Variety (Sep 1927)

Wtd nwday, September tl. 1M7 chicXgo (CHICAGO) Chicago. Si'pt. IJ. Anaounoamuit that this "clasa" Aouaa la 4* «• MM* tm4 to Mma- wb«t of A •lilMl to ttira oa t^e PtiM HOUSE mvt^ Th«r* ara many who claim the *^laH" distlnetlon la the Chioaeu'a vital drawing power. . Many are known t to patronlao this tkaatre timvlj bMMiM of tbat dIstlRtlon. TiM Chioaco'a audiences are not un- Jlk* thWM 9t the Capitol (New York) of a year or so ago; toney, Intelligent, regular. But on the other hand It ia none other than Balaban & Kutz who choose to' install a hand on the Chi's stage. And B. & K. are not known to have missed as yet. Juat bow B. A K. figure a band poller aa auperlor to the tyiie ot ahow tbat haa kept the Chicaso's tiDlim ttoarinc la aot Included In the announeement. The tact re- mains that gi 'o aa^ ot tSO.OOO and over have ataawed the house as town leader consistently for the past three months, with the "clasa" shows. That "name" band.** have drawn the year's heaviest grosses Is a pos- sible reason. But these attractions, in tor a week and out, cannot be .ySfmlMed with, a permanent band that baa no name and therefore no direct attra£<»tivan«aa. , then atalB. B. * K. ml«l>t be Tiewini; the ' future. The modern trend, especially In Cliicago, is all toward stage band presentations and the trend has not yet reached full volume. Thus, by adopting a band at this early stage, the Chicago Is fortifying Itself against the public's probable loss of "class" taste. This friendly attempt to oppose Paul Ash In tlM Iiopp la not likely to ^prove datrtne^tai to the champ. There la ipom tor two atase bands in the Iioopi two Aah baada or any ' other kind.. - Whan Aab losea his magnetlsiQ, It he ever does. It will not be through strengthening of the opposition but by weakening of his own power. And it doesn't look as though Ash will weaken for .some time, or until the flaps grow up. When Jules BuRano opens at the Chicago he will find no Oriental- Ash audience there to welcome him It wUl be a "oUaa" mob^rifta dasay tor a Variety raportar <i# a atace band—well versed ia PuUlz unlta, ' H. iMopaM Spttalny's overtures and the iMat picture product this town can buy. But tha atage band, the female blues ainmn and tha com- edy dancers will aa AoMbt' ra-eraate the mob. ' Great for the Variety reporter, but what about that "class" mob? The latter is no Imaginary type; It U real and Ufellke and haa been the main support ot the Chi^o until BOW. There la oaly one thine re Mtalav Ibr the aaob to-;tt«t>Md ttat^ to hit the iesltt. OtlM^tse , MeoaM Ortentallsh, or stay at home. It la notortuaate that B. £ K. could 8ad no other spot in the Loop for a aecond stage band. The Chicago's current bill has everything. The Inevitable "class Is there for sure and the lowbrow, hints are dolled up in white suits. Ijester Allen, who opened a Publlx tour at the Norahore two weeks ago, heads the show and working mmatlf in with the unit, "Nbh- atop to Mara." Allen ia a notable aequiiitleB to picture houses. Vaude eogl* not JSttataT him at his price. Mvwrtoeiaaa kaowlng hfs worth It. Auen'a first number wa.s s.md- Wlched In between th(> two hih'li- Ughta of the unit Hi.« oiitrance broke a thunder of applaiis.- for the previous specialty, but broke It none the lea« and he stopped the show with a dance after an indistinguish able opening song. His second ap Pearance included that burlesque *"J»nd needed nothing else. The utalt. featuring Boyd Sent was charmingly set and played as well One turn has already crcited njuoh discussion in local booking olrolea. It's "Llllles of the Field J«l»«i in tramp garb and ballet jormauon and action. The six can really dance and the makeup Is of not proportions. The smallest, also ™e outstanding personality, looks "ke one of the Hickeys ot the old M„ Bros, turn, which LUHea closely resemblaa. " ^P'^^lnya overture, minus produc- thia waak, received as much ™Ponse aa anything on the bill. Mowing the tendency and tastes ot «* audience. An orlRinal arrange- •aent of "Jewels of the Madonna" ?J Spltalny sounded like a very oeautlful place of work to one un versed In music. But you need to 5?.?, , "° *» «PP»«etoto a hpitalny overture. He's a atandard i-Uh\i^- I^OPO"*". •»<« ho'a bleaaed * ith the best pit orchestra In Chi- The usually versatile Murtagh re- ISl^J?. •'""Bht song plugginr on ISS.,.?