Variety (Apr 1929)

Wethteflday, ApriJ 8, 1929 VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 47 .,M PALACE (6t Vauda), Chicago, Aprn 1. Big time vaudeville in Chicago la Mt as Important aa In New York, according to the -way tbta week's at the local Kelth> Palace was booked, laUi .evt aiid butobered at tbe oi»enlog. pertonnaace. Sunday. j<lnt half dragged through long and aull tiirns; relieved oplj' by Bert Gordon and ljouise Squlrea tbr.com. «dy In the center ot It ;;The aame • ki the aecond halt, with Harry |/u)gdon, the: heiidllner and only drawing <eaird on this bUl. saving **'Shw»cMf''BW-that Sunday night the running order WAS switched to " adve the ajiow-Wme-glngep and re- peal .Its true strength..; "It's not -a tad blU lri^'lte proper *unu(l|JjB order, vjoe Plunkett.had. better give hto - attention aigaln to. Keith, vaudeville m this city. JPrbih .tb* manner It k-now handled, -Keith ytude ap- Mars to be a paln-in-tbe-rneck out AbSii -Picture houses iBure running alroles around it, from .bUllng to booking; Here, they say. It the Pal- ^'aoe gets a mdney bill now anorthen ' It usually sticks a dud in between ttat obliges the house tP hustle tor .'two or three weeks to catch: up. A tunning start was obtained by the booking" of Chiy .I<ombardo a tew ''weeks' ago,. when . tb?- .;P*>*ee did 180,000 on the week, pulling it. out . of .-the red after , several months. ■ Next week Charlie MuiTay wpeated to »27,000! then tlay Miller, to $26, t eOO, and again the next, week Nan fialperin picked it up to 127,000. \Thlngs were loolcln^ Pretty pretty about then. The spur of the previ- I oiiB w'feekfr carried Webb and Hv the following wieek to $24,000, and . in the.,ne]it stanza a tert-ible week with ClBsfe Lioftus :6'ent it into t^e red tcfealn at $18,000^ then the next '. Carmella Ponselle, unknown sister, at $21,000, heavily billed over I<ou Holtz In bis ilrst week and Holtz a. strong Ibiiial tav. Last week, with Ben Bard and Buth Boland„ with j; Harold Murray and Holtz hold- . Ing over, $6,909 tor the three turns, . the.. Pala^b came back to $26,000. , This week, wtth^Lang^on, the show ?"^liaay hold up on grpss it recover- ing from its poor start. Capacity 'Sunday atternoon: ^ Then, 'agaln^ nest week the. Dun can Sisters, tind Marlon Harris -on . the: same show. Blther is an In- ^ dividual JleadUner here. Liast week ' three nanied'^ all thrown together. This neek but one, tAngdoii. It's ' eitber -all or nothing In the careless booking, evidently; no • ludgment and . no balance, or else some one ' needs to go on the brpbeum books who knows tHe . clrctjit. Benny Thai; is still with Loew's. Has any- one mentioned Thaii as an Orpheuim booker in fKS' Keith New York Office? . Aiid Mr. Plunkett Might inquire %hy' Vanessi Is repeating so soon after the-Palace at the SUte-Lake . this Week: al^ Sylvia Clark^^ with Miss' Clttrk at the-- Palace three w;tek8'agO.: liikewise, why the word ' **vaudev4Ue'^ doesn't apnear In the StaterXi(ke advertising.. I^ay. peo pie :C!an't tell if the names are hu naiis' ipir talking'sborts. Meanwhile th'e~ Overhead ot. the Palace runs trom $19,000 to' $22,000 weekly. In this endeavor, to bring back vaudeville in .general ^nd the big time' in particular, if possible, noth- ing should be left undone at any point on the Keith circuit To Someone leaving town before .this is,printed, it remains a ques- . tioh K ttie Palace direction ordered out At least two -ol Ethel Waters' dirty songd' after the Sunday mat- inee, or Harry lAngd^n's. dirt gag, jand, ot course, his best laugh. Or ; cut down "The Happiness Girls" or made Lottice Howell stop soprano- Ing after three numbers. ' . The Misses' Wat^ and Howell were separa^d by'^e Intirmlssion. Mlas Waters. cIos.edT and the voCallst opened. . Two ..single, women with songs vli^ually following each otber. Miss Tjraters didn't do much for herself.. The col6red jazzlst couldn't after her "Roller SkaUng Blues" and "He Does It," besides the "Deacon" songs. These are panics on the T.B.O.A circuit or at the lAfayette in Harlem, but they are Apt for nice ofayB. Miss Waters had better find that out for herself, even It weak-kneed managements do not BO tell her. "The Happiness Girls" is the Nadel tiurn, eight girls led by<^8e Kessner, who carries the act. After Miss Kessner, it's Naomi Morton .