Variety (Sep 1928)

Wednesday, September 19, 19JJ8 FILM HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 37 ROXY in tlii'j (Wired) (NEW YORK) New York, Sept. 16,. Presentation spind staeo Jnciden- ials get away entirely from forniula and routine, and in that respect are accord with the film feature, "The River Plraie" (Fox), a sci-cen povelty for the same reason, The outstandihfir item is the,en- aemble slneiner of "Rachem," done to the Roxy manner, in recognition of the Jewish New Year, Religious theme Js carried out in a stage set- ting showing a.- high wall with the long robed men worshipers, lined ■icrbss the stage, while the women of the ensemble occupy the high ©r^ficenium balconies, led by Gladys Rice whose .fine, pure soprano is heard to magnificent effect in the BOlo ijassages. For the finale the drop flies arid it glittering pageant is disclosed. In the center i.s the figure of an ancient patriarch bearing the stone tablet of the decalogue, and about him, in serried ranks, .symbolic fig- ures of Oriental (motif is Egyptiair, In suggestion) aspect, done in Bheath-lilce costumes of shining material. More .symbolic .de.signs on a back drop, the whole composition having somewhat the effect of • a hrilliant- . stained glass church window. Into swift contrast with a bit called "Minuet," the spirit hero, be- ing a light French touch. Set is a drawing room of 18th century. Three men arid a girl in Cavalier costumei play violin and harp'quar- tet, while dancers tre.'td the meas- ures of the minuet. Another change of pace in the repetition*, of the "Parade . of the Wooden Soldior.s," wliioh. although It hiis been done to death in proseri - tation programs of thi.s kind, is hero BO splendidly staged that it be- comes something . else .all. over again. ' News reel had brief flips from ■ many services, totaling ..less than eight minutes, iricludirip two views from Movietone, neither reularU- • able. Silent clips were FOx'fi. Aii'. Derby winner in IjOS Angeles; Par- amount, I-,indbergh 'nttejiding air meet, arid Metro's review of It.alian navy by Mussolirii. Total efrect .rather blah. . Stage .show resurhed with "Tin TTypes," idea being a ritzy party and ball in the manner of 1890 or there- abouts. Stage ensemble goes through, .some of the square dances of the period for comedy on the dancing that looks bizarre; to mod- ern eyes., not to speak of the bustled dre.sses that appear something more than grotesque to this short-.sklrted generation, Ensemble singing and specialty dancin'^ intersilersed be- tweeri group dances, notable being the perfprmarices of Johnson and' Rosalie in a combination, of taps, eccentric dancing and acrobatic adagio. Great stiifC this. Another dance of the sajoe sort was that of Stella Stepanoff and Leo Pernikoff; in by-gone dress, do- ing a, coriiedy waltz with adagio bits in comedy vein, perhaps de- signed to convey a jesting sugges- tion of the early beginnings of our adagio vogue in the gay '90s. Any how, a composite of .adagio and the old hop-skip Waltz was not with- out its own humor. Finale not in the best of Roxy style. The Roxyettes, in French BQubret costumes, do a routine out front with the dron rising to dis- close a tintype giillery, with real faces showing through gilt-framed groups posed in absurd postures Not pretty and comedy only so so Overture means isoincthlrig more here than the usual ponderou.si ren dition of "1821" Or "William Toll." This Week it's "Rhapsody in Rlue, done in deft interweaving of jazz and intricate symphony, • and doing . Justice, as vei-y few musical groups do, to its delicate humor and its melodic beauty. Sunday afternoon, with weather ___l.that__beckoned to outdoors, attend-: anre was just short of a rrob.. serious fracas is ineviiubh: west side district. Paradise has 3,C0O seau-j and i- the prettiest theatre in ChiiMui.. Inside is walled in bv a may.i- of pillaifs and statuary, .iuiiind is tin- actual wall deeorated with .slnuh- bery, trees and flowered vims. Overhead is a sky.' The cumpositc- is a wow in effect. A lobby at riglit angle to the stage can hold ovi-r 2,000 standees.; Opening show held two produo- tions, one around the pit orchestra and the other a regular stage band presentation. H. . Leopold Spitalny handled the forriier, titling it "Gar- den of Paradise." Using, a faintly, religious theme, the orchestra was fir.