Variety (May 1926)

60 VARIETY Wednesday, May 96, 19*4 VARIETY'S LOS ANGELES OFFICE ARTHUR UNGAR in Charge Chapman Bldg., Suite 610 756 8o. Broadway; Phone 6005 Van Dyk LOS ANGELES Professionals have the free un of Variety*, Lot Angela* Offloa fer Information. Moil may bo addressed nmw Variety, Chapman Bid*. Loo Angeles. It will bo hold subject to oall or forwordod, or advertised in Va- riety's Letter List The show at the Broadway Pal ace last week was about as' nonde script a layout as ever foisted on the public. With local "Association" booking office responsible for sad- dling incoming "Death Trail" unit with its l)c;idliner, as costly and lavish a display of kindergarten production methods as has ever found its way into local theatricals. Titled Maurice L. Kusell's Revue, with program billing featuring Joe Carr, supported by Frederick De- Bruin, Lamb Sisters, Gloria Lee, and a dance chorus labeled Sixteen Sunshine Dancers. Built on the short In "one" Intro- duction of full stage musical com- edy scenes, with several alleged comedy dialogue "bits" in "one" in- termingled. Production methods murdered any chance it might have had to score through lack of ade- quate rehearsal of running order as not a single scene but what had a gtrgv jaait -preceding.. £X.—toUswlnSL. the sequence. Several dance chorus scenes found half of the girls on the stage on an exit dance number. All in all, this Kusell Revue totals a flash in point of costuming and scenic Investiture, but appears a waste of money In embellishing this small time hodge-podge lay-out of "bits" numbers and untalented prin- cipals, fimll Knoff and Brother opened, flasblns a claspy. equMib.rls- tlc offering while making a routine of single and double hand balanc- ing push-ups seem child's play, with a one-hand lift from the floor fin- ishing In a walk-off, registering nice returns from aa Incoming house. Byton and Noblet, man and wom- an, in the two spot, derailed the show's momentum completely, pass- ing quietly in a commonplace hotel corridor flirtation story in common- place manner. Mabel Ho 11 Is fol- lowed with "pop" numbers which failed to put the show back on its feet She got some appreciation for h$r purely sorg rlugH^r routine. J. F. O'Brien and Grace Josephine, next, offered guitar strumming and blues singing, and battled their way to the first real sign of slapping. Kincaid's Radloettes threw the running into "high" with radio sta- tion structure for a clever tie-up of voice and instrumental numbers. Qbening dark, voice from giant loud sflgaker in "one" announces letters QX.lftCAl station about to broadcast nateram from stage. Lights up aa snfiriece orchestra band swing into offlpmhg number as woman _ballad BTngeF'conecls • "belter than an aver- age soprano. She then takes posi- tion at microphone to extoll an "on the air" program, which follows. Nice tie-up of radio and stage, with several voices lending value. The inebriate parade finish clicked for alee applause at the curtain. Fred Lewis, next-to-shut, ad- libbed un extemporanrous opening, the ballad singing female of radio act lfoving the pay crowd giggling. His loose leaf prop, book proved a fountain of comedy lyrics leading IVADE^PTS. 1046 8. Grand Avenue I/OS ANOKLF8 flperlal Rates to Profession SERVICE, COURTESY Bates $11 up (Double or Single) . ... Xkw*^ Mold Mcrrfe**--Mwhra - RUTH H. ANTHONY, trip. CALL! CALL! For AD Artlats to Eat at MULLER'S COFFEE SHOP 724 8. Hill St., Los Angeles Between Parnate* and Hill 8t. Theatres Bob by Carl and Lillian Muller THE OLD-TIME HOOP ROLLERS 10 percent discount to the profession A HOME FOB FKRFOBMKRH THE KNICKERBOCKER APTS. 821 South Hop* St.. Los An*elea C.'loae to All Theatres Suites Completely Furnlnhrd Aceommo- ^«. (,at,n «" 1 lo 4 People, at $12.60, $14.50, $17.50 free Individual 'Phonos Dally Maid Service if J>e*lr«vd — Real ittt 'sj4 - st - •^tt^/niiTijiii C'tist - "" ~ GRAYCE H. SATTliKIl, Mgr. into a sure-fire finish, his topical lyric number getting a full half- dozen encore verses. The locally booked Hash flop headliner closed, letting the wind out of the show completely, with an exiting audience greeting the pullman car window sequence which was spotted for a finish. Walt. laugh at the comics, but It Is the silver platter stuff they talk about to the neighbors. The Orphoura. bill last week was dominated by Olsen and Johnson's* Surprise Party, an afterpiece and some clowning of hysterical pro- portions on the part of Bill Dema- rest, aided by Mexlne of another acL There were laughs galore, but not enough substantial meat to fill in. Business was even lighter than the previous week, with a two-thirds lull house Monday night. The program opened with Maxlne and Bobby. The latter is a brown and white mutt which participates in tumbling stunts with Marine w t ^ ^ Vl w the turn got a hand as a good opener. The Harrington Sisters, a kid team on the Duncan style, did their stuff In one and a half. They had nice lyrics, but sat too far back from the foots in several num- bers to make them go over as they should. The girls huve nice voices, except that they are a little too shrill and get on the nerves after a fe wrongs.