Variety (Jan 1928)

86 VARIETY FILM HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, January 18, 1028 Duplicating Old-Time Vaude Eistern and westprh: film theatres have made use of the same presenta- Iton idea for their stage feature. . While not hew,,the respective methods of presenting a vaudeville show iDf the '90*8 are paralleled/ - BRANFORD (KieWARK/ N. J.) Newark, Jan/15. "Aa You W;^r6" la the most novel "6I10W HaiTjr CfuU has yet staged here, Oyeir haK the presentation, >yhicl ruhs I'BB minutes, consum- ihates a faithfiil reproduction of a vaiudevllle performance 6t 1806; yery little burlesque to it, although it may seem so to the younger gen- eration. " It opens with a newsreel of genu- ine shots of about the period dated 1897, another 1898, and another 1900. A flash • of Newa,rk's fire department Of that time aroused much Interest. The curtains disclose. two boxes and an oldtime. advertisirig drop with the good,, old prices for barber shops and booze. Severa,! signs had cracks significant fully only to those knowing the. personnel of the house. "The full dinner pall" and '16 to 1" :jrere wlso In evidence, . Melisbn, in a grotesque .wig, .brought the band,: arrayed in'^ the Old cadet uniforms, into the pit and led Suppe's "Light Cavalry" with fiome good clowning, but the over- ture was .a littlie top long. Illus- trated colored slides invited "Ladles ■will ' please remove hats," and warn d "l)o hot spit on the floor- remember the Johnstown flood." A small b6y came across the stage before a string .of the bldtim6 foots beaxiiig an announcement of each act, the show opening with Hokum and company, a man with a girl assistant, who Juggles. Sammy Silver, whio writes material, for Mel- :«on, was In one box for a bit. Chic Kennedy in. long skirt ironically. Bang a pop and was liked. Van and Bisll, 'jifbe man In. an old check suit and ft:the woman appropriately dressed for the period, clowned; Eddie Morn, also In loud check apr par el, had ihsufflcient material. Iii authentic manner Henry Marshall 6ang "In the Shade of the Old Apple Treie" -with, lllustratied slldies. Theqe Jnrere also authentic and for comedy. The scene then shifted to the present day with MelsOn and band In tuxedos. . The side boxes are left, but the stage is set with horizontal blue and green flgilred driapes and 4ark wine verticals. After a pleas- ing band number Alvle. Baker sang, end then . Chic Kennedy returned ior ia song. Silver, In the box, again Interchanged some Wisecracks with .Melsohy the . latter flhallV warljllng a ballad. He appeased with an en torift, . '■ Van and .Dell did some very Iclever work with . various shaped boomerangs and, helped'. out by Charlie for comedy, wfent oyer very ■big. The show ended with the eri- Ure company throwing small air Iplane boomerangs and the audience .'lumping to catch them. The "As Tou Were" part had a iDurlous effect at the performance reviewed. Oldtlmers heartily en- joyed it, and it will undoubtedly draw many of them. . On the other hand. • the post-v,'ar ireneratlonr despite all explanations, didn't seem to know what It w^as all about. Due to unforeseen omer gencles, the running order was a little (Short on talent, but It will arousie nent for weeks and Is very n.-v.i worth while. Jina Thomaa at the organ Intro duced another novelty in the form Of ah assistant which turned out to be the dog "Uno." He appeared back Of a E»crim on a dark stage throe times during Thomas* playing and did . various 6tunts. Thomas toolc eight, minuted. A heWsreel of ino great; distinction included four Paraa, two Klnoe, a Pathe. and an M.-G.-M. Also down on the., pro irram, but omitted, were a comedy, •The GirJ from Everywhere,'.' ah<? JUiB orchestra. under George H Morgenroth In 'fThe Only Girl." Despite Paul Whiteman at the Mosque, the lower floor held at capacity for a xhatlnee: AiMtftk NEW ACTS . Anh Myers, Ai Mack, Gene .