Variety (Oct 1928)

40 VARIETY VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS Wednesday, October 24, 1928 PALACE (St. Vaude) Gurrerit bill at the. Palace may be okay wlVi .r organized, but fiir frum jelled at the oponfr Sunday alter- npon. The attempt to blend Ken Murray's revue with routine acta on the bill, seemingly threw a monkey wrench intb back .stage arrang?- mentiii Gccasionlng : waits between at least three acts ^vhieh would have queered the show more , thaii it did had nof Murniy clowned and ■wlse-crapked to coyer up the back- Btagb deficiencies.. .Difficultlea which walloped the .matinee sihowing started at re- hearsal, whien Bill JRoblnson, coir bred . dancer, looked over the mob, noted .plenty of dancing oni the show and exited with "Boy, you don't need me here." John Steel, tenor, was rushed , in to fill, which also changed the running without .the pit musicians being taken in on the" switch. Josephine Harmon, No. 4, had to walk off after walking on When her music had not. been prop- erly shuffled, coming back In the after intermission spot When things had been adjusted. " : Murray didn't, seem: to nitnd the obstacles that bumped into his iinit or elsie he may have taken French - leave • also.. Plenty of provocation the way thinigs broke for hiniv but he was gaine, . stuck and saved the show. . The boy deserves oceans of credit and got It from the wise mob Sunday afternoon. l;es Gliezzi, assisted by brothier, opened with corking hand-to-hand . balancing and gymnaiitlcs,. handled in their usual masterful way. John Tiller's: Gocktails, femme dance ensemble, under contract to C. B, Dillinghahi for "Jingles,'' in Va^ide pendirigr rehearsal call,- were delightful deucers . with their pre- cision humbers... Murray made his bow after the Tiller outfit, for a clown introduc- tory and announcement of the fol- low up,, Kenneth Harlan ia "The Hoheynioon," in which the star got a .greater reception than hla sketch. (New Acts.) , Jack Peiarl. and Co. cracked the first hdwls thus far in next niche with the "lemon trick" gag, which the comic did in "A Night in Paris." ''i»earls' dialect humor got them, and kept them roaring throughout. Three men and girl in .the support, With the bit considerably elaborated eince serving as a burlesque and revue blackout. It rang the bell for yella. John Steel, with ma^le piano player, . followed with four songs and got over on "Danny Boy',' ia,nd •"Eli - Eli." ■ Miss Hariiaon, assisted by .Flor- ence Newton, saiig and clowned her way to returns in next spot. '■ Murray, who had been clowning In and out of the bill, as m.c.^ and acceptable, was spotted now in next to shut for 10 minutes of even bet- ter cut-up stuff than before, flanked by Helen Johns, nifty looker, for a hoofing throw-off that, knocked 'em cold; •..: . The preceding duo were part of Ken's unit which faded, from "one" iiito full stage for Harry Webb's Harmonists (11), band outfit,, with ]yi.uvray. Miss Johns Tiller .Cocktails and four: additional unbilled princi- pals j()ining in the whoopee mak- ings of the revue. Ken announced that his unit was In the throes of construction and promised several added starters for it. before act. The band is there from an instrumental viewpoint; ; Miss Johns lends charming presence for a vocal and couple of dances; the Cockt^iils handle cnscml>lcs to queen's taste; hick comedy tearh aid the laugh chronometer, not • overlooking Murray, who ia all over . the place, but never tiresome. He's a good comic and one that wears rather than-annoys. Biz good up and down, with boxes having the only vacaricTes at"''thc.