Variety (April 1926)

Wednesday, Ap ril 14, 1926 ... • • * . ■ ' ■ ■ PALACE (St. Vaud«vilU) A Mtbaret atar, SophU Tucker, ^Ja m. cUUM attracUon. Just out ot a cabareU Santley and Sawyer, TmTth* biff nolae at the Palace this JfLkT The Utter, cloelng Saturday LTthe Rendeavoue after a limited Ltnurement. acemingly found things Z^ault in vaudeville, alnce It waa Mt reported that Joseph Santley Ivy Sawyer had elected the gjjfct ciQb as an alternative follow- VARIETX OS FRED HAMM'8 BAND (•) II MIna.; Full (apee) Palaea* Chicago Fred Hamm ia radlo-famoui due It playing exclusively for that new form of entertainment for a long whUOh Charley Brbateln. before he iold hla staUon to "Liberty Maga- ginet** employed Hamm at $1,000 a week, said to be the only example ^ Ita kind In radio. Hamm haa a great smile. Hla Personality la of that quiet facile Srt that wins without ostentation. Be singa and he announcea and doea both pleasantly. On the roa- trum ho dlsplaya perfect ease and a high order of ahowmanship. His l^d la not a wow but a nice act. dispensing enjoyable Jazs. Nine pieces. Elach of the musi- cians Is a master of their craft. No ^Innovations, no novelties, no hoofers and no extra Ulcnt.' Just a band worth something on its radio name And something on iU intrinsic worth. Bal •MONK" WATSON and Keystone Serenadere (11) to Mins.( Full (Special) Lincoln Bq^ Decatur, III. - February 7 marlced the opening date of this band at the Lincoln Square and called for two weeks. Due to growing popularity Monk and hia gang were held over for another two weeks. To date no notice has been given. Watson is much like the idol of fltock productions. He is full of boke which seems to take very well here. Hla weekly change of pro- gram Including costumes and scenic, leaving sinall chance of staleness to the act Musicians are a bit above the average, as Watson has been suc- cessful in keeping the majority of bis men intact. Only one or two changes have taken place since the opening. - Watson ia an all around musician but confines his activities to di- recting and furnishes the comedy. Re la good with the cloga, and does consider.ible clowning with the audience. That's surefire. Band well suited for time now playing. Woodworth, BROOKS and MACE Songs, Talk and Dance 12 Mine.; One Msjestie, Chicago (Vaude) A man and woman act with an opening that hits right off. The man enters carrying the girl under his arm in overcoat style. They break into a gag routine and the girl sur- prises by carrying half of the com- edy. A majority of the humor Is new. Singing follows the by-play and is accomplished well enough. Brooks introduces hla partner as Ind-ian princess, "full-blood except for two quarts which she lost in a child hood accident." The girl becomes serious in an Indian dance executed in a nifty white costume. They close in a seml-comic dance con talning quite a few tricky steps. A worth-w/iKo coiru'dy act with plenty of pep to make 'cm up to- wards the early part of the evening Loop. ing a difrer^nce with K-A om a vaudeville arrangement Madame Soph la a holdover, this being her second weclc. Jumping in following Nora Bayes' walkout, rounding out the first week on her ownsome aa the headllner, although starting Monday aft as an N. V. A. added starter, which was what stoxted the row. And so, where there might have been a question of an emergency measure, the Kelth-AIbce applesauce anent banning all "doubling" attractions (1. e., acts from night clubs and hotels, as haa been an alibi up till now. as a con- venience), the fact they are holding over the ragtime songstress for a second week, and as the unquestion- able topliner, even with the class Santley-Sawyer production on the same bill, leaves littlt* doubt that the 'no doubling" thing ia Just a gng to terrorize the smaller acta. Soph only did- 20 minutea, all her rags being zippy and with a sea- sonly tang that bespoke of the night clubs at their zippiest, some of the punchlines being a bit "hot," but ever delectable. To counteract this, "Yiddlshe Momme," sung in Eng- lish and Yiddish, was a midsection entry and, Ju'dglng by the returns, will become a standard. In between Miss Tucker and Santley and Sawyer (New Acts), who reopened the second half, were Joe Morris and Winnie Baldwin, the latter doing Miss Campbell's stulT, with Morris clowning and wise- cracking as heretofore from a stage box. It's a corking comedy act, the audience stuff being great for any- body's theatre (and here, once again, one is reminded about a supposed ban on audience acts), with the shapely Miss Baldwin