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MEL KLEE UNIT (18) Revue 50 Mins.; One and Full (Special) 66th St. (V-P) Mel Kl'»o, t-ork comic, has .a licll ringer in this unit, iiro.cUioc'd \>y Loe and Rosalit; Steu'iU't, It has cvory- thiiifj ■ u: ri^viK- o£ the sort, needs—r. and hovv..; A niop hore and ciin't miss in any xiiiora liouse. . Klee is w'. c., ami has. si)lV'ndicr support in Barton ajid Younsr. Grace and Coley Worth, Kay . Mc- Kay, Gertrude. Keiiny, Al Boady,. Patsy Ruth Clark, Harry Dunham and eight Jack Helsler girls, puii- . ham works aa. director with pit or- chestra and also, .doubles, /in ah adagio with one of the girls. . The outfit's 100 per cent on everything. Klee starts In "one" with some flip remarks by way of introductory and promises to dish the dirt later, epiliing some inside Info on his mob that Is nobody's business but which everybody wants to know, accord- ing to Mel. Action .shifts to re- hearsal room back stage with the dancing octet in rehearsal togS.and. principals iiitroduced l)y Mel. . Dunham is dispatched to the or- ehestra pit as baton wlelder, with. Grade Worth in flaming red. coming •n wltli ensemble for a hot. num- bec, "Haiiem," delivered to lift any •how. ■ " More chatter by Klee and then a blackout, ■ "Albany Night. Etoat," en- listing Murray Barton, abbreviated rotund Hebe comic,, Al Boady,: Young and Patsy Ruth eiark as a Bbnambulist who follows the rattle of dr.um.s la her sleep-^valklng prorhenadc with all the males drumming for fag and plenty of howls. • Back t.» "one" for "Blackbirds" by Mi.ss AIcK.'iy and ensemble, giv- ing way ty Barton and Tpung for : fooleo'. and warbling, which mate- rially helped for comedy; Klee spots his nionoloi? in follow-up, retaining his, sativical discourse on love and topping with a new mother song. , Back to the dressing rooms for more humorous back^stage gab of the Knockers' Cliab variety, and the chorus and principals on for a snappy finale. . Klee's at his' best In this tui-n, and the acts are there ,fI'om all angles.; Edba. KITTY O'CONNOR (1) "The Girl Baritone" 15 Mins.; One 81st St. (V-P). Kitty O'Connor ix "tlio girl bari- tone" of ColuinWa rt'citrds, better known on tlio disks up to ht-r .strong impression in tlie. Gene Buck show-, "Take the Air," -vvhcrc her 'iullaby" song, put her .over.'■ Mis.s O'Connor is a neat worker and a sweet per.sanality. Her male- baritone voice registers from the stiart. She opens with a medley of her recorded n^imiber.s, a good start- er. The "lullaby" song from the. Buck inusical was a highlight .as was her^ impression of . Jolson's "Sdnny Boy.'' . ' ' With Al Hammond at the ivories. Miss O'Connor was a most pleasant entry In the deuce. . Abel. N EW ACT S NEW MEN (Continued from page 27) of perliaps the most aucceasful pic- ture produced by Jacques FeyUci'. A trade show was held the day he sailed for New York to jom the M-G-M at Holly^Vood Wednesday, December 26, 1028 Then she either gets shaked or sus- pected all the rest of the way except at the end when she forces a kiss through tears of i-e£o>-mation. _ Little black dog does the Warner boast of silent recollection on small scale. Not as "intelligent" as titles would hiake him. Old hoke of the crooked dame lu hack into the trade long enough to get his sister out of Jahi with corhe- on man. . . . . ■ ■ AH in all great spocimeii of the steerage stuff that gets overlooked at tlie Island. . Waly. KING qOWBOY FBO production and relf-ase, directed by nobei't DeLaeey from sioiy S. K. .V. Taylor. Scenario by P. H. Clnrk. Star? Tom Mix. Cnst: Frank Lelpli. Sally Blane. Barney Pnrey. I^ew Meehfln, W. Mace and Robert Flemlnp.. At IjoovV.