Variety (Dec 1927)

VAUD£Vilil£:'REVIfiWS'^ VARI8TY PALACE (•I. Valid*) Amft^mB the MftM 18 eoncerne<] iffl Xmas week according to the Mle Half a bouse Monday night; Sauooup off at th« mat* and the TTswer is In the ahow. With » couple of "names" in Na- ■liBOTa and tha Chas Helen Morgan (night club) Revue penciled In. it Iti out Gufl EM wards aa a hold- over, a BOW regular occurrence at the Palace. The sudden cancellation m* both—^Mme. No-Ma2uma was not •Mady^ and the cafe managrement cared nauRht for the theatre book- tac>-left the Palace in a lurch, and goiiie quick act Jucfltnff waa the grder of the week end. .What resulted is reflected at the tox ofllca. Baa Samuels was pressed Into service as the most established yariety "name" on the bill. A K-A •flica act (John Shultz's production), j^aro Lockford and Co.. was given Palace opportunity; Arnold John- , moWt orchestra made an early re- turn; a - nelRhborhood colored team, Hamtree Harrinfcton with Cora Ors«n« attained the prestige of the palace after playinir repeats and re- lepeats at the K-A Hipp and the aelghl^pring Loew'a State. And the test was applesauce. So. no matter how It was sliced, It's still knackwurst. George Wongr and Co. and the charming Ponce Sisters (EHhel and Dorothea) were two New Acts in sequence, going strong. Wong's 1r a chop suey potpourri of gymnastics, contortion exhibition and Juggling. The Ponce kids are vocal harmon- ists of ultra quality, with a record- ing and radio /rep to fortify them. Arnold Johnson and his orchestra again got the most on their corking radio number. Harry Arlock (or so announced) is an important member ef the troupe. He ahould be given fuller opportunities. Ingraham and Bums, who are featured, are wisely faked aa band lnsti:;;umentalists. al- though Bobby Bums' exaggerated mannerisms with his guitar fools nobody. He can stand coaching on plausible 'Y&king"; also on the gro- tesque waving of his head, which is oat of tune with the general en- •emble. Johnson hai been plcture-house- mg and going well around the country. He has an excellent stage aggregation, and with soma more Mtentton to detail he'll be among tha **name8" In short order. Bamtree Haninir with Cora Green tea F*laea debuting. The colored team has been abroad, returning Irecently, bat not importing anything QUY VOYER and (•) Comedy skit 22 Mins.; One, Three, Full (Speeial) '*8o This Is ICanrlaga,** playing In the midwest for some time, under- lines Norma Pallat and is credited fft W, 11. Hoagh with moalo, two aumbara. hy K. B. Fikllat. Xtfa aimed for comedy using couples at the honeymoon, llva and 10-yeAr stage§. y^tored pair ara tha ▼ataran naii- tid battlers. Tha act Is a fair Invaat- ipent on produetlolh but In Ita iint shape Is Just an act. A apaelal drop with badroom In- serts for the trio of twosomes starts ofT and is the turn's top idea. Dia log frames tha difference between 1^ nawlyweda Md thair wall aea- honed h^ghbors. In "three" some sort of a bet takes place about which husband woHild ilMir tha noat teixlety If hla wife Were to disappear. This takes the action into a sitting room where /lha males troupe In as their wives hide behind a aeraen. It aventnally becomes a hoax on the origrlnator to prove he atill cares for his Woose despite the 10 service stripes. Two soVigs dot the running, one •In the Spring" out ot "Battling Buttler" of a few years back. Even tha same dance routine la retained as then done by Bill Kant and Marie Saxon. CJast does well enough by ^ playlet but the script needs WMteiriiit If It's to class as a real act. For present day ^udavllle It can play anywhere. Bid. DEWEY and QOLD REVUK (11) Flash Act Mine.; One and Full •Itl m. Conventional flarti af algbt »lrls headed by two boys and another ■"'J**. Nothing special anywhere in «a running other than a routine Dy the octet wbleh either the Roxy or the act copped. It's Identical JlJth a doll dance the tig picture ■Mww* held over for two weeks re- cently. A couple of blackout Ideas creep In PPt all ar^ fanntHnr so the edKC Is off. ^inelpals display nothing beyond «e uBiiai and at this house tha act ^as letting 'em trickle out to Pmo'ko to the solid celluloid second Olrls work well together but «nat accompllshnant has eetsed to aa a novelty. .Nothing to get excited about and "•body wm. SmL new. Naro Lockford and Co. fol- owed with his "Dance Voyage." It's a corking aesthetic flash act. nov- elly conceived