Variety (Dec 1927)

VARIETY FULM HOUSE REVIEWS ROXY (HEW YORK) New York. Dec. 23. Christmas fe«Uval at Roxy's tht IMI ifM m«ciiUloaiic« iMimtSoii «f tpectacle. A half-hour mnste And scenic version •f the old Cindtrella fairy talc is a sumptuous and Impofling affair. ht\ng\ng into one tour de force all the elements that go to make the Rothafel entertftteaMt ptisolUML In order to ^tH the staffs pre- sentation full scope, the screen pro- gram has been induced to a prac Is used to T«ttini to tho ballroom scene, central figures here being the iiishop and the neat finishing touch of a snctestod wedding puts a sat- isfying period to a beautiful and appropriate Christmas spectacle. Week's feature is "Silk L>effs'* (Fox), starring Madga Bellaroy. United ArtitU' TliMire (CHICAGO) Chicago, Dec. 27, Crowds thronged the corner of Randolph and Dearborn streets on xi , . , # I the evening of Sunday, Dec. 26— tieal minimum. The feature takes ^^^j^^^^ •jjp,,^^ For OB this cor- tip a scant 66 minutes. 10 minutes I ^^^^^^ Chicago's newest monu- ment to the greatness of ths picture, the Htm United Artists thsatre. Christmas night saw the world's premiere of Norma Talmadge in "The Dove," and the opening of the house that stars built. Squads of Chicago police kept the i Is alio ted a Universal animated car tooB and the BSirs fssi nias its : ivual length. ; V The rest is splendid music and • %sMitlfttl stags picturs. K starts with the overture and runs through ^iSiS^i^Jti^ I crS^srm^tiig ^^aj";:;^*?^; > number accompanying IhS lisisal or- ^^^^^ Chicago, you know. Is gan "nunc dimittls. movie mad. Only those holding Bbllday atmospiMM greets the tickets for the invitation opening visitor 'n the decorations. The were permitted to congregate on the sastle-like boxes on either side are sidewalk, and the aggvegajUofi of the •et sir wHh brightly lighted Christ- chosen few. lined four alnresst, flll- mas trees, while at the peak of the ed a full city block, arch and to each side ar« mammoth Complimentary tickets In their kodsr #r«alhs. WMih hstore the possession scheduled the opening for opening of the overture, the Roxy | g. As the eventful hour arrived, , choir hsgiiis to appear in stately prseissi— <sw tit»-htitwiii. men on one side and women on the . other, all in medieval costume. l^tVllsg gSlilM^ around the two Christ- mas trees and sing a series of old . £nglisb carols to the aocompani- i ment of the organ. ^ One of the lighter opsias serves I time, the hundreds of waiting guests . as a brief musical interltide. Then surged forward and with that im- the curtate rises disclosing a semi- patience characteristic to an open- transparent drop suggesting vague tng night, very nearly overpowered distance at night, with a distant the gayly garbed attendants who star shialBg hig^ In the back sought to Induce orderly entrance. ^ Vague effect of invisible church From 8: SO until shortly after 9 the eholr contributes to this. Qradu- first nighters wandered about on I ally a midnight sky and desert vista maiiy-starred carpeting Inspecting gr^ws half definite, while to the the wonders that stars had wrought. I iJfS^/Plff? ^ .''^^"f"*"?'*!? Al ». or a UtUe after, a trumpet I gested building is disclosed the Vlr- ^^^j^^ ^ the foyer and the ushers P: gin hsnding over the Infant Jesus' - — 'Q'- to ths manger, the group brought I Into strong relief by a transfiguring r ^* Ul*Pt M ght which seems, to hay*' Soloists sing "Star of Bethlehem,** "Gesu Bambino." a trio number is '^nVs Three Kings of OHsat AMi^ and, with the crowd of adoring Pil- grims now grown to a throng, the ^orus goes Into the swelMag notss of "Adeste Fldells" for a magnifl- cant finale j.o a dignifled and im- pressive presentation. Mme. Qambarelli's contribution is passed and the hands of clock moved steadily on, ths now gigantic crowd commenced to shift restlessly and critical whispers were rampant. Chicago does not like to hs k«pt waiting. When, finally, the doors swung open no the puMlc for ths first piloted 1.660 people to seats. Then ^lights down, whilst the orchestra platform was elevated with the players, under the direction of Hugo Riesenfeld. in a burst of light, color and music that bespoke the ability of a director endowed with art. Following the opening number, "Overture Populaire,** a symphonic paraphrase of the song. "When Day Is Done," Dr. Riesenfeld tilrned to an audience whom he called "one of my bosses" and announced that the richly designed curtain would be ^ , . . . .parted for the first time by means trin ng. coming next, because It i» K)f a Western Union direct line con- a distinct let down from tlM mu- n^^ted with the Norma Talmadge « u*"* • fmotional drama of ^^^dio In Holl3rwood. Norma, after Bothlehem. In other surroundings searching—no doubt found It would he a bright bit of Christ- the button, for the cuHaln shivered 2/li ?