Variety (February 1926)

r^ AMUSEMENTS hS' t%—- PRICE 20c TIMES SQUARE ^ Pabllahed Weekly at 1S4 We«t 4(tb St., New Tork. N. T, by Variety. Ine^^ Annual eulkBcrlpuon »7 SlnKle cople» J« aantA Entered aa second cla«s matter December 22. 190». at tba Post Offlo* at New York. N. ¥.. under the Act of March S. HT» VOL. LXXXI. N. 12 NEW YORK CITY, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1926 64 PAGES $30,000 NIGHT CLE PROFIT LEVIATHAN OFHCERS SPOILED AVERY HOPWOOD'S BON VOYAGE Playwright Confined to Stateroom and Classed as ^'Disorderly"—Scotch Taken Away but Drank 1tla\|r Oil—Slipped on Board Without Mention f Arery Hopwood, who sailed on the "Leviathan" along with Irving Barlin and his wife, tlie former Ellin Maclcay, EJ. Ray Goets and other theatrical people recently, was con- fined to his room by the ship's officers after he persisted In conduct which th« officers classed as dis- orderly. When put in his room a bottle of Scotch which he had carried arbund the decks was confiscated, but Hop- Wood, it is said, drank some hair (Continued on page 61) iTWO KAYOS AT LAMBS' BY MEMBERS i Louis Calhern and Walter Catlett Knock Each Other Out—Suspensions A double fist light hotween I<ouls Calhern and Walter Catlett oc- curred In the Lambs Club just be- fore Calhem's debut with "Hedda Oabler." Catlett. who has closed *'th "Lady Be Good," was advising Calhern to keep bis mind on the opening that night. That started it. »nd Catlett was kayoed. Calhern exited, but returned soon thereafter, ropcntent, with the offer (Continued on page 57) Hope Hampton Alternate In Prima Role of "Flame" It was a probability late last week that Hope Hampton would shortly enter "Song of the Flame" to alter- nate the prima donna role with Tes-sa KosUi. The role la long nnd arduous, Prob.'ibly more than any woman singer could stand up under for 0><>re than a few weeks. Arthur Hammersteln was offered * Trench prima donna for the alter- nate part last week and is reported a« saying Miqs Hampton was Bircady being considered. Mi.sa Hiiiiipton's previous prima donna ''vork was done in "Mme. Pompa- dour' during ii« Pikili^olphla tryout. Luncheon Rehearsals Lunch time rehearsals in the cabarets is a new gag. In- stead of making the girls get up before noon for rehearsals, the public drilling serves the double purpose of convenience and as a come-on for the patrons. One new place h;ia been making a habit of It and at- tracting new trade. lEXIISiiUINIIN'!; 1SI MONTH YIELDS 11M WEEKLY New System of Operation Developing Night Life in New York—^Large Net Profits Without "Selling" -—Coveur Charge and Water Sales Depended Upon — Each . Patron Worth Certain Average Amount — Casa Lopez, Same Net IIRROR'S'SERIES ONIEU BELLE' STOPPED BY HEARSTS ORDERS Belasco "Got To" Publisher on Coast—Phil Payne's Circulation-Building Idea Nipped Short—Dra- matic Critic Wrote Stories After Seeing Play PROHIBITION'S AID Slave Anklet as Notice XMAS OVER; BOOZE LOW; md SCOTCH NOW $48 Bootleggers admit the holiday season's high prices wore fictitious, sent up to make a false market for the gala season only. Scotch has dropped to $48 per case, its low of some time, and the $48 Scotch is pronounced as of the best coming into New York at present. Real champngne .'it $95 evidences LIQUOR MARKET Scotch (good) $48 Rye (no guarantee) 85 Champagne (real) 95 Absinthe 96 Mixed Cordials 65 Individual Cordials 65 Brandy 70 Sauterne 36 Beer (Needle) 38 also a drop in quotation, although $10 per case above the price of last fall. Absinthe is making a belated ap- pearance into the Uuuor market with quotations at $96 a case for the genuine. Plenty of absinthe has (Continued on page 60) Booker's Fine, 50c; Agenf s Fine, $10 According to the computation of a new fining system in Keith-Al- bee's pop price<l agency, an a^'erit's mistake la nineteen tnid one half times as serious as a. booker's. The new rule in that if a V>ooker makwe an error, he pays a fine of 60 c<»nts: if an a Kent bools one, it cesta him $10. A night club In New York making a net profit of $7,500 weekly without selling