| Sunday mat. Edbd, STATE (Vaudfilm) " Plenty of laughs on the bill at the Slate*thi3 .week, , with, all siX' acts from the acrobatic opener to the biind ensemble clo.ser, going in for comedy. Also a brace of show istoppers in Pat Henhing, No. 4 and Bob Nolaon, follow up, with the . latter hJiving the edge. Capacity as usual Monday night. Carr Brothers ■ and Betty pace made to good returns with the boys ■unleashing some clever acrobatics. After a comedy introductory the . girl spotted a contortion dartce that Is' c1gvoi*« ■ - Seymour and Cunard deuced with .'an aeceptiblo piano and harmony act with man's vocalizing getting over better than the gaT.s. Clo-yton and Leon.ard started the .c pmody .bee ab^zzing with ^thelr ""^'''''iOnFncan'Tsbaa'"^ Leonard has replaced Lonnle, de- ceased, as comic and handles com- edy adeptly as the foppish T-unrion iSoda dlsponser. The act got all that . wa^5 coming to it horo. Itcnning, as.'^i.sted • hy pa and ma. Trioppod up with his variety of Clowninf^, dancing and In.struniontal stuff. Pat gave th.cfn everything, but they hollered for more. Ncl.«on. singing light rnmcdian, to]))ii'd llenning in follow up ;i.s far as show stopper honors wore con- cerned with his clown chatter and songs. Altiiough leaning tinvard comedy numbers, Nelson.'.s forte, he took a liing at a couple of ballad.'* and got thoni over in a recitative wuv instead of trying to warble thorn. Nel.son could, have, moved in for the night but left after two en- cores. ■ Eva Shirley and: Harmony Ri;vel- lers, clo.-^ing, arc a ver.siitile buhc'ly Band outfit numbers 13 and with most there Avith bells on a.s step- pers, vot.-aH/.'n's and comics. Miss Shirley had three numbers, all. over acceptibly and 'with the band .boys turning In plenty on their own. Mlsj; Shirley has had bund acts ami band acts but the present lineup is her best. Can't miss as a class .clcser. "The Fleet's . In'' Screen feoturc. . Edha. . show Fisher and Honey Hurst stayed over i the entertainment off on an asccind- "0 minutes with a revised version ing curve that never-sagged tliere- of their talk and song x-outine, now after. The islx chorines are used iti titled "Headaches of 1928." Miss the Ora. turn, but being da,ncer.s and Hurst does some expert feeding of ^not acrobats, they seem rather silly gags arid her singing carries the | after the opening: flfish and the au- tiirn. Talk is bright and has smart twists, but 20 minutes 1$ a lot of time in second from closing. I-as* five rriinutes lagged. Joe Darcey was. briefer and snap- pier with his blackface! singing monologue. Has the talk trimmed down close and gets his best ire turns with a parody that tells a ACADEMY (Vaudfilm) On paper , the ' Academy looniod up a variety bill. It whizzed along smoothly to excellent results, with plenty of comedy. An cl^ht-act show with some of th'e oldtime "big time" aspect and tlie "Movietone news; featim;, ••Heart to Heart." ;. .. . . lousiness seemed as big. as usual, allhoiigh it was a late, pickup,Mon-_ day. .That the 14th street audience ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^ is tolerant, was plainly-sho\\jv when burlesque story In . a medley of a the Movietone . offered ^a | ^bzen or so popular numbers, ring- | ing in "chow mein" for the "Char- FIFTH AVENUE (Vaudfilm) Main floor clean'Sunday nif-'ht at $1 top. Sprinkling of standee.s.. Averageiy fair bilh . Jean Spertce and Lloyd Sister.s, assisted by two iinmentiohiHl male hoofers, opened (New Actis). Act engages the attention reasonably well, and get.s by .for vaudfilm serv- iceability. ■ . .TOm and Dolly Ward (New Acts) having dropped their former skit are now doing straight nunibers with woman at piano. Thomas, well into the old grad division, is essay- ing a collegiate Impersonation spmo-^ What peculiar and unique under the circunlstances. They started slowly but built and when encoring with a sentimental rhapsody on- the xld cot-netl beef and growler days had the audience in a purring mood. . "Amateur. Nite in -.London," pie for a hoiise. like the 5th , Ave., was devoured with evident relLsh. Wil liam Mack, stooging in .the box, gets a bow in the spotlight after the act, his heckling being ddcme.cl worthy .6'' artistic recognition. . Ar.othed case of starting, slow but building was Jerome Mann, now as- siiming morc of ah adult stature