(Glass), and after her, blanks. The girl musicians don't even use a pop- .uiar tune, but have a hell and damn that should not be there. They play •a though taught single numbers and knowing nothing else. It out down to a reasonable length, they" wm do No, 2 or 8 on their youth- tulnees and pep with the Misses Kessner and Morton. langdon Is. doing well enough for a draw name. He has nothing but himself in this little skit with two ^ wJ?.cmfin„-Jie .flnlshes-lt^ott-jgrith^an. encore, also light The house liked iangdon, probably on his picture comic.rep. He is too capable a per- -vl^^""' "toge and scfeeni n6t to b? aoie to take care ot himself under »ny condltton. A iJoi 4 -full ;Btage turn was Natcha Nattova, In,: esthetic and acrobatic, dancing with' three men. ^elr novelly acrobatic finish under the guise ot adagio saved them. Rest is all adagio. It's a return date bere after three months. After three years would have been early enough. Miss Howell Is from the south- land, a soprano with an idea of pic- ture hobse singing ot five years ago. A good portion of the audience liked her, but that doesn't say that acts ot this sort are not passe in big time vaudeville nowadays when not em- ployed wholly for the name. That, with the adagio booking and its drapes, seem to tell that there are still old booking methods left in the Keith New York ofHce. Bert Gordon had' to. step into a deadly spot after the girl turn, with his funnlments and good-looking girl straight Gordon pulled himself out nicely, but it was a tough job, for the girls had run forever, while the opening turn, Fr^nk Wilson, a trick bike rider,' doesn't know when to stop, either. Seven Nelsons pro- grammed to close, but W, H. Groh and His Piano Hounds substituted. As a tip for Miss Waters, if she wlU sing "I'm Blue,'! by Harry Askt, which she did for the Warner talk- ing musical, "On with the Show" (not yet released), it will be a plug for the picture and a mighty help to her present weak song rep. Still,' Ethel left out any semblance of cooch. Bime. PALACE DAVIS (St Vaude) Pittsburgh, AprU 1. Nicely rounded bill this week with a nifty array of talent well placed. A couple of turns might not stand 'up under close scrutiny, but managed to get by through tactful spotting. Sole name is Will Mahoney, though Will has never been around here and conse- quently isn't the box office draw he should be. ' While not the most expensive layout at this house, it packs a lot of real vaude, and is more than the money's worth tor a buck top matinee. Mbb was unusually large for opening mat and took to every- thing. Excepting a qjass dance act opening Intermish, the show moved swiftly, with a couple of surprises. " Abundance of comedy, though some of it was off color, but this didn't seem to matter. For an occasional feeler Mahoney scored the only actual clean-i^>. of' the afternoon. Next to closing, he was U panic. They had to dim the foots in "order to get him ofl.- Took three or tour encores, and was Just about exhausted when they had enough. Gaive 'em the works trom bis nut dancing to the prima, donna speech on "How glad I am'to be in Pittsburgh," and then begged off after his impression ot all the mammy singers put together. He was the first solid smash this house has had in a long tlme^ Opening had Loiltie Atherton In novel dance efCects. Elxcelleht stuff, nicely executed, though Miss Ath- erton's appearance might be im- proved, by different costuming and ■halrdressing,' Stan ' Kavanaugh followed with his Cotaiedy juggling, assisted by an unbiUea •temme. Routine ' landed solid, though bis .talk occasionally becomes dulL ' Should 'concentrate on Juggling, fo^ he's right at..4hat and leave the gabbing to someone else. Stan took an