Variety (May 1929)

VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS :W«<)tiesdayH May.' 8,: 1829 PAI ACR ■ • I and 8he> types tor » minute. He rnxtn^KA . I muttora a piaragrnph and ehe hlta| (8i..Vaudv.) one key* Shean's facial drimaUcs .Poorly, conatructed vaude . ehow |are priceleei' Steno Md boM Al»nui71 IM I players seemingly laugUlng-.wlth- the SJKmXAiVn audience at themaelves;- - An£elea, May S. : qji^^ Briscoe ;.and. Al . Jffanli had Duncan Sfatera, headlinlngr at four Lj^ygj, gieddjUig -with a 'toiigji audt- erand, were rwponsible for prac- | ^nce. They got some l^glt j^iUBhs this week. Only seven acts, and up cock-eyed on a hotU? "<»"'^'' Lically capacity draw Sunday illeht. bm ^ .^as altosether hit and miss, women snubbed by the booking after attempting to file an ">=<"°*L3|ria being natives had the'picture " Ainetlcah arid tjie Broadway staff. One woman to each half of tax. Miss Cantor gives a moment' tbe bill. Overhead probably plenty of relaxation by singing. JFalr Wo^k, with George Jess61. James Barton.] Shisan's wind-up ls_a fl^^^ eveiythJng th,ey did. mob and locals on hand to <rlver_ ended; hut the 6th. A*^. lingers tfigmg. wu«.. sunshine "hello" and toLIi. ..; Is a flock of.Oal- . «„.»^n,iw». th» did. ■ ■ ' .. ! ■ : and Llla Grey Chaplin drawing Ifrshw-,^ a^d ^Shj^ heavy honorariums. I lntroduced In these numbers as hlis] among. .womflQ ^md: children, got.: a There is box office appeal in the flrat female partner. Goes fuU 20 bit risque and «®>°'^X*!^^f;i lithographs, but scant audience sat-1 niinutes. . ^MOH "f.?f^??_*l?^liJ^*"H?!! RIVERSlDi^ (8t V^ude^ ^ _ Riverside, fermenting under, the totactlon In the performance. MaU-| Mary Haj-nes, red-headed come-1 the musical «'r««t<>r snow i nee light In attendance but looked dlenne, giving off W. E. Hill Imprcs- wart and she would have her opera^ co-ordhiatlon «n the rostrum, which like a lood 6 o'clock Sunday congre- Lions. Banks a lot on her cry. Hon, after a b"UdHip Md «ev«a^ help public interest.^ Biz gatlon, poselbly assisted by the rain. Chevrolet cracks to open. Then a other gags °«. necessary fw >too J^^^^^ ^ich spoiled the bright weather of broom and some vixen stufC about Duncans to ^^,*<>.^ vorable. Those »2 seats want a load ^rller In the day. the nelghbora Gossipy humor, de- though they may feel there are lots »J ^ ^ ^ they are getting It. Shw oiinedat2:2G (adverUsedZ iiveredbyanartist Then a number of folks out_firont who want the ..q,^ jj^/ lUVer" overture D m ) with overture. Aif Loyal's with a travelling bag and cracks risque material they should gave a good start to bllL Opener SiaSSy and sp^y dog act was a about each country visited. Bur- that the latter wm not help their. B^o^ swa e^^^ ^^^^^ ^^roua sliovVto start with. Jack lesque entertainment given by pas- thMitricM future whUe the women J';^ j^^^ »he blonde pedftlllng the Hanley dcucing, let the performance eongers aboard ocean liner, A and children WflL v.;. | act into a buret of applause. How ^^n bidiv While okay as an early warble finish, which goes for punch with show cost!ng_^around *8.60<> ?uat bahy aelis her llwdlebars Is spotter on family time. Hanley is applause. ^ ^ ^ and the sister^ toe l^lance wheeU JJJlJ^tJ;^^^^^ Deuced w^h tapr SSt of the pirture in the Palace. Ho Four American Aces and A Queen only seven Instead of to^sual eight J^biers. Tre?ed with . VThe . Un- earned soine good giggles, but be- shut with a bang. This is a thrill- acts are on the bUL First tiu-n was ^^'J^g^t^,, Chicago Little Theatre S^een them there werl many pre- Ing eilUbition of casUng. Five pwu Paulay Bros., two men with hand "J™}^t^ a moment of tears, quickly nTi« momonla wasted. Ple. four men and blonde plp. balancing and gymnastic feats. In'*^ - - . - ^ There were also snail-like inter- Aerial work on a giant apparatus, smart and fast fashion. After them ituiP« In the Carl