Variety (Aug 1927)

VARIETY HLM HOUSE REVIEWS Wednebday, August 3, 19S7 ROXY (NEW YORK) Now York. July JO, This typewriter Is avn»l. For several months its koys li.ivf dealt exclusively with cuwboy pic- tures. When It spelled oiit thr names of Jack Hoxio, Hoot Gibson, Tom Tyler, Fred Humes and th« rest o( the boys Us tired frame rattled contentedly. It wan in itjs element. It knew tli.i boyK, it knew their pictures— e\en tlie one.q they'll be mukin}; a yi'ar from now, Nothinpr to worry alxjut. The wortis c.imo out of their own aoi urd. it Knew tliat mention mu.st be ni;iii.- ol a <tiri>' s,iiuon- keeper; it took for framed tliat a handsome yuun^ f^ent with a j^un on each hip would save a virgin flower of the west from the gin proprietor's erusp. 8<>metlm*8 In the evening, when the otlMr* were out catching shows and the eat in the advertising de- partment had come upstairs to play, it would peer through Hk dust and encourage gossip. "Who was it this time?" it would SBk. "Jack Hoxie? Does he still get his hair cut with a ^wIT Vhy don't you ever mention tMt kair- cut? "Was Ena Greirory In it? "Who j)]iiyea the saloon-keeper? What was the other splendid feature on the bill? You poor sap, it costs you a half buck to have your suit pressed every time you c ome out of a double-feature hMM^ VIV lon't yon wear a bathtat MUtt 'What time is It?" AaA now thl« m««3ttiie«' dealing with a d« luxe houM. Nothing fa- miliar to grab hold of. Not a cuw- boy In the house or on the screen. Maybe there are saloon-keepers in the theatre, hut ttwr doa't dress riKht Tou can't MI 'Mi from a clerk in Mary's. Not po b.ad. You b.iok in one of tlie ,»il»eri,"i! ch.iirs re.'^ervcii for the press on the mezzanine floor. It's cool. Down in the orrhentra pit are about 100 men. They look like ra- pacity themselves. Emo Rapee di- rects them .through an overture It's Um Seoond Hungarian Khap- ■ody, wMl IW men working on it for yM; yoB feel pretty impor- tant. Then there are "dlvwtissements." First Is "Chanticleer," featuring a ballet of girls outfitted as chickens. One hen cavorts around with two roosters, who are on tho make. Finally one of the roosters gets sore and kills tlie other. Somebody should be told al>out that murder. Roosters fight with spvra. They don't stand on each other'* hoadn. That's something else. "La Baacule," a sIlhoiMtta aSair, is worked before a red lighted drop, makinc tb* ^iii«a look black. Thar*' te* tin gtmt» and several KM* fwnlait mtimaA aad piayine Jhwftjr, but didn't bringing out the co.siumes and color effects in them, liich of the ciliht buys and girls is a capable hoofer. Feist got a break when Harry Coe, his branch manager on the coast, pluk'sjed across "Sundown," with the boys In the band giving good aid. ,loe Wont;, Chinese vocalist, came on (luioily and walked off out loudly. A plea.sanl und .-ioft quality in his lyric voi. e made the folk.s lik'' him. WonK docs an impres.sion of (..'liff Kdwards tliat is no reflection on "Ukelele Ike." For versatility he winds up with a block bottom and holds hack a couple of parodies on a familiar pop song. Recalled for a curtain speech. .'^pi < i:i M y nuMil'. i ,-; l.y members of tlie oriel wtr.- okay, lliouKh noth- ing unusual, A Kpanish number by one girl and a toe by anollier well received, with both g;Us couMtins on looks and figure. RouUnes not diffi- cult, but easily and neatly done. One of the boys had a medley of steps that Included soft shoe, wala clou and buck and wing. Another pair of boys got together for an eccentric dance in comedy make-up and scored nicely. Rose V.llyda. here for tlie second week, didn't show any aisns of let- ting up. She .sinss ballads and blues alike with Justice to both. In her favor la a "showmanly" stace pres- ence and a general knack of know- ing. This gal Is a good bet for any picture liouse. Rube had the Land ko throuph an Italian comedy number, "Saluta." and