^" ""'•"'^ "e picked a "•wttal pop, and the pu'blisher. in ywaclati on, sent aroimil a plugger in sing the final chorus, 'nternatlonal, hoceintr the news showed Dempscy and Tunney In trainln, L)em g- Some good action shots. paey appea r ad la tlie better con- rt't'on and raeatvad the majority of applause. » "J™" Immediately SES? PO*""* of Clara Bow's la the lichU. ««n«w aavaeKr. iafw. VARIETY 27 STRAND (NEW YORK) New York. Sept. 17. There's qne gold mine on ilroad- way still waiting to be tapped. Cy Landry was at the strand re- cently. Th<«rowd wa.s hungry, and it gobbled his Brottssque dancing, t 'y M pal. Jacli Noj ih, is at the Strand this week. iSatunlay afternoon, sur- rouniii il by 3uch miscellany as op- eratic tt'iior. concert aofkrano, and ballet. North plinked away at his banjo. He sang nutty little dltUes and grinned. He waa the blU'a only show-atopper, and althouch he is very (ood. ho will chaertimy admit that he's not marvellous. Cy Landry and Jack North have worked endless weeks in ChicaRo picture houses. They have playe*! all the big theatres and they have played them all over again a cou{)le of times. They became known in that flity when they worked with Paul Ash; and something they ac- quired when working with the red- head band leader has stood them in good stead all over the country. Paul Whitsmaa, whose music is several timea better than that ot Paul Ash, ia New York's sele pur- veyor of what is called the "Paul Ash policy." But It Isn't, and until the actual Paul Ash policy Is brousht into New York there is a gold mine waiting to be tapped. There is no picture house In New- York playing an Intimate stage policy; no theatre where the cus- tomers feel they're taking a |>art In the entertainment and are on per- sonal terms with the house. Jack North at the Strand this week brought a little ot that atmosphere with him and he was repaid with twice as much applause as the fel- low In biK type Kut. Kvery band leador isn't a Paul Ash, but he can utilizo hi.s idea and type ot program to huild up a salid- factory duplicate ot the Asli presen- tation. The l>and leaiieis in t'lii- cago, occupying practically every large theatre in the city, have dune just that with suitable results. There seems to be a fear among theatre owners that by installing an intimate and Jaaay program they will drive away many seriously in- clined cu8to~iers. This is partially true, but If the theatres are inter- ested In monetary returns they may rest assured twice as many jazz hounds will mill in to replace the opera seats, in Chicago Italaban & Katz had that fear and sot aside the Chicago theatre for V'e dignitied customers. And now that house has turned jazay to keep up with the other theatres. The picture at the Strand is "The Drop Kick" (F. N.) starring Richard Barthetmess. It looks like a moder- ate money picture, drawing espe- cialljr 'heajrr among the males. An effort to get more interest among the women should be made wher- ever it's played. The girls like the star, but seem shy on the title. On the stage was one of Joseph I'lunkett's "Frolics." Howard Marsh operatic , tenor, was featured, and did some >U i(lli.lierB drinking sing- ing in costume witli lour male voices in support, lie and the quartet foi lowed this with a ballad to sum- cient results. The Eight Cocktails, appearing by courtsey of Charles Dillingham ac- cording to bilHng, had two iinlty routines which brought fine recogni- tion, nrat the girls kicked together, and then tb«r brought out Jumping ropes for some Intricate and in- teresting stepping. Pauline Miller, soprano, opened the presentstion before drapes, singing a waltz,' with the drapes later parting on the house ballet dancing the waltz. Rather mild and pretty, and done to mild results. Jack North, singing and playing his banjo, completed ■ the cn.'