Variety (April 1926)

V A Rl E T r W0diMfld«7» April 7, VARDmr'S CHICAGO OFFICE HAL HALPERIN in Charge SUte-Laka Theatre Bldg., Suite 520 Phones: Ceutral 0644-4401 CHICAGO Chieaeo OfHo* for ;nfonnatl«n. Mall may b« addr«0s«d car* VaHaty, Stata-Laka iIm. atra BldOn Chieaoo. It will ba hald aubJaet to call, fonwardad or advart'aad in Variaty'a Lattar Liat. ' When in Chicago ViMit These Hits 8Ht IIF.KT G A R R I C K KING VIDOR'S Plcturlmatlon of LAURENCE 8TALLINQS* THE BIG PARADE Starring JOHN GILBERT Wlik BKNKB ADOKBK A. lI«tro-Ooldwyn-Mayer Productioi J. Erlanger A Hairy Fowera. Mi;m. ILLINOIS ^ ZIEGFELD Production LEON ERROL in "LOUIE the 14th^ Qroateat Musical Comedy Bver Prodvcod Only Matinee Saturday at t.li UUrt I Wednesday and Saturday. JOHN r.OLDRN'S Sare-KIre I.aujcli Hit "PIGS" Staiced by FBANK CBAVEN Dlr«rt from all season (41 weeks) on Broadway wltb true N. Y. Cust Attendance wua off Sunday after- noon at the Palace, Indicating that some of the regulars will eschew the house this week on account of the N. V. A. shake-down. They passed around the little tin cans after the fourth act and the cans went fast and didn't Increase much In wrlKht. The uHual film trailer laid the groiindv/ork for the gyp, with the customary assortment of bromides being renaahed. After that one of the Tcmpleton Brothers ap- peared somewhat sheepishly from the wings and began to read from General Proclamation number one. The Master said that this year the N. V. A- bad greater need for funds than ever as there were more needy actors. There may be a lot of truth reason that they have been done to death made tough sledding for Ruth. She fought hard and brought every trick in her bag to her aid, and by dint of nothing but personality got across. The other act whose out- come hung by a slender thread at times was Nazlmova. The great, emotional, temperamental Nazlmova In a sketch that dragged on for nearly 26 minutes without any reai action in IL The scenes where the author has provided opportunities for the star to groan and moan and lament in the best theatrical man- ner are artificial, but in Justice to Nazlmova, she certainly made a lot out of nothing. When It was all over the audience gave her a tre- mendous volume of applause. c E N T R A Brlfhtaat Theatre In Chlcaso. VanBuran at Mlchlfaa Avenue "KEMPY" NEW ftniTHERT 01 V M P I O B^fLtm Four 1. T IVI r I Weeks Ahead CASTLES in the AIR with VITIBNNR BBRNARD 8 E Q A L GRAN VI LLE J. HAROLD THAIS MURRAY LAWTON AND A GREAT CAST OV 100 In the Beat M ualcal Ptay on Earth S £ L W Y N "CI-iARLOrS REVUE OF 1926" BP5ATRU;H LILLIE with BUCHANAN CERTRunr: LAWRKNCK CORRESPONDENCE All matter in CORRESPONDENCE refert to current week unless otherwise indicated The cities under Correspondsnce in this issue of Variety are as fellows and on pages: r»ae MONTREAL &4 OKLAHOMA 63 PITTSBURGH 54 PORTLAND, ME 62 PORTLAND, ORE 69 ROCHESTER 60 SAN DIEGO 63 ST. JOHN 60 ST. LOUIS 59 SEATTLE 65 SYRACUSE 54 WASHINGTON 63 BALTIMORE 59 BUFFALO 53 CHICAGO 52 CINCINNATI 54 CLEVELAND 62 DALLAS 62 DETROIT 62 KANSAS CITY 62 LOS ANGELES 58 MILWAUKEE 55 MINNEAPOLIS 60 showmanship style with all six of the comiNUiy Charlestoning at a ter- rific rate. Three dance taama, Har- vey and Conlon. Gary and White, and the Kennison Staters, make up the comriany, and all have a good routine of nitty stepa The better presentation houses could utilize this dance travesty quite handily. Tbe Original Four Phillips closed with their excelle-it forehead bal- ancing and Juggling number. They weathered a few fumbles in fine style, and rated as high class enter- talnmenL WOODS BEN HUR Twice Daily, 2:30-8:30 Sunday and ^lolidsys at 3 P. M. All SeaU Reaerred and 0« Bale at Reaerred and lluz Offlce STUDEBAKER Tlioae Koinlcal Chaps KOLB and DILL In the Oirly Whlrly Musical Coiiitidy "PAIR O* FOOLS" With rALlKORNlA'8 **.Swet Sixteen Dancing Girls*' AA. U. WOODS D ELP 1>S' ff H 1 ASCHER PLAYERS Nftthaa Aitt'lifr. i'n-ii. Rnlph K tii-'riiig. Muk Dir. 