anrl mannier. Toung Mann began his theatrical career about four- years ago and has worked steadily as a No. 2 act, I-Ie Is now about 20, with poise, aplomb arid showmanship enough to offset a not-so-fbrto voice. He continues with his im personations; The act has not been changed since his, debut save in., the Herbert Hoover in Boston; at the close a man stci>ped to the front offered three cheers for the next rresident, etc., not a single raspberry aUdible; this right al- most oh the very doorstep of tho yld Tammany Hall site. One almost expected a shot of Al Smith to fol- low to even matters, but Herb got tiie break... Vaud got off to a pretty good start with tlie dancing turn of Marryn Bellett and Go. (New Acts). Royal Gascoignes hit the deuce spot with the juggler getting m.ore from his gag quips thaii one would an- ticipate from such a huge audito- rium. Loiiis and Freda Berkoff have Nick Sannln's Cossack band. The Ijoy and . his sister 'have developed into a: corking pair, of Russian dance exponents. They loom up like production timber. Joe Brown- ing had ah easy spot, and scored all the way. More cohiedy unfolded by Charles Ahearn and Co., with the hoke stuff by the tramp band and the midget comics. James Barton, alone, did his characteristic drunk, and then put over "A iSlight for a Day" with or- chestral accompaniment that de- serves' special mention. He put more into the leg stuff than he does generally. Closing were Gaynor and Byron, roller skate acrobatics. Circ.usy routine; with the elevated skating surface a.nd lighting • giving the white outfits a colorful effect, mak- ing a standout that would look good in picture, houses. Mark. 86th ST. maine" refrain and the like. Per- fect for a family audience. Then the fur party and for 35 minutes plain vaude was forgotten while the women reveled in glad rags that run into phone figures like Smith's plurlty south of the Har- lem river. Rush. AMERICAN (Vaudfilm) An overabundance of mixed two acts—five of 'em—makes the cur- rent bill of eight none too good. Three are of the comedy type.. Dif- ferent In construction br not, live guy-dame turns are five. Gordon and Manners, opening, and the Radio Chums, deucinjf (New Acts) were Without the services of a pit orchestra the Monday last evening -show (7 o'clock) down- stairs. That's always a handicap for the first two acts here, tougher than the gallery wolves can be oh the whole bill on the roof. What the house musicians can be doing' tomer dience realization that they are strictly ornamental. Eddio Parlts and Gene Ford (Now Acts) are in- the 1938 . mode and tempo, a mulligan stew of cliatter, songs, prixtt frills and danciu};. ' There, are netitral moments and mirthless ga;gs, but a high general average is ,ri.chi*ved, . The Mbscpnis were spotted third with !thelr dancing augmented by the six chicks aforesaid and two at- tractive fbirime specialty, .'■•top- pers,: names hot billed. Louis ,M69- . cbni's endorsement of the wearing durability of a pair of pants ought to have a. commercial value. Ills perambulatory dusting of the stage must be just too bad oh mere cloth. Lester Crawford and Helen Bro- derick, a team for .years, are doing the same tyP9 of act with which, .they have been identified continu- ously but with new material. This tea.m has become classic in its line and epttomlc of slick cross-:barrasje and ll^ht banter. They wowed the Sunday matinee crowd. Miss Broderick returned to play Mary Dugain In tlie afterpiece, bur- lesquing the melodrama of the,.: sweet and Innocent, if sugar daddy- sUpported, show girl. Crawford district attorneys while, the spiffy show gal flirts with Louis Mosconi - as hizzoner, the judge. Smdrt satire, furiny hokum and clevar, handling make this an outstanding afterpiece. It didn't lose'a eus-, while two acts are , struggling With piano accompaniment—and bad ac- corhpaniment at that—isn't known As bad for the audience las for the acts, that piano business Nelson and Knight (New Acts), man and woman in a low comedy, gem, were third and the first to be blessed with some union tunes Berkoff Dancers (7) (New Acts) supplied: the "only notable dancing, Business; it 50c top , on the, sab- bath afternoon was alinost three-? oiia.