<Miver, f-act. Charlotte Winter & Oo., dramatic eetch. . . lie. Mar«h and Lavln, with Phi flpino orchestra, dancing revue. Fehmer "Chic"! Chandler has illgned with Con Conrtid to .appear in a revamp On Jack Lalt'a old act, "Visions of 1960," formerly done by Bronson and Baldwin. -The date .5iaa,been=mDX€d=foxwiu:.d^olglit=yj«SJCfi= and will be produced as "Visions of 1958.". '. Bam. Sidman and Louise Langdon are to be co-featured in a imit act for vaude. ORIENTAL (CHICAGO) Chicago; Jan. 18. Ton minutes after the flrigt per- formance Monday mornlhg they were talking about the current week's Oriental show. It was fa- vorable, and deservedly so, for the. Oriental's present stage bill Is heavy on novelty. The talent end, however, is below standard. Titled " 'Way Back When," the bill Is merely a toss-back to the old stage-on-a-stage idea,, though the expenditure is perhaps greater than ever before and the thought appears new, shiny; and novel as executed by Ash and his mob. The stage proper is devoted to a full-width reproduction of the forepart of the interior of • an old-time, variety house, including a good, sized stage, triple boxes on each side, and run- ning as far front as the back of an tmprovlsed orchestra pit. Idea realistically carried out In setting makes a darb opening. Old- time screen stuff, with accompani- ment by piano and drums. First, the remindful slides. About the biggest laugh in this, and probably best recalled by old timers, was the "Don't Spit on the Floor—Re- member the Johnstown Plood.-' Much laughter for the comic magic lantern, especially by the younger generation, to whom only de luxe picture presentation houses are fa- miliar. The Oriental's audiences are hibstly y. g. Then the big feature picture, 10 minutes or BO of "The Great Train Robbery." Several old Mary Pick- ford shots were in the first show, but cut for lesser running time. The bill ran slightly lohg .anywayj going well over an hour. After the screen thing came a burlesque overture by the Ash band. Boys dolled up in wigs and other such regalia, playing a classic-In a satirical manner. Consensus upon cothpletlon was that Ash is a better straight than comic. Four "vaude" acts followed in quick order. They were Johns arid Mabley, Emerson and Baldwin, Eva Mandel and Burns and Kissen. AH most likely felt quite at home, being loo percent ex-vaude. All clicked; a». all acts do at the Oriental, but they changed routines and style to suit environ- ment. ' . V For atmosphere, dummies and plants in the side boxes, and caindy butchers in the audience. Old spiel stuff and good for snickers. The plants tossed chatter back .and forth,, regardless of the goings-On, another laugh-procurer. Splendid novelty, " 'Way. Back When,!' serves as refreshing relief from the usualiweekly iJ'resentment. "T\vq Flamlnk Youths" (Par.) the film feature. Busihess capacity. Lloyd Murphy, former manager of the-Douglas and Roosevelt, theatres in Harlem, has been chosen as tnanag^r of the Lincoln by it4 o,wn •c,s;^ra. Maria Dowui ' ■ was stationed above the band in mid-air. The luminous cloaks on the blackout didn't particularly stampede the house, but they liked the big shawl. Anyway; substantial clapping at the end and the entire schedule apparently had the audi- ence In a good humor. Mitchell, directing for the. week, is cut to the pattern of other Pub- lix baton .wavers. Piiblix execs evidently don't w^nt their stage maestros to ruh with the ball, fol- lowing the late Percy Haughtpn'js system of qiiaterbacks who did nothing but ciall signals. As MitOhell conformed to this rule there's nothing much to ■ b6 said about him, A nice appearance, quiet nianner, loose knees that re- act to the rhythm as he directs and a luke warm personality. : The overtiire trailed