*-JS?*"^ . momentarily and then rolled back, with *7''»Ji« in the cen- Entertainment for which the house lfl..^li.5[rf5 *u was especially designed then fiaiOied stands placed about, while hanging ^ ^ gji^er sheet, opening with tubes of red striped silk give the ^ pictorial review of news events. lISt5i-?'.r^**?T**?^ V ,?1 • iewen novelty. -The Masstro,** by 52iS55 ^*V*^ !J" Max Fleischer, a travelog, "Bridges ^^.S"^*"* ^^yK ?<'*"f the World Over.' followed by "Chl- fanilllar "Puppen Fantasle" and the Noetlime.'* a Clavllux organ girls doing taps and military golo played by Rose Bogdanoff, and then—the picture Itself, "The Dove," She sings, diBfts» talks aad Is dependable for anything that cumes up. She recently came to the Coast from an Oriental tour with a troupe and Is Improving by leaps and bounds. A roller skating specialty was done by Finks and Ayres. a coupfle of boys who know their ball bearings. Al Herman's appearance was more or less brief, for hime Ue em- ployed Wolf to do straight Her- man should get over with a bang around these parts when things coma bask to Bormalcy. His line Is new to the picture going mob. A classic musical arrangement by ths bSBd wsnt In for the finals with a tableau of Biblical description flashed In ths background. Running tlnfb of ths show was fully 46 min- utes, visibly pruned considerably from ths Initial performance with still mors room for cutting. At the organ, "Mltey" Ann Lieaf. who changed places with Herb Kern at the Boulevard, celebrated her first day in the house by play- ing straight routines for the flick- ers and tuning in on some sections of the stage show. She probably will be featured here In the near future, and it Is safe to esajsoture ^he will make good. On the screen was *^a]lty Street** (M-G), with Paramount newsreel playing the ms>ot on Lindy's arrival In Mexico. The re- mainder of the magazine was dcr voted to blftAk |isws Items with Ut- Ue feature stwfc 8tSHl' BwH isrs ' 'NewlywediT illii^^ IMWsal) EARLE ^ , IWASHINQTON) Washington. Dec. Aftsr ssrsral years given orsr to three-a-day policy of a feature picture and five acts booked by the K-A oflSces this gtaBlsy-CrsBdsll house took a week oft and comes back witb a stage presentation, an augmented ^orchestra, an outlay of considerable coin to fix things up. better pictures and g«:ts two con- sseutlvs daar* (Sunday aa4 SsB- day) of oapaelty business. That capacity business comes un- der the general classiflcatloB of PARAIfOUNT (NIW YORK) New York, Dec. 24. Jack Partington's "Russian Revels" this week, and okay. Grant- ing the three Ormonde Sisters run away with the applause end. the full tC minutes given over to the unit carries enough astloa t|» Mt- isfy. They Uked it The house pit crew coBtlaues In good form, still being guided by L«ou KoslofC The latter adheres to being a reserved director of straight announcements. But the Ormonds girls cleaned, first In a military doll tap and iBtsr haiMB- izing a pop followed by A SOmpos- ite and fast buck. Louis Bsrkoff sBd his sight girls main feature. BerkolTs fast Rus- sian spins got recognition and the girls BiaBSUvered through seme routines that win keep the natives awake. Ons number had them en- tranolag and exiting from the or- chestra pit; novel, but not particu- larly effective on the exit as the piatfoTBi eeuldn't descend low enough to take them out of sight. A male quartet was twice inserted and ths baad also oflldatsd, saos oh a comedy number. A tableau, which had about 47 people on stage, including the band of 25, finished. Conventional Rus- sian costuming with the set deco- rative If not lavish. Jesse Crawford was aloBs at the organ fdr his weekly recital. Ham- pered by backstage noises as he bors down on a ballad, Jesse didn't have It any too easy, but ths ap- preciation was there when he fin- ished. 