Variety (Jun 1929)

Wednesda7, June 12, 19!29 NEW ACTS VARIETY 47 avncopatlon. Entire revue ran 105 minutes. It can stand considerable Sittlnir. especially the last half. FolIowInB a useless prolog there la a colorful opening number. Not too much flesh display here, the feathered costumes and' brassieres MTVlng as adequate body drapery, vhe provincials, that thought the old burlesque shows at the Olympic were being revived'on 14th street, hy Keith's may have been dlsap* Dointed. Or Marcus may have toned il6wn for Ne* York. In the sticks Ills name stands for notorious nurkey."-. Specialties. are speedily, handled, but l^k'dlstlnctlon, being the usual succession of tap, acrobatic and precision numbers. An early out- -Btandlhg bit has a-baritone'singing '"Spell of the Blues," pop vocal that holds'.value in the dramatic elabora- tion of the-theme. Comedy 'scenes, mostly blackouts, are clean, and without a shot-gun 'flolsb. Comlos. work easily and the ^tro'ns . seemingly.' not minding acme released g^ga. ' Coudy. Is a' comic that goes in for naggerated garb, doing his best in «'courtroom-'Skit, without slapstick. In which . he Is' the Judge, the at- torney for the defense and the liroseoutor. An unbilled pint-sized coBiiO''With -a rapid-fire monolbg 'and a;''£iaugh. Clown, Ltkugh" par- ody 'was also.Ilked. One of the boys who led a. group .pick-out number showed considerable hoofing talent. .' En^einble numbers are the main ihfng, all nicely dressed. An- old- laishlohed girl number, with ponies and sho;W' girls backing up the tenor and 'soprano, was an eye-fllling flash.' .A ballet number with eight of'the girls on. their toes is neatly mouQted, 'lighted and staged. All of wbl6h holdis true for ther finale, with; most of the girls grouped on steps.' • . . ■ ^ Colored section, doing 20 minutes, looked fiB if it had been added at quick notice. The raucous band needs a soft pedal and the. girls ' need some, new dance . routines. CoocH. bit, worked in for the final number,' was ordered out after the first performance. 86TH ST. (Vaudfilm-X Dependence is mainly on the ' feature' picture, "Close Harmony" (Par), to maintain a draw for six days this week. Keith's Saturday ottenihg plan, to be efTective ' this Saturday. (16) 'is eliminating the mid-week spilt currently. Under the picture the' 86th has a conventional five-act' bill that pl^es. Sui^]>riBing attendance Sunday af terrioon, and Sunday was a walking day. The talk film doubUessly rfites the '- credit. ■ Not a single departure from five act bill 'arranging as laid down in the scriptares. Opening formally with a full stage novelty, deuclng with -a' single man; specially set comedy act. No. 3; mixed talk turn, next to dosing, and a flash at the <ar end.! Taking no chances. Five Nelsons, who opened, and . Dorothy: Lull and Estes,'the flash; under New Acts. fiddle. .'White was the deucer and exceptional.: He's been arouiid for a long tline but still looks like a 20-yea^.old kid. His rouUne has been around as' long as he has but still quite effective No. 2. fVhlte paces three songs with five Hebe and one Irish story. The atbry de- partment creaks . in spota~ though majority <ot the audience gobbled It whole Sunday. His opening song Is Clarence Gasklll's auto horn num- l>er; the new favorite of single men in vaude < and elsewhere, «Ven such an important' single man as Eddie Cantor. It's getting to be another Tiaugh, Clown, Laugh" in a comedy way, for general usage. For an en- core, ' after - a mammy song finish, 'With the usual announcement of "Vhy not. one about/ather?" 