Variety (Jun 1927)

VARXBTT mw ACTS ras week ROUIIT WARWICK slid CO. (t) *0n« of th« Fintst" (Dranui) 18 Mins ; Full SUflt P«lac« (St. V). Robert Wlurwick from tho Hgit ehoaen well this time for his ▼audevillc Jaunt. His sketch was first seen at a LAmbs' Gambol, ac- cording to report. The story concerns one "Lefty" Williams (William Shelley), mod- om bandit and killer. The curtain rises on WiUiams hiding out after •roaking a copper. His moll (Anna Lubow) brings In the morning pa- pers telling of the crime. Williams Is packing \ip for a geti^w«ty and ito jane pleads with him to take her with him. He eneers at her, admitting ho's a broadside with the frails. Ordering her out of the f«om aftor throatonihg to bump her off if she squeals, he opens the door to confront Tommy Glennon (Mr. Warwick), a central office bulL : OtonnoB It a pal of tho dead cop- per. He gets rid of the girl, and, proceeding upon the theory that the *'Killer" is a rat underneath, tells ktaH IM im't going to arrest him. but is going to get him wltli the 4ead copper's grun. WiUiams wilts, cringes and ykads, flaallT betting for a window. Olennon fires two shots and Wil- liams crumples to the floor as a harness bull (James Clarroll) ar- WtHm, it 4«T«lops that tho ahots were blank tertridges and that Wiliiamg was g9 craven he had fainted. • Oli n i i en pfctures the reports of tho affair when It becomes known that the Sheik Landlt was a false alarm and refuses to allow him to •K doll up before being led NniiMri^ t(r ilMi unlfbhned man. Supporting cast Is far from 100 yer eeat Shelley at the l>andit latike eoivrlction and evidently has one method of projecting vil- lainy. His best moments were dur- ing the declaration of Glennon's In- tentions. Anna -^(Bbew^ as **Min,** the bandit's girl, was nothing like tt. Warwick is splendid as the avenging detective, and Carroll an (Mreellent eepi- The authors, Elaine Sterne Car- rington and John Wray, have hit the bullseye with the underworld ttntf Meeir Jargon. It breathes an- Ihentlclty. On© speech of Warwick's to the 'girl. In which he promises to "warm your fluittsr In n patrol wagon ride,** was the last word In realistic ver- bal nomenclature. Despite the 50- SO cast, "One of the Finest" is great inuiMille. Coil THORNTON mi MIHIlM Musical Skit 12 Mins.; Two (Speoial) State (V*P) Substantial Taude entertainers retaining their collegiate appear- ance and evidently surrounding themselves with a new Mt. This one has a cottage drop before which Gil Squires pursues his part- ner into marriage. Twlxt and be- tween come a couple of songs and as many dances. Nice. Squires is not the patent leather type and they evidently like him for it. He especially got over at this house on his eccentric soft shoe routine, done to a phonograph off stage. Quiet, away from the usual and held enough attention so that If the proverbial pin had dropped it would have made a racket. This may be an old aet rerlTOd. Either way, it should carry the team along. The conversation does not pall and Squires' dancing over- eomeS what slow spots tiisre may be. Not a punch or a smash applause act but capably executed iWithou4> fuss or the aid of the dmmmer. •ANTLEY arWI MMMON Dialog and Songs 9 Mins.; One (Special) Sist St. (V-P) Frederle Santley hit the two-a- days In 1017 with a lavish act pro- duced by his brother, Joe. Since then, and until recently, he has Stuck te «inalssl net» with plenty people supporting him. His present vehicle Is a venture Into comedy and song with a blonde named Marleii Simpson as his only bolstering. The humor, written by himself, concerns a young realtor Who falls in love with the girl he Is supposed to #vlel from an old home^stead. There are some laughs In the talk, and there are som» Blisses. Santley's forte, as in the past. U ybeal talent, pleasing botn Individually and in harmony wltb Kllas Simpson. The pirl has ap- pea.rance and foils well. The songs re publlslied. ' — - -— JUVA MARCONI (4) Dancing M 12 Min8.;Vulf 8ln«S 8l8t St. (V-P) Billed as "The Royal llilian Dancer," Juya Maroonl Is a