Variety (Oct 1928)

I Wednesday, October 24, 1928 FILM HOUSE REVBLWS VARIETY 99 BRANFORD (NEWARK) ; Newark, N. J., Oct. 20. Harry Crull has done It again, ♦an Araby" is one of the best things he has ever staged. Without any great amount of outside talent and none of the tiresome routine stuff that often makes boresome a' pic- ture house production. He com- bines originality, youth and gaiety into an admirable concoctioin.. It Is no succession: of acts—it's a phow. Opening Is . a startling novelty that must have taken lio little care. Announced as the debut of Melson and Moran In talking pictures, Charlie "appears oh the screen and eings. As the house ii3 not wired, presumably this is done by Charlie's singing through a megaphorie or horn behind thie; screen. Eddie' is In the auditorium and laughs at th3 singing. The screeji Chai-lle stops and has an argument with Eddie. Finally Eddie leaves and appears on the screen. The screen Eddie starts to sing and is interrupted by Charlie in pierson down below. Another ergument ensues between the screen figure and the real Charlie arid Charlie leaver, appearing' oh: the screen. The argument continues on. the screen with the manager ap- pearing on the iscrecn and. the ■whole ends with a gag; Uncannily Well done.. Screen up Grace Teager sings in low light ^ith draped figures, pass- ing across the. stage.. Nice. Pull stage shows the band raised in a striped tent against the blue sky. Iri oriental garb, Charlie and Eddie Bing at length a rollicking song with much; business and a constant change of . turbans, PYank Morris sings and then the Edgecombe boys dance. They're lively arid go ov6r big. Glover Club trio, singers, fol- lows. Good voices, neat choice of fresh material, arid they sell them selves.. Too short. Miss Yeager displays a flrie, rich voice with a ballad . and clicks. Ed.d le and Charlie amuse with good comedy arid then Eddie sings, followed by""a corking eccentric dance, during ■vvhich he gets- the crov/d clapping Its hands with. him. They insist on Qn encore. Next Charlie, who has been doing great work throughout, rises to the smash of the show, singing "The Spell, of the Blues.". This Is Chairlis at his best and his best Is top- notch. His rendition : is dynamic •with life. Ben Hassan Troupe, six tumblers, finish In a whirl with a burlesque pyramid, for the second curtain. Forty-seven minutes. Interesting news ta,kcs 14 mln ntes. Jim Thomas at organ for eight minutes uses an old Idea ol' "Blondes or Brunettes" and, doesn't get either ,to sing much. Feature . "The First Kiss." Orchestra plays but part of feature. HoOyer-Sriilth applause even. House has pretty new blue and gold curtain, A terrific jam' with endless lines at both doors until after 9 at least Austin. Another audible bit was the "most terrifying sound in the world,'' which turned out to be the roar of the Metro-Goldwyn lion. Closing with some beautiful silent shots of war- ships In. maneuver with airships and destroyers laying a smoke screen, always a kick, The ballet is a beauty. The stager turns firom Undersea to overhead for this spectacle, showing a fan- tastic fairy tale of the eternal Pier-, rot being transported by Romance into the. Land of Dreams. Opens' with futuristic setting in black .and white, showing fairy sprites gath- ered on ■ Mother Goose house tops, with Pierrot astride a- silver moon singing. Cloudland is excellently suggested iri secohd scene by the ttse of loosely draped net drops hanging in. mul- tiple series with the; girls In a sort of floating riiovement each tangled in a mesh of stiff veiling like a ■whisp f cloud. Bbth of these scenes called for dim lights, a factor that has Inr jured a score of fine Capitol, ballet effects. But the finale was- In a burst of bright light with the girls In Pierrot costumes of black and frilled white'and rhakihg a fine shoSv in a: precision routing, in two groups of 16 each, differentiated by'costunie details. . The Chase comedy Is a grand low. comedy scream, built upbri thie good old