'White Blngs.one about pop, also comedy, and. gets oft strongly. The. Jarvis-Harrison standard, among the best of the intermediate rejrulars, drew a softie in the mid- dle of the; bill position and had no trouble at all. Redman and 'Wells were next to ■hut with more comedy, and had Just as .nice a time. The gyp for- tune telllhg- bit forming the theme of the couple's chatter is ^way up by itself among pieces of sustained comedy repartee. Redman's eccen trie dance and Miss 'Wells' fine sup port thereafter makes this a irery reliable ihi][ed two-act. Stge. , ALBEE (BROOKLYN) (Vaudfilm) Sophie Tucker (New Acts) week at Keith's in Brooklyn. . S&ph is closing a good five-act bill that serves as entree for the red hot mama. . "The Office Scandal' (Pathe), .starring Phyllis Haver, is — fee. feature, picture. Four Phillips op'ehe'a"up7~:'THer closed the Palace show last week. "Original" precedes the name on the bluing. Joe May and Dotty, very much improved mixed comedy team, iBh'owed they need little more for lat6 spotting in the better bills, May Is the smart. aleck type of comic, playing smart to Miss Dot- ty'a opposite'characterization, and a production comedian lit' the making. Act Js youthful, besides, Dillon and Parker and thel|r Oeorae OL8EN and his BAND 35 Mins.; (Presentation) Chicago, Chicago. For .the .first time on a picture house stage, after Detroit, George Olsen's music struck a wide appeal- ing note. In view of Olsen's radio broadcasting and recording his im- portance nationally is not to be gainsaid, whether in production, vaude or picture houses. Primarily Olsen's band, a crack combo of versatile and novelty pro- portion, spells popular yet refined and dignified entertainment, in ac- cordance with any type audience and theatre. In this class B. & K. house Olsen registered with' solid conviction in all of the 35 minutes they were on stage. 'With nothing else but the band on stage, a near capacity au- dience at the first performance felt sufficiently compensated with what was practically a straightway con- cert. Initial number by the band open- ed to dim staging effectively en- hancing the slow dreamy arrange- ment on a pop ballad, with a vocal chorus in crooning style by one of the reed boys. Retaining tempo In perfect tonal quality and breaks, number accelerated to a syncopated pitch to a rolislng finish. Olsen's iknack of building up the spirit of his music is something that distinguish- es-'his style. A povel vocal bit by an octet of singers was the straight and later oi>eratlc arrangement on "I Faw Down and Qo Boom." This piece of_ business scored big. Olsen conclu slvely proved the mettle of his out fit when he swung Into an American arrangement on a European over ture, blasting with symphonies and torrid blues until the number sound- ed like an unfinished symphony, or something. Another novelty item was Olsen colling to the audience for any three unlike notes and immediately im prevising a fqz trot out of them. Only strictly popular number was a medley of choruses from j>ast and present hits that should have been the finale. But the audience demand ed more and Olsen obliged by hav ing a quartet put on a burlesqued bit from the opera "Rigoletto," that was plenty funny. Full aggregation .ultimately closed with rhythmic swaying to train' blues, very, efteo lively done though a bit too quiet for a finish. In .summary the Olsen band meas- ures'up to every entertaining stand- ard requiislte of any musical com- bination. Bound to click anywhere. Loop. HAL8TEAD and DANIELS Singing Mine.; One Lincoln 8q. (V-P) Probably the Halstead formerly of Balsteod and Alma. Two wom'en employing seml-classIcal repertoire. Both possess obviously cultivated voices with scale range beyond the vaudeville average. Grand piano on. the stage used, but littl? and since unniecessary, a little awkward. They did nicely with the Lincoln Square mob, yet It does appear that for vaudfilm audiences of usual type act is not properly .attuned. They are neither high brow nor in the accepted popular vein, elajAe apply- ing to their numbers. . They will have to discover a com- mon denominator of more universal application to advance importantly. As is, a fair deucer with nervous de- livery. Land. CHARLEY CRAVER Songs and Music 12 Mine.; One 86th St. (V-P) Toung fellow in business suit an. noundng he will try to be a bit dlf. ferent. Has a mandolin. Sings "Shirt My Mother Made for Me," pne of those old-fashioned comedy songs which can go on forever. Has no voice, but enunciates clearly dwelling on punch lines. Unity of this act splendid.