on the ros- trum doing corking straight for Morris' quips. The show waa given a fast start by Bordner and Boyer. trampoline comedians, who would me.rit a "spot" did the nature of tUelr stuff merit such distinction. But it so happens that a trampoline turn is doomed to opening or cloRing, but In their classlflcations this two-man combination tops the list. They seemed to take the edge off Low Murdock and Mildred Mayo, whose stepping Just registered fair, even with the kindly Palaccites. The Weir's Baby Elephants act in the trey picked the tempo right up again, the behemoths being put throu?rh their paces in a corking style by Don Djarraph. The act in one of the fastest of its kind extant. Warren and O'Brien have a hoke routine that Is a matter ot taste. It .•^^emed to pHease, but the overplus of the same type of entertainment, with little genuine merit in "straight" stepping or performing to counteract it. ni;ule this a ques- tion on likes and dislikes. Modena's Fantastic Revue switched spots with f-'antley nnd Sawyer, closing the first half. This was also a flrish act entry, with the Countess Modena. European vlolin- Inte. featured. Bishop and Lynn, a dnnre t^'iim. are individual hiph- ll.^hls. with tho penor.Tl situ^ing en- sembles st:irdlng out most favor- ably. D.Tvls and Pelle. enullil»ristic stnndnrds. clo.«5ed the sliow. r.uplncss consldernhjy off. the at- terrnts at dres««lng the house beinff of little avail as a camouflage. AhcL general rather than tte chosen few. Miss Gentle has been quick to It-arn the ways of vaudeville. Her pro- gram' included "CotUge Small by a Waterfall," "Song of Songs," and Morning," the latter three taking the major portion of the applause. Frederick Perrson, ac2)mpanlst, also registered with a solo. Miss Oontle haa one of the most in^rntiating personalities of any o,>eratic star that has yet come to vaudeville. Her poise is as natural as her work. Miss Gentle's reception was tremen- dous. Also the volleys of appiausc following her numbers. Margaret Severn and Co.. in the Bcnda Mask ballet. The Vain Prin- cess," close'd the first half and pro- vided the class no^^eUy wallop of the bill. The De Kos Brother* opened the second half flanked by the Hipp en- semble in a "toy soldier numl>er" and contributed likeable of gymnas- tics, making way for Sam Bernard and Louis Mann in the abbreviated version of "Friendly. Enemies," which clicked beyond expectation at this mammoth house. The act is more for the intimatea rather than Hipps, but the latter needed the names and that's the anawer. Herman Tlmberg and brother Sammy kept everybody in delight- fully good humor for the next 15 minutes. Herman was in fine met- tle at this session and never lost an opportunity to plant his comicalities. The trio version of the former turn, which held a band. Is Just as enter- taining. The Rosemdnt Troubadours (New Acts), Spanish dancing flash writ- ten and produced by Walter Rose- mont, closed and satisfied the cus- tomers with a diversified program of vocalizing and dancing, with the latter standing out due to clever- ness of t)o Carlos and Granada, mixed team, whose tango and Apache Espngnol were decided standouts of the turn. Edba. HIPPODROME (8T. VAUDE.) The advent of the circus has dis- turbed the Hippodrome. With a foel^.le gesture the current week's Hip bill has attempted to incorporate several circusey features, but it's a cinch the Ringling boys won't de- clare the Hip "opposition." Good-sl7.f 1 house Monday nlglit. with I^oulp U: nn and Sam Bernard, and Alice Gentle, operatic soprano, accredited. Ploetz Brothers and Sister, aug- mented by the Hip girls, opened with "The Clown Revue," the first es- sence of circus atmosphere projected and which had the lirothers doing thf'ir rei^ulatlon ncrobntlcs. balanc- ing a foolery spaced by some nifty •lance by the sister, also nprinl leaps STATE (Vaude-Pets.) The headliner, Gurian and Mar- guerite, corking dancing act from tho big time. Teamwork, smooth- ness and dispatch in routines, sep- arately from the combined dances of Gurian and Marguerite. While Gurian and Marguerite sustained their position, although closing -the show in their finished terpsichore, it remained for a col- ored quartet, the Dixie Four, to stop the show. Barring a ballad which slowed the Negro boys up like sorghum mola.sses stops an Inquisitive fly, the four were in one sense , one of the entertainlngest that haa hit the State in many moons. The Dallas Trio (New Acts) opened with a' comedy acrobatic turn that plea.sed. Birdie Kraomer followed with her musical