custard t>ie, but intensified by a polite society background. Here's a; great idea. Take all the slapstick hoke In the world and plant It in a drawingroom, make sure that there Is enough real straight fash- ionable society atmosphere, and It cari't go .wrong. This one's a pip and Chase is Just the comedian to put It over. "Image My Embarrass- nient" is the title and It should be noted that Hal Tates directed It. The Capitol program, doesn't: credit him, though the main title does. CAPITOL (Wired) (NEW YORK) New York, Oct. 20. They are making quite a billing ballyhoo of the Capitol's second ■week of sound program. The artic- ■ulate features are more In the bill- .Ing than on the stage. All they have to show on this pro-, gram to sustain the billing Is an eight-minute specialty of. Marion Harris in her delivery of ultra blue numbers, likeable enough " Item In any program, but scarcely the fea- ture to Justify a "policy" in a lead- ing riroadway flicker palace. The feature, M-G-M's "While the City Sleeps," has been sounded, but In an extremely cautious way, as though it was fiHished some time back when the trade sentiment toward sound had not yet crystal- " lii2red"irito"its ■go-the-^llmit phase; It has no dialog and Only a few effects, besides the musical accontvpaniment. The feature's sound elfects are en- tirely incidental, A well-equipped trap drummer could have done air most as well. A Chrirley Chase comedy running . 20 minutes is innocent of audible accessories, but the news reel Is about half sounded Movietone serv- ice. Add a 12-minute ballet by the . 48 Chester Hale girls with very agreeable vocal contributions by Sylvia Miller arid Paul dayman, and you have a very mixed enter- tainment as regards the sound side of the program. In short, the Capitol seems to be In the same position as the whole trade. It wants to u.se tlie box ofllce advantage of sound show, while It .ihasn't the material to make good on it.s- billing. News reel, for In- Bt,ince, was half Movietone and half pilont shots from the Motro-Gold- ■vvyn-Mayer service, the combination running 12 minutes. Starts off with dandy M-G-M silent views of a dizzy "='?rmTi;h"^raiirojia=^"W""tho-=AfipH--^thenT= ."williout pause, plunges into shots qt the Graf Zeppelin's commander say- ing a word or two info the miko amid the confusion of his reception, thi.s being, of course, in the Fox Movietone, Bit was the best of the news reel with the struggle of the Gorman air commander trying to make him.solf heard aboVo the roar of his greeting and at length suo- coeding in making a brief speech in charmingly broken English. ORIENTAL (Wired) C^Gome On Red"—Unit) \ (CHICAGO) • Chicago, Oct. 20, While the; appearance of Red Grange la a picture house at this time is timely, the composite unit built around the football star is not satisfactory entertainment. Doubt less the heavy overhead on this show made it necessary to hold down on talent. Inexpensiveness of the latter is noticea;ble, though, the . production alone, counting scenes and settings, must have cost a pretty peririy Will J. Harris produced it and Leo Stahr set the stage. Both have done a neat and .craftsmanlike Job. on" their respective ends. Howfever, the showt lacks speed, pep, hurrah and probably a. good many other minor essentials one would , expect in a c6llegiar.e idea. \ Gra,nge, personally, may be let down as a performer. Histrionic talents not usually expected of ath- letic heroes, especially of those whose stage experience Is as llm ited as that of Grange. Considering thISi Grange makes a well fortned Impression on general conduct while not scoring any touchdowns with his talk and a few light steps with a girl. He does not attempt vocalizing. . . As a drawing card Grange's name should attract. In his first appear ance at the Oriental, no question but that some edge must come off, with Paul Ash the kingpin. In this house and also a red head. Ash gave a great showmanlik^ perform- ance with this show and did hl-^ ut mos t to put Grange