Variety (Nov 1928)

60 VARIETY'S CHICAGO OFFICE HAL HALPERIN in Charge Woods Bldg., Suite 604 Phones: Central 0644-4401 CHICAGO Profeasionali have the fre* us* of Vjiri«ty'« ChicagQ Office for information. Mail may be addressed care Variety, Woods Bldo., Chicago. It will be held subject to call, forwarded or advertised in Variety's Letter List. . -Palace Tliis! v.-.-i-k's Ijiil. louktMl a whole lot. Ixi'tt'M; 1)11 pupiM-. • AVith standard nfirhcs (if Irene-Fi'anklin, ••(.'kuk'le Iki'- ;in(i ' l-'ltir'rie Le ...V.cM-e. layout should ha\ (* been.a fast ami snappy one. I'errha'ps the reason things didn't Click , so. 'vvell was the conr nict ot similar material. Cliff Ed- wards wa.s- nOt the ciiily nke, strum- mer and no .less, than tiiree. pianos in as manv tvirns. , V^'^itli all that Miss Franklin was a positive fstandout. In her very best form and style of delivery she came hear running out of numbers after following Florrie T.e.Vere with interniii'.sii.n between. Jerry Jarna- gin, his usual dappe.r self at the key board for -^liss Franklin,, allowed himself but one solo and tlvat with self expressed, regret. ■ . . . ■ Show got . a good start with the Four Ca.sting Stars, all men and ex- perts, on the horizontal bars. ■Herman .Hyde and, Sally liurrill raised tlio douce spot to a highei^ vantage and deserve, better position. Nice -little ' turn, wiith well knitted material, including .song patter, dance aiid some instrumental stuffs Hyde, ia personable chap, in good diction with Miss Burrill, a , fern hot hard to look at. Hooper 'and Gatchett . in "The Rookie"' scored a liberal portion of iaiJghs. on Hooper's .broad hokum. They have been doing this act for two" or . three years with minor changes. IJaxter .and Frank, two dancing boys, • and . Eva Hartman assist.'. .Topical tUties by 'Cliff Edwards In his customary.. huniming ' style caught .on with th^. audience. Ed- wards is familiar here and had. no trouble encoring a couple of times. Fills in with some.^TjnaTppy, .stories. Florrif 'Le .Yel-e with' Lou Hand- man !it the piano .closed the lirst sectioii to'; good retUl-ns. Miss Le Vere's impersonations of Marion Davies and Kitty Doner, were; -well done, i)ut. she did better as herself. Han(imah!s ,contriln'itlon to the .act is still valuablo: . He'brlnga out his sister Edythe for a couple .pf ,his songs. Next to shut was t.aken cai-e: of by Slim TImblin Coi,. blackface affair with a lot of rehashed gags afld- catch lines., T-lUy Kaymond and Val Bussell are the, other two here, all .carrying, on a fast. line. Went over big.' Joe Daly witii Helen Le^yi.s Co-Ed band closed. Girl outht; better thaii .average fern musicians with Daly clowning around., to .fair results. Biz not so healthy Sunday after- noon. " About a three-quarter filled house. ' I.ortp, the Loop's two vaudeville houses is hurting the Palai.'e, \vhioh has a higher seale^ no feature picture and .miv one more act. The .State-Lake at present is oii the upgr.'ide, With a full main floor at closing .of the (irst shi)\v Sunday afternoon, Tic- lure is ''Annapolis" (Pathe). • • Second on tiie opening show was •T.