*5t brought to view on the rising pit and then lowered while a chorus of 16 mixed voices entered from al^ coye.s on. either side of the theatre and paraded ..slowly to the stage They were, preceded by. a ballet of- 10, holding large candlesticks. In full stage, the ballet went Into a classic routine. Llora Hoffman, prima, wa!5 in the center for a build- up ensemble of the b.allet .and chorus, used as a strong finale for the pit and voices. Spitalny. re- ceived an ovation from the packed hou.sc at. opening performance. ..Stage, band presentation, billed "Jazz Paradise," wa.s headed liy Mai-.k Fi^ilk-r, who rates among llie town's leading m.e's. Ritz IJrothors collegiate, hoofers with comedy, fea- tured, arid mopped up. They have played Ciii b.efore.. Miss Holfnvari appeared also with the .stage band, warbling two lightly elassif'al numbers arid doing well. Coriipleting the acts was Kara- vieff, .,'ierobatlc tap darteer, an es- .tabushed; fay with locals. . Fisher did two vocals besides .his m.c, work, doing .excellently with ft dramatic ballad. • . This pve.sentation wa.s iocally pro- divced if.or the l»aradise oiioning, nnd as no other time in sight.. P.ol- stf red With flash scenery'and using 0 jnu.sicians, it accomplished its mission e.'i.sily.. Henri : ICcates. town's, fore most eommunity sin.ging organist, broii.glit in , for the opening and inducert plenty of healthy warbling. "The- '■"leefs ln"- ('Par) was the feature. After .openin.g wfek, the Paradise •ejd.aees the' Seri.T.te on the .Pulili:- route f(U' units produced at the Ori- ental, here. Bln(jo.\ LOEWS STATE surging PARADrSE (CHICAGO) Chicago, Sept. 14 . This is the only dc Uixe -thoairc to open.in Chicago witliin a yean Al though just completed, it's a relic .of the breezy city's hectic heydey of two years past, wh<'n almost any- one who could sign his name to : niortgage was all set to build a the . atre. Foundation was laid by the ambi tion arid bankroll of Louis J. Guyon ballroom operator.. J..ater Guyon gave up, and the naked steel fr;imf work was l^-asrd to Cooney r.ros since deposed .as h'^ads of tlie bank ■rupt Natiimal PliiyhousfS rireuit The house opens as pa.rt of the loral Ralaban & Katz chain, a/niiafed with I'ublx. _ Arou nd the cermyi 'f. 0- housfy of -crrn^7[J00==fH^ats, T>\vn?^d"'lt\-^iTF^n" d'^pemlent and baltlincM.'irks l!r(tf-- Just how batlling th.c.seMarUs boy nie i.s a))par(-nt in ilK'ir wholcsal nif'thods of pxploitali-in and Iheii wlu7. stagr. altraetions. Tn Imck th Pi.r.'^i.i.'.-f, cpT.inf.' fn" ir,s'.;:r,' '. V.v \ ■ r 1.1 i 1 >..,: CAPITOL J I. id. 1.'. <*antiM .'.1 ■••I K. b< i! ir: |rl'l!-"n 1 • .-.t 1.- • no pi I'. , (NEW 'yORK) New' York, Sept. 15. "Our Gang" at the Capitol. And Saturday noon it looked as if half the mothers in Manhattan realized that they co.iild never square them- selves with the offspring if tliey didn't take the family. The early afternoon.congestion was Intensilled by that convenient 35-cent admis- .'^iori until 1 p. m. No doubt about Hal Roach's R;i.s-. oals being bos ofllcc. They drew to the Capitol an entirely iiew and dif- ferent ,.