over, while not forgetting the others. He left little for himself but satisfied. The Gould girls, as pretty and capable a set as the best there is around this town, were well spotted and routined. They were held down on numbers though. In the Grange cast, picked in New York, are Evelyn. Zambrlno, Jean Gaylord, Billy llutchlns and Pete Purcell. Latter just on briefly as the trainer. Of the'lbcartalentrGa'FTOll and Got man, two harmony boys; Wally Jackson, dancing comic, and Kel- logg and Lewis, two acrobatic gals who also talk. Opening vvas by the Gould prirls in front of a single drop, with Miss Zambrino and Hutchlris exchanging dialog, leading^^ to Ash's entrance. Campus .set in the back reveals the band with Ash swinging the boy.s irito a fa.st number and iDringing on Wally Jackson. This boy Scored with his eccentric, hoofing and came back later for more. Carroll and- Gorman delivered two tunes at a pianOi riieriting an encore. Kellogg and Lewis, the gals, fitted Iri nicely, with gymnastic dancing. '. Grange and Ash exchanged t-epartee with the footl),iller doing a. few ballroom .steps w^ith Miss Gaylord, after she did Pomf^ singing. No outstanding flash scone In the show until the finale, preceded by a .screen trailer showing Gr.ange scor- ing touchdown after touchdown, therohy .savinpf' £ game that wa." "I ol^r^'Str "fo'^0"-befoFe" ttnf"^pal 1 o .gho.st got started. Curtain rung down on a scene similar to the touchdown flash in "Good New.s," , Preston Sr-Uers at the organ en- tertainod with story tolling songs, reviving some of thQ old. ones, Oke. Parnmount newsreol on the screen with the arrival of the Zep. Picture, "Docks of New York." Biz average Saturday afternoon. Loop. LOEWS STATE (Wired). (LOS ANGELES) Los Angeles, Oct, 19. Traffic is mostly, one way—dam.'-, ing—-in lOanchpri and Mart>os 'Saxophobia" Idea, a quiet sort of affair, Pleasing enough, but with lit- tle outstanding enough to give much of a thrill. ■ Rudy Wiedoft, saxo- phonist, and a particularly .good one, has the big letter .billing. Idea, opened with orchestra behind film screen scrim, playing "Minne- tonka,": followed by Ai Lyons, ni.v:, doing "Freuhlingsrayschen" ,on Uu- piarib, with the band piclying up the "Mlnnetonka," tlieme at tlie eivl. while a heavy spray , watierfall film was thrown on tlie scrim. " After six mmmes of this, scrini vanished arid .Muriel, otryker sang and stepped to , "Crazy ■ Rhythm" without panicing. Followed by Jero Coe, dancing accordionist, who went over. big. Orchestra' theri playf.i "When You and I Were Young. Maggie," first straiisht, then a la interpretatioB by hick band, merry- go-rofind mechanical orchestra and by hot Ja:zz band. Given okay.. Joe and Willie Hale's Juggiir.i; turn is mixed with fairly funny pat- ter. Got plenty. Blonde girl came on in "one" and warbled an Introduction for Wie- doft, who soloed with, the orchestra accompanying behind the drop.. At end of number/ curtain up and .Wie- doft retired to': pedestal, upstage center, from which he played con tlnuously for the. next 12 minutes, leadirig musicians tor ali sucbeed ing numbers. Six saxophone girls, nifty, who actually played their in strumentSj; came on, continuin.5 Wledpft's solo melody. As. they pffed, dance series was renewed: iFirst was Rahda Heatherly, aif, an Indian; then June. Knight, slim bioiide beauty In a white scanty for spnie nifty steps, followed by Na- talie Harrison in purple briefs un der flowing green robe for a Cliine.S(; turn, and finally Miss Stryker back for oriental and acrobatic steps. Art backdrop'upped to show six sax girls seated on huge sax behind arid above orchestra, while Wiedoft so- loed 'do»rsta.ge for ..Jazz, number, girls and full orchestra helpi.ri?, a principals on for pleasing flnisifi. J. Wesley Lord at organ pla^ opening flash for show, followed hy 10 minutes of Movietone news, »=ix minute Chic Sale talking short, "They're Coming to Get Me"; three minute Vitaphone trailer and three- minute "fashion revlf w in color, ■with the feature. "The Night Watch.' on the corner of 47th street and Iroailwiiy, • ' The .Aloviotone news reel cvi-; denc«'.