encore, bounc' Ing 10 rubber balls on a wooden platform for a flashy close. Real sunwise was Harry T^aiman and his girl band, billed as the Ten Debutantes. About the best of the feminine orchestras to appear here, Walman's group has everything. Some excellent entertainers, com- edy and otherwise, routines out of the ordinary and a novel close with a carnival drop. In addition, Wal- man Is a real showman, giving the act class. Effect of a male leader' Impressive. Joe Mack and Gail Rosslter with their hoke patter and songs. Blue ones most noticeable herb. Never- theless they proved a natural for next t(^ Intermission. Ella Shields, "Burlington Bertie," closed the first half with her male impersonations, switching to temme garb for the finish. Distinctly a class act. Miss Shields may not appeal to a certain element of vaude clientele and this was noticed here until after her first couple^ of numbers. A clever per- former, she crashed through for ex- cellent- returns after "Bertie," wise- ly spotted early. Josephine Maclietm's Dance Rhapsodies, with Carmen De I»ara, Rosemary Bedford, Rolan Fontaine. Dan Luis and Michael Brigante, opened Intermission and proved the only slow spot on the bill. This turn may have fared better in an- other spot, but was helpless here. Mahoney followed, and mob wan ripe Tor him, with hla resultant clean-up. , The Dakotas, with Chic Cooper, made a good closer with sensational lariat work. Cohen. (St Vaude) Old man aunshine Crossed the weather forecasters. Subday and it was pip ot an Easter. So the fans couldn't be counted on to raid the Palace b. o, for tb'e'flTst of the.threo frolics. Bit after two the rear third downstairs was empty-like, and it never did fill up. Pretty good at that considering tbe kind of an afternoon it was. Show was s^d to have cost heavy sugstr, but it didn't play that way, especially the second halt. First section seemed to get the best audi- ence play, .(hough two holdover acts were present—Iiopez and Harris and Radclifl; First experimental exchange of radio features waa offered as the 'Radio Revue" (New Acts). Lopez and his band were on. throughout that interlude ot some 34 minutes, which mean that Vince's bunch are being used for almost an hour. Radio act might have been better spotted in the first half, but that was impractical, because the bands- men could hardly have' been moved up earlier than closing intermission. Lopez had no trouble in j-epeating. His boys were pepped and so was he. His singling at the ivories was again geared, with one or more members ot the band warbling. Feature of this week's routine Is "A Day at Coney Island," a descriptive composition. Cards indicated the' effects, such as the surf, a peanut whistle, barker, shooting gallery and shooting the chutes.. Gwtd number that landed, . Topline was occupied by Lester Allen and Nellie Breen, who closed the show. Nothing easy about that, following the rhilo turn. Allen said he had been waiting so long to go on he though^ he grew a beard, and Nellie said he had. Allen's beet con- tribution was the McConnick bit, a giggle getUr, Miss Breen's tap dance while Allen play a sort of. mandolin stood out Act got over with mentioned squawk, but could have gone much better. Harry Fox opened Intermission sho-wmanly. They liked Fox out front and the oute Bee C|urtls, too, though she was on but briefly. Scrubwomen adorned in the pinched hotel towels served tor laughter, as formerly. Mention of gray 4iair. oq Hiury'a dome gave Miss Curtis a chance to say, "That's eomething I've, wanted all my lite, a gray Fox" (so does.Grace Green). They duet- ted nicely with "Love Baby," and Fox dosed with a selling rendition of a pop > number. , Lillian Rotb, doubtless doubling from ZiegCeld'B Midnight Frolic, was fourth, there being, six acts in the first part She.Is one ot the best ot tjie younger Blngles—and no plapb -player. She liked her own Idea ot ."Happy Days and Lonely Nights," and .ao did. the audience. "Oh, How It Waa .Raining" mode ja, good exit ditty. , Colored