^type of audience witli .standeeV by 1 o'clock. School will cut down the biz after Sunday but .supper shows ought to be'heftig. Joe Cobb, Farina, Harry Siiear, Jean Darling, Mary Ann Jackson, Wheezei" and the dog "Pete'' made their appearance in the middle of the stage presentation holding the rostrum about 20 minutes after which the band act resumed. Tliis was not so clever on the part of the production department. The expected and needed spill fol- lowing the kids' appearance was not forthcoming because of the divided presentation. At the Paramount during the engagement of Jackie Coogan the house got .a spill before and after the Coogan act, an impor- tant in.alter in handling crow.ds. Considerable film footage is .em- ployed in connectioa with the per- .sorial appearanrfe of "Our Gang." The kids are not so funny In per.son as before a camera .and their spon- .sors wisely take.care of this angle All reci?ived receptions . with . no doubt exi.sting that the. cutups have lots of fans. These six kids ,are glariiorous and heroic to the imag- inations of junior America and adults like them for theli i sm .s. Th ey are not cocious as is often thc-ilrical children. iStagfe act proper curtailed be cause of the timfe consumed by. the Rascals^ "Rhapsody in Red, White and Plue'' it's called and its hlp-hiii- hoorav motif is the tell-tale gang' of its" quality. Three fast minutes by the Pasquali Brothers, nifty comedv acrobats, was the highlight, Band number led by Walt Roesnei stood out on some clev<'r. and .strictly non-p.-irtlsan lyrics bringing in Al "Shiith and Herb Hoover. Chester Hale girls to the nutnlx r of 40 parade up and down a fliglil of stairs in multi-rolrired phmiage efff'ctivo for flash purposes. Frank Rtf'Vfr b.'iritonfd from the orehf.'-tr;i and Gil AA'r.'iv tfnor"d sr.lo. • !~'t^v<;l• ic; a repetit. Wr.ay. announ'e-l ( ali- likfd. .\s n prrsentatioTi "lUi.'ipsndy in It W P." is flat and ordiri.'iry. N.-w.-rcel prin.'ipnlly M-G-.M vi!h|wit.), tlif- fir.'-t ))icturf'.s of tl fortune .i\ist rrowned V.-Tiia, In.-iiUntai (, ,1 1.' f "f r-ninin .sK in ■ "Tl." <'.!! (Wired) LOS ANGELES Los Angeles, Sept. 15. . Plenty of joy in tlie new Fanelum and. Marco "River Idea," which opened to packed house. In t<harp eiijurast to the lavish fantasy thai marked the two previous units to show here, the "River Idea" is a down-to-earth affair. The entire idea has less of the esthelle and m<ir'e of tho.clap-your-ha.nds type oi entertairiment. .. The Idea also went a long Avay toward putting over Al Lyons as an m.c. Ever since hero, Lyons lias had little to do; that gave him the spotlight. ' In the • "River" unit, he functions. Not as. blase as the average m.c. and . doesn't breeze around with a. lot of dash and pep. He's almost shy, but has such a lo.i. of personal appeal,; corribined With his always attractive appearance and plca.s.ing .smile, that the nuil-.> .seemed.to like him the more for it. Fanehon and Marco offered an unusual innovation in the Idea when they eliminated the usual lin<' u Iris, and boys, arid- in their steacl had six clever hoofing teams doin.i; the ensemble as'well as. indis idual tiu'Jis.- As a result,, the heel-and-tot stuff of ..the bunch' together Ava: somiaiiing to talk aboxit. Curtain, went up to show orehes- ira in old south costumes, sealed on porcii of Colonial mansion at left roar, river bank and paddle wheel Of .steamer visible at right. Helen \Varncr and Bick and Snyder, all blackface; sang southei'n songs thai brought the ensemble out, with the girls in crinoline, boys in plum-col- ored skirted coats. When. Mi.ss Warner s'vvung into "Mammy," boy^ retired arid girls did a qiiick change with jack-knife. bows that brought skirts down over heads Inside out. showing . them as dwarf mammies artilicial blackface heads attached. Girls hbofed a number to "Manmiy " chorus, in this costume, that wowed; Lyons foUo'vv'ed,- reciting coJne^.i.