- Cra- 'ver sticks to the old-time stuff throughout, doing a banjo solo, playing civil war marches rapidly Then he dons a Confederate hat and takes a 'vlolln, telling audience that even a young fellow can play a vlolln without having a long beard, He refers to the old-timer Henry Ford patronized. Plays "Virginia Reel, all the while chatting for part ner changes. Gets laughs. Then mandolin with mouth organ at tached to neck giving "Wreck of Train No. 97," which he says he made for Brunswick. Sings these ridiculous lyrics for response. Received encore. Has pleoslng appearance. Act fair. "HELLO YOURSELF" (33) Musical Comedy with Band- 43 Mins.; "Special FoK, Brooklyn (V-P) ^ Juet as (Seorge Choos* full-length "Hello Yourself lacked people to be a ^6.60 musical, his Condensed ver- sion lacks people to be good vaude. For 43 minutes on a vaude stage there should be something besides scenery, a 12-gIrI chorus and an ordinary stage band. And when 43 minutes seem like 103, that's it 'Very ambitious production effort, considering it was produced ex- pressly for vaude, That it's a hash from yesterday's musical doesn't enter. For his production Choos deserves commendation in the form of bookings for his tmtt. But for his people, he .should let them know they've made a chump of his pro- duction. George Haggerty and Helen Good- hue, survivors o'f the original, are in the vaude version to carry the com- edy burden, however slight. Third "Hello Yourseir' veteran Is Al Nord, fat boy.' Rest are new, unknown and some likely to remain so. As in the show, in this vaude act Miss Goodhue, strapping woman, plays a healthy, health advocate op- posite half-pint Haggerty, who used to be a stooge for Frank Fay. Their big scene is on the- massage table, Haggerty doing the catching. Most of their laughs are bundled into this scene as welL They have to get blue to sell them. To go blue is a cinch for a man and a woman with a massage table. Full stage campus set holds the opening. Next special Is the mas- eage room, act olobing on full stage in formal stage band set with the band centered. The two bits featured by Warlng's Pennaylvanlans In the original pro- duction have been rehashed. Drill and cheer 'with megaphones and pennants by the bandsmen and chorus girls done in "one." In the closing band section, the musicians do a darkened stage routine closely resembling the Warlngs' "Dancing Tambourines." Boys in this act use phosphorus stars instead. Better way to black out their pure white costumes'would be an aid. Other, principals are a little blonde soubret who seems to be working as closely to the Lee girl of the musical production as pos- sible; tenor lead, and feminine lead. Latter, departs greatly from the light prima in style of work, per' haps toa far to fit the role. She is not a singer but a yodeler.' Doesn't use lyrics. but goes. Into a high falsetto warble^ not a little remind' f ul of the iMculiar and unique vibra tlons of the ctcado. The little lady, with her -appearance and freak ability, is a one-number specialty girl. She is not elevating herself by stretching it . throughout the show. Just'to be the lead In this vaude act. Before the band appears a, girl contortionist and a boy who doubles in dance with the little blonde pre viously mentioned. Letter (blonde) is the pep artist of tUe bunch. Choos should get. some people. Hello Yourself' would set some, where with them. It won't without Bige, "REALM OF THE DANCE" (8) Dance Revue 12 Mini.; one and full (Special) State (V-P) Neatly mounted and routined flash act, six girls surroundlni; an adagio pair. Opening is precision Dutch dance, followed bytlie adagio specialty, brief and-spectacular. 