Variety (Apr 1928)

2 VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE 8 St. Martin's Place, Trafali^Ar S<iuare Fr\ D 17 1 M CABLE ADDRESS, VARIETY, LONDON yj I\ Etf I VJ n 7870-2096-3199 Regent Wednesday, April 4, 1928 London as By Hannen Swaffer LO'ndon, ..March 23. I am rather amused ait the lukewarm criticisms In most of the. daily papers'on ''Lumber Love." I know few of the critics were there at the end! I know it was very late, and that they had gone hack to scribble. Yet it Is strange to realize, reading the week-kneed stuff they write, that, at 10 rhlnutes to 12, there happened in the Lyceum theatre the most tumultuous reception that any play had. ever received }n England at that hour of the night—that is within my memory^ Normally; Lyceum audiences go honio and catch their tramcars wheri tile show runs oh after 11. I should think there were.about 20 or 30 stalls Vacant at tlie end and Only a few clPcle seats. Otherwise, the whole house—and It holds 3,400 people—joined in the enthusiasm which brought "Lumber Love" .to an. end. I was very critical. After all, it was my child and it did riot iaatisfy me, as it should have done, because I kno'w what a show can be. But the audience did hot see those faults. . Nothing Caij Stop the Boom . "Lumber Love," which Is the best. show, put on the Lyceum stage for many years, has Justified in every way iny faith in its possibiiitles. Nothing can stop its success, The boom in British musical'plays has started. ■■ The antagoliism of other critics, the vested interests of which the the- atre is made, the dying craze for jazz—all those things are as nothing. When "Empire" Falls Down i;am very interested to see, by the way, that in the "Weekly EHapatch," the young -mah who lmita;te3 me to boiling point, went out of his way to sheer at all-British ideas. Now, the guiding' head of the "Weekly . Dispatch" is the Hon. Eshaond Harmsworthi M. P., son of Lord Rother- mere, tlie Member for Thanet, a drum-hanger for Empire- (on paper), the real inheritor of the "Blood-ls-thicker-^than-water'' stuff. . How Mr. HaiTnsworth can reconcile an Imperial policy (on paper) wlih. the failure to isuppott British art interests, r M.ust Go to Parliament . If this sort, of thing continues,-i shall have to go down to the Island •^of Thanet, which Is in my own native county of Kent, and oppose Mr. Savihsworth. After all, 1 ahn a rouch better speaker than he is. Besides, he..was supported, by Horatio Bottomley when he first came out as. a candidate, wheresis Bottoinley is nOyr suing me for libel. I thihk .1 could tell the electors of Thanet something about how utterly , Impractical Imperialist M.. P.'s are, when it comes to grave questions of art and public policy. J ' / . . I hope Hr, Gordoii Beckles, the "Weekly Dispatch" drltic, will go down and speak for Mr. Harmsworth. Then they would both need help. Nearly a Knighthood . ^ -Herman .Finck, who is: the best, kpown natural humorist connected with , the London stage, had a great joke the other day. There was a Royal performance of "London Pridei" at Drury Lane, where Herman conducts. As, at a. prpyious. Royal performance In 1916, the King knighted Sir Frank Benson suddenly—so suddenly that they had to send ifor a property sword—Herman had his room full of property swords of all shapes and sizes in case the' King sent fo'r George Orossmith, who was in the show. "London Pride" la by Neil Lyons, - ife-ho Is a pla.ywright of Socialistic proclivities. ' , "Won't the King knight anybody today?" said Herman, wh«n they all came in, o'ne after .ihe other, and saw the swords. "I khow, Kiidll Lyons."'. Nearly ■ Fuir House Tlic King and Queen off England took the King and Queen bf Afghanis- tan to "The Desert Song" at Drury Lane, the other night. The chief -gunman, of Afghan wajg .there. In a uniform. His Job was to stand as near to his King, as.he could, in case: the Ix>rd Mayor of London or Home- body shot him. It was very funny to' watch him at the Guildhall banquet the other daj;. Afghan's gunman had his eye on all sorts of respectable'i>eople, looking warily for assassination.'-" Meanwhile, the King and Queen of .Afghanistan, who cannot speak a word of any language except their own, sat bored. The King drank hl6 ewn health at the wrong moment;. No one could say one syllable to him of any kind. Lucky King! What they thought of. "The Desert Song," Heaven only knows. I am sure they would rather have looked at Jake Shubert. ^eriae moment in recen:t dramatic Ofhash, ■ Final smash came when ' backer Neglected ioi .fuml^ . additional Vases. ■ . \, • - However- ' ' HARRV ROSE Is sun' Paxampuritouriiqe Oriental, Chicago, Now Australia By Eric H. Gorrick ■ -.