-! Now Tork, aa half of double .roRture Dec. 21, Run- ning time, over CS. mlns. "A ROSE FANTASY" Orchestra and Song 8 Mins.; One and Pit . .Granada, San Francisco BERNIE CUMMINS ORCHESTRA (12) 20 Mins.; Three 81st St (V-P) Bernie Cummins is the Hotel Bilt- more maestro, three years at the John McEhtee Bo\vman hostelry and a favorite with the fa.'^hionable east side patronage. The Biltmore, drawing the type of people it does, has been satisfied to stay that way, being the reason why Cummins, onie of the smooth dance ..music dis- pensers In the metropolis, is off the radio. Bowman wouldn't stand for a wire into his hotel, oppo.sed to drawing patronage from an>; sphere but the sector, inWhich the Biltniore Is located. Cummins, however, has quite a r6p on the Bruhswii?k records. Opening cold at the 81.«it St.. the flirst time the band . has been in vaudeville before a variety audi- ence, they acfluittecl themselves quite well. As .iain act. Cummins needs some one big solid boff to clinch, it. althou.gh his inipressibn was favorable throughout. . The orchestra numbers 1-. , Walter Cummins, the baton wielder's Croth- er,. Is tenor , soloist and himself a solb recording ai-tist with a sym- pathetic top tenor that was an un- qu.allfled click. The boys are young, an* natty in impeccable dinner jackets with their maestro in formal evening attire, wearing his swallow- tail well and looking great. On personality, the ensemble's chief qualification is its youth. That should be the dominant keynote. A rah-rah collegiate aura would not be amiss. When they opened with a little clowning in "Doin' the Rac- Publix production • department, coon," that proved the theory. Some staged this one for local showing little hokum, some additional em only. It's sort of a prolog to- its regular stage s^ow. Giiio Severl, new musical. director, handled tho orchestra from the pit with. the vocalizing by Florence Berbert and Terry LaFranconi. At opening, Severl, concert violin- ist,, led band through rendition of "Mighty Like a Rose," with front drapes closed, and spots playing on leader and bandsmen,. At close drapiDS flown, revealing, garden set In one. Borbert and LaFranconi, in Colonial garb, then sing. During finale- garlands of colored lights are Illuminated for flaishy effect Al Short, coast production chief tor Publix, gets credit for this com bination novelty. Edicards. beslHshment of number production will bolster the act as a 'Stage pre sentatlori. Otherwise, . the Cummlnsites do their stuff smoothly, musically, sweetly and neatly. Their rendir tiohs of "Cream in My Coffee; 'Lover Come Back to Me" (from the flop "Chee-Chee") and kindred ditties were distinctive. Walter This political satire in Its^sc'-een - v.u v ^ ^ virtuous version, made here by the Albatroas HTofinJ man until she Is forced to dip and Sequana Films concerns, has I young mau u. u _ ^^^^ caused a rumpus in political circles. French censors bluntly refused ,to Issue a visa for "Lea Nouveaux Messieurs" (as ca1;)led); Whether tiie oftlcials'will consent to its re- lease after careful purging remains to be seen. Authoritiea could not stop the comedy for the reason there Is ho theatrical censor in France. Only the police can inter-, fere If a play is likely to cause a -scandal. With a picture it is a,n- other thlng^the board of fllrn ex- aminers has full control, and that power has been exercised In this instance. As a consequence, this latest French picture of Feyder is des- tined for A greater international success than the original play, if it can eventually obtain the necessary visa fr6m the French censors for its release and does not cause diplo- matic intervention in foreign coun- tries. •■ ■ After all, it ia but an amusmg skit, 