Variety (Sep 1928)

Wednesday, September 12, 1928 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 49 V ORIENTAL (CHICAGO) ("Closeupa"—unit) Chicago, Sept. 9. "Closeups" la a Publix coast route unit, produced by Will Harris o£ Chicago, and plcltinff up the lo<;al time extra. It, may be rated as a strong stage week for houses using the Oriental shows. Talent Includes Will Aubrey, fea- tured; Wills and Shay, Intentionally hammy acrobats; Connor Sisters, vocal; Grey, and White, hoofers; Don Thrallklll, vocal, and a lineup of 10 Gould gals who contrast with most fcinema ballets as caviar to tapioca. Running time of 55 min- utes needs very little peeling. . . Opening has the Connor Sisters before black velvet, sin&ing about closeups. Two blackouts, visible througli sliding apertures . in the velvet, follow quickly vl'ith' gags about a gent who kill^ a gal for be- eing a phone operator and a hubby who silences his crying baby very effectively with just one shot. Cus- tomers were pleased about both murders. Al Kvale in nutty costume came out as the third gag, leading the, Gould chorus through an actual harmonica ensemble, unless the band was doing ti-icks behind the curtains. It's a real novelty straight or phoney, and the fast kick rou- tine at finish cinches applause. PuUstage setting was a simple combination of panellings and plat- forms, enhanced by rich lighting. Grey and. White, hoofers, opened the fullstage session with . ordinarily good exercise, stepping out of the customary with a comic recitation by one and a simultaneous fiddle solo and tap by the other. That helps a lot. Connor Sisters took their regular spot next with harmony, delivering well but still getting weakest rec- ognition among the announced acts. No novelty attempted. Will Aubrey, brought on th6 first laugh siege, using a little uncooked hurijor that probably was ordered put before he had time to smoke a cigaret. He uses a frock coat and booze-hound makeup, recites and sings with" his own guitar twitting. All of his stuff is good, and most of it can . stay for the families. Things like identifying a soprano boat whistle as belonging to a ferry boat are out of place, with people as wise as they are these days. Production number based on dream-girls visioned by a gent while smoking a good cigarette was handled well. Don Thrailkill. smoked and sang, while the Gould girls stepped" from large Russian, Egyp- tian and Virginia cigaret boxes and went into native dances with rep- resentative costumes. Mill and Shay, who start as a comic dance team and follow with acrobatics of tlie same order, came next with a solid picture house laugh act They were forced Into a burlesque ballet encore. Aubrey appeared again as a Swiss yodeler, angling for both comedy and appreciation of his voice, and getting both. Then the pretentious linale, beginning as a flash costume showjgirl parade and ending with the girls posed high on a center stage platform behind a huge pic- ture frame bordered with flashing electrics. Caused a spontanfeous burst of applause. Billy Myers, singer, was extra here with two pop numbers. Staff attraction, and fair in voice. Community singing organ solo by Henri Keates should he a yodel in- ducer for the regular flap crowds. Quiet Sunday morning, "Water Hole" (Par) and Paramount Kews completed. This Is Al Kvale's last week as m.c. here, with Bennie Krueger fol- lowing and then Paul Ash. Kvale has hocn second In box offlce re- sults only to Ash, but the Norshare has been dying on its feet since he left there and his return is neces- sary. Loop. trunks, breastplates and Oriental headdress hokling garlands against transparent gauzo drop, with Fong in center and another line girl pos- ing a la Araby. Fumi Kuwahati, diminutive but attractive Japani\<?c miss, presented excellently executed Oriental dance Followed by orchestra, led