brouprht uo the finale with a military slepplnfr affair, disclosing a group of semi-nude gals on an Ragle prop in the backcround. The stage show ran about 40 minutes. Herb Kern, organist, recently brought here from the ' Uptown, spent a few minutes in an effort to convince the crowd that the singing bee idea is just the thing. The weather was probably too warm. At that Kcm appears to have the idea of how to put It over and should in time. Duster Keaton in 'T'oliege," screen attraction. The new.srcel carried eight items fi-om I'athe. including a very brief color episode about the cathedral of Milan, called "An Epic of Faith." A flash at the Dempsey- Sharkey bout brought the hand ar- UUory out tor D*nMW». "AeMp's Fables," added alMirt 'Mibiaet. UPTOWN / ,«jmiCAGO) Chicago, July SO. The essential of a good perform- ance in a picture house—variety— made la.st week's Uptown bill. The policy of rotatioK Bonnie Krueger and Tlderico Marcelli is good, Mar- cclli Is strictly legit and straight. His contributions are of the sym- phonic type. Krueger is a jazz round, red-hot stuff. This arrange- ment gives the Uptown patrons lazz one week, symphony tHo aezt. For a Monday matinee business was marvelous. With the exception of a few rows of seats at th« top of tile balcony everything w.is occu- pie.t. Show was oi>ened by tlie orches- tral feature, "Kaust," The splendid symphony oi*chestra, under the able direction of I.ouis Adrian, assistant to Marcelll, who is on his vacation, did exactly the K.ame orchestral pro- duction that Spltalny did at the Chi- cago theatre two weeks ago. Kvi- dently Spltalny's productions are held intact for the B. & K. circuit in Chlcaso (Cblcago-TlvoU-Up- town). The openings bars of "Faust" were played by tho orchestra, lights up, after which the house darkened and a Fitzpatrick short flim, depict- int: the scenes in the opera, followed. About two minutes of film were shr.wii. after whi.'h Kdlth Belkin, in a scruii >;et. sail;; llio .lewid Sont;. TIk- n<'w.T« eI next. It included an- other "I'ulilix i'erson.ilities" sliot. The trailers pr.■coding Ihc .^liow ran alKHit six minutes. This, conii>iin d with a iilui? for Nathaniel Finston till the "i'ubllz Beraonalltlea" shut), made a total of about elsht minutes for plugs. Henry B. Murtagh was to have „,„i ., , 1.. .1.1 , been the organ soloist, but owing to Kixv^c und a class air that ho is a ,he fact th.nt he sustained severe ■Raters," the third divertisse- ment, had the ballet girls back in while costume doing a dance be- fore a chorus of singers dressed as Swiss. It got tho best applause among the divertis.scnients. The big nolso. "In the Studio ■With Koxy's Hang," stirred np con- siderable applause. Good stage en- tertainment. It is under Presenta- tions. The new* reel was horded by In- tematioaal. with Fox getting one cUp, Fa«w. two and KInograms MM. TaUtttaW fh* Town" (Unl- vmal) !■ a flim comedy that ptaaaad har* and dieald do like- wlsie elsewhere. Huslness pood downstairs but light on the shelves. Wonder what the Arena did" METROPOLITAN —<».08 ANGELES) Lo* Angeles, July I'S. That Rube WoU at tit* Met mav be an odd peraonaUty, mug and all, but he 1)9 a personality. No question about that. The beauty part of Rube Is, besides beinn a master of ceremonies par-cxcollcncc, willi a drub command of Uie IvukHsIi Ian PARAMOUNT (NKW YORK) N«w Tork, Aug. J. Our Chi friend waa acalu with us "Oh, yei, th* Paramount is all right but doesn't oompare with our own U. 4k K. houses. A* for tiic ghows !" In true Windy City fashion ho was breezing airily aluuK and if nothing else Broadway loy- alty made it a bit irritating. .