stun- ning looking girl of the Latin type. She supplies the looks, while four American dancing girls do tho work. The leader oonllnes herself to wear- ing spectacular costumes and doing those "Interpretative dances,** really only posturings. These she man- ages With SBtrsme graeeb the per- formance taking on seeming Im- portance from the jdcTg fs9*Ui In contortion. She does three ef these nniibers. none of them figuring as dances ex- cept for the bends and a straight high kick. She doesn't need to be a dancer; her strUdng dark bsanty will carry her along anywhere^ as set off by her flashy dressing. Four ponies do the stepping as this country regards dancing, and do it with much attractive abandon. They open with bits of legmania, all four close in line and working In vnlson In the Tiller manner. They go into a black bottom num- ber briefly garbed, following Miss Marconi's solo number, each of the girls working alone In t«m. For the finish they do a gypsy number, with the p**7^«^|^ y^tjmi^g^ ii^e curtain. Staging of the tvm Is simple. consisting chiefly of a flat back drop In black, sprinkled with bril- liants used to good purpose in re- flected light offsets. ^ " Not unusual, but better than passable for the respectable houses. •'GYPSY CAMP" (7) .Songs and Dances m Mins.| Full (Special) Audubon (V-P) A!iothor liussian dant Inp act. This one on speed and talent slacks urp IMoely; has a colorful stage setting Siid shows class. ;Four men and three women. The fornior show to better advantage, although one woman impresses fa- vorably with a seml-classtcal dis- play that featuro<1 toe work. A good act of its kind and class- ifies nicely for the picture houses. Mark. SWARTZ and CLIFFORII Comedy Talk and 16 Mins.; One City (V-P) On Sept. S. lilt. Variety had this to say about Swartz and Clifford: "Here Is a man and woman com- bination that will undoubtedly hit the big time before many days are over. The woman is handsome and shapely, while the man plays a Jewish character, delivering rapid Are Jokes that can't help kit tt^o mark at any house.** It's still a pood act- Maybe a couple of the quips were eotned In the series of Itlt, but. In general Mr. Swartz is still deliver- ing gags that can't help hi* the mark at any house. • Both parties have the stamp of competence ripened by experience. At the start they do it a little stronger than necessary on the slapstick, but It all tends to click. They gave body and comedy to the middle of an eisht-ast bllU^ MABEL WITHU ea (t> Musical 18 Mins.} Ons m4 Fall (•peclsl) f*h Ave. (V-P) This one Is made to order for Mabel Withee giving her another Cinderella role not too dissimilar to **Sally, Irene and Mary,- which she previously did in vaudeville. The act is class and with a few more weeks should attain the polish it now lacks. Aside from that it's perfect for vaude and more than perfect for Miss Withee. "Mary Ann** Is credited to a trl- umvirate oomprlslng Vivian Cosby, for story; Gsrras Wood, lyrics, and HaPold Levey, music. The story has continuity and much bright chatter for the star. Harotd Levey, best remembered as composer for several musicals for Henry W. Sav- age, has provided a tuneful score In the three numbers spacing the action of plot Tlie story is that of Mary Ann (Miss Withee). keepers of a news- stand with stage aspirations much to the chagrin of Jimmy (Starke Patterson), youthful copper in love with Mary. Wwom the newsstand in "one" action shifts to the apartment of Paul Durand, manager, who grants Mary a hearing and tries to make gay with her. When he Insists she must quit Jimmy and the rest of the alley neighbors she rebels and flings back her cexeer at him. Baok to^"oner* shows It was all a dream. Miss Withee looks charming, was in pleasant singing voice and danced graeefuny. *'Way Uptown** and "Pretty Clothes** were her standout vocals, both handled as duets. The first was with Patterson and the latter with the unbilled member. Patterson was corking as the danc- ing cop lover planting an especially good acrobatic solo. Oet aewig^ neaUy No. 4 on this