Bnndall-Vlrglnia Two men as catchers, while; the I came Fleurette Jeolfrle, coloratura w^itLn turn (New Acts) In the J other three bounce up from trempa-' » - «- "'>—." ^rey. although they had several lln to glide, twist squirm and re- bulUeyes In their magazine. * - tlcularly fine was the one tap dance Wind-up with one chap doing a of IJandall. as peachy a specialty as triple twist for exploalve reaction "long the street ItTmany a Elz fairly hot early, improving as night approached. . _ J i-auiay .uros., iwo men wua aaua i-j^yig^^ _ cioua moments wasted. I Ple. four men and blonde PiP- balancing and gynuiaatlc teats. In ^ried when Joe Browning, toll^^ cioua moments wa»i I , „ 1 . gy Benny Davis and his gang, slid In, raising tlie velocity of . the llrst half to a point which betokened a task for the second halt There was imanlmous approval of, the Davis band and mob, everybody In good spirits. TVhat a socking tempo that songsmlth. ,has engendered In his tribe of kids! ... Second half led oft b^/Pva Man seen along change of marquee. ' Norman Thomas Quintette, fourth, a thunderous crescendo of colored vitality, speed and showmanship, with a featured drummer who is acrobat, juggler, comedian and wow combined. He and his capers rather soprano, with four numbers in "one* without piano, accompanist. liiflss Jeoffrle gives every indica- tion of class and prestige to a vaiide bill, some of the audience eveii in- quiring why she does not stick to concert stage. Stopped proceedings in tlie deuce. Walter Ijong, aided by Virginia flell, blues singer, who carried away Cleary and Frederick Howard in I a florist shop. Then tlVo cyclonic one of those Chicago gang wari-wiu jiahbhey and Woodldpd Fon- alraf aViao ■''F^a AAA 4a 'Ppumi^A^ '* Iw I ^ ..1...'.* mil lifi'iV ■ATirt i-flvlllf?. I aketches, "The ACe. is Trumped," by H. H Stin'son. .Sketch hin^ 18 min tasy for ^hut. Bill had 'em taylng, Capatfltyrplus Sunday eyoplng, (St. Vaude) : Chlotkgo, May 4. Four names that mean .something here,, and not one of. them- on the important east side .of the marquee. , :i£ilpeup doesn't run amoothly, but tboive more than, fiufflclent first- rats;, entertalnmenb 'Belle Baker, iseoopdiweek; WIU ffyOA-, Joe Frisco and" Sen. Blue. Last, week this house bit around 920,000 with Miss BakeV. And wlsdly tried -to shove her into Milwaukee for the.eecond week, but .latter, holding a contract for two weeks, wouldn't budge. Ca- padty for this house Is 940,000, Belle Baker Is not a two-week draw In Chicago. Those -seeing her the first week wouldn't come back for a second unless In the family. This Is no reflection on Miss Ba- ker's stonding as a one-week name. She almost flattened the show here in fourth spot, taking a string of unwarranted encores until they started to walk, with Will FyfCe yet to coma before Intermission. Then FySe came, with aisles full of weary cuatomera, as rthe victim of a headiiner who threw etiquette out the window. He. started with his characterization of a Scotch t'enteharlan, but they were walk- ing. Nex£ he tried t^e' boat engi- neer D.i^mber, going ovei^ with those that .Werri't too tired to, watch. Be- fore*, )il's third and final bit Fylle told the crowd he'd make it short so'they >could go out and smoke. Fylic, with all his class,' forced to ask them to bear with him. Should have been kept in his original spot, No. .4. and let the ^sripwd walk If tired after 30 minutes of Belle Ba- ker.' ShoW Started well vilth Kafka, ipatfltyrpius sunaay eycping. starifey hhd Mae. One man on a A deserving wil^ent ort the flrst . ^^^^ ^^^^^ working Iron Jaw :t, Murahd and Qlrton, }a and bideswlnga, and the girl also Cilma^ in Kafka's act, . , sets a terriflc pace, the girt bl.oycllst — ^^e _erch: stunning 'em with her. .energetic ^^.j^jj^ somersault from the swing- work, winding up with 5, ing trapeze to a heel catch. Lathrop somersault which Is laeM.. ,rearson | ^^.