*t. H was called back for a spccr-h after music for the following number had been playing for a while. There was no overture by the or- chestra, probably becauae the ahow started MMMIiHMto Aua to rehearaal; STATE (MINNEAPOLIS) Minneap^ls, Sept. 15. Weather hot thia week, and ao'a the State ahow—all the way from screen star to stage preaentatton. But in a cool theatre like'lhe State the hotter the stuff the better they seem to like it. despite outdoors climatic conditions. Clara Bow In "Hula" knocked em cold, or hot. While other theatres were starving to death because ot the humid at- mosphere the State enjoyed mod- erate pro»l>erity, with star and pic- ture entitled to most of the credit for the draw. The brief presentation, "Hawaiian NIghU," was Intended to provide atmosphere for the feature—and It did, putting the auditors In Juat the proper mood. It was just as hot as "Hula" and in the same wny. It went ptri>nger on near-nudity and ,()Uih .lutieiri',' tlian anything ever hofore in this liuuso. In tact, the di.splay. in its daring, ouldld Inir- lesnue and even the Shuberts' mu- sical shows. But It was artistic— and enjoyable. A quite elaborate Hawaiian beach scene provided the setting tor this atmospheric Interlude. The locale evidently was the wllds ot the Pa- dlle island, making the wild dane- Inc all the more appropriate. After a poor-voiced tenor had rid his system ot a ballad, the It Hawaiian maidens came stepping sideways on to the atage, arm in arm, over a huge fallen tree that served aa u bridge. Kight of the attractive gals wore flaming bushy red wigs and eight raven black—and little else, excepting sonte grass co\ering. Reaihin.:; tlie footlights, they began the hula-hula. Wiggled, squirmed and shook ssitli vim, vigor and gusto, while the audience gasped and looked on breathlessly. At the end a toatara iMdA hvla daacer, unnamed in the publicity. Joined them and led the way for even hotter gyrations. She surely shook a mean hula. There was only the one dance—but what a dance! At the end, a sail boat passed across back-stage with the nearly naked damsels as its occupants. One of the girls appeared to be entirely nude, but the audlaaca «a given only a peek at her, and the lighting was dim, a scrim appar- ently used. Strange stuff, tfiis, for a high class movie house, you may think, but it all was very artistic, as re- marked before, and it won applause and evident approval and uadkraM- edly helped to draw trade. Helseke and his pit orchestra opened the show with the overture from "Mignon," very effectively played and including a harp solo which was a mark of sho'wmanship. Next the news weekly, with several International, Pathe and Kiaooram shots. Then a Vita number, Olmiaa and Arden, well received. As usual, Dundstedter's organ novelty provided the audience an opportunity- to sing and gave every- body a good time. It was called "Choose Your Flowers" and the w-ords of various old-time songs ai>out flowers were flashed on. the screen with the customers requested to sing their tavpritaa. . Woimd up with a new number afaont moinlng glories. .