and artistically pre- sented. Everything from the fu- turistic settings to the super-artis- try of the company Is effective. Naro Lockford is a remainder of the Lockfords. brother-sister dance team. He has with him Ellen Bunt- ing and Jackie Withrow as alternate partners and Cynthia and Claire as intermediary specialists. All of the gals are comely and shapely, with Ihelr charms an open secret in the current stapo stylea of abbreviated, curtailed and form-fitting attire. Duel de Kerekjarto, violin virtuo- so, who mlRht be Elinor Qlyn's con- ception of "it." is an asset always. The violinist was recalled twice and pulled a charming speechlet. He Is personable, sartorially smart and generally effective, as a personality and as an Instrumentalist, a sure- fire .combination fpr any individual. And great for the picture houses. Abe Reynolds and Florence Clark, the charming bninet now getting- equal billing, were a comedy feature with their "S a. m.** ikttch. The curse is taken off tha John (or Jake) stuff through the dlalaort chaser be- ing taught a moral by tha make- believe vamp, -who la really a pri- vate detective, etc. In between there are plenty of laughs and two solo opportunities for Miss Clark. Rae Samuels next with her fast songs, although essaying one heavy" number that didn't par the rest of her stuff. Mildred Land at the Ivorlea la aa affiMtlre as ever. Blum Trio cloaed. AHk RIVERSIDE (•t Vandal It's high time some fearless leader took two steps forward and organ-. ized the Society of Thoa* Who Were Told They Were GatUnff Aiala Jaftts, But This society might meet when- ever a member was added to the bulging roster, and in carnal glee inflict special brutalities upon box- ofllce men. Pasteboard miniatures of certain treasurers might be boiled. Incidentally, the condition of straight vaudeville doea not warrant the practice of deceit upon its thin- ning ranks of patrons. Probably the Riverside boys felt glorified Monday night because Fannie Brlca was doing something for business that 1,000 letters. stamps Included, couldn't do. She waa drawing busi- ness, and alie draw H within three rows of capaAltir. All talk concerned Fannie, and sometimes Nick. too. How would she look with her new nose? Wasn't it a shame about HMurT . Wovld ahe 8in« "My Man"? She would. She sang It as her first encore, and it gripped the house. She sang It so completely her eyes glistened, and whether the emotion was ohoney or on the level, its effect on the audience was some- thing to see. There was substantial entertain- ment surrounding Miss Brice. Fe- lovls, a Juggler, set himself for im- mortality by stopping the show directly following Intermission. He is a master in his profession, im- pressing most strikingly in his Jug- gling of a rubber ball with a stick clamped in his mouth. The ball rolled up and down the stick, rested on top, and even rolled around it when laws of gravity stated it 8lu»uld have fallen. All of Felovls' tricks are worked daftly HmM up one of the most tlMatWttet Mtob acts in vaudeville. More should be known about what arrangement, if any, George Le Maire and {iex Van have made with Moran and Mack before judgment Is passed. La Malra and Van are Victor record artlata, with V%9 de^ livering In exactly the tona aSd manner of Moran. On stage his make-up Is also a replica, namely, the sad-eye effect. With material similar to that of the better known team, this new turn mopped up at the Riverside. If it's with the aoft- sent of Moran and Mack, the new team Is recommended as a good laugh-getter for any house. Other- wise, rank case of infringement. Countess Sonla. featured In "Re- vue Satiricon," made a distinctly favorable impression. Her revue is a novel affair, containing unusual song and dance numbers. Opening bit has her four supporting men out- fitted in sQtiare boxek as wooden soldiers, getting across well In a song and parade routine. Another outstanding part is a bttrleaque opera piece, handled with a nlro sense of humor in costuming and lyrics. Sonla has a French accent, which either makes a distinct hit or falls flat. They went for it here. Scott Sanders, evidently new to the States, was a hit with his char- acter impressions, fourth on the bill (New Acts). Homer Ilomainp. aerlnllst. started the show with daring ring work that brought con- tinual exclamations from customers. H omainc doea h is stuff in a kidding w ay AHfl gttlM M lliutll