Variety (Nov 1927)

VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE 8 8t Martin'* Place, Trafalgar Square FOREIGN CABLE ADMEfi. VARIETY. LONOON - TSTO'SOM^M IUf«M Wadiwiday. Nov«nb«r 2. I LONDON AS IT LOOKS . By Hannen Swaffer Jbondon, Oct SI. '^Crime/' AI Wo04a irllt be int«rf«U4 to b«ajr, hM prored tiM bomb- For two yoM, lipfr, i iMiTo boon warniAf XiOndon manacors acalnst all ttila importatiOB 6f 4martca« plays altoii i«f tlio JMMib imltid, playa that insult America and deride and degrade every American institution. They did it on tho aoroena of the world; then they did it on tha atagaii The American Legion Joke No wonder that, unknown to America—for I do not suppose a word of it has reached your side, and we are very polite in Europe—the visit of tile American L/eg^ion to Paris was reg.arded as a rather roue^ii jolce. The underlying cause of this attitude was that, foV years now, Amer- ican fllma h4va ifhplRm Americans as cut-throats and bootleggers and i^Uk^iaadttt^ cflf^o^ks. Th^for*. whOn Europo aoos Anfirl^ml In ilttbar'anJoyUiir, ja reentry ^to^ a war that Impdverished Shiirop^ Wall, wa sit taaok and Si^y nothing—but think. ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ' ; t^^ I hear that, in Airbi, oYie American woman walliod up and' dOwn the boulevards dro<i8ed ss the Statue of Liberty and that, lata at Bfcbt^ ]|MNr di'aperies were not too discreet. • • • i >. Now, ••CHmVV;iMMi ,. ■mmi tl^mh Pisy Faktrs Naxt day, the "Daily Telegraph/' a dear old-fashioned paper* that is usually one of the last to heav anything^ protests in a loa^l^f iaitic^a called "Murder as a Fine Art." "There Is already a quiclvly growing conviction in the minds of many «l«wn«iii^ pac^ Iftat New York is in actual fact a hotbed of gunmen." it says in this editorial, "that America Is a humorless colorless edition of eighteenth century England infested with. Mohocks and liachaaths, who' shoot at sight for the love of killing. their oira %itsrest, U is tlitte that this erroneous impresalan Was countered by a succession of plays dealing with something more closely approximating the real life of that much misunderstood country. Haa the United States no Ibscns. Strindbergs, TchekoVs or ShawsT' No, of eoursa It has hot. It iMk»« Icll of iplaar^tara and fiiQr^i|ih«rs Whe have pr^lonamtle thought and less lirmniljr ti jtiyllltkim I Make This Appeal I do" implore the American amusement industry to reconsider what It sends abroad. It does not know that Its films, and its plays give such « wron* Impreairion that f, aa «k Englisbmlitt with hundreds of Amaffein friends, protest In their naoia ligalnst a mlarepreaentatlon which I ia- gard almost as blasphemy. Will "Crime" be a success? "A month or a year" seems the manage- nient'a oll|oial epintont I should say fcTur or five months myselt I can- not ^nceive a L»ondon audience standing the terrible scehe In which a New York policeman is shown manhandling ah unf<Mluaptla; y^th, third-degreeing him Into confession. * ; ; . . •Hauld New York Be Deatroyed? On the ftrst nifftit, according to the *lfairnlnff Post*' erUic, aiia man In the stalls exclaimed excitedly, when he saw the gianmen'a leader tried by hi8 foifowers. "Well, if Americana ftfa like .tbis> they ouch^.ti^ be wiped oCt the map.** . ^ . , . I heartily agree. If Keir York Is Ilka *^rlme'* represents It to be. It should be destroyed by the rest of America. If "Crime" and the other plays, like "Silence" and "Brokdway." are not true^ the |;i4a^rl|[phta Who wrpte them should suftor that fate instead. < HANDERS and MILUSS IN ENGLAND Held over at all leading music lialls. eailing for South Africa to play short eeaaon. All oommunicatianat Variety* London, Eng. LONDON London. Oct. 15. Kegotiationa for the trsknefer of "Shake Your Feet" to the Palla- dium having fallen through,., the house will continue yaudevlUe till Christmas, when a pantomime will' be staged. After the pantomime the houae reverta to musical comedy, opening with Ddgar Wallace's mu- sical "The Yellow l^aak," produced by JuUan 'Wyiia. Noel Coward, who is writing the new C. B. Cochran revue, due to be staged at the liondon Pavilion In February (as previously reported here) Inslsta in persuading C. B. Cochran to get Dora Maughan (American) to play lead, argument being that, he is writing