Variety (Jun 1927)

VARIETY FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VITAPHONE (WARNER'S, N. Y.) ^ New York, June 51. Prfcodiiig "OKI San Franc jsc-o*' (Warners) conio 'in minutes ol vitiiphone siriit between the Six Brown Bit ih^ra, Howard lirolhers, Blostiom iSeeley (each Uoint; lU minutea) and Heniamino Gigli. Met tenor, who sings his picco In fiuht niinutes. Tney run in that order. It's not aa good a program as ec»mc Ol ihe previous Vila Bt.h«Hl- ulcs princi^uilly hccauhc comedy is laeklng-. Tuo. I)urh intended lau^h clips foHou' <'.irh otlitr opsning the entertainment. /Pom Brown, under his customary cork, hea(!s his five 8a\i>pli«>nista who mingle with an ei|;h( piece Inatmmental outlit. Thia throws Ifr lii^urcs on ilio Kcrten, including the leader, wiio run tiirougli tlieir (a- Ittllliur rotttilie of numb^^i's including the^BrewilS' quick nmsiml stops as they follow their maestro's gestures. Severely out so that but 10 min- i:tp« is ^5^ ( d, it nialc''-^ a ^■i^v ono opener if alJuwins liiat li^eie ia no •p#^o punch preseM. ^ In thi.s lour act" layout it stands to reusiuu tluU aoui^ dyiuunite iUould have been tbiichipd off. No. S and till'' n:inic flash of W'lllio and fiugene liowa^-d indicated that it might happeii. But Wittio uncov> ered a lot of his past for gaKs and the rcsulid wore nil. Tiie song at tlM flalsii^alled to pull them out for» nioro iIkhi I ght ai>plaii>e and it all took place in a street scene. The ener^tie Miss Seeley. accom- panied by the Ivi.sso crooning Benny Fields, plus two pianists in the basltgroupd. followed; had a great fipot and started off with a rush. Three songs by the duo with their final nuinlier an unhappy choice as regards huilding to a smash climax. It let th' in down under the quota they would have obtained luid tlie se<|iu nc^ brvn switched. No din'erc4)ce in the manner of Work or lippeafanee of the teUm tlian wh-M in vaudoville, added to which the manner tiiis couple adopt tOi *%en" a ttomg being equally as valliablc on the screen for Vita as off. Botii opening songa brought solid applause, the second 9t which algnift^d itself as tho one that should have cloned, a variegated conception of an old Bertte Mvtie ttMi Heme composition. iiigli clo^d. singing selections from "La Giuconda" in a well con- ceived .set and to healthy applause. The tenor's vocalizing registered well mt^riianically and the repro- dnction here was superior to some of Vilas loimer operatic efforts. On t«xhnical recording, amplify- ing and pJiotogrdphy this Vita pro- gram rates with the best that this screen-talking device iMui .turned out. AN'hatt'Vcr wcakn'^ss crops up is to be found in the subjects pre- .s€iit« d and the choige of material, the showmanship phase. The How- arils am undoiil)tedly the weak spot whih» tlie others can stand as cur- rently presented although a change In the Sceioy-Flelda selections would lend .adde«l value. Free* dins? Vitaphone at Tuesday night's premier performance was shown a 1 < <1 on the New York He- brew Orphan Asylum to whioh In- stitution Warners are dohatlns the flrst pe. f. rin.'nce reeeipts of all their Broadway "run" pictures. Bid. jMirtant prtseutation engagements Aunt J< mima in hor trade-mark get-up and her jolly way of dellver- In? numbers, made a brisk interlude with her "blaek bottom" song for a first rate lively ttnish. Her semi- spirituals lead up to a first-rate total score. Weber and Fields, appearing be- fore the saloon set which is their official environment by tradition, gave the old MIHe and Meyer rou- tine to close the bin: to genuine is their mellow humor that It bulls- eyed on the screen as it did in the old musle hall. All these players were present In the audience, and were introduced from their boxes. The exception was Lew Fields, who is in Europe. Joe Weber acknowl- edged In his behalf. In addition to the specialty Items enumerated. Heller has written and the Vitaphone has recorded a full musical score for the picture, running 75 minutes. In the dim house the music flowed on in tlie mood of the action, with trap ef- fects, such as roaring motors, trot like the old Dilllnshain USppodrame display days. Some 23 minutes of divertisse- ments wound up with 'i<:ili, Eili" as a prolog to the main film. Sung by a mixed chorus silliuuettd against a deep blue sky, surmounted by stars, the effect got applause with that occurring and doubling at the final strains, and as a soft glow spot picked out the principal aonfstress, Gladys Hlce. Previously Gambarelli did a moth and flame dance to become singed with the stage blacking out to leave ju.st the flame. Neat. "Flapperettes** allowed the 16 Gamby girls to cavort a bit in a corking set and they stayed