^ liiverso idea.'^ of soreen vaUio,-". by RothatVl ttt the Roxy and lunkett at tlie Sti-and. Roll.v re- tained the Hoover Boston address, the Zeppelin oomnuuuler's spoechT- let, the jungle lion's roar and , the druiikeTV gandor scones, .loe cut out the. b;.tby- (.-ontest anl the tlorman army m review. He substituted in-, stead a Kentucky colored band and Annette Kellerm.'inn on kocping tU as extra suivjeots, Avhioh may or!may not have booiv retained fi'onv prior releases and dovetailed with tho rest. V .Ticking It by and. large, Pliinkett'.s ■selection^ of the. Movie- tone shorts topped Rox.v's, alUiouglv the. , s.ilcnt news .reel at ', the Roxy has ;the sliade over tlio Striuul'.s; ■ ■ -v ■ ;: ■ AlicL. ■ STRAND (Wired) (NEW YORK) New York, Oct. 21 Ttie. all-sound thing has been clicking pretty at the Mark Strand, biz holding up with three talking shorts. Fox Movietone news reel, the silent news reel (only flicker sans synchronized sound) and First Na- tional's sound .feature, "Water front.": The latter, not particularly strong, and with Its edig:e taken off by "The River Pirate" and "Docks of New York," both stronger fea tures In 'themselves, seemed to please generally. Of the Vitaphone shorts, Reginald Werrenrath, baritone, with two lumbers, and the riotous low-com- edy "Amateur Night" sketch with William Demarest, running five minutes, provioijaii_.^caught. . The Revelers, the third subject, easily the best of the trio. (Talking shorts). The American baritone, for all his superb singing, did not register with Mandalay". and "Duna." When Rush caught this short at the Strand, 'X'onkers, he was highly Im- pressed. Here, Werrerath missed out, as he did last ■week when the subject played the Mark Strand In Brooklyn, N. Y., one of the rare oc- casions when a short showed at the Brooklyn Strand prior to the MahhEittl,n StTahTdV" "A's"' a' geneTa) booking rule, Joe Plunkctt sends his current week's shorts to Brooklyn the week after, although the foa- tures, of late, play day and date alike . In the sister house On both sides of the bridge. The Werrenrath Impression ex- emplifies the uncertainty of a short pleasing In certain locales. Prob- ably In 'Yonkers befbre a neighbor- hood house, the vbcar accomplI.''h- ments of the talented young bari- tone might have repristered bottor, although In this instance the theor.v Is refuted by the Brooklyn .Strand impression a week ago which, too, .ilthbugh It's a downtown Brooklyn hou.se, draws a type, of patronago comparable to that of Yonkers. DLscardirig the audience reaction, Werrenrath also brings up the question anew of gauging the ap- plau.sc and bow value of a solols-t, He took four bondf?, two too many here, and then aocnrdod ono to his pianist, when the aTi'llenf'o. noom- Ingly In shcoplsh di.«<comfiture at -t he=^ll gh t r--eam e>=t o=Jl f n==.a«alii.. give the accompanist a few srat- tering handolap.i. On the othor hand, tho low-com- edy, "Amateur Night," with Its hokf nonsense showing the candy bntoh<--r vonding overripe vecotablo.s to h'lrl at the "talont," neoms suro-firo. TAtnd caught It nt the Clinton in fho Ghotto of New York and the noI;?h- hors howled as tnnoh ns Ih" swankier (ah! there, Bob!) fans did STANLEY (Wired) (JERSEY CITY) Jersey City; Oct. 22. Prolog to a presentation .makes its debut here, with some pleasing esuHs thi.s -Week. , Unit is .titled 'Star Dust," ceiitered about the .bid a.n.d new of show biz. Opens in "one," with drop having six'sheets pf .Lil Russell and Anna Held painted on, and old doorhian at theatre entrance. Does . song about other stars, ithen iniilatioris. Follows another of Eddie Fby bV Charles Daley. Then Al Belasco, m. c. comeis on and offers to show "Pop" , what today's ' stage Is like Bebe Barri Girls follow with tap dance. " .; Drop lifts on stage.rba.cked scene on shining istar-cui'tairi, orchestra lined up and Belasco appears, Intro ducing Constance Klaxton, who so pranos sadly. Belasco brings pn Ethel Dallbn, sure-thing: bet, for .charm, wh b sihgs two riumbers with as much coyness as Gertrude Law- rence.