~ Harry Webb and Co. In "A Cycle of Tone Pictures" proved to be a band, with man and girl singer and a lot of scenery. They opened each number with a scrim in one depict- ing the song and a back drop seen through a draped eye. The lighting effects were ineffective, with some poor production ideas carried out. In several numbers the girl came out with umbrella or witch's props all lighted, but with the electricity cord trailing behind. They pre- sented Egyptian, rain, sandstorm, Wizard of Oz, eW homestead and every other sort of theme except the crime wave. They hit close to the latter with "The Prisoner's Lovs Song." A good scarecrow dance by the drummer in the band scored. No one stood out and a scne/al lack of warm personality was felt. Trombone, cornet doubling in sax, banjo, drums, piano, two reeds and Webb playing the violin was the combination. Demarest and Collette stopped the show. With the man doing his .f wuey. ffU'«--4>a- Uvb- ©eHe tmd- *the- floor, the act got off to a good start. Then they hooked up with the opener, doing a special request son*? for a dog who walked off in Hsgust ar.d a acrcs.ni of a tumbling act with Maxine. A plant in the audience also brought laughs. It was a tough spot that Dustln Farnum found himself in, following this pair. He had an old sketch. "The Littlest Rebel," which is not a headline bet (New Acts). This closed first half. After In term is- Hlon _*L? n JL Green, with Fran k Jef- VerSoiP' accompanying, ""sang her songs. "Lets Talk About My Sweetie," "Poor Papa," "Morning Glory Lane," 'If You Can't Hold the Man You Love" and several of her fast numbers were used. The swift songs and the ballads scored best. To attempt to describe the Olsen- Joh nav; t fracas-wuuitl be lid easy"" as" compiling a catalogue of all the gags ever used on the stage. This pair enlisted every one on the bill who felt well enough to attend. Olsen begged for enough applause to bring them out of the, wings, and every one had to enjoy the thing, take it or leave it. Credit should go to Jack Hanley in the act, Maxine, Harrington Sisterd, Harry Webb and his whole company, Bill Dema- rest and Joe Kenton, who fed the linos from the front row. The rodeo lasted for 45 minutes. The best gag of the evening was pulled with :tll wricmsTrress ByOIsen,' who spoke of the afterpieco as something "up- lifting vaudeville." A phoney ven- triloquist bit by Johnson and Dema- rest scored highest. A Charleston finale ended act and show. The bill was a little better than those seen for the past month, but still lacking in the substantial high The Pantages had plenty of wide open spaces on its main floor for the getaway show last week, with the scattered regulars apparently handcuffed through most of the show, due to seemingly bad show- manship accountable for the jury returning its verdict of "thumbs down" on the lay-out. Spotting the pianist-organist, D. Henri C. Le Bel, who is to be a permanent at- traction at the Pan, in the deuce position, was what seemed to ruin any chance the show had to get under way. His introduction of himself and future policy put a damper on the proceedings which it took several succeeding acts to dispel. He opened at the organ in the pit. In- troducing himself as seeking J£rou£kifc9-niediuDa J>t . aapjajise. tq. of straight vaudeville. Fans may STRICTLY UNION MADE L Hartmann, Oshkosh & Mendel Trunks ALL MODELS—ALL SIZES ON HAND AT GREATLY RKDLCED PRICES ALSO 1,000 USED TRUNKS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION WM DO BEPAUtfNO. WRITS FOB CATALOG. SAMUEL NATHANS, Inc. Seventh Avenue, between 40»*i and 41st Streets, New York r 'tv •olb Aowrm ron rim tutovkr in tub kart Phones: Ixmgncrr 61D7-5MWM • « - » ■ amusement shoppers were partial to, announcing his succeeding pro- grams woukl comply with their wish as expressed by their applause following various numbers of his opening week's repertoire. Santiago Trio, two male equili- brists and a woman understander, held interest through a neat routine of balancing acrobatics. The woman was a most interesting switch in the usual order of dumb offerings, with her back bend bridge holding the two men for a double pyramid build-up clicked and sent the show off to a flying start. E. Enos Fra- zere and Co. followed the organist let-down, with -the opening double adagio passing quietly, as did the balance of the and company efforts. Their various single specialties seemed a padding of running time. His two closing tricks on the flying trapeze, especially