holdover team, Harris and RadcUtb pins the kid hoofer who is doing Bill Robinbon's stair stuff, -were on Just ahead ot Lopez and tor the second -Week. Cleaned up. Bbyei who are doubling at the Riverside, might have tried to change the party oUatter prior to going Into their Bonga and dan'ses. However, only thbse who were In last week really noticed,' White and UannUig (New Acts) were purefire. No. 3. "Hector" and canine ^brothers and sisters made an amusing No. 2. Audience stuff tlAkled the housel Zelda Brothers . opened on the dot Pathe newsreel chopped after a few hundred feet it being three minutes to five and tho lobby roped off, with a crowd waiting - for the supper show. Jbee. practically the same routine with the added number. A speedy,, classy opening act Bernard and Henri, second here, rate nothing less than next to dos- ing with a revamped cycle of songs. There is not a'feminine harmony team in vaude peer of these person- able girls for out-and-out free har^ mony. Yet in the deuce at this State, and' material is the reason. Miss Bernard, a natural interpreter of "hot" songs, Isn't slngfng a num- ber of that sort There is not a solo number in the act. Miss Henri Is at the piano and Miss Bernard on foot In the same spot through- out. If someone would take this pair of girls in hand, call them the female counterpart ot .Van and Schenck and steer them into a rou- tine that is a routine, here's vaude- ville's chance to manufacture an at- traction that will attract With stronger turns, Bernard and Henri have a great past-performance record. Smith and Hart (New Acts) were third and the Landers fourth, which is good spotting if the placing of the two comedy acts on a five-act bill in one-two order is good spotting. Smith and Hart grabbed a large share of laughs, and the Landers, following, grabbed theirs, too, be- cause tb^ happen to be too strong to miss, conditions notwithstand- ing. Some good and effective comedy in the current bill, despite its close proximity, and might have beena honey show had not the afterpiece failed to stay out Its welcome and more. "Wolf of Wall Street' dialog), film. (Par- Bige, ACADEMY (Wired—Vaudfilm) No chance for tne show Monday night to miss fire. Biz Immense and a complete sellout before eight o'clock. "My Man" (WB) the pic- ture, with vaude Including Blossom Seeley, Joe Herbert's Rebels (New Acts), Morris and Campbell, Ina Williams and Delaney, Carr Bros, and Betty and the Five Blazers (New Acts). Main question down here Is put- ting the show in orde^ so that the final audience can sit through tbe feature without meeting the milk- man on the way out Five Blazers opened. Only on six minutes 'with an apparent slash of some pt tiie regular stuff. Carr Brothers and Eletty worked 10 minutes'-and an interesting 10. Men are exceptional hand balancers. House with no comedy ahead, was duck soup-tor Morris and Campbell. Team is using the Movietone tor a part of the sketch and it's a novelty. Laughs showed, that a good, comedy turn can repeat here without damage. . Blossom Seetey and Behny Fields worked about 45 minutes. Usual line ot songs and then the dramatic travesty, a burlesque which started slowly bui clicked. It's an amusing satire on "Command to Love" and the 14th Streeters got It although .the show idea itself wasn't on tar miliar, standing grounds. Ina Wil- liams and the elongated Delaney stepped into a tough spot but scored emphatically. A comedy gem, cap- itally worked up by this pair with-, out staying too long. Veiiirlloqull bit was a laugh getter all tbe way. Joe Herbert'^ act closed pleasingly. ilark. BIRTHS ~~Mr.