\ littlo over two hours later our Chi friend was felicitous. (Ireat showl Great house! In fact as good as tile native stockyard lerri- lurial piutluct. Aiid lliul's piaise from the Kous, for what could be more stubborn than a loip]diound? And a good show it is: I'lcnty of trade in Monday nii;ht. The Uorothy Gish-Antonio Mo- r« no feature, "Madame Tompadour," proves there's hope for Ilritish pro- ductions yet with America as a for- eisn market. An outstanding flicker short was the debut of the Paramount News reel under Emanuel Cohen'* editor- ship (reviewed elsewhere), and an auspicious Interlude It la, too. The "Orche*tra Ta Organ" was a novelty overture and worthy of further reviewing under Presenta- tions. The News reel and then the 8 Popular Victor Artists (Presenta- tions). Abet. LOEWS STATE (8T. LOUIS) St. Louis, July 25. In H town where tlie siilewalks bli.ster with the torrid July heat It ia guite a relief for one to walk into a temple of amusement and find a cooling system operating properly at 70. A pretty good orchestra of some 20 pieces In the pit. under the guid- ance of Don Albert*. This aggrega- tion had a* their o'Verture "iplsher- man's Luck." Accompanying wa* a scenic of the colorart type, ahowing the trials and tribulations of the deep sea fishermen. Tho idea is quite .a novelty, giving the audience the opportunity to absorb l>oth mel- ody and flicker. Glen Dale, tenor, got rid of a trio of Irish numl)ers, sure fire. News Weekly with International a 100 per cent, score on Ave shot* down. Those dreary Topic* of the Day were then flashed on, with the or- chestra providing a musical accom- paniment. Came the big fla*h anad kick of the entertatauneat.' Max Fisher, who has an aggregation of young- sters known as the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra, from the Hotel Ambas- satlor. I.os Angeles, appcare*! in a musical skit entitled "School Hoys and School Girls." it wafi one of those typical school day acts with the setting and the dozen or so musicians and a few specialty en- tertainers functioning as pupils under the tuition of Fisher doing their caper*. Fisher ha* developed Into a most capable maater of eeremonles as well a* a proliflo atralght for his comics and entertainers. He has a ftist llttlo band which knows rhythm value, as well as being able to do the symphonic and Jazz mu- sical capering. A tenor, Johnny souj) on the vest, spaghetti on the dinei's tie and watermelon in his ear. Uui all undeniably funny. This Chaplin is probably 15 years old and still a comedy rough-house. The fe.-iture Is ns fK'sh as this moi niiiK's rolls and altogether blah. Presentation is only so so. Ono spriglitiy song production number called "The I'irates,'' with produc- tion flash, brightness and capital singing, besides the always exhil- luating dancing ensemble of the Strand. The solo dance of Hllc. Klemova Is "The Swan," no novelty, and ".artistic" lighting effects that Were only dull ariil somber hurt that bit. Applause items were the ec- centric dance singled by Cy I,andry and the stepping of Ch.irlcs Hen- niiigton, onc-lt'KKcd dancer, as a peg-leg pirate. The latter feat- ured in- the production number was received with much tumult. "In a Country lame," setting for Margaret Schilling'* solo of "A Tree In the Park," from "Peggy Ann," failed to register, although It was a graceful enough Interlude. Simple setting of stone fence (obvious as painted canvas, especially when Ijandry tried to vault it and then had to go off to make another en- trance lest it collapse, with a par- ticularly artificial tree which prob- ably was meant for apple but looked more like orange from the front. However, the set had rich golden lights, which made It cheery. Out of ordinaiy topical. Intenia- tional had clips of Helen Meany, diving champion in good slow mo- tion and scenes of riot-shaken Vienna, besides filler of hlll-cllmb- ing motor cycles. Fox hnd up-to- miniite views of the "Bud" .'