Variety (Apr 1927)

We&netday, April 80, 1W7 VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS VARIETY PALACE (•t VmiM Great bill at the Palace this week. Fine on paper and playins aa good. Three namea apottiKt m Halan lienkea, from legit In a condensed version of "Seventh Heaven"; Cecil I^an and Cleo Kajflald. and Will FyfTe, Scotch knockout in his third week at this houaa. Plenty of show and ail erood antertafaiinent la the It-act bill* A capacity house also. The long bill sent the starting hour ahead 15 minutes, with the reviewer walking In aa the opener, W. B. Qroh and Piano Hounds, was ©fling to prolonged applaused. Johnny *Hyman deuced neatly with hia comedy chalk talk, and held the spot nicely. George Choos'^ dannclnff flash, "A Petite Revue," on next, set the speed tempo. Carrie and Eddy, featured, mastered with their acrobatic dancing, and merited worthy re- aponse. Webster Taylor, Rarlet Cole and Qloria Lee, in support, also sent across soma cleyer dancing on their own account. The act la a fast one, adequately set as to scenic equipment and coatumea, and should find little ditteulty in 'duplleatlng the Palace returns anywhere. Hal Jerome and Qloria Gray, in a iMkum mtisieal aet, ware Taltiabla ^ cbnedy assets. Jerome demon- I strated ability both as comic and I ntisician. alternating betwem piano ^ and violin, while Miss Gray added E7 pleasant personality and good ^eeding^ for her partner's funmak- Inp proclivities. Registered neatly. Al Shean and (Miss) Lynn Canter grabbed up the eomedy ekeia In fol- low-up. and also reglatared ana of the hits (New Acts). Miss Ifenkan, from legit, tn an e'bbrevlated version of "Seventh Heaven." scored a personal triumph oioeing the first half (New Acts). Mr. Liean and Miss Mayfleld, back from musical comedy, with practi- oally tho same Tande routine of songs as before, also registered heavily, on after intermission Lean •tin retains "He's a Fan," which he orlprlnally Introduced In "Brlgrht Eyes" some 19 years ago, but still makes it tha wallop of the act. The travesty on black bottom by both for encore sewed up an undisputed hit. Will L>fTe, Scotch, holding over for the third week, was a show- Btopper upon announcement, getting a great reception and later living up to It, despite having to chop his act because of voice handicap. The "souse" number and a few gags Were' ell he could withstand Mon- day >night. with the outfrontera muclibc^ln sjrmpathy with the oomic as hf» begged off. Despite brevity, polid hit. Carl Schichtl'a Wonderettes, novel marionette abow, cloaed anA iMid them In. Bert Hanlon was the. master of ceremonies of the week, announcing every other act and packing wise- cracks throughout. Hanlon suf- fered on tba assignment through too miTch comedy on the Mil and With his gags striking but an even in this act does to the gal is assault and battarr aat to mvtlo. But groat stuff. Healey and Cross received a re- ception upon thehr antry. It was the lone bouquet of the evening. Their songi bit, although they be- gin better than they linish. One number delivered in pulpit style is out Neither in subject nor delivery does It flgure In the scheme. "Oddities of the Jungle** (New AoU). closing, liked frooa the novel- ty angle. Johnny Hines lataal, *'A11 Aboard" (Ist N.), feature. Lower floor good. Shelves light Monday night. Clara Kimball Toung was the «%urprise" act for N. V. A. week, telling a few gaga with a Hollywood flavor. The other surprise warf the caglness of curtailing Intermission to get the mob back in their seats for the N. V. A. tap. The buKser Btunt worked better than actual col- lections. Two k>yal K-A agents standing in the rear and perusing the small coin intake on the pass around bOeanfe good shllls by toss- Inpr paper money of small denomi- nation Into the basket, but It didn't the raouired result. JSdbo. LOEWS STATE (Vaude-Pcts) Anatolo Friedland and his Club Anatole Revue are topping at the State this week, surrounded by a corking good vaudeville bill and the Harold Lloyd comedy. "Kid Brother." Friedland and bis entertainers have been on the loose ever since John Low slapped a padlock on Anatole's Joint. It is his flrst api>earance at the State, although be bas played the Palace, one block above, where the take is $2.20. 22 times, without the average per time being lOc His current act Is almost brand new, which may or may not be an apgle. Upon his last Palace ap- pearance Anatole played this act, but prior to that he played the house several times a season with the same revue. Now. with a freah one. they let him walk out. He couldn't get the augar for the 13 people. The cast Includes the Dooley Sis- ters, an adagio team; chorus of eight; Ruth Mayo, prima donx^ and a obuple of others for ^sitmos- phere.