-ndercurrent," a one-act playlet bv Fay Ehlert. It is advertised as l/rize winner of the Chicago Little Theatre tournament. Its theme _is the miserv and tragedy, caused by an ignorant father who believes that his children will grow into respec.ta- bilitv and usefulness only If he gov- ern.s. them pitilessly. His wife is made into a weak-willed liar trying to conceal small misbehaviors of her ciiildreri; son hates him in sul- len protest, and his daughter goes tjutterward to escape the drabness of her home, A woman, social worker eventually rescues the girl and tells, the father what a mess he and.his old-world ideas have made., IVrformances by the .si.x players are adecjuate for vaudeville- Toto,. the clown, was a highlight of the bin: He is .supported by a ni:in and girl. Pavjey Oukrain.sky Ivallet. using the same 'routines ■;roupht to Chicago nriore- than, two vears ago, is listed as a cla.ss attrac- lioh for the. best spots. Routines i'lre interpretive, and feminine anat- omy I'llays no small part in the act's KIU'COSS. , Fourth . were Purns and Burcliill. dead-faced eccentric hoofing duo with songs .ind a Httle talk to round ;iut; An eniclent coiiiedy turn .for '• )(h v.'uide and picture houses, . Lee Navarn. third, is a skillod trick ■ iahi.st lyut wisely uses: comedy, tal'- Mid exagf;evaled ge5>lure.s to insure ' good receiHioh. Ernest TJiatt wa; in next-to-rlosing.. saying the wron."- v. ords at the right time .in a , fast line; ol^ chrittcr about everything. 'I'l^ey li'.;ed hii.'V a lot. Stewart and Olive, openings .were nii.-s?d because of an SPc alarm elock.' F.oy Friends and Angel ros. not on the flrSt .shov/. U:)if}: in specialties of song, talk and com- edy Situations, Too much talking and too draggy. Damage estimated at ?25,000 was caused by fire In the Pershing Pal- ace theatre, 12th and Kedzie streets, owned by Abe Halper; Roof and front will be replaced before It re- opens. Besides the paternity charge brought against him by a. former hotel checkroom girl, Red Grange la encountering other legal dlfflcultles to occupy his mind during his five weeks' stay in Chicago -with the "Come On, Red,'^ Publix unit. Goebcl & Brown, holding a Judg- ment fdr $900 against Grange, and C. C. Pyle, his former manager, a,re hot after the dough while Graihge Is in town. The appointment by B, & K. of a p; a. to see that Grange gets into the dailies seemed rather use- less. Howard theatre, 1621 Howard ave- nue, owned by Henry Newell, has oonipleted and place turned into parking ground. Wrecking plans on Regent temporarily bold up with house turning them away on Carry On, Sergeant," rtrst Ontario-made feature. Civic improvement plan advanced here by Controller Albert E. Hacker ■calls for wrecking Shea's Hippo- drome to: turn space Into ipubllc square. . N. L. Nathanspn, manage Ihg director Famous Players Can- adian . Corporation* offers present lease which has 16 yearja yet to run free If scheme Is carried but. with police department that would positively close at 2 a. m. The old Gayety theatre has, re* opened with stock burlesque and doing business.. Ajige Lprcnzb-atnd Joe Perte have teamed up and broadca.sting over WBHP twice weekly, Lorenzo at piano and Ferte singing. With departure of Charles Em- merson Cook musical stock to Washington effort made to Put stock burlesque Into Victoria but Fam.QUs Players refused lea.se. Second Mon- treal .outfit then took over with small company featuring Ernest Woodward and Helen Klngsley. Opened to fair biz with "Kaughty Cinderella." Amateur productions on decline CORRESPOND E NCE All matter in CORRESPONDENCE refers to current week unless otherwise indicated. ■ The cities uiider Correspondence in this issue of Variety are as follows and on pages: . BOSTON BROOKLYN .... CHICAGO ...... CLEVELAND .. DETROIT HALIFAX ...... INDIANAPOLIS LOS ANGELES I •••••• I State-Lake ' . . Parley. . Qu';rainsi:y.. ballet and Toto are sliarlng .the important .side of the State-Lake martjuce alone, although both were fcatiircd very recently at the Palace. 