the finish, a heel catch over the audience, was thrill- ing. Julia Kelety, minus the usual piano accompanist, registered with a program of French and English story songs. Opening with the sin- gle English number, a semi-classi- cal, she followed with three in French. Good showmanship was shown In giving a short synopsis in English of her foreign numbers, as it paved the way for appreciation of her French story songs. Lydell and Mason, next to closing, use a wom- an to good advantage in planting their 'X>Jd Cronie"_ story. The old sea-dog "character of Mason has de- veloped into a gem of a foil for Lydell's decrepit old rheumatic civil war vet. The story is packed with "nifties," which Lydell socks over the pan. These two character de- lineators proved a "wow." Mme. Doree's Operalogue, with the madam herself conducting her nine voices through the "Emotion- al High Lights of Grand Opera" program, was apparently a draw during Music Week. WaJU Miss Renlck, with Isadora Colodny, former English professor at Arizona University, has written a three- acter, "The Red Rose." Local 150, Moving Picture Projec- tionists, staged Its annual Jubilee. A housewarmlng and reception at their new headquarters in the Film Exchange building, where they have two pre-view rooms, was followed by a banquet and ball at the Ver- non Country Club. 700 operators and friends attended. J. B. Kenton, business manager of the union; C. C. Piper, Harold Huff, M. J. Sands and Harry Little were in charge. The outline for the "Pageant of Liberty," to be played at the Coli- seum, July 5, was completed by Frank Lloyd, screen director, and approved by the executive commit- tee in charge of. the evenL Robert Burton, Wilcox,_ an execu- tive at the 'Screen^iayersT StuJlo,* was arrested at his office in connec- tion with the campaign waged by Deputy State Labor Commissioner C. F. Lowey against motion picture "make-up" schools. He was jailed on charges of violating the city license ordinance. "Nancy," Tom Wilkes' musical comedy, opened at the Mission, Long Beach, May 16. The cast includes Nancy Welford, Eettie Gallagher, Rex Cherryman, Lou Archer, Nancy Carroll, Jane Darwell, Maude Truax, Iva Shepard, and George Guhl. A charter was granted by the state of California to the Mission Play- house Corporation, to sell 4,000 shares of stock at $100 a share to take over the construction of the Mission Playhouse, a permanent home being built to be occupied by the Mission Play, California his- torical play at San GabrieL - 0«nli uvfcr—Jsu'n'mie; "totCTiogtaplre^" for the Grecian Klnema Art Cor- poration, film company which con- templated producing old Greek dramas, obtained judgment from five members of the board of direc- tors for $267. This was the amount due her for salary at the rate of $110 a month. The decision was made in. the. nflice. *t Deputy State Labor Commissioner C. F. Lowy. Bernard Potter, who Is president of the B. and H. Circuit, controlling the Forum, was implicated in the hearing, being secretary of the fllm producing company. Testimony was given during the hearing that Pot- ter, who Is said to have sunk $4,600 of his own money in the company, was sent $2,000 by two stockholders in Tuscon, Arizona, to pay off labor claims and wages. Miss Jennings stated that her salary was not paid out of this money, and other mem- bers of the board of directors, she said, coujd not t.ftf *rfcat Potter had done with the money. The state corporation commission is investi- gating the entire business transac- tions of the film company, and if al- leged instances of mismanagement are found to be true, their license to operate will be revoked. . „ Duncan Sisters ("Topsy and Eva") ola#s jt uff fchaf nnw T>irrg~areTjgaftr^ren~art-TW*MIL*mri~J~uh~e 7. "fbn&W- ing the Kolb and Dill's Fools." "A Pair o' W. D. Clopine, editor, Interna- tional Newsrecl, is here on his first visit in many years. Madame Schumann-Helnk, who appears at the Shrine Civic Audi- torium May 29, arrived here and left Immediately for Coronado, Calif., to stay until her concert. Corrine Teraplln, dancer, has been added to Will Morrlssoy's Music Mall Revue (Orange Grove). Marlon AinsJee, Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer title writer, after an extend- ed tour of Europe, has returned to the studio. » Ruth Rrnick* after v an 'sJbVfchA^of' s ev eral -ywr. sr phrmr-ro wonr iMrcr* Max Roth, personal representative of James Grainger, general sales manager for Fox,Heft here this week after a two months' stay, during which time he supervised induction of new employes Into the local ex- change. Jack Laughlin, staging produc- tions for Fred Miller's Cathay Cir- cle and Figueroa theatres, has had another task handed him by Bard's Pasadena, which is one of the Far West chain. He is to stage prologs for this house also in the future. The Hollywood Tent Players, headed by Luther P. Fitch, moved from La Brea and Santa Monica boulevards, Hollywood, to 20th and Cherry streets, "Signal Hill, Long Beach. Theodore Bendlx, house conductor at Erlanger's Biltmore, celebrated his 60th anniversary in the pit. He began his career at the uge of 10 as second violin In the Euclid Avenue -opera. haiMa,..Qtavcta'3dY--f*» raet -A.