^g second, right for a two-man G. O. H. (Vaudfilm) — .- You can't go by names down here, submerge thV-rcs^ "of t^^ once noted playh6us6 la now j utcs, with Long playing part of czar ship but they manage to leave the I an indie shower for acts who need.I of nikl and beer running mob, imprint of their talents. These in- to show, and for others whose lives j Some of the dialog familiar to one elude nifty " Ivory tickling, a neat are one continual audition for for- who has read'those Saturday Kven- tenor solo, and peppy hooting. Act getfiil bookers, I ing Post stories ol gang war. Long tied up the works, sharing top bonr In the doubtful billing secUon and his two aides give a good perr „_ ^ ,.u x .. i xjiuc, o=i;u.iu, wb"* » v„v-u,». ors of the afternoon With George, were, the Mllford Sisters, a single formance but it Iqoks as though the Erba., in second, lent a bucolle touch Ij , ahould progreaa steadily i^gel woman and piano accompanist. Thia two-a-day publlo will not be so with their rhytlimic icrobatlcs.""-^ """"^ » Dnnclng predominated first half, single woman, assisted by the piano strong for this type of sketch. They had to work hard foTlowlng with Barton dofalng after Randall playing girl, is a performer. A bet-1 Bob Nelson tied up the show with I the flash opener, and WatBon and the Thomas step- tfer performer than hcf special ma- big comedy songs and monolog. Fay Ehlert as the janitor's wife pert That Increased the tedious terial permits her to be. Shes just why Nelson, who is a natural in the playlet la artistic and an tone of the ahow. Barton In hia singing character, changing after comic, does two ballads cannot be Insurance against the drngglneas lird week (and about the fifteenth straight opening to nut comedy get- • - - r the aeaaon) bolatered his open- up. Her "slater ' slips in a solo Ing with several asslstints to do warble during the change, other^ bita. His receptloh attested hia wise remaining at the piano and drnwlne power. owt of the spot. No. 2 and over. Lita Grey ChapUn (New Acts) On ahead to open the show, Jutta opening intermlaaioh Mvas a surprise. Valey and two men exhibited Uie She revealed a rather good contralto h>s<ia' foo^J^P^ 5ju,'l'^„^"?"*^„4^? voice, 'beancoup poise, extraordi- to. land as well This Is not a new narlly clear diction and a generally U^ct, so not showing' here. They're concentrating on easy tap routin-- very prettily handled. Only concession to the regular style of two-man hooflng In the sweaty fin- ish. Ben Blue opened strong in third. fathomed. A couple of comedy commonly aMoclatod with dramatic flniahcd cold. Assisted by Vera aonga would fit much better aa Nel- I aketches. Thia la a miniature son la there from every angle as a "Street Scene" attraction, poasesaing comedv single.' all the vcrlalmilltude of that melo, Cloaing flrat part were Carl Freed, Volcanic reaponae from the cuatom- his orchestra of eight, and an aoro- er^.' Went as well here as at the batl'c dancer, Dolores. La Velle. In Palace. his grotesque raiment, with his Joe Browning might renovate his comedy antics with Instruments, chatter. Onjy hU repldity of dell^^^, - ^ ,i.^^\^XM he Freed carried the act by. himself, ery and that hilarious smUe_carries^ ^^^^ Brian, Voalo Evans, Jimmy French and Leo Altaga, Blue has a fine as- sortment of clowning and dancing that falls to keep Its pace becauKO of too. much matcrlaL: After his gagging with Miss Brian, bis 'Sonny Boy" burlesque and clown- likeable personality. Her material la ^ fl«° barrios thfrd la no^^^ He has a good^band for the atsge »ome of the more antlq;uated llnM^ blah and ends with a series of pop a screen OPenlng OS the pnly change a ^ute g^l ^„ specialty, result- ballads. These should be reduced In In his eretwhile full stage turn, in- ,„g j„ composite entertainment that I number: WhUe It's an implied comr fj^ding P'jnlat (man). On the ,3 ^ worthwhile flash for the biggest pliment that she was able to ge(t « a d!