-; . . Follows the ifirls In a neat ballet nurribei', with Charles Brugge sue ceeding to the "spot," doirig . his barijo-mandplln sPlbs and muigging: The . m. c. build c u p Br-wgg e nicely , teasing along the customers. BielasCD direct a barid riumbei- whlch met nice response. Girls did another, toe specialty. Then . the Hud.'son Wonders, , Introduced as "world's champion juvenile dancers/ appeared. TWo little girls, blonde and briinet, skilled In every type of. acrobatic work and limber as rub ber bands, they , brought dbWn the house. As usual, finale a flop, an anaemic trick lighting effect, with the kids coming out for a weak applause;re peat, ends up a show that should have been given a smash close. Or gan pick-up here would help, too. On organ subject, Hy C. Gels of: fers "The. Stanley Theatre." weak and back-slapping Idea,-with music to poor words and llliistratlons, and custoriiers no like. Orchestra offers "Lohengrin" In pit, William Oscar conducting. And "The Terror" brought th charge of the heavy-dough brigadf^i upon the b- b. They're cuckoo over talkers here. Fitz- EASTMAN (ROCHESTER) Rpohrster, N. Y., Oct. 19. After two weeks of more or loss mediocre stuff, iOastman theatre sprouted fortiv ;i natural .for its pre- sontatiDn this week. "Dutch Mix- ;nc" is the natne.'given by. l.Mrector. Jay no Halpli. Bunker. Ho further denotes it as a muyioal roinp, no half-truth. , ; .\ct is dished up in fovir "ingre- dients." Opening is "Tulip Time n Holland,!' sung by Albert Ncw- omb and Kthol Aroiier.; Use of; Ights in- this bit, as throughout, . moi=it ■ effective. ■. ..' - ■ ;'.. ■ "Littie Miss "Wooden Shoe"' is siirig by Dorothy Deane, who also leads out two 4-ycnr-olds. Eunice Lissori and .lane August, dressed as Dutch boy and girl, do a bit of pantomime. . riioy are the big thing.. Despite It's their debut, no niore amateurish th.-tn tlie more experienced perform- ers. Thelma Biracree and Ivan Triesault, aceompariieii.by the East-, man ballot, do a wooden, shoo dance with comedy effects. •. ;,- ' Harold Singleton. Eugene Locw- cnthftl and John Ilead stop, out of a huge Gpuda .cheese, to sing: "A Dutch Choose," riibblirig the while : on .huge bits. The comodj' hit is "Katerlna.** Marie ^Wilson, made up, as a buxom ju'gevrow frprii Rottei-darii,- first sings that comic song of somie four yeaT.<5 a;gOi iialf the ballet padded to look like fat Dutch maidens, Join in the clioriLS arid a humorous wad- dle dance that had them laughing ' out loud. Ends with "'I'he Sleepy Canal," sung by'Jane Barblers and LeRoy Smith in the moonlight/, while behind them the windmills turn lazily. Ballet appears oh top of dyke at the curtain, each lass mounted on stilts, but still dancing, as the entire company sings "Tulip Time,'' a: favorite nine years ago. and still tuneful, "The Night Watch," film feature, whlje the Eastman orchestra plays for ian overture Strauss's; waltz, ".Wine, WPman and Sopg." Ne^s and a cbriiedy, ;'I.s. Everybody Hap- py?'' coriVpiete wcll-bialancod hill. \ Ooodinff.' .;: TOWER (CHICAGO) . Chicag'O, Oct. 20. Fate has smiled most fctchihgly on; this south side hbuse bf over 3,000 . seats. Built two years ago by Lubliner & Tririz, and leased to the. Orpheuni Circuit for yaude,. Or- pheum lajrt summer dispensed vyith its own acta and brought - In the McCall-Rridge musical comedy stock. The tab players grew tired of listening to their own echoes and back to ?