Variety (Apr 1929)

40 VARIETY VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS Wednesday, April 10, 1929 •ndlne as a souaed temme at a road- housie tliat may have been way ofE- color but never becume too oRenslve. Mob liked It regardless. Alma Ncllson, assisted by Dan B. Sly and niUy Atkins and the Friv- olity Five (band), closed the flrst half with song and dance. Stayed on a bit too long and. took more callK tliiin asked. Miss Joy opened Intermission and llveil ti|> 10 everything that had been said about her. Excellent voice, good sense of proportions, witli class written nil over. Assisted by Mil- dred Brown at piano, she made great impression and crowd went for her heavy. She's n charming performer. Joe Browning, next to closing, had his fiimiliar "reformer" monolog. Good for a few scattered giggles. Changed little In material or deliv- ery. Large and Morgner, one-legged boys, closed and probably nnade their spot the most attractive ot the aft- ernoon. Team answered more calls than a prima donna. Cohen. ACADEMY (Vaudfilm) Good all around show at the Academy this week. Topping the bill and preceding the feature was "20 Miles Out." flash dancing and singing act. It ran 65 minutes with the locale aboard ship and Leo Hen- ning, Louise Melle and Duke Tell- man's orchestra featured. Turn has band on the promenade deck of a ship witli Henning acting as m. c. and conducting act that carries a lot of Ulent. O'Reilly Sisters, Hart, Whltestone and Polly and Gomez and Wlnoni tteing the outstanders. Would be sure-flre for the two-a- day If cut about 10 minutes and Henning took his m. c.ing a little less seriously, eliminating the en- cores and stolen bows. Repeat date, early. Bice and Werner, third, with their "On the Scaffold," got plenty of laffs. It tiaM stood the test of time, having last been noticed according to Variety's flies' 11 years ago. Packed full of hoke and pratt fall slapstick. Bronson and Rabee, fourth, also In a comedy act well liked. Four girls are In support In danoe spe- CJtf^ltles. One does a neat contor- tlonlstic routine while another stands out with Russian hock step- ping. Full stage song and' dance flnale means nothing and ml8:ht well be eliminated, the single laugh not being worth the time. Sol Gould, doing Dutch comedy assisted by a boy and a girl, on next to closing and satisfactorily with chatter about the South Pole. Gin sopranos "Chloe" In the approved manner, but Gould flock of blue gags ^3 strictly foir the neighborhood tbree-a-dajr houses. Ferguson and Delval, dancing and Marimba band turn, opened. Cora Green and Co. In the deuce doiiig well. On the screen Fox News, sound and silent, and the feature, "Speak- easy" (Fox). Biz downstairs Mon- day night capacity but rather light upstairs with the humidity respon- sible. SSTH STREET (Wir^d-Vaudfilm) One of. the things that makes It tough In this era of determined re- habilitation Is the great number and variety ot local, peculiar and standardization-defying conditions. For instance, Mr. Proctor's new 68th street concert hall is a pros perous house. It might easily be assumed that such a stand would practically be self-operating with vaudfllm, that all the bookers and management need figure on are five acta of average worth In facile combination with a feature picture. Not 80. Acoustics make talking acts dlfUcult, so house has to adopt its own local and peculiar form of bill, a sort* of vaudeville presenta- tion, mostly revue, band acta and mugging. Instead ot five acts there are three, but two lengthy productions. LePaul, card manipulator, sand- . wlched between, and. from where Variety's scout Is squatting. Im- possible to get anything but a hazy Impression of what he Is doing. An- other local and peculiar condition, Can't play card manipulators suc- cessfully. Size of house affects customers optically as well as aU' dltorlally. Bobby Uke Henshaw, who' car- ries a live raccoon on the shoulder of his collegiate windbreaker, is Just what they need and like in these tabernacles. He gives them volume. They don't have to tilt one ear to get his comedy. He whams his stuff and his assistants do like M*4se. A Juve-"- stands In the foot lights pan and screams of bis gush- ing love for his mother. He has a bleeding tenor, but his reception sounds like Giovanni Martlnelli fin Ishing an aria. John Boyle's dancing also well adapted to house even though the audience seemed to have lumbago In their wrists for his stuff, Boyle has been out of the business for six —yearff.