'One of the girls sings a pop bal- lad in acceptable style, after which five of the dancers are on for a bal- lad number, using silk cloth head gear, which extends up to the flies. Good .lighting effects employed here. A vesper hour convent procession has one of the girls stepping out of line discarding her sombre cloak and going intd a spring dance. As serv- ices are over girl steps back in line. ' An unusual bit for this type of act and well liked.' Egyptian flr.ish has the adagio pair on for the usual body manipulations with the girl doing acrobatic stuff. Good opener for neighborhodd houses. Joyable full stage song and dance act were over easily In the mid-pot Mel Klee was on Just ahead of Soph, and overstayed. Klee is mak- in&-a.jnlstake by Jamming things down their thlroaTs aIfer"~10~TiTln^ utes or so, because he's been around so often with the same' material So has AI Herman. "Why a single man of Klee's class- ification cannot change his stuffi more frequently is explained only by the fact that the bookers aeem willing to buy It all over again. You can't blame Klee, blame the bookers In addition to repeating on himself, (Continued on page 68)' TIMBERQ'S "VARIETIES" (15) Unit 80 Mine,; Special Sets Palace (St V.) Season's best sample of what a unit should be and seldom manages to be. It has speed, distinction, laughs and talent of a very high order. Comedy constitutes the main dish and principal appeal. Herman Timberg, while prominent, doesn't hog and has sensibly surrounded himself with others who have the knack for making giggles, too. These latter include Barbara Blair, Leo Chalzel and the personnel in general. Each scene, each piece of business obtains its results large- ly because the support is there. Leo Chalzel's hoke impersonation of a ham tragedian from legit who sings Who's That Coming Down the Street?" in the manner of Ed'Wln Booth Is a gem of cohiedy concep- tion and execution. Chalzel is a useful hired hand throughout the unit Miss Blair, who- gets billing, looks like an ingenue comedienne who has already entered the courtyard of success and will be advanced, if properly advised and piloted, to im- portance, possibly in the direction of Broadway productions. Legit scouts who have been asking where are the Helen Kan'es and the Inez Courtiieys that they need, have in Barbara Blair a combination of these various styles. She is a vo de-o-do singer, hot roughneck dancer, goof comic, and with It all a good looker. Arthur Humby, dtlncing guitarist, suggested possibilities, but was cur- tailed on opportunity. Muriel Ab- bot Eleanor Smith, Oliver Harris, lioulse Barrett t and R. C. McCIure Individually contribute to the total. Timberg, as in the last several units with which he bp.s been asso dated, gives' his brother, Sammy, a strong build-up. Sammy is a pretty good straight man and trouper, suf- fering with most theatrical relations in the odium of comparison. Any how, he's better looking than Her man. Unit is happily innocent of the conventional blackout form of humor. Comedy Is derived largely from by-play with some extremely smart cracks here and there. Au- thorship of - whole kaboodle is ascribed to Timberg. Induded is the not-new contest between Jazz Snd classical, with the cards, as sual, stacked in favor of Jazz. But done unusually well. Tlmberg's dance, violin and klbbitzlng talents, as, usual, stand out A wow entertaihment Land. "EBONY SCANDALS" (10) Revue. 17 Mins.; Full Stage. Palace (St. V.). Negro revue is geared mostly at breakneck tempo, except for a couple of intervening romantic duos between a Juvenile in tux and an ingenue prima donna in evening gown. Speed and several merltorl ous specialties give it rating as playable production turn. May carry Its own scenery, although working with house drapes when openlng,,alL^Qr)^qUce_Jn^Jhe_Pal ace Sunday. Membership is divided four energetic and hard chorines, in pairs later, comedienne and a trio of male steppers.^-. Mustard suits with orango-plnk walstcoata are a characteristic sample of the act's dressing. Reliable act to accelerate any bill Xa'fitf. between working a' lazy frenzied colored LULL and ESTE8 with Lucille Sisters (5) Song-Danea Firian 22 Mint.; Full (Special) 86th St (V-P) Dorothy Lull and Estes bill them- selves as formerly with "Vanities," while the Lucille Sisters on the same billing are survivors-of "lively Lady." Lull and Estes are not familiar names, but the Ludlles, be fore "Lovejy Lady," are from the picture houi^es. Miss Lull and Estes are single specialists, teaming up In this flash, but both best 'when alone. 