• * In one part the girls were singing and the boys humming. At another lime they wei-e doing a duet. The wind-up drew a huge volume of sound on verses which called for lung power. The bigger the letters the louder you sing, the audience was told, and these Instructions were followed. Joe Browing, know* to local vaudeville fans, woa a aecond Vita contribution and clicked. ' Pleasing show «ill the way. Reel. WISCONSIN I* (MILWAUKEE) Milwaukee. Sept. 1». College towns which derive a good play from the students might find the auKKestion ot Bd. J. Welsteldt. master mind of the Wiaconaia stage, of aid In staging a real "Rah Rah Week." as the Wlsconslh atM* blU last week was dubbM. Clever stJicing marked it. Cur- tain draws to a wall scene in "two" with the Six Tivoll t;irls ii. fnon suits sitting on the wall, doing a soft shoe "on air." Orchestra, back of the drop, plays the accotiapanl- ment to a college song with yells, put on by Eddie Hill, rottmd sort of a fellow with good pipes and plenty ot gags. The wall scene pulls away J:o full stage, the orchestra all in campus togs. A huge book In on the rear drop and the cover opens to Intro- duce each act. nave Sehooler comes on in a prt^fe^'.^'or's frock and does a little song Ix'fore picking up the baton. He is a popular chap. Woodrow Herman, kid wmgster, plugs a chorus ot each song the orchestra plays and gets away big. However, the show stopper is the act ot Jean aftd Frits Hubert, doing a drunk dance that panicked them and which ia the cleverest bit of soft shoe tried on a local atage in months. They are given a cloee call for first honors by Inea and De Wynn. acrobatic act, staged on a platform in the rear. This act gives Inez plenty ot opportunity to flash a beautiful shape and do some stunts of contortion never before tried here to the reporter's knowledge. Bert Dorrell, another hoofer, does a long winded stepping about to the "Poet and Peasant" overture. It's a long dance but not borlnr. George Ldpschultx, who left the Strand theatre here to take up «< baton on the west coast, got big ap- plause on his appearances. He Is a master vi*)Iiniflt. probably one of the first popular leaders Milwaukee ever had. Sister team. Janton Sisters, do an eccentric dance that is pass- able. Stage scenes shift three or four times. Toward the close the back drop gives way to a big M. IT. sign In blue and gold, the college colors, while the otohestra plays Marquette songs. It lifts away to show the big red sign of \\'is(-f>n-;in. Inei.len- tally the thentr(''s in'^iiiiiia. .-ilso. I.ori Chane/ in ".Moekery " he.ids .Mcreen sli')f'< Hit of lii):--- p'iy In -ftiig plid' s i« dene by Arthur r.l'li- ter's plens f<jr the audience to sing the choruses it would seem that this sort ot entertainment that had Mil- waukee wild for a time is swiftly completes a It's grest en- /•rael. pawilns out. Newa reel stuff mighty pleasing Mil. tertalnment. > Ito ludleroua METROPOLITAN (Boston) Koston. i>ept. 16. ^ Belles and bells in the .Metropoli- tan Hli..u. one of the best st.ige presentations of the season. Kven Gene lludemich and tlie Greater Met Stage Band tried some Swiss bell ringing. A kindergarten per- formance that arovad to be laugh hit of the MU la simplicity. Gene as m^ister ot ceremonies wore liis little black tuxedo, while tlic tJreater Band members were cloaked in red and white capes reniiniscenr of the garb of a tally- ho coachman. "Telephone Bells" was Gcne'a number. The two pi- anists stuck to the ivories while the other membera ot the band sang Into little phones, keeping time with spasmodic lings on bicycle bells. Cene knew the words of the song. something about 'Hello, sweetie, hello, hello." but the band needed rehearsing. (;ene was prac- tically alone at the finale. The tircater "Met" Band la not a choral society. Members then turned to the bell ringing with tuned sMgli bells, each swinging a mean note. Gene directed the halt- ing number, not too sour nor too sweet. A violinist comedian with a cow bell insisted "It's my turn, now," and failed to shake his rattle in his turn provided the big laugh and. despite the lack of melody or rhythm to the number, It waa a hit. Gene and his band had the good sense to Join in the laugh tliem- selvea and put over a most amusing