'THE FALL OF EVE" with Kliznbutn Ulndon, Harry Mlnlurn and Fineat Resident Company Kver In Chlcnyo A NF.W New York Hit—NEW to CMiUavo EVERY TWO WREKHt MHl'BERT PRINCESS THM WDRM) FAMOUS HOUDINI Praaentlna an Entire EvenlnR'a Ferformanoe MAGIC, ILLUSIONS, ESCAPES. FRAUD MEDIUMS EXPOSED in that crack, but they didn't say why. Harry Burns on the stage and Al Herman among the cus- tomers wisecracked and scored a few laughs while the tin cans pro- gressed up one row and down the next. The show started with the Aerial Smiths. Here is a dumb act en- titled to a "rave." It's a trapeze duo, man and woman, that the RlngiinKS fould feature. The rou- tine Is fast, difficult, performed with perfect timing ami absolute ease. Murray and Akin were second. Those boys use the old but still sure-fire methods of the Gallagher and Shean type of songs. Most of the gags they have set to music ore snappy. They finished strongly but in.'Jtead of responding to the encore call escaped further verses with a none too graceful shut-up speech. Then Mercer an<l Janios Temple- ton starting weakly but building \\(\ rn::h'nT IniijroH.slvely. They pohsess a lew dancing (luirks that are unique unto themselves whiie their kh^klng, clowning and other talents as revealed at tlie I'alac*' ar*- of a hlKh order. They are produc- tion people and boar the stamp. Adelaide Brndon provided both well-trained dancing and ornamen- tation. Th«? accompaniment of (Charles Embler wua competent and topped ofT by a flashy solo in which he mixed a lot of applesauce with genuine ability. Harry Burns, HtlU with his bal- loons and c'.arlnet, was forced to his normal number of bows and finally to a speech. Harry is one of the best "impromptu" speech-makers in vaudeville, his spielM having the ilual virtue of being funny and not too long. Carlona Diamond, hi.s liarp-playjng lady as.sistant. Is a peachcrlno, getting honors on her own. A number of changes in the rou- tine of I'ower's Elephants Improve the tii-rn and give it added appeal to those who have seen the act before — and that includes everyone who goes to vaudeville with any kind of regularity. Remarkable animals and a remarkable trainer. Took threr; curtains and got a laugh on each with the final one. In which one of the huge beasts does the Charles- ton, a wow. Two acts finished well but bor signs of flopping at different points during the unfoldment. Ruth Roye. who needs a new act urgently, didn't pet a rise out of the audience until she was almost finished* Noth- ing but pop songs with the punch lines no longer funny for the Flmple Al Herman was next to closing, of course. He comes back to the Orpheum Circuit rebuked but un- flustered. He kidded the Orpheum ofilciuls in the upper right hand box and showed no shame at having played" an "opposition" picture house engagement at a fabulous sal- <iiy. _IIe tied them In knots and left them for Parker and Son, "extraor- dinary athletes," who closed. I7aJ. The Wonder Spot of Cafedom AVALOIM 519 Diversey Parkway Visit your theatrical friends who make this their rendezvous "When la Chicairo Spend Yoer Tlina" WHEN IN CHICAGO VISIT THE MOULIN ROUGE CAFE 416 So. Wabash Avenue "CHICAGO'S PLAYGROUND OF BEAUTY" Ycur Open Time For Re»*er\nllonM: W rUo In Hidden facts are always popping out It has just bpen diKcovertd that the MaJ«*stic