'Miss Lull's solo feature is, a contortion- Istlc bit, performed 'while standing on her hands mostly. In the finale, while her partner Is whlriing, she walks across the stage by hand. Lucille girl opens the act in straight harmony, seated on the grand piano. The pianist (man) makes - one announcement He seemed to be directmg the proceed- ings at times. Later on the sisters render their fine impression of the Duncans as Topsy and Eva, and that appears to be the punch num- ber. The Sadie Thompson and. Rev. Davidson in dance by the principals might be considered offensive in some localities, from the church point of view, but where not should remain In. Mounting about at flash average. Better lighting arrangement would enhance tliat department Bige, CHARLES "RED" MARSHALL and Co. (4) Comedy Skit 20 Mine.; Two and Full (Special) Lincoln Sq. (V-P) Genial nonsense heavily hoked but avoiding mugging. Telling a broken thread of a story about a bashful "beau, love doctor, 'willing girl and muscular father. Lots of laughs and a middle of the bill turn/ that should have little trouble. Marshall works easily and man ages to be funny without straining. Support cast abi^e the average for this type of production act. Land. DAVIDS and GLASS Slack Wire, Juggling 8 Mine.; Full (Special) Cincanrscir( VP)-'— Man and woman halving eight minutes on a slack wire and with Indian dub Juggling on the rostrum proper. Several tricks are ImiJres 9lve. No stalling and speed plus neat presentation. Man uses no bnlancing pole. or parasol .while on wire. Stands up as a serviceable and entertaining Opener. Land, SOPHIE TUCKER Songs' 29 Mine.; Two, Three (Special) Albee (V-P), Brooklyn Sophie Tucker Is the undisputed champion of 'Variety's New , Act •'■ fllos. In less than 20 years she has received a New Act notice 16 times. Mlsa Tucker was first here re- viewed on Sept. 4, 1909. Then com- paratively unknown, almost actually unknown. The reviewer of that day said, in part: "The young woman has a way of ingratlatlni^ herself at once, and possesses not alone good looks but magnetism to back it" Prior review to this one, two weeks ago at the Palace, Chicago, and the reviewer thought that She's a department of show busi- ness, complete in itself." There's little more to be said for Sophie Tucker. In 1909 she had a voice, looks and magnetism. In 1929, 20 years after, she still has all. that, and now she's a branch of show business all by herself. On 16 different occasions, not counting re- views other than' New Acts, shia's -been ' eulogized, panegyrized and kissed with sweet newsprint. First of the red hot mamas,- now' she's the last. Some little girl. To win the New Act notice cham- pionship Is no cinch Job. Took 20 years to do It. Just as in her cur- rent turn Soph is saying "Rome wasn't built in a day; Tucker wasn't made in a night." That's a typical Tuckerlsm. No one else could say^It the way Soph does ai^d make them think it's funny. Back to the championship, 16 New Act notices in 20, years meant i< New Acts In the same period; 16 New Acta by one performer in -20 years! Almost every notice began by stating Sophie is back with brand new sopgs, or i, "flock of new ones." That might call for another championship. And that's more important than anything—perhaps Sophie Tucker's most notable fe.at It has never been surpassed by anyone, not even tied. When Soph stops coming bach with a new act she will have stopped being Sophie Tucker. Present turn Is one of thosa^ things—one of those Tucker thlngsCr^ Soph makes you know that she is a picture star now, and Just loafing in vaude. 'When not herself and just - singing her songs, she is plugging Ted Shapiro, Jack Yellen and MiK ton Ager. Shapiro plays Sophia songs on .the piano; Ydlen and Ager write ' 'em—and howt The . whole quartet is in another depart-? ment of this issue in revii^w of' Soph's 'Warner talkie. "Honky- Tonk.'^ Shapiro must be the star unbilled' Siano player of the world. Soph leