Variety (Jun 1928)

41 VaudevOle Reviews H PALACE ' (St. Vaude) Kind o£ a lay-out bookers di-eam about at the JPalace this ,week. It olayed as fast as a newsreel, as smooth as a supervisor's alibiV and had a kick in every entry. When the closing act can hop out at 11.15 and hold them like; the JHarvard Hne It's vaudeville. Multiply this . week's bill by 52, If. that can be *°cfass predominated, but there was food for'every appetite ciri the menu, and the booker had courage enough to put a unicycie comic on third, opening the show with girls. Th6 ■ duinb turn that hypnotized the com- ftiutel's was the Pour Ortons closing. Both halves of the hill held plenty of entertainment and nam6s. In the first half Louise Groody (New Acts) making her first vaudeville Appearance, came close to copping the hit of that portion, although Harlan Dixon; spotted fourth, hoofed to a speech. He used about the siime tap routine as on his last ap- pearance between musical comedy eflgagements, ' He proves hdoflckly that the genfesis .of the Charle'Ston was "Off to Buffalo", and/illustrates his evolutions. . Hoofers, are like alienists,, they can testify either way. The dance he did in, "Man- hattan Mary," which is the isame dance he did with Janies Doyle years ago but .at different prices, cppped just as • stirongly. as it did then attd as it did in the 15.50 opera. • "One of the Finest" (New. Acts), with William Boyd featured and John Wray in support, followed.. It's bne of the best vaudeville sketches ever written, and how this pair play it. It served as. a walk^iri ..for Robert Warwick the last tirhe hp played vaudeville. Boyd'is now do- ing the copper, The: role was inade to order for hini. They loved it at this factory. Just ahead of Dixbri, George, aiid Jack Dormond showed them how a, dumb act can. go when it gets ia break. The drunk oh the unicycie panicked' them with his dizzy gyra- tions. A unicycie polo match vyas'.a yell.. Tir.e drunk did more tricks with the soft ba;1I than a monkey can do with a cocoanut. His drib- bling was a scream. He finally shot a goal by laying the ball in front of the cage and moving: the cage on top of it. A great act of its kind, imported three years ago and a long way from home yet. Miss Groody-. opened the second half if olio wing Pathe l>iews. The little musical coniedy filly closed to a speech and left them in 'a recep- tive mood for^ the hoke clean up that Trahah; and Wallace next scored. This pair took the all ^ound hit of the bill. How that Trahan has im- proved. He should. be an inspira- tion to all piano players. His com- .edy work on this, box and his sing- ing are tip top. ' He is handling dia- log 100 pet" cent, better than when last seen and has developed into one of the best comics on the vaydeville stage. "The musical comedy scouts were drooling at the mouth, watch- ing him mop up. The girl is the Ideal foil. She makeis three changes, feeds him perfectly and sings and dances acceptably. They slaughtered them. And that with the general tone of the turn reminiscent. • "Dancing Tamborines" (New Acts) opened, with Ross Wyse, Jr., a strong deucer. Assisted by -his mother and father, who, unlike most of these family combos, woyldn.'t strengthen the act by re- . tiring, the kid . dances his way to huge returns. His pop hoofs and does ground tumbling; mother plays the sax, sings and dpnces. S6me of. the gags are. hash marked but the dancing is audience proof. They mopped up sizeably. Business also reminiscent. Al- .. most capacity dovCrnstairs. . jCon. , larly intriguing, packing plenty of good harmony. Miss Hart is a corking prima and still in splendid Voice, while the dancers are a per-: sonable couple above the usual. "A Night of Mystery" (Par) .screen feature.. .- Edba. PROCTOR'S 86TH ST. .(Vaudfilm) Eva Tahguay billed to headline at Proctor's for the first half but can- celled, it was announced, because of illness, with Healy and Cross sub- stituted.. ' Whether the crowded house was due to Miss Tanguay's scheduled appearance or not, it's certain the cai^ customers got their'four bits' worth with a well framed bill, .the crack pianolog team wowing 'em with a series of. special and pop niunbers sold and delivered in snappy fashlor\ and received royally. The boys only recently played the uptown house. Michael McCall and Xeonia Kel- ler. <3euced for good results with a comedy skit, 'ILiove and Larceny," tn. which two dips try to out-sniart each other, finally deciding on a double hitch. A special number, "Following In Our; Father's Finger- print?" sends the turn, in for a strong finish despite the familiar flirtation bit opening. George Beatty is cred- ited with authorship: Art Frank and Hiarriet .To.wh© were in thij third spot, on the five act bill, with a rube comedy act. It builds up to some neat tap stuff for good resujts; Dorothy Bytbn and Co. opened with a dancing revue. All six girls supporting, Miss Byton give evi- dence of good training, while Dbrothy is an outstander in her solo and ensehibie toe numberis. Cairr Bros, and Betty, hand balancing turn, closing, weire well received. /•It I Were Single" (Warner Bros.) feature film. Overture, an .organ rendition of a quartet of pop songs Wjith slides by William J, GUr.oy, hbuse organist . LOEWS STATE LOS ANGELES (Continued from page 40) pruno, in a duet with Smoot, sold a pleasing ballad as a foroi-unner to the iinale.' Strong finale was a sun- beam affair artistically put to- gether. Girls were, lined up in good formation' with Stadler. and Rose bringing up the fini.sh with an adagio, , J: Wesley Lord, house organist, had an attractive conriody novelty at the console, using screen slides. Lord's organ specialty is attract- ing attention each week. House pulled early tvtido Friday afternoori, lower floor being pretty well spotted with cash customers and mainly Steadies. Screen feature "Harold Teen" (F. N.);' STATE (Vaudfilm) Good show at the State, but no particular standouts. Harry Fox, a swingqver from Keith's, frolicked next, to shut. _ Fox also headlined and h6ld pace with his usual con-' glomeratlon of aongg aind foolery, aided by Bratrice Curtis and a male pianist. Since last around Harry how takes the encore solo. He did Monday night with two numbers and the publishing staffs In for neavy applause, but not enough to count for a big house.. Al Gordon's Dogs opened as a Plea.sing pacemaker. Hazel Crosby •^'l^ a boy at the Ivories followed .with just a routine singing single that went so-so. Earl Faber, plus . a femme assistant, livened up next py doing some acceptable clowning that hit. Forry Corwey, musical clown, was a'so a welcome addition to the mirth -provoking-^ contingent—^Uslnff---=his= .Clown antics to advantage and get- Jing out Of an'a.ssortment of trick instruments, it put him over nicely, warry Fo3t -next to win without a struggle in huilding up for the panic ot 'Towels" with his sextet of Choristers neither Zlegfeld nor Car- roll want. . ~ ^ Joe Fejer's Orchestra, flanked by yivifin Hart and a corking mixed fiancmg team, closed with as nifty ■''<'"R-and-dance fla.sh as has been ■"•ound. .Stringed music is particu- BROADWAY (Vaudfilm) "This is alniost a news item: after all these years a team of Texas Tommy dancers arrive on Broad- way. Dancing^Mcponalds is the act. Maybe it's not . authentic . Texas Tommy but,, a,nyhow, it's reminis- cent of th^ Taft administration. Then there's Charles Harrison and Sylvia Dakin. They ™leht also be described as quaint. Their, style and material has a faint suggestion of the Gilbert and Sullivan era. They are full 6f whimsy,- most of it leaving the gathered jurors un- moved Monday night. There is, however, evidence of a desire to be progressive and they deserve a mark for effort; Looked like a case of elbow ache when the George Broadhurst act got under way* iGeorge was a little slow in revealing his-talents as an entertainer, but once lubricated he was out of balk from then on. George heeds a producer. Don Cum- mings .(New Acts) is preceded by a length of animated celluloid an- nouncing that he is the 18-year-old champ ropie spinner and. showing why. Unlike ma,ny acts who build up via the screen trailer route Cum- mlngs does not fa;n down. His rope spinning is miles ahead of-any of his competitors and • even with the act's undoubted .. weakness in talk he could step in anywhere and make good. . Slate Brothers, three of 'em, ac- complished the impressive feat of literally stopping the show with tap dancing. They had to come back for bows long after the next act was annj)unced.: B^ys didn't seenri to be getting very high' class" cif^ operation from the orchestra either. Sylvia Clark was a hit, too, but that's not news. "No Other Woman" (Fox), on the screen. Biz fair. Landi AMERICAN ROOF ■(Vaudfilm) Any old time they, dish 'em up pretty good comedy atop the Ameri- can, the roofitos get their money's worth,! And with more comedy than the American has had, as a whole, in .some time, the show Monday night gave a lot of entertainment. Three Fans (New Acts) opened, doing nicely, although showing nothing away from the beaten path of jugglers. Bud and Blinore Cole combined acrobatics, music and dancing to success, although the act could stand reshaping. The duo is working much along the same lines as in yesteryear. The first comedy outburst came jvitllJFIarrjr Steppe„%nd Lola Pierce. Steppe is the burlesque c6mlc~WlTOr since entering vaude, has remained there. Miss Pierce is an attractive looker and a hard worker, and an apt foil for Steppe's Hebe monkey- shinesj They are followed by "At the Sup- per Club" (New Acts), and Steppe and Pierce appear as the main prin- cipals in the club offerings More comedy. ^.^ After intermission, Vincent O Don- (Continued on page 42) METROPOLITAN ("Snap Shots"-Unit) (LOS ANGELES) . •. Los Angeles, June 10. . "Snap Shots" is (if memory serves right) the third Chicago-produced Publix unit and the first put on by Will J, Harris.. This one did not open in the Windy City but in Min- neapolis. From there the show hopped to Seattle, and after five working weeks landed here at the Met. ■ To compare this unit with those produced In New York, which in the majority have , played here, a little figuring, with pad and pencil Avould have to be done. This production is, in evidence, inexpensive. No 20 or 30 grand blown on this one. For thf. actual amount laid out on it doubtlessly measures up propor- tionately to its scenic construction, talent, effect, etc. Nonetheless it is not a strong show apd integrally largely lacks. .The composite num- ber In this lineup Includes the Gould Girls (10), Bert Tucker, Lillian Ber- nard and Flo Henriie, Mills arid Shea and Tyler' Mason; Tempo, more than anything else dragged. Spotting could have been to better advantage, Frank .Jehks, regular m. c. at thie house, tried valiantly to cope with vvhat. he. had on hand and a few times succeeded Jcnks Is not an iaggressive conferert- cier, but he has a smooth, personable style and the Met patrons like him. This batch of Dave Gould's girls is as good as. any of the others who have traipsed the circuit. They are consistently and thoroughly rou- tined and do not hurt the optics. For. Lil Bernard and" Flo Henrie this or any other unit would not make much difference; Long . time ago, back around Chi cabs, this pair were dubbed the "female- Vrih and Schenck." It still goes! Sophie Tucker's offspring, Bert, finds a wel- come place in this unit and mikes the most of his opportunity. Bert is now. laying off the vocal chords and sticking to hoofing, something he can always count , upon. His sense of showmanship appears to haive been developed, too, since last seen around. Tyler Mason, vet in blackface, looks and works great in this lay- out. Some of his stuff went over the heads, but that wasn't Mason's fault. His pipes are something no one can miss, at any rate. . Mills and Shea are average comedy acrobats who isell themselves. Don Thrallkill, local tenor, impresses with his voice and led several numbers with: the, girls, one of which is a cigaret fan- tasy and the only thing aipproaching a flash In the whole layout. The musical combo on stage seemed more lax than usual, and this didn't help matters. The boys, from ob- servance, did not appear to be set in orchestrations. With Eddie McGill, songologist In the house, they were more cetrain, and McGill sold '-Melancholy Baby" for a good plug, aided by Jenks, pre- ceding with the trombone. Again the band,, in the pit for the overture, found themselves with mu- sicjanly mternretajtion for Tlffany- Stahl's TecTinlcblor clagglc,^ "Red Men's Homes." Credit for this, how- ever, should go to Raymond Paige, who conducted, with earnest effort and ^rot results! Martha Vaughn, who closed here two weeks ago with the "Dancing Feet" unit, soloed effectively vocally with the band. Herb Kern, fay or- ganist in this town, selected a good Idea in going over a medley of song hits, past, present and one maybe in the future—a new dream waltz. That the community singing bee gag is not yet ta:boo was proved by Kern when he got. the mob going more than once. f>aramount,hcld out a varied se- lection of news.events on the mag- -nascopic screen, featuring an arctic shf)t. Adolphe Me.njou In "His Tiger Lady" (Par) topped the cinema fare. GRAND RIVIERA (DETROIT) Detroit, June 15. minus any flash after the first peep. Iloii.^o still derives its talent from Koith's Wostom,. Chioago, and re- mains one of the few presentation houses that doesn't play proschta- tion acts. About one invevery tliree really belongs, a better batting than booking average. ({rand Riviera has tliv neighbor- hood presentation licld of Dotroit to itself, and shows io.ss jiroprosslvo- ncss than any theatre in town. Vor- haps a name act every .so often would help. Or even a suitable act. One of the two would, aid in dolay- ing a split Avook policy into which the house Is. bound to be foroe\l li- the present manner of doing thinsrt! continues. • ' ■ \ Of the three outsido acts'in "Night In June," only;one seemed at homo. This was a two boy dancing act and caught downtown at the State a few weeks ago. Remaining two acts were from Chi and should have stayed there. One was a, single woman, a fairly good blues singer, but making, a bad appearahcev She is a well known woman in small time circles. Her attire not only failed to do her justice but stamped her a.s a flop the moment she walked on. Turn number thrd^e is a stand- ard mixed two act of Intermediate classification. Considering the way they worked before this stage band, the Riviera is obviously their first or--s6cond presentation enjgagement, no more. Comedy material Is Suit- able—for vaude. May prove like- wise for; picture houses when this ma/i and womian learn their hew. racket. ; The band (Keystone Serenaders) and Watson are under average this week. Girls are on thrice, including opening and finale, and never quite reach the usual ji-eland standard. Only one real, fault with Watson, that's staying too long in one spot. Two years, in, one neighborhood hou-se qan bury anyone outside of th^t Particular, theatre. Three bapd numbers by the Keystoners, all good, and one, special arrangement of Bouquet of Memories," exception- ally well played. Merle Clarke : Works straight at the organ and applause heavy. - Bine. EASTMAN (ROCHESTER) Rochester, N. -T., June 14. Two presentations turned out by Director. G. R. Bunker. "The Clock Shop" is a musical novelty with a cast of nine; Setting irlcludes a va- riety of time pieces In hero sizes, characters being concealed within or on top. ■ . Curtain rises on dimly-lit stage with orchestra pljaying "Ti<?k-T6ck.'' The hour strikes and Marlon Mc^ Keon sings. Figures step down and do a giraceful gavotte, followed by Dorothy. Drakeley and Gordon Davis, bronzed decoration.s, singing a duet., Martin Vogt, as the alarm clock, contributes a comedy bit, anifl the grandfather clock chimes in with an did rnelody.. Act closes vfit\\ a dancing finale to a tune composed by Benjamin Macliah of the East- man musical staff. "Nocturne is a fantasy featuring Thelma Biracree- and Ivan Trle- sault, premier dancers. Behind a gauze .curtain a groupi of cory- phees flit about as moonbeams. Moon rises, carrying Miss Biracree. She ti-lps down to pair with Trie- sault, then returns to her place ,and ascends wlthTriesault as the Mor- tal, vainly trying to clutch the dis- appearing lady. Overture, Guy Fraser Harrisan conducting the 70 piece orchestra, was Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Di Bal- lo." Feature picture, "The Actress" (M-G). Gooding. Just'a one-man ,^TibW thLs-WGclc? with nothing of note on the stage other than Donald "Monk" Watson, the m. c.-conductor here and in a class by himself in Detroit. In spite of the bill's frailty, not'a bad house, with "Sorrell and Son" (U. A.) the feature. Shows that the Riviera's pcsition ia.-? .key house (fir.st run precedent) In its respec- tive zone doesn't hurt a hit. A Fred Ireland production, called a "Night In June," was a garden set GRANADA (WIRED) (Chicago) Chicago, June 12, -Programs Of Marks. i3rothers' Gra.T nada and' Marbro merit frequent reporting because of their forward progress despite independent kiting and thoroughly organized opposi- tion. Since partially overcoming the dtfTlculties of securing good' pic- tures the Marks are now devoted to cemoptlng a reputation . witl> stage shows;' ' ■ - . . • ■'.-' Having perfected presentatlon.s to a degree beyond any similar enter- prise in Chicago, they are capital- izing-on the quality by using name draws. This week it's Jack Oster-' man, and next it's Leon EroU at $7,50.0/ ■ At an early week matinee the house was past three-fourths full downstairs, and the Osterman pres- ehtatibn was received with enthu- siasm. Titled "Oodles of Fun," it used a' carnival sot. Alarguerlte White Kt.'trted before the house drapes, singing a special ditty about going to the carnival. Then to two, where ballet and orchestra strolled about before an . outside tent drop, loriking over the-^ nhoney_freak .s. bs- terman described each in barker style. It was well that he made this preliminary appearance, as it took the house a while to get his exceptionally fast delivery; Benny Meroff, m. c, finally ap- peared after .several deadlioails had walkfid past Osterman and the ticket box, claiming they were on the living skeleton's staff. Switch to full stage wai). maneuvered with a slight laugh whfn Meroff wiilkrd through, saying he was the living sJvOkvloii. . Full stage was a (Circus tont inte- . rlor with plonty of t'olor. .Mu.slcians wore .seated in two sop;yatc. bo.ves, one for brafss .;uul ono string. All men wore bright retl shirts. As usual start wa.s made with <i hot band number, AVliero tlie boys .shine is in a su,hdue.