'J.*liis p'rac- tice of quick repeats indulged in by C HIC AGO World'8 tallest, 104i rooms and bathi 61 62 60 61 60 62 61 62 LOUISVILLE MEMPHIS ... iviONTREAL ..... NEWARK ....... TioCHESTER .... SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE ....... SYRACUSE TORONTO ....... WASHINGTON .. • ••••• I 61 62 61 62 61 61 61 60 60 61 ST. REGIS HOTEL S\ng\v Itonm without Ktitli. $T. $K. $0,00 SiiiRlc Kooin Avitli Kiitli. . . :$10..'>n. $!'<>.UQ Xwlu. ItvAa wltliout . Until. . .. . . .. SU.OO Dotililo Koom wltliout Itutk. $IU. $12.1)0 Dnublo Koom with llittti: , . . $13. $14.00 Twin ItiMis with Kuth. .......... . $11.00 iJminini; wiilrr tn all.looms ■ Cph.venlontly locatecj to all Jhcitresi Within Walking ill.><LUnce .of the loop 016 N. Chirk St., riionc—Supprlor 1322 Englewood ■ A first-clas.s theatre in the neigh- borhood of G3d and Halsted, would knock the wind but of all the sec- ond, third and fourth-rate houses currently splitting the dough among themselves. .Such a theatre is bound to happen soon.- Encrlewood and ■ its audiences are the type, that make .almost any good act look ragged. Kepeatihg cdnsiantly, the mob . has learned what to. expect in ;most cases, and in the few other cases ,won't believe it. ■ ■ ' .. ■ ; ■ • .Val Harris and Ann Howe, com- edy act, is good despite the ho-hum .reception it got ..here. Harris has stepped from the original costume idea and that of his comtemporaries by. blossoming out in a cowpunchcr co.stume and using a western, back- drop. Raymorid and Geneva, opening, liked in a full-stage juggling act in Avhich the man does most of the work. His p.'irtner shows poor taste in wardrobe. Ilnymond's routines with clubs and spheres are fast, and he's sllfjhtly novel In opening-as a piano player and closing as a tumbler. Ted and Al Waldeman, second, bi.'ickracc comedy, with harmonica tooting .as forte. C.'i.pable inter- mediate deucers despite almo.st flop rcsuUs here. Middle spotting held by Teller Sisters ijnd Ackland,. femnie come dieniie and straiglit as.sisted by a grotesiVuely mad<'-uiv Sc.otch eccen trie dancer. A 1 bread, of story holds (he ga.rrs to;;ethor, a.b(nit the ,t%yo girlH vi.'iiting thp {>cotc'lini.a.n^. Gir luijriorrs.r tries Tfarcl' Tiul'troesh't IVit often because mo.^t of the Stuff re- lies on .wild gestures to put it.over and has no real merit. CMosnVg were Gertrude Avery and Hoys, girl song .and- dance, soloist .assisted by a hoofing team and three hand bal.i.ncing-.and tumbling boys. H.imply three fair acts pu.sh'ed Into one, with routines split up.into a number of sliort bits. Acrobatic -tiitr TrnT'lt^.^' tin)~Trc't~Jifrd~iirinces ■. it acceptable for the time. Ml.sa Avery Is passable. "Avalanche" (F. N.) feature, and fair house. Bing .nstalled Vitaphone. Goes into a full week straight picture policy with the installation. We Serve Only What We Know How to Make Best MQHEJRILL Where. All the Stars Meet airid Eat D0liciou3 and Wholesome FOOD 171 No. Dearborn St. CHICAGO, ILL. Tom Maloy,. head of local picture. ■oi)cratov.s' union, will go to Cuba for a month after attending the AFL convention this week at Kew Or leans. Variety cafe, ago, is closed. op('ned two weeks Belmont, neighborhood .Keith :liouser;W(.'nt--ln--fop=ii-inlnstrel--show last week. They've tried about everything, else, including musical comedy tabs. In an effort to b.uild 'family trade. Five acts and 'split week still look like the best bet 75 minutes or so of minstrelsy in the shape and form presented by Dan Pitch will never jam the change machine In the b. o. Minstrel stuff is a dead is.sue nowadays at its best Fitch's company includes 12 niales and eight feni dancers, who double SYRACUSE, N. Y. By CHESTER B. BAHN Wieting—Thurston; B. F. Keith's—Vaudfilm. Temple—Reopens Nov. 26 with "Hindu Belles" (Mutual;. Saivoy—Tom Phillips Buriesker*.. . (Stock)-films.. .