Variety (Aug 1927)

VARIETY PRESENTATIONS-NEW ACTS Wednesday, Anciut M, IW? •TOKIO BLUES" iMitdtrten Unit Rarameiint, N*w York DeviMd and ataced by Juim Mumy Andcnon, with the assist- ainca ot Mlchlo Itow and Seni^i QluCk on the dances, "Toklo Blues" la imlq'J* In that it's a Japanese revue with a cast of Japanese art- ists including an enst'mldc of na- tive Jap d.'uviiig girlH. specially Impoi'K il, I ti , according to an- nounconu-nt. Despite tlie Cilt^li.il rissin.i;, it remains fur two ()t ( i(t< nl,i!s to sus- tain tlie ti lnlio. C)]l<- is i'.en HI I. ii, tlio ^'uest ronduftor wittt tlie I'ar- anioniit Sta};e Orcliestra, anti tile Other is Willie Solar, a standard in the ahow business, who begged oft In his usual manner. A red lacijuer pavilion, a sti iking Roeno, is backj^round for a Japa- nese flower dance by the all-J;ip chorines. The distinctive "Dancing Tam- bourine" numljcr is the Hen IJlack orrhestra'a first entry and was played the previous weelt by Craw- ford on the organ. The band a.s a unit is a corking: ensemble. Rec- ognized among the Instrumentalists are augmented star men such as Raymond Turner, last at the piano with Paul Whiteman, and Jack Powell at the drums. Fellows Ilatsu Kuma In a solo, and the Three Meyakoa with their Instrumental and dance routines. "Good-Bye Tokio" Into "Yankee Rose" paves the way for Willie So- lar, whose vocal comicalities regis- tarad beavy with the Par fans, "Lantern of Love" flnaled, with Kuma and Hiru.sc leading the num- ber. The Oriental trimmings are very etCectlve and make a colorful stage picture. The presentation Is well cast and is suspeclible to freak ex- ploitation In the lesser I'ublix stands because ot its Far East en- tertatnan. n t* Anderson's first production atnca Ma return from a European vacation. Atet DON CARNEY AND JEAN Talk and Dances W Mine.; One Mih t. iV.p) Don Carney acted as master of ceremonies here the last half. 58th Street. Ills partner came on next to doalns for their regular act. Carney and Miss Jean clown con- siderably and rough things up In "one" with Carney pulling some of his stepping acrobatics. Ciirney has made noticeable strides In his vaude work; has c«n- fldenco that seemed lacking in lils •ariiar variety activities and atrlves for comedy that. In the main, ahould score in the family houses. They got considerable out of an um- brella bit, burlesquey but nicely dene by Of team. Carney had things his own way and tbe reaults were never In doubt. Mark. BERNARDINE DE QRAVE CO (7) Seng and Dance Revue 18 Mine.) Full (Spaeial) American (V-P). Girl dancer surrounded by six young men speeialty entei tainers. Four are hoofers, with the Carter Bros, completlnc the roster. Alontr conventional lines act qualifies as a speedy flash with enough cla.ss to rate billing on lesser bills. D'essed and mounted neatly. Cartera have a lot of peraonallty In two numbers but suffered for w.ant of punch lyrics. Miss Do Grave, a zipp.v stepper, nniffs on the sinsing but attempts little of thleao deflclency Is not conspicuous. Act win have a snap either on vaude smallles or in picture houses, for wliich it is adapted in type and scope. BILLY JARROLD CO. (2) Unicylists 14 Mins.; One and Full 58th St. (V-P) Billy Jarrold has been doing trick stuff on bikes, e.ipei i.iiiy tlie One-wheeled contraptions, for ,\<Mrs. In tlie present art .larrold is ;is- alsted by two women. One works on the unlcyclea and strives for comedy with un exaggerated femi- nlllO ouint. ftlK»» ri^lintf a- vt-ry small eontrlvaii. e by way of ronli;i! l. Th.' Other member, in appearance, hasn't much to do but handle some «f the small props. The bike work holds interest, but the act's life sav.r Is the boxiiii,' Mrlesque at the finish with Jarruld and the blsser woman llrst ex- chanRlng blowa while astride the wheela. A laufh'producer at this '•VERSATILE REVUE" {») Stage Band Presentation 45 MIns.; Special Granada, Chicago Eenny Meroff overshadowed all else. Talent was there and produc- tion more than then-, ljut both burled under tlie band conductor's performance. Also an additional click for the Meroff strain In Sonia, Benny'a sla- ter. She's a blonde and knows how to