-tors of a iioii.se, ','Man Made Women" (Pathe) on screen. HIPPODROME (Vaudfilm) One. of those bills without . one and"wilcorne enough for, that on | really' bad act, but running as top of proving worth Thirty-five minutes of a de luxe- fur fashion pageant like this ouvi under the auspices of the New Yor.'c Retail Furriers' Ass'n, "in conjun.c tioh with Keith-Albee-Orpheum cir- In"cidentar*dekVl''of T^^ the l-cuit," would pale a strong Palac.,o nnmherti vaudeville layout. What it does to " ,i . • . , ,^ v.„^i„„„ Uhe 8Gth St bill of intermediate en Despite their tendency t,o prolong, tertainment is a pity. That "in con pieces, of business endlessly and the ' gbnerai turtle-pacing of their mate- rial AJiderson and Graves had no trouble, and wrung a full quota of gltrgles, ' Casting Campbells closed. . Screen held "The Water Hole." Land. 125th ST. Vaudfilm) Sunday openings have helped at tendance imrtic:asuriably at this up- town stand. Even the current bill routine small time show, had them standing several rows deep Sunday night, From the lineup it seems as though the uptown: house is pinch hitting for thie 58th Street,, under course of reconstruction, frorn call brc of bills at least. The "Mammy" singers and sob balladists whose efforts made the handkerchief de partment a big success at Bloom Ihgdale's have shifted their often sive uptown Perhaps it's the family audience.-' the house hais been getting since the .'ihift of shows. "The old man may belong to the poker club Saturday nights; but he's gotta lift the checks at Proctor's Suna.i v.'s" is the . new battle hymn of Harlem. Bickford Family, opening, did nicely with a musical .ofi'.iTi-ing con rtributed: by dad, ma^ son and, two daughters. Over On rrierits but a >perfcct wow with the lieigh'iorhood -trade.- i Helen Maycox and Nolan Boys,; next, Whooped it up with fast .danc- ing, featuring buck and taps. Mis.s Maycox alternated with the boys in solos with all joining .in a snappy threesome finish. Nice dancer. ■ Fox and Rowland, m.alo team, comic aiid straight, successfully spotted small -talk and warbling Avith an - -old-timer gctaWay that graibbcd everything with the family groups. The boys have a line which .small time audiences understami thoroughly. Hap llazzard, wire walking comic, has harkoned to the bookor.s' de- mands for dress and has conyortod his former solo into a twosome, with unbilled girl. Hax'/.ard has im- proved on his chatter delivery, mosi of which he monologs before g(>t- ,ting down to business with tho Wire walking. The change also rates liim better than opening or closing spot, whirh"-hp= gnt=here.^=^=^"""^="="=":^ Ni.\on and Sands, mixed duo In high yallor and cork, .. started un- steadily but made up half way down and got away nicely with their Ron.ur.s and hoofing. The ]">e (latcnos, two gii-is and man, clu-'^ed with, a dance rcvuc Tlic tcani's apache and ,M(la(.Tit) wi>rl< is the mainstay, making it an ac- eept.tble opener or cluser for.inler- miMliary bmis(\s of this S'U-t. "Tho"'Wilier Hole" on scrc'ii, K'lhn. junction, with" probably mieans that Keith's let the conimercial show in because it cost pothing and prom- ised a box office.lure to the neigh- borhood women. if this sort of commercial ex- ploitation ever could be excusable, the show the furriers have put oh takes the curse off. It tops any- thing of the kind ever for its shoW- manly handling, its scope and ita shrewd staging. But it makes the rest of the show look sick. ^ Outfit carries : 12 mannequins to wear a: staggering amount of rich looliihg fur garments, a ballet corps of eight Anita-Peters Wright gir'.s and four specialty people, Gautler Sisters, harmony singers and danc- ers, and Benny and Western, boy hoofers. A