Variety (Nov 1927)

Wednesday, November 30, X927 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 37 #De of this theatre's well-known sil- iouettes. "Bvolution de la Dance" presented humanity's means of ex- irenBlng rhythm from the days when the boys and girls first kept time to nothing more than a skin stretched across a wooden bowl. Coming up through the centuries, It all, of course, ended in a Charleston and Mack bottom undor Taribvs hues of lights, of which a bright red and Bght green were by far the best •ffects obtained. All the dances were there f'xcept the modern col- legians' conception of dance floor deportment, about eight couples across this stape. simulating and •lightly exaggerating the collegiate footwortc of these days, and it's ■able to to* effective—and funny. For 14 mlBUtes this dance thing wasn't hard to gaae at. the 16 Rock- ets giving it a dynamic finish with some splendid work plus formations, all in silhouette. It*e getting to be a contest between this group and the Hale clan on the other side of Broadway. Thia week the edge is here, the Rockets also repeating a mechanical doll dance from the pre- ^ue week'a show. There weren't more than 83 men In the pit at this show. With Shil- kret going out of the Strand, it shows that the Broadway houses are reducing their instrumental forces •onsiderably, the Capitol heing down to 64 in its orchestra. A round 15 minutea for the news weekly, which included three Movie- tone subjects plus two regular clips each from Pathe, Fox, International ' aad KhMMprams. The brief prolog for the mystery feature was behind a scrim, with the Devil making Mmaelf hyaterlcal over concocting something in a boiling pot which Anally turned into a flash powder and the picture of an enormous ape from the booth. This was^jusl sJisad ©f the feature's title. A short show, under two hours, and busineM Sarly Saturday Sight. Sid. METROPOLITAN (BOSTON) Boeton» Kovk ft. The deadly monotony of the Pub- Jix units which have been unques- tionably affecting tseilpfti of late Was entirely missing in the Jack Partington assemblage labelled ''Stepping High." Last night's crowd took to the chorusless show like a duck to water and this reporter saw the hitherto unprecedented' sight In this mammoth house of five acts in succession, each actually stopping the show. Gene Rodemlch, as master of ceremonies, was staged with his 24 men behind a futuristic strip of irlorifled picket fence with a cleverly ligfited flight of stairs to heaven effect for a background Scenic splash for the finale consisted of a «yelMlramtic minute of colorful flash framing the female portion of Kiku- tas Jap. Troupe, around which the unit was built. The acts in order consisted of the Carr Family. Ross and QUert. Liew yiikk, Nina Hinds Mid XMn- ard and the sdre-ltef ftolt ^ the Japs. The house went goofy ovir the thing, (despite it wss aothiliS httt glorified pop-vaude. The rest of the slMir wiAs aMMIy straight pit orchestra, a couple of film bits. Arthur Martel at the organ, and Clara Bow te •^Stet Tour Ifan," which made the grade only fairly well after having been the ftole draw for fhs ofi&aHm day. CAMEO (NEW YORK New York, Nov. 27. Ifoss' Cameo, 400-seater, on 42d Mrtet. runs a straight picture show. %% goes out for cheap features un- less as it does now and then pick up an overlooked regular from the larger distributors. It likes for- eign-mades because they are cheap, and has found, as this week, that when they can sic on a reissue of established merit, U. S.-made, it Alls out the progrsan dUd ths hox office. The current feature is Ufa's "Peaks of Destiny," a misleading title for story, and a revival of a Chaplin two-reeler, "The Pawn 8hop.'' If the house does any business it will be through tho Chaplin. The German film on 42d street doesn't mean a thing and hardly will any place else, as It is nnore a scenic of the Swiss Alps than a feature picture story. A couple of shorts on the pro- gram also lessened its value. Ono was terrible, an Aesop's Fables, ••Little Pills of Wisdonj." by Paul Terry. Evidently made for children Of not over five years of age, "Life of a Plant" is the other Short, British-made. Too high brow with the magnifying and speed. Al- most in scientific classification, but « good fllm of its character. ^fof»' news^-weekly -ami of course | under pressure is all Pathc. That's' Working for the other houMfs. f)verture was Mendelsohn. B. Deirisola is conductor, with Geo. li. Lawton, assistant. Organists are Emil Plaff, chief. With Ruth Barrett