^ j>^^^^^ I away with three separate enqorea. 1 Placing tennis and in the dressing] ore House orchestra during intermis- Adulatlon rewarded the white-hot Bonny Davis act. He has whipped it to a great pitch. Benny is. going In strong for spieling, giving oft a regular side-show brand .of. chatter to sell his Bemls and Brown. Jackie rcefsSJj\^d"Ve'%'th%"^Wo";a?^^^^^^^ named clrcum-h|,'Slp^|^>«„^'-veral Victor Herbert gjeU hls^BenUa and B^^^ t"hrcX"^?dtow^r%Kr*rico^?^^^ part. Preceding Gorty Green. Maxgy G^en, t^^^^^ npor™ .Tesaal closed the nroceed- K P^O'^e Imperaonntor makes up, Duncana. whn Pios»rt «.« ahAif trio and Mrs, Davis, aside from his George Jessel closed the proceed Ings, doing about 30 minutes on hta two-week excursion into vaudeville. them aeeurcly under control. Sitting Ki"" Jj^ rS^'nJfn.r" wfti?^ihS ^"^ hU on the footlight pan he warbled ^J^^^f^droho c^^^^^ n-a .ro'^„T„ iiV;. in ^n^«r the Duncans, who dosed the show, land does It again later on in per-i tiaVik,» m-a^ 'ka».»_t.~ tJi son m view of the audience Usual hj.^i,,^^*'^ j'* .... . ^ ^ ^ "hore he la now" entrance Then IJ^^^^."*^' dancing and talk. May He chatted, sang, kidded, and, had "f » "ow entr^^^ rniir iiTi<iBr nnnh-ol. sittlnc I J*"" iHto hiB loHg rep Of singifig | j^j^ hartntiinica, but got bis later on.. - Seems to be the tog t£lk about his own career of 21 j J,'- i|^t"s';;V"'^onK ago |"ound at*^e^t' wMs^^er^- years In the business, eulogizing the in om nM ^^ ^^^^ directions May shot^ld old days and ways and papnlng the I ™" "t^Io most evenrThhu? la^^ » stellar feature for vaude £Ji;'eT"Jfe",^l.»rr»^^^^^^^ U^lt U-ch turn l.r^ ly than the usual Times Square but-1 j <=»„„«. wore th« much _ foons and wls^racke^^^^^^^ »Sr fo^edy" next-Jo^-c^se?, 5TH AVE.^ there a a distinct undercurrent of ' songs, old and new. They talked of nothing else but this act during In termlsalon.. Eva Mandell, brunet of much I should have closed with his sure- fire "Dying- Duck" dance. Poor Russian hooflng finish ahould go. Belle Baker and Will Fyffe com; pleted the first halt. Mr. Joe Frlaco came on after the newa reel and,walked around the baaea. He made a (^'.tIous speech, saying Colonel Lindbergh was Iq the house and aliould b6 given .a hand. Crowd, completely goofed, strained necks and ap- plauded. Lindbergh happened t» be In the east at the time. Kvery- po^^Sa^-St a^S^a^^ W ^.^J-'JhSJ Ray and Stone were the much ., . „ I looked for comedy next-to-closer, ..p^,*'"""°^J'"?*'^"'iIi^l ?i Two men, both in straight attire thouglitfulneaa. The impression la ^^^^^^ greasepaint, one do carried away that Jessol is not a , „„, comedy and the other al I stranger to Ideas or the world apart from show bualnesa. Now only 30 years of ngo, on the top of the pile theatrlonlly, he promiscB to become a gi-cat talker and not just a springer of gags, Xand. 81ST ST. (Vaudfilm-Wired) An Intorestlng flve-act 'layout, en- hanced by At Shcan. Boy, how that neighborhood gang went 'for the (Wired-Vaudfihn) Rowdy audience' for the second ternatlng. Talk is hedged in on ahow Sunday with plenty of upper both enda with song. Their 12 min- side, box commotion and diaturbance uten were enjoyed here. land not a little roughneck com- Vcra Snblna and Co.. in a flttah I ment. It ran all the way from "get that won't do, ended. Miss Sablnalthe hook!" to the advice, "lay down has been dancing on her tbes fori and die!". In iresponse to a stage a lone while. She ia on ho^ toea comedlan^a _ comedy inquiry, "what now for but very brief periods. Shelahall I do?" ia highly commendable for her pres-1 House Bfeema. generally below par ent aprlghtlineaa. Woman who don- on evbrything, from management bica fn Boprano ainging and cart- to personnel, and t;hat aort.of thing wheels, lightweight sister team, boy I starting with the. third act, should hoofernnd male pianist are the caat. |not liav© been countenanced so. that smoothness In her exits.. H^r run ning oB after spellbinding 'em with blues is almodt acrobatic. ■Will Hahoney zowed 'em ihto the aisles. What a comedian! A Big Bertha of ability as a dialectician, comedian, dancer and entertainment salesman. Arthur and Darling shut in Wood land Fantasy, a contortionisttc dance with fellow and dame, show manly and interesting. Few bright spots. 