Variety (Oct 1928)

40 VARIETY FILM HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, October 31, 1928 . voicer to ffobd esffect.- - lias ■c^rip.^:• .falsetto .wiili a ■tjuality.; lijte ';hoi'. ■'notes, frorii'a sux. For a,'hpt.Ten- dition,:. of V "St, Louis ■Blues'* ; iihil /ilii;\si>^.sir)p.i.;.Mud" total .w;as: highly 'je'xhi;ihi'Uvi.ni^: • to: the ■sui^ro'uridinr-. ■fi\-iils. .who- '.■.rntxke lip- mb'st ; oi t,h< .aitbiicUxncp.:- Whole hoiiso itayt-'d for • :;Th6 Patriot,:' . in.duaing'. ; tliis.: re-; viewer,. >v.ljo. .wanted td. prot a seoonrf ■. im'pr^iisinn'i: ■' Picture siiind.s tl,i«: toM .ofa..,s6c6rtd ■. lobk.:':' whicli- speak;:- 'voliiivies .for its .sti'.cn'eth- 'It oUkh.l 'to pull Tor a mid-town weieki'. A;, few fllpis. ■ .x)f '';.this' •-•gvad wb;Ui.d ■ -d'; wbhders for>Iveith rieiphborhdnds. ■ ; -.r^-': ■ ; -Pii/iK: . v: ;;(Vaudffilni);^:.- ;:;^ ; . Approxiniateiy three, .ii-h.d a hai^ •hours, of -shOAv ..seenis-.overlbng for a • po'p-pHced. .Hpuise .. of - this niturc. E(o.wever, the .eight-act vaude liner up is-; obyiously.. drawing; /capacity business, A mediocre- screen f^at- ur^,:.''Streets of Iliusion'V (Qdl), . was used to fill out, plus, a good Movie tone newsveel. •■ ■' .'' ■ • ■ ' .. ■ • Harry Howard and ■ Al Van.n split honors for the 'e.Veriingi ■, HQ\vai-.d>.f^.. especially suited: for an. a^idience . ot this type; while" ther Vanh ■ brand, with ats trio of talented .performer?.. Is ail' aggrfrg^atiori whicK oould as. easily create equal Enthusiasm .be^ fore aiiy type <jf audienfce... A\'4th; the. ^^ae-lifting habit.; still pifevalent among vaude performers, It: Is' .commehdabie thit Howard's miiteriiil seems ft-e'sh.' wlille. .hlis der livery 4s clever ;and conyincing. 3oy sells himself with his opening- crack.- aria continue^^;,a.t hig.h siieed for ap- proximately.-26 minutes, . ;. • ' "Castle of 'Dfeariiigi" third, held three hoofers/: and a mild- yocaUst,, whoise. efforts .created biit ■little ra--^ spbhse. .' Routine -. is -hampercd_^ through a slbw-motloti bpening,last- ing 10 mihqtes of the 14 kllot^ed .the act. Geio. Ormibhde Co., coni'edy- cyqlists,. followed lot nints minuteis.: boSving. ofe : to good . results'; oii- cy- cling skillSrather than- comedy. PriBT' ciBding: Al Varin, McKay and Ardine, vet "twosome, . triea' hard put had tb^i^ troubles. ..: . : v ' Weir's Elephants opened, - while Wlnifried. and Mills No; .2.; Latter; team should .bolster .material which cftn't get. b.ver oh Just .diklect d<eUv; /ery;: ' / ■ , ^ "Catnival of Vieriice,'* hicely :p^^^ sented ihstrumeritalvaet, closed, con- sisting of harmonicas, harps; tam- bourine specialty and a tbe- dkncer. Held up In the spot. : Mori.. y 86th St. .' ■ (Viaucitiim). > ■ - ' A rbutihe show, save for S.ophie T uckei', foplinihg for the ■ first hall here with • a . sellout; Sunday- Aiter- nooh; In Uneup it seeriiod the: book- ers have pegged; this ;in;fgcr se.atei liblise In a catfegory with the Hip : through liiiing up: a majority, b;: sight features oh .the five-act bill.' Just as Avell. You can'l hear most of the chattering act§, up. there wlje^n mot-e than halt .way :back(- unless, those- with a. range for any house. soph, with several assistants and Bohgs; the Ibn.e- smash next to ;shtit. Those who .had been; built iip; fci Soph's "Pleasure Man'* were outa luck; since Spph scrapped- it . aftei; .the Palacei .date a-CQuple of week:. agb. Soph lias 'i. ..couple of; oihor good "comedy nximbers with : plenty, of \vallbpy; lines. ; In .contrast she fiings oyer a couple of .ballads and revives ;"Some of "These Days" to. a tumultuous getaway, , ; Axel. Miraho :ahd Co., two.,.