uul e f It as he would if using do-or-dirx gestures. This turn should open bills always, ns Its exceptional worth would be lopt in clovint,' position. A sketch by and featuring Lew Welch drew a satisfying number of lauphs in third spr^t (New Arts). Worth Sisters and Coly (New Act«> on second with dancing. BROADWAY (Vauda-Pcts) Kllnor Olya opened at Loew's State Monday and packed. The State must have packed again Monday night. The crowd had to be somewhere, and It eertainly wasn't at the Broadway. No candy butcher in the lobby yet. but It won't be lonir now. Plenty of outside ballyhoo, which should at least make the sign paint- er safe frooi diamlasal even if his art work cannot lasso them In. The actors peering across the fioota must have mistaken the far side assemblage for onlookers at a Monday morning rehearsal or per- haps a jury for one of those Mon- day morning auditions at the Palace. The show, although better than usual for this K-A Intermediate, played through to mild returns for the most part, with the auditors shopping carefully on applause and no occasion for palm blistering. Eddie Foy, veteran, in his back- stoge skit. *«rha Fallen Star," spotted No. S, kicked up more dust than the others and registered solid, both on reminiscing and Foy*s bit of dancing. Foy hit spontaneously. No palm whacking when the card went up. but more than plenty at the finish. Preceding were Jerome and Eve- lyn, mixed team. In a snappy com- bination of dancing and aerobatics likeable for this spotting. Lew Brice followed Foy with his usual dancing and travesty, still re- taining sister Fanny's Spring Song burlesque as the comedy wallop. Qot over, but no sensation. Wright Dancera next, comprising nine girls and male singer, offered a colorful dancing dash routined in scenes and built np Into enseftibles. The girl contributing the Indian number was standout among the solo dancers. Besser and Balfour, mixed team, furnished some corking and much- needed comedy to the bill with a line of chatter and songs that hit the mark. Good act of iU kind, but not heavy enough for next to shut An illustration of such spotting aaems a oonfeoslon that K-A is In a bad way for next-to-closlng» comedy teams when It takes an early apot- ter of this type fer tha niche. Still. Besser and Balfour went over big. Gaynor and Byron, male akaters, opened with sensational roller work on a raised platform. It registered. DIas and Powers, mixed duo, closed with their familiar wire walking. *'Good Time CSMfliy" (W-B) scrofa feature. ACADEMY (Vaude-Peto) llfly aenta an tha Mate floor. SMght acts of vaudeville, a feature pictursb short aubieota, and a pit or- chestra oC II teaa. For first halves Movietone as an added attraction. That's a bargain, especially when tha vaude la sood. And It was good the last half of last week. Also, the advance bookings don't Indicate there's going to be a relapse. Georgie Price headlined. Georgle was recognised when he came on, despite an apfMurantly new avlt He did his songs, his dancing, and walked off while they still wanted him. The bill ox>ened with an aot that has been c|sslng intermissions else whera—the'S^ve Harmaniacs. These boys dress as fur-panted cowboys and dray music from jugs and ka- soos and even a washboard. They're so good they record the stuff. And they're fine to pep up a bill. An 11 piece orchestra on the bill later. Willie Creagor and his boys (New Acta), playing a alreet brand of music. Creagor also records, and he's a professional arranger of music. Ba*s a great drummer, be- sides. More qoallty with Masters and Qrayca Rama (New A«ts). This Is In Ave scenes and uses atz people. It follows the career of a ham vaude team.' fr^lilild be fttttttler, and it probably Will be. Then Herbert Ashley and partner. Aihley is a re- fined Heba comedlaa nh&u been playing for so many years he oould sleep through his act. He rated with the leaders te applause here. Buster Shaver and His Tiny Town Follies (New Acts) cloaed and held attention. Shaver haa five mid- gets, doing a regulation madevllie revue routine. Graham and Courtney (New Acts) are bettor than the run of girl teams. Marcus Sisters and Carlton Brottiers, on second, had a nice ar- my of dancing. On a weaker bill they wouldn't get such early shoot- ing. Feature picture, *7ajaaAaaf' CPok). The house was full. STH AVE. (Vaude-PcU) A raduetlon In prleee and aets making the third policy chanRo in about as many months seems a raihtr bluntly wnrdtKl advertise^ ment that business hasn't be/n so forte at Mr. Proctor's concert hall. It's now 60 cents all over and six nets. Fats, sabbaths and holidays. 