-r-Bnd—Mrrf^-Benny^—^Meroffr daughter, at St. Luke's hospital, Chicago, March 26. Father is m.c. at the Granada and Marbrp theatres, Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Herman Starr, daughter, March 81, at the Jewish Hospital, Brooklyn. Father 'is a '\7arner-FlrBt National executiy^: STATE (Wired—Vaudfilin) The 46-minute roundup after- piece, maybe a unit at the tail end of the current State bill 'will be walked out on elsewhere, as it was at the State, unless someone steps' In with a razor and" wields it aplenty. It is titled Raymond Fagan and Aristocrats, sub-titled "Whooping It Up," and Includes Pagan's 12- plece ,band, three girl specialists, boy dbncer, dwarf (male) and .the members ot a three-act spotted earlier in the Bho;w. The band is fair; Fagan Is com- mendable only when alone at the piano; the specialty girls are good, the boy dancer Is clever, the dwarf Is a novilty and the Lander Bros, and Leary are nearly as comical in the afterpiece as In their turn proper. Yet combined and as played at the State, it was all jMlnt' less .and monotonous. .A bandsman plays a trumpet solo from the apron adtter tha act has progressed for 28 minutes. Murder ous! Lander Bros. Bi>end minute after minute building up a single comedy bit, after previously spend Ing 17'minutes by themselves No. 4. Harl-karl! During the first Half hour 'nothing happens. Then three successive dance apectaltles, follow- ing 30 minutes that do not include an lota of stepping. The entire •speed~of—4?—46-mlnute- -flash.. ...act crammed Into five successive min- utes, and too late to eave the day, Then a burlesque wedding seml- ellmax leading to a company cres cendo in the aepla manner. Bill opeiia aa all good little bills should with an acrobatic starter. Six Maxeilos ' In rlaley on full stage. Formerly the Five MaxelloB, now In JEFFERSON . (Wired-rVaudefil'm) Splendid six-act bill first half, In line waiting, for seats Easter mat- inee. Eva Tanguay still a strong drawing attraction. Thre^ NItqs as starters. Twelve inlns. of keen acrobatics by two vets and buxom female. Little fellow 'With gray hair, a master ot subtle comedy. Lightness on the {aet_gnd precision of the first order. Clan open any bill. Followed by Ina AI- Cova Ip. "Spirit of Dance," with Martin Young, Yvonne Monoff and Delmar Sisters. Jack and Ruth Hayes, with songs written by Fred Allen. No need tor this clever team to Intersperse their good material with such ancients as the nosetul of nickels. Too many minutes cracking about .the schnoz' zel. Began to pall. Pulled through with several nifties and banged on uke for some gentle harmony. ' Four spot a pip for Blgson Her- bert and Co. In -Billy House's former vehicle'. Fat gent stopped show, huAllng his 270 pounds for a double-back somersault, claiming it to be unique. Musical comedy af- fair, the fatty, a henpecked hus band, with daughter and 'wife, in Fifth javenue mannequin shop pur- chasing tropsseau for daughter, who is to be wed. She falls in love with handsome young salesman; Bristling comedy. I.iOvely blonde dancer, re- sembling Bobbe Arnst. Knockout redhead and delightful brunette in genue. Patrons loved this. Eva Tanguay next In her bur- lesquey I Don't Cares, dressing be hind grand piano. "Lower extrem) ties still an asset. Well received singing a song "Mae West Texas nnd Me." ^ With comedy, art, wIse-cracWng and musical tabloid thus far, in ad- dition to the Tanguay name, Art Landry climaxed the bill with all there Is in orchestral entertainment. Landry reeks with personal appeal and has his boys astutely drilled. Laid them out in the lanes and took six encorea. ORPHEUM (St- Vaude) IjOS Angeles, April 1. Show jumpy with only three turns, Lewis, Yorke and King and Hal Neiman giving the actual en^ tertalnmeht value. There was plenty ot variety in bin without confilct, but the show Just did not move at all In first part> while last part was one act short However, Neiman opening and Lew- Is next to shutting, around 35 min- utes made it surefire. Lewis and his gang panicked them. Their musical arrangement and the popularity of Lewis are enough here to tie the customers up and make them plead for more. Those two damsels, Eleanor Brooks and Arllne Langan (Lewis got the. latter here trom Fanchon and Mar-- co), are the' last word in looks and get their dance stuff over Id great style. Hal Neiman walked away with the laughs and applause of the mob who had held