Henry Duffy's "Cobra,' first week to capacity night busi- ness with matinees only getting fair play. $1.25 top. $10,300. President-Duffy's "The Best Peo- ple.' Fourteen h week foil off ^'iKhtly- »l-5 top $7.»00. >r—.. -Wtlke*—"Playthings." with Uob- : erta Arnold. First week didn't catch on but decUared good show *nd picked up nightly/- %i top. Sec- ond and last week. $6,200. L. A. Grosses r..os Angeles, Sci>t. 22. , 'Laily Be Clood" is still riding Strong jnd in its i:'th week. $11,000. ■'While Cargo. ■ Orange Lirove. ninth week. $7.SO0 . "WhlsperlniT Wi f.s." He- ond week -y the Morocco, got $5,700. while ■^The Sap." ilso two week.M In the Maje.vitie, dr<-\v ii.proxiin 1 tely the same. "ROMANCE LAND" MUSICAL M"'eh.(n * i'Mlloit have under P«^fliiction .HI operetta with hook "y ^'lynioii.l Peck and IVrcy Wen •'•'•h. tnu.sic It. is to open Oct. 19 W Providenrc. In ((,e ca?ii ,iie Bor- "•"I rjranville. I.iyce White and Stanley Potd. Having acquired sole ownership of "Topsy and Eva." the Duhcan Sisters emerge as producers on their own with a No. 2 company. This new production has been strength- ened in several of the spots -"-'hich were weak in the original. Two of the male quartet now play gult.ars while the characters of Gee Oee and Eliza have been entrusted to regu- lar specialty dancers. Jules and Josie Walton. IncldB. tally, this brother and sister team scored the big hit of the afternoon. The sub- stitution of specialty people for Just actors Is a great improvement in this "Topsy and Eva," giving It a faster tempo and a smoother per- formance. The No. 2 considered role for role about equals the orlglhal. It Is but natufal and inevitable a No. 2 com- pany should he contrasted with its parent model. No one can take the Dunran Sisters' place of course. It Is peculiarly ;ind particularly their show, built around them by them- selves and tho only real Top.sy and Eva" show will continue to be the one with the Duncan Sisters But Jane and Kathcrlnc Lee as Imitating proxies »et>.acru»K ulcely and as they have been C' en a neat production the No. 2 q" ililles as a good road attraction. It is only a question if the Lee kids are "names' in tlip territory they will hit. At the la.^t moment it was neces- sary to throw the Knglish in danc- ing chorus from the No. I to replacf^- the unprepared girls that will go out with the No. 2. The singing chorus proved to he » clu.sfer of p'-aclics. every one a local sirl and they are e.i.Hily one of the .strong femnre.H of the show. The re.il .strength of the No. 2 i.s Jules and .lo.sie Walton. The ap- pI.itiHe they g.irnercil w rs the I'ltid- e.Ml. the niii-tt geii'ijni' .iiid (lie I'm.-.1 rlnctnred l>.v opening |n'ifoi-t>i.inee p()||ten<'.'->' They rocked tho hoM.sC ciily nnd came l>;ick twice m 'he third icl, once with i semi-,'<i> ini.sh ■md (itr.ain with a conu'dy 'C'harle.s- ton." IJoth dances went over with 1 h.ing. The WiKons have only ciitiie to the fore in the p,i.-i few nviith«. hut their worth is Hucii th^it III'- nunciin |i-hl>vc.| 1 -lisFlti 't roup, in sinning 'li.-ni Th.-y ir<' voiini;. have itersoii ilit»'. i-itti re;irl OUTSIDE LOOKING IN (Continued from page 2«> technically in(i>erfect, holds all 'he elements of grim strength and absorption. ICdna, a farm girl of the middle we.st, has been betrayed by her stepfather. Upon the realixi- tion of her wrong she coldly mur- dered him. U.scaping with a yo-mg tramp known as Little Ked as hr:r only companion, she falls in vith a whole school of particularly roush bums in Dakota. They aid her to outwit pursuing constables, with the second act find- ing the whole motley outflt aboard a railroad box car. The idea of r.c jerky train's motion is well carried out. and the efYect is heightened by a very natural grinding of wheels off-stage. Oklahoma Red, self-ap- pointed loader of the gang, and "Arkansas Snake," another of the "bad men," battle to become the girl's "protector" but are Anally < ut- witted by the spunky Little Red him.self. This entire scene Is gor- geous In Its sodden brutality and animalistic humor. The third act has Little Red stili master ot the situation but his po.si- tion Is precarlou.s. with capture fac- ing him on one side and the l<''ss of Eklna to the bestial tramps on the other. It concludes with the hoboes aiding in the uUini.ate escape of the young couple by giving themselve.