'vfrithout. cruelty, of local par- liamentary procedure. Galllac, humble but ambitious electrician, Is employed by the Opera. He falls in love with Su- zanne, ballet dancer, who is richly supported by a prominent politician and wealthy box holder, Couiit Montolre. . • During a labor strike Gaillac is named secretary of his group, diir- Ing which he proves himself ao pro- ficient, and noisy as a leader that at the next parliamentary election he is elected a member of the Chamber of .Deputies (local Con- gress, which really governs in France) by the Radical party: After sundry intrigues, cleverly done, he Is given a seat in the Cab- inet as Secretary of Labor.; Suzanne, meanwhile, has ■ faith^ fully divldje'd her dear little self be- tween her two powerful political protectors, but makes no secret of her preference for the boy of her own station of life, the fornier elec- trician. The two men are thus ri- vals In love and politics. Gaby Morlay, excellent comedi- enne, does Suzanne with charm and pep. Albert Prejean ia the succes- ful union leader and Henry Rous- seil the crafty aristocrat. Other roles well handled. L6S Nouveux Messieurs" con- tains several worthy, interestin.c episodes, such as a turbulent ses- sion of the Chamber of Deputies (faithfully reproduced). Inaugura- tion by a Socialist deputy of work- Ingmen's dwellings, up-to-date po- litical meeting, behind the scenes at the Opera and . other phases of the popular story. . ; , It is a good Fren^ch.production for feature showing. ■ Kcndrctp. VaudeviUe Review (Continued from page 40) and drums, and have a distinctiva stylo of quiet humor. They put a iitting period to the vaudeville There were in addition two ex« cellent talking shorts, "Joy Riding a capital bit of screen fun by Geonre LeMaire, and the bootlegger bit made into a claaalc of charactet humorette. - Hush. 81ST ST. One of the best westerns seen recently and above the average Mix quality; A natural for any house that can stand westerns and strong enough to fill in on the .split weeks. Conventional but appealing story of a band of cowboys on an expedi- tion in Africa in search of their missing boss. Daughter of the miss- ing man accompanies the outfit. Plans show the. layout for oil fields involved and are respohslble for the capture of the American by the African ♦ Amir., v Resultant harem scenes carry a few laughs. Captured by the Amir; and dcr prlved of all. firearms, the cowboys are virtually at the mercy of the African despot until they stage a midnight raid on the a.rsenal, re- cover their guns, and start'a war following a rodeo given for the Amir's pleasure. Sally Blane is atti-active as the. heroine; • Good support all around for Rlix and scenic settings are ]avi.«ih. Mori. COCKTAILS (BRITISH MADE) rrnJurcd by British International Pic-, tures Co. . ■ Directed by. Monty Bankii. Orl);lnal story and tontlnulty by Scott f^yihcy and Hex Taylor. .Scenario by .Val VaK'iulni>. Photography by AValtcr Hlake- ley ;md .Tame.s Rogrrs Pr.iduced In con- Junction with Palladium Cki.; Copenhagen. .Ceniiors' Certincate V. . Previewed • at th« I^ondbn Hlvpudrome Dec. 4: Running time, 100 mins. ■■ . . .Patachon. ............. Enid Stamp-Taylor ...J....... ...Tony Wylde Nigel Barrie Harry Terry Oin It:...., Betty.. Jerry.. Giles... Bosco.. THE SPEED CLASSIC Excellent (dim) production, released by Plrat Dlvllson. Directed by Bruce Mltche 1 frdm adaptation of story. "They're Off, writer not credited. Edited by Bertha Mon v..v..^w ..V..., - ~ — , talgen. In cast: .Rex L6a3e, Mllred Harris riimiiiinci' "I'm ^owv Sallv" was an Mitchell Lewis. James Mason, Helen Jeronic t^umnims i m soi ij oauj wa,tj ^.^^y qUs Harlan.' At Arena, New York, Individual highlight. one day, Dec. 22. half dotible bill. Run Cummins features his trio for the j.ning time, 60 minuteB. For a change of THOMPSON and LAGRANNA Songs 15 Mins.; One 86th St. (V-P) Biiiritone and. male accompanLst with a neat warbling deucer .they'll go for. Thompson handles the 'songis with LaGranna at the keys for■ accompaniment and registering hall:, way down with some trick playing. Thoinp.son ivl!vnt.s"SwGet Mystery of Life", for a good opener, counters with ".rhiiosophy," rOniaiiiihg. to clean with "Sonny Boy." LaGranna then takes over the spot .for a nifty pianolog that hit, with both getting together for an- other pop fof getaway, and near stopping the show. Perfect in douce here night. siiould duplicate spot in any. vocal interludes, pace perhaps some ensemble vocal- izing would, be a. good idea. With a little extra bolstering. Cummins will be ready for the Palace where he ..Is penciled In for four weeks hence to follow "Whltcman, Olsen and Kahn in sequence. Abel. STANLEY ROLLICKERS (7) Revue, 15 Mins.; Full (Special) 58th .St. .(V.P) .. ; , : Stanley Brothevs, both acrobatic dancerjj. Golden Sistcr.s, pianist and violinist,, and Three. EUlridge Sis- ters, vo-dc-o-do singers and step- pers,, constitute- the roster of this flash, rather better than the aver- age vaudlUm production act. Several: first rate Jipooialtles, notably the slow rr^otlon acrobatic roatirie:,of 6nc of brothers. Act is prettily mounted and should have a pen oral all-round value where full stage turns are needed. Land. Sunday in that l-ldha. VILLA and VANGE (5) Revue 16 Mins.; Full (Special). 86th St. (V-P) Uoutine song arid dance revue contiMbiilod by J.w^ ^r\<--n_ and throe r iF^v rnr"iin[M"ty^r"i5ii^^^^ si-onic oiu'x-'ili.shment and co.stum- ing. Arrimjicment Is handled with a foninii.' iiunnony twi^sonw handling the voi-;:)!? as build-ups for tlu- dance team which farrlos^the bill- ing. Other rhai) lit piano, Ad;igio and tango arc out*<tiind<>rs, althougli everything n-gi.slcr.s for worth. Got over tor top.s ,'i.<:/Mi"nf'r here, Kdba* Mildly entertaining comedy drama of the auto race tracks, tating classi-. fication as the lesser of a twin screen bill. Race track shots are mostly newsreel stuff, arid as auto- mobile races carry even less thrill than bicycle races because of the re- mote action and general uncertainty of what its all about, this one won t pull 'em out of their seats in the grinds. . . Story concerns Rex Lease, wealthy youth who. has a mania for fast cars, and his fiancee. Mildred Harris, who dbjeCtt" to " his -competirtg in • the speed classic against professional drivers. When she breaks the en- gagement Jerry goes on a whoopee, making expedition to Tia Juana, gets in a jam in the gambling rooms below the lines and Is thrown in the cooler by the Mex gendarmes.. Old stuff, but good, for the.nelgh- boriiood kids. This is the film which Scott Syd- ney came over to direct, but he died suddenly and the scencirlo went over to the two Danish Comedians whom it exploits. It was in turn given to Monty Banks, and conies out pretty much as' eight -reels of elapstick with a,dash of meller. Story^ just, a thread. Two stow^ aways get mixed up with a dope smuggling gang, one of the latter trying to frame Jerry so he himself can gel away with his ward, Betty, who has money. Rest Is mostly chase stuff, story coming in a bit with Jerry arrested for smuggling dope and being proved innocent by the stowaways, one of whom de- velops to be Betty's father with a long lost memory. Starts fairly well, but runs very thin in the middle and drags so that it almost loses out. Would stand cutting and be better for it. 1. to still have the same tailor. (Vaudfilm). The neighbors