bit. Nathaniel Finston and Joseph Klein got mention on the screen as director of the Grand Orchestra, but the troupe failed to rise out of the pit for the orchestral prelude and the overture turned out to be three bars of "Over There," as an In- troduction to tho Paramount Na^ Weekly shoning the departure of the "Second A. E. F." Some ot the string music and others In Gene's band looked sus- piciously like recruits from the Grand Orchestra. WinsR- McCay, cartoonist, with his cartoon circus substituted tor a comedy picture. McCay's voloe was not desined far houaea aeatlna 4,000 and tli» muaical aooompaniq&ab to his oartoona drowned out hia isea- olog almost eomplatolr. Bla act was evidently new to the IttV aad' well received. Will Rogers In his film tour of Berlin was exceptionally well re- ceived, and "Swim, Girl, Swim," fea- ture picture, waa a aueoess it laughs count. Titling registered very Well. "Poet and Peasant," the number, assigned to Arthur Martel at the organ, but "The Glow Worm" was the number lie played. Soft lights and blending ^olor combinations were played over the curtain during his number, a welcome relief from the sung slides of the past few weeks. Through the Anal chorus, little electric lights blinked Ip all sections of the stage in an' excellent simulation of the glow worm. Old favofito "clicked." "Joy Bells" was one ot the beat staged productions ut tlie Met this year. Kva Masoagno, premiere dan- seuse. led a group of six accom- plished dancers in two numbers. E.ach act was introduced from a back stage stage, ahove Rodemlch's bund. A fUglit ot stairs spanned the upper stage to tlie tootllirhts down which tho "piffawmers" trotted to do their stuff. Charlotte Arren. a petite, sinuous blonde, in a bell hop's unitpm aang and danced all too little for the audience. Her clowning and aplnelosa prancing met with favor. Her advent was announced by a huge keyhole back stage through which she hopped for an instant laugh. "Asleep in the Deep." Iqovitable bass solo sung by Joseph I'arson in fisherman's costume and a light- house setting, was the one vocal number. Two dumbbells back stage which opened to Introduce Maxwell and Lee In burlesque dancing as a pair of dumbbells were a real hit The difficulties of that portion of the act wearing trousers in catching his partner in lUght were as laugh- able as anything ever shown en the Met stage. Their dancing was funny and skillful. Maury Ix-af. droning in Jewish dialect with ukulele accompanimrnt nnd the assistance of some <^nuine ./ewlsh moaning and groaning from Rodemieh'a boys, appealed to a sec- tion of the audience. , The Golden Carillon presented the feature setting of the act, huge clock back st.ige. Chauncey Brawn, chime soloist, playlnf the gaMen chimes hanging beneath the dial and the Roma Brothers, acrobats, their bodies completely covered with gold paint, posed with hammers as though about to strike the hour. The pose of the Romas was so strlk- Ipg th.-nf ni.an>- In the audience were startled when they left the chx K to go through their clever routine. Tn the finals the Komajr posed otra gieat swinging bell while the com- pany In various belted gowns ef- fected the tlntlnnaJ>uIatlon prom- ised In the screen announeement of the act. "I'nderworld" announced for week of Sept. 17. but "Hwlm. Girl. Swim." will be screened Sunday. That's buainMn, /ii'Mry. eonsideraldye in ilave the at the evening SHERIDAN (CHICAQA) Chicago, Sept 1!. This house, the Ascher Brothers' l.tst stand, is coming along nicely, thanks to Verno Buck and his band. To Buck goes the credit for the fair biz. Matinee attendance, sore s|>ot in nil neighborhood theatres, has pkkod up Sheridan. crnw ds. Kor a time the Sheridan sjiw .some lough sleddin'. With the Riv- iera corpheum) ajid the .Lptown (rul)lix) only a niiie north of it. and with the Uiversey and Belmont (both Oriiheura) only a mile or do south, the Sheridan has had a time. For a neighborhood, the Sheridan is a fair looker, though not very large. Located one block from the Interseillon of Sheridan road and Irving I'ark boulevord, on Sheridan road, the hou.