75 cents. Monday night a full hous'> attested tha wisdom of tha four-bit irate. Authentic old time claas miUla the first half bill something of a book- ing maaterplaoa. It waa a cracker* lack. Grace Edler and Co. kicked off. Miss Edler is not new but probably her present support of four dancing girls is, as there appeared to be a traie of nervousnes.s in tlu'ir work. Otherwise smooth. The act is ex- tremely pleasing, neat, dainty and classy. Numerous costume chnnKes and a general splc-^and-span atmos- phere definitely places the turti away and above the regulation run of small revues. It is an act of wide aervlceabillty for booking pur- P«^''ts. not particularly exp«'nsivo Miss iudler is a dancer and a looker and encores to affect with a tap black bottom. Jeanne I^Crosse pave the cus- tomers three songs and no more de- spite a legitimate demand. The 5th Avenue was naively interested and Iniprt'ssed by the bouquet of roses that passed up over the footlights. Delorls Grifiln is the euphonious label of a cute black-haired nianuna new to the turn of Billy Kelly and Warren Jackson. Kelly and Jack- son gave the nelj::hbor8 a flock of laughs and set the works for the rest of the show which preceded to cr.ayon up a series of ten-strikes. Th Arnaut Brothers, now billed Rene and John, enjoyed their time- honored walkaway. On the Jour- nalistic principle that everyday occurrences do not constitute ni|rs the Arnauts are poor copy. Hap Karnell and Florence climaxed the comedy array with ease and distinction. There's a wealth of ex- perience and sureness in Famell's unhurried and unerring stylo of work. He does one of the best alcoholic bits In vaude. The caliope position was asslRned to Alexander and Santos Revue. They acquired more distinction from the bill than they contributed to it. Two reformed acrobats took up the saxophone and Joined a ball- room adagio dancing team. An was going well until the producer ran out of Ideaa and remembered that the saxophone players were acrobats. It provided an exit for tha prodttoar'a dilemma and the act's pretentions. But with these qualiflctitions Alexander and Santos Is not a bad dumb act, "The Crystal Cup" (F. N.) on the AMERICAN (Vauda-Pala) The change In weather seemed to help bU instead of hurting It on the FV>of Monday night. The show didn't warrant any box-offlce stani- pede, being just one of those bills that eomea lika a headache now and then. A sameness trotted out sev- eral eccentric danoers. The second half brdoiM aoMady that pr«vai a llfe-aaver. ^ ^ Jordan and Grace opened. An 0<ia mixture of a juggler and gun spin- ner working with a woman whose principal asset was an Inning with an accordion. Jordan reminds of Clifford Jordan, who was around six years ago. For the finish Jordan announcea he will support an 86- pound wheel atop his head and jump a rope. An awkward'looking atunt, but Jordan spins the wheel and even has it Illuminated for the rope jumping. Rose and Jerman have Improved since first showing around here. They depend mainly upon hooAny, their talk being nlL Lavlne and Plllard have some material that needs fixing. A ballad struck 12 for this sympathetic bunch. "Silver Toes" (New AcU) closed the first part. After intermission BSuble Blake and Broadway Jones, colored duo, clbaned. Thia oaa has Blake. Noble SIssle's old partner, and Jones, who spends most of his winters in Flori- da, together, and they make a good team; Jones stands out with his songs and Blake can do things to a planner. The pair Is set f9r IMHlts in pictures or on the air. Plenty of laughs for Coogan and Casey. Got better returns than any sketch here for a long while. Lane and Byron stepped right along and also wrapped up a lauKh score. Elvans and Peres closed. They have changed their act considerably. One of the new features Is the three ball juggling by the bigger man a la Jap barrel spinning. The duo atUl use the high perches, throwing the top worker far up into the wings and losing its full effectiveness to the rear part of the house. On the screen, "Two Arabian Knlghta^ (ly. A.) Mmrk, Houses Opening Middlesex (Conn.) theatre, vaud- film. Is due to open Christmas day under the management of 8. Z. Poll's nephews, Adelmo Vanni and