—Rtnnilner"s~'dsHein(?'Bctiooi must be a great racket, for Boyle could ~'>rsonaIly have been getting himself compared with Etarland . Dixon, Bill Robinson, James Bar- ton, WIU Mahoney or other masters ot the rhythmic cleak. He la also sbmethliig of a novelty In being a dancing Instructor who can execute ' h'ls own lessons..' He mentlohed his li chorines as now' in their second '/fi^eek oC professional -work. Land. JEFFERSON (Vaudfim-Wired) Whole show is comprised of the new C. B. Maddock unit show called "Topical Topics," headed by James Burke and Eleanor Durkin .(team). It has; been goln^ on now for a nionth or so" and is presumed to be in shape. • Running 80 minutes at the Jefferson, it was revealed .as a composite'of good and not so good. Staging of numbers is particularly mixed, several excellent and several pretty mediocre. > . In a general way It his an abun- dance of robust hoke comedy, and that essential carries it. 'Troupe takes something the form of a good burlesque show of 10 years ago. when there - was still some bur- lesque. It. is extremely loose In structure and appears to be com- posed largely of ad lib comedy bits to separate the numbers and a scat- tering of : specialties. At least, If the bits are not ad lib they are ex- ceedingly Informal. This audience seemed to be divided on the merits. Moments when they became rest- less. But they went for the rowdy hoke strong. Frame up 1^ simple. Two'mixed teams make the body of the aggre- gation. They are Burke and Dur- kin, with Biirke doing the m.'c. and presiding in a sort of supervisory cn^ncity, besides the regular spe- cialty of the pair near the end of the evei^ng. They are! supported by Jarmann and ..Green, ■ Sunny Jarmann, peppiest and blondest of soubrets, doing general utility In that department and Charles Green doing a sort of supporting eccen- tric, as in the wheel shows. The pair do their familiar, qpeciailty at full length, plus something, making a'bout 20 minutes. The Burke-Dur- kln specialty took up more time than that, with much loose clown- ing around the piano added and rather strained give and take of gagging. Besides- these four seasone'd per- formers are a scattering of prin- cipal people hard to Identify, but Including B. J. Murphy, solo dancer apparently; Jung and Elroy, young men hoofers. Mildred Goodfellow seems to be the prima donna, and Kathleen Goodwin works in a cou- ple of blackouts and also helps the stage pictures. A Sydney Piatt Is mentioned and also Billy Mann, but In the medley of coming and going they do not staind out sufficiently to- attain fndlytduallty; Besides the people mentioned there are several of minor function and eight chorus girls, young and good looking. Brisk start with girls out In 'one" for Intro. Then to dressing room scene, where the eight strip to union suits and do a number, '"What Chorus Girls Are Made Of," with a sprightly dance led by blonde soubret. Miss - Goodwin for choice. Anyhow, It all establishes the revue atmosphere. Shift to drop showing drCss shop window with four girls posed as gown dummies. Prima does an ap- propriate number. Business of street crowd—cop, blind beggar, etc.— who pass and gaze at' dresses. "Nance" window dresser halt dls- rol^es one models then pulls window curtain, and when it goes up again girls are all In briefest of step-ins. Blind man stops to gape; "Nance" flirts with cop. Burke kills—kills Is right—min- ute or two with t^gB, ^hile set goes to old-fashioned tintype drop, heads of two men and two women appear- ing through holes. Burlesque of old-fashioned sentimental ballads, overdone. Follows spicy blackout of hotel maid and drummer—long Tn building up and mild In snapper. Boy hoofers had session here, clean cut specialty. Pair can buck and wing to a fare-ye-welL Then more monolog by Green and Miss Jarmann and not very hot. Prima donna In hoop skirts did dullest number of the revue. Old-fash- ioned chorus maneuvers, girl carry- ing flowered hqops. Suggestion of "Black Crook" revival, but done dead straight. Audience restless here. Jarmann and Green's sjiedalty all great hoke comedy, then a num- ber as pretty and. neatly set as the preceding one was sloppy. This had a cottage behind a picket fence, all like a pen and ink sketch and set off with blossoming trees in the cottage yard. Girls In pink frocksT with girl in. men's evening clothes leading the number. Boy hooferis back for an Instant, this time playing guitar and har- monica. Burke and Durkin on for their vaudeville turn, opening with Burke's monolog, then into cross Are, later Miss Durkin presiding at piano for several short songs.