'Christmas Qrsetings*' com- prised ths overture. Little doubt that the Paramount is showing the least valuable news- rssl OB ^s Street Ths house Is apparently ignoring the magazine and uses it only because it is a cus- toBL This wssk Just thr(M shots are allowed six minutes; one from Paramount, Kinograms and M-G. There's many an admission that comes in to see the newsreel and takes pot luck on the rest of^the shflnr. Then the newsreel. with clips from Fox (Movietone), Kinograms. Paths aBd iBtsmattsBal, Just under 12 minutes. The Movietone bits are Bot as graphic as some of these exhibits. Ocean liner discharging Christmas mall and a fox hunt In the Berkshires were the best, with sound effects of river craft whistles around the mall ship, and the hounds giving tongue in the field for the hunt. Fox has some star- tling views of a bomber plane dropping explosives Into a South C. rolina river, while the Lindbergh .views were from Kinograma Then Into ths **Clnderena** pro- duction, a presentation production done' almost on a Metropolitan scale for oostumet Mid seshls sf with Norma Talmadgs and Noah Beery. The audience acclaimed the affair as ultra successful, but the showmen present thought they should havs opsnsd with better picture. METROPOLITAN (1.08 ANQELES) Lios Angeles, Deo. lil. With ths pre-holiday Jinx tak- ing toll, even the Met, consist- ently the stronghold of downtown houses, felt the slump. Mutual ex- changes of confidences regarding purchases between seat neighbors didn't help Fanchon and Marco's fects. witirTpeclTl score by'^Er'no I ^mas Festival on thesUge featu Rapee and Lew Pollock. Story ial*"^^ . ^ given with a good dsfti <rf com- reception for his picteness Opens with Cinderella advent into picture houses on the misused with the Ugly Step Bis- K<><^\ * ters; FatiT Oodmothsr. Introduced and clowned his way through, with an engaging aria by Gladys Vacation for the school kids be •RiOS (the kitchen scene is a trans- Ing on, F. ft M. picked a group of parsncy behind which this fairy ap- talented youngsters from local stu pears). Scene fades into the dlos and blended them into a show, prince's ballroom, . a whale of a The kids made good and show SfSgS picture. Spacious hall is nromise for future things. Rube done in effect of dark red plu.ih Wolf had ample opportunity to test with gold chandeliers and the noble his versatility and''didn't miss. The company grouped on terraced levels, Itube is standard in this house, and costumed in true fairy story mag- they like anything he does, and he niflcance. Cinderella is led to seat usuaJly does things well, of honor by prince and signal for For this frolic the Rube and his entertainment brings on gorgeous band boys were In hockey outfits ballets, first gentlemen, done by Pair of lads of elementary school girls in purple and white, and girls age started with a comet duet that In prlowing gold empire frocks. Bal- was pleasantly acceptable. An let changes to 14 girls in ballet cos- adagio kid team was next Intro tume of curious metallie cloth that duced by Rube, working In front of has the appearance of spun silver a scrim. The following specialty and makes an arresting stage pic- was a song and dance miss who ture. played up to Rube, after i\iiich the Specialties are offered by Betty band swung Into a pop for an un ale and Belle Flower, the Ugly | billed male quartet The latter Sisters, who have a grotesque com- edy dance, while Gladys Rice, so- prano, as Cinderella, and Douglas Stanbury. as Prince Charm infr, carry the muKlcal theme, backed by the magnilicant chorus. Midnight and Cinderella's flight, the town criers searching for the maid who can wear the sliver slip- per, discovery of the humble hero- ine in her kltrhen. and once more for ths finale, kitchen Uansparsncy were Identified as the Campus Four who not long ago played here, prob ably the reason for being Incognito this time. A group of 12 dolls came in for the finish of this number and worked in creditable manner, I^ydla Roberti, class looking blonde with a decidedly Polish accent, didn't let that stand in her way. If anything the accent is favorable. Miss Ro- bsrti k»oks llks fsaturs stuff gU ths MUsiiiiHriiiiHiiiU 'news" when IM this par- ticular house. In switching to the presenUtlons a beautiful Job of it was accom- plished. Edward JU Hyman staged the proceedings set his Brooklyn house, and then came down here for one day to get it started. If continuing up ts this standard the Barle is set—absolute. An air of Intimacy Is attained by the use of a full stage platform with three steps going up to it. leaving "one" open for the place- ment of a mat for the twa hoofsrs. Vals and Stewart, and ^ilMA A iS fsrw these youngsters are! Stage Is lighted and dressed bsautttuUy (and that is not ex- travagantly termed either). Six "incidents" are given. First Is Daniel Breeskln's overture "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" exceUently played by the 2B men with ths or- gan utilized Just at the right inter- udes—never to the satsnt of drowning otit the orchestra ItsiAf. Enhance this with an Interpreta- ive dance by a ballet backing Paul Ranken on the stage and ths iiisw is started right. A little tricking by placing Caeser Nssl. tenor, la As pH to stand up and warble with a prop clarinet in his handa got the customers all ex- dtsd. Nssl dnchsd this later with a song In English from the stage. "Music Master" series followed (TraBs Schubert") and clicked too» and then another touch of real artistry from the stage with a bal- let interpreting "Meditation" from Thais" violin soloed by Sascha Klndler, concert master, from the pit. This whole number was a credit to Hyman and the musician. Paths news with one shot from Paramount filled in while things were being set for ths pa^iaret "iass revue.** Here Hyman gives a riot of color in lights tfnd stage setting, plus a flash that ooutdn't miss, raght numbers are incorporated: An en- semble opening; Restive, accordion- ist and whistler; Gaeser Nesi; Veronica: Ruth Watson and ghrls; Vale and Stewart, who have played everything IB town In two months, and anotner ensemble finish "Hal- lelujah," staged as in "Hit the Deck" but without the voices. Of this line-up Ruth Watson, with one of those crooning voices, got the biggest returns and de- servedly so. She looks good, too. ReiStivo was liked as were also the Foster-Tiller girls doing the unison toe stuff. Here they are called "Flapperettes." Program credits are given to Thomas Farrar. for stage settings; Madame Ssrova, choreography, and the cOStttlBSS to NSSSr, VftTSS and Tams. Plan ealls for RymsB to stage these in Brooklyn for his house, to be followed by the Earle here, Stanley. Baltimore, and theu ths Mosque, Richmond. Holding up to this will put the Barle In the money class—it will bring buslnsss to the others, too, whether thsy BfS. get- ting it BOW or not. raiturs Is *liffan Cvaj** (First National). Running time of show two hours and seven minutes. fIFTH AVE. ViMATTLE) Seattle, Dec. 21. Regular f^chon and Marco presentation augmented by Nora Hayes strongly advertised as "the highest paid vaudeville artiste." These superlaUvss glvpsys hard to live up to. Orchestra comes up in the pit< Hermie King introducing a new band "leader." a 12-year-old, Fred- die Blauret, son of one of the band members. The boy leads overture very deftly. <7rowd likes the nov- elty, and lad will work next week also. Nora Bayes next for 20 to 24 min- utes. Just a bit for her. Huge green fan makes more scenery. "The CoUegiaU Idea," F. and M. show, opened Ib obo. Humorous drop with college gagrs makes at- mosphere. Baud back on stage Pour youths follow pretty girl, singing during comic antics SBd some wise cracking. Uermis oobmNi in to danos with ons of ths girls, but applause only light. A little of this cuttlng-up goes a long way Drop lifts fdr brUllaBt ssttlag with college steps, building entrance in and "dtttiftents" la sport A band number during which King leads for few minutes then passss baton to Rod C o fssf sn . Ssoli makes excuse to go home. Red finds Uermie with former's wife, burlesques sorrow, pope blmself and dies, his spirit rising In plain view to heaven. Hermie then spurns the unfaithful wife. But ths spirit then speaks: "For heaven's sake can't you help a fellow out. Take hsr.' John aad Hsrrtstt Grlfflth, htoth- er and sister, here for fourth time, again clicked in adagio. Armand and Peres headline prssentatlon proper. Comic acrobats. Finale finds four teams of adagio dancers, start- ing from football formation, girls en the side, boys rushing, picking them up and then doing stunts. Three gir friends sing In backgrouad. Adsitlo dancers then dance In tsiiwi A(prO- bats Join the crowd. On tht MrssB, *msri 4 STATE Sight bare-legfsd daaclng giria wsre on at the start and then the band for two lively selections. Back drop rose ta reveal Molly Thorsoa and Mildred Gulldlng at grand pianos on a second elevated stage. Some pop airs trailed by song bits to thshr swa aocompaalment. They worked la ftront of a black plush curtain. George BoycSb sceentrlc dancer, furnished the rsvus's only comedy with some mlldlyvamusing steps and business. Played up as the revue's feature. (Seorge Dewsy Washington, a local favorite, made his third ap« pearance here with songs. Washlng- toa has a powerful baritoue and a good sense of showmanship. For the finale ths ballet came oa as red dsvlls aad wound up with some fast stepping on a rear ele* vated platform. Boyce was bacl^ too. for a bit of .spssdy dogging. Now We're In the Air" (ParJ( the feature fUai. A novelty fllaii Carter "DttOkymtm sbavastsr stBdls% and