sing a song. Sonia popped twice ind walked off with a solid hit,- Inez and DeWind, man and woman acrobats, led the specialty batting order. The girl Is formerly of T.ur.'is and Inez. A redneil aerobiitii' ii.'iir and per- fect picture house. The girl is an accomplished balancer. The team scored notably for a dumb act. Wally Jackson is also from vau.le. J.ackson mus* have ducked his former girl act for the new field. Whereas In vaude he was an eccen- tric stepper, he has turned to com- edy and wide pants. Jackson should revert to another routine, for he used to have several. Bailey and r-rnum, banjo-slnglng team, using their '<3reenwlch Village Follies" past for a trade name, were a clean hit. A well conceived finale was the production standout of the pres, while settings were excellent throughout The rest was Meroff, his dancinc, alnglns and • flw-nln- ute specialty In which be plajrad a d^zen or so trick lnatniraent& And th.a.t Meroff band ia a dari>. Thrice It stopped the show eold, on its music and on MedolTa daac- ing-dlrectlng. JULES ALBERTI and BAND (19) 45 Mins.; Full (Special) Piccadilly, Chicago This was the first presentation under Alberti's baton, and a poor one. Jules Alberti is the new stage band leader. The boy has a likable personality, and can sing a little. He Is stage shy, probably due to inexperience. His directing could be done with a little more abandon. His 14 piece band Is good, though the musical arrance- ments don't show the boys at their best. As regards the entertainers, with the exception of'Eddie Cox, they were distinctly small tlmlsh. Cox was the only real hit. The Ohlman Twins, boy and girl, about 10 years old, clicked. The twins are cute tricks and are finished performers, but their tender ages, and the fact that there were only two other peo- ple In the show with them, made them look out of place on the bill. Josephine Davis, pseudo come- dienne, was a bust. Her eo.^tumcs, especially the black one, must have been made in the dark. Her stut- tering song was fair but her pop number was "damp." The house pianist, Chlmenoff, is an artist, and was well received. Two or three band numbers were Just some more songs as far as the audience was concerned. The presentation, which had no title, should have been called "Cat- ting the Overhead." Zita Pornell, solo organist, was good. She played pop numbers with slides. The young lady is a looker, and an excellent alnger. She wowed in nice order. PALACE (SL Vaude) Monday night Jack Donahue kept weaving in and out ot the bill at the Palace. And as he progressed in his kibbltzlng he told each ot the various turns how good they were and added that tiiey belonged in proJuetiona. Kidding or not that must have struck a lot of the seat-renters as strange. The im- plication was that good aet.s be- longed, not in vaudeville, but in legit. Donahue made a suave and laugh- getting master of ceremonies. He did almost no stepping, hoIdin.i{ himself to the funny sayings de- partment. He planted and worked up a clever piece of business pulled successively with Billee Maye, Mar- Jorle White and Grace LaRue try- ing to "make" the actresses by promising to put them with Zleg- feld. Donahue dubbed his hold-over "harmony week." His oipenlng week had been m.arred by somebody boneheadedly putting Bill Robinson on the same bill and giving Dona- hue an imtiossiblG handicap. So there may h.ave been a little satire in that "harmony week" stuff as In the high-salaried comedian's re- peated references to "you belong in a production." Gus Fowler found the audience well seated when the show started a Uttle late and with the pro- grammed Aesop's Fables happily omitted. Fowler's watch-palming Intareatad the assembled cltlsens fMm Btart to flnlah, Hck. concluded by aztriaettng from a folding opera hat a fabulous number of alarm clocks, all ringing, and ntaklng a splendid curtain effect. Peter Hlggins reported as a big hit at Uie matinee was on a slow green at the nl?ht show. He sang conventionally as conventional a repertoire and while petting over was no smash. His voice seemed rasping when he encored. In his announcements Higglns Is a little too sotto voce