management pos- sesse.s a subtle sense of humor. The show this week Is advertised as a straight laugh bill—commemorating N. V. A. week. The show wasn't oxartly that, but why let a f«. .v farty spoil a good jolcc? Nothing much to talk about. The bill was no riot, hovering just above the average murk, and nicknaming it an N. V. A. celebration didn't alter its quality one icta. An over- dose of hoofing prol)ably accounts ff)r the Inck of enthusiasm. The crowd was Just what has been banging ittoiind on all fine spring Sundays, and was a trifio reserveil in Its er.thu.siasm. Palermo's Canines-displayed Pal- ermo as a master showman. Every one of his do< tricks were keyed to l.ialie.<t pit'.'li and liil fine an an opener. It f*'ll to Norton and lirower to break in the laugh bill with their novel nut dialog, and they did well considering the siran^e idr;i carried out. One of the boy.s takes the part of a young fellow who talks utter nonsense in a queer maniifi .'•nd the auiiience was a trllle of him at first. Incidentally, this act started the hoofing. LaVarre Brothors and their lady friend have «uie of the more modern acrobatic acts. The men start out as a Cftniic dance team, featuring H riotous apache dance, and tiion ride Into their Ptrong man work on a wave of applause. The woman fits in nicely, as an aid and breaks the pantomime with a character song. An exceptionally gof»d acrobatic act. Another man comedy teim, Reav. s and WcII.m, pnllcd a mixture of frejh and stale gags and clicked immediately. Dance and song and done well, with the song way ahead of the dialog, it's a pleasure to watch an act like this once In a h »le. The patrons seemed to think ^o, too, and gave them the next to best hand of the afternoon. First prize In applause was grabbed by BUI Utah, monolotjlst and ukulele songster, with a clever line of patter. Bill didn't actually get hold of the crowd until his time was just abotit up, but then he pulled the dlillcult fea: of making thom call for him. Apiduuse after his first encore was twice as strong as that which marked his original exit. Bill uses an encore girl song- stress to advatUage. Black and O'Donnell didn't de- serve next-to-cloRliig, hut they had it Just the hame. Their country hotel Kklt wa.s founded on laoronlc humor and included a raspy violin .-'olo hy the \vt)n»an. Still, it Ind r tew hlch vpots and mannered to keep iJie hiUMliH up. l eaiured on the bill w.as l^aricing ♦"'^riots, well suited to tlie Mflli spot. I hia act wa.s ro(v 'Uly reviewed at tiio Bl.ilto, at wlilch time It wd.«^ Mi' iitioned that the art need»>d soni'' sort (*f rvrnlation <dos:Tr.,'. Thi.<^ w ( «■;< liiey T>r( •-•.•rt a rfvi.<'f.l edition ..f their roirnher^ iind rint: down tn tno* The American has at least one virtue. The customers don't seem to know It's a showing house. In fact, they probably don't know what a showing house Is, and they rub shoulders with iSainuel Kehl and his otilce. boys in complete unconcern. At other theatres, notably the honkey-tonks. the audiences latve become smarted up to the proposi- tion that acts are sometimes over- anxious and underpaid. And then tbe actor's lot is a hard one if he faltei-8 or his turn is noc quite ir the taste of the customers. So the acts get a break at the American to a certain extent. I^st Thursday the entertainment was lacking in punch. Nat Nazarro and Co. had the next-to-closing, and did very well, but had no support from the rest of the biU. Nazarro still features Ms old proteges. Buck and Bubbles, smart colored lads with hot puppies. Nasarro remains a showman and continues today his venerable practice of playing for whom he pleases