imita- tions. The hou.se at first seemed too much for her, but once she hit the violin and steel guitar imita- tions her rr»turns were certain. Ann Lemeau and El.sle Young ex- rh.injTcd g:i,'^s, sang, and Miss Le- meau clowned and danced to ap- plause. Their biggest was segls- tered at the finish when the Rua- .sian dancing was burlesqued, with Miss Lcmeau swung to and fro by a wire attached to her back. Not in a long, long time has any- thing funnier for a vaudeville man- woman combo handling the little sketchy atufT been dished up than Renard nnd West's telephonic num- bers of the different dames Renard has in hla little red book. From different sections he announces the names, making wise cracks that caught that State crowd amidships. Mark. floor with no alibi. Perhaps tho guests of the Breslin Hotel had taken note of the candy butcher without a make-up standing behind his candy stand. Going to be great back in the woods when the Breslin guests go home to have the neigh- bors hear: "What do you suppose we saw in Proctor's 5th Avenue vaudeville theatre?" and the reply: "Oh, probably one of those good shows." with the answer: "No, a candy .stand. Isn't It too bad they had to give up vauiU'vllle?" Well, blumc that on picuirea. tool No one had sung the 'PrL^DMi^r s J^ong" up to 9:'<0 '>rchosl played the refrain once through. Probably not sung out of r^^gnrd for the house staff. No one walked in after 8:30. No one walked out after 8:30. No one was dead, either. Pardon! The candy .seller folded up at 8:35. Left the candy stand behind. Probably new on this cir- cuit. Features were the Tom Brown Band and the Ann Codoe turn, both llnishing up the bill, with "The Kar Cry" the picture ending the per- formance. Up above were a couple of new acts, first and second. The Royal Guard opening and Kugene Wilson, baritone. No. 2 (New Acts); then a couple of revivals it seemed, Nick Hufford. again doing a single, and Hartley and Patterson in their skit, "One Night." Mr. Hufford is going in for mon- ologistic nut stufT, of parodies and tmvestied rhapsodies with some talk and wheezes. Parodies sound so new nowadays and his medley is so good that Mr. Hufford should make that the strong bit throughout the turn. His fiower and auto name mixtures also laughs. He's Just missing now for the best but should make it. Of appearance in tux and with a pleasant though strong sing- ing voice it's just material for the high spots whatever are left of them, for you can't distinguish vaudeville any more. Probably hereafter it will have to be "all right for the better time" or "may make the candy Joints." That "One Night" skit of Hart ley and Patterson's looks and sounds very much like a playlet (of that day) of years ago. It haa a front drop of a window cut out, with a woman burglar about to dtep through as a souse enters, sees her leg and aa he wants to take a grab, it disappears. In a parlor set next with the woman, masked, holding a revolver, wanting $100 for children's shoes, with cross-fire, song, and more cross-fire, to the finish. Per- haps the old timers will better re- cull. Anyw.ay not bad in this day for the mediums, with the chatter rather smart, the business good and it all depending upon the talents of the performers in it. Story calls for juvenile and ingenue who can sing and dance. Suggestion for new billing: "Proctors 5th Ave.—The Candy House of Vaudeville." 8imm. on tlie floor. From a sitting position he told three Jokes, pretty goi>d at that, but aa they didn't go so well, he would lay down out of respect to their death, then sLirt all over agaui. Hit of the show, .Mahoney did 25 minutes. "Toy Town Revue" closed, thia enlisting all the gliis of tlie unit show. Tho setting was of ,i t<iy vil- lage, arid In some guise, e.ich girl was given a .sp.v ialty. The p: ..iluc- tit»n was heavy, the costumi s plen- tiful and nice h>ok!ng. while the dance routines wtie all well han- dled. The obvious dlgt^ing for spe- i laities was a little tlresume, but at llial it was a great flash for a tiniHh and tho audience liked it. I'tature was "lied Dice," a De MlHe ptuiiu^'fd ♦Hin. whiih thia au» dlrm e liked. .•<liow ran lonj?, bolnj over shortly alier ll. N.-s/i. 5TH AVE. (Vaude.