into a. "Mu- sic Masters" short On Johann Striauss that caught interest. ■ The weekly 'amounted to nothing more than a. bone thrown the hungry In tearing off three , clips from Para- mount'e own service iand one each from Fox, Klnograms and M-G, all within Ave minutes. Haphazardly scored and selected, the newsreel never means anything here... Mrs. Crawford did eight niinutes, then the presentation followed' by the celluloid feature. They were standinsT and waiting In the Inner lobby at 8:46 Sunday afternoon. Bid. PARAMOUNT (NEW YORK) New York, Jan. IB. Bjatertainment is belns evenly spread on over here this week. It's pretty well distributed throughout the two hours of the do luxe show with "Wife Overs'* (Par.) on the screen, and Jack Partington's "Havana" on the stage. Usual conglomeration of betwixt and, be- tweens, although nothing unusual Nice, however, with Mrs. Jesse ■Crawford capably subbing for her husband during his western trip It's not often enough thoy see this girl at the big console. The 39-minute. presentation has Al Mitchell, down from 'ijiibvr Haven •while" Lou "Kdsloff Is ori'a^ wlek'ff absence, introducing the pros to the audience. Amongst these / are Wally Jackson, Coster and Hewlett, George Dewey Washington, colored, ©crothy Berke, Mario Naldi and the PelToff girls. Titled "Havana" the stage set carries out that theme with a ter- race background in which the stage band (24) .Is bunched in two rows, the regular formation here. Pret- tily lighted In blues, . ambers . and white spots for the principals. It looked like a toss Up between Jack son and Washington from the ap plause .quota. Jackson .Hal Sher maned. and ^Cy Landried around to good effect while the colored boy baritoned his way through "Manda- lay" and a couple of pops. Both took ericoreij. after being ably as- sisted by the orchestra's accom- paniment. Has that bunch at B. & K.'fi^ Chicago heard aboiit this instrumental outfit yet? PetrofC'<3_ 10 girls turned loose a heat Castanet drill in unison, mix -ljfjr"it"^uP""Wilh-"-tKe ^cdhV6^ steps popularly.believed to be'Span- ish on sight. Meanvi^hlle. Jackson returned to lead tlie orchestra for Oomecly, cllokod, and a pop num- •ber was warbled by Coster and Hewlett, mixed team. For the finale Mlas Hewlett was let down from the files on a perch decorated to form a huge mantlllA 'for her head. A phosporus effoct had the chorus wnving . cloaks and the extreme finish saw a mammoth phawl eprcad i<Coaa behlQd the eoogatre^ .who METROPOLITAN (LOS ANGELES) •" Los Angeles, Jan; 12. ' A handsome youngf chap with an Infectious smile and a mop of hair made his debut here as master of ceremonies and band director. Al Lyons is his name and he comes from California, San Diego, a West Coast theatre house. He replaces Rube Wolf, now retailing his wares at the Warfleld, San Francisco. As a stage conferencler, Lyons is of the "different" kind. He is not a comedian, doesn't try . to be and probably doesn't want to be. 'He Is a personality, however,; and a class one. Speaks well, is a talented mu- sician, versatile, and appeals . to the ladies, young or old. Lyons' style is something nisw for. this house. He makes a formal appear-- ance, .sticks to It all the way and- from first impressions should build Into a popular fixture. I This show featured Mosd and Fi-ye, the two standard colored boys who made known the <5rack, "How High Is Up!" They cleaned up without trouble. Nothing in the show to buck them for coniedy, which made It all the stronger. Working in front ofv-a band was no barrier, Customers were familiar with their names, through .disk records, a majority knowing what was coming: but going for the gags just the same. ^. Hjanchon and Marco's • preisenta- tlon' was atmospheric for the film feature. "West Point" (M-G). The band Was in West Point uniforms with a background setting pertain- ing to the location of the school. Some 16 pranclner chorines led off with a military drill. Lyons picked it up at this point by Indulging In a few minutes at the piano with his own arrangement of the "Second Hungarian Rhapsody.''. Liked. No wiz at the ivories, but good enough to please the average. An interpo- lated arrangement, of a pop selecr tion served the band and v/as n-arked by an Instrumental four- some specialty, including Lyons, who switched to an . accordion. Finale had the girls on again with a set of routines not so good and the kids cloWriihg too much. Cur- tain was surefire when a "Stars and Stripes Forever" tableau was Rashed. A noteworthy feature preceding the stage show was the recently Installed orchestral unit plus stage effects conducted by Adolphe Du- _niont,_.former . musical .-director :for Publlx in the east. Dumont's scenic ideas for .bvertural accom- paniment are no less attistlc- here This week he put on "The Barber of Seville." Well known opera was treated artistically and had Arman do Chlrot and Jose Mercado voCiil izlng the leading characters to ad- vantage. Miss Chlrot especially at tracted attention; She Is a "looker" and a sweet cqloratura,. At the organ "Mitey" Ann Leaf, featured in • several local picture houses, entertained, by playing straight well selected numbel:s. . den. Ballet . corps then pranced hither and yon with erhpty cuiis fOr no obvious reason. The .Bacchftnte, awaking refreshed, added more of same. Schedule then tiihed in' on a pop ballad sung by.;Harold Van Duz'ee, who ■ remained seated in pensive mood while the drojp, resembilng. a forest,- faded and a piercing light revealed a .white carved . gettee towards which ai. man in evening clothes led a girl in white. The pair waltzed • slowly, ' swaying In rhythm: to the vocal accbmpaniment and :walking off leisurely a;S the lights went off and the- singer Was again given attention. . Staging of this skit, coupled with easy deliv- ery, sent it over. ; •"Song of the Vagabonds'' was de- livered by the Roxy Enseihble led by Douglas Stanbury. Beirnard and Rich, eccentric hoofers, showed a number of hew effects in novelty stepping. A team of aurefiro dancers, they can hold their own with a,ny line-up. of topnotchers, Irving Sheltoh, hooflhg it alone, aiso scored heavily. A set of comic opera waiters, billed as the Russian Cathedral Choir, sang "Serenade Espagne" in several versions. Including Yiddish. Registered for laughs, as intended, and did well on applause. Newsreel was spilt by Pox, Pathe. International, M-G-M and Klno- grams. Fox's Movietone Included a- shot of a German military band arid a fancy drummer who got laughs. This was followed by a pair ^of Chinese fencers, an Ihdiari aria scenes of American soldiers leaving ioT Nicaragua. The clearness. Of the sound Of a soldier kissing his rela- tives farewell also .got a laugh; Orchestra /overture was ''Sicilian Vespers." : Erno Rapee conducted. "Come to My liouse" (Fox).screen attraction. Mori. ROXY (NEW YORK) New York, Jan. IC. The Ifl Roxyettea scored two hlta Sunday night. First in Bacchanale, when they followed a group of anemic ballet dancers who were set to knock the audience into a well earned snooze. Second instance was the 'Talm, Beach Frolic." ofterl a pair of well meaning but third rate feminine songstresses, In abbre- viated coatumeis hid punished the tonsils with a pop. - . . Gambarelli was the feolden- halro.d mama who flitted about In Bacchanale in what was Intended to bo an entrancing manner. Finally, exhausted from gazing at the huge bimch of papier mache grapes that hung from the celling, she fell to the floor In a graceful swoon while BacchUB*^ swooped down ' with two Fn^wni^ tlM! 2»ika$^ Saka and Kod« FIFTH AVE. (^EATTLE) : \ '■': Seattle,. Jan.: 13; Lairpely a .King show this week