* Then Into burlesque of hypnotism, built excellently for rough comedy, with Green trying to mesmerize a dwarf plant. Burke has a capital bari- tone, but never lets it go except for "Spell of the Blues," anything but a snappy revue number, and not Improved by Burke falling for one of those recitations. Unit closes with Its best bit of staging, capital ensemble on the wooden soldier Idea, brightly "aresasa-ttHd-jSfettllly set wIW back:" ground of toy village and all 20 of the company tapping on real drums for the march flnale. Lot of loose material presented In rather a jumble. Still needs knitting. Business Sunday evening capiaclty plus, as usual. Feature, "Chinatown Nights" (Par), Pathe sound news and innovation in Top- ics of the Day In sound and anl- {pated figures. Bush. 81ST ST. (Vaudfilm—Wirtd) Talking sketch Is hard enough to book a lively show around even In straight vaudeville, but when In a focal spot In a five-act vaudefllm frameup It 'wrecks the zip and speed so desirable In that entertainment form. This Uneup 'was ' o. k, without Mary Boland's "Meet the Wife." The playlet has Its points, but once again demonstrates the polite faroe- let is out of place in this type of show. It Just won't blend with the fast come and go of specialty aoid does violence to Its tempo. No. 3 here it got laughs from a meager Sunday afternoon corporal's guard, but it distinctly didn't belong. "Vardeis billed but out at the last minute, and King, K|hg & King sub- stituted, with as fast and sightly a dancing routine as. can be found In the. specialty field. Three boys do , nothing but buck ;and 'wlng dancing, but how they do itt First in straight demonstration of taps, all three shackled at the ankles. Then back free .of foot and un- hampered. Go Into' ensemble and then in turn each does a 6olo while the other two look on. Remarkable variations of acrobatic wings here, Yoii'd never' suppose any such vir- tuosity of winging-Was possible. They build this . solo'-under-spot Ideal for a smashing dance finish. Speak not a word, sing not a note: Capital ten minutes' for an opener. Noble - Slssle working alone and ballyhoolng his return fsom Paris. Does nicely with typical coon songs -"Miranda" and "Give Me the Southland." Latter the basis for a medley of plantation songs that scored. Daiicing fln(sh great. For encore (legitimate one) the colored entertainer went Into a dramatic splash, crashing Into heavy-hiinded recitation based' on '^Dream - of the Big Parade" and touching off plenty of red Are Including' a verse or two of Kipling's "Recessional." Total 18 minutes, and an applause riot from a scattered audience that ap- peared ready to eat up this tort of stuff. Then the Boland sketch for 20 minutes. Johnny Sully and Muriel Thomas hold to the framework of their old act but have stiffened up the hoke from time to time. It's sure fire now, regardless of the fact that it Is hoke of the rowdiest sort from the grotesque "prolog" opening to the exchange of' gags ending with a slapstick sock from behind the drop In "one." Sully knows his vaudeville, delivering his stuff with a good deal more suave finesse than the material deserves. Girl Is a piquant soubret and an eyeful In abbreviated costume, satire on the backless vogue. With , these assets and the help ot a horde ot plants in the audience they keep the laughs running for a high average. Follow- ing the Boland sketch the couple saved the day, where an act of quiet humor; be it ever so clever, would have fared badly. Gamble Boys and Balche made a satisfactory closer. Four-piece or- chestra ot unusual composition (piano, banjo, sax and drums) gives a novel background. Boys sing In- dividually and in all combinations up to four. 'Violet Bache peddles sex appeal and some fair stepping In the Spanish, ballroom and night club floor manner, latter in abbre- viated dress. Del Faust, boy dancer, does some striking acrobatic step- ping all by himself, mostly, splits and handsprings and one bit of excellent legmanla. Between the exercise of these various' talents, the Gamble boy who plays the banjo and singes exactly like Rudy Vallee, gets across some amusing clowning while presiding as a sort of Informal m. c. Feature "Chinatown Nights" (Par). Business on this sun drenched spring Sunday. afternoon terrible. Rush. FORREST AND LAKE SonsB, Instrumental 10 Mina.; One -American (V-P) Two boys colllglate looking enough to arouse suspicion .that their names might be a pun on Lake Forest School in Illinois. Style of work strongly hints of glee club training. Advantages of peD and freshness of enthusiasm. <3ood sense ot vo- de-o-do, nice appearances, pleasant voices,: workable mastery of ukes and violin, latter stressing pizzi- cato. Disadvantages slight. Not quite 100 per cent at ease. Ner- vous mannerisms and distracting moving about All they need Is work. Lani. TWO HARLEQUINS Equilibrists £.rMins.;..Two,.