and Miss N. Jay associates. Cameo is a fair drop In h6ttse with its program always a gamble, but getting a fair average break, if not considering its 42d street lo- cation and property values. Norman L. Ex is manager. CAPITOL (NEW YORK) New York, Nov 27. Walt Roesner is going to stay here a year and Benny Rubin is holding over froni last wcvk. This, of course, concerns the stage, and Roesner and Rubin are using too much time this we»'k. as a two- act. Maybe it's because of an in- tricate Stage set. but the Cap, with its new gymnastic platforms which do everything but nip-ups, shouldn't have taken the time to set that the Roesner-Rubin combo evidently fig- ured on while in one. Rubin turned "smart" a couple of times. When he did there were as many laughs in the material. The only trouble was that this picture house gathering didn't know what he was talking about. Frank Fay had the same trouble at the Strand. This hints that the suave and glib ad lib boys aren't going to make the grade as m. of c.'s In the audi- toriums dedicated to the cinema. At least they aren't going to get over while they stay "smart." A new motto for fast talking actors is apt to be "get dumb and see your films for nuthin'." It looks as though they'll have to be dumb to get smart money in this field. To be really smart the boys will have to play dumb. That's no easy assignment, especially with all fem- ininity having copyrighted the formula B. P., before pictures. A round table of theatre men recently tabbed Harry Richnxan, Ted Healy. Phil Baker, etc., as much too nifty to be understood, or stood for by a celluloid clientele. Whether that's true or not doesn't count right now. It's the general Impression among those who book, imprinted by the bewilderment Fay aroused la his audience at the Strand. Rubin is of the Fay order and Roesner is on from the Coast where he rolled up a rep for being able to handle and please the screen bugs. And there th^y are, both of 'em, on the same stage and working oppo- site each other. 8o let's see. Roesner was in semi-formal morn- ing dress. Benny was surrounded by a tux. Give Walt a break on appearance, a retiring "front" over- shadowed by Rubin's high strung and nervous personality for gaining attention. Walt had had a few min- utes at the house before Rubin came on. A quiet, well-mannered chap only making slight attempts at comedy in conjunction with his band and generally durinir * nun^ber aimed for laughter. Rubin had no help and had to dig. Being used to that he started with his Hebe dialect which didn't sound so good within these walls. The atmosphere was wrong—the differ- ence between the handsome interior ef ti fllm palace and the majority of vaude houses. Later, Benny switched to prying comedy from a trombone and comet duet with Roesner, ^ bit that would have stood up much better if punched over briefly. It was routined to be eom- pletely dominated by Rubin. The house didn't think mucli of it either. Not that Rubin was bad. He might not have been terribly good, either, but he was making 'em think—and it's becoming evident that picture house patronage doesn't want its brain power taxed. Thai explains those Inevitable clinches at the end of a film and why the U. S. troops gallop in half way through the final reel. And, as regards tho master of ceremony problem, this may be rtght, or It may be wrong— but it's an angle. There can't be any decision on it at this time be- cause eV<»rybody is doing little more than guess. It does seem, however, that if the so-called smart chatter in- dividuals sign for a picture house date, someone should insist that they freqiient the house throughout the preceoing week and from out front to familiarize them.selves with what they're going up against. Beyond Roesner and Rubin this week the Capitol is .«<hy of any "names." It's titled "liabayettes," probably taken from the 18 small pianos which dot' the stage at the finale. Il's a throwback to Irving Berlin's first act finale for the show he put on at the Century during the war, even imto 14 of tlie pianos having girls dancing upon them. This also may be the set devised for George Cer.shwin, who w ns < xpected at this house for a week, and pos- sibly still is. The color scheme was green. A double bridge of 14 pianos came up from behind the band stand and four*more were eased out from the wing.«. All had giii.s at the key- boards with two moie (probably Chantel Sisters) in the orchestra pit. Neither the si.sters or Martha Vaughn, although pjogramed, were announred by noosner. Homo young lady hopped on for a tap dance on her toes. About three number.