>heH, opened with aeroplane acrobatic . hoYel'ty, . It. got over;. One of tho men propels a .minlaturei acronlanr; : suspended high ih air while Mirano ■ does his daredevil ac'rbbatlcs -op a trapeze at the Qther-end. :';Npy,elty opener with; thrills^ ' - TilyoU: and: Kog^r-Sf4wa4nneh:--With_: brie .doing old boy, deiJced ■yt'ith.somo hio.re acrpbatics,. diaribingand clown-' . Irig. - It . depends f p'r - mbiit of itr laughs throuph t.he bid boy's.vallani efforts .to Iceep up - thci pace' set by hl.V partner. They liked them. - V .Hyt^e svntl Burrill, mixed . teani. propcded ; Sophie . .with.. somenifty . d.bwnir^g ihstrurricntatlpri and ;spnp.s : ail polri • over.- The boy handles tlir; . iristruhiehts . -svith the girl dpinrt majpr : 'portion ■ of . the • -w'arblln.n:: . Neat couple ah,d good act ; .. ,• ; .: .Miss ;Oraclc arid Pbx I'VIeridS;; th"" latter male . (Quartet, bf: hopfevfi closed -with rQtitinp . dancing' fla$h . . Miss 'Oracle '■ pave good .aceoiirit i'^ toe and Russian soloc with the mn^c - en.somhlo also getting indii'i(iual op- portunity. : Well."arranr^f^d and .gpbd ' .closer. ^ ■ ."Perfect ■ Cvlme",: fFBO) so-^or- ff>atur(>.. Edha. FIFTH AVENUE .-■ (Vaudfilm) ::\ ""^^lioiWfv^^^TiTe^ cupics the .scrcon there should bo a lot mbrb cbmiripT for a buck at the 5th Ave. this half. Viewing tlW current, front, against what's erbing on a fevv .blocks uptown for slmiliir money; the Ave, la tivkirig it and ruhriing. Probably the reason ' for the frail attendance Sunday night iwhlle most , spots bathed. In that .ehainpagno called capacity. . .; After seeing the picturo and five ' bf the six acta, they still had six bit.s coming. ' . Grf-at Labero (New Arts) has an unusual novelty for vaude and was. the life saver, iris Is a combination of scieritiflc and. .wild animal stuff, with Libero a pretentious follbwcr of L>r/; Me-smer. .If there's a .field •left .for this sort of turn Laberb shcnild find no trouble playing all of it they beile'ved hini ;db\vn here and that's, half, the batUo .fpr;Labero and lus. riiesriieni.srii'.. ; ..^vli' V Xgaire; and T6intoh :(N?'w •Aot.';-> AviU. be Ava'stin'g .their tiriie. if retain- ing.vtlVe. prcso-rit iurni ; .- .. Kdith : Bohlrhan,-.'singing Binglo, 'spend.s mbst' -of . her 11 minutes cloVvnirig with the. boys In eith'er side box.. The bi.r.d in;upper- left inserted .Some buaihe'ss, so. hi^s a-.i^iiint. When on the- ri'ght,. Mih's Udhinfari .did vaH t;he work.. • Slie s:ing3' published num- bers in a; riaisal mUnher. and dpesn.'t look likb a ..bet for stage bajid frpnt- aj,'e.. At ■ hbinb ; in tiie deiice, but slightly but of Jidr class at the Fifth; ' lUl.ly . Champ, still . around, with "CGR'. Syc?aniore," seemed brand new to about half the.patrbnag^ ahd:SOld. ..himselif to that; half. Kut. no iea'spn \\hy the more knowing 50 per cerit.' BihQuldn't be entertained. Charivp's is the; kind of skit thit can't repeat.; H_e -has gained . enough ;-with and how needs a new one, ,W111 .J. .Ward didn't.: register sp well with hi^. much tbo familiar ppp ^ sohig, material but he returned nevertheless and . fared; sbmewha;t better -with stpri'eS;., Ward Is too gbbd a. Show main, to : flop with .any kind .of paraphernalia, but It's ia mis-; take-for. any one to rely.solely pn personality. Had he one special lyric Ward would cea^e to be just a; good single and .start to be an excellenf one'.; At-present, not a punch line In his!, r.ep,. with.; eyeryth.Ihg ' heard beforej-■ ■ y ';.■< ; •• .. Carney-ahd- Jiean, unchanged as a reliable mixed .comedy aind .dance teaih'of l(y\V classification; ;t»receded LaberbVis' the semi-closer. ^■':Bi£fe.:. ^■•-.