- L. Erlanger there when the latter was a box office attendant. When Erlanger became a manager, he sent Bendlx to the Drury Lane in Lon- don, where he helped produce "Ben- Hur." During his long service with a baton Bendlx has conducted for almost all of the foremost stage artists who have been in America. Allan C. Balch is the new presi- dent of the Hollywood Bowl Asso- ciation, which operates the amphi- theatre presenting summer sym- phony concerts. Is seriously ill with Influenza at his home in LankershIra. The general strike of union car. penters against the employment of non-union men has caused a cessa- tion of construction work on a num- ber of local buildings, including the hew First National Studios at Bur- bank and the El Capltan Theatre Building In Hollywood. The theatre Itself had been opened before the rest of the building had been fin- ished. Pola Negri will begin work oa June 8 in "Hotel Imperial," being adapted from the play by Lajos Biro. Eric Pommer will supervise the making. Even preachers are beginning to use theatrical billing. Bob Shuler. sensational pulpit-thumper of the TrMtY J& „JE*~Chutrn, .hooked, a troupe of revivalists and hung ban- ners out in front of the house of worship. These said: "Bob Shuler presents Hnrry Vroom Bruch and His Evangelists, direct from Chi- cago, every nlte at 7.30." Figuring that a new type of pa- tronage for the recently opened Carthay Circle theatre, on the ex- treme western ed»s of Loe Angeles, could be attracted by improved transportation facilities, Fred Miller, at the head of the theatre corpora- tion, last week Installed a private bus line, to make direct connection afternoon and evening with the Wil- shlre avenue busses at the western terminus at Fairfax avenue. The theatre busses will carry prospect- ive patrons to and from the theatre and Fairfax avenue free. The dis- tance is about five blocks. Dave Allen, head of the Central Casting Corp., which supplies pic- ture actors to the studios, left for New York this week to take his fl^st vacation in nine years. He is visit- ing his parents there. Franklyn Underwood, general manager, and Theodore M. Riehle, treasurer, Morosco Holding Co., ar- rived here and announaed the com- ing attractions at the Morosco. "The Bride" follows "The Musio Master" Into the stock house, with "Ladies of the Evening," "The Auc- tioneer," "Easy Come, Easy (Jo," "Love 'Rm and Leave 'Eiri," "Sot Herbert.' "Applesauce," "The Dove." "Little Miss Bluebeard" and "You and I" also on the list "They Knew What They Wanted" (Marjorie Rambeau), at the Ma- jestic, will be taken to San Fran- cisco by Michael Corper, producer Ed Earl Repp, former publicist at Warner Brothers studio, handles the press work at the Majestic (stock), replaclnir Gilbert Brown, managing editor of the Record, who held the post temporarily. Ned Martin, general sales man- ager Western territory for First National, Is here going over next year's product with West Coast Theatres. Inc.. the largest pur- chasers In the state of F. N. pic- tures. * "' • «--•• A. J. Kennedy, formerly exploita- tion man for Universal at Seattle, is handling publicity for the two West Coast houses at San Pedro. Stephan Krahl, former manager of Muller's Coffee Shop, performer rendezvous, and Edward Wood, Juvenile legit actor, have opened SteyeX J n.eL^^fe.. . opposlte the Shrine Auditorium. Jackson J. Parks, former Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer publicity man. has been appointed director of publicity for Columbia Pictures, succeeding E. J. Patterson. Arthur Fournier, composer^ and Tvmdo Twitcheil, librettist, have gone to La Jolla, seashore resort, to finish up their latest operetta. "The Rainmaker," scheduled for produc- tion in New York in the fall.* HOTEL LA TOSCA "Home of thm Professional in Los Angeles" 100 ROOMS 100 BATHS $10 WEEK SINGLE, 11j0 DAILY $1Z50 WEEK D0U3LE Convenient to All Theatres Irving Cummlngs, Fox director, Querrini A Co* Tks LMSlnt astf Larsott ACCORCION FACTORY le th« Valtst Btats*. Ths only "fartorr that nakM an> art - ist ttssiM ■ muar~br han<t 277-270 C«iu»»ss Avtaut Sas FrsaH'fc »'n> Phone STUyvesant 6136 PAUL TAUSIG FOR A SON SAILINGS 8teamahip Accommodations Arranged on All Lines at Lowest Rates Foreign Exchange also Taken Cars Ot Bought and Sold Oldeet Agency in U. 8. Specializing on Theatrical Travel EURO FRAN CONNECTION 8 Pn w— Takes Cam on* Both Ways PAUL TAUSIG & SON v404 Fa*t 14fh Street, NEW YORK