sure, turn out Sun- day night at this house. Capacity before theatre time, plenty of stan- dees ..paid to. stand, out the show since the reserved seat policy fore- stalls any possibility of inheriting a. vacant perch. The show was paced by Ed Stan- ley as m.c, later doing his own act with Ginger. Stanley has im- proved immeasurably in . a year when last caught at a Loew stand, having discarded the eccentric get- up and working more legit. The titian Ginger is a hot number and a. cutis. She pulled the same "riddles with syrup" gag that Sid Silvers slips Phil Baker and otherwise their stuff is plenty oke. Opening was ai so-so seven-piece tab, "Along Broadway," holding six . specialty, gald and a juvenile, the latter weak.. Act "is slip-shod and " open to plenty of editing. That Spanish danseuse might also give her tight gown a little personal at- tention. • It's too tight and doesn't flatter the lines. Margaret Keir,. prima, is featured; Kitty O'Connor (New Acts) scored solidly iii the deuce, afteV Stanley had contributed a couple of laughs. Joe Keno and Rosie Green also registered, the act begging oft . with a speech let and annourlcing; that the Sunday laws prohibit their daughter. Mitzi, doing her ijnpres- sions. The youngster is noWrPart of the act and a talented kidlet •: Stanley and Ginger a^d the Ber- nie Cummins Hotel Biltmore Or- chestra (New Acts) closed weU in sequence. "Outcast". (Gprlnne Grif- fith), feature. HIPPODROME - (Vaudfilm) Moderation seems a virtue little respected by whoever does the plan- ning for those nationality concerts at the Hip. Basically a good idea the concerts are being bolixed by too great length and too little sagac- ity. ^ . . Currently there is the horse and donkey teaming of Russian and Jew- ish music. What the tunes of the Volga have In common with the chants of Asia Minor is not easy to discern, and when a travelog jumps without even a warning caption from just east of the Suez Canal to the Main. Street of Petrograd, an im- pression of cai-elcss assembly is in- evitable.. . The abrupt appearances of first a Jewish cantor and later a Russian basso and with the whole affair run- ning well nigh half an hour made the concert rather hit or miss. . The two singers preceded Walter McNally, an Irish tenor, in the defuce. McNally was reviewed at the Hip as a new act early in 192o. At that time It was remarked that his sotip and fish seeme.d to have been made in Ireland. McNally seems The MARRIAGES Sydoll Sworgra to J?ernard Pol- lack in Now York Dec. 25. Groom is N. Y. manag(?r Sherman Clay Co, ami a bruthor of Lew Pollack. Iva Berry and Fred Thomas at Meinplils, Dec. C. Both were In vaude some time ago and met on the Tan titne. Now the grooni is at 1 '.ay Shore . J... I., representing a life "insUr anclTco i n jTIihy.;^ ; " Iva Btn-ry, sister of Harry Berry, to Frod Thomas in Memphis, Tonn., Dec. S. Both formvrly prpfosaioiials. Jl.'irry Shutan, in act with Wm Desmond, eligagf-d to wod Patty Kinn'*y, iMKi'iiue In Will King's lif-vuo on the < o.'jut. Hosrih'-IU" I./K-r/iifil"', daughter of f';irl J^i'-rorii!''. will w<-rl .Stanl'.'y l;(.T;'f.ri;i;iri <]». fi-'irtrii'-fit i 'lii''' f'X- ff-u'iV'. af M'Jlil'-j .Jfi'i. 2. Speeds up nicely later and makes a fast finish with the two Danes hopping a steam truck and coming Into court in the middle of Jerry's f trial by wall crashing. Full of hoke and trick stuff and fine for. a double program, especial- ly if the other feature Is heavy. Nigel Barrie comes dut better in the character heavy class than in recent attempts to play as a Juve- nile, and Tony Wylde looks like he might be- a- find. He'-is a- recruit from the ranks of jazz drummers and troups well. The two Danish comedians are average, and too much addicted to Continental vaude and circus ideas of comedy, especially of the taking a mouthful and squirting it sort. -Will do • fairly well here, and may slip in on your side. Technically, it Is okay. FraU The Love Comftiandment l^^^j of the Silver Fox (GERMAN-MADE) Produced by Elchberff and released by Ufa. Directed by Victor J^n.