six-act bin Monday night. Plenty of action, class and entertainment for an^ bUL Edba, BKEHtE and flimVSrNS— - Acrobatic 10 Mins.; Full SUso 81st St. (V-P) Two fine looking young men In a first rate athletic display, made impressive through its production features and the ahowmanly parade with whloh It Is earried through. Tho boys probably hays been mem- bers of one of the Arab troups. Most of their tumbling is of that UMi. «• this ibey add novel feats iMi as the mixing ''Arabs." flip flops and forward twisters all in tho one routine, as well as diflll- enn wiilk la band to hand catches. The act is extremely well dressed, both as to the stage arrangement and the boys' costun^es. A special drop In i sne P * shows a mounted knight as in a tourney. The full stage is then revealed, drops glvinp the appearance of a tilting fleld, Willi painted knights on liorsebaek. The men go promptly into hand- to-hand feats, working fast and steadily. One of the featured bits is a full forward twister done In a routine of forward half twisters. Another has the pair In a series of fast hand to hand balances mixed with somersavlts. with a steady hand to hand pose at the flnlsh. Capital number of Its kind. Good opener anywhere. Ru*h, PALACE (tt Vaude) Plenty of room all over the Pal- ace Monday and the answer was the I2.7B slug put on the hotel trade all over tho lower floor. They couldn't cart $2.76 worth of vaude- ville into the Palace and the cus- tomers know It Even with a big lobby display and ballyhoo about Lindbergh, which could haTO been ansrthing from a personal appear- ance to exclusive pictures of his ar- rival, which it-was not, tho mob stayed away, and rightly. When straight vaudeville was ex- clusive the mob knew it and paid cheerfully, but they know now that even the Palace can't show them anything haven't seen for a half a buck. Moran and Mack doing two acts, one in each half, were the sole comedy entries on a bill which also housed a dancing couple In each half. The fact that both acts are topnotchers doesn't make for va- riety on a seven-act layout The blackface pair back from •Canities" first did the 'Hock Pile" erossflre. Garbed as prison- ers they vocally dueled about the tenacity of the rocks and other topics of the Jug. They black out on Mack listening for an offstage shot after he has stolen the screw's key and slipped it to his partner. The latter unshackles his dogs and makes a getaway. As the shot is heard Mack locks up his own leg Irons remarking. "That's all I wanted to know." They were spotted fourth and mopped. Panl Remoo and Midgets opened. It's a likable turn and they liked the midgets. The boxing bout didn't hurt the bout in Moran and Mack's seoond contribution. Jack Hanley misssd and Juggled his way EDDIE WHITE Songs and Talk 15 Mins.; One American (V-P) This Jnyenlle appearing single was last seen without the blacking on his face and with a pianist ac- companying him. The eork. Inci- dentally, has nothing to do with the act but may be used as a eom- edy thought. White sings published numbers and humorous ditties. One of them, a Yiddish nasality about "Far Rockaway," is being used with identical delivery by Jimmy Hussey. A couple of stories are need to fill gaps between soiigs and are put over with effect The boy stopped the show here. He can get along easily In most places.. THRKK BROWNS Dances S Mins.! One Audubon (V^P) A trio of colored boys whoss main forte Is dancing. They open with a song that Instantaneously proves ^o Negroes are dancers. There is single, double and trto Mopping, mostly softshoe. The boys come back for their getaway In rhinostone sashes or belts, that Just about put the audience's eyes out VERA POST V? : Male Impereonatef ' 10 Mins.; One 8l8t St. (V-P) This girl gets along fairly well without any attempt at deceptive impersonation. Nor doea She re- move hor hat to let her hair tumMo. She effects "tails." Opening with n special song about everyone want- ing more than they get and carry- InK It to a sizeable hand, she falls into a relapse with some anecdot- Ing. Crawls