a lot of spicty sketches, and no one could do grwsr jMtktf to them, tlian Doia. JOYS AND GLOOMS OF BROADWAY By N. T. G. One of the Best flbe was one at tha best of the Ziegfeld clan, which means ttie beet in the world. She was a story-book chorus grirl. Worked in the "FoUle^ and on the Ziegfeld Roof, went out with mlllionaireB, had a Rolla Royce^ and a flofek of men, young and old, running after her. Marvelous sense of humor. Inflntlsly funny., Wa knew her wall, atarUng our friendahip seven years ago. Always told her some day she'd be able to oommercializ« her comedy sense. We helped her try it some years in Buffalo. We were opening a new theatre^ and took a flock nioYla stars from New York. We took this Ziegfeld girl along as clown. A sensation. She went into vaudevlilik Awful flop. Met her one day. Discouraged. Then ahe diaappeared* Here's a letter we just received from her: 'T>ear Orannle: ••Thought you might like Xd know that your little side-kick Is now a full-fledged title writer. Have been here at the studio six months now and love it. Oat acreen. credit and am on my twentieth picture, and they haTsn't found out whafs wrong with the moviea y^t.** Tex Again Brock and Schlee, round-the-world aviators, placed themaelveS In our charge to take a loolc^asa arottnd New York when they arrived here aflsr their great flight. We were in Guinan's. The heroes were introduced. Gulnan yattad ovsrt-' *1iy>)lti»;iii||hi.ii|.#as- an aviator. Ha was ae^ good on earth.** A Rodeo Play The heroine's role In the Nur.se Cavell "Dawn" film is now to be played by Sybil Thorndike, Pauline Frederick having relinquished the part, fha imstimlng ta Lfooks like Horatio, lately out of Jail, may be going into vaude— probably aa a comediani He spends part of most days Just now being made up and photographed at Willie Clarkson's, with Hobbs, his attorney friend, in attendance. Per- hapa they're rejiearstng a .dou^e act! ^ They Played tha Wrong Act John van Drutan, who wroM *nroHing Woodley," and who la now lac- turfhg on your side—why your people pay Englishmen money to boire them at lectures which would not be endured here, I do not know—is having his new play, "Chance Acquaintance," produced here by a strange aecident.' * ' When it was done by the Repertory Plays, the other Sunday night, the first acts were so go'od that managers rushed to the secretary to buy an option. When the third act waf over, they all ran home. ^ "What a pity that tail a«t was ad bad,** wM Alban litapaa, wha was ane of them. "Yes, the author's got two other third acts,'* said the secretary. Ltanpua got Into touch with ^h l>ruten, who' wrote that he sent an three third acta and that, apparently, the Repertory Playat» ahaaa the wrong one. He liked one of the others much better. I4mpus Is producing the play, not as the Repertory Players mucked It up, but as tha ftuthar Intended it should be staged. An Aetar'a Sudden Rise I hoY>e you like Paul Gill, who Is playing the father in Fanatics." When "Hay Fever" enjoyed its long run in London, he was assistant stage manager by name, but really acting aa prompter every night, holding the book ta aaae Mftrle Tempest forgot He was then getting thirty dollars a week. Now, becauile of his sudden succcbs in Miles Mal- leson's play, he haa gone dtt JpMr Side, Inaisted. of ihy Ai Woodip, «t ^0 a week. * ■>..;, ••ir.'/ .!;'• > ■ . ■ '^Qeed'Evanal Poor Edith EJvans has startM in management. Three years ago, the "Eveninj: New.s" tried to run her as "the greatest actress in England." No\^ outside the theatre, there was the large type announcement on a gMmiath-'poster:. .' '*The only as ti sg g at the age to whom the word 'great' Midly ap:; plies." " ^ Dear me! What silly man wrote that, I do' not know. Hha greatest laugh of the evening was when a woman in an upper box dropped her bag on the head of a woman In the stalls. Then I knew there were two actresses present, for the way In which that woman in the box pretended she hadn't dropped the bag outdid all the acting I 'have ever seen.* Last June, the news burst that In the previous September, Ddith Evans had been married secretly and that her husband had gone abroad. Un- known to the house, he was at his wife's first nigiit, a.