^ verjriou of Uncle Tom story,, wii.. the orchestra providing incidental efl'ects. Funny version of an olu ,'i.g and werit over easily. Carlena. Diamond had the spot nt.'xt with, her harp, to which hhe can do remarkable things. She en- cored in pony rig, carrying bal.)y harp, clogging, ■while she played, to tig returns. • Sammy Blair follow^'d in a fast hoofing turn that went big,, after which Lyons played his piano number, then introduced Alexi;: .Vkimoff, Ru.ssian operatic basso, vvho showed his right to be in the "River" unit by singing. "The Idea closed with an elaborate Famous RiVers number that gave each of the ensemble teams a chance to do their stuff- Rick and Snyder opened, singing "Ready for tlie River," then introduced liruce and Virginia in rural costume.^, who danced in keeping to "Beautiful Ohio." Blair and Thornton followed with a fast varsity drag, in Spanish costumes, to "Rio Grande." The Martins next, in blue, adagioing to "Moonlight on the Danube." Reva and Johnny, in Irish green, jigged and reeled to "Where the River Shannon Flows/' Louise .AValker did a solo jazz dance to "Wabash Blues," followed by Al Walker in a. f:eoi-ge Primrose step to "Swanee I'Jver." Clarissa and Sammy did simie exceptionally good eccentric hooting in East Indian rigs to "Moonlight on Ganges." Jelly Bean Johnson, young colored hoofer, pan- icked with his hand and foot steps in honor of the MLssissippl. On da,rk stage, air teams made quick co.^tumo change and, as lights went up, ■w'ere lined up, men in white uniforms, girls in white ponies. Wound up with nifty en- semble dance number, their feet reproducing sounds of steambo.'it starting from wharf, and huge American flag came down in sec- tions behind them for elabora(< drape, act closing as spanglei] scrim descended .^ihowin.g flag whic! blended with drapes at rear. a;pprbvar'br"cruwd-foy llsh chappie costumes with cane.s. which tlu-y used for tap stepping and later , in colorful blue abbre- viated get-up. Ash and his musiekers did "I Can't Give You. Anything But Love.' Sammy Lewis and i'atti Moore doiibled a smooth, well-constructed eeeonlrie danee routine, Lewis en- cored witi. a solo that stopped the pro<.'eedings. Arthur Ball, who had carried the theiut'. son.g . at the t)p''niniJ, reap- peared With the l'\).sier Gii-ls for "Angela Mia." lie released a. splou- did tenor voice and pulled nice re- turns. -' George Dewey .Wa.shington wa.s iritn)dueed by. the he.-vvy-hajr'ed maestro. The colored chap sam.' Laugh, Clown, Laugh," and wowed thoni. He encored with another, not so hot as to lyrics but enjoyable, du.e to his (>xeellent delivery. He had to beg off in a speech. The tinish was an optical fla.sh, first seen through scrim. The Fos- ter girls posed as the spokes On a revolving old mill-wheel, with the other principals in the b.ackground, stu.ne alofr. with the A.sh hand down front, made a corking flash scenle closer. ' ■ C A. Niggemeyer devised and .staged the unit. Carmine Vitola did the settings; ■ Dolly Tree designed, the costumes and Brooks executed them, A first-rate stage enteriaiiimeiit from every department. "Doeks of. New i'ork" (Par),- lilni fciiture. Von. GAIETY the natural painfully pre- the ca.se with curtailed FIFTH AVENUE (SEATTLE) Seattle, Sept. J^^.. Is Herniie King developing a new type of eniei-tainnient fOr picture houses in lieU of the usual stage presentation . idea which has had such a vogue the past year or two. with 'the ni. c. welding: it into-a unit? Anyhow, King and his band are surely warming up the Fifth Avenue, this week having about the best .specialties and band numbers to date. The turn runs 20 niinutes. longest yet, but takes in the crowd's •insistence for a number of encores; The stuff is all done from the or- chestr.'i pit and.not on the stage; In disuse since Fanehon <te Marco Idtjas moved up to the Seattle a month or so ago. The elevated pit slowiy brings up the IS-pieOe band. Hermio announces that the boys will give a clas.Hic selection, for the first time in some weeks'. "Slavisch Rhap- sody" is then executed with real musicianship. Hermie starts to di- rect from the i)iano, but later takes the baton, Ho shows why he is known as "tho musical master of ceremonies." He can get the music out of the