by Ai Lyons, m.c, in a fantastic number. England Ong, Chinese jazz singer, in Chinese costume, did "My Baby Don't Mean Maybe" in American style, encoring with. "Mary Lou" in Chinese language. Line girls then presented a com- bination Oriental and jnizz number that went over, with a bang. After band played vWeaknei5S Now" as comedy number, Skeeter Hartwell and Jay Justice did an eccenti-ic turn, winding up with a comic tango that panicked. Great combination for a, fast musical revue. Nfeil Castelll, sax specialist, played "Caro Nonic," from "Rigo- lettOi" on soprano sax, Lyons ac- companying on piano, and endored with "Indian Love Call." Tom-tom ballet staged as Orien- tal ceremonial. After opening steps, went into druni beating routine that got the crowd. Two girls did some split and' high heol stuff in fore- ground as introduction to adagio team, Ruth Miles and Eddie Covern, former as- slave girl, Covern driving with bull whip. This team real hit of show. As they vanished Fong returned to sing "Mandalay." At windup tableauing for gorgeous stage pic- ture with near nudes, Lights Were dimmed except for forestage when Mosby's Blue Blowers came, on In a boat set and w'earing Arabian cos "tumes, Play<ed a hot number, at end of which orchestra joined in for finale and lights went up to. show complete stage picture again. Glittering stage act to apprecia- tion. "The Cardboard I>dver" (M-G-M) and usual shorts on the screen. STATE (Wired) MINNEAPOLIS Minneapolis, Sept. 6. Orchestral presentations continue at the State in conjunction with synchronized and talking pictures. The current one, ari'ansed by John Ingram, conductor of the 25-pie6e orchestra. Was called "Broadway Hits." It utilized the services of the State ensemble/comprising 10 male singers and a young woman, dancer. In musketeer costumes, the male singers first gave one of the big song hits from "The Three Mus- keteers" standing before a dark curtain. This was a stirring num- ber and preceded a selection from the latest edition of "Scandals," with the boys grouped about the girl In an abbreviated floral bower scene and the girl later going into a pretty dance. "Old Man River," from ■■ "Show Boat," with the men attired as wharf hands, and an ex- cerpt from "Rosalie" completed the presentation. A n other, orchestra n u m b e r^ "Jeanne, I Dream of You," with novel screen effects to advertise "Lilac Time," underlined, the Fox Movietone News and the Emil Jan- nlngs picture, "The Patriot," round- ed out a good show. Business mediocre, the feature film failing to. score strongly with the masses of fans, although win- ning the critics' laudations. Rees. , LOEW'S STATE (Wired) (LOS ANGELES) Los Angeles, Sept; 7. The new Fanchon and Marco "Oriental Idea" unit provides one of ^the flashi^t, m6st lavishly mounted and or.dwd pleasing presentations that has graced LoeW's istage,. and comes considerably under the maxi- mum budget allowance. Which is saying much in view of the unin- terrupted succession of good K. & M. Ideas that have been offered there for the past several weeks. Featuring three genuine Orientals among the entertainers and one of the best and most scnsa.tional adagio teams seen here, the act is staged against a vividly colorful background, winding up with novel tom-tom ballet, with ]C nifty fommes in the line. Thp capacity crowd at the opening performance yelled for more. Following an orprnn medley played by J. Wesley Lord, Movic^ -to h e=Now s^a n dr. ^a^-Fox^Caae=iiU:UiiLOi^ short. "Kchubert'.s ScrcniuU'." tho curtain went up on a scrim whicli was u.sed as a nim screen, mapiia- scoplng a colored film of a tcixitip of Burme.