■::;::::-:;'AMER - ■^ ■.■ (y^udfilnvy-.:;;V^-- ;Biz looked Immense Mphday night.; Sho\v was ; tamb and .^quiet. / First part failed to start anything resem - blingr a hit. After- ihterrhisslon th>? shbw . swung .into tetter-shape,: with t-wo';act3 just about ringing the bell. Pickard .and PaV dpehed. '..Picka^ soine years ago. ■wbrked #lth three seals.. Nb-w there's : only one, but this surviving sleek performer gives a good account bf hiriiself. . Pick- ard's talk ;wasn-t; fully deciphered beyond the;.vmidaie; of the hbus.a .Kardo - Boyis reeled /ripme topical htiriibers tp advantage, yblces aire strong, ' Chris : Richards wprked harij, -but the ..audience was in an aipathetic state. .' First p^rt -was closed by Marino arid; Mpna ReyUe. ;UpstaIri3 this act didn't, look so good, although: the flhlsh* where the- man swings tha two women, pulled hea-vy applause. The .;act aeemed cramped for - space, and -the. speed and' flash -:was miss Ihg. . -.^ -': y-.y. After intei'mlssipn Welford. • an«i Ne\yton danced, fiavorably and th« show, .picked up." Cole.^Warci ;Co;. with a: sketch.,which ha.a been seen aroiindf got a barrel of laughs. Prln cipal riiale holds up .his Impersbna tion of the poblrbdm ,Gb%vboy, : and the' wpriian is valuable,:' Aet carries a cop, who displays a tenor that helped, here. Watts and Hawley were also solid hit, both man arid woman keeping isbngs and gags moving. Woman was the best dressed on the;blll, a;nd her vplcef Is pleasing. A happy com- bination. Eric Phillips "Trlb (New A cts) • clbsed. • On the screen, "The Fleet's In" (Par). Mark-. fore. the applause died .but on him. I'eabody sliould rearrange his rou- line. It's to wonder how ho reached Sunday without charigirig. /He's got a good start and shouldn't jeopard- ize, it. ■ . .'■ ■ : ■ . Fello-ia Sorel ' Girls (12) . put through a couple ;of specialties, the: bc-st of which Is a Jiutch '■rt'odaeiv- :-lioe item. Bud and . Jack, roai-soh .supply, all the hoofing,.' saving their .solo. tai)s. for the : finish, and Helen .Wright sings the,: prelude to the adagio: contribution of :.B6rivdff and. Josephlnie. . Latter .CPU are neat workers arid entertain.; •. Unit; title . i.s derived' ;from ah- ' aroqhd-the- world gag, : having., a flash ; speed iuiisli .0.1'. an :a;utoist. being picked, up by a motorcycle , cop on the pilat7 form above, t.he orchestra.^ Inci-; deritally,. ;23 Tmen' in the band-; arid jjlaying the ..yeteran,':; "Tiger; Rag," ..for /the .specialty, . . .. .-.- ', -'; •,- ; ; ' Program is minus a. wiired short ; this week, thie main .film having dia- log. ; "Love. Charm,"- a TifCahy- J^tah.l colot- -reel with sound, occu- pied 'riirie . rialnutes- ■which weren't hai-d to take. Hawaiian dances car.- ried. the mussib froiri the. backstage. hprnSi the pit orchestra picking' up the remainder of the footaT? /N6\vst i'.eei; only runs seven riiinutes with five Paramount shots,- arid all from, th.e library. Not a news angle any - where; A 0hlck Meehan . football short is only; b^lng used in betw'een ;the' de'luxe-sho.ws.....;'.'.■ . Jesse .Crawford. Is riiihus- the ilis..- sus Ithis .week. . In pne huniber he ives ; iHeleh .Kane a- .boost:, by/play- ing as she would sing/ it,' a' title iri:? formlrig of' the imltatlbn, ■; Business heavy S.unday afternooh.