garig and then! Out of the orchestr.a steps Taylor, to warble "Angela This hoy has pei'.sonality plus Sure-fire for a coui)lo of encores. And now out of the band comes Eddie Berna.rd, guitar and banjo player,. who ' sing« easily, and Vaughan Abbey, stringTbass, who has a trenchant for comedy. He is rather portly and springs a high tenor voice at time.s, with a wicked twist to his right arm and body that always br-ings forth mirth. With Hermie joining this duo, make "Three Mu.sketeers." Big hand. These boys are made to order for this kind of entertainment. The type is change for the showgoer. Here there is something difCercnt and good. The Hermie. King idea is hitting home at the Fifth Avenue. Is new here in the combination of the whole, with the m. c. working with tho pit orchestra and all the acts stepping out from the band. It's getting the kale. On screen, "Fleet's In" and Fox Movietone news, Trepp. (Wired) (All SoundV (NEW YORK) New York. Sept. 13. AJiother of William Fox!-.s all- sOund programs in this legii hcnise on Broadway at %'l tO)i started today Avlth Fox's lirst real dialog picture, "Mother Knows Best." It opened with the matinee and on a Saturday, an unusual procedure for the special, but it w-as a good way to get rid of tlie newspaper reviewing mob, also, the courtesies .for a llr.st per- formance. • Feature commenced - to impress toward its liriish, 'although badly slowing up in tempo arouiid . that time, and it caught thewonien with weeps'.before ending. . As tears ap- pear to. l.H! the best moriey getter on stage or sereen, . perhaps 'barring eome<iy, : '"^Mother Knows -Best" should he in for the regular houses. In. talking shorts, besides . Its, Movb'tone . News, Fox had to bring bai;k IJenchley's "I'reasurer's . Re- !)ort," 'by request,' tho program claimed. That looked as. though Fox is running pretty close on talk- ing short siipt)ly,-without having a n(MV '.short. comedy that could be given the dependence the Beneliley. hit .earries.' As long a.s-talking shorts may talk, it will be rel.ated that this Fox's "Treasurer's Report" was the first decided sign accepted by all of the show business that talking shorts arc possible. It's doubtful If Mr. Uenchley ciin equal, let alOne excel it, and if Fox can do either, It will ho fo.rtunate whenever occurring. New. talking shorts on this, pro- gram were:Mi.scha Levitzki, pianist; Lionel Atwtcll, excellent, and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," pa- triotic and sure fire. . I'erformance ran for abo.ut 165 minutes with a 10-riiinute intermis- sion. . . . ?! ■ . : Xo orchestra. Os;'ar Mia." voice. STRAND (Wired) (NEW YORK) N'ow York, Sept. 15. , All sound bill for screen and stage' again this week. Not a heavy or drawing show In either .section. Fea- ture Is "The Whip" (F. N.). ordinary., racing story highly embellished by production. Shorts interesting In Fox's Movietone Ncw.s, with a couple of the talking short-s, Foy Family and Kitty. Doner, pleasing a light house at noon time. The Croon- aders, another talking short, nil. Strand opens at 10.20 a. m. to 35c. .straight until one. This Saturday mOrnIng around. SO people occupy- ing down front aisle seats when the featUre .comhienced: at lO.iSO. About 500 pcoi)lo downstairs when first show ended at about 12.15. This is ill gravy for the Str.and, which for- merly did not open Us box olllce until 12.30. At the first morning show, no or- chestra nor silent news. An organ overture to start the first .show off sounded as though played by a .stu- dent. It was quite churchly in theme. Plenty^ of whole Idea. Theatre bill opened with organ overture by J. Wesley Lord, who is l)laving better than ever.' Movie- tone News arid Tqpic of Day short followed by F. and M. .st.ige presen- tation, then "Fazil" .fFox), Movie- toned, as feature on .screen. ,A1- \f- .ciildi'l King of trimmirit?:- uTii' PARAMOUNT ("BloBSoms""Unit) (Wired) (NEW