*^ fo r the Cap - itolians (27 men) on the stage, one of which was neatly executed for comedy and orrhestrrif ion. This was Roesner's best effort. More like It will be good for the house. Ro^^sner and tho hand, even «:)io'ild he deem one such number nufil- cient for any week. A couple of tl»e band boys pfepped out ff»r soni; and dance specialties, the singer having a female impersonator's range. Roesner will perhaps at- tempt to establish these yt>utiis as favorites by the weekly regulars. Ash, in Chicago, and Phil Spitalny. in Cleveland, and otlieis, handU their bundii that wa.\. 'l>iiis was brolien up by the Roesner-Ruhin bit in one. and thence into the tinale which all took 3S minutes. The Chester Hale Girls have appeared to much better advantage than thi^ week. The house has cut its pit crew plenty, a triple count totaling 64 men working on the overture, "L#n Boheme." Soon after the Hi^xy opened this theatre had around V(> men under Mendosa's baton, but Roxy has sliced too, so H alt evens up. More attention, and at least time, is being given the news weekly here this week. Maybe due to the short- ness of the feature. Only 53 min- utes for "The Thirteenth Hour' (M-G). The magazine got a full 13 minutes during which Pathe flashed three clips. M-G-M as many and Paramount two. The M-O stuff looked particularly good. . 8i4. VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS STATE MOSQUE (NEWARK, N. J.) Newark, Nov. 28. The new policy here is looking better and offers fine entertainment this w^eek. A. Gordon Reid is pre- senting a nifty array of talent (booked through Harry Pearl) and' if he keeps his shows up to this standard the house will soon be turning a nice iHroAt. Allan Walker acts as m. of c. (second week) and makes a good impression. He'd improve by gain- ing variety in his announcements and using more subtle means of winning applause. Mainstay of the show is Eddie Elkins and orchestra. This band is among the best ever heard in New- ark and should draw. With 16 men all In tuxedos, they line up on a platform across the stage. Besides their own numbers, they are ex- ceedingly tricky on accompaniments. As they are in here indefinitely there is another angle which means money. The Marty Beck fans at the Branford, who are legion, will want to compare the Elkins bunch and with arguments going on both houses win profit Jack Edwards Is used for comic relief, interrupting the announce- ments with gsgs. most of which flop. He redeems himself by some trick stepping that wins. After the band number opening a small elevated stage has Waneyo doing some splendid contortion work. She Is accompanied by the Mayfair orches- tra, a balalaika group of five who please. Sylvia Doree, of sweet and youth- ful appearance, plays a violin and dances, ending with a split, and gets their fancy. Walker and Bubbles 6helby sing straight a duet, ending with comedy and put it all over well. The next band number features some mild singing and a corker of a solo by a stopped cornet. Ed- wards follows, succeeded by Elenor Faron, ton dancer, with some classy spins. Walker sings again and the upper stage is revealed with Made- lyn White as a ragged boy singing to the accompaniment of the May- fair band andi then the Elkins crowd. This girl is there. The show is stopped by Dave White's eccen- tric dancing. It end.s with all on both stages, and the three bands playinr. It runs 40 minutes. The rest of the show has a news- reel with clips from all the M-G prominent. A comedy, "The Little Rube," and an overture, "Rio Rita." by the house orchestra, Robert B. Grlesenbeck swinging the baton. The feature Is 'XJet Your Man' (Par.). Au9tin. STRAND (NEW YORK) New York. Nov. 27. The ttiftrest tfiing in pioturcH ap- proaching human interest at the Strand this week Is "Inklings," a Reid Seal cartoon drawing produc- tion by Dave Fleischer. The whole show, 8ta.?e and pictures, harbors six laughs (clocked). "Inklings" gets the three big ones. "The Wreck of the Hespcrous," feature, registers for two light snickers and then '8 a weak giggle In the stage show somewtiere. Considering thut it only runs about four or Ave minutes, three laughs, in addition to holding inter- est. Is a pretty good rorord for thf cartoon feature. But it's not enough to hold patronage for the Btrand. Nathaniel Shllkret and hlw \'i< tor Salon orchestra, for results, is not any too strong. The Liebling Sing- ers, following, warblf serenely for a few minutes, succeeded