Variety (March 1926)

8 VARIETY Wednesday. March 3, 10og T (Continued from page 4) beans mashed with one rock upon another. They arc all beggars. Ail look diseased. Almost hall of them are cripples. Even the dogs are. too. 't hey swarm to the trains, hun- dreds, offering for sale trinkets und tKfiCS, emaciated fruits and emas- culated vcgelablcs. They fight each other to get to the windows or at a passenger who has aliglucd, like so many cockroaches over a crumb They reek. They Jabler. They show their stumps and their brats mid their other assets of mendicancy. They plead in I he name of their saints for a copper penny, half a cert American. Through thousands of miles of that \vi;h very lit.le relief, the tour- ist then ro'ls Into the mighty cap- ital, the vaunted "Paris of tnc Western Hemisphere." At the station the peons and por- ters and drivers wrestle and battle for his trade, and the panhandlers surround him and weep and moan and stick out their hands. At last he makes his hotel. If It Is one of the pseudo-cosmopoliian ones, he pets fair service, subject, of course, to the congenital manana-mania which Is Indigenous here. All right then—we are now bathed, shaved, tuxed up and ready to see the other side of this Mexican life, that brilliant contrast of great gaiety and vast wealth which must exist where there is depraved degra- dation and multitudinous misery. We went through Mexico City with the choicest of guides—mil- lionaire American concessionaires who have mansions here, newspaper men who know the ropes, attaches of the government, even proprietors ©f the more prominent resorts. And. what did we find? No Night Life Mexico City has almost no night- life excepting In the houses of un- ashamed vice. The vice is not as pictui esqi*} as It Is in New Orleans or Tla Juana. Compared to New York, It Is about as hlghfalutln" as Mexico ccmpares ctherwise with Cod's Country. Liquor, of course, flows freely, at about 30 cents American per shot, with a little gyp added where there are girls. Champagne Is cheap be- cause those who drink It here call for cheap champagne, Imported but of the $2-a-quart brands, really cider with alcoholic content. To one fresh from the prohibition farce of the U. 8.. the wide one open booze seems to take away rather than add to the color and tension. It Is pretty nice, at that, to step up to a bar anywhere, al- most, on any block, and have the bartender trot It out. But the nov- elty or reminiscent punch of that coon wears off. 'lhe Scotch Is cut because of the heavy tax. and on account of this there Is much smuggling and boot- legging here as there. The local cognacs and liquors are palatable and cheap. Imported still wines are available In the better places at a fair price. There are a dozen or so "caba- rets," not one of them a cabaret. There Isn't a floor show or an en- tertainer in the town. There Is one so-called "American jazz band." and the boys who blow the brass In It »-cm to have been across the bor- der. The rest are natives or for- eigners of other lands. To these cafes, where no couvert Is charged, the bon vlvants come, starting usually about midnight. The dinner period here Is from 9 to 11 among the betters. There Is no "after-thc-show" because there Is no ■how. That Is, there Is no theatri- cal entertainment except an occa- sional concert, the movies (which run from 3 to midnight) and one flea-bitten burlesque stock at the Principal, admission 49 cents Amer- ican, where clumsy comics Jibber the native lingo and swarthy demi- mondes in fra-.zlod costumes danec woefully and crack blue Jokes OTex.) from a runway through the center aisle. Le:s Th*n Bridgeport The great Theatre Naclonalo Is bcl^g built, but It will take years to finish It. and then perhaps opera ard International stars may pene- tr'to hither. night now the sum total of all the Items that can be assembled, even with charitable tolor:>nce, under the head of "Amusement." wou'dn't keep the ll.-h's burning In Bridgeport. Abel's If the cafe most patronized by sn'-ndcrs. native and adopted and noes-nt. It Is ft orderly and beautiful place on the main drag. It Is there that the nearly-American .auz orchestra functions and there one sees some style and a bit of class. A party of seven, drinking from midnlglit until four, of which Hoi Ualperin and myself were mem- bers, paid a cluck of 42 pesos, about $.0, and we drank Cointreau, cognac, cocktails and rlckeys. At the other "cabarets" It is even less costly, and the character of guests Is lower as well, likewise the music, usually a sad gesture at Jozs. In soate of these the women openly hjstlc." even some lodged in the foremost hotels. These women are not attached, they are tolerated because they stimulate drink-plugging. The