-v Syracuse—=^Vaud(ilm. Strarid—"The Home 'f owners"- Vitaphone-Movietorte. Empire—"Win That Girl.'- "The Parisians," . Syracuse. University. bartd-Schroeppel Dancots; Nov. 21. •Fazil."- ; . ■ ■. ■■'; Loew's State—''Show People"- Movietone-Biruce Erummitt drchea- •■ra.:.. ' • . ■ ■ - ■ Eck6l-:-"Wihgs" (2d week). Regent—"F.dur Sons." Harvard—"The Racket"-"Thanltaf. Cor the Buggy R!de." Avon—"Wheel of Ekince"^"Three's : 'I Crowd." Brighton—"Honor First.'.' Riviera--"Gloriou3 : Betsy"-Vita-: phonerMovietone. Arena—Tigris Temple Indoor Cir-^ cus (Fred Bradna). Palace—"The Racket.'* Stratford theatre has built over ts stage, enlarging it an additional ;even feet In depth. Stage band policy. John Ford, Ben Piazza, John Koyal and Mort Singer left here Saturday to attend the opening of the new R-K-O house in Memphis. Henry Kalcheim, brother-of Nat salchcim. booking manager of the William Morris office, is associiated n the new law firm of Kalcheim; i5rodkin & Bicber.' Gus Sun left Monday for his an- nua! Arkansas hunting trip. Norman E.. Field, for eight years ,^eneral manager of Jones, Linick & Schaefer arid first with the firm of Linick & Jones, has retired from active service and will start shortly on a trip around the world. A dinner In his honor was given Wednesday by Chicago showmen It the Covenant Club, arranged by Ralph T. Kettering. Field started with Linick & Jones in 1900 as penny arcade manager. Five years later he opened the first picture house In Illinois for J., L. & S. He has also been, a Loop theatre manager and concession manager (if amusement parks in London, I 'Liris and Chicago. Art "Jiggsi" Van, vaudeville and .screen comic, has. opened a new eat spot; In towjv called._"Jigs' Joint.'" OTace ■features corned l)§'cf and cabbage, no cover charge and no set-ups. Virginia Dale, drama critic of the Chicago Journal, has been confined to her home by illness. During her .T.bsence Art Sheekman, former Journal . picture critic and .; now columnist, ia doing drama. ~ —TORONTO By GORDON SINCLAIR Royal A|exandra-^"Between Our selves"; next, "So to Bed." Princess—"Slmba" (2d week). Victoria—"Naughty Cinderella' (Stock). Empire—"Shannons of Broadway (Keppie Stock), . Hippodrome—".Power"-vaude. ' Pantages—"The Outcast"-vaude Loew's—"The Wlnd"-vaude.. Uptown (wired)—"White Shad ows"-"Blue Shadow Revue." Regent—"Carry On, Sergeant (Canadian). Massey Hall—L'Argentina. — Exhibition—Royal Wiitter Pair. Tivoli (wired)—"Pour Sons" (Jd week). . All main stem flicker houses here to be wired within three'^ months Sound equipment now being In stalled in projection room Ontario Bofurd of Censors. Wrecking of Gayety, former home Columbia burlesciue here, has .been versify of Toronto), has six lined here, although Hart House (Uni- up. Parkdale. Canoe Club will spot annual show CChicago staged) next week. Three amateur jiroduictlons staged In this city last week. Boar's Head dramatic society of Syracu.se Unlr. versity presented. Galsworthyls "Loy- alties" at the Regent; a Minerva cast produced. "Polly. With a Past," the musical version of which, "Polly,"' Arthur Hamnjers'tein has booked into the Wieting hero Dec 20 and the Community Players staged "The Mystery of the Third