** The special set is a repro- duction of the nite club's interior. At tbo Btata^ Wlodlaad dosed the vaude of a Ave-act btU and rang up one of the evening's bull's eyes. Chas Chase, tramp comic, doubled Into the Friedland turn for some ad lib atuit at a table. Chaae got a biff laugb whan he sat doim at a table and produced bis own liquor. Just ahead the Friedland girln were used for the -annual N. V. A. tap. They passed the baskets, and were probably eight good rea- sons why the stags loosened Up. Niobe opened with her under- water routine in the glass tank. Ska got most with the slate answers to questions fired at her while sub- merged. Her singing under water was all right for those down front, but to the back paw boldera it was pantomime. Townes and Joyce, noild two-naan piano and song duo, deuced. Townes handled three solos acceptably and Joyce stuck to the box. He also sang a ballad and harmonised a thin tenor in one double. His pipes may have been outpointed by the size of the house or it may have been Townes* heavy voice drowned him. The latter's crossfire and pat- ter landed most^ for laugha. A mixture of recent and remlntoeent material. It's a wise gag that kllOWS its own old man nowadays. Grace and E Tdlo' Parks, next. In their thoroughly enjoyable routine of nonsense. Eddie is a sweat to seven minutes, leaving the cus- tomers gasping and begging for more. Beverly Bajme and Co., considered the advance propaganda and movie fan possibllitiea, were not ^ecei^'ed as warmly as would be expected. The comedy playlet by Edwin Burke is quite good. toa. Miss Bayne's voice does not seem natural* flsing to quavering heights. Medrano and Donna, with Johnnie Jolin.ston's orchestra, furnish spec- tacular bull room dances with throe members of the band singing eccen- tric comedy numbers, Dorothy Har- bor, acrobatic dancer, tied the house up before aha concluded her sulu eftort, with all arob etCaat ataading on one foot. Alice Lawlor, 'Hhat red-headed girl," did not do well, .second. Mi.ss Lawlor has no vocal abiUty. relying on delivery for auccess. The deliv- ery wns not appreciated despite her smart appearance. With the audi- ence in good humor and a couple of last minute numbsra aba Anlsbed gracefully^ K. T. Kuraa opened with routine R^agical effects. The disappoarinp act with the girl Is transparent, and the body-rising trick Is obviously worked with wires. The hoop passed around the body in the air is too curved to fool anybody. Quality of program as a whole be- low average. Fe&tura film was "▲fkaUl to liova.** HIPPODROME (Vautfa-IMa) One of Broadway's big picture el bouses has been dubbad "The Ca- I tbedral." N. V. A. week, witb its II begging plate-passing, makes it possible for the Hippodrome this week to get across some real au- thentic church atmosphere. When Healey of Healey and Cross made the annual spiel on behalf of "my unfortunate brothers and sisters of the profession" and flnlslied up by asking the audience to "give cheer- fully" it sounded like Elmer Gan- try exhorting his flock. A "big N. V. A. surprise feature" Showed up in the form of Hal Je- rome and Gloria Gray, doubling over from the Palace. To square the tap. Five Mounters, threo men and two iglrls, who do inverted pedestrlan- \ Ism on a pyramid of tables and J chairs, opened and qnilifled aa a 1 good turn for the big Hip. R Burns and Burchill were second to bat. f^ince at the Palace last fall, this two-man team has made trek to the coast for Pantages. They were In key position on Pan's nve-act bills. While a crackerjack 1*1 type, much of the stuff , got Ins t In the canyen-Uke air-peek- f . immense auditorium. inat goes also for Coogan and ^asey. man and woman talking act. troying. Bill topper was Dono and KochellP's classy dance turn. They hfive specialized in comedy danc* mg, notably the Apache, a gem of roughhous© artistry as performed by Hu m The public seems to rel- ish tiio iflpa of a tourrh dame being *>y * hard boiled gent |fh>m M9titmartr«^ Wbai with it Grace Is a personable and likable foIL The act isn't blatant and holds plonty of clasa. Neither strains for effect, yet they roll up an impressive total of laughs. En- tertaining^ turn anywhere. Chase, anothrt- K-A recruit, made them yell with bis funny dancing, match eating, ate. Chase has elabo- rated the eating stunt until iTs al- most an act by itself. He now chews up several * boxes of lighted matches and then goes to work on a violin. Producing a salt shaker, he esta the strings with a Mussolini technique that ticked off lau£?hs. Business b€»avy all over the lower floor. Com AMERICAN (Vaude-Pots) First half layout took on tho com- plexion of an old home week. Harry Holman and Co., wHh "Hard Boiled liampton," billed next to th9 picture. Almost as much featured wiia Glaorge Schreck. who admitted he had played the same house 14 years ago. Third in line as to fatness and blackness of type was Charles P. Semon. Besides this trio the bill bad Mason Morris and Co., who go 'way back with their cabinet dolls, and the Parisian Trto turn > no newcomer. Highly satl|^actory show for the purpose, rich in robust eomedy rather than strong on the scenic splendors that surround the newer generation of vaudevillo players. Practically a straight comedy bill and an unadulterated specialty show. Monday night the austomers were hanging on the rafters and a bit boisterous in a mild way, but they were In the beat of good humor and the entertainment made them more so. Frank Evers has a tightly knitted wire turn, taking only eight minutes but all of it worth while. He is a dancing balancer, doing hock-steps, tap dances and tango on the strand. Sightly blonde girl in tights makes the announcement by placard, giv- ing the turn a touch of flash. Maxon Morris and Co. are man and woman, singing a series of comic songs, using a cabinet with their heads attached to dolla after the manner of Happy Funny Fields. Turn old-fashioned in material as it it in style, but the house liked it and the man and woman worked tremendously hard. The laugh when hoofM^' and* a, llkaMa'nut eomadla^y the pair showed themselves at the BIST ST. (Vauda-l^ett) The new 76c policy with six acts and a fair picture instead of eii^rht acts has changed the entire geo- graphical appearance of tho ground floor of the 81st Street The long, empty trenches which formerly started after the mth row have given way aaveral yards to cash cus- tomers. The unusual numbers Monday night were due only partly to the change of policy and mostly to the end of religions festivities, giving the house a break with the others on the street. N. V. A- activities at this theatre cannot be credited with bringing any additional patronage. Elliott Dexter, heavily advertised guest of the evening, was dh^^missed with a prop wire about a "previous engage- ment" at the last momaat, or aome- thing to that effect. As a master of ceremonies Mel Klee makes a good blackfaco come- dian with the old Al Herman rou- tine. Mel had nothing prepared to s a y In b e tween actiH and was th a t is perf ect f o r azxy kind of audi ence. The sketch, '"Hard I'.fiilod Harmon," is In tho fn;e and «'asy mode of vaudeville when It was an Institution. It hns a backing of hu- man Interest story, legitimnte laughs and the Introduction of MIss Man- son's song, aU lagitiniata and all enjoyable. Parlslfin Trio are man and woman in efpiilil>ristic feats on an Invert^'d "V" ladder, with a sprightly slip of a girl in iMirobatlo danotf^ all da* able to cop anything out of his reg ular act without endangering the effect. Spotted next to closing he put across the usual rapii firo mntr;- monial monolog, the prop laugh and tba gagging on the otheV acts on the bill. In addition Mel has a few stories that haven't been heard around—too often. Fortunelle and ClrlUIno, Italian clowns, have cut out tlie unnecess.iry brought dowm tboir tima finish, and the woman was revealed aa In the super-drednaught class, got them away. The N. V. A. ballyhoo broke into the bill for 15 minutes at this point Including 'a screen hurrah for the Saranac sanitarium and a collection It was up to Dora Early and Co. to begin the entertainment all over again. The situation called for harolo measures, and Miss Early rather overdid It, gagging and mug- ging a turn that was already plenty loud and labored. The gags are not very subtle and the burlesque Scotch get up of the won^m ia pretty forte anyway. Rchreck has surrounded himself with a company of five, but with the line of stuff they do it doesn't repay the cost of the company. It's all a matter of framing. This indefinite routine needs knitting, even though it has played considerable time. Schreck Is a first rate pantomimic comedian, capable of delivering 15 minutes of solid worth as a single. The six-people turn doesn't do any more^ although It has a ebarming woman singer, a neat little acrobatic girl dancer and two singing and dancing juveniles who can both step and Ring. The people aro all good, Schreck himself an able dancing clown, but somehow the combined efforts don't register. Charle.