<!e is In a fair location. The service ia patterned after the plan, with snappy ushers B. & K. and the like. This particular show. "Jazz I>e Luxe " (prusentutiunI. h:is all Buck, with the talent secondary. Buck is handicapped. He is rarely given a "name" entertainer, but usually pro- vided with cabaret taisBt Idea not so fortei Regardleaa a( ha# aaod or versatile a band leader aiay ba. he must be gtvea soma kaawn artiat once In a while. Without the entartalnara to thia presentatlpn. Buck and hla veraatUe band alone would have knocked 'em for a row. But, as usual, cabaret talent, recruited from nearby cafes, put a crimp in the performance. It'a called "Jazz De Luae," with It people. Buck, playlag a maaa aaz, singing in a trio, doing a dance routine with the ballet, and kaawa to be a capal^le fiddler, baa tha Sheridan audleaoea eattat 4rat ot his hand. Presentation waa pried o|ie« by the Keith eight-girl ballet Just an- other one ot those things. Chico. French babee. doing the Inevitable "My Man" number m « distinctly amateurish fashion, was a bust. Grace Aldrlch. blonde) and matronly, kept up the poor standard with a tuae with lyrics something like this: "I may not be chicken, but I've got young Ideas." A band number with incidental singing by a trio oompriaad of Vena BndL VrUk Wllaoa, aas»> phonlat, and Claude CMswald, ban- Joist, was genuine entertainment, and the trio had to comply with an - other chorus. Norman and Con-, stance Selby, ritzy ballroom danc- ers, very lino and well received, were next. Constance wore a scanty costume that took away the |>atron8' respective breaths. Briscoe and De Lorto, two male comics ,trom vaude. suplied the first bit of comedy, and welcome. Bris- coe does a stranght, while Oe Lorto is a llttia eh«K. Mf flat, mtt'U good comedian. Another band number, featuring Frank Wilson, vocalist and ^rst saxophonist with the band, very good. Wilson has a pleasing tenor voice and had to do two encores. Rand has another singer, Claude Grlswald, banjolst, but Cl aud e doesn't come anywhera near Wil- son's standard. Finale was a Spanish effect, with Grlswald singing In Spanlah eoa> tume in a set to the upper faar cen- ter of the atactw An imbiUad lady violinist plajrlnlr a Spanish classic, okay. InstMtd ot the ustial forte boom-boom Anlsh, the curtain Went down quietly to pianissimo singing by QriawakL * PARAMOUNT (NEW YORK) New York, Sept. IT. Light on nim thia week, but Paul Whiteman'a draw, second imk. «t his return •nCBgamenit,' aMWlMB sufficient. Whlteman and his orchestra oc- cupy the stage for over halt an hour. Open in a simple setting, all wearing red coats. Chester Haael, saxo- phone, soloed first. The feature Is a brief bat power- ful number called "ShanghaL* "With only a suggestion of the Orient in a row ot large Chinese laatams, the musical orchestra conveys an ap- propriate atmosphere vividly and leads up to the song ot ths pipe smoker. The latter suddenly appears, framed In the black drop placed high above the orehea tr a In the rear. For the finish Wliiteman has a buck and winger who produces the new stuff so fast the customers don't get a Chance to applaud. Closed tl>e ahow with a bang. "Toddles," Paramount short, has laughs, human Interest and action— everything the feature picture. "One Woman to Another." tnissed on. Newsreel. entirely I'aranuiunt. cfmslsti-d partly of library shots, with th,- sport Items the only real live news. At tho organ Jesse Cr.'iwford opened with "Sundewn." following with a medley ot pop numbers. Instead of a complete overture the orchestra played what to re« ferred to as a prelude,the ilrat pla* ture lielng thrown on the screea after several buj-s.