total of 25 in the stage personnel. Revue has five scenes; the finale having a .set that would do credit to one of the filcker de luxes. Spe- cial music riins through it, with lyrics poetically favorable to the fur business and the fashion dis- play confined to three or or four clothes parades with specialties and ensemble dances Interspersed. Each of the scores and scores of fur costumes is numbered like a football player. Women can find out whore it is for sale by referring to a printed program listing two score or more retail furriers. Not a very '^ubtir Tsaies'^CTtoacH w a boxofilce background and not .so tactful for show business, but prob- ably a pip for the retailers. Program credits the staging to Macklin M. Megley and he has done a first-rate job, from the showman arigle. The sales approach is neatlv canioufiaged behind the. on-the-level revue atmosphere, provided by the bailiet and specialties that build up the parades. Whole thing moves fa.'tt. Outside of tho raw program sales contact, it has entertainment value. Frankly, the exhibit takes possession of. the house. There is scarcely anything else billed In the lobby, fill the important stands going.] to the fa.shion revue. No wonder the bill sinks Into Inslg- nincanco by contrast. Balling .say? the furs on view are worth ?2!)0,- 000, believable. The regular bill. Of which the fashion erui)tion was the finale, was made up . four, acts in- stead of tho UHU.al five, loading off with r.rown and LaTT.n.rt, girl and boy skaters, who go In for sensa while. It's a "Russian layout with everything in the Chauve-Sourls manner, con- cluding with a fast finale that Im presses mostly for the females' screeching. Mixed vocal team serves as excellent background for the footwork and' scores on its own in a straight singing number. George DuFranne, French dialect baritone, has eliminated 'his mus tache and acquired a swell blonde pianiste. Having a finie voice and a concert personality, DuFranne sells both with two popular ballads Balance of repertoire means noth ing for vaude. Billy Zeck arid Ann Randolph, to gether after Zeck's short spell in the Middle West as Zeck and Stew art, were a comedy m.bp up in the sixth- hole. Making it tough for Donovan and Leo, another mixed team to follow. Donovan is an Irish comic of the stout, gray-haired type His partner has the knack of youth- ful makeup and looks like a kid against Donovan. She sings a good lowdown number to open, does a competent straight and practically sells the turn with a well timed jig toward the finish. Now running much too long, about 20 minutes They could slice to 15 or less with- out missing a laugh - Chew Hing Troupe, speedy and very clever Chinese acrobatic com- pany but not mounted as preten- tiously as others of the school, closed. Fine act of Its kind and might Improve . considerably with more expenditure on appearance, if big time is what they're aiming at Usual , frail attendance down- stairs Monday evening, with the real business sacrificed to the roof. Upstairs held, near capacity "Excess Bag'gage," film. Bige. the westward trek over the . Or- 4innal---wh Iris.^Gl H 95 pound.i ringside, start.s out with RIVERSIDE tVaudfilm) Out-Katzing Publix, the River- side now refers to its orchestra as a "salon ensemble." Stiir another idea borrowed from the movie par- lors is the. four-page VNewsette" replacing the old programs. The "newsette" is filled with press stuff on Keith acts, fashion talks, and a vaudeville question column, a la the Loew Idea. . These are the latest reported de yolopments in the current policy of bringing, the Keith Circuit up to date. The augmenting and ritzlng of the musical department, the fancy art work in the lobby dis plays, the West Point snap of tl}e newly mobilized service staffs, the new main titles for the Pathe mag- azine, all of these may be signs of a forward-looking policy. One of the strongest, funniest and classiest units ever framed for (lyirur stuff, ending with an odd twisting recovery, never b e f o r <? noted. For the finish she hooks one foot belilnd tho. boy's enr and i.