ho- tels do not offer facilities for fur- ther association with such semi- profcsslonals, at least the more se- lect ones do not. These cafes run, as do the bars, all night if there Is a sucker left to buy a two-bit drink. There is no clo.ing law. Sunday there Is the subterfuge of a • biscuit on each table, as In the days of hallowed memory when the same custorr. ob- tained In NeA' York. The biscuits are props and no one was ever seen trying to bite Into one. The facts of Mexican night-life, which make a grand flalre Impos- sible, are these: A native woman of aristocratic pretensions Is never seen In any public place, least of all in a cafe, except at the time of a fiesta. We caught this town when it was throwing one of these mardl- gras affairs, the last gasp before Lent. The whole community went wild (over nothing) and paraded, blew sirens, thre.» sombreros in the air and took it as seriously as an election or a nice-Juicy mas- sacre. Thousands went about in masks and grotesque dominos and costumes. The cafes were Jammed and there was noise, chattering of choctaw and a generally loose spirit. But the rest of the time, and we saw that, too. the restau- rant life is devoid of the decent Mexican women. They, of course, entertain In their homes and make their own night recreations, which In many In- stances are lavish and baronial. But they shun the Joints of all sorts, which, therefore strips their ebb and flo * to tourists, localized foreigners and the less desirable of the Mex. The bull-fighting clan stands about like the show folks in the States as the center of that ele- ment and the draw and decoy oil the Impulse to "go out." A toreador, matador, bandclero or even a hostler from the toro ranks has professional standing in the frivoli- ties of this burg, and the better known bull-stickers or rcd-flag- wavers are cheered when they en- ter a place. Plonty of Americans There are. always, plenty of Americans down here to see the sights, and they get drunk ten minutes after they cross the front- ier snd stay drunker all the time they remain. They give the dives a heavy play and are noisy, bois- terous and badly behaved. But they are encouraged because the Grin- gos bring practically all the cash that trickles through that type of national manifestation. The Mex- icans, with few exceptions have nothing and those exceptions find their lighter hours In the palatial homes, where a family can keep 20 servants for $100 a week. They have some pretty good cars, gor- geous blooded horses, clubs, and all that, these richer Mcxes. The hotel barrooms, w here women mingle as freely as do the men, (tourist women, women here get- ting divorces, and American, French and Spanish riffraff In silk stock- ings) are crowded at night and often all night. Women may and do drink at the bars and every 'cantina" (saloon) has tables as well. Here, without any music, there is tall drinking and high story-tolling and flirting. No race or color Is barred In those. One there are millions who are born, who live snd who die here with- out having ever owned an equity in a roof above or a bed below. Chil- dren are born In the alleys—and conceived there, too. There are districts, beyond de- scription, where races and clans congregate, such as the Chinks, Assyrians. West-Coast Negroes (of whom there are remarkably few, as there are few of any Ethiopians here), and the endless Indians. Life Held Cheaply The police heat them with clubs and whips nnd kill them as they would dogs, where they stand, and leave them where they fall. The Chief of Police walks into tho jail, takes out an automatic; and shoots a couple at random to make the rest stop getting noisy for the night. And that is the truth, for we verilied It beyond conjecture. Life down here Is cheap. Al- most everything Is that Isn't im- ported. Graft prevails beyond the comprehension of a Nordic. For $2 one can buy anything in Mexico City that Is native from a girls virtue to a man's soul. His life can be had for half of that, with a million fighting for the chance to earn It. And that Is Mexico City. "The Paris of the Western Hemisphere." We follow the Mexican custom of making It a bargain and offer our Interest In the metropolis to anyone who wants It for elnco cen- tavos, slightly less thaa 2*4 cents, American. WHY MILE. Fffl WALKED tCont'nued from page 1) Russian has temperament, eh?" said Mr. Durante, when told of Fifl's plaint. "I'll take care of her." he added, going to the rear of the restaurant. Returning almost at once, Mr. Durante said: "Well, she's blown. Reported sick and gone home." And then he explained. "You see the 'F'a and T's' don't cost much so we thought we would put 'Flfi' In lhe lights outside. Noth- ing much else to do with them 13 there. Eddie? Started at $30 "And whnt do you guess? Yes, she did. $f>0. $10 more than she's getting -now. And she started at $30. "So I said to the hoys. 