together until right at the finish when two of the girls gummed the rhythm. Neither this group nor the ballet corps have yet attained smoothness- Douglas Stanbury and Harold Van Dusee sang **Watehmaii. What of the Night," against a night sky. this tlrst silhouette broken by a single lamp, while "Wedgewood'* allowed about seven of the ballet corps to ting horses or dancing feet. One |gracefully wander through a Grecian entirely lost any sense that it was j formula tha^ had o^^^ mechanical reproduction. And ex- ojidtlirlT well done, too. R*^*^' VITAPHONE (COLONY) (NffW yORK) N0W York, June 27. The new Vita slght-and-sound bill presented as an introduction to the Warner Bros.' new picture, "Tlie First Auto" at the Colony, la excellent. It is done in consistent ctiinedy style, has good variety and is brief and crisp in running. None of the turns takes over 10 minutes. All mf4 of standard^ recognized fea- tures with name-and-s hould toavc drawing power. Chief is a Weber and Fields bit in the ohl characters of a veteran pixiv even to the "Meyer I Lof You," initeh th^ aindlenee tonight look to Its heart. Quality and synchronization are flawless and the material is attrac- tively li:l.t. For it.s popular uses this ararugement is the best yet. iltudfd methods have beeii greatly improved. The settings are sim- ple and adetiuate. Both elements of good screening and fine tonal repro- duction havo been handled much more successfully than the earlier tries; whole display runs smoothly and entertainingly. The oi>cning has the Vitaplione Bymphoiiy Orchestra, led by Her- man Heller In a capital rendering of 'The Kvolulion of Dixie." a com- position which Icml.s itself admir- ably i> to this, having a eertain graphic qu.allty that appeals to pop- ular taHte.s. Heller's arrange nimt ♦Ha T.nWA ygrK F^^f'^ i t a jazz finish with fine brass effects, which peps it up tremendously. Billy Jones and Ernest Hare. •*Thc Ilapnirioss Boys," go through their familiar routine of talk and songs. * They did extremely well at the •penlng. and will do likewise right - along:. There l.s a popular kick In their hokc stuff for some reason. Home of their talk Is pretty naive Sn'l jii\< r il'V I'nf iMe\- ]]] o if. ns has hken dcnionstrateU in a score of im- PARAMOUNT .(NEW YORK) New York. June 25. New progi*am willx I'aul White- man again holding over is also pos- sessed of an entertaining com<dy feature picture in "Wedding Bills" Willi Ha\niond Grillitli, Another item of note is Uiat Mrs. Jesse Crawford alone presides at the organ, in a lyrical composi- tion Mrs. Crawford-slide announces as her own, it is stated that Jesse, himself, is away on a vacation, having left his wife and child be- hind. Paramount is a pretty high class picture house to have con- siderable personal stuff thrown upon the sheet to a musical accom- paniment, but the audience ap- peared to think well of the scheme, especially after Mrs. Crawford had jQat finished "Hallelujah." The more "Hallelujahs" Mrs. Crawford can procure for her organ work the mora iha sk^itld play, and nothing else. An Oxford short, "The Trosseau" (Short Filflii>^ probably delighted the women as a tinted dress pa- rade, or it may have been made in colors. Mot an haA «Mi eye strain '^ither on the men. A "Martha" overture by the house organ hiid iTOoaMits In solos by William Royalo and Virginia Johnson; also a duet by another couple, tha diMt heiflug aiing against the brass section of the orchestra along with the drums. In the rear of the kooae the singers were doing pantomime. If the conductor real- ized what the volume must be do- ing to the voices he paid no heed by subduing it. Orchestral bit went to pretty lighted finale. Newsreel held more general stuff than reel news. But this may have been the reaction from the tine Lindbergh stuft all the weeklies turned out. A caption of "Jazz a la Carte was given to the Whiteman 30-min uto session. In this "Ash policy" entertainment tiie I'aramount con- tinUea With White man, are a couple of new entries, Helen Yorke. and Chamberiin and Hinie.s (New Acts). iHiile Ruth Ktting is held over for another week. Chamberiin and Himes stopped the show. In a little acknowledgment the girl stated that It was their first New York ap- pearance. It's a mixed team, doing the rough stuff and well. A bit of talk they had was heard clearly in the rear. Miss Yorke, the ma.scot of thaiFvhlis Cirovit; tang pleas- antly. liiss 'Totting had two new niitu- bers, her first a peach of a rag. ;ni<l her score easily told why she has been held over for three Weeks at the I'a ra mount. "Paul and His Pals" (billing) played a new program of light antl airy melodies. I'aul holding down the announcements ahnost to :i minimum, and with th«^ « titire or- chestra in straight uniform. For the Chamberiin and HinuH turn. Henry Russe directed, after a bit of business with Paul, that had a com- edy tinge: other comedy came with Miss fitting's flnnl song in w hi» h she marked three of the muslci.ins in the front row for good results, and it brought her two bends. At 12:no Saturd.'iy afternoon the orchestra of the Par.imount was ca- pacity. It's a 40c top up until one o'clock. At the Strand that same aft«r- noon with the doors and box ofTlce still closed, quite a little line had rathered with several leaving, t>' r- hnps for the Paramount. TIm Strand opens at 1 p. m.; Paramoimt at 11:30. f4m#. solid looking but painted sets back ing. Previously the newsreel gave hon- ors to Kinograms with four clips. Pathe. Fox and International were each Uirice represented. A good reel well scored and allowed 14 min- utes week in and week out is giving this bouse the rep of fUishiug the best news stuff on the Street. "An Italian Fantasy" was before the cur- rent events which permitted much color and many persons but was void of an outstanding personal item that would have given it full enter- tainment value. In other words, no outstanding specialties during this 16 minutes. The ballet corps and Gamby girls danced, various sing- ers sang, the set was big. sightly and enhanced by costuming—but no one personality to give it added momentum. Lacking that human touch of "color" it was mechanically pretty. "Caprlccio Itallen" was the over- ture which won an applause broad- side and the musicians stayed in the pit for the following 55 minutes, giv- ing them a working period of seven minutes over an hour on this show. They introduced the feature and then let the organ pick It iip. No "shorts." Movietone, Vitaphoaa or JasamaptaiMi. Plenty to watch with enough entertainment running through the program to offset tadlowmess. The mass appeal of the stage show was ratlver an introduction to the screen leader (*Tsraer), which is a big mob pietiira^ and a good ono of its kind. Bid, ROXY METROPOLITAN (L08 ANGELES) Los Angeles, June 23. Rube Wolf is back. That means a great deal to Jjob Angelea and Hollywood picture house patrons. Rube, billed as the "homeliest musical scream,** has been rather a popular young fellow around California. The old story, "Tha maid, the chauffeur, the shop girl and the society girl like that guy," applies here. Rube was at Loew's State for a long period and then went away, came back and went away again. The more they saw of Rube the bet- ter they liked him, with the result that when he stepped on the ros- trum at the Metropolitan today it was a full three minutes before lie could lead his band of 20 for the opening overture. They had him there with the Fan- chon and Marco "Idea"—"Masks." This was the first F. and M. show at this house, which previously had the Jack Parting brand of stage shows. Folks here sort of knew what was In store for them, as at the opening matinee every seat on the lower floor was lilled. the stand- ing booths were occupied .and the immense balcony was better than two-thirds fllled. With Wolf fea- tured, on the bill were Ma<l< ai) Nel! Kelly, comedienne, a great foil for the "Czar of Rhythm." and Oscar Taylor, balladl.st, who has one of those iong-reiuemheied voices il. it always has to oblige with a couide of encor<'8. Homo 3J peoide In the jires* rota- tion, with F. anl M. getting the • ■hance to show ofi tht .i ci.i. k .Sun • kist chorus of 16 damr-s, wlio know how to keep going on th«ir tocM. both coiWctiveiy and individually. S'^veral of the glris Miepprd out <if the chorus with m, cf i.iItie.M tint nr<' hound ono of tlp Mc d.iys t*> 1m ing them Into the ranks of the F. and M. featured entert.'Unc-rn. .SelfIng for this preH«>n(.itlon h.id plenty of lmi>re' juul .lutlful (NEW YORK) New Yoik, Juno 26. Two hours and fifteen minutes of show again with Sunday's Jifth full performance st.ining at 9.53, wliich allowed the screen fcattire. "Moon of Israel" (F. n. O ), to comTiK tiee unwiniling at lO.fiO. Hou.o^e llnally ended the grind after midnight. I^ts of .