Variety (Nov 1928)

50 VARIETY W O MEN' S PAG E Wednesday, November 21, 1928 Among the Women By The Skirt . Lou Form'an Landed Y.ears After Froin tli«^ «t;is>) b£ ihci Slst stroct theiure'years ago, DiliiiHi Shjiw told Lou Fortium ho would one day lead the Palace. orchcsu-i. And.'so it ••came to pass. Mr. Forman Ls giving tho PiUncewhat it •.needed badly ^or -a long. tlirie.^ Mui^ic that'is music and: a leadership that deniUes a full knowlodge of vaudeville. , v u ■* Jaclc Bonnv is m. cing this' week and his easy in-osonce adds much to the bill. - To be sure. Mr. Benny io.st out on the. two. lir.st arts and outside .of a nasty crack about Syracuse, all could .be forgiven. . .. ' The girl on the wire with Haj). Ilazzai-d wore a very short green dres3 . 'and pint: tights: ■ And^very; nice .tht^^tights loolc^^d;. She might/have shown bare legs, but her better judgment won put. • \ , ■ Not so with. Venessi, who'opened intermis-sion.. Venossi was gorgoously frbcked but the legs were bare and showed se.vcral black-bruises. A bur- fante was the .last word. The Icng bodice was of. white satin with a sprinkling of dianiond.s, . A very full skirt was •made entu<ely of ^tulle ruffles. ,Vo lining was requirod in the skirt, th<5 .ruffles wore .so finely, put together. A' huge rose colored fan carried-and. gracefully "^'^"jP"" lat^d. Pier famous peacock dance, was done in: a . gold colored chiffon, the husre train■ embroidered in-a design of .the feathers of the bird she was repre.sonting. An up-to-date tap miniber was-'done in an extremely short black tull.' skirt, dotted with black spangles and faded into the . bodice of silver. • , -^ i i . Belle Baker, was. at home and in a.pink gown, of a design,that, sparkled ■ ■with brilliants, Tlie longish waist ended in a full skirt having an un- '.iBven hem.;, . ■■ .. ' ■ ■-i Helen Broderick was in two fusohia shades. Dress was chitfon with a.sho'rt velvet coatee. Small hat wfis of the darker shade and the-in- evitable muff was in evidence; ■.,•',: / ■.■■•■■• Gale Sherwood of the Sherwood band was in, a white lace dross over a pale blue foundation; .-The female impersonater in the act need not ■ fear tliie audience isn't; going to thiiik .he is a male.; His clothes are too .•ba.diy^ wornvto deceive any one. • ■ . : • f.-• : ; - : Ruth Ford as ai No. 2 Fannie Brice . A liUle girl is .at the Riverside this Hrst half, Huth.Ford. She should go a long way in vaudeville with the proper direction. A young edition of Fannie Brice-and, looks, so much like Fannie they may be . related. .Miss Ford has. a iiice routine of songs and. does a dance with high klcts that should attract attention in itself.. She is first'in a college oilskin slicker. Underneath is a maiuve satin frock, cleverly cut as. to flounces. A .green flower decorates one shoulder and-slippers match. . ; Helen' Suliivan. in the Raymond Bond act was the .hick all right. Mr. .Bond's jaws;and most of the audience \yere In unison- All chewing gum. Mr.VBpnd does It for comedy and it may be funny to gum chewers..". Ethel (with Ben Marks> was neatiy dressed in an Alice blue ruffled dress. The .ruffles ran up and down, nistead Of around and around. ' Milton Douglas has two cute misses with his band. One is d. bobbed brunet. She did a dance in an oi'ange ruffled skirt and velvet brassiere. Discards the skirt and is in, of course, velvet pants. The other bruhet has long eiirIs. Her choice of eostume was a green silk blouse worn with velvet pants of the same shade. The nit.ss at the piano for Pierre White was in a silver dres.s.that sported no trimming whatsoever. The Harry Ellsworth Revue is five girls and two solO 'dancers. The dressing of this act ran to much showing of flesh. Moiitly pants and brassieies, little else. And little else:to