with Hermie King as in. c. and brother Will on the stage ..heading the Fanchon - Marco; Ideii, "WUl King ■ Reyuslcal Comedy." Novelty of the two King boys Working to- gether again was liked by .the audi- ence and-Tthe brothers ■ got along nicely. . Besides the KlrigSi F. & M. hisid some nifty talent. Outstandirig was May Packer, .daincer, arid stopping tho show was June Clyde, Jazz songstress. Cute and. knows enough to select, songs . bordering on the risque, and Just enough. that way. A male partner helps, too. . A cute toe d'^nce and- rope Jumping, with Charlotte Komer. ofllclating, also was a nifty,, while there was a Rus- sian dancer who was-nimble; Will King has his old sidekick; punbar, for . the dialog, which Is good, althouerh partly ancient. Fourteen glrls^ in line, sing arid dance pleasingly, musical stuff al- ternating, with King and pal in talk. One giag showed .the speed of moderri tlmeiS, ending with the bride and grodrii arid "give me the good old days," . .Mixed roars and plaiidlts. Band In pit operied with "Hit the Deck,'^ Hermie King batoning. Chorus followed, then skaters dance.- Will King Introduced ^ an "Old Homestead Quartet," shoot- ing one offending;slriger .a;t a time off stage. ChoruB number,. with rope toe" dancer. It all .clicked And was nice box office. Musical coriledy^lth dialog theme Is change, from usuat run of presentations.: On: the screen, "NoW We're In the .Air" (Par.). ',...:STateV:;:'::V:-. (MINNEAPOLIS) :. Minneapolis^ Jan. .it, Th» State has abandoned the stage, band presentation as. av^per.;^ manenf^featiure, .but continues to offer a. usual. typ;e; of revue, -"Joy Bells," . current. ofterlrig/ ..la less elaborate arid . costly than: its pre- decesaors. Yet,' while .a bit crude and rough in its .arranjgemicnt, and bearing eviderico of ecbrioiny' of outlay, it fills the bill flatisfactorily enough. -. . The presentation (Bmpioya, the services of. a slriglrig and dahcln^g' chorus of eight pretty girls iand also uses three, acta,. • .The. orchestra works In' tho pit frbni where Fred J. Helseke, 'Conductor,'. annOuricea the acts. . He. also, serves as a feeder during the course bit the x-evue.. The pit does not seem the place for. .the ,m. c. stuff. • ■ ■ in ail three-of theli: numbers, the girle worked. with, leffA; bare Almost to.their hips. ...They open the revue by. burstlpK forth from a bower' of varl-colored ribbons and in be-rib-< boned ballet, costume. . Fligg and Snyder followed with speedy buck. Myrtle Gordon, ^proved a slrigirigr comedienrie with.a styje j-enilnlscent of TSbpHTe^ Tucker . She t^^ and sang her Jazz selections in a aophla- tlcated manner and. with a deep, hard voice. . One of .them>. "Heal Estate Papa," utlilzin.g .Helgek© In the pit, seemed a,, bit blue for the iState. MI33 Gordon fell Just short of a hlf :■ •. ■ A collegiate dancing number by the ballet was prodtictive of spme interesting shuffleis and wlgjgles arid went over to.'big applajise returns.; Announced as coming froth "the New YojTls »mai© B«-tl»Yl»«ii"^ BayftH and Speck, blackface singing and dancing coniedians, landed heavily. For the finale Fllg&. and Snydeir came on for a dlfflcult shacklo dttrice with tlie ballet. In prison- stripe bloiises, assisting. Feature photoplay; VThe Lova Mart" (F. N.). An overture, "Nea-, poUtan Nights," wa<s both, stirring and meiodlus and earned a goodly measure of applause. News weekly. International and M-G-M shots was. followed by a. splendid .rendi- • tlori of "The.Desert. Sori^" by ISddl^ Duridstedter, organist., assisted by a highly capable violinist in sheik garb on the stage. A "Mutt and Jeff" ca,rtoon preceded the revue. UPTOWN (CHICAG0) Chicago, Jan. 18. Uptowri's . curtain went up on. a very fair presentation this week. Henri Keats, organist, is becoming increasingly popular with his song fests, The