(Speeial>—-^.^^-^ .... Riverside (St. V.) Two men looking German and prob&bly backgrounded by Keith production department. Exceptional in their class with fabulous strength of understander as demonstrated by one-arm teats highlighting. Harlequin title and dress rather blah and hackneyed, through fre- quent use.' Can play anywhere. Lani. New Acts ROY ROGERS Comedy Dancer 8 Mins.; One Palaea (St. V.) Roy Rogers Is something new and dllterent in the way of single men. He Is an acrobatic dancer with comic Intent. He does a stew, talking and act- ing soused, with the acting Includ- ing his dancing and the rocky roll of an Inebriate. A .pitcher bit, wherein the powder In the glass changes the "wine" to iwater, is the single Item to depart from origin- ality. Rogers must be a ETood performer. There Is no dennlte point to his act. yet there^is enough, and enough to Rogers to sell both. He Is a per- fect No. 2 act-for the big time and a spotter elsewhei^e. Bige. HARRIGAN-QLECKLER Co. "Brothers" (Dramaticy 19 Mine.;-Drapes and Box Set Riverside (St. V.) William Harrigan, leglt Juvenile and frequent excursionist into vaudeville, with Robert Gleckler, also- legit. In a sketch by' Edwin Burke. Man and woman, unpro- gramed, in support. Opens In "one" before dirapes, going to full-stage box. set, possibly owned by act, but looking like h'ouse property. .Good trduplng plus a script hap- pily economical, about , everything and anything thatis not absolutely necessary makes "Brothers" Inter- esting. Moves swiftly, tells Its. story In a business-like style and gener- ates more than the usual audience absorption. Story is ot a double-crossing, dame who' frames her yeggman sweetie. His brother is a crack de- tective and does not know the man he Is chasing Is his blacksheep brother. Bad boy suicides to solve situation and prevent breaking of mother's heart. That leaves . the mean cutle caught In her own.net as self-confessed and self-lmpUcat- ed accomplice to a hold up and murder. There should be spots for this turn. It escapes the usual sketch curse. Ziond. JACK LEE Mueieai Imitations 10 Mins.: One 81st 8b (V-P) Le.e must have been around be- fore, although not recorded. He Is in rancher get-up, with half boots and trousers tucked In. His specialty is a ventriloqulal knack combined with a nasal twang which, permits him to do musical imitations quite well. He does a Lauder and t>anjo phonograph re- cording Impression for the starter. A nose-blowing bit next Is out of order and should be out. A bit with a vlollri and ai phone conversation with a prop receiver next. Lee sings "Wild Irish' Rose," which is seemingly transmitted through the telephone receiver. This is strictly a ventriloqulal stunt and a clicker. Utilizing^ a prop radio horn, he does a duet harmony Impression through the radio receiver, winding up with' a Jazz band Impression, re- lieved by the usual -static, blasting and blaring noises of ether trans- mission for comedy relief. ' He twiced nicely at the 81st St. Alel. BESSIE BROWN Songs 12 Mins.; One American Roof (V-P) Buxom colored songstress offer- ing a fast routine ot pop tunes, all well selected and suiting her style of delivery. M&kes no costume changes but uses colored. spots to excellent advantage, especially for biEillad num'ber. Can hold the two spot satisfac- torily on any neighborhood bllL LEIGHTON And may CO. (1) Skit 13 Mine.; Two (Special) American (V-P) Gabfest between man and woman. Tank town depot, big city gal, snappy comeback hick station mas- ter.. Gags pretty old and familiar, but they giggled at the American. At finale boy, about 13, joins act tor purposes of shattering a couple of sentimental ballads, one about his mother , in heaven. His shriek- ing soprano brought the house down at this stand and presumably can repeat where atidlences parallel American. Strain on lad's vocal apparatus not wholesome and will not please more discriminating cus- tomers. Pretty fair middle of the bill fam- ily time turn. Land, THE RED PIRATE (6) Operatics and Dancina 18 Mins ; Fiill (Special) American (V-P) —-r - — Third rate specialty people trying to carry through an operatic whimsy with symbolic pantomime. "When they act they are teirlble although passable tor smtUl tImQ on spe- cialties. \ Various characters are garbed mongrel fashion between ^buccaneers and gypsies. 