to be audible In Row M. George and Jack Dormonde's classic cycling sure-fired. They take so much from the audience In laughter they don't get much In applause, that being a paradoxical truism ot audience physcology. Harry Roye and Billee Maye were rightly termed "aristocrats of the dance." Class Is spelled all over* their drops, costuming and routines. Roye tied 'em up with a high-kick- ing les-splttting danee. Then the spiffy, blonde and petite Miss Roye came out a»A tapped him. I>ona- hna waan't ensjr when he aatd this THREE DEBUTANTES Violins 7 Mins.; One Mark Strand, Brooklyn, N. V. Three vtollnistes, making nice ap- piaranee in odd costuming which baa the colored wigs matching the frocks. Two numbers comprise their repertoire, well done Instru- mentally but not "sold" with as- surance and wallop. That will come with time but their evident shyness and lack of stage presence Is an Immediate handicap and should be given In- tensive application. Otherwise they quality as a neat musical Interlude for an early groove In the regular stage presentations. Abet. RUBIN AND MALONE Songs and Dances 21 Mine,; One and Four 58th St. (V-P) Sister act, blonde and brunette, going 11 little bit further than using a bench In one. Miss Rubin's forte is singing while the best bet by -Miss The net claims to have every thing "special" and exeluslve with the Malone half going through a series of dances of certain periods to wind up with "hot" stepping. Siems best adapted for the In- termediates and where comparisons are less apt to be drawn. Lack of speed during the early portions. Could be uaad In picture houses. Mult. ■ "GET THE HABIT- 4 Sketch 20 Mins.; Pull American Roof (V-P) Composed of a scries ot hack- neyed recitations referring in an unconvincing and unrelated manner to the beneflta and otherwlae of ma- trimony. The male lead, a slim, soft-spok- en gent Inclined to staglness, sings and looks at the audience moat of the time when addressing the mem- bers of the company. Material doesn't ralae a huigh, and awkward speech and movement kill possibilities. Two song num- bers also rendered In tattoo time measure. Enunciation Is not clear, and the prlaa fllTver la tha nnal ad- dreaa to the audience, "Tou see, dear friends, happiness Is Just a habit and may be acquired." No Interest in the couple, as both mouth hot language with no special reason being given as cause for the scrap. The meeting at the end of the year shows no change In their feelings for each other. A Ume-killer. LENORA'S JEWELS (8) Dancing and Songs 17 Mins.; Three (Special) Amarioan llaof (V-P) Neatly handled chorus work by the five girls carries the turn through the critical periods. Songstress Is poor on appearance, but has vocal delivery, and should choose softer lighting In order to create a more f.avorable response. Adagio dancers lower the stand- ing of the act several degrees. Crude stuff, with the supporter Un- able to carry the girl easily and dropping her between curtaina. Acrobatic dancer followa and stops everything with cartwheels and a contortionist routine. Should do well In neighborhoods. J. DONALD PARKER Tenor with Pianist American (V-P). Ctood No. 2 act of atralght sing- ing typo, Parker has pleasing tenor and good dliHion. No particular strength to his repertoire, all the numbara being from the profession- da p a rt aaan f with her e and t h er e a apeclal •reheatratlon. Put «var nicely and makes dcaa- ont boy and girl belong In a production. They faave earned bulbs. The second hall of tha bill was somewhat of a tot-down. Fraaidont Coolldge did hla weekly atunt (or Pathe and White and Ttemey made a lot of silly mugging aeem clever. Mr. and Mrs. Cobum presented tlieir condensed version of •*rhe Better Ole" with the second part clicking. Grace Laliue's Indolent manner che<'ked any wild en- thusiasm. She had about her usual success, losing a little by ordinary songs and ran at least into one foul note. Bob Anderson's horse tS€M a quorum to tlie end. A horse able to add a column ot figures four high and four deep (believe it or not) commands ad- miration and leaves an tmpreaaton. This week the Palace Is plugging polo, even going so