«-how and n«» use to .'itl«Mnpt counting the peopiu taking; part. It's scrim effects, diamond danc ing stair- case and a living scrim rtlrlain Wllh GAPITOL (CHICAQO) Chicago. Juno 21. After a theatrical year replete with building and opening new the- atres, Capitol, pre-boom product, retains its post as prettiest house and the most enjoyable one in which to see a show in Chieago. To hold its position on top of the beauty heap the Capitol traded socke with offsprings oC tiM moat extensive theatre building oaai||WLlgn ever suffered upon this wlnd^'city. That it emerged yictoria«is atteata to lU individuality. If ever John £Iberson felt original it was cer- tainly While drawing plans for the Capitol theatre. With the distinction of comeliness, the place packs a punch in enter- tainment, stjige and screen. That, with location included in the com- bination, is what naakea the Capitol the outstanding neighborhood the- atre, comparatively, in this city. Where the TlvoU outdlstanoea the Capitol in weekly grosu the latter counters with a "nut" twtt about half the size of the Tlvoli's. Con- sidering operating expenses, etc., and comparison with that of the Tivoll and other large local stands, the Capitol's weekly net profit is es- timated to exceed the same of any other neighborhood proposition hereabouts. And with its losirered "nut" the Capitol somehow manages to main- tain a high stage standard. To Charles Hogan must go the credit for procuring a maximum of quality and quantity in talent from a mini- mum supply. This In face of tie- ups and more tie-ups. all opposing. To Illustrate, the Stuart Sisters, R^ph Bart, lahikawa Japs, Covan and Walker and Del Delbridge's permanent house band compose this week's stage show. If the outside acts represent $1,500 they cost a lot of money. Notwithstanding, the show was really a very good one. "Shadowland" is further reviewed under Presentations. Eddie Cantor's second film try, "Special Delivery.** was the feature, on second run here immediately after a week In the Loop. Its down- town stay being at the Oriental, the picture was submerged under a surrounding show and thereby missed the usual allotment of ex- ploitation. Early in the week the Cantor name had not been passed around the south side neighbor- hood, hence a lack of enthusiasm, but Indications were that it would catch on the last three or four days of Its Capital Btay. Vitaphone program completed the show. Three numbers were by War_ ing*s Pennsylvanlans, Radio Kids and Harold Bauer. Offered and ac- cepted as an added attraction, the canner reels serve both to draw and to eliminate other fillers, stage and screen that would otherwise be necessary. The recent adoption of Vita, changed weekly, uncovered a size- able amount of the south side's un- til then dormant trade. With this and other points in its favor, the Capitol held a goodly audience on a very hot evening. Leop. STATE (MINNEAPOLIS) Minneapolis, June 24. The sure-tire, never failing kid- dles' revue, seml-anuual proposition at this theatre, again last week turned tho trick of arousing the local moviogoing populace to great enthusiasm and causing such a rush of customers that extra perform- ances became necessary and the house had one of the biggest weeks in its history. Even the matinees were turnaways. It was Just a repetition of what has happened before with these kid- dies' revues. "Talent" spells the secret of their success here. Noth- ing particularly impressive about the staging, mode of presentation or costuming. They do not boast any great oi iginality OT Cleverness, but the talent is there and that, ap- parently, is what count* with Uie puhlie. You .surely must hand It to tho .State prrxluctlon department for having tlie happy faculty of being able to dig up this talent annually. This revue, which will tour the l'\ and R. circuit and pi-obably play a one return Btate engagement, Is called "Toyl.and Mlnsfrel.s." In this Instance, the exceptional juvenile talent has beon recruited from Win- nip'g. Dulnfh iind Milwaukee, as well as from tho Twin Cities, the u.«»unl sourro. There are a number of new faces. I'resentatlfui fidlowed the conven- tional lines of T»reeeding kiddles' re- vue.M. Tho s. tiln-T Is a wiork shop in Toyland with hugi- toys painted on the <lrf»|»H. When lha eurtain rlH. s th*- 19 youngsters are sitting In Imm.U iimLm that str.teli a«M-<iss stage inUl-way to (ho footlights. verse, steps down to the footlights and does his or her stuff. The verses and their roeUatlons don't mean 1 thing, but serve their purpose i providing brief interludes. For tho opening chorus the kid- dies are on thahr feet Then Kim Cole orders them to be seated, and one by one and in pairs, etc.. thev do their singing or dancing special- ties. Practically every act wIm thunderous applause and an encoreu but there are some bright particuii stars. Helen McDevitt, who has icored in several other kiddie re- vues, again shows herself a "blues'* singer who seems destined to land in the Rae Samuels class. The way she puts across "I'm Gonna Meet Ify Sweetie" would do mdit toa veteran vaudeville star. liorraine and Johnny Wahl. broth- er and sister, sing the ''Whisper Song" in a way that stamps them as brilliant comedy songsters. The girl is the personification of cute- ness, and both she and the boy know how to mug. Latter also an adept at hokum. Elsie Richardson, as Mistress Mary, does some neat eccentric shuffling and sings a com- edy number, "Go Wash an £:!