'Whole thing Is listless and awkward. Scenery is the stand- out. A yawn. ' Land. Greta NI8SEN and James RENNIB "The She and.the Sheik" (Comedy) 16 Mins.; Full (Special) " Fox, Brooklyn (V-P) Greta Nlssen and James Rennte are-a couple of names, one possible aiid the other doubtful for vaude. Miss Nlssen might be an attraction through her film rep. ^They have a slUy-sllly skit, smutty In Intent and through Greta and the way Greta tosses the body around the roistrum. Cleaned up a bit it might get by at a stag. Cleaned up a lot It will do for vaude. Jack Lalt 'wrote It. When Rennie, as a desert sheik, tells her that he hates "all you American and English girls," Greta answers in Swedish dialect The old reverse "make" Is the basic plot Greta is looking for ad- yepture on the desert, perchance a romance with a sheik. She kidnaps one to make sure, but he won't play. A lot of wiggling on Greta's part to melt the icy boy friend. Much double entendre to show you what she means. Greta is having a tough time get- ting over until he finally falls and drags her out of the tent She says, ."Walt until I get my bag" for the curtain line. Greta gets a chance to strip and dance and makes the most of it. Blge. JOHN BOYLE and Girls (12) Danes Revue 16 Mins.; Full (Special) 58th Street (V-P) John Boyle, dancing school oper- ator, returns to show biz after an absence ot six years, accompanied and surrounded by 12 young chicks graduated from his terpsldiorean academy. That school idea might ordinarily sup-^'^it Immaturity, kid- dlshness and a lot ot other things, unobservable by fond parents, but clear as crystal to the general pub- lic. However, the girls acquit themselves very snapi>lly and the act escapes any stigma'of being In on forbearance. Boyle himself Is a whiz on the cleaks, comparing with the best of the boys in this department He has grace and stage training, gets in every tap and' holds audience's attention easily. His routine on a wooden chair is a dandy novelty. Numerous changes of costume by the girls gives act production and flash value. Land. CARTER DE HAVEN and Son Talk. Songa and Dances 37 Mins.; One and Tull Stage Hamilton (V-P) The son is Carter, Jr. With father and eon In this new vaude turn which returns Carter, Sr., to east- em stages after a long stay on the west coast Is a sprightly looking blonde, Helen Virgil, and a tall col- ored tap stepper, Ernest Graham. Act is too long for best results. Did very well here as a whole. New dancing routines helped a lot with something of a stage novelty In that combined buck and Spanish layout Act starts slowly with too much verbal pyrotechnics about the re- lationship. The idea is production- like, but vaude wants speed. Some ot the gag exchange Is moldy. Ref- erence to the son by Carter as "the result of a weak moment" not so bullet-proof on the road. The girl and Carter, Sr., In one number recalled the heydey song and 'dance stun that DeHaven and Flora Parker did for years. De Haven offered a song in which he referred certain situations to topical song choruses. The son appeared as a taxi driver with a prop cab in which he soliloquized on "there's a lot to be learned in a taxicab." No voice to speak of but effective. That colored chap's solo stood out and for a moment the audience for-, got the rest of the De Haven out- fit For the flnale De Haven used his old quick change ot silk shirt or blouse bit for a series of bows. Judging from the reception here, the act win do, but It needs a lot of elimination, tinkering and pep- ping up. The present-day units and flashes are carrying a barrel ot competitive dance and song stuff these days. Remaining Is the ques- tion of value ot the De Haven name at this time. Mark. NATHANO BROS. (2) Comedy Roller Skating 6 Mins.; Three Slat St. (V-P) The Nathanos are not new. They perform like standards and ar4 probably the acrobatic act of poBt« war.days when they did hand-to^ hand stuff in ^ob getup. Here thelf forte Is acrobatics on roller skates. One is the straight, rolng legitimate stunt work- on the rollers, and the corpulent jipmed lan„in ,p%adejl.E.ani talbo'ris fe the ciown relief ■with his smash falls. And how he takes 'cm -H)n the slightest provocation. It's one of those more or less dllly and meaningless entries which probably clicks best at the matinees when the youngsters best react to the .knockabolit. They employ two tables and a flock ot chairs for. the broad jumps and the like, concluding with a blindfold teat Ahel.