<) an actress man- ager, back from running the oil wella, the gambling In which eaused James White'a aulcide. Theatrical management is like th© oil bu8ine»ss. Ton never know whether there will be a lot of gushing, or whether it will be ohiy a bore. Anyway, Edith Bvans must not go abr«>ad for a dreary French comedy. f i ii i iili l iii ltn ri'li " r'*r *t ♦M i mvei^ Bu t I retrain. October 1 should have seen Hal Sherman back from Paris to play lead in a picture. But Hal hasn't coma», The fllm—which, hadn't been atlurliii" hnyway—la. almMaaiad.. ' ' Gus Dale, once a topliner In the Dale and Q'Mall^y duo. ia selling Insurance; ia to DUsty Rhodes. Dave Carter, who created "Love Mo and the World Is Mine" Is book- maker—pardon a Turf ''Commis- sioner! Sid Jay, once one of tho Idento Brothers, comedy Jugglers, Is a fllm artista' agent Joe Grossman, studio manager for British Interna- tional, ia a retired variety artist Cranston and Heath, agent*, ask- ing for Judgment for f200 against Walter. Paakin, a terue producer, complained he changed title of his show so they couldn't find him, last change being flromTaM the Mus- tard" to "Rough and Ready." Hlzzoner made it $100 a month or #hMi' aawhilttalt Wfi're all steamed up over that rodeo this week, and sptfid all anr' spare time In the Garden. We don't mind telling you that w«'re cockoo about horses, riders and Western sports. Our idea is that the Amer- ican cowboy, especially rodeo contestants, are the toughest bravest Americana wa-hava left today, with the possible exception of North At- lantic fishermen out of Boston. We've sailed for two seasons ofC the Georges banks, and ridden In three rodeote (not good, but we rode). Tough racket this rodeo business. Much worse than the roughest foot- ball game. Ambulance alwaya at the door. Danger all the tUnab Ahd the champions don't last long. Good pickinprs while it lasts, same as prize fighting, but a man ages quickly at that game. Bob Crosby, laat year^a champioh. winner of the Roosevelt Trophy, won $25,000 laat*year. He's the Babe Ruth and Red Grange of riders. Rodeo ends tonight, and he'll carry away about ^5,000 in prizes. Hardest looking character In the rodeo, is Bob Cro'sby, with old, patciied overalls, broken boota, a hat tan years did that the Steers tear up occasionally. Yet he doesnt drink or smoke, and goes to church every Sund.iy. But many of them are that way. Especially the girls. Florence Hughes, ohe of the great trick riders, was sitting with u? on a fence, talking to her husband, Hi the arena below. She was framing up a partjrf She said: "Find out If Ted Lucas and Mable Strickland are going to church with us tomorrow morning." Three yeara ago the world'a tampion cowboy waa Charley Btrlek* land. Mable Strickland, his adorable little wife, was cowgirl champio'n. This season Mable sits in her hotel room at tho Knickerbocker, with a torn finger and broken rib. She's Just too sick at heart to go near halt beloved hOrses. And her husband lies in a hoapltal In Chayenna with • broTcen leg. They pay the price of daring. Incidentally, the rodeo Is a wow tiiis year. Will clear over 180,000 fofer Broad itraet Hospital. It haa finally caught on. RITZY Julian Rosa goea end of thia. week to Berlin. George Robey Is returning to the West End after some years durlnp: wlilch playing in the provinces. Ho will go Into the Princess theatre for the Christmas season with "Bits and Frederick Lonadale's I lenrn. will not play In "Thr Problem Ipa Claire, I lenrn. will not play In "Thr HiKh Koa.V after all. I think Lonsdale will take my advice and take over tlie oiiiitnal l»ndon com- pany. 09 to now In tha peculiar position of being afraid of his next play. He galled It •*The League of Nntions" until ho ro. hriHtened It "Foreigners." It contains seven characters of variou.s nationalities—six men and a woman. Now, he finds that "Tho Wolves" Is based on a similar Idea, H bland of natloiMlltlsg and one woman. 