■/.. - Sydney, Feb. 18. Severe tropical . heat responsible for a falling off at the box-oilice of many theatres. It has been but slight as the 'average Australian will always seek indoor entertain- zhent. "The Girl Friend" has, clicked here and look^ like runhihg -up a nice score for Williamson-Talt. Annie Croft Is. the bright Individual in this attraction; .; « Hats Off to Charlie . As I have no time this week to write to Charlie Chaplin, I want to tell him, In Variety, that "The Circus", is the best entertainment I have soon oC any kind since "The Go'ld Rush." , When I went Into the first performa!hce, smartly dressed people were waiting In a snowstorm in a queue to. go In, two hours later! ' wlhen I know that Chaplin took the oldest stbry In the world arid one dt the mo.st commonly used settings on the films, and then made It a perfect, show; I am taking, off my hat to the greatest personality in the whole world ot-entertainment.. ^ .. ;.>^. - The. next afternoon, I met Ralph D. isiumenfeld, editor brthe^^^^ Express/' my chief and colleague. . ; "What did you think of It?" I said, hearing he had b^en to "The Circus" on the previous night.. , '?What I saw was worth $250," he replied. Even bored Fleet Streettakes off Iti* hat to Charlie. ' EGYPT Cairo, March "16. At the Royal Opera House at Cairo,; the highly original opera "Pelleas and Melisande" by Debussy was a. beautiful production, mainly because pf its simplicity and that It comes nearer to modern ideas of stage presentation than anything ever in Cairo. Brilliancy of the pro- iuctlon Is another matter of admira- tion. Since the "Roblnne Alexandi-e" company has been on the "Kursaal" ^tage, a crush, of people to see the pFe"sWYSll Qire^no^ ""W'htch--^'-La^-P lenne," "Britannious" and "L'Anglais tel qu'on le parle" are the most im- portant. The first play Is true to life and told with cold and pitiless Irony, *'i5i'itannious" is a classical tragedy by the famous French poet J. Re- cine. It was played for the first time in 1669 and published in 1670. It 1.S of Roman hiiStory. under N^ero. "L'Anglais tel qu'ori le parle," the enc-act play by the famous humoHst Tristan Bernard, has caused plenty of merriment. It deplct.s the clamor of travelers In a hotej for the in- terpreter- Frenqh.. - who ciiti only speak Screen "Bcn-Hur" is the greatest film production which has been seen on the screen of the Gaumont Palace, Cairo. Seats were booked In advance and nca;r capacity every night. An orchestra of 14 executed a musical accompaniment spiecially adapted by M. Pctiot, of Paris. Mac!=!tro Naoum Pollaklne assumed the direction as usual. . Dance Places ==-Th<v.RI.haui^anjca,hAU.-SJid..theatre lias never been .so fascinating ks since the Russian star Vala Schmel- ev.ska has appeared on the stage. Sh« has directed all the perform- ances of the Sherry Girls. She has acquired a remarkable standing in Cairo as she pas.scd from stage to sta^e with increasing success.. Badla's Hall, fir.st Oriental place of attractions, has boon drawing tourists; Madame .Hadia Masabny, the proprietor And manager, Is con- sidered the quf-on of dancing and melody owing to hor marked apti- tude. Ufranz Ilancm dances nightly. IN PARIS Leon. Gordon appears to have a dramatic hit with "-The Trial of Mary Dugah," at the Royal. Pro- duced, hiere similarly to. the .New York production. Curtain remains up -throughout with special editions of a paper gotten otit by the pub lldty. . djepartment, distributed among the audience. A "plant gives the verdict frona the audi- torium much to the delight of the patrons. American cdurt procedure Is en tirely different to that prevailing in this country, which, of coiirsie, i.s under British loile. But, thanks to I American pictures, we folk out here are quite, wise to the workings, of the' American court. >"Dugan" is quite a novelty iand splendidly staged by W. T., with a very good cast Including, Gwyneth Graham, Frederick West, Iris West, Bran- don Peters, B. N. Lewln and Mr. Gordibn.- - ■ Jimmy stage. Elklns and . orchestra on By ED. G. KENDREW : . Paris, March 22. BYlends of the late Isadora Dun- can are arranging to hold a week's festival In memory of the dancer In June. Rehearsals are being pushed . at the Uoulln Rouge for the new revue to be ready early In April. Jacques Charles and Earl Leslie are the pro- ducers. Mistlnguett Is the star of the show, to be entitled "Paris qui Tourne," surrounded by Earl Leslie, Sparlaro, Patricia Storm, Carjol, Dandy, Rowe Sisters^ Boyer Sisters, Thllbert, 'Yvonne Legieay and the Poggi Duo. Jose Padilla will Intro- duce" a hew song, "Parlsette," on the lines of his "Valencia," created at the Moulin Rouge In a fofriier show. Immediately after the first night in London C. F. Wyn bought the EYench rights of "Trial of Mary Du- gan," which will be played here In the fall with Jane Mamac In the title role. Al Woods, with Irvin Marks, arraJDffed fm* the French pro- duction. Rich Hayes, comic jugerler, is listed for the ESmplre next July. . Wife <rf Adolpf Dehn, American designer residing In Paris, made her stage debut as a dancer, at the Pal- ace, In connection with Jack Hyl- tori's band. Orchestra' has clicked here. ' . • ' Eouny MagllanI with her part- ner, T. Kennedy, has ■ been dancing this month at the Casino, .Cannes... Albert Carson has - quit the Paris 'theatrical agency known as the Transatlantic Theatre Bureau, and recently as Variety Limited, with which he was connected with Billy Arnold, ' and Is opening an office on his own. "The Bat" la being translated Into French, and wUl be offered under the title of the "Chauve-Sourls" '(the true meaning of the 'Word). Puccini's unfinished opera ^Turan- dot" la to be produced in French at the Paris Opera this season, after having been heard in nearly every othet country. RADIO DOUBLES'? Boucicault-Vanbrugh . Dion Bouclcault and Irene Van- brugh are once again delighting us with English plays. At present they are In a rather weak piece under the title of "All the King's Horses" at the Criterion. W. T. direction. Quite probable that the English stars are appearing here on a sal- ary and percentage baisls. Mr. Bouclcault, a very artistic producer, has brought out every possible bright spot In the English comedy. Cast Includes Norman McKlnnel, Ronald Ward, Marjorle Playfalr, Annie Sakker, Peggy Car- ter and Hugh Williams. Fullers are reviving "Mercenary Mary" at the St. James with Elsie Prince and Jimmy Godden. Put on to fill until the opening of the Grand Opera season at this house. "Mary" will probably do fair busi- ness for Its few weeks. Muriel Starr will wlthdlraw 'Hrhe Eternal Magdiilene.'^ It has.'not caught on. too well at .the Palace; and win follow with "The Goldfish." 'Take the Air" „ "The Film Girl" will finish In a few weeks after a good run at the Etaplre. Followed by another Rufe Nayior production entitled "Take the Air" (American). Bobby Jar- vis may stay here and appear in the new show. Maurice Diamond will arrive from America ^shortly to stage the dances. ♦TJp In Mabel's Room" Is at the Opera House under the manage- ment of-Frank Nell. N. Pictures "The Scarlet Letter" current at Prince Edward. Boolced in by Hal Carleton and looks like several weeks. . Eddie Horton (American) has returned to the organ and Is rather a draw. High class prolog staged by Albert Cazabon met with nice reception. Prince Edward will have big op- position In a month or so when Hoyt's Regent and Union Theatres' Capitol opens. So far Prince Ed- ward "has=-been-the only,big. moyle house presenting atmospheric pro- ductions on a lavish scale In this city. Uiider .Carletoh's managehient the house has become exceedingly popular and should keep Its own pa- trons. (Continued from page 1) air, the secrecy of the chamber, was maintained even to the. excluislon frohi It of U. A. executive", from the story wafted east. A loud speak- er In the gym of the studios was working with the listeneirs-ln there. Including the newspapermen and others barred from the chahiber. Following, the broadcast Charlie Chaplin remarked -he nearly died while doing It, through mike fright, and was muc^ worried as to how he had done. count, did not take the. radio thing seriously and appeared indifferent to It. The broadcasting chamber was set in the Mary Plckford bungalow on the U. A. studio lot. "Resurrection" will move out of the Crystal I'alace this week to make, way for Eya Novak's Australian- A German made picture is the main attraction at the Piccadilly un- der the title of "The Masked Dancer." It features Nlta Naldl, whose wprk Is quite unconvincing and grotesque. Titling is extremely bad, with act- ing fearfully foreign in gesture. Big business this week- at the Hayniarket with "Two Arabian Knights" and "Man Crazy." Big Four on stage twice dally. Lyceum doing nicely with ''Fig- ures Don't Lie," and "The Romantic Age." Maggie Foster, vloUnlste, atage.::.