-; ; jS.irf.', PARAMOUNT -. (WIRED) V ("Step On It"—Unit) (NEW YORK) New York, Oct. aS;- Standard weekly program fea t.iu:.ihg "Varsity.'', (Par), and Frank Cambria's ''Step OnTLt" aa the"" urii;t" The picture has dialog and the unit the conventional niimber bf girls iipbfers and the evei'-prescht adagio team. Stage.prosentation as.a;-\vholc has rib outstanding fault except that it. i-ims so ti'iie to form. .Reeerit Publlx units 'here have been very -Shy; of comedy; an irigredi'cnt they need as mubli jts .do' the talking .^hbrts: : Peabody- isn't making up the ^ laugh lack so it's just 42! min- utes of a familiar pattern. ' Paul 9riiaU Is the songster of tlio outfit and after entrancing in black face and warbling a few . Jolsbn riielpdio.s during .a medley it's only a question bf how long before the association .is riamed. This cbme at the finish for a rendition of •Sonny Boy." Small docs' It Well and clicks. . ■; Kddie Peabbdy /ls the l)oy taking the chance tills, week, his second at the house. For nine minutes the Coast m.c. 1^5 elbowing three melo- dies put: of his banjo. Which don't moan a thing to a, pop audience. jO-vcTCIEUT ndian T:ovc~CaTi7^ 511. T Hit; i iu- e^ and another like number aren't any more tuneful on a banjo than on a ha rmpriica.' You've got to-be nut!' about a banjo to go for this trio and Pcabpdy was plodding up hlU at a -.slow p:\vo' at thi.s,p.oiul. Had judg-' mcnt, because Kddic got himself , a rocoptlpn upon entrance, plus fur- ther applause, when reaching for tlie stringed instrument. Poabody never t>ullod himself and the show out Of the hole until delving into .1 pop -W'hioh sponsorod a stronger .salvo, and then qulokly liopping to _ "St. Louis Blues" as nn encore be-i GRANADA /(Wired) V ■ (CHICAGO) / . .; Chicago, Oct. 27.- No names this week pri the stage with 'Benny : ■^I6'r^^ ; hbidlng /' sway. Show is pr.eteutious in. settings, and scenes with an aburidance of talent yet inexpensive in cbst as. sliows go here. / ; .- '.;■. ■'. '. /' ■ ' Initial perfbrtnarice; today (Satur- day); found .feyeh more . entertain- ment .than necessary^' ruhriing' time about .74/ minutes; - too ierigthy. Usual adjustment w-ill. be. made. Marks • Bros, have been giving some great values for their patroni5 in their theatres, spending money llberaliy and advaritageously.. With all this, the biggest value the Marks Bros, have . is Benny Sierbff. Here Is . an m.b;: -who is different.". With flicker palace run over -with gabbing stylists of all kinds and description, It Is a' relief to -watch one. w;hose every effort Is dli"ected toward seil- ing and delivering ■ his show. Never once during this perfprmanCe did the spot strike ori him while ah act: was ; on.- Meroff Is . probably alone in this to-wn In .riot taking adviarttage of this privilege. While : alternating between the Granada arid Marbro, Meroff enjoys the popularity, of patrons of both houses, .although; two different classes of people patrdriizei these theatres. : He has deyeloped much since making his debut at the .Gi*a- nada over two years ago and looks today like one of the best bets for any picture house anywhere, - This production; was/-titled "P'ot O' Gold." As an atmospheric in- troduction to the name a ipeciat set was employed with ballet and a riiale/siriger characterlzlrig ai miser. Nice bit Barid oh stage followed in another set behind with Meroff sending off the first musical num^ei", "Love■ Af- fairs," .with vocal ln£erpolations by the boys. First specialty was by, Thelma White, one of the AVhite Sisters, who should hayie been per- mitted at" least two encores. Lookife like a million, this gal; and hoofs for all she's wbrth. ; Stroud Twins hit off with tall and—dancing^rrialcin^-ia^ifty^jmi pressibh. Boys' appearance helps a good deal, while. their style is cohT siderably polished. Bpyce Cobmbe, in special songs in character Avitli his dignified lo.bks, clicked, handily Lone turn out of place, in the lay- out Was - Werner and: Mary Arin, plucked from vaude, >Verner is still a juKgler. His sort bf hok.e cdmody he does does hot . fit/in a picture house, . ■ '■ ■•■■" . : ;:-....'' •Midnite, .'Trio, colored /acro-h.bof- ors, preceded the finale/and showed some fast stepping. Coloiful flash for the finish with the girls in stn;tue-^au<i formatiori. - -/-; / ;: ■ Orchesti-al overture In .