show. Women Folk$ By Molly Gray Nagging in Talker No wonder "The Hometowhers," Warner's, latest 100 per cent talker, i.s playing tp audiences who prefer to remain at hOme. No one wants to pay perfectly good money tp hear a whole cast of actors nag and bicker and yeU at each other almost throughput an entire film. George Cohan has made his characters as: rude as those In a Lonsdale play— 'unCortunateiy, without any of the lions'dale charm. Doris Kenyoii looked . lovely and was convincing In pantomime—but her actions spoke more convincingly than her words, which were sl-nv- pacod, and as, painfully precise as an elocution prize recitation. Uncommon Chatter By Ruth Morris Marion Oavies Made Stunning Bride Among reasons to account, for the mobs storming the Capitol (sounds like a revolution, and it nearly is in pictures) were Marion Daviea in both comedy and drama scenes, "Show People," and celebrities ap-. pearing, but not acting. Miss Davies' greatly impi-oved appearance is part- ly accounted for in the costunie pic- tures forming part of the story, she looked stunning in both, and some credit must go to Henrietta Fazer. Marion's grey cloth suit with its krinimer collar and band on .the bottom of the jacket wag very be- coming, arid she. did fiill justice to' an ermine and sable wrap over a tulle gown. She made a beautiful bride, top. But these are only added attractions; ..she and "Show people" are the main events. William Haines also ran. Morehouse as a Picker ;. This should be Jn the biggest type; AVard .Morehouse' makes a per aon'al appearance on Broadway. .■ •■ Friday afternoon, .NOv. 16, a. professional matinee of "Gentlemen of the Pre.ss," at the 48th Street. "Gentlemen of the ;Press" i^ Mr, More- house's maiden effort as a writer of plays. If this Is'a sample, he'll probably write another. He should. And if he doesn't, that's every- body's loss. .The play was enthusiastically received i)y the professional audience. But it was the second act when a bunch of reporters make an appearance in a bpdy and among those present was Ward. His poise .■wn,s that of an old timer. The only thing noticeable was the pink of: " his ears. And riinybe he hated tliat personal appearance before friends. Just n i:ew of those present. Martin Beck, Chas. BIckford, Hoy Royston, Milton Watson, Kolcy Allen, Chas. Winneger, Jesse Freeman, Bobbie Perkins, .loan Bennett, Sylvia Sydney, Miriam Hopkins, Consta.nce Mc^ Kay, Kitty Watts and Mr. Moreho'use' favorite trio of blondes, Dorothy Halt Virginia ,jE?mlth . and Marie Saxon. SO you see he did do his picking, wise lad. Wom:en Do Littlit in Mix Film Tom Mix used every known ele- ment'in "Son of the Golden West," the Indians, the Pony Express, covered wagons, stage coach hold- ups, gangs of bad men, three head villains and any number of heels, tl. $. Cavalry troops, the villain's feminine "companion" and, of course, the sweet young lady he rescues, He only had to save her twice to gain pernianent possession, once less than the present rate. And yet it didn't seem quite as Tom Mix as Tom Mix fans would like, too much divided Interest, perhaps. Sharon Lynn had little to do but be there, Fritzie Ridgway doing as much for. the villain. No complaint about Tony and his competitors. At the Paramount week is alhiost entirely a. man's world at the Paramount, and the honors belong tp Dave Rubinoff; This at;?ll) a pair. (Or you neodn/t hav* your right name.). Sax's Fifth Avenue is stressing •■"v— In I combinations in furs, its ncwtat" who heads the orchestra^and Jator I ^.^^^^^. .^^^^^ plays violin solos.. One^of these IS I fine moire caracul, played as a<^convpaniment,^^o _ a ^ and intricately draped. A classical dancp develop.