^tillman wedding In Canada. Pathe con- tributed novelty views of Navy "blimps" speeding over ocean toff Virginia capes) and' picking up pas- senger* from flying *peed boat*. ntuh. MOSQUE (NEWARK) For some reason the Mosque had a smaller crowd than any of the big downtown house* Saturday af- ternoon, lu friendly rival, Bran- tord, had many mora^ but the Ifoaque, due to It* location, does it* big busine** at nlgbt. The Mosque Concert Orchestra of ten pieces, under the direction of Robert Griesenbeck, opens the show with "Hungarian Lustspiel," by Keler-Iieia and heartily ap- plauded. The Mosque orchestra plays with a precision and smooth ness not always prominent in house orchestras. There is a masterly fin ish about its execution that ia re- freshinj;. For Francis Renault's act, which follows, A. Oordon Reid, supervisor of the Stanley-BUlan house*, set the stage elTectively by blocking off the side* of the exceedingly wide oiiening by the Mosque's screen-like flats, covered with pleated cloth with oval openings. In the openings were flowers and hanging from them and spreail out were large scarfs. As the ll;its ran liack a couch on each side, running at right angles to the foots, filled tho space, with more flowers suspended in back. Cushions, covers, etc., all In Murr-iv Is a wow h-is cre-.t voi, ,■ •"'.■'"l"'' sml blended patterns Murniy. is a wow n.is (,i..it xoh, ^^-jj,, variously tinted lighte playing .and personahty. knowing how-to ^vhole, made a most attrac- tive setting. The center of the stage was quite baj*. with a dark drape In back. Renault enters wearing an elabo- rate dress of red velvet lavishly adorned with sequins. He does not ch.ange this, hut varies his costume by using dilferrnt outer garments. Itenault worked very hard for 18 minutes, opening to a cold house and cooked them up. His curious singinK. wbieh sounds falM-tlo. does not take very well, but he kids the audi. n< e, do. K apparently Im- pr.,nipui inliiiiate stuff, kid* the oriiiesira, kids the management, mentioning Ueld by name several with a light. Much liked. The line, up of the band 1* 2 cornets, trom- bone, banjo, tuba, traps, violin, J pianos, 3 saxes, plus lA'aco with a ■ folirtl). The feature. "Time to Lovp.-- seems absurd .and somewhat iire- somu. but might seem funnier with a crowal present. It mak. s no great hit with those there. 'I'lie comedy "Dead Kasy," with Bobby Vernon, follow*. Whole abow lasta two hour* snd 10 minutes. Austtn. STATE (BOSTON) Boston, Aug. 2. On. of ;hoae steaming rainy even- ings last night resulted in a thin and unenthusiastie house for both shows, although it was expected that si.ssle and Hiake, together with a lu-girl dancing tub unit, would continue the record draw that Sptt- alny ha* had for the past aevea weeks. Bublo Blake did nut show yester- day, SIssle explaining the absence as being due to a death In Blake's family and asking the house to ac- cept half an entertainment from him. He use<l four numbers, one a crooning' fciouthern. ttie second a sentiniental based on his old baby shoe hit, the third a hot jazz, and the fourtli a long and serious num- ber thtmed on "My Dream of the Hit; I'ai ade." The house apparently liked bis stuff but obviously missed Kubie at the piano. The stage presentation was of- fered along Publlx lines. The name* of the principals being omitted from the program completely, and the unit staged on flaahy line* with aa orthodox routine that went over safely but with little enthusiasm. Films mainly comedy. The fea- ture, "Painting the Town," had Patsy Ruth Miller in the publicity but with Glenn Tryon actually walk- ing away with the picture in a Haines typ.' of wis^-craek role. It was a sinipi.' offering but went over. The straight cnicdy picture was a .S.'nnett "Smilirs New Home," with two .-lever- kids and plenty of laut;lis. .MihouKh Ihi- Kotrs and the extreiiu- c.unedy stuff did not reg- ister half as effi-ctively .OS the lighter tou.-hes with the youngsters. . A Topics, news and organ WM( plug rounded out the bill. AU-ln an, a allow wtthMit a wmtm. JMbMv. Diusuiun: a vt-iy l;oo.1 Willi all tli.it. .