8o I stippose ha wlU hold up fPtrdlgnars.'' Activities of the little "Q" theatr.' include the imminent production of '"TlPlf Red XTmbrella, followed by : , (Continued on page Z$) SAILINGS Nov. 11 (Tendon to South Africa) Arthur Klein, Marie Douglas (Armadale Castle). Nov. 9 (France to New York) Max Scheck and family (He da France).. Nov. 1 (London to New York) Gerald Griflint Roz McQaugh (Re- public). Oct 29 (London to New York) Allen Keams, Bmilio Degogorza (Mauretania). Oct 28 (New Yark to T>ondon). Kuth IlQW^ll nun fX S MInpfvsnt.aV Oct J7 (Ban S^ndsco to Hono- lulu), Ivan Bankolt Beth Cannon (Sierra). Reported through Paul Tau8ig & Son, Its Seventh aVenue. Oct 29 (New York to London) Cliff Curran (Dresden). Oct. 27 (New York to London) Mrs. Alma PhUIpp (Hamburg)* Oct. 23 (New York to London) Bert Feiblcman (Aquitania). " LHerary Prineeesea From her background of wealth and position, Princess Odescalchi should be able to draw upon ma- terial for novels and plays. Up to the time of her marriage, a few weeks ago in New York, she had apparently set her hopes on a career centering on literature and the drama, having done considerable writing. The daughter of Mr. and Mrr. Charles MacAiiister Wilicox of Denveif, She Is a granddaughter of the late Gen. O. B. Wilicox. and a niece of Orlando B. Wilicox of Englewood, N. J. Her father Is president of the Daniels and Fish- ers Stores Company of Denver. In 1918, when Mrs. William C. Daniels, widow of one of the founders, died, ehe left Miss Wlllcoz $7S0,000. Nevertheless, the heiress " prorreded with her serious studies, in France, Switzerland, the TTniversity of Colo- rado and Columbia tlnlvMiMty, In New York. Prince Odescalchi is a member of a distinguished Hungarian family. Formerly of Rome, he has lived In New York for several years. In 191& he married Marie Dorothea, daughter of the late Henri Labou- chere, famous In Europe. She had previously divorced the Marquis di RudinI, and, in 1923, sho divorced the prince. Hollywood has recently noted the presence of Princess Stephanie Dol- gorouky, of Russia, who has sought to dispose of scenarios. Over a year ago she contributod some sensa- tional stories to the New York "Graphic." In the summer of 1926 she arrived at Newport, and regis- tered at the exclusive Muenchlnper- King. There she encountered an- other picturesque personage, Mrs. J. J. Brown of Denver. Who also has a flaire for tho exotic. Rescued from the "Titanic," Mrs. Brown once rented a eroall cot- tapro and decorated tho walls with Navajo M inkrts and built a pai>Icr- machc cave in the corner of tlie drawing room. Mrs. Brown created further diversion by yodeling. In connection with picturea. 8ha seeks to recruit actora to go to Eng- land to appear In production there^ as she is connected with an or- ganisation, the London Standard. Originally Frances Simpson Bta-, vens of CJhicago, her parents were divorced, and she remained with her mother. This mother then became the wife and widow of Arthur O. Probst of New York, and Frances took up futurist painting, giving ekhibttlons here and abroad. Her Manhattan studio was mt tha Hotel des Artistes. Then she married Prince Galat- zlne, who, prior to the Russian revolution, was lieutenant-com- mander of the Imperial battleship "Rurlk." Hie first wife was Nina Boeckmann, daughter of tha one« time Russian governor-general of Finland. Before the revolution the Prince's father wa s prim e minister to the czar, but gMM^hi became a cobbler In Petrograd. After her marriage, in 1921, Frances and the prince lived in New York, and she engaged in breeding race horses. After separating, she announced herself as co-star in a pictut* production with Iliodor, who was known as "The Mad Monk of Siberia." Nothing came of that, and she went to Paris, becoming a chauffeur for an American woman. Frances Stevens of Chicago is not to be confused with Aimee Crocker of Sacramento, who, after divorcing Porter AShe and Harry Olllig. be- came the widow of Jackson Gou- raud, and divorced Alexandre Mis- klnoff and Prince Galatzine. a dis- tant connection of Prince Dmitri. Aimee Crocker's last two husbands were young enough to he her sons, and It is now prophesied in Paris, where she lives luxuriouslY* that this heiress to $10,000,000 will marry a sixth time, again choosing a yo miBBtc r . — Another Princete One good princess deserves an other, and so PrincoFs Dmitri <;alat sine has ul^^o arrived in Hollywood Langdon Post Marrying November has been decided upon as the month in which Janet Kirby, daughter of the socially registered Mr and Mrs. Rollin Kirby of Wash- ington Square North, will become the bride of Langdon Post, son of the similarly exclusive Mr. and M (Continued on page 41)