YORK) New York, Sept. 15. Good stage show at the Paramount this week. Operilng with prelude by bouse orchestr.a, "Dream Kisses," a Movietone song novelty, seored and svnehronlzpd by the Paraniount- Piiblix music department. The short offered no synchronized singing. ?)i(:r<']v a voice accompanied by mo- tion pictures of a girl, retiring, to bo )c;s^-' d in her sleep by her dream i'aramount News, and tht-n Jesse ('r;iwford at the organ go.'iU'd tlieiii some current song hits,. Iniro- EASTMAN (ROCHESTER) HoChe.stcr, N. Y., Sept. d-ieed novelly. Th" unit "Blossoms," with Paul Asl) presiding, delightful musical i-i,ni"<ly abbreviation. The Al.-m tcrVlirls turned in two swell b;il- :• : i.;.i;i.Lers, Uie llr.st time in Eng- 14 . For the first time in three dec- ades, no minstrel show opened the season hero this year, so Gayrie Ralph Bunker did hi.s best to make up the deficiency with this week's presentation at the Eastm.an the- atre, "Gentlemen, Be Seated." Act opens with tambos banging arid the Eastman en.seriible singing familiar blackface min.strel c.ho- ru.ses. Thelm.T, lliraoree arid Ivan Triesault, dancers, do a hot cake- Walk! Eastman ballot, dre.s.scd as pickaninnies, chime in for the bl.K-k-out.. ]5en Conolly is interlocutor, and Introduce.s Albert Wheeler, b.ass, and Albert Neweomb, tenor, as "Mr Bones" and "Mr. Tarnbo," who crack a few jokes and oblige with solos. An unprogramed soprano sings "Here Comes tho Showboat" with the ensemble joining in. Follfiwed by sjjirltual.s, sung by the entire company, •with various individual ni"mbers suddenly "'get- tin' r'-ll'.'ion strong" for solo parts i?in.g.!.'_^:aMd_; Sj).ra,ng "buddies," ITi'ing^ the act to tRo final ehoru.s of mor(j farrilli;ir minstrej tunf s and some southern airs; Menrlel.w.sohn'H "Buy lUas" i.s tlu, iivr-rture for the week, -wllh Guy l''ra;?er Ilarrisrjn efnidueiIni' thr- or f'he<-(i-a, Pat lie re.vi'-w .and lb" rri'iir< feature. "The . C.'<rdIn,.-u-d I.-ivr ; I onjl<!';le th'. bill. ii<jl)'l'il>'J- ORIENTAL ("Melody a la Mode"-Unit) (Wired) (CHICAGO) Chicago, Sept. IC, Eennlc Kreuger and Ben Blue are the mainstays of the show this week, titled "Melody a la Modo."^ For Kreuger, regular B&K band- master and m. c, alternating be- vveen the Uptown arid Tlyoli, thi.s Is his first appearance at the Oriental. With P.aul A.sh returning in. a few weeks, Kreuger's stay will perforce be a limited oner but from what he showed and did at his initial bow in this bouse it Is certain he can come back at any time and hold his own. Interesting is that Kreuger has clicked right off with the flaps who corral the gates here. . That alone 'wuuia"lJ^r"eTiuui?h~to~ptrt~^ He.has something besides that cer- tain "appeal," and that is a likeable personality. First showing of a sound picture here, "Our Dancing Daughters" (M- G-M), brought out turn.away crowds a.S early a.s the first perform- ance.Sunday,. Filrii ran for 83 min- utes, making It nece.ssary to hold down the stage portion to 40 min- utes. In color scheme and jiroduc- tlon generalities show was well knitted. Composite talent. com- prised Gilson and Scott, male har- mony duo; Donna Dameral, blues singer; Emilee and Romalne, adagio team; permanent Gould. Dancers (10) and Ben Blue. •* Kreuger'.T Introductory appear- ance met with generous aiiplause and was followed by a brief band numher,, with all the boys on their toes. -Gihson and ,^e()(l. fared well With songs, and look better in a pic- tyrr- housi;. th.an tli'-y did in v;iude. ■ Mi.ss Da.nieral, next, ovc-r on her dHivr-ry of a syncopated \\<>\i,. -md =l=h f'^ff I d; >m\ o=e/:i I ^J i Ujt=h <-l il= tli//=l >h J-^^-f 0-i= some nifty exhiliiliori>- of . sl^w- rnotion d.i iielntr. Band held <iiit a sweet, arraieje- ment of "Old Man River." giving a ckissy paiaphra..'. and allowing Kreiigf-r to snlu. on ihe siix, selling hini.'-i If to at. eMetn wiv re he h.id ((Jo;;'ii.U'd on pa;.;e 'i'J)