<; wliirlcd. around by one-leg IidM. doing ;>n aerial split. A sl.artler iind !in ;ii>pl.T.u.<-'e gi'tter. Moore tind lOv.ms got something with lhf>lr tinu«nal cotm'dy mnsicMl turn; the eccentric stuff with nnisi- i>:il s;iw.-, and the b-'illooji tri'-k put thoni fn for. a comedy score, (leori:" Charles Mosconi in suocessfiil asso elation with Crawford and Brod- erick, Parks and Ford and Ora, the aerlallst. . ' Many, In fact niDSt, of tho Or- j)lieum-pointod units of former .srjisons la(ikcd everything from ordinary merit to an excuse. lMii.'< (ine Is iiliis on ev<^rylhlng the p.aluka troupes were minus in. (»i';i.'s porformMnci' (ii-.^t on ;i tra- vi'-M'. aiiil jjilcr oil !i siiiLTlo hoi'i7,oiil;il bar, compelled gasps and started though none is good. Just a bookr ing break. In spite of the vaude, it is suggested to all Broadwayites to run pver to the big house for a few minutes this week, and get a load of sonie of Jack Conway's titles in Stocks and Blondes" (F.B.O.). WitKout Jack's readers, not much of a picture, however. On top of the stage division ia Dr. J. Robert Pauline, With th© Dr." now unnecessarily dropped from the billing and for no reason. His illustrated and pretentious lec- ture on the "power of mind over, matter" is in the form of a well oiled routine and, just about ready . for any kind of playing. That was - clearly demonstrated here. Pauline has forsaken his former hypnotic or mesmeristie work for development of the newer thought. Change means little, with Pauline still at his best when convincing an audience he is right beyond contra- ictlon, no matter what or how com- plicated for comprehension the topic might be. Since, the passing of the one and only Harry Houdini, Paul- ine seems to have replaced the late marvel as the foremost conversa- tionalist on the stage. Not that Pauline ever approached Houdini's class, but Pauline is doubtlessly in a Class by himself in the variety talk department right now. At the Hip Sunday afternoon Pauline created less scepticism and more interest than any magical or mental performer has since Hou- dini's day. He may be all wet in theory and not so legit in construc- tion, but there's little or no arguing with him. What Pauline needs is a 12-cylin- der advance man. He has the rest, everything but a big coin rep. "Stop, Look, Listen," dance revue with eight people, opened, exhibit- ' ing fair improvement over past per- formances. The dance oh the stairs by--the -company,■^climaocod by the featured member's. (gir\) hock step- ping downward ori her toes, remains' an excellent, finale. The chorus' novelty opening muffed in tiiis big house, but shpuld do better else- where. ■ Reed and Lucey, mixed singing and piano team, are billed as Mr. Reed arid Miss Luccy. As usi'd, that's nut billing, and this )S far frorii a nut act. Falls. Reading and Boyce (New Acts) followed Pauline. TWO boys and a girl, acroba tic dancers,- who look as though they might have had a picture house past. IC not. they should have that kind of. a future.' They are a p.h.. natural. Burt and Rosedale, another mixed team with the woman at the piano, filled the next to closing spot with the bill's first comedy attempt. That's one reason why they re.!;is- tered. otherwise through the m.'ui's comic manner and attire (New Acts). Kik'utas Japs, typical acrol)atic, risley and ju,ggling turn, were ex- -l^loltcfl"^a^^rruple"O^:yr!aTs,=^rg0=.^s=IIll'^^ ported ' especially for the Iliin>o- drome. They're back now for a week in the clo.ser at the sanw house; But if you a.sk them, it isn t the same house. .■. For his organ solo Walter \\ plaved three picture theme songs, finishing and featuring tlie new .1"1- son picture's ballad. A .slide , an- nounced a chorus "a la Vitajihonc and some one turned on a phoii'i- ,'raph backstage. It was Jolson him- self, tliough not in per.snn. Tinn«''i