by Chief Caupolican. The chief Is the goods and heavy applause sl)Of>k thf honsp for the first time. He followed with an operatic selection that pleased even more than tlw hall.id. Thf> chi e f Is a n ace for ^ny itouKa along the street. Bourman's Rteppfrs, troup*^* of girls in straw skirtH, held the Ktage next with usual hoofing routine. A couple of Orlrnt.'il sketches closed the stage offerings. The newsreel was split up by Pathe, Fss ftad Intemiltlonal. ISorL I (Continued from page S5) up smiling, lompt lled at »itn time to sit in as an employed trumpet player with Vincent LopeSi And fast com- ing to t!ii> f«>r<< thereafter ns a maes- tro on his own. The man Rolfe as he is known to tlu' show busines.s is a far moi\ iii- tereuting per«soitality than RoUe the public performer, the trumpet vir- tuoso or the iKindrna.ster. This with- out any reflectior. on a consunuuate- ly finished stage routine and a gilt- edged entertaining band perform- ance. Radio has been Rolfe's new incen- tive. The pieture tl» Id is r*'latively antiquated and oninteresting to Rolfe alongside of the magic micro- phone which has made Rolfe a household byword in thousands upon thousands of homes. As a radio "name" Rolfe takes his draw for granted, and onl^ a casual reference to radio, far from any intention to Identify himself, was needed for an umxpected spontaneous salvo of applause. That Rolfe's showmanly training has not been in vain Is beside the point. His canny pacing of pro- grams, developing and pitching to Wow climaxes and anti-climaxes have their full effect on the hand-to- liand music returns. The opener, Evans and Peres, tMrilling Rlsley team, selling their stuff in sensational fa.shion atop ab- normally tall perches, is the perfect dumb act. The Abbey Sisters, likely looking trio with a routine of vocal har- monics that were consistently ac- claimed, owe their all to whoever arranges their stuff. The girls know their close harmony in playing with the clever arranger, whoever he may be. Billy Farrell and Co. is another shrewdly contrived act. Opening conventionally in "one." the negative boy-and-girl impres.slon Is more than offset when the act takes to the parlor set for the dance revue stuff. Farrell annoimces the old boy in his act as Dad (on the up-and- up). and the proper mother is Llta Gardner, the oldest s. and d. woman active In the varieties. Nancy Reed is the young femme. Billy and Dad Farrell do a mili- tary buck tap for the finale that was a chandelier rattler, and the A. K.'s "essence" solo got plenty on Its own. Young Farrell doe« trick legmania that sustains the pare handily, and Miss Gardner, the fem- inine A. K., with the b1di>fashloned b. and w. stuff, panicked. Boreo and then Rolfe. The latter introduced the Remacs for a maxixe number, the 8o\Mh American pair being reputed the champ maxixe hoofers of the southern continent. "Garden of Allah" feature. Business-^Ig. AbeU RIVERSIDE (St. Vaude) Third w<H;k of the reduced scale and little encouragement if the one- third house Monday night is any criterion. The price cutting experiment must be causing the K-A boys much thought. Liooks like a grind and another cut before long. The show is vaude. No names or box office magnets but at least eight standard acts, seven of which Loew has not yet had and one (Marshall Montgomery) that has just finished a Ix>ew route. The general switching of the laid out routine of the shoW made a program Just a confus^ r. Most of the audience got tired and tore them up. This won't make a hit with the advertisers. The Great Johnson, scheduled for closer, opened instead with his bal- ancing, trapese work and spiral teeth grip finish that got over. Dixie Four, colored male (|uartet of harmonists and steppers, made a lively deucer and well liked. Paul Remos, with two midg«'tH, did snappy gymnastics and balanc- ing with the miniatures Alternat- ing. Sure fire. Wallace and May, mixed team, got over neatly With an admixture of flovvning, songs and instrumen- tation. A forking light comedian carried the l)iijnt. Mitty and Tillio. Parisian danrerH in Anif-rifan return, sexjred but mildly de.Mpitf their class offering and flash. "The Ix>ve of tin- Roho,' roniantic adagio, was th«'ir opener and "Danee of An Absinthe Fiend" the closer. Jioth well done, giving Mile. Mitty plenty of opportunity for her gymnastic-acrobatic danc- ing In both. Adequate settings car- ried with each. Ruddy Sheppard. violiiiivf, a< eomp.'irii» d for th« opener and spaced the changes with a violin solo well