'Let's re- duce her head. First thing you know she'll ask for $C5.' And tonight we took down her name. It cost no more to lake It down than to put It up. She can't understand that.' Mr. Durante said they had no par- ticular object in putting the name of Flfi In the lights. "Just a Rug." said Jimmv. Mr. Durante, assisted by Mr. Jackson, explained how Mile. Flfi happened to go to work at the Dover Club. "But first," said Mr. Jackson, "get this strnlght. We gave her tho name of Flfi so we could do what we wanted to with it. Juggle It any way we wished and that's what we did—Juggled It. up and down/ Explains to the Mob "Don't take this too seriously, Ed- die," said Jimmy. "Let me explain to the mob. She came into the joint and wanted work. Said she could sing and she was French. We found she could sing, but she wasn't French. But at $30 a week nobody kicked. "Then one day after she had been here a month, she said she wanted more money. That called for a con- ference. We all got together. She wanted $40. Lew wasn't In favor of a raise until we found out her nationality, but that was declared out because we don't tip off our- selves. Eddie was in favor of tilt- ing It a little. I suggested $32. She wanted $33. Eddie said we had had a good night the night before and to make It $32 50. So We made It $32.50. We were all happy In those days. Up to $40 "Back she comes again and the next week for $40. 'How long for $10?' I says. 'A month.' she says, meaning $40 a week for four weeks. -Go to It." say I. and that was that. LONDON AS IT LOOKS (Continued from page S) friendliest of ways, to open in London with an English play with Eng, Itah artists and to stage something which would be highly Artistic, icgard. less of uny possible loss, which he could easily afford. Instead of doing that, the Shubcrts went to the other extreme. They chose from their enormous stock of plays a German tiling,, with a Ger- man leading lady, and made every possible mistake. Personally. I cannot understand why men with such vast enterprises on your side care twopence about the two cents they might possibly cam in London. • • • V/hen Audiences Co Dlind One of the problems that strikes a theatre manager, I am told, Is that suddenly, toward the night of a new pi ay. half the poople In London g0 blind or deaf. They all want to be in the front row. and to get there they all say they cannot see, except these who say they cannot hear. "I always sit In the front row." Is the other reason. E. P. Clift. who is Basil Dean's manager, tells me that he finds, when a person aiks for a front row seat, and he replies. "Would you like one in the tenth row?" the answer Is always an Immediate "Yes." Another problem facing London managers Is the troublo caused by the fact that so many playgoers In these post-war days are wourde^ ex-soldiers. These have to be put at the end of a row; sometimes, special arrangements have had to be made because so many of them turn up on the same night. . Most critics like to be In the middle of the stalls, but St. John Ervine, an exception, was badly wounded In the leg. They always put him at the W.. eless Criticism Criticized There will be serious trouble over broadcast criticisms of plays. On t« occasions, in tho last three weeks, wild rumors have reached manage ears that James Agate, the "Sunday Times" critic, who also broadc~s his opinions, has said there was only one play In London worth seeing. George Grossmith went along, one of the B. B. C. officials Informs me, the other day, and said. "I have Just come from the West End Man- agors' Association. What did Agate say the other night?" They turned It up Immediately and found that, if he stuck to his text, it was not nearly as bad as the rumor. But, certainly, the question arises. "Is a would-be highbrow critic the right person to tell Aunt Mary in Wigan what not,to see?" Also, "whnt legal right has a broadcasting company to criticize a play unfavorably?" A newspaper. Invited to a theatrical performance, can always pleaA what it was Invited to express its opinion; but the wireless was never asked anything. It Is gratuitous criticism, and. If harsh, sent out, as It is, cn a wholesale scale to lowbrows? might kill a play without the manager ever hearing that word of criticism had been said about it. • • • The Stage Wedding Phyllis Monkman's marriage to Laddie Cliff was 10 have been at All Souls'. Langham place. But, at the last moment, Information reached the guests that "owing to the bridegroom's recent Illness," the marriage ceremony would be for the family only. I