<) Semon hasn't changed his act in any essentiaL He doesn't have to. Here he remains in "one" and has the quacking duck tune yet, but what has become of the self- starting hat? At least one old-time vaudeville fan felt cheated when Semon failed to observe that he has "fallen away to the flgure 11.** Holman went to a curtain speech, an extra song by his partner, Kdith ManSbn, and then a number all to himself. Holman has a homely .stylo of humor and an easy comedy knack partmonts being Interesting. The feature is the balancing of a heavy- looking upholstered couch on hia chin while he climbs the ladder, pausing tu do trick stands and bal- ances on the high rungs. George Gregory, head of the family, ha*? complained that this material has been coi»Icd and has been used by the Novelty L.irkins and still is used by the woman of that turn under the name of Delia O'Dell. This is the feature of the turn, altiiough it has good musical features, the man playing harmonics on the gui- tar and singing and the girl singing while the older woman does some strtkinf iMavy balancing, iliw^ (Vauds-Pcts) A» l atttfpoint brought out hara Monday Btffbt Is that a candy hawkor is theoretically, if not tech- nically, Justitled in batting samples., of chocolate almonds out of your mouth if you refuse to purcbase alter having sampled. At tliat a hawker, whose life must be a constant repetition of lead quarters, should tind surcease of pain in swatting those customers rej>resentative of the mob who at- teu»pt to mislead him under cover of darkness. And tho City crowd, lovable sort that they are, are quick to return and quick to forget a sock in the jaw. Wlucli makes It about even or woraa^ Eight acts on the bill found lit- tle support on the picture side, but managed to take care of the admis- sion price among themselves. This despite the dragging influence of several blank minutes after the fifth spot, during which fairly good-look ings girls passed around small baskets tor N. V. A. contributions. Charles Ahearn's troupe, the hobo comedy band, were spotted last and Ipokad irtiroBgsat on the bilt Abeam and two midgets carry the burden of honor, well aided by trick props, wlUto » girt wl^ mon^ butld iaitrti m s. a. daaoa JMw liiSbiy appraefiktad here. Tba root of tba ptmch comedy was packed In the two preceding acts, JLydell and Mason, and Dave Jonea and Bmlty Lea. The former, two Union soldiers, dialoging a mixture of patriotism and sex, com HMAts typical of the stiff-knee clan, had several weak moments at the start, but were high at the finish. The comlo ia a minor master of pantomlma basldea being adept at a slow and catchy delivery. A girl is carried to talk now and then. Jones and Lea, sixth, rated sec ond in returns. Jones Is a Dutch comic, owner of a restaurant and goea after the gfarl la dialect The act should fare as well here as in Milwaukee and polnta similar. Oropa iml ■paoiil Miiatff tiai ried. Joseph E. Howarld's revue, 80me< what familiar to the City oustomors. Is a mixture of dance talent and Howard's monolog. Howard opens with several Irteb gaga, taking op several minutes, and then brings on his company of five dancers, while he is at the piano. The Support con- sists of a fast hoofing duo, two girls of specialty classification, and a girl wiio earriaa heraelf gracefully enough In a waits. Mostly the act Is Howard's personality and the mate taam'a talent, and it clicks as good entertainment. Donnelly and VeOk mixed sonc, dance aM eomedy team (New Acts), got a satisfying reception with a suitable turn. Fare and .Clear (New Acts) are young fel- lows with nice, although not power- ful, harmony. They used published numbers with one variation. Rich and Banta, third, were among the Association showing bouses la.«»t, and got about the same results here. Rich Is a top hat gent who goes to a churrh where he thinks his uncle Is to be buried in- stead of marHed. and ewiii' W$ copping the bride. It's an unusual and entertaining turn, but doesn't get along as It might. Opening were Kate and Wiley, pedestal balancers and posers. Took mildly, but. nevertheless, effeettvely. Picture. •'Flying HIrrb" a.umns). ftt.Ht and shallow, dealing with ad- venture and love In airplanes. Sat- isfactory In Its own niarkat. Fo» News nlso on. Business irood around auppor tlmsk practfeally capacity by 8. FACE TO FACE OYEZ! OYEZ! (Continued from page 1) a honeymoon with bis briO^ the former Miss B. W. T>alrd of lion- don. According to the officer, the picture actress Induced the camera- man to arrange for her a position in the plctura In close proximity to the Prince, so as to give tho ap- pearance of "belonging" to His Royal Highness' entourage. Upon observing tba print and finding the womnn's f.ice a li*tif too near that of the T'rlnce, it w.i- ordered to touch that particular spot out. Later investigations brought about tho di* inivtv r-f th'^ $7,000 bribe, with th" n<»t nnlil:'!