Gable." . The Rome Play.ers Nov. 22 stag* their first play, "Seven Keys td LJaldpatte," at the Strand, Rome. Queens Tlieatre (pictures) at Dun- das, Ont., has been sold by Guest & BillingtOn to J. A. Craven. a,rid will build a second house near by. The Capitol, new Rome house be- ing built by. Kallet Theatres of Oneida, with M. E. Comerford in- terested, opens early in December. Bi'antford;. Ontario, busy factory town of 49,000, has been added to Canadian road show chain for two and three-day. stands with biz good. House (Brant) runs pictures when legit shows not available. Plans made for new houise in Fort William, Ont., to be run by same mahdgemeot'as Garrlck at Winni- peg. A. J. Rachell will manage the Majestic Plalyers, j/Iajestic, Elmira. .The company includes Frances HalU Matthew Smith, Edith Leitneri Florence Arlington; Carol Clenicn- son, John W. Cowell, Burton. Mal- lory, Byron Sankey and. Donald McCrinnis. Harry Home, director. When in Chicago Visit These Hits J. Chancellor Boylen made chair- man Ontario board picture censors; Edward J. Byrne,. Barrie, member of board succeeding James O'Brien. Boylen has been on board two years, i gAM H. Matinees Wednesday . j .^ARRIS Saturday Arthur Hopkins Present* and. The Casino, Ottawa, has been re opened by S. J. Ladas aind J. T. Moxley under name Capital. Fam- ous Players are just completing. $1, 125,000 house, same locality, named Capitol. Lady" (Madge DETROIT By JACOB SMITH Shubert-Detroit—" Lovely (MitS;I). Cass —Paris Bound " Kennedy). Lafayette—"Grand Street Follies." Bonstelle—"The Jest." - Caaiuae—Barle&qtre. " Michigan—"Beware of Bachelors." Capitol—"His Private Life." United Artists—'^Revenge" (2d week). Adams-r"Wings,". State—"The Terror" (4th week). Madison—"Show People." Fisher—"The Outcast." Oriental—"Son of the Golden West;". :• Dlroct from' a yeor'e run In ' Now York, the Groot Comedy SucceM Called "BURI.ESQ€B," with Hal Skelly and Barbara Stanwyck SELWYN Mats. Thura. and Sat. SCHWAB and MANDEL Brlnu You TBTB NEW COT/rEOlATB MUSICAL COMEPY JKIQOD JJEWS" with, nn AO^-AMEMCAN TEAM OF VLAtERA FORTY FtAPPER . FRESHIES ABE LYMAN (nimRelf) & HIS OBCH. A. H. WOODS' ADELPHI MATS. WED. and SAT. Butterfield Enterprises in 1929 will build- a new 2,000-seat house, in Jackson; five other cities are sched- uled for new houses'by the circuit. Ed Ryan,: personal secretary to W, S. Butterfield for 15 years, sailed for Paris this week in hope of bene- fiting his health. Paul Schlossman, Muskegon, and Steve Sprlngett, Jackson, have placed orders for Bristolphone. The Colonial, after a failure with .burlesquer^has-^Glosed.------Lew^^ Ben Cohen, may reopen the house with talkers. A. H. WOODS' '•W TRmr Or MAEY DUiOAN' By Btiyord Volller with ANN HARDING and brlfriitoJ New York Cjiat STUDEBAKER Mat. Today MARY BASIL VJolot Kerriple NASH RATHBONE COOPER HENiRT FEUDINAND^ STEPHENSON GOTTSCHALE AsNlstod by Original Cnst in .* the Continental Comedy Senmition The Command to Love The Keith-Temple theatre, closed since last spring, is playing "Pit-' falls of Passion" for four weeks. The lessee is Charles Getz, Chicago; rental H.500 per week. Luigi's Is still operating despite efforts of Detroit News to close It. liUigi came to an understanding ILLINOIS A. Tj. ftrlnnKor ^& Hnrry J. rowerj, Mg™- ZIEGFELD SENSATIONAL SUCCESS RIO RITA As presented 2 sonsons In ZlcgfeUl Thoatro. New Yoric, with this Krc.-it <;»»t. nthoUnd Terry J. narold Murray IJort Wheeler RoDert Woolwr Vincent Serrano Marie Dnyne 16—AT.llEnTlNA RASOO DANCEUS—lC inn—zieaffid r,inrinc<i .bmih.u.s— ino