<;e dancing girls, the picture being enlarged to. lill the entire proscenium arch, while Jue Fong, Chinese tenor, .sang the Ka.shmiri Song in s'lU nfiid voicp. The scrim up revealed eiaht line tirTs- In METROPOLITAN (Wired) (BOSTON) Boston, Sept. 11. Paul Whiteman as a Publix mas- ter of cei'emonies proved to be a heavy drawing card opening night in combination with "Thomas Meighan in "The Mating Call." The evening schedule was tilted to 75 cents all over the house. While there were a few lobby squawks, most of the patrons apparently thought. the extra dime well spent for a really good picture, a Publix unit and Whiteman with his team. The new price Is permanent, and next week will tell the tale as to whether tho Metropolitan can get away with it. Whiteman was billed as making his farewell appearance in Boston tor two yours and wa.s jumped into the liou.se with, his full band to fill in for Cone Kodcmi'.:h,, who i.s vacationing.-. This week he steps in as a full- fledged m. c. for 45 minutes-of unit routing, using his own team in place of tlic hrniso tf.'un and .adding the most popular of his old favorites. Unit was "ElosHoms," with George Dcwcy Washington. Ilolcn Kf-nnody and a Fostfr chorus. ' ' ' . r;;ilanfo of tlio show apart from >ri'ighan in "The Mating Call" was flat, consisting of a nows rcf-r and a Colonirt. entitled "Marcheta," in which th(? love scr-tics not only failed to I'ppister but in two instances ar- f'tisfjd . l;ui!jlitor._ '_ . T h f h o 11 s 0' (jVc'l'i f■ s fra' wVi s~n oT.-o 1 t-^ vatod for an overture and playr-d only a slinrt aoconiiianiniont for tho short.*!, ns tho f'-ature vvas syn- ohronlzj'd. Arthur Martell, the feature or- g.'inist of Now linglund, has been out about a month and the oi-gan in no longor a faotor at this 5,000-capaolty house. PARAMOUNT (WIRED) ("High Hat"—Unit) (NEW YORK) New York, Sept. S. "l-'athor," as;ks Javkie x.-oopiau, "how did you make your living 1h>- fore you mot me?" UaujjhtL'i* and applause). . "I used to bi> a vaude- ville actor, son," replies the white- spatted guy, "and I want you to re- membor that before you ..wore aroijnd tliorc woro Coogans on tho stage.". "Yeh," sneers the. starlet, "but the name , didn't mean - auy.- thing." (More laughter and ap- plause.) In this vein father and smi arc kidding at the I'aramount, Uotwoen gaga father soft shoes and Jaokio recites.. The proceedings, including a preliminary trailer, occupy about 15 minutes immediately, following the. band portion, of the stage show. It's pretty good entertainment and it's expected to be snappy boxofhce. The marquees have been devoted exclusively to. publicizing the Coo- gan presence. It comes as a pleasant novelty to Jind moving picture folks articulate, poised, showmanly and impressive when stepping out in front of an audience. Most of the personal .ap- pearances have been pretty bad and all of tbem have invariably Includ- ed that one about the ^ kid who wanted to exchani-^e 12 photographs of (the. person telling the wheeze) for One of Norma Talmadge. This standard is happily omitted by the Copgans. Young Jackie speaks clearly iand wieH and can spot those Junior N. V. A.'s six up on self- confidence. . Joseph Santley produced the unit, "High Hat," which stands out head and shoulders above the aver- age Publix show for speed, laughs, : continuity and Intrinsic merit als pop entertainment.- It is told in story form against the background of a night club. Sally (Ginger Rogers-^back here again) Is a singer and Jerry (Tom Ross) is-her Sweetie from the home town who wants her to give up the cabaret and marry him. Grandpa (Art Frank) also arrives to lec-' ture the gal and to fall himself for a hotsy-totsy (Alice Roy). Dialog Is conspicuously success- ful. Santley and Cliff Hess wrote it. Santley al.so was in on the com- posing end with Harry Ruskin col- laborating. The successful merging of all departments of production Is in itself quite an achievement for Santley Who Is bringing to picture houses the rich fruit gathered from his long association with vaudc and legit. Ginger Rogers Is, as always, cute and appealing with Just the right propKjrtion of the baby talk stuff. Ross has a nice voice and Alice Roy is peppy. Art Frank, deservedly featured. Is both a competent actor on. dialog and a show stopper with comedy dancing. Hlis grandpa is a gem. Also standing out in the pi-esenta- tion is the "Dancing Shoe" number of the Gamby-Hale group. The dozen girls wear stockings on their arms and shoes on their hands. The effects obtained iare colorful when the arms and legs perform simulta- neously. Whether entirely, or only partly, original this routine Is the cleverest and most ingenious stunt revealed on Broadway by a d.ancing troupe in months. Overture omitted because of length of show. Serious musical obligations were assumed by Jess Crawford in his organ concert. Crawford played "Treasures" and, as per Paramount tradition, the organ concert was warmly endorsed by the grandstand. Warmth, also, in the he.arty re- ception to Paul Ash at the com- mencement of the stage act. Ash seems to be getting them educated just as he is about to ,r<!turn to Chicago to briefly revisit the scenes of his flapper popularity. Now.sreel mostly ParJimount. "Heart to Heart" (F.N.) on screen. jAind. xyionhono numbors, and tho big ICastinan Orolu'stra adds to the jubilant mUo of annivov.^iary week witli a .stirrin.ir performance of the "l.si:;". ovortuve. ' Cnllcon -Moore in "Uh, Kay." is tliA feature pictm-c. and despite c>uinfor-attraotions of tlu^ Kxpo and a bull team topping the league,'tlic draw was bisr the first thiOf-days. .(.tooiUng. EASTMAN THEATRE Rochester, Sept. 8. ;. Having entertained 12,000,000 peo- ple, the J2astman theatre last week .started its seventh year with ia gala .sixth anniversary program. Direc- tor Gayne Ralph Bunker devi.scd for the stage feature a jazz revue,"Ten ?viiles from Town." Act open." in one with a bJU'k drop dopicting the oflice of the -Tired lJu.siness Man. T, B. M.'s topic is hiH .snap])y secretary, played, by Doris Doaiio,; who does song nuin- her, "Ten Miles from Town. ' Black- out is followed by tho glare of auto-, mobile, headlights and the curtain risr;s on a smart country dub, with th/' Kirl friends and boy friends parlcc-d on the veranda and lawn. Dorothy Drakely. gots off to a running start with .song in whicjj .she tdips out over the ol■(■)J^•:-•lra■ pit on. a runway. Solo nunibvi '^". (juai-K't and a waltz dono by the proinior dance team, Ivan Triosault and Theima Biracroe, lead up to in- trwiuoti«n=^of—tlie=iikistnian;.^danxiiiil5i. in prooision stop.<!i. A riding number In h07i(n- of the annual. hoi;so..show holding fortii ih.ia weok at the Kxpositlon gels , over, {•nd the girls nearly .stop the show when they step out of riding habits to reveal a bathing beauty ohoriis, Tho .Street brothers, lifted from the uii. conUibule two vilt^'tuoliuue ituid ROXY (WIRED) (2nd Review) (NEW YORK) New Yivrk, .Sept. t. yari(:ty's lu'st review u£ •"Tulo of Araby" was writlon after wilnoss- ing a pcj-forni;vnce cut short by a back stage lire. On witnessing a full .perforniaiieo of • the. presenta- tion a second review is \vriuon at the request of the ijroduction de- partment. A snake daneo by ila'soutra,'the dancftr, was entirely missed On. the lirat review, lik(,'wise a Spectacular oobr.a dance by the ballet. DQvolop- ment and climax of the story told in tho Arabian Nights f.intasy was also missed, completely changing the Impression. First review re- ferred to a lack of punch, continuity and form subsequently explained, by the forced' curtain. Presentation opens with Beatrice Belkin soprano.ing in a right hand box. Spot then jumps to loft box where Sultan on throne is being regaled with stories by his houri.; The latter is Sarah Edwards of "The Merry Mal.ones" and other productions. Action on. stage, is the stoz-y with return at finale for a flash back to the