«- phant,** in a manner that gets every ounce of value possible out of it. Another corking comedy songster Is ?:isle Richardson, Little Miss Mufffett, who scores with "I Wish My Father Was a Janitor Man * Kelly, the master of ceremonies, one of the familiar faces. lands high with his "blues" numbers. A half-pint size pickaninny. "Lo Roy Sisson, who has appeared at clubs about town, and was grabhed for the revue when he applied for a place in the Minneapolis-made movie, is one of the dance stars. His appearance alone provokes a roar of laughter. There are several fair ballad sing«rs. splendid toie dancer in Muriel Gardner; Amelia Rogers^ acrobatic dancing star; Freeman Twins, young girls who sing and dance equally well, and several doy and tap dancers. The routine con- sists mostly of the individual spe- cialties, but there also aiia a fnr ensemble numbers. Because of the revue's length—It ran about St minutes when caught —the usual State program neces- sarily is curtailed. The Revelers furnish the Vita contribution- nothing to get excited over UMi about the weakest unit on the pro- gram. The usual overture and organ number were dlspanaed nHth, the show being completed by the news reel and the feature photoplay. Reginald DeaBy*« **flttil and Furlou.s," well liked. At this particular show-^-the <me starting at gitS p. m.-^tlio Mddleg had to work with the organ, ana considering that disadvantage their wyrk was aRlliaiii^rii ff«!^^ seven posing marriin.i'-. It inadn an everlasting iuipicMslon. Opening was MetropoHt.m news, then a corking gf»ofl \'.i v Turr»lr» comedy. "Ali< e in Movb land," nure Are for laughs. Kddle <:ant(>r'M ".^•peclal Dellvt ry" (Par) f;r r. « n fen turo, and with M(ar well known nnd liked here, nudlenctt sort f»r con • doii-vi the weak moMK'ntH <.r Hm' screen opua. Uny, »in l i li i inH I s t i r ii m nul l a WuHu 'r CooMc eh ii.if l. i. ri,,,] fj,,. |<|,i,i|,» „e- iiip'tit rrprem-ntH that chararter Htepn painted to look like huge blo'kH le.id down from tho books to Ihc foolllghtH. Vernon Kelly, little fellow with rTHH h :i«HMr..ner. apfienrlng us King <'ol". nrlM nn n|.'l^der of ceremonies H«» tnlroducfM e.ieh kiddle with an h |.|.io|rr l ife veire. and tho khidle, all< r reMpoiidlng wiUi another brief STRAND (NEW YORK) New York, June 26. But one item of real entertalninj? value on the Stnind s progrjim this week. That's Waring's Pennsyl- vanlans. orchestra, and they are some entertainers. Their 26 min- utes of music, song and comedy make a show In itself for a picture hou.se stage. Their first performance this after- noon displayed showknanship all tho way through, in the routining, in the complement of numbers, in their placement, and sspeelallly In the way the musicians were staged, for they are staged in this the only 50-50 singing-instrumental band on the stage. It's remarkable, too, that of this gix)up of 17 boys, all compe- tent musicians, that such a good singing ensemble could have been developed. Fred Waring is the di- rector and Tom VVariing the sotoist On the Strand's program is a no- tation that It is three year.s since the Warings were last there. That's the Strand's misft)rtune. The way the Warings did this afternoon and the number of young people evi- dently in there just to see them, the Warings should pl.-^" about four re- peats at the Strand yearlv. Or any other theatre. It's not difficult to understand how the Stanley. Phila- delphia, has cultivated these boys into its prize box-olllce card through frequently repeating them. When the Warings played the Stanley but two or three weeks ago the house did $30,000, a summer record for It. Tlie stage presentation was "Kreisleriana." with Frederick Fradkin as stage violinist. It had vocalists and ballet premiores. com- posing a slow-moving Interlude, al- though Joe Plunkett may have con- cliuled the contra.-^t was neress.iry for the Pennsylvanians' lively mo- ment. A new weekly ran the samo as the P;uamounfs had on the day before, other th.in the Strand had I'ox shots of the IJerlin fliers. Cham- beriin and T.,evine. They passed al- JU'lijt <iui. (ly. with a much noisie r acclaim for Lindbergh in Washing- ton (second time), also there. ".Inst .a Lov.^ Nest," Pathe. billed, did not show, but an organ solo fol- lowed the feature picture. "Broad- way Xiuhts'- (i.-^t Natl), one of those almost feature lilms. PlunktMt made n wise booking In brhiKiiv-: in the Warings against VVhit«nnan. Next week the Ishani Jones new orchestra Is to be at the Strand. Simc.