halfway back with another special song, reaches her opening status w!th a pleasing soft- Jlhoe dance, and then hits tho tobog- gan again for more talk and a con- ception of a drunk. The losing comes when she's on the decline, and her bows are therefore limited. Miss Post looks debonnaire in the aristocratic togs, while her soft- shoe work Is tfinple but eflTectlve. An unpolished tocal dellysry Is the big handicap. As is. an early ao4 ter intennedi- houseSi MAURICE AND PARKER Comedy Hand B a l an oer s 7 Mine.; One City (V.P) . Since the bookers started giving comedy acrobats "spots'^ on bills there have been several com- binations of this general type, two men In **one.'* goofy make-ups and frozen pans as they go throucrh a hoke routine of stepping and falling all over one another. And always the boys return for an encore doing one or two legitimate triclcs to prove they're really acrobats. Maurice and Parker are average- ly good at this sort of dumb com- edy, and they get an equal return in laughs and applause. They were flflh on an eight-act bilL FOSTER'S ''VANITIES" GIRLS Dancing 20 Mins.; One and Full (Special) Proctor's 86th St. (V-P) Twenty well-formed girls of the chorus and kn acrobatic dancer should make a splash on a vaude- ville propram, but It seems as If the price paid for this act did not al- low for proper sets aLnd a couple of good dancers. As a result the act was coldly received Monday. The girls perform ^ell but lack of flash costumes prevents the num- bers from getting over. The acro- batic girl dancer Is fairly aooept- able. The act needs a couple of sure- fire dimazers. That It was the number hit of Carroll's last "Vanities" show didn't seem to mean a thing in TorkvUle. to favor. Hanley's act is routined for laughs. The trick pitcher whicli he empties from time to tlmo builds ' into a wow. also his careful placinr of the hats and pans and then the drop kicking of them off.stnge. Roye and Mays^ holding.' over duplicated their triumph of Uui week. The act shrieks class from every angle. The doubles and solos are perfectly executed and the pro- duction is lavish. A tenor soloist didn't help, or hurt, but a piano solo helped. They were forced to encore in "one** with a kicking routine. A claque of four girls In the la.st row burst into applaine irt Just the proper moment and continued it after the pair had bowed and the lights were lowered. The artlflcial respiration wasn't needed for the act scored strongly. After Moran and Mack came Edith Clifitord assisted by a girl pianist The former sang a song cycle credited to Roy Ingraham and Bryan Foy. Opening with "They Get by When They're Beautiful," fair lyric, she followed with 'Tat a Lady." an alleged wise cracking lyric that missed fire both on mate- rial and delivery. "A Million to One You're In Ix)ve" picked it up a bit and "Learning to Love ' lifted some more. "Nay, Nay, Nelghboi'* put her back In the money and "Such a Nice Boy," a nance idea, rounded out an act that started slow and finished fast. Miss Clif- ford has been around in vaudeville for some time and rumor hath It that she went for one of those long term things during the current shortage. Measured by present straight vaude standards she qual- Ifles for those remaining straight vaudeville houses where they aren't near as disoemlnff as they used to be. Robert Warwick and Co. (New Acts) closed the first half In one of the best dramatic sketches vaudeville has seen in many a day. Adela Verne, the concert pianist who has been playing a special lim- ited engagement for K-A for the past six months, delighted the music lovers with two classical renditions. Regardless of the ap- plause, and it was loud and sus- tained she refused to eome badt except to bow. Oood showmapr ship. Harriet Hoctor and William Hol« brook followed In their thoroughly enjoyable dancing act The turn runs mo^ to solos than doubles and each scored strongly. Miss Hoctor has given the copyists something else to shoot at by add- ing a back kick to her walk on the toes while bending backwards at an