-the pit' with. Maurice Thall. /conducting, neatly done while syriclirbhizing with . M.artln.elli's "Aida" : on the Vitaphone. Idea is novel and but recently put into effect. "Women They Talk About* (W.), the picture. hoop: stbre appears ih the theatre ihter- mittently with Ice cream conci and other items. He' has; to / dUck ; his head to avoid'casting a .shadow oh the .«!creeh..../ ■ When not' busy taking tickets the, doorman; niakies himfSelf useful re- winding film. . The' lobby by.^ thO; box ollice. is graded and furnishes: kids wilh-.'a running slitlei Upbri- leaving' the theatre the youngsters; seem to. consider two or three slide.s down this incline as part; of thefr money's -wbfth; despite the- ,Un- friendly attitude of. the: , mahage- meht■ Thi.s is .a. house that has been grlnding- .fllm around 15 years. Sym- phbhy :Orchestras,; de liixe organs arid / riaii.Itary usher^ yml.ght./ hive been political Is&ues in / Cuba for all the Cpniedy cai-ed. And while exhibitors and producers fret about talking picture's the Comedy has no wbrries. The only talking pictures they/ will ever show will be when excited kids tell'. .Cheyenne . Bill what ta do. -"' /' ■ ''Stop That Man" (U) and a Charley Chase- two-reeler ' CM-Q) coristltuted the prograriti and a good 15 ccrifs. worth. . ' Bu;siriesg wa3 pretty good, all kids and stags. ..•'-■...-;■-..- Tjand. XOMEDY Ncw York, Oct 20.. Situated in a hole in the wall on West; 65th street, and chosen inr discrimrnateiy as tlio subject ot a review, this 15-cont grind is an al- most perfect example of the butcher shop that beramo a theatro. It goes bai'k to^ tho shooting gal- lory days. The ceiling Is tin. \ An old upright piano furni.<5hc.s tho. niLUsIc hidden behind a si'roen on one aide of the oblong auditorium The exit loads into an (-"nipty store; which in turn leads Into a (Jrook confectioner's, A man from this UNITED ARTISTS (Wired) , (LOS ANGELES) ; . ' \ ~ Los Angeles, Oct 25. • Stage, pireseritatibns -at the U.; A. took another step' toward/ the big league standard : with ; the opening of .Norma Talriaadge's "The Woman' Disputed."; w;lth a 20-minute per- fbrniance;.; the stage show . is/ the longest yet iat thijs house. It is. mbre a. general show than an at- mospheric prolog, though out 6f def- erence to the Russian touch- in the. featurfei it . is called ''Russian: Days."; .Another.'change is .the eiimlnittlbh bf, shorts:. ' "rhere/ are only '^^ four numbers:: prchestrai overture^ stage' act, feature arid Movietone hews. Overture -was "Studerit/ .Prlrice ■ Membri.esV'; .arrangement by - . Will PHor/; cdndiictpr. ' It rah' for .six minutes; Was capably' directed and played arid / was followed - by- the. stage presentatipn. CUrtain uppec on cplorful set - showing sentinels station: it - arched . gate of walled Russian village,,: Rangers, male pc- tet, iri//i!Russiart .dress, uniforms; opened with the drinking:.sorig from. "The Student Prince." ^ Spleridid yoices, -vyell harmbnized. . ; At end, Armlda, • Spa;nlsh singer and stepper, as Russiian flbwer girl, to sirig^"Vipletera" in Spanish, fol- lowing with, jazzy. version in Eng- lish of; "Weakness N.ow." Lots of pep and personality and bffed big. as Rangers fronted, tp sing ."Rose bf. Monterey," Armida 'appearing In spot on balcony in Spanish cosr tume at finish. ■ Rangers then piii.ed hoke • sot) number and Armida .on agalh.iri cabalierb/rig for fast step- ping.'