\lr. Wolf is funny. His comedy Is of the ec. entric typo with pantomime that is "killing." He can belcounted on to take ad- vantage of any situation and pull a piece of business sure fire with the customers. As an examiile. the bits he did with Hose Valyda prove.1 the well timing of his g.ags Ml.ss v.ilyiiti Is of the "heavy " type with a b iss.i profuiid.) v.dce fr.ioi whi.-h sm- switches t.i th.' ht'.;her re.^isfcr. Wolf's anties while .«-he was sin;;lng and later going Into a dan.-e with her, allowing himself i.i be thiown around, went over for a howl. On ...y t>«i,o n-„i| i-an't miss. He's got something, Fanchon and XIarc»'s presenta- tion, "Dancelogu.\" with Miss Valy- da and an octet of mixed dancers. was a ll;;ht .'iff.iij-. hut ;; 1 .^n"Ui;] for a lilidstlliinier's d.iy. TIi. lug number by the h.Lu.l "Rube" swinging the b.itoii, was tlie "Blue Danube," entailing a go.id Jas* arrangement. Sttlvalore San- taella, former orchesUa director at the TCgnenM. was nt the plnno. An old-f**Moned soft shop dance by the Xeur couples was neatly executed, injuries In an accident in the or chestra pit Arsene Slegel played in- stead. Slegel played 'Vagabond King" seleclions on u moment's no- tice, and did very well, yiegei is pnpuhir with Isith the i-lass an.l the Jazz uudlen.-es. lie li.is built up quit.' a following; ihr..u^:h his after- no..n anil evening ra.lio reeitals from the I'ptown. I'su.illy an or- ;;ani>t pos.v. ssing the large reper- toire Siecel bus can't iln much to satisfy the .i izz audh nces. but Sle- gel i-an certainly play both jazz und classical music. Ted Lewis and his Musical Clowns (presentation), next. After L<ewis hnd finished his act ha acted as niaiiter of ceremonies for the bath- Ing beauty contest that followed. Eight young ladles of symmetry displayed their curves. The role of 111 .St. r of < eremonies was a new on., p, 11- i for I.«wis, but he got away with if with , plenty. l-'i;tnie pirture, "Lost at the l-ront (far), r.m aliout an hour, making the show about two hours and 16 minute* In length. Deduct- ing the time oonsumed by the trail- ers, there was two hours of real entertainment. dole out the lyrics. Several other members of the l-'isher outfit are also w.arblcrs and presented a couple of rural singing numbers. This band was held here for three weeks, and. from the way received, look* as though eouM become per- manent member* of the house or- ganization. Fisher seem* to have built up 'luite a local following and, with the ability of putting on novelty acts besides straight hand offer- ings should he capable of staging his own weekly change prolog units in an Inexpi-nsivo a* well as en- teitaiiiing way. \\"allaee and Cappa. inab- e.-ten- tri m .\nn Shndkow. the feminine nut si.lei-, with her stuig and stepping. Show here also Included an "Our Gang" comedy and the screen fea- ture "'Women liove Diamonds" (M- G-M). For S.l-cent top folks In this town have nothing to squowk about. Vnp. MARK STRAND (NEW YORK) Xew Voik. July 31 Looking f.ir a balance f.u- th.- ^.r.-en ponifui, it wa.s a happy ih.iuglit to pick out the olil Chaplin riot, "The Itink," to compensate for indefinite comedy of the new feti- ture, "Lonesome Ijidles" (First Na- tional). The feature is done In th.' new mode. Its comedy is ultra high hat an.l ultra In it* *h.adlngs. _Tli. re isn't a hearty laugh In the mile of r<,«t:iKK In the Chaplin two - r.