- up to the sheriff's posse as vagrants. This is prompted by Oklahoma Red, who finally acknowledges himself defeated after some brilliant parry- ing to get the girl for himself. ■ His Is the commanding role of the play, and as played by Charles A. BIckfoi'd, a huge red-headed hulk of a man, the part becomes notliing less than magniflcent. James Cag- ney Is Little Red, with just the right touch of bravado mingled with gen- uine toiughness. while Reginald Bar- low and Barry McCollum are splen- did 8M two of the more unique hobos. Similarly high praise goes for the rest of the cast to the most unimportant railroad brakeman. with the unfortunate exception of the one wontan, Blyth Daly, almost totally unimpressive in a role thai might have been another "Anna Christie'" or "Amy." The dlffi<,'ulties of directing a .show in which eight to 16 characters are con.stantly on the stage may re.adily be seen, but this problem of group- ing has been most admirably solved by Augustin Duncan. The ftrst act begins with a dull dragginess th.it never quite loses Its effect and, while the second is trnmendoimlv holding throughout, the third allow.s a let-down again. In its language the piece Is al- ways crude and profane and occa- sionally genuinely obscene, but New York audiences by this tittve should know what to expect in a play of thi.s character. Of its artistic success there c.iii bo no doubt, but it will never achieve either tho Iftng-winded discussion.^ nor the box office grosses accorded "'Olory.'" Nevertheless it promises to be a Village hit .and may possibly migrate uptown for a spell For pictures Its possibilities, duo to the absence of a consistent love Inierest' and vhe«TiUUv> drab color of the Incidents, are not very ap- parent. tinle.sH It is h.indled by a dl- lector of genius liciinen SvvarTc, letter ksiiting, wrote one to the Lord Chamberlain ■>( London, the i<.,iy cen.so-- of ICiiglaud, rebcllinv; against the use of one winj in The t;ii- n Hat." Mr. Swiifter in His letter also stated: There are several olner gros.s indecent ies it the play, the jtroduc- Uoii of (Vliich III this year of trouLde. when we are trying to defend institutions wc all hold dear, is a i.ali.»nal scandal. I have neither the Imie nor the i.atienee to recite a cat.il..c of imiiroprletles, sneers at Kngland and da«o impertinences." A copy of th" letter, .said Swaffei. iia.l Ivcn sent to the Bishop .tf Lfnulon, head.s of all ot' the cluii chets. the Premier and all Cabinet mlnis- ter.s The letter end.s with the lollowlxg. u reCerem-e to Michael Arlen's ii.ativity. .Xrincnia "In Armenia. I believe the sewer.s are open la th* Streets. That is no reason why they Hh()uld be opeii in tlie Strand.'" 'A Cloo<l Bad Woman' opened to $2,N$ at Wanhington Sunday night. That is more than "The Vortex" grossed during its we^k there. The "Wom.an'' was a "bad boy" on Broadway so far as business was con- cerned, while "The Vortex" opened a hit last week and fs drawing capacity. In London Noel Coward, who made his American debut last week at the Henry Milter. New York, in "The Vortex." which he wrote. Is re- garded as the English George M. Cohan. The youthful actor-playwright has achieved remarkable (Success and the comparison to Cohan is apt because of Coward's ver.satlllty. He has written and staged two succe.sn- ful revues and three of London's leading comedy dramatic successes, all within a season or two. Coward is 29. With "The Vortex"" regarded sis having strong run possibilities; his success here Is foreshadowed. An American playwright of the same age has leaped Into the big royalty division. It is Rus.sell Medcraft, co-author of "Cradle Snatchers." Both attractions are stand- outs among the season's non-musicals. Varying talcs of picture right offers for plays, before their Broadway entrance, during hit run and after i>lays have left Broodway. From accounts In the majority of instances where authors or producers have gambled on the picture rights, deferring the sale until the play was about to leave or had left, the value of the rights have diminished, excepting in about one out of tour instanu-s where they increased or were jiurchased at the original Hgure set. One hit play of last sea.soa that turned down $55,000 in the flush of its success can now be naJ for pictures, It is ctalmed, (or $7,500. with no bidders. , Nelson G. Trowbridge's* transfer from the