left box. Elsa Greenwail, Helen Gray and Bobbe London disport themselves in cOntortionistic tcrpslchorc for the edification of the potentate imper- sonated by the tenor, • Harold Van Duzee. Sultan grows Impatient for his bride. The latter, a reluctant nominee for the honor. Is Hasoutira, a sinuous lady .with vast grace in her arms. A large snake is her playmate and the Sultan's nemesis. "Moorish Rose" Is the theme song. Written by Maurice Baron, with lyrics by Lew Pollack. . Baron Is the i'egular house coftiposer. "Tale of Araby" Is lavish. Im- pressive Roxy pageantry, the sort of presentation that is done nowhere else,. It is the first production staged by Leon Leonldoff since his return from a forced holiday after a breakdown. It represents high standards and aocbmplishmcnt in artistic production endeavor. "Fazil" (Fox) Is still the screen leader. Land. BRANFORD (NEWARK) Newark, dept. 8. "Jazz Justice" is a show short on talent biit long on comedy. Some of the comedy is cheap, but it is funny. It looks as though Charles Crull had been scanning some old burlesque scripts and had. picked some of the most u.$ed gag.s, an|fl' by no means the most refined.'.I3ut of more modern jokes, if the one about the mole that walked is used again, the whole audience should depart en masse. It was funny only the first 10 times. The set reveals two jiidges' boxes with the -band in wigs as jurors framed, in between. A very large girl's figure on the back drop dom- inates and doesn't seem to belong. Behind the judges are groat can-r delabra. with • throe lights each, lied and orange tones predominate arfd tlie whole would bo effective were it not for the girl, who belongs in a circus set. Buddy Page, m. c, is given no chance. At the.Sanford, Irvington, he was a knockout. At one show he played In (juick succession five mu- sical insti'umcnts, ending by jump- ing into the pit and smashing ov^ an organ solo, with the house al- most cheering. In two .shows at the. iiranford he has been given nothing to do save a short piano solo once. In this show he has no chance W'hat^vcsiT"getting hardly a line. He is one of the best m, c's around, but ho can't show his wares. Unless per- mitted. And talent is certainly i.H.'oded on. this bllT. IJandors and Mills play the two judges and are In the blackouts, taking also a long time for their ant. One uses a near-nance effect and introdu<cs. sonie bare-arm snake stuff that is good. Their nonsense got guffaws. Olive Fay, only girl j)rin(;ipal. is good. Used in the gag.s, she al.sO sings to the guitar and doe.-j" some corking dancing of (he acro- batic typo. I'ctlte -and blonde. In short greon tight.s and brassiere, she is attractive and will be welcomed back. ■ GRANADA CHICAGO (Wired) . Chieago. Si iK. iS.. ■.Greater Shows Season hen- con- tinues- at a clip. This ^\ eek lOtldio t.'ancor. Marks Bros, are. shelling out a woi};iily pioo; oC eh uige for tho Ziigfeld star, but if hunies moan anything in this town. Cantor is uoing to leave a deep imprnvt hi the (iranada box! tdllce this. week. To th.i.". loi'al theatro-goin.!.; liurghers r.ahtor has always held out a liorse- shoo while appearing . in tho- legit stands, If Cantor at $-1.40 is a draw in-this town; then the san-ie guy at six-hits should be and-is a cinch. As far as the; brothers . Marks are concerned, it is' a feathor in their . eiip.-^ to have srabbed ofC (.:.intor. ' Their status is bound to inerease heeauso of it, As early as 7 o'clock tonisht .