^ matching fur bag is also .available. Greek frieze effect, beautifully done, i the dancers / picturesque in. ywhite dresses and wigs. . ■ Mureen (Mureen and Sonny) looked cute in white satin trimmed with red and a fluffy pink chiffon. This being annivevsary week, the presentation called . "Stars" opened w'ith the side elevation of a huge birthday cake sporting ' two large candies, and closed with a not too - The Very Latest . The very latest shriek in distin- guished sportswear, says jay- Thorpe, is the suit of black tweed. Coat is three-quarter length and a bit brusque; skirt gains conif or table fullness with front plaits, Com- bined with SchiaperelU hand-knit sweaters that are stunning. A niore formal black tweed has a scarf effective attempt to reprodt^ce th^ collar of . white caracul and white Paramount trade mark with its 1.^^,^^^ blouse. Both models have starry halp; of girls. ^ an air of chic arid well-being. Eddy Peabpdy's . little red jacket rpj^^ smartest sports dresses found gave the keynote of a very pretty j^^^.^ ^j^gg (selling at $55) Japanese number done in enlarged k^j^^j^ gj^g^mere Jersey. One cherry blossoms with, the S.lrla In Uype has a tiered skirt of flneiy kirnonos to match. I pleated jersej', trimmed with occa slbnal bows, and line-inserts of self Clever .Sweaters I malterlal. Another, in similar style, Macy's is showing clever. 3w;eaters . has diagonal bows encrusted in the mtroducirig a diagonal direction of material, Awfully good, the Weave simulating- the kerchief The Maria Guy jersey beret effect either at the neck ot hip line, (fresh from, a hearty Paris recep- The. kerchief ends being loose, tie tion) is. On view at the main floor into chic adjustable khots. " ' | hat salon. . Made of three moulded pieces of fine jersey—front and Shoecraft has something novel in I back sections and-Inserted middle the way of fur shoes with handbags band, which provides slight beret to match.—One model is of pony in fullness. Looks like nothing in the beige spotted with brow" A^ot^®*" ^'^^^ ^^"^"^ is of brown broadtail and dressed kid combined and trimmed with gold pipings. . ■■■' • •■ • • ■ ■ ■ \:' ■ V . Miss Skinner's Numbers Cornelia Otis Skinner chose plain white crepe in which to appear In three character sketches Sunday night In the concert of James Pond and Tom Wetherly. Over this dress Miss Skinner slipped a blue kimono for her first nuniber, that of a mother doing arithmetic problems for her son; a lace shawl for a lady in 'Venice and everything she could find for the British lady ex- plorer. • All the numbers were.highly en- tertaining* the last especially pro- voking mirth. Reliable stylists state that it's quite the "dernier cri" or some- thing to wear a large velvet flower on a. nioriotone kerchief scarf. Any- way, don't say we didn't tell you. Marion Davies—Now A. Marlon Davies picture now is'.an event, where a few seasons back it was something tO" avoid. Miss Davies' latest, "Show People," is a wow, and held over at the Capitol. From a little .southern girl In long curie to a sophisticated actress of the alms, Miss Davies has shown a development nothing short of re markable. Her takeoff of Mae Murray was most amusing, although it might have been any one of .several picture stars. Clothes alway.s play an important part in a Davies picture. Kid -clothes, th(>n period costume, to a stunning fur trimmed street suit and a bride's •.oostvune that wiis ravishing.