'Seven Footprints' to Satan'* on sized aiidlence was alwnya a push- over.' That's something. ' Bige. Veteran this Sunday afternoon. Hlslthc unsonnded screen Monday. Good entrance uncorked a 'load of af- fectionate response. General' tone «f the remainder of the bill was slightly i-outlne, but of good flavor. , The vnude was a needed respite from tlie. aombre length ot I'Weai? , River." Opened with a snap in the Pearl Twins, Buster Brown-haired It is continued lnt'6 the fifth an<1 final turn. "Weary River" (Barttieimess) a^s the feature was the draw with stage portion haphazard, booking.. Cpn- nle, Billy and M^hny, colored hoof ers (male), opened! LaiPetUe JeH nie and Co., standard Lilliputian novelty, a bright dcucer, Morey, Ulld and 'Bair flirted with JEFFERSON (Vaudfilm—Wired) Neighborhood ia plastered with Vera Gordon's billing for.' strong local draw value with the Barthel mess "Weary River" feature getting secondary display. Miss Gordon's playlet, "llcr Trl umph," ia perfect for the neighbor- hood and with the Ylddlslf ad llb- Isms, everything was hunky-dory. Taking their cue from the s.cr'een S8TH STREET (Wired—Vaudfilm) _ _ '"Weary River'' (P.N.) was dolng-ltrouble with thi) broad and per briThktos in'greliti tighto and flu^^ for Proctor's 58lh Sunday, laistertt play on the "nance" hokiim songs as "Don't Be Like That" with I House had to battle the rain but for the comedy attempt One of poppy dancing and costume changes the film pulled it through. Length those familiar rathalteller trios, to lone tall coats and fans and the of feature trimmed the vaude end closing with "Weakness" in German bushiMis ot "Everything AVe Do We to four acta. "— "."."|™a„» Do Alike." Ten minutes and well I Frank and Forman (New Acta) -cccivcd I were the straight dancing openera, IP^ Don Cummlnga. billed as world's I deucor for elsewhere but starting off champion lariatist, danced. Col-| her© as the only dumb act on a bill to self-string accompaniment Tlie veteran Truly Shattuck. with March and Cleacy in support for the "Good Night Nurse!" fiircelet, has an elementary sketch. Pretty thin IcElatc chap with'amazing ability that laclvcd a gymnastic Item, Dill not espocially funny,^ and disjoint ed.through Mias Shattuck dragging in. a '*love 'nest" ballad -aa a lullaby to"make the cord talk. Handles it and Parker (Now Acts), were sec like an Italian chef plays wlthlond and out of their usual spot as annBhcttl. Speed twiriing wind-up, well, but excusable through pccu- theme to the prop baby, I'lie altogether consuming eight minutes; llarlty o^^ Fared excellently,»featured player's comedy as the No c"Xy ln C^^ Brcms, FItz and Murphy Bros., f"- '" —Al-flhonn^nd-Lynna Canlnr. hfiXt.,LdigPignt_8oi t of_male.^q^^ The troy was Ilk© a rising sun. pays more attention to comedy than Shoan has a comedy sketch built to Singing, third. Cut to around around the Income tax. Not new, 116 minutes the boys could walk into maid charac.tcr la derlycd from per verting^ words like ^terllize" . into "^scaiiyaHzer'TSna' so on. but done expertly by him and leggj' tho Palacejand land as a low com brunette with delicate lineaments, cdy hit. Here, and perhaps more Shean Is boas or a furniture house, at homo, Uieir 22 minutes didn't Miss' Canter 19 the new stenog- drag. . „ ^ ^ ranher Sheaa's chatter is cracks Babe Egan and Redheads wound Sboiit Inability