-eier >-ou may blush afti-r you lain;h. but you laugh lir-t. The conlriLst of the haurluy satire in "Lonesorm- l-adies'- and the rowdy fun of "The Kink " doesn't speak so eloquently of tlie progress of studio method. Tlie new (Um is sumptuous in Its reflnement of technical production, but It* material* are thin and watery, while the Chaplin picture Is robust and vigorous, albeit verging on the vulgar in such detail* a* CHICAGO (CHICAGO) Chicago, July 30. The Chicago theatre, with the sixth annual fur show tor the stage and a news reel and feature picture, "The Prince of Headwaiter*" (l*t N.) for the screen, ran a bill that went a little over two hour* of en- Joyably spent time. The house used H. l.eopolil Spitalny's orchestra. Spltalny himself is popular with the patrons of this house. The yearly fur show is looked for- ward to by many women, and since coon coats are popular fur men, they too are Interested In what tho well dressed young man will Wear nex t season. Hero is where the real COjn* merci.nl value of such a show He* to B. *: K. Hundreds of people came to the Chicago last week who had never se.-n the inside of the plac^ To SCO the furs. .\nother commercial %-alue comes f um the saving of money on presen- tation production. The show of List week, while having the appearance of an expensive layout, doesn't cost nearly as much as the sui>er pres- entations wljlch have been the regu- lar weekly attractions at thi* bouse. Business was great. . , . , ., . tim.'s; kids the Stagehands, shakes . an.i t ip dancers were the two .^-nj, ,he musical director and lie outsider.s In the lineup an.l n.^^^es him take a bow, and kids himself too. All this is most un- usual at the Mosque. If Renault could make that small house enthu- siastic over him, he must be a wow When the Mosque is jammed at night. He shows binisi-lf a real trouper, f.ir many an a.t would have laiil down a bit with su.-h a house. An unusually long n.-ws r." l run- ning IS minutes und (lipped from all f..ur has much of interest. William Wae.i's orihestra takes thi' next IS minutes. With the sjime Sid.- setting left now in seml-dark- nes.s, the Viaiik appears before a sil- houette of palmettos In the moon- light. The orchestra plays well (U Is on Its second week here) with the brass a little prominent, hut much of Its time Is used up bv spe- cialties. -Wu.-.i plays a sa\ mostly. H.' .Iocs irood tap (laneini;. sines Willi the oi-.-h.-sira an.l ke. ps tlunt-s "moving, line pianist sinjrs to rood r.siills an.l lat.-r d.-es three num- b.-rs as a nu'inb.'r .if Day and Al- hin. With their extremely sub- ilu.'d v.il. ini; they need no hilling to show (hat they are artists of the air. But when they let out their voices to fill the Mosque they go across In flne style. The band con- cludes with a noveliy c.nlled "The Jersey Ppecial. ' i„ whi.h they (lo train stuff facing sideways and KwinglnK up und down. It ends in silhouette with Waco as brakeman STATE I MINNEAPOLIS) .M inn. ap.-li.S .luly 3". Nothing elaU.rali! about this show, y<t. withal it shaiied up as thoroughly pleasing entertainment, with "Hough House Kosie," feature, outstanding unit and box offloe draw. The usual orchestra number wa* eliminated, probably due to the bill s length. International News- r. (l opened With some interesting shots. .lack Smith, "whisperint; baritone, "followed Willi three Vita seleeii.iiis Which K.-iaied Iho custoni- ers, winning' parlicul.-a.rly hejivy ap- pl.iiis. f.ir .'I feature wllirh Ifil.-ly has het-ii aee.irded only perfunctory rc(-o£:nition in the way of audible approval, A Charley Chase comedy, next, wap good for moderate laughter. Then came the stage featirre, one of those inexpensive but highly effective "organ presentations." In the absence of Hundstedter, due to an injured mlt. Klsie Thompson pre- sided .nt the \\'in-lii7er console and gut .nwiiv nie<lv with ".Ulst Like a lliilK-rlU .■■ .\t ill.- raise.l ...ns.ilc. Miss Tlionipsoii f;rtse i.n original arrare;. - nu-nt of this cai. liy nunil-er w li-le the wi.i.ls Were tiasliid on illus- trated slides. Th. n the screen arose leaving a scrim through whuli a woodland scene was visible. Mrs. F. W. Birnbneh. wife of the head of the local musicians' union, ap- peared throtich back drapes snd sang the number in a splendid volc-e. As she dlsappt'iu-ed again through the drnpes, eight ballet girls In tights and flowing fllmy silkcns to (Contlnuad on pace 3()