-• . . ■ ; Walt Koesnor's last: week at.this theatre as m. c. i.s somellung to re member. Let's hope he will not long be away. • Dressy "Flats" "Honeymoon Flats" (probably so named because of the number of blpw-outs they harbored) 'Is a driessy picture with an occasional laugh. Dressy bepause of a rich mother-in-law. Myrtle Steadman, who insisted on her daughter hav- ing all the fancy furnishings and diamond necklaces to which mother said she was accustomed. Mother knew how to plan a beau;- tiful weddlnff. too, the bride's .veil covering her face until the cere- mony was finished, though George Walsh didn't seem enough of a Turk to rtiake that necessary. Her light coat had a number of Baum Marten scarfs end to end for a tuxedo collar and for cuffs. Jane Wlnton complicated matters for the bride by wearing her silk shawl—another instance _of daugh- ter' acting entirely una^^ things,, wearing it indoors and try ing it oh the guests. Grandma's Applesauce "Marriage by Contract," Tiffany- Tone film at the Embassy, mounts a platform and shieks a warning to all women against contract mar iage without benefit of clergy and tries to gain its point by depicting a contract marriage that couldn't have succeeded through the digni- fied offices of even 10 ministers Most pictures that three-sheet a Mary Hall's Story Mary Hall, whose naturalness and flare for comedy registered So well when "These Days" had its premiere. Is playing her first theat- rical role. Her introduction to Broadway reads in best story book style.. Wanting to write plays, she went to Tale Dramatic School, and, appeared In the Hppkins play when it was first given as "Finished" at the Laboratory theatre. Mr. Hop- kins promised her the part if the shotT ever^ came to Broadway. Mary is pronounced by some oC the first-stringers as a "comer." Just Russian Program at the Roxy this week serves a two-fold purpose; cele- moral are stupid—but at least they I bratesa slow and religiously flavored try to be a little logical and more Armistice and dishes up Russian at thought-out—as though the action mosphere. as an introduction to the had developed partially because of Dolores Del Rio film, "The Red the thinking' powers of Its charac-I Dance." . ters. This one doesn't Patsy Ruth Miller did a good Job with the title role, struggling as sh^ did through a series of unconvlnc ing, ageing make-ups. Half way The Russian what-not, sort of dance-made Chauve Sourls,. bright and colorful with flittering cos- tumes. Colors that shriek at each other through the picture we felt that It somehow or other blend In a stun Broadway's Best Play .' LewCantox* presonLs Janet Beech or' in "Courage" at^ the Rit?:. Before, the season is ovpr it. niay read Janet; Beecher ,presents Lew (..'antor \yltli a nice bankroll. ■ • ' '• Not a better, show on . Broadway. tlian"Courage.". An achievement medal slioiTld,.be gTvehTTTie party wlio'cast this adorable play. • , ' ■ Miss l.'eecher, away too long, is .the mother of seven children and although hot looking the part, she at least acts it. The youngest of the ti'ibe is Bill, played by Juiifo'r Durkin and how! What a kid! He's the >je;ison".s best. bet. His. smile alone is worth, the price of admission. The otl\er kids are also hi(>e. The story isn't at all'theatrical, just some-, thing that, could happen In any walk of life. 'Phere is. a shrew of an aunt, admirably dOnc by Helen Strickland and,, thank Heaven,: the ending of the play find.s the mother and aunt estningod. A'-we.akor prptlucer would have liad tliem reconciled. In the throe ai^ts Miss .Beceher. we.irs sensible street clothes made in the. prevailing modes. In colors she has belg(>, blucDnoe called goblin, and a , bluer blue, the shade of sapphire. AHEAD AND BACK Louis l!er.;?