understand that the parson suddenly changed his mind on hearing that Laddie had been divorced; so another parson consented to perform the ceremony on condition that nothing was said about It In the papers beforehand. ,,, As Clift was 111 before the engagement was anonunced. It would be strange If a sudden remembrance of this fact caused any alteration In the plans sees a Yankee actress, a Honduran negro, a .Monte::uca Indian, a Gua- temala half-Chinese, a little Jap. a Britisher with a monocle and a South Carolina dlnge, all at one tnble in one booth. And. outside the doors, the stream of poverty-punished greasers shuffle on and on. In the streets, drnpped In filthy blankets which their women weave, they sleep, for "The month was up to the rt ..• and there she was again, $.10 this time. 'How long for ISO' I says. 'A month.' says she. I tried to make It two months because we were com- mencing to believe that she wasn't keeping her mind on her business, thinking of dough all the time. "Well, we'll see.' says I to her, but we made It $50. "Then the 'Mile. Fifi' gag. Her $50 month not even up, but when she saw the lights, she Just says $60." 'How long for $60?' I Bays. She wouldn't tell us. We told her no. After she went home we took down the lights. We'll teach these dames with temperaments." Mile. Flfi In her explanation said nothing about salary Increases. She told a Varlity reporter she was a good girl and a good singer and said she had put a new ribbon on her hair that night to match the lights. Without her name In lights Fifi didn't think she could sing. Fifi Bald that she must imme- diately know whether her name would be restored In the lights, ns she had done nothing to deserve that treatment from "Meester Du- rantee." Fifi claimed Du- ranteo had done It because he had given her some dirty looks the night before when her name was up. In fact, Flfi said, confidentially, she thought Jimmy was sore be- cause his name was not up instead. Before any of the trio of owners could be reached. Mile. Flfi had blown, as Mr. Durante so accu- rately reported. Whether Mile. Flfi has since re- turned to the Dover Club has not been wirelessed to Variety's office, although the boys there said If Flfi would come back without a money time table they wouldn't mind, but would make no promise about the lights. Fifi with the three boys on the floor has become a big laugh turn through the boys kidding her, when she is and Is not singing. The "Flfl gag" has been drawing many professionals up to the Dover. STRAWS SERMONS (Continued from page 1) and boxed on the page Is "Hear 'The Dance of Death.' 3 p. m. In this message Dr. Stratcn gives one of his experiences In visiting the dance halls and cabarets of New York." On the bottom of the page Is a displayed line reading: "Special Music nnd Stirring Congregational Singing." Opinion here among the show places is that Dr. Straton. known in New York as a rabid reformer, is In the showmanly class. A sugges- tion here is that when Dr. Straton returns home Variety solicit him for an ad under the belief the Dr. Intends to go Into the Billy Sun- day revival business. Beverly Bayne's Co. Beverly Bayne, from pictures, opens In vaude this week in "Ac- cusation" under tho direction of Lewis & Gordon. The piece will play several dates In Independent hideaways before opening on the K-A Circuit. The supporting cast includes Cliff Worman. Frederick Earl and Guy Emery. Ford Representing Keeney During the nbrenco of Frank A. Keeney in tho south William Ford is looking nfter his theatrical interests. Ford was formerly man- ager of the Bedford theatre, lyn. ILL AND INJURED Little Maxine Loomis (Loomis Sisters) Is recovering from a se- rious operation In a hospital at Washington. John Bowman, for years head chef with Barnum nnd Bailey's cir- cus and also for a time with Ring- ling Brothers, is back at his duties at the Broadway Restaurant, Olean, N. Y., after an Illness of several months. Trlxie Saul, principal with the State-Congress stock burlesque, suffered a concusston of the brain In Chicago last week. She will be unable to resume her work for some time. One of the Loomis Twins v as re- moved to a Washington, D. C , hos- pital for an appendicitis operation Feb. 23. The Twins were playing at Les Paradls (cafe) In that city. Marlon George Is recovering from an operation for appendicitis, at the Women's Hospital, West 10"th street. New York. Miss George is with the Foster Girls at the Hippo- drome. Men'o Moore of Moore and Meg- ley. Orphoum producers. Is serious- ly 111 at the Sherman hotel. Chicago. Teddy Ruaselt Denies Engagement Toddy Russell, of "We Three Girls," denies her reported engage- ment to G. W. Jennings of the U- & theatre staff. Hoboken. N. J.