themselves in check atte( York and King left the ro- strum and were only too willing to Vet loose. His parodies, talk and grotesque appearance put him over to the stopping point. Opening the show were Honey Family, man and two women and a boy with gymnastic feats; fast equlUbrlstic, and tumbling turn, brief, and good starter for any bill. Next came Paxtona, yobth from Lindbergh's home state with a sci- entifically trained'.memory. As hta announcer,. William Smythe, Jiar- rates, youth can tell the name ot city hotels, places of interest and . theatres by the patron calling-out th'e population 'Which is printed on pamphlet He allows customer^ to Juggle figures' any way and then ' gives them -the answers. Turn- ran 20 minutes ait4 pleased. Then . Yorke and King, held over doing the "Hells Bells Mooney" ' scene, they did in "Up In The Hair'* and then repeating with the t^nily - tin type front week before; were a« big a hit as ever, with the antics ot Miss King again goallng. - Adela 'Verne, concert pianist next , with repertoire ot tour numbers that just got by in mild form, thougit . her renditions of "The Wind" anS-^ Saint Saens ''The Swan" are claa-. slcs of the Ivories,' Closing first part was-"The DevU'a ' Circus;" a flash tiirn With' tour girls and two men. Turn la long oh jscinl^^ embellishment and mighty short -on " talent. It is one that would ha^'ve''.* been okay at Hltlstre^t, but nqthintr ' to brag ;bt tor the two-a-day Oir^;' pheum;- It baa two.^eit and ;Klrl. doing remarkable adagio teats, but-: nothing remarkable except ciite ap» pearance..'Just a flash'"turn out^ v place. • > ■ ' ■■ •./,.;';..• Danny C^ms'aiid bis pit brchea*.': tra has clicked here with'tta'elr'Uiu,. termission arrangement "If .I.' .'uad' You,' sunlg by saxophone player and.;' calling'tor two encbVes. A^p't' Fables and Pathe News tor btHaiibb ot biU. P'V' RIVERSIDE / : («t. Vaude) : ■; Good bill at the Riverijlde iaa,uea,r \ rating the resumption.bt a twii^-'a- day 'vaude policy at this stahd'. Belle. Baker and Rudy 'V'allee. casing off t applause ' hoiiors. . Well jire^Sfii'. house Sunday afternoon .held^ aVoUjtX three-quarters capacity downstairs;/^ fine Easter Weather being, the chl9^'. opposition. . Show should buUd diirr' ing the week aa thb ypper Broaaway natives seemed pleased With: it ' Miss Baker is s'pbtted next to in''., ie'niiils'slon with the. Vallee oTohe^Unlt^ f bllowing ' the smoking sessfbn.:. Mis^ Baker sang several ba11ads;.'a ; couple of comedy numbers, tola.; about half a dozen stories,''two -at > th^m . locals,-and b^ld them In the>- paim of her hand tor half an hour, begging off with a speech. m' addition tb her usual Hebe and Wop comedy characterizations, of the torch variety,. Miss Bakerv used a stock market lyric that is timely and holds laughs aplenty. Vallee and orchestra are'supply-. Ing suppressed syftcopatlon and po- lite comedy in the approved' radio manner. Vallee's reception .waa second-only to that of Miss Baker; JiJs intimate style .of crooning reg- istering solidly with the girls,, bne of whom tossed him her Easter cor-^ ,sag$ who'll he stepped out for a. rMnMpeech. In all bis «ong num'^'.; hers, both pop and produ(ftloh, ValRe uses a megaphone In order to maintain the favorable impres- sion created via the mike. Ran 26 minutes with the octet ot musicians getting every ounce ot value out of each vocal and instrumental se-,- lection offered. Harris and Radcllffe, colored team, doubling from the Palace, held the next to closing spot and clicked with crossfire. RadcUfTs falsetto singing and the hoofing of a young- ster introduced as Harris's brother, taps, made it easy. On fourth waa Ben Blue' assisted in his comedy Capers by two girls and a trio ot boys who take the hoke slaps and 'hclp-bulld-ihe^act-up-for-gbod-re-. suits. Blue's comedy ice skating dance, his burlesque of Pavlowa aiid a "Sonny Boy" travesty bit moke him unique in the hoke bomedy class. Trey spot held the Pavley-On- krainsky Ballet (NeW- Acta), flash dandoc. turn lavishly mounted and