. ■ ^ ■"■ ■ -;..■, .-. Wllllarils and Gilmbre, singers,- warbled a number with/the ilan«rev cliiriiirig in nicely. ' Made way fcr Sally arid Ted, adagl-^iteam of abil-: ity, winding up with usual stab stunt, but given twist when, after girl's back flop frdm wall, Ted car- i-ied her up • steps: and tbssed her bver; >yall While whole /company on stage entered: scene for dramatic vengeance ;\vindup. From stage act,, show swurig Im- >diately/Into /teatui-e: follo-wed by Movietone news to wind :up. Price punlevy .at console. ■ STRAND ■ /-.'"/■/(Wired) (NEW YORK) ; New /York, Oct. 28. Strand filled up early Sunday mat with the Warners' ''Midnight Taxi" billed as 100 per cent talker. Bill- ing okay through the quantity of :dialog^.:in^.-the_a}lct_ure. ' This is a first, run for ■ the film", : ■■ Warners didn't; have to take a second Ipbk to noteV the ~ talker la ,hbt, strong enough for a pre-?2: ErbadWajr .dis- play; AH right,/ however, .'for. any ; wired- house, week br less/ . Pretty good line dowri the street before; the house openbd at 12:30. It's .60b up to $1 .Sundays; By twd, capacity downstairs, - iabout; two hours, earlier than usUali.;-:' ." ■:./ Prpgr'ariv. all sound;/ with three: talkirig shorts. TWo were com- edies,; the Staritons and' Eddie Nel- son. .Both 'gpt over; Other -war Waring*s Pennsylvanians, an old yita, brought in here likely • just for the, name.• It would be better to switch the; Waring disc in' between the other- two shorts, rather/ than have it close that section as at present. Nelson will leave a better impres.si.on .closirig.. : ' . Silent and sound ne:w& reels eac'ir run .10 minutes, with, the .silerit mixture; of Fox and Pathe,/haying it on the Fox noise views. .Orchestra JiyfiiJjire-OP£ned on the alient news. Organ, solo-closed. - " " Show ran 1.15 minutes, ;beating the usual barrier by five minutes. This probably accounted tor . .by . the length bt the/ feature, .62. minutes and the ability to exactly gauge iv advance length of show through canned product. Next week "Show Girl" witl: Alice White program-announced with "Terror" given on a trailer as coming without date. Look.i as though the Strand ha.- firmly establishiCd an all-sound pol- icy. • METROPOLITAN (Wired) ■ .:';.;;; (BOSTON) ' BbStoh, Oct 29 . This is. the third anniversary 'of Lho opening of this Publix house anil a turnaway mpb resulted from t o publicity campaign of. Vernori. Gi-lv Bill didn't live up; to the publicky .-Organ feature is. now a thing or the. past here and : the orchcstr vi overture With the elevated pit iV also gone, although the'. score musicians retained for the stated f.mr^ ^'■f a few minutes' Without .being elevated: Ileeeht tm- Iri prices; Which makes the entit-a' house 75 cents for .week daj' evkh! ings, /has. not helped. . . . Feature was "Moran of the Ma rines'';XI^aiO,: d^gbod draw but'Sy a fair hold. MI.ss.Elder, a big carrt here at the State as ah ; exploited single, . did ; not click in the ^pic- ture although unquestionably a fiic tor in the draw / opening riicfhf' Other film bits were Georgd Bernard Shaw's ' second Movietone, Chic Sales, and- a Movietone newsreel Unit was Boris Petroff'a "Birthday Blues,'.' featuring Bobbie 'TJke'* Henshaw, Irene //Taylor, Frank Stever,- Pelle and Cola, and the Small Brothers with the prancine and dapper: Gene Roderinich as hodse rn. c. - ■-;. -. Looks as If the Met had failed to cash in on an oppbrtunity to- put over a super-show to offset the splash of the operiihg this.week of the new Keith Membri.ai theatre ■ scaled at 75 cents and,;?! evenings'■ / ■ • /;•. .'