-. intent of putting over a binait pub- licity Stunt* (Continued from page 1) is the bone of legal contention hi t#o aulta In both actions, this moderate-salaried prima is all<'K«^i to be "uniiiue and extraordinary " and "the foremost Spanish soprana in America." More interesting than the details is a decision by Supreme Court , Justice Jolin Ford, who denies tha restraining writs sued foi» and bus written the following opitilun wliich has not only theatrical lawyers, but all jurists interested in the odd statement: 'Concealed behind the Imposing title of Supreme Court, before which these two motions come, U a mere man. He knows from a ions and varied experience the un- bounded possibilities of trouble which lie in wait^ for him who in- terferes with femlttlna alfaira. Thia lady In this case is an artist, a queen of song, whose dulcet voice each pair of plaintiffs covet for tha!r own partieulSlr tbsatsa» TMr claim that the lady signed a con- • tract with each pair of these un- feeling ma lea to sing on the same nights exclusively in their. respeS* tive theatres. What If she did? "She had a contract with two of the plaintiffs to sing for tbcin. Then . she made a contract with the othera to sing in their theatres and leave*' her other contractees bereft of her vocal enchantments. Then she changed bar mind and rSssalnaA with the flrst pair of contratteea. Now here come both pairs of tliese ungracious fellows and seek from this court (me) an order forblddlnir her to do as she wills and to lay the foundation for punishing bfT sh ould she disobey the order. , *'Wbat to do te iiiSIl ft flssat Nothing, of course. I am going to let some other judge have the set- tling of this controversy when the caae oomao tS trial. Until then there are two contracts and the liidy singing under one of them. She cannot, of course, sing under both. Hayba aba urlll chaaga bS» mind and lend her gracious pres* ence to other tlieatre. Who knowsT Having thus disposed of these pea- Uferotts SBoUooa fdr iBlmietleiif seeking to compel a lady to sing iit ^ different theatres at tho same time, I leave the controversy to be set- tled at tho trial. * "In the maantlme I shall anx- iously and fearfully hope that I may not t>e the Judge who presides at that trial. MotlMs dontod.** In one suit Josca Mirando and Juan Audlnot of the Apollo ask that Margarita Cueto be nuide to live up to ft 1« wask# «MHhat «atbig from March 27'at ISO a week. Ta Indicate the songstress* standing Is mentioned that a aeries of post- dated notea wars Issued ta ba ool* lected as they matured, thus insur* Ing Senorita Cueto'a salary. It Is alleged she has been 89 weeks be- fore at the Apollo and is a huge local favorite, but that sha tbrsftt* ens to porfona #1 tk# 49011^ « block away. In another action. Felipe J. Vero- coeschca and Matlas Rlpolt, tks Spani.sh impr<».snrios of the ApollOk claim they hold a prior contract witb the Spanish Harlem favorite, and the latter saama to sMa wlUi theni by remaining In tho'^pollfti Lane and Freeman. Dolly Malone and 3 Vagabonds^ Ann Vivian and Mack I^tjghlln. Rlmano and Oola in eight-people danca act Frederick Baatlsir aiii liiarloft, !• act. Harry Lyons, last with Lew Fields In *'Money Bustness.** In Itwk Aaron Hoffman wketch, 'The Honeymoon. " Anna Hill and Charles. Mylott In the cast. Julia Hudak. foralirii danssT, wMSb ballet and Gypsy orchestra- Arthur Hartley has shelved "The Reckoning" for a new aketch. Three in support. Shaw and Hellman, 2-act* I'cggy Dedrau Trio, wire. Joe Green (Green and Avery) and Ruth Marion, 2-act. Scotty Friedoll, with the stock at tho Yorkville, New York, to enter vaudeville under direction of Alex Gerbcr. The omic will bf featured in a flve-peoplo act, with Cecil Mc- Cann. Ix'W Denny and Mae Alex- ander \x\ H\\\\\Hn t. Jockey i'iancisco and Original Indian a i i Dillian Walker in a sketch. liilly M^x^ y and Musicil .^'pHler. Dorothy l;ae In ll-re«)i)le levue. Includes Two Sammys, ICay Uiock's Kntortalners and othara. 8ol M. Wurtxel :»nd Lew Seller f ame to N*»w York frcm tha coast via Panama CanaL