far aa to give away free ducats to the Arny polo matches on Qovemor'a Island. Matlneo buslnesa la evidently aatia- factory at the Palace. STATE (Vaude-Pcts) The State again doea well by Its customers. Paramount's "Children of Divorce" flopped as a special at the Hialto, but as a pro^fram It's a dirterent story. With «iz acts of vaudeville in support, only * mean bM meany would complain of th# bUt this week. Headllnihff In the vaudevlUe were Joe Morris, Flo Campbell and com- pany. Joe has a sketch wherein he's hooked up to & pecking dame and has a eray bird of a son. He breaks away from the house with the kid and attends a theatre, where Flo Campbell, his old vaude- ville partner, la on the bill. Joe frets the itch, goen on the stage, and is finally drapK^d off during some heavy necking' by his persistent wife. There arc a lot of Bood linos in the thlnB, and Joe had no trouble at all in drawing an encore. Charles Olcott'.s returns on his pianolog stuff indicated that a new generation has started buying ticlc- ets. He did his burlesque on an operetta, and the various national ways of playing "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree." It's about 15 years old but rated among the leaders as far as the audience was concerned. He has something not so old: bringing a flea-bitten dog out and attempting to do tricks with it. The dog proves at home by continually scratchinf? himself, and has another coy habit of sit- tins down In the approved manner of cows. An exceptionally good applause ration for an opener was received by tlio I.,oster Irvinpr Trio. There are two men and a prirl, one of the men being a veritable giant. He acts as understander for some good balancing, closing strong by rai.sing both of his partners from the floor with his hands while lying on his back. The Nelson-Warden skit has the boy and girl bawling oacli other out on the phone, with identities un- known, and later calling off their engagement when they find out the error. They reunite, of course, for a finish. The skit is of the type with a sock In each line. Miller and Bradford, mixed sing- ing team, waded through published popular numbers with some degree of success In second spotting. The voices aren't hot, but they're au- dible and pleasing. George flriffln, the singer, carries a chorine lineup of four, a woman dancer, and two men hoofers. This support had more than a lot to do with the popularity of the act here, working hard and displaying tal- ent. Besides his sin^'ing, Griflln scores mildly In adagio work with his girl. The act is well dressed and is trimmed for as much speed an is possible with so many vocal interludes by Griffin. It could go well In picture houses with a few more girls to bolster up the four chorines. Practically capacity business Mon- day nipht. 5TH AVENUE (Vaude-Pets) Business Monil.'xy nipht was shot, despite f.Tvor.ihlc werithcr. For a litlUi vaudo Rliow this six-actcr, with two "dunilt" acts, appctrod to Ki\o the customers tlicir money's worth. Two in particular, from .a comedy standpoint, hcli)ed the show out immeasiirabl.v. An\ ljn(ly who fail.s to get a he.arty midriff lafr nut of Billy House or Frank \'an Hoven had better have hiH sense o[ humor examined. Here are two real funmakers. llou.sc Is rerreshlng. a new Comic as far as the 6th Avenue was con- cerned, with material amusing from start to finish. The big fellow Is a capital funmaker, knows his gac- maklng, and builds up his cllmaxpR and "asides" for genuine guffaw.". House is of production calibre. JIaud Ellet and Co., the latter inrludinp: a younper woman, pre- suniaM.v the nerialist's dansliter. opened. A eircusy turn with the older woman, njiparently Mi.