<'ro and Benny Carter . are the't>-e!i^u.V'" rs at the. ( talli); iv- opening 'his week with "It.ainbow." Al Zoltaiielli. wlio recently re- turned to the Columbia, N. Y., box ollice where for ho many years he was its t re; I-J I ire r, resigned S.'itiir- day to be«-<imo treasurer for I^ouis I^Worha's Klatliush fBrooklyn) tlie- ^*atre,. Zottjirelli was suec-eeded by Eddie Oesfrander. i---Merlin^i^^w-i«—weivt-HP-^PittslJurg^ l;i.st week to hanille pulilit-ity for l:,oew's .penn theatre,,; , 'Freddie McKiiy, fotiip'my. man- ager of "The Sacred KLirh*'." Henry Miih-r'.i. . . fioorifc Wothei'-ijcion alieaij and Jolin ]'.).)MMelly bi'-k wiMi "Th(» Age of Intiocence." Willard Holcoinij •i-ic.ul ami .. <3O0d Measure Regardless of the miles of . film given tp the war "The Good-Bye kiss" adds a few feet and it's, good measure. Engaging innocence about it. ■ ■ ■ : ■ Sally Ellers was the. little song and sinker lady with the S. A. (when those letters meant blue uni- forms and hymn-s—not silk stock- ings and hiriis). Simplicity "The Red Dance", is more of a movie than many a "special." Do- lores, Del Rio, abetted by Charles Farrell as the very grandest Grand Duke, is fine as she always is when in a peasant blouse and a heavy skirt. • ^ _ _ _ „■ _ _ i- """^ohT^TiTs Wlf(^ri"i^w'fiTtV""fox"co \\W tO\ycrod above her and chinchilla and brpadtall would len dii^nity to any elopement.: ' .'' The character of Ivan -Peti-orf Avfis a now one and every time he spoke he said something, markint? him as rare in anytype of picture, 'rhe camera said i several thinu ■ too. must all be a horrible dream—and so It was—with the heroine waking lip -in time -to march her . contract,] husband off to any convenient altar Dresses worn in the eairller part of the picture were quite lovely^ bouffante and becoming. One of fcred a good solution for that diffl ning effect and the result is very attractive and—Russian. MrS. , Kauffman Remarrying Mrs. Nancy Lane Kauffman, as she has been known since she di- vorced Philip C.' Kauffnian, is to marry Andrew Dasberg, an artist, cult problem of finding a wrap that I who lias a studio, in Santa Fe, New does, not ruin the line of a bouf- Mexico. She is the daughter of the iCant^ dress—short velvet jaokel:,. late Franklih K. Lane, Secretary of banded at. the hips to allow skirt the^ Interior under President Wilson. Tullness to ilare unnnpeded. TJe'comTrig ■ ah a-cfress, TTancy was \ylth the since separated- Margaret Lawrence and Wallace Eddlnger in "Secrets," and was understudj- to Ina Claire in "The Last of Mr.s. Frank Perley b.'ick with ' So This Is. but she did get in a view liOVf" ( l'e,!,".,'y .loy.'.'i. ; bride. .1 Dorothy Rbvler made a hisiy <-\i;. 'est silk chiffort with your name eni- "The heroine's grandmother (look ing much more like Little Red Rid ing Hood's), characterized the pic lure when she captioned: "Contract ni.arriage is a lot of applesauce." | Cheyney." Grandma's mouthful. Samuel Plza had the first of this 16th Century Stuff I .season's "Artistic Mornings" in the . Smart costume jewelry at Dobbs, ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, the sets comprising necklace, earrings, artists including Lucrezia Borl, of bracO'let, and occasionally pins. One the Metropolitan Opera; Wcyland stunning set of chalcidony combfned Echols, tenor, and Alberto Salvi, with marcasite and crystal. Others harpist. Patronesses included Mrs. in New Zealand jade, tOpaz and Henry Morgan Tilford, Mr.s. Charles inyigr"^"^ : : ■ " •; "=^~" " H '^'iyapih^ HNeedle-point bags here are as Charles Chaplin; Mrs. Herbert I bea,ut|fiil as they ,.!u;e GXp.ensivcv Uratterlce, s.i.ster of J. P, Morgan, One claimed to. be ni.i.de (In pouch and Anne Morga'h, a founder of the style with, chaste gold frame) of .n'n | Sutton Place colony.. ^>M;iginal 16th Ceivtury f;(bvic Dorothea's 42nd St. Display Dorofiiea Anlel has a fJnd street di.spl.'iy of lu-r Ch] i.^tni.-is <.;!r-l-. Which shoulil help bu.siness. The window carries a full size nev. paper showing her picture and tell- ing her story. New I.uwis'.' Deceit for $15 hosiery wrinkle at Nat French stockings of sheer- a.'^ the j.l^roidered into' lace 'clocks. All 'rii-vht, if you like that sort of. thing.