/rinneapoll9. That left an- other attempt at vaude in the Tower. Orpheum Circuit again abandoned, the house, and it Is now operated by Balaban & Katz, of which L. & Tvlsa aubf>.ldiary. , . As one of the five houses on the chain using IMiblix units produced at the ..Oriental, Tower is showing fair signs of life. Location is poor and then^'fi anbthter B. & Y.. stage band house -within a mile, but fair business is good business, at the Tower; . ; Frarikl.e MaKter.s, who created .a following' as m. c^, at the ncjirby B. & .K. Tivoli, Is being relied, iipon to m.ako the MOUth side aware of the hou.se. A.s a furthfr trade Inducer. Henri Koatos Is at the org.'in with the .singing bees that m.ide him a city-wide favorite. M.a.stors is very young, has tho looks, pIlnkH a banjo and frings vvlth well oilod pipes. Wbrklng thi.s'wv-ck in "Crf-ations In Jazz," a Jack .Tjaiighlln produftlon reviewed sev- eral .weeks ago at the Oriental, hf' Impre.'^Kfd as very pleasant ap- pln.ii«p creator. "Creationft" unit is a futuriiwlif Kcenory fl-a.^h carrying Eddie TlMl. TA'dia. IT.an-is, 'Borjilo Bros, and SiizMte and Jo-^e and a ti>T.l' hor.T n.« at fho OTrorifalT^wlTiy all arf!f ollfklng. 71111.1.s a .«t,andrM)f sinplnrr comio for plf:tiiro )ipiif.-,oH. n.-sing his own comedy lyrio.'^ and dollvorintr fh'-in with clar.s. Fnffod Into a upoooh. "tVaforCroiu," "Our Gang" cbm- ody and Paramount nfws com- plotod. C)v/'r 1,000 porsoDf In tho ■ hciii'to thlfi fSntiirday) t>ftorn<V)n, which Is somf'thlng, Jiino, PARAMOUNT (Wired) ("Bars and Stripes"-Ohit) : (NEW YORK) New York, Oct 21. Publix has brought east, another of Its scintlUatlrig m..'e,'s In the pef- son of Eddie Pcabody, former danbe band banjoist, ^yho has been strurii- ming his way up and dbwn the west coast tor Publix, West Coast, ;:and then Publix again; Peabbdy plucked himself a cordial reception oh this sii-ie, a. house that no m. c. arid few performers have riiade fall out of their chairs. The Paramount Isn't that kind of a theatre. If Ash, Piea,- ' body, etc., expect the; .flaps to sigh, and have the delivery boys and^ .salesmen . call them by Uieir first names, the :43d street corner is a good spot on which to watch tae other fellow work. Looks as ,though Publix Is pet- mltting Pcabody a few more liber- ties thart Ash. Yet the diminutive blonde boy is not straying far from the ncccs.sitles and Is relying upon his banjo playing to send him In on tile Initial week. Acting as chalir- man for. "Bars and Stripes,'* i»ea- body la, given the next-tb-shut spot In this 42-minuto unit. It. is here ho does "Rhapsody In Blue'' and "St. Louis Blues," both exceedingly well plunked^ No denying this youth ' knows what a banjo Is all about. For the fir.st week he's not showiner much else other than a brisk man- ner, of getting the acts on and oIZ and the band iatarted. As a unit "Bars and Stripes" dpesn't threaten to become the guld-! ing light. It's following route 22 with the. customary bear left at crossroa,ds. Troupe consists of a fcmme vocal trio, pair of hoofers, 10 ,unwired but;, synchronized,: dancing. girls and a; comedy xyiopKbriist..' Title is derived from, a jail set, the band in prison garb, LambertI act- ing as the red-nosed warden and Pcabody ori friendly terms with everybody. Janton Sisters started off by an explanatory lyric which had Pea- body sliding down the neck of ft marnriioth . bunjo to Intrbduced the Gould Steppers, 11 girls, who sub- .«iefiucritly dwlndUid to 10 in- their other numbers. King and.King are the male dancers, cllckiitg much better on their secoridU contribution, consisting of intricate taps as each lak(;.s. hi.4 turn. Dennl.s Sisters Vo- .callz<! inside a ca<ii and Hhould stay there -for.Ih^.'ir second number, as the trioLsn't overly strong on fuU- length appe.'iranccr: Sitting down' it's not Ho bad. L-iniborll .rnado 'em giggle for some rea.'<bn and is show- maii. enough to .'jcir his , xylophnne playing through the simple vaude- ville trick of sayin.T ".N'ow", to Indi- calf aiJi)lausc spot.s. Audionce as a wh'.'ic. w nt for it. "-==B^Tl^n VI m b('i's—ape--c ui=to-7a =aolo .spot bor a u.se of I'l-uhody's own . In- Ktriir/iont-il prolii-iMicy, Churlc? Njgger;i'-yt;r is progriirn-crcdited for ha ving-put on thi.s .<.-<-ri«H of speclal- ti<-.«<, Willi h total a-H average and whifh i'f.;il'0'ly:. bolsters by his own offorls, .S'-t and lig-htl/ig arc at~ traotivw', alfhoiigh there's noticing parlioiil.ir i.faut<'tnis about the cos- (Contlnufd on pago 4'1)