impossible angle. Holbrook is an all around dancer. He handles acrobatics, buck, ballet and adagio work with equal skill. A new touch was a dance dedicated to Llndtyorgh and titlod "The Spirit of St. Louis." Miss Hoctor as the "Spirit" does an ethereal routine around a nar* row circular platform with the earth depicted in the center. Moran and Mack, up for the sec- ond time In the same evening, got their last sock at them next. The old crossfire with a new back- ground went as well as the first day It was heard and pulled thcni nut In "one" for their boxing bout. What a comic that tall, lazy spado is. And what a foil Moran turned out to be. They are material proof. Aussie and Csech (New Acts) closed. The girl opened with a danci^ which had no trouble cbiTging up the exits. Com ''LOVE A LA OARTE" (5) Musical Revue 20 Mins.; Full (Special) American (V-P) Raymond Loftus clowning around, supported by another man and three girls. Two of the girls dance and sing and the third Just sings. The book coneems a lady who hires an actor to make love to her so that her boy friend will be- come jealous. Loftus is the actor. He gets sizeable comedy results without the aid of makeup. Song and dance talent among the com- pany is unsensational, but pleasing. Dressing is average. Did nicely here and should dupli- cate elsewhere. Results would be better If the girls had more coach- Inc la dellTsriM liMlr llneg. BILLIE and ETHEL Revolving Ladder 5 Mins.; Full City (V-P) .^v.^-^ This act may be working under a temporary name. It Is not good billing. Man dresses as clown, In white. The woman Is outfitted neatly In white satin, and the rigging, con- sisting of a ladder balancing on a cross-bar. Is also white. Rates attention for Intermediate bookings. While not sensational. It is pleasing, a novelty, and finishes good with the ladder forming a Ferris wheel, the man on one end and the woman on the other. AUSSIE and CZECH Bull Whip and Axes 10 Mins.; Full Stage Palace (St. V). Male bull whip manipulator and girl assistant. She opens turn with dance. He runs through standard bull whip stunts, such as cutting pnpor. extinguishing match, picking handkercliief out of her breast pocket. He also shows accuracy throwing axes at a panel. One stunt Is cut- ting strings with the axes, the strings releasing flags of all nations. For a closer the girl does rope skip- ping to his whipping. Good fast act of its kind and an interesting turn for either end of • bUL Con. STATE (Vsude-Pcts) Decoration Day night and "Rook* ies" (M-G-M) gave the SStuto a boot . all it could hold for one evening* They weren't to, the doors, but solid downstairs and just a fe# scattered vacancies up. How they laughed at the screen feature. Plenty of comedy on the bill, but nothing could top the film. Not even Jack Wilson, who, surpris- ingly, walked on minus a reception. In fact, the picture made the Mon- day night mob a tough audience for laughs. Wilson had to struggle to secure glggle.«», as did Il.irnion and Sands and Thornton and S«iuires. None of the flve-act outtlt found the evening a pushover, ei^ecialiy Har- mon and Sands. Josephine Harmon Is a vauilc vet- eran with an abundance of s« If as- surance. Too much if lu r prc'^ent dialog material is taken into v^^^- spectlve. Miss Harmon delivers songs capably, both of the siMcIal and published brand, but Ims :i lot of ground to cover instcatl cf mark- ing time between her numl'« i The response was s^ bad this night that -lie coijinicnted on It from th>^ stage. Mi.ss Sands accompanies at the plandk but foils the comedienne while also chiming In ^'^''''^JiJ'; Spotted In the deuce the women did fairty r,n^ iftiir ♦itAtr nrcseut in dire need The Florenis, man and W(man. white on a pedestal of small circum- ference, o))cnod, and after seven minutes did exceedingly well. "^'^^ balancing and lifts comprise tne routine, both working smoothly .nnd above a fountain effect decorated hy live doves, that makes the turn not without novelty. Thornton ana Squires (New Acts) third. . - ^ ilson Is too familiftr ^o need fl^*