(.V uccompiuiiment. to vocal wori<. They outplay any band' in llio eity on this, count' . Openhig act; .lue Fung, Is- a. liov-. city Oriental single, ...speaking ex- . oellent Ktiglisli arid singing two^ miUibers—oho. an Iri.sh ballad find the other an ^ operatic in Italian; Coupled with , a clear voice and a passable although overworked sense of humor, this idea inakes . sood. neighborhood and small tiiwn mate- rial. In- sophi.sticated stands . his talk mi;':ht . count 'a'galnst-: . him.. GaUdsmith Brothers are veteran vaudeville and can be recommended for other picture house dates. Meroff followed with a band num- ber, having the various departments carry solo choruses. A dark stage novelty, effective here, was worked by white figvires before a black drop. Two ballet girls were first on in horse co.stume. Then two more, as lovers,, going thrbugh heart-warming cbaserme and necking motions,. For a finish the fence behind them suddenly broke into a. dance, with a girl in each fencepost; Two trees, capped this with.a Charleston. Somewhat on the 'order of^ Roxy's silhouettes, seldom seen in this town. Marguerite White, plumP Uttle gal, went On the rhake for Benny Meroff with some of those songs. She's best at talking them. Another band interlude, and then Jack Os- terman. Latter stalptcd With a com- . edy song and raced through it.. Then a ballad, slowing up and letting the '•: customers In on the. woi'ds.;. They Uked it; Middle running time was . filled with gags. He said the two • worst weeks In'show business were , Holy W€ek ^ind Milwaukee. Later OstermiaTi brought out Miss" White to kid to hearty returns and sang a song to her for a forte finish. This guy has a way with him, and the customers didn't feel gypped when he walked off. . For a finale a beaver board mer-.jst, ry-go-round was lowered to center stage, . the ballet ' girls romping around. It while Benny and his boys . blew loud harmony. Edward K. House, singing organ- ist, presented a medley of Spanish pop numbers, encouraging commu- nity singing and. finishing with, a Bolo. Voice is good and a pretty loud response ..on the community■ work. , , Vltaphone subjects were "Movie Man" and' Rcsa Raisa, reviewed in another department. Movietone newsreel and regular Fox reel com- pleted shorts. Feature, "No Other . Woma n',' (Fox). J^dofi. STATE (BOSTON) Boston, June 16. Business started off heavy, due to the advance publicity on "Ramona" (U. A.). Picture not only drew but held solid even on the last grind. Introduction came through the amplifying of the Dolores del Rio Victor record followed by the an- nouncement that the,voice was that of the star. Idea was good but a beautiful bet for a novelty Introduc-. tlon was passed up by not building the thing up by means of a sUhou- ette of a woman singing. Ampll- flcation coming from nowhere does not seem to hold a picture hou.se crowd. Vadi-Gygl band unit was one. of the most pretentious sent into this house thi.s season 'and scored in- stantly. House doesn't quite get the identity of either Gygl or Vadl, both these individuals apparently having overestimated their Bo.ston follow- ing. Band pleases and the no^'clty opening . with the buck dancer on the ■ pTafform of a~mamrrnrth- Vic? trbla.igot a hand. Happy-Go-Luclty boys were the supporting feature. Roach comedy, 'Soup to Nut.s/' was voted the house's funniest. of the sea son.'for a short. Birge Peter- son, at the organ for the second week in succession, pushed over his weekly .song plug, getting the house, to really sing. There Is probably nothing nationally distributed for public amusement today that has less brains .U.sed than the color slides ground out to back up song plugs. "Shade of the Old Apple Tree" orig- inally had the same type of art work (possibly the same .slides) that now show up regularly for the first class^ presentation houses to.admire after the patrons' have viewed million- dollar murals in the lobby before coming in.. Libbeu- SKSRiDAN (CHICAGO) Chicago, June 8. Neighborhood picture houses can 'cjpPrao;=^vithOHt-=a--V)allet==^nd:^-ayj{t^ money. An alert manager can .save money by avoiding overtime through carefully pl.'iiiaed schedules. Out at the Shfi-iUan tju-y are saving money. The house is operated by Joe Leo f<jr Fox through the Chicago Title and Trust Company. The manager Is R. C. MacMuUen. He was saying the other evening that he is saving mon''y. r.;aUcs scheduled f''a- (Contlnued on page 43)