received. Mijares and brother opened after feats when actually getting down to businrsH on tlif" wire, but n«.iily crabbed results through ovc^doin;^ the stall stuff. They finally landed heavy nevertli* 1* yrf. Fisher and (iilmore, mixed team, wer« mildly entertaining in "Her Rashfiil Romeo." Ar» f)rding to r< - ord they iiavc bein doing il fui 10 years or more. The boob character of the man suits ideally but It Seems yeiirniiiL,' for a new frame. Montgomery cumo next with his ventriloqutal stuff and helped the comedy division with wiseerackIn^r repartee between him and , the dummy. Act Is now embelllshM with a new t?etting arul eff» ets, but the chatter and other routine are practically the same as when Mont>:(»mery WM kMit'^l^nd IH Loew houses. Frank Van Hoven, headlined and originally set for tu xt to shut, was switched to Montgomery's spot be- cause of the hitter's requirements for a full stage setting, deserves ths palm for having gone on at this late hour and panicing tiiem. He held them, too, not one leaving the audi* torium until Van Hoven had spun his entire skein of clowning antics. Three kids in the act with him instead of more mature plants as formerly. Van HOVSII ISOPPed up Monday night. RIDGEWOOD (BROOKLYN, N. Y,) Vaude-Pets) At the opening of the new Moss* Madi.son Thursday night, the line- up outside the Ridgewood read SQd played like a Palace bill. - Only four arts against the five at the Madison, but what acts! They usually have five or six hers bat Roscoe Alls's latest (New Acts) consumes running time of three or four by doing an'hour of ostMMiff entertainment. Marvel, mute dancer whose foot- work Justifies his profefsional trade- mark, opened with daaofa thi^t sot over big. Keller Sisters and Lynch, two girls and boy. were class deucers with their harmony singing and dancing that went over for a bang and with the bunch out front OfyU^S for more Friday night. Harry l)v\t, next, had them from the walk-on and held them. Uis^ satire on a vaudeville alww aadT travesty on Grecian dancing are still his comedy panics. His ballad bit spacing the comedy wai aqQatlF good. Clean up. ^ The Ails-Pullman Co., 11 ptM|| revue, also a mop. Undoubtedly best act Alls has ever lined up. "Loves '^f Carmen" (Fox) en screen. Great show all the way. Too good for 40c. gate, but Kdgar Allen an<l the Fox mob knoir,|lialr vaude« vUle vagaries. BROADWAY (Vauds-Pete) Mr. Joe Frisco, the funny man, was lost at the Broadway Monday night in an impenetrable forest of so-so acts. Ue managed to break through the surrounding shrubbery of yawns and wake the pessinflstie customers into a seml^ance of in- terest, but It was an unequal task. I^espits the giggles achieved he was unable to save the bill from beinc profoundly boresome. Kmmett Gilfoyle, preceding PVIsco and addressing moKt of hiH remarks to the latter in the wings, nose-dived beautifully. He lias a boisterous, eur-splltting delivery and seemingly unlimited faith In the facetious na- ture of mere noise. He sings inter- minable songs with neither melody nor lyrics to recommend them. Mlss iAngc, his partner, quieter in her methods, promenaded In a couple of changes of costume, that being the act's excuse for working full stage and No. t. Two straight singing acts. In addi- tion to the Gilfoyle and Lange turn, also largely vocal. Howard and BsB« nett, No. 2, have the usual worry of how to get on. Once through with tno Introductory blah, they reveal sweet and fairly robust voices. Rule Bros, and Tenney. three men and all composers, did okay, but their type and spotting on a bill that WftS iMI. wrong were a handhan. Rut Rhepard, "the whip king." and his attractive assistant followed Frisco, the stuttering cut-up clown- ing in their turn. An extremely ele- mental magic act presented by Gwynne and X^o. opened the show. To mako tli<' .score a ojimplete zero, the picture. "The Tigress" ^Co- lumbla), quite painful. T 1 t I i \ I % 4 4 J35' NEW ACTS % Lew Kelly and Cliff Hall two act I...'nira Harnllfon and fleorge Hug-*''*" g'-rty will head "ServJce, Please." Lee Stewart producing. "Youth," with four girls, written by Nettle Parker and .Nellie Nich- ols. Both of the writers are former vaudevilllans. Paul Poole, K-A i*roducer, Is readying two new fl.ivheH for clr- euit bookings. One i.s " liig Mon^y," tabloid md^l^Al TMTIIHIIB Cliff DUi and carrying fix <.!h<ry. The other lis a tab verHion '^•f Meet the Wife,** with ca.««t of B( ven. "Passengers." sketch starriac Franri."? X. Pufdim.'-n. \S inona V\ inter, oiaterial by Pliinche M« rriil.