/ ;- [ Jjibbry.' : ■■ :-;-::-..••.: -Roxv ; \.-, (Wired) (NEW YORK) .'. ;New York, Oct. 29. The same'adjectives have, a'way. of chopping up ;afiairi and again .hi describing: Roxy shows. The funda. miehta.1. attribute /is bigness: Lay- Ishness- predbriiihiates iri^ the; colors,- the iighting,. the' masses of people. Necessarily the Roxy shows are. determined by this element of size/ and .although New York, after a year, and a half,: has' growri^ acciis- tamed to the Barnum-like mammoth.. ness - of; the institution^- it is perti- nent to recaU that for out-of-town- era the> Roxy Id still the arena of awe and : wonder From . the vlew- .point of provincials the current pto- gram would, unquestionably be a saturnalia of gay and/dainty beauty. And yet New Yorkers will rightly regard it as/average-.Roxy enter- tainment Probably, most: of them (the New Yorkers), having a highly developed big-town habit of taking everything for 'granted, will com- , pletely fall to give credit where it l» due for" :: the creation: a;hd mainte- nance of an average that lis so high The endlessly - impressive Roxy .- symphony orchestra under Rapee is In itself a staggering mebhanicism to the visiting pilgrim, even though, as in the present case, they labor oyer, a composition witli. little excitement for the piublio ear, viz.,/ Liszt's Second Rhapsody. - The ballet, Gypsy Life,, dominated by incessant movement and highlighted by Patricia Bowman and Nicholas Daks, is a showcase of the theatre's resources. A prop moon half as big as many an olio peeps up bver the mountain crags as the-restless gyp- sies move pff on the curtain. A de- tachment of ballet girls iriipersonate boys In tights. Beatrlc& Belklri and . Harold Clyde Wright sing Incidental numbers... ■ ' Al Smith and Jlerbie. Hoover each won greetings bri their ' Movietone ; newsreel appearances It was an .- aiU-pplitical release so far as the : talking portion was concerned. • ' "Impressions of a Music /Hall" consisted bf four offerings. Item one Was Gladys Rice singing the old London fav, , "Waiting ' at the einirch7"/mhd—getting--: hcr^-lyjlct.^ across very well in this huge audi- torium. The Russell Markfert Roxy- . ettes, '32; performed their riiarvels Of synchronized muscles while seated; upon stools. A high order of inge- nuity' is represented in the. rpqtlne. "The. Highway' Blossoms" was a flaybrsome rtibr-sel/bf burlesque; ana • - - ■ ■ - ■' - ■■ of looks to be the same group paeiidb-aesthetic dancers . that played the. Strand and other picture houses , a/;.nuriib,cr-. Of seasons affo- As trariips doing the dance of the lark they provide easy giggllngi . Forbes Randolph's Kentucky Ju"* lee Choir Is a repeat for the Boxy. They recently : played- - the . Palac?, (straight vaud). Negro spirituals plus showmanship get . them over strongly. ° Business good Monday niP^t, wiin "Slother Knows Best" (Fox) on screen. ■ ^"'^^ ORIENTAL (Wired) (CHICAGO) Chicago,. Oct.-27._ "Pickin' Peaches" is a Lou.w'- Dermott production, heavy ■ "^^ scenery and carrying fo\n' a^*^^" v^t outstanding in entertaininont easily sa tisfactory. O.poning the ballet in a large: basket pearh-colorod umbrellas over to provide a fruit basket iliuf"'.^ Paul Small, staff singer, introau^^^ the. gals Indi.vldually and (Continued on page -H)