^.^^^^^^, - . Empress running three major at- tractions In "Two Arabian Knights," "Texas Trail," and "Man Crazy." Lyric grinding out "Figures Don't Lie" and "Sky High Saunders." MELBOURNE "The Student Prince" in IBth' week at His Majesty's^ W. T. man- agement.* . .. "A. Cuckoo in the Nest" will finish at King's after' but a fair run. "Thark" follows for W. T. Maurice Moscovitch doing nicely with. "The Terror*' it the Ttoyal for W. T. Mystery ' playis still have strong appeal in this city. Stuart O'Brien, Independent pro- ducer^ presenting "Spooks" at tha Palace by arrangement with tlie' Fulleris. . Tlvbll has Ann Suter, Tom .Kat«- and band. Hector St. -Clair, Four Phillips, -Snell and Verpon,. Clifford and Shand, Loma, Lance and Les- lie, and Syd; JBurchell. ■ Fullers playing tab revue at Bi- jou,, with Stiffy and Mo featured. Pictures Piaramount picture, ."A Romance! of the Wilds," at the Athenaeum twice dally, under Carroll manage- ment.. "Don Juan'- appears to have clicked at the Auditorium. Extended: run. . . "The Volga Boatman" three times dally at Capitol to splendid business. Majestic screening "Underworld" and "Wild Beauty." Paramount presenting "Figures Dbn't Lie." Hoyt's featuring for week, ^The Magic Flame'? and "Adam and Bvil." News From All States Ann Suter (American). Is one of. bl^rgest single successes yet scored-; at Melbourne Tlvoll. ■ Miss Suter< will appear in Sydney this, weiek for . several weeks' stay. Max, Mpritz and Akka, moniiey act, pulling tremendous business In. New Zealand' where the monks are playing for W. T. Williamson-Tait will present two shows early this year for the first i time here: "The Deisert Song/,'., and "Queen High." The (^atlnos, dancers, have beei^. .successful In Perth, Western Aus-' tralla; for Clifford's theatres, by. ar- rangement with W. T. Act will leave for Anierlca at an early datei - Fullers may erect a new theatre In Adelaide. New house Would be used for the firm's ntiusldai: attrac- tions. Because Mussolini has; commandj- ed that several principals engaged for the WlllIamSpn-Talt-Melba Opera season appear In; the new Teatro . Reaie In Rome, the. season in Australia has been postponed from March until May. Season will open In Melbourne with Totl dal Monte as the principal attraction. Fullers will open their opera sea- son In. Sydney next month. W. T, will also introduce Beeno Moisiwitch; planisti In a series of concerts at the City Hall at an early date. The pianist Is conilhg here, after a tour of the East. No Night Dog. Racing Motor racing is hurting theatri- cal business somewhat In Adelaide. This city has prohibited tln-haro racing at nights.. The Speedway, where the-races are held. Is draw- ing enormous crowds Saturday nights. For years that has been regarded by the managers as the big night for theatrical business. Charles Stanton, carnival pro- moter, was sentenced to three weeks on Information alleging ho allowed a game of chance, "Copper, Silver iand- Gold," to be played.,In a public place. Stanton has appealed for. a retrial. William Refed Burned . William Reedi, husband, of Eva Novak, was severely injured when a flare-bomb burst outside a movie theatre in a country town last week. Reed was directing a. locally made picture when the acCideiit hap- pened; Cecil Hargraves. associated with Hrtllywbod-on-Hoilday Picture Corp., and Mick Folkhardt also badly burned', Dal Clawson, cam- eraman, escaped injury. Reed received his injuries in ai plucky attempt to snatch the flare from Folkhardt's hands just prior to the explosion^ . . Fir.st National Exchange putting out quite an amount, of publicity for "The (Jorllla/' VARIETY 9f Paris Representative ED. G. KENDREW 70 Rue d'Alesia, XIV &iiriifO CTAni? Proprietors, n. C, WllUe & Co,, Teleuhono Recent 0742, Ahvayfi the Nr.W^ alllKK »no« TJp-to-the-MInute Stock of American PubllcatlonK, Bureau <Jo liWTiwr krs.vauj chanKe,' BnBllsh, American and Continental Newsdealcra. .Special I>Jstrlbutoro for "V&Hoty" and the Woria'a BtaK6 and ficrbcn Publication.*). All the world's publicationH deliverod or] mailed to any addr^Bit, 1 Green Btre«t, Lnlcestor Bqaare, I^ondon W. C. 2. Subscriptions received for all liomo. jinfi Iforolpn neWBpapera, periodlfialn and mnprazlnOB. T.lbraIHe Contlncntale, 87 Wilton Road (Victoria Station), I..onaon S. W. 1, Telephone Victoria l«00. Willi*' NowMgenoy, laob Dromptoh Road, 6. W. 1, Telephone Rloanp. 2794.