—Pict.) "Candy! Fresh Candyl your can<ly'" Here's SILVER STRING SERENADER8 04) Instrumental, Dancing 12 Mins.; One (Spec.) American, Chicago (Vaude. Pet.) Three men and a woman, Ha- waiian. The male portion's profi- ciency on string instruments be- speaks years of practice, fingers of Bteel and the itatience of Job. They Oinke the strings bum. They are attired in nondescript fashion. Hip-boots of black leather with a vest-Jacket of the same over pure white trousers and blouses. A ■Pecial drape in one with a backing fcr the opening in the center pro- vides the background. They lack showmanship and per- sonality to go with their ability to m!»k« the Instrumenta sing. The K'rl at the wind-up docs a listless Hula-Hula In which she never ac- tually geta started. Opened the ahow at the Ameri- can and can serve In a similar ca- pacity In most of the spilt week hotisea. Looks like the panic la on In the Proctor houses. Whether you split the week or the .salary, the finish may be coming - . . ^ , , ,.,^„ round wh^'n they must hcII candy landing on liands that sent the turn ^j^^ lobby of Proctor's 5th Avenue, over for more than the usu-il returns samo V. V. Proctor who let tho Keith office in for 25 percent of his of a regulation acrolvitlc trio Scanlon, Denno Brothers and Pranlon followed and clicked heavy with harmony sincing and dancing, foregoing present-day cra'/.e for yes- teryear stepping, a relief from In- evitable Charleston Ing. which has held vaudeville in its grip for some time. Fink's Mules held the trey and lent to additional circus build up through utilizing a circus art-na Hcenlcally. Three mules are put through paces of high .school horse's nnd hol(i up their end as adnqiiately as the supposedly more lnt',-lli;-,":'nt animals. Tho only rub H th .t .sev- hou.ses long ago, to now finally reach the candy in the lobby stage at the 5th Avenue. Oh, boy! Candy .stand right next to the box omco to the right. ' On the theory maybe that tho girl will stand over there, too, whllf her fellow is buying the tickets. How can he pass a c andy stand with a candy girl with out buying candy7 Just another racket to take 'cm. It's a coricesHion; you can tell that by the candy seller. If Proc- tors' were running the candy stand tho man would have a nice bright uniform with K-A or A-K on the eral canines following steal the ...how | hat; he would t_o_^wear a^whlsk and should argue for equal billing at ifast. A comedy kicking mule Is Inducted at the tag end of the act with the usual prop entrants at- tempting to ride it, whl'h i.aually make*; for laughs In smaller houses hut which moant little hore. N^nigh- ton and Gold, danring -..tnof'rin? came next nnd woke up the fr st laughtf^r of the evening ^^^^"'^^^ their eccentric dancing and ff>llowup patter (New Acts). , AUrft Contle operatic soprano. [ Proctor .s. . ^ . ^.a- t^A rrVl Orn ish or t^is s.' lion "Hie 5th Avenue needed the candy ^Hh ^myheJsTn rfw!^ sMr- fed as rtnnd privilege Monday night. It ^, appeaT^o"aude;i.le'^au.iences in ' didn't hold capacity oo the ground broom in his outer and upper coat pofkot nnd say "yes. sir, that's my haby" ^or my boss) whenever Bill Cjiiaid showed. Maybe belter though than a candy butcher going down the aisle. It's mtirh neater otrt In the lobby, wh<»re everyone pasfislng by can see they nre selling candy In the lobby. Mi^lJt Induce thorn to think it's a museum and perhaps th^y would rather see a museum nowadays than BROADWAY (Vaude—Picts) ^ Good vaudeville, corking picture and great business Monday night With the exception of a 'twu-reel sporting film, purporting to show the great moments of the recent great athletic events, everything waa of good standard. This reel, called "Great Moments From Great Sporting Events," waa aa spotted aa a polka-dot tie. Opening the vaudeville show were Cluymo, the clay modeller, working for a starter with the chorus girls of the California (Orpheum) unit, which has played the Orpheum, and is now working around the cast. Two other acts. The Arcadians and the "Toy Town Revue," also belong to the unit, all other acta having been booked separately. Cluymo'H work was liked by the audience, liis separate images being easily recog- nizable and popular. l<'ollowing were Rule and O'Brien, two-man smging turn. They opened weakly, but lin- ishcd strong, doing best with the Irl.sh numbers. J{ud Snyder and Co. (Now Acts) were In the trey and proved a hit, rating next to Will Mahoney, next to shut, in popularity. Fourth were Ken Murray and Charlotte (.\ew Arts) in "one" and clicking with a good part of tluir material. Dl(^k i:rke and "The Arcadi.'in.s," a J;jzz nd from the unit show, followed. • •'.iUg a rotitlne with H«'veral of the j,'wl8 working In for good effects This Is a seven-i)i«ce aggrngatl.