(Sali.Trd;\y) it was (>vident that tho house-' was- gt)ing t\) do a • land oilio*' business on the week. Marks llios.' production depart- ment biiilt a costly and tasteful show around Cantor, "\'ov)f (lood, Kddie." Very appropriate, as Eddie did all of good and belter. Follow- ing a half hour of fast moving tal- ent, Kddie hopped on and liold for more than S"? minutes, beggiTig off and coriiing back to wind tip In the finale.. It . didn't . make much difference . what he did, as anythin.e; and every- thing Avont with the niob. They howled at 'his gags and wanted moi-e. . Tho answer is Eddie cantor. Ho called for requests and .sang; told a few stories rind clowned around to eveiryone's happiness. One of his numbers that drew major laugha • was .a Yiddish parody, "Laugh, Co- hen, I^ugh." Eddie conserved his voice as much as possible, vocaliz- ing in semi-tone and generally tak- ing it easy. He was probably think- . ing of those flve-a-day. , On the general layout of the show the Five Crackerjacks, quintet' oif colored lioofers and acrobats, tied up the works .right at the begin- ning. The acrobatic stuff did the trick for them and came near .stop- ping, the .show cold. Cynthia and*. Clairie, blonde and brunette, scored with three ditties, two in harmony and one solo. The blonde, alone, de- livered a sob ballad in good style, earning the applause. Both gii'ls are. classy lookers and know stage decorum. House ballet of 12 girls niftied up in extrav.ogant costumes and rou- tln'6d with precision to best advan- tage. Introductory nijmber had eight of the gals In page uniforms parting the. curtains for the stage biind and' Ch.arley Kaley, m.c. Lat- ter had little to do, attempting but one vocal chorus with the band and leaving no Inipresslon. Kaley's , stylo of working Ig monotonously the same weekly. The band Is something else again. The.se boys are all excellent musicians and can wade through heavy /and light op- eras with as much skill in either. Their outstanding contribution In this .Mhow was a blueis rhythm num- ber, corkingly executed, while the girls paraded around In colorful wardrobe done In blue. Fox • Movietone Newsreel carried Seven clips, all sounded and Inter- national in scope. Three different languages, French, Gorman and Engli.sh, -were heard. Single Vita- phone .short. Feature, "Danger Street" (FBO). singing; ballad.^ spot, IJort Le-wls in the gagSi but Miller and Miller liant stopping t)y Hoy Clianoy, strjilght. If) a high . 'loos ji pollooman adds nothing else., bring In .■■lomo hrll one of thorn. The Kitjht liockets do sovoral numhors with a long rou- tine, with rope-skipping much liked, 'flip finajoja weak for C;i-ull to stage, "in Vfn^ilTg~'o1iTy "'"Oi o""d rof? p I ri>^r"Tif "^.0= l)a)r(;d frame over tho oast. ■ Tho band was off and noarl.v f|'Koro(l Ml.qs Fay In on" numbor. Show ran 5.3 minutes. News and Thomas al f)if> organ out. Feature, "Out of the l{'.iiM«." li.l-cd. T/Oop. MARRIAGES Isadoro W(dfe. city salesman for Universal in San Francisco, to Nina iModloy, former U exchange Jimployoo, at San Francisco, Aug. 23. Minnie Mai Moore to John Powell in Groeloy, Colo., Aug. 27. Couple formerly did an act together" and will professionally team again. Robert N. Lee, scenarist, to Betty Terpen, of Seattle, at Ventura, Cal., Aug, il. . . - Isabel O'Nc'ili, .screen aotiess, sis- ter . of Sally O'Neill and Molly p'Day, to John Cochrane Ilovyard of California and Ma.ssachusetts. Couple first married in Mexico City by Catholic priest, Aug. 27. Mar- ried again Sept. 3 at Tulsa. Okla- homa, to insure legality aft<'r they di-scovered that Catholic prio.ists are not permitted to conduct weddings in Mexico. Zoe M.'iyo, dancer, to ■ cjoorge Vladimir Von Slrimplc, Fox studio ^ art doparlm^nt, in Los Aniicle."?, Sept. 5. . Joe McKoown, manager, Broad- way Strand theatre, to Lijcllle Kroijs (non-pro) in Chlcag'i,-Hept. 1. Donald D. Florence of the Bala- ban (tf- Katz production dopnrlmont to Kleanor Hess, Sept., 8.' at Chi- cago. BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Emlli.» r;ili<Mlierg,- Sept. 10, at Clinton, Conn., daugh- ter. The Pallcnbergs are animal trainers. Mr. and Mrs. George Jinks, son, at M<?m(>ri.'il Ho.Mpltul, Manchester* Conn., ,Sept. 5. •