managerial direction of th« Murat, Indianapolis, to a similar post at the Cox and Shubert. Cincin- nati, precipitated an eulogistic send-off. undoubtedly unsolicited. In the local press of Indianapolis. Robert C. Tucker, dramatic critic of "The Star" devoted considerable spaee in mentioning Trowbridge's popularity during his 10 years as manager of the Murat. Tucker tagged his com« plimentary send-off with a paragraph claiming that Trowbridge was one of the few Shubert managers who had never resorted to "ad ixulling" methods to attempt di.scipllne for a bad review. Amy Leslie, while sauntering through one of the public parks, noticed several groups of girls seated on benches. When asked by a companion a to why the girls were sitting instead of walking. Amy replied. "With chifTon hose at $7 a pair walks are too expensive." -> -y^. , . , Henry Haiimmel. colored doortender at the A. H. Woods theatre. New York, is trea.snrer of the newly-formed Professional Service Club. Haummel still retains the charter for ihe H. H. Theatrical Association, Inc BROADWAY STORY "Big Boy," v(}ry big at $^2.0)0; 'Tlose Marie.' excellent at $?9.000: "tJay Paree.' $24,000, "Scuidals." $21,000, "Louie,"" $21,000, the new "Cipt.iin ,Iinks." $19,000; "June Days"- is low, alxmt $9,000. In addition to "First Flight." "Love's Call" .iiid "Love for Love" will also -lose next Haturd.iy; 'i^loud.<j." The Sea Woman." "All l>re.s»ed V\k" "Spring Fever" and "The Bride fteilres" I'lddenly niosed I i.Kt S If ur I ly 1 Mirt next wer-k »r" AiMtles iife." Ariihis.s rlor; The BrI'lge of Dis- t ince.s," Morosi'o; The Holy T»r- rir," Coh.'in: "A'^cij.sed"' ("'The Ad- \n ate"), P,"|.i.sco The wi-ek ^f Oct :') I.s outlined \» <h<- mo.Ht h'-ivily loiJed .if the fill. The ''.ill of Life The producer who recently nurjted a disastrous road failure Into a New York success wa» two weeks ago ousted from the concern by a play brokerage Hrm, which also held an Interest In the production, hav- ing advanced money on the stock rights. Notwithstanding this, how- ever, the producer is continuing and has two shows rehearsing and scheduled to open soon. A press agent for one of the big current revues, when asked by hl» employer to suggest a snapi^y slogan for the show, answered: "Kntertalnment for Man and Beast."' , The tiiiiiageiiiciit of "Clouds," wliich opened and closed at the Port, N-'W Vork, wa.s either tiighly oplitnistic or' un.sophisticated. Before the .-^how irrived a f'lll line of lithographs was or»lered, ranging from stands to on*" sheets, at a cost of approximately $5,000. The show is due to !>« succeeded by "The New Hallantry." - : ' 'tr .•^« George fSerhard, picture critic on the "Evening World,"" has resigned, following differences with the editor. It appears the Warner Brothers took exception, to A *tor^ or review by Gerhard and when the Wlifnvr* ^,^ inserted page advs in the dallies recently the '"Evening World" wa» passed up. Soon afterwards it was suggested to Gerhard that he switch ■ to the rewrite desk, which job he refused. It^dgar Smith, secretary to one of the paper's executives, is now reviewing pictures (or the paper, also becoming the film editor. I.'lorence Fair, appearing in "Gay Paree." ilebutted In musical comedy with the current engagement. Miss Fair has been of the dr.iina. in .sui'port of Sothern and other .slurs. Her tiitrsical revue appearance was 4 very pleasant one. with Mi.ss Fair lending chanii lo the perforiu,itice of the several ,sklts, l»<-sides singltig in ji i oice '>r (io,iliiv hitherto unsuspected. "Hook of Ch.irm" movew to the ;l!>tli Street*; 'The Crooked Friday" Mixine IClllott's; 'Seeking." f;!- tinge, 1 he TaJe of a Wolf," Km- pire, 'These Chiriitiiig People," Giifty. "Haifilet." Mariipilen"H: "Aiiierican Horn," Hud ion; 'Th • P.ti-caneer.'" I'lymouth, "The C'itv <"'h ip,"" Liberty ,\fid in iddllion fh'T>- jr" Mstcl for th,it Week .St ill l.ile, I'oin- Comeily (.H>"\ K'Oiy, Go l>>sy, ' Wt»eii iuu Suuie, "Lovely Ladv." -('ought." * Th« Getawflj' and •Sijz.fiine ' "Stej>plng Klontis" lopped Hi'- ^ it»- wuy circuit wiin over $21,000 \t Werlms last weclc; "Whit Pii'O Glory ai the Mijeslic did vkell at $1.1 r,00; l.ady lie Good" ;it the Shu- bert. Newark, tlrew strongly. »vi*h a -AniyH of $lx.0OO; "the Sh.)^«-.frrf" ^ol $)»00« it the P.C.id, Ne.v.i.k, irid "Da'-'iM*: Mol lioi'j*" About ihf a 11110 It (If ilivei i^