>n, all brass, with tho exception of drum nnd piano, but their arrange monts are done well and tho strings are hardly missed. The big pimeh of their a( t was a tap dance done at the' finale by seven chorines, nil shoving the shors do\^n with HUf;h nice regularity and swiftness that tlie audience gave them a find send- off. No. 6 was Wtl' Mahoney, looking luncly after so many people. But he delivered wow after wow wltli his comedy songs, daM< inr: and gagi. livery fall in hla dmees was n howl AMERICAN ROOF (Vaude—Pitts) Monday night attendance upstair* was big—not far from capacity, and downstairs strong, too. The picture for tho first half was Gloria Swan- son in "The Untamed Uady," a factor In the draw. But the vaudeville bill w;ui quite above the average for this stage. lOlght acts were given, instead of the customary seven, and the show it- self could bring ihom in. Three ler'tlmate hit- were counted, with tho others all running bettor scores than the Hoof usually glvea. Honors in the going went to Mc- Carthy and Deeds (New Acts), next to closing. Ahead were Van nnd Carrie Avery, who worked up a fiock of laughs via a new farce, "Pinker- ton Jones" (New Acta). With Glf- ford and Holmes (New Acts) doing very well In number five, and the Arleys closing, the second half of the show provided real entertain- ment. There Is novelty In the Arley turn because of the girl top mounter. She Is lively In the open- . ing acrobatics, but going aloft od the perches Is the punch, because there are few girls In that kind ot work. Closing Intermission waa the colorful "Cafe Madrid," a Spanish revue with class In clothes and dancing. Even without the special settings used downstairs, the act looked good. It may have been nec- essary to cut a few minutes on the roof. The feature dance number, aa Apache, waa dolled up with acting. Ihe girl's drop from a table when shot waa out for some reason. Louise Elya and John Du Val are the dancers, according to the billing. John Puerta may be the other dancer who stamps his heels in true Spanish fashion, with Jean Plconl (he prima donna. There la a good five-piece string orchestra, steeped in Spanish melody and in all the act looks good for big time or pic- ture houses or both. The Great Maurice was a scream on third. His pan and Frenchy dia- lect expressions got the giggle*. That is part of his "s*' ' idea, ♦ but Maurice is no mean card man- ipulator. The card and hat trick was one of the best In the routine, but he finished strongly, too. Law- rence and Holcombe, a girl team, did nicely on second. Hollawav and Austin opened. /Dee. GREELEY SQ. (Vaude.'Picts.) With Alex Gerber'e Tip Top Re- vue headlining, a well balanced bill la presented the first half. The Geddla Trio, two men and a woman, open in an aerial act that moved along in snappy fashion, ex- cept when one of the men attempts an old man comedy bit that means nothing. Francis, Ross and Du Ross, In the two spot, offer a hodge podge of dancing, singing and an Instru- mental number, winding up with an Irish Charleston that seemed to register. Calvin and O'Connor, colored boys, together with an unprogrnmed high yaller, were in the trey open- ing with a surprise bit for good re- turns, followed by u comedy routine that may be described as adequate for this type house. O'Connor strums the uke aceptably for sev- eral comedy numbers. Lcn Carle and Dolly Inez in a comedy skit, "The Kvening Pest," go over big, tho man doing a sap rotitlnc while the girl dishes out a load of wise cracks in an ;ittempt to give the all night sultr.r "air." I.ane and B.irry, on next In- a nut act called "IJ.sten. Family," u.se up a tlock of released gags frojn tho bfi? time which, nevei i helrHS, o(»n ai»i)laus« fr<»m tho ijood-sized Monday night audience. The Tip Top Kcvue oaMlly wins honors. It Is well st.jged, well cos- tumed, having a niee i h.inge of par« and a sure bet for any [»op price house. Arthur Tyson. Mlldr -d i:art, Adair Twins, Mike Raymond and Arlliur Wiley are In the cast. A ;;ood r>p«-nlng is followed by a .solo d.irup by MI.SS i'.-irt, nfter whi*;h the two hoy.M and the twins do ;i radium darM e routine before a ^In en .vit^h \ jll.ijv drop. Ts.son r»mIh i>'.|» NiT- 1 ids in a most eree.ihie mai:ner, .irnl tl.'O iwn lioVM ii:>p! «.v : <,rr)<- hot the routine heing ho wjrk'-d fiiat on j iioo/itiir. As a lini.^h. loll'.uinr an d.'iTire, Mahoney worke.J hiniself to , oLl f.ish ion' d riurfther. tlic- ru l- -Hp liMim.nt** flK.'ister. doing vueh f;isl ! <.ff tli.- hr)'.j> .skirts nnd th" .se <fef, and Intricate Hft-pn fh it It wns r. r- i ' ' . ir*'■. Mo n (Charleston, f.ijr. at '.he ont-«'^'t mu f fnll An.i; I • ^'ure film, J'aiumount's "D -iL so he spent a good part of llio turij (iold. '