-s l-:i- lett. workini; in midair on tlie rintrs and tmiieze. A j^ood, effectice act of its kintl. O'llrien and Joyce were second. A "two man" slnping combo with one of the chaps at the piano. There arc a number of gags cross- fired to vary the vocal routine. So.nca ol tha bring about aa aocore or two 'Th. men were followed by Billy HouSJ and Co., and the fat comic hiS them rolllnr out of their seats Eva Shirley was in snlendw voice. She never left the state which speeded a slnKin^ "ein-io'! alone «" even greater n tiirnH" aa MIs.s Shirley stui k to her yocal knitting and scored accordinRly She holds for the most part to Don * ular songs of the ballady type al- ahtouKh she tossed in some ot operatic ranpo to five dispin .C' her fine voice. , Frank Van Hoven whammed over his usual comedy success. » doesn't matter, apparently, how many times Frank comes to thta theatre, the returns are all same. ^ "The Act Beautiful" has changed somewhat In the passing of years The posing "numbers" are much along the old lines, with the horse and dogs doing some very pretty grouping. Some war "pictures " of course, get a ha*J on their nature The screen feature was "His DoK'KdeMIIIe). which covers a lot of celluloid to register a close friendship between a younc man and his dog. Marie. HIPPODROME (Vaude-PcU) nat stage entertainment at the Hip thi.s week, although a cheao get-up and making a better Impres. Blon than the "nut." Kelso Bioth> ers with their unit, comprising tour acts in all, are the big flash. • The Kelsos do their specialty la the third groove. Follows Billy Ds Lisle and Co., with the brothers ln> terrupting the Juggling and doing some club work on their own that impressed because It was unexpect- ed. "Outside the Circus" Is an olio specialty by the Kelsos preceding Smlthley'a Jungle Lions. This "cat" act succeeds Delmar'a Lions pre- viously routed with Kelso Hrothers. Eileen and Marjorie, last week at the Palace, gave the show a fast * start with their unusual ground tumbling, Elton Kich and Girls (4) still runs overlong. He can chop to advantage. Its a straight dance revue, the girls doing worthy impressions of Rooney, llarlaiid Dixon. PMdie Leonard, et al. "For the Love of Mike" (F. N.) feature film. It was during the pic- ture Frederick Kinsley's organ ac- companiment asserted Itself favor- ably. . A»el. AMERICAN ROOT (Vaude-Pcts) To judi^e from the conversation goodly numbers had tr.aversed long distances to view "The Callahans and the Murphys" at the American. The Irish press has doubtless helped with every wrathy editorial adding customers. There must have been a few hun- dred Murphys present not to men- tion the Callahaaa and afflltated clans. The euatoiMn ware In good humor. "Get the Habit," a dun, nnlmag- Inatlve 20-mlnute aketoh, falling from sheer overlo&dlng of |W^tad«ik. was treated with the greataat liiBd* ness. Not a howl greeted, tha creplt reeitatlona, thougb gUnl** ruffled the aerana mfMa Mea «r twice. Tom and Jerry, musical Instru- ment Imitators, stirred 'em up with a ventriloquial turn, Tom did straight for a while as the dummy, panicking the crowd. Then the clinch laugh by gottinir ui) 'rom the ventriloquist's knee to follow a red- headed girl. The boys crammed bagpipes. Souse's band, trombone, saxophone .and P.aul 'Whiteman imitations into about 12 minutes of rusli comedy routine and left the nioli calling for encores. Romine and Castle next, with Ro- mlne the blackface female imper- sonator attired In what is appar- ently completely new regalia. A profound classical selection ushered in this clown. The flaming orange plumes, the alarm clock on the ankle and the red automobile stop light In the center of his rear aroused several women near to hys- terics. nomine didn't have to say or do anything, his appearance apoke vol- umes. To prove that he Is not en- tirely dependent on make-up he de- livered several numbers In a voice th.'it hit the galjery Just right. Karlier In the lineup appeared Le- nora's Jewels, a group of well- routined chorus girls and a ahow- stopplng acrobatic dancer, carrying deadweight in a pair of adagio dancers. ... Emma Raymond Trio, In a dis- play of outstanding wire balancing, closed the bill strongly. Interstate Road Show (Gus Edwards Unit) Tulsa, Okla., Aug. 19. n... J. „ii-i,„,< 1^ T"'*" with his vaudo road show. Three times a day for sev n days they stood ifn the aisles and Jiowlcd for more. The show, or .u t. is i.lolless. with catchy melodies, ele.in i<imeily and plenty of d.ineinK. Hay I'.olger and ArmiUa. a .M< .xii .iu maid. nr. "'c stars as the audience pleked eni. The piece opens on the Hnanlwalk iCmUauad »n |)ac«