P. Alonxo. The house itself is own- ed by a local theatre corporation. R(>bert H. Russell appointed resident manager of Junior West Coast theatraa In Redlands, Cal. Russell follows Richard Sims, trann- ferrod to one of circuit's Los An- geles houses. —— State theatre, new Fleishman- Kroets nalghbortiood house at Col- llnpwood and Delaware streets, Toledo, C, opened Nov. 23. The S,000-8eatar has a vaudefllm policy, with program changes three times weekly. fSOO.MO cost. £D. RESENTS ROLE (Continued ttQm page 1) shown at the State theatre for ihm week beginning today, Jeanna Kapols" first clnems effort, 'Maxi, Woman and Sin,' which is an In- sult to the newspaper professlona . the week's offerinKs on the ailvar« slu-rt are Of high caliber," MIM/^ Taaffe started her column. LAter along, commenting further on **Man. Woman and Sin." Mlaa Taaffe wrote: "Just why Monta Bell, former newspaper man, should have written and directed such a picture Is difficult to understand, unless newspaper life in Washing- ton Is vastly different from what it is in the northwest. . . . From the story standpoint the plctura gives a decidedly false Impression to the public of what newspaper* and newspaper people are hka. •The story presents the society «»dltor, played by Miss Eapels. as the mistress of the publisher and John Gilbert plays the young ra^ porter who Is Infatuated with the woman. The life of a society editor, one would be led to believe from tihe picture. Is a round of plea.^ure with the publl.'^her pa>ing for a lavlshly-furplshed apartment and providing the atrings of pearli to be worn at the. social functions. , "Well. In actual fact, the life Is far from such! * It is rather 10 to 14 hoars of good hard grind, albeit Interesting grind, especially when the society editor Is also the club editor, the drama and movie editor and tha church editor (these are the assignments Miss Taaffe her- self handles). It means 'covering* the most outstanding social eventa to be sure and the most interesting events of the day In other fiHde. but it also means long hours of tela* phoning for nawa» of writing on ttm tjrpewriter, ef editing and writing heads and of making up pages ao they will be plaslng to the eye aC^. tha readers. •mnt the society editor provideg her own pearls If she wears any \ and bar ghlary haa to stretch ortr living w ps M sg aad what iMft^ " v EQUinON COAST (Continued from page 1) to the organlsatloB and rvlad II g«S of existence. Hereafter Equity's coast branch will be controlled by the designated deputy, under orders .from hand* quarters at an tteaa. Tha differanea between the coast picture players and Equity dates to last June when picture producara aallad for a evt la salarlaa. Sgalty meetings were held and a standard form of contract aiming to Equity shop was agreed upon. Then lead- ing playari ahanged their vlew% saying they. were friends of tha producers. That aentiment da« veloped abont the tliM tha FMNid makers raseladdd tM IliW Wl PM»9(Mlflon. Nagel Figured L«st month the executive com* mittee decided an a aontrttot hi which Equity would not figure bot the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will. Equity haa viewed the latter erganisation wft^ disfavor from its Inception, bellev* ing it to be promoted by the pro- ducers. That Conrad Nagel If ohalitnan of both the axaenthFa committee of the Academy and of E3quity's coast branch committea figured In tha decision to diss^lvv the latter. The Council flgnred that Nagel and his supporters could M# be loyal to both organisations. - Tha rsaoHrtloB paased by tfM Council Dec. • read: "Whereas, the Council recog- nises the exceptional caliber of the personnel of the Los Angelsa executive committee, an^l pays, herewith, tribute to Its hard work and sincerity, and "Whereaa, tha taeant pollclaa ad the Ix)8 Angeles executive com- mitte are contrary to the policiea which the association Imm adopted, and **Whereaii, the Council, under the constitution and by-laws of the association, la and araet ba responsible to the memberehip M a whole, therefore "Be It resolv^jd, That the offi- cial status and powers conferred upon the I.or Anceles exff'utlve er^mmiltee bj? thA rnifncll are hereby rescinded, and the com- mittee In herewith dissolved." Tn lltrb* of roc€nt events Equfty has little chance of holding sway on the roiifft and laat weelt'a read* lutlon virtually mrans a Wt dawi[ in Itl! roast activities.