to pay his bills. Uses up in good stylo, musically and as telenhone as prop for most of thela TOUde act,, , , teiepnone u» p i* ^^^^^^ sound news, ^single screen & I scream. He utters one wordj liUerluae after "River," Vig^f. typical Friscos ad lib nittlcs that are ju^t in to be pulled by the man- agement. Only, seven acta. Closer was Al B, White and his Broadway Night Club Entertainers, similar to the Benny Davis act that . has been playing around here. White has a talented company and m. c.'a with a good brand ot humor. Presenta- tion includes an clghtTPlece Yell- man orchestra; Maxlnc Lewis, vo-- callst; Maxlne Stone, dancer; Vail and Stewart, male daiice team; Marie Kerns, dancer; Doris Elling- ton, ' prima donna; Babe Mofflc, 'anaike" dunccr, and a comic bal- let dancer. All inteveattng special- ties. Bing. also sandwiched in a flock of koBher | small talk. Show iB'-gobd value f(Jr fonr and aix bits with'the feature'and Miss Gordon as the'big attmetions. It played in standard styK,' with only one-new act, "Sparlcles 0^1920" , , (closer); Eileen and Marjorie open dlehco with ground tumbling. Four Dales are hotsy-totsy,' nolay and generally energetic «lf not an especially In aplred rathskeller combo. Okay deucera for tho grade. Mlaa Gordon's sketch has her daughter, Nadje, In support. Two male charactera, the son and his operatic manager, both sufTlclcht unto the purpose thereot. IMgnr Allen Woolt and William Slegel, the sketch authore, have Interjected a sulTiclent quantity of heart-throb hokum so usually attendant to o,ny .Tewlsh mother stage thesis. A few minutes ot screen excerpts from ACADEMY (Wired-Vai)dfilm) libngcat running and highest saldrlei vaudfilm bills in town at this h'odsc. Vaude sedti'oji .o:vcr two hours "in length by itseif. Mondays mother player's atnxospheric alfetch, I clustei* 'of, talent included Henry Marty Collins and Harry Peterson Santrcy'5 band, Charles Ray. Gaiia Rlni and Sister, Paul Yocan Danc- ers, Five Mounters, LaJJelle Pola and "Monologist." Last mentioned turn i»> one of the bigger but not batter interrup- tions of the sen.son. In?,tcad_of be- ing i iillbt'iupted once fcolp the au- CO Ule '^inonologist" is disturbed three tllhes from the stalls and once from the pit. There isn't enough aspirin in any vest pocket to anes- thetize the dullness of five people engaged in sappy persiflage of this nature. Act just lay there. Apart from this stress and stroln upon the audience's amiability. It was an agreeable show. Santrey's band, aa uaual, mopped. He has an organization that ap- proxlmr^tes Philharmonic standards. Remarkable combinations' of instru- mentation produce music which ranges all the way from dalntlneas to Rachmaninoff's rugged motifs Set is a nursery with a nervous -ining and newly-made father. Miss uliattuck Is the. houae-mald and the other femme is cast as the ofllclous nprse who Is tlte bane of both their existences. Usual hoke complica- tions, with the prop .baby when it becomes moist—^and thei father says it's perspiring—and also, an artifi- cial "accident" through the prop baby's head falling loose and tti«< -pasffllc he r p t t f formuncfeH" precfed gaTdctouring-Tlir~jnzz:—At-the-present— Miss Gordon's stage playlet. Colllna and Peterson were the comedy highlight and the solo laugh producers. Their catch-phrase, "You're a wise guy," constitutes the keynote of Uie burlesqucy hok>im. The Othello nonsense i.s bright and both know how to milk 'em. "Sparkles of 1929" (New Acts) haa Jack Bordtne and Dorothy Car- roll. Aid. stage fo hia advancement Snntrcy stands in noed ot radio plugging to build aipproprlate to his accom- pllahmehts. Hai-ry Seymour and Mary J-lpran appear twice in the act, both times to poor advantage. Particularly trite,.!md uninspired for inclusion In an oltoring from a ahowmau ot Santrey's astuteness is the bicycle (Continued on page TiS)