and when. He has recently been hitting the picture houses in these parts. The Silver string Serenaders (New Acts) opened. Three men and a woman, pretty well described by the title of the act. Sandy McPher. son deuced. Sandy is a mere youth, a Scotch-Canadian development of Gus Edwards. He does a single with lots of assurance, some merit and not very good material. He sliares in the common fault of those who become slake broke at a too- early age. His i>er8onallty has be- come a rubber stamp. His preco- clousnosa has been at the price of spontaneity. Kep Scovllle and Co. doesn't im- press as having a chance. It's in full stage for one thing, or maybe two and a half, and tnat detracts tu.'Lher from Its utility. Scoville Piays a hick lire chief, the drop rep- resenting a tumble-down structur laijeled ure engme iiouse." The talk Is put over in a manner lndi( ating the tv.'o parti.Mpants are seasoned troop- •M-a, but laughs are few and far be- tween, and there Is much without place in tlie act or point in the humor. If humor it is supposed to be Only by an exiensive job of over- hauling liua tlie turn posalMlitiei*. .he ending is so weak as to almost eiM^sLii uic iui anii-c.imax Portraits of iy26, one of those flash act.i. closed. j^oop. On the West Side is a vaudeville li'.u.se still clinging faithfully to the cld-fa.shioned thlnjrs In life. It is .secluded modestly in a neighbor hood whose predoml.iaiing color is gray; its jjations come and go as regularly a.s i>apa takes them <iut for a spin In the Ford; and the liouse persists In following the ver hoten proceduie of paying the acli/fs V. ho anui.so lIio customers their res^uiar full salaries. One of the I'w vaudevi.le tliealres that are .sticking to tliaL well thought of cus- tom. The Kef'.^io is the name of the hf)uso. Six acts are featured In the split-wt'ok policy in effect here. As an opener Kniil Knoff and Brother prcHfaied a novelty acrobratlc act that looked excepli(»nally good. Emil is dreysod in a snappy morning suit, while his partner Is outfitted as for a golf match. The bit rings In with Emll at the piano playing a selection well enoug'o. As he plays the broth- er runs out, bounces around the stage on his bands and feet, and darts off again. This calls for a surprised look on Emll's face and also calls for Emll to get into the acrobatics, too. Most of the routine is balancing, done smoothly and slowly. The outfits worn by the boys put them out of the regular Hie SENSATION of the TOWN FLORENCE BRADY GILBERT WELLS FRIARS INN CHICAGO MARVIN WELT Direction: EZ KEOUGH SPRING iS HERE Store Your Furs in S=\^ety The dancers of D:othii. tire, dvst antl theft ure lurk- Ing In wait for your lovelj furs. Repairing and Remodeling Durinir the suni- nier montlm your furs can also be and charmlnff de- signs. Blumenfield's Fur Shop 204 state-Lake BIdg., Chicago Phone DEABDORN ItAl ' WORK CALLED FOR Oar Referenoe*—ARytM in SUmt BmiatM THEATRICAL SHOES WORN AND ENDORSED BY FX)REMOST AKT151S Emytliiag for sta^^e, ballet asj orcut wctf madt to erdft aiJ iartock. SboitTsinpAr.dnof* "^PfTE FOR CATALOG I UN. State St.. Chlcage EUGENE COX SCENERY 1734 Ogileii Avenue CHICAGO Phono SKELET SMI SLATER BROCKM.\N CITY HALL SQUARE HOTEL 87 West Randolph Street, Ciiicago Phone Randolph 6900 All Newly Carpeted, Furnished and Re*Decorated The Home of Some of the Diggest Stars in the Profession NO ADVANCE IN RATES GLEN WILMA3, General Manager nRMODELED THE F^OUCS RKI)K( OK.\TEI> ••AMERJCA'S W05T BEAUTIFUL CAFE" IS Kani 'i'iil sinw-i («>.MM»'-Ue "L" Ntiittnn) Chlraro. HI The Krnd. /Mni. „f thr Th^Htrir;il S» ClVir AM I'ol.iTlCAT fKI.KTUUTIES :K:T!'T»«aSB=Kv.«r-T:_ ^,