li(iuor is Texas Guinan's 300 Club on West 64th sireet. It marks tl'O new era of operation of the nifht club business In the night life of the city's mid-section. This weekly figure is based on the first month of operation of the club, when the profit was $30,000. Paralleled with it is the Casa Lopeji on the same street west of Ftroadway, another night club that (Joes not permit the sale of liquor within its walls, and also netting not less than $7,500 weekly. Both places are an aid to the en- forcement of prohibition. Net profit of $7,500 a week is not (Continued on page 61) MUSIC PAYING TAX IN SENATE AMENDMENT -Waahlogton. Feb. 2. For the first time In the long drawn out fight ag.ainst the so- called music tax an association of exhibitors has come out openly against the collection of a license (Continued on page 62) Hearst Champ Dancer Lob Angeles, Feb. 2. William It. Ileur.st U de- clared to be tho best Ciiarles- ton dancer on the Pacific Coast. The "slave brncflet" haa given way to the slave anklet among the twilight ladies who frequent New York's night clubs. The "slave anklet" ia a fine chain soldered together and worn under the stoc' .ng of the left leg as a toljeu of exclu- sive allegiance. MIXED CAST RUSH J The sertee ot articles which tlia "Daily Mirror." a New York tab- loid, ran last week deacrlbing the alleged Indecenciea of the Belasco production of "Lulu Belle" were at first thought to be one of those un- derground tieupa. but when word came from W. R, Hearst late in the week fr>r the storlea to be discon- tinued, that theory was exploded. (Continued on page 28) With the advent of "Lulu Belle,- a mixed cast play under David Be- lasco's personal direction, a rush appears to be on by other producers to bring out in New York a stage production with white and colored players. Contracts have been signed whereby Horace Llverlght, the pub- lisher, will have a stage story woven around Paul Uobeson, colored actor, who will also be In the play with a mixed cast. Arthur Hopkins Is also reported having a mixed play production In mind with the story to be written by I.rfiurcnce Htallinga. David Stur«ls, the author of "White Collie." a story that deals with whites and blacks, who almost had the play produced In New York last season, has white cajiital inter- ested and it may see present.atlon before the end of the present sea- son. With the cropping out of the mixed casts on a large scale also comes a story that one of the big film pro- ducing concerns contemplates a screen play that will permit the casting of a big cast of white nnd colored players. "The C.rcat Oatsby," which Isn't a mixed cast affair, has the Charles- ton dance ns one of its f<"atures, ac- cording to those famlliiir with its rchearpalfl by th** William .\. Brady offlces. Colored Theatre Offers Artiste $1,500 for Week Detroit, Feb. t. The Kojipin. a colored theatre, has offered Etbel Waters, the col- ored artiste. $i,r.00 for a week's cngageini-tif. K H Diidlt-y op'-ratos tho Koppln. It opfru »t 9 a. rii , ch.Trgiiig IPc top until II, and 20c. from 11 until 2. Its top admi^"ion at night is •1.10. '.::-.::, PICTURES IN AIR TALKED OVER- RADIO BILL White's "Czar" Measure Reported FaTorably— Air Films in General Variety Bureau, Washington. Feb. 2. The White bill, setting up « "radio czar~ in the person ot the .Secretary of Commerce, waa favor- ably reported back by a Merchant Marine subcommittee to the full committee on Saturday last. A meeting of the full committee, (Continued on page 62) Foreigners Drawing Among the biggest night club money ruakera are tl>e foreign at- tr.actlons. The Mirador has ( loaned up rjn Mosa and Fontana. The Cht^a Fysher with a French revue pos- sessed of obscene lyrics (to those conversant with French), haa clicked at $5 convert Ted Trevor and Pegity Harris at Ciro's are getting across, both bei- ing butter IkMown abroad, thougli originally Amorlcuna. r'OSTUMEC ^L^ «OWNS--UNirORMS\^ FOR EVEDV90DV WHO IS ANVBOOy ON TME SIA(3£ 06 SCREEM..D(auSiVE< DESIGNS W UEAOMG STYlf CREATORS BROOKS *- —*i.»o isiooo coaruMs* to mnr-