Internatlsatfl KidTf rooadsd siif t|is show. ■ ^- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AVALON (CHICAGO) * Chicago. Dec. If. Cooney Bros, have given Buddy Fisher, the only band director to seemingly hit for them, two weeksT notice. To degrade his work, they have given him the feeblest kind of shows and production this week* From all appearances it looks as If they had cut their noses off to spite their faces. Whether the "sea- sational singing stage band dlrec* tor," as Roy Dietrich, the newcomer is advertised, gets over as well aa Fisher remains to be seen. The presentaUoa tlUe* 'XIardsa Gayetles," had no backing outskla of ths fact that a few prop plants decorated the music stands. Ths show is probably ths Issst orlglaal and poorest arranged exhibit ever Idayed here, the acs of the Cooasg houses. Buddy aad his «*BnddlS8r the band, supply a good part of ths real entertainment, coaslstlng sig- nificantly of piugghig ssvsna mm - songs. When it comes to act rating It is hard to say thsy wsrs bad. bsoausa they worked hard and well at what they were expected to do. The lean- est and msaasst oheatlag produc- tion on the part of the Cooneys is the real place for the kick and all evidence points to ths fapt that It Is being done to kill all high pres- sure snthusiasm over Fishsr. Ths band Is aoeoa^^aalsd bat ast hslpsd by the eight chorines. A good act inserted in place of this ballet would work wonders. The male tap duo of Rector and Cooper followed. Thsir work Is fast, good and capabis of a strsag flvs-adauts gaff, but when they did 16. too much. Their facial expressions readily admitted and apologlssd to ths audience that they stayed so long merely to pad out the ruaalBg time of the show. BM Snisstlne Caruu, 4 Nsst concert singer. The ballet accom- panied her and did some nymph- llke dance that didn't aissn a whoop. Her voice and appearanog are good and neat, but the south sids folks didn't sMla to go fsr the classic work. The opposite effect was produced whsa the aialo comedy and song team of Pisano and Landau stepped out. Thjs is strictly a vaude act. Wolliing pletars houses lately, they seem to get over nicely. If the act was a little more hokey it would bs bstCsp. Ths» songs could also bo Improved vpdn. The band, the con- cert singer and ths ballet closed ths show and Isft a gypped feeling o\it front that wasn't unsubstantiated. "Very Confidential" and two Vita reels followed on the screen. Bis was at its worst for the houses (MINNEAPOLIS) Minneapolis. Dec. 24. Comedy, pep and distinctiveness were elements al^sent from this stage band show, "Red Hpt," the weakest of the current series. Hew- ever, it again gave the customers a lot of entertainment for a little money. Fred lleiscke, conductor of the pit orchestra, again filled in as stage band leader and master of ceremonies. He makes no preten- sion of being adept at this task, and attempts to Inject* snappiness Into tho proceedings or to indulge in witty sallies, but contented hlm- sslf with simple announcements. He did well enough and the playing of his band was particularly good. The lone Justification for the title. "Red Hot." was the sta^o setting the costuming and several feverish band numbers. The scene repre- sented a corner In Hades and band members, occupying the usual plat- fona, wsrs garbsd la rsd robss. STRAND <NIW YORK) Nsw York, Deo. M. Strand seems to be marking tims until Chaplin's advent with "Circus** Jan. 7. Ths latsrmsdlary shows of late serve more or less as stop gaps. Having a First National franchise, F. K. film stuff goes into the Staa- ley Circuit of America's Broadway link, although this F. N. release by any other aaiye would 4o Just mB badly. Take "The Love Mart," the cur- rent feature with the winsome BiUle Dove as the particular luminary. It's Just so-so and no compliment to an important producing organiza- tion like F. N., which is so well underwritten through exhibitor en- franchisement It faces the constant bugaboo of living up to expectations. Shouldering that responsibility, F. N. on its schedule of so many BilUe Dove subjects per year, should be parilcularly wary of Its average per name star. A concentration of mediocre Dove productions can never be offset by any amount of other high-grade pictures releas ed through the same distributing chan- nels. That's what's happening to Miss Dove. Her average is being ne- glected, by force of drcumstaness or not, and her exhibitor value is being surely torn down as a re- sult. Of rourse tho Strand has been running in tough breaks of late. UBllke Its Brooklya contemportfy*