-wn In cast. Milan Harvey. Werner Fuettorer. I> in a | Ci-nlla, Hruiio Kastner. At n..th fct^.l'i'jy- houHO week Doc. 22. Running time, <0 min.- utes. One of those continentals -which h.'is succumbed to the Reg Denny- Prlscllla Dean-RIni-Tin-Tin lines. "The Love Commandment" tries to .combine the three In one. It achieves the longest 70 minutes on record at the u5th street. They probably cal- culated that If the American trlum- . Warner. Bros.' production and release. Starrlngr Rln Tin Tin. In cast: Leila Hyams, John Mlljan, Carroll Kye, Tom >Jant»chl. Directed by Ray Enrlght from story by Charles-. Condon, and screen play by Kdward flmlth. Titles! by Joe Jackson. At txjeWs, New Tork, one. day. Dec. 18; liiiU double bill. Running lime, 60 minutes. In this one the dog star comes to. the aid of his benefactor two or three times, backed up with a con- vincing story of the Canadian Northwest and capable perform- ances by Leila Hyams and Carroll Nye, as the love interest John Mil- Vlrate "wwe"flo-"popular--In-Ger-many- jan^andJTom=Santschl^ they certainly wCuld storm Amer-| tnehaces. It can't miss with the ican box offices * by if emulated Fatherland specialists. . A tall, good-looking blonde lad pulls the Denny but he takes him- self too Hcriou.sly. When the direc- tor yelled comedy he registered, but fans here won't laugh or cry. Lilian Harvey busts into his bachelor fluarlerfl a la Dean In male burg rerralla. Sh<» la too klttcnl.sh and too obvIou.Hly anxious to please to be thfj iTlscilla of old housetop days. kids in the neighborhoods where Rinty brings 'em in. Plot deals with the love affair of t romantic trapper of silver fox furs and the orphan girl owner of a tradirtfif post of which Miljan is the manager. Theme aohg for Inspirational's "She Qocs to War," will be sung for the picture by Alma Rubens. Harry Akst wrote the number*. overlapping effect might be due to an unusual che§t expansion, In which case a cutaway would provide equal dignity with less obvious All standards in the vaude end cut to five acts because of two features, Clara Bow In "Three Week Ends , (Par), and a revival of the same producer's "Peter Pan" for Christ- mas week. With the long concert, show was overflowing the three-hour mark. ^ . _ _ _ Agee's Horses ahll his trained bull, the latter a creature of considerable scientific fascination, opened the show, a great act for the Hip a.ny week and especially apt for kiddie weelc.: ' Dainty Marie, still a cla.ssy traP- ezist, was next to closing. The centre position was bul warked by Jack Benny, whose routine ought by now to be fahrly well mernorlzcd by most of the Variety staff, Alexander and Olesen. closing.the divertissements, are comedians who labor and fret not but manage to make the pqshoyers laugh quite heartily with their lazy rehash of senile puns, bits and slapstick. They are the ne plus ultra of any old thing. Probably ideal for kiddie week- • La7id. Houses Opening Blank-Publlx now wiring the Strand, Des Moines, and Broadway, Council Bluffs. Both houses to bd ready Jan. 1. ^ _^ ^ Leon, la,, new hbu.sT to be mlOl^ aged by Michael and Waller. Park, Tampa, Fla.. opened Dec. 22. Operated by A. Shimko. NEW ACTS Long Tack Sam, away for the last year and a half, will return from Australia In February. Opening for Keith's upon returning, through the Web6r office.