crowd really sings for. him. Keats draws mOre applause then any other attraction on. the program. Business; was good, and "Underworld" (Par.) was a hit. Behnie Krueger's a;ggregatlon of riiuslc makers, in tuxedos this week, started things with little Jackie Heller introducing voice at the close of the first number. This lad has been a cdrislstieint applause magnet locally, for some riionths. Kaufman ballet theh stepped in for a doll dance which they executed nicely. Jerome Mann had soriae vo-dee-; 0-do stuff that was bad. The boy has a superficial-and conceited air that detracts. If he were not. so self-sufficient, he'd have posslblll- tlers. Fair impersonatloris of "Ted Lewis, Eddie Leoniard arid Pat Rbo- riey: are, perhaps, his best bet . . Inez and: Carlos, classical dancers, ofEerod soriie 'average classic mate- rl.*),!, but were no sensation. Follow- ing the' dance team came some, more symphony frorii'Kriieger, and an-' other yOcal chorus by Jackie Heller. It was rioted .that Kriieger, while enunclaitlng clearly enough .most of the time. l!alled .to Introduce acts with sufficient' clarity in several cases. • Dblbros and Eddy had an Apache that was fast. Miss Irmanette, vio- lin iind stepping.while playing. Very good. .Herriian . and . Seambn^ two comic tumhlera, dished out laughs and kept the house in an uproar. Entire, cotnpiiriy on for firia:ie. LOEW'S MIDLAND (KANSAS CITY) Kansas City, Jan. 18. • "Snap, flash and,tuneful entertain- ment crowded into 55 minutes. The opening overture by the Mldlanders, m the pit, was the Second Hilngar- lan.- Rhapsody, strengthened by* colorful lighting effects. A screen novelty, "Models In Mud," was then followed by Art Hayes at the organ. In a slide comic. , The presentation started with the band on the stage arid the Midland Rockets stepping through a sport number, with, a lot of setting-up ex- ercises throwri In. Ross and McKim pleajaed with some eccentric dancinff arid the band then Jazzed it up. • Jack Sidney scored with "Henry's Made a Lady Out of Lizzie," and the Ford fans wanted more. Next came the .Rockets In a beautifully costuriied toe ballet," with a eur-< prise strip, to short skirts for a snappy routine. These girls are there. Bishop and -Konney, nice looking chaps, sanig aLnd then re- sponded by a yodeling number. Boyd Senter, followed) and while he has been seen and heard here be- fore .gtoppied the going with hla saxophone, and clarinet specialty. The . biggest flash seen on the stage of this new house comprised 10 yourig women at 10 baby grands. T -Instriiments and players wis^elar. ranged on the three stage eleva- tloni?, . with .the band in front and- the Rockets in motion. Coloring and costumes were blue and gold, one of the prettiest acts ever iseen on A local - picture house stage.* "London After Midnight" (M-O) the feature. . :; . Mughei. (MjEVy YORK) : v.: I?eW 'York, Jan.-..18. ''Tbpsy, Turvy" is the vaudeville revue at the Capiltol ihls week, and a lively arid varied routine It yields, running■; breaithlessly. Mbrt Harris has produced around Paul Specht'a VCapitollan's" a riumcfou? and. pep- pery Jazz organization, one of the most colorful pictiire-house arrays imaginable. ' .• Working behind what appears to be a fence placed well upstage and runriirig' from side to side, raised on, aj^platfo.rm.v-al l ■ theh-^ cQBtumes and the covering or. painting of the set ^dizzily .futuristic and dazzling- intrlca.te iri color .combinations and scrambling figures, the eye is given the first "kick." A blast to the ear is .second, and thereafter, a, gamut of. dande, song .find freik sturtts race. back'arid forth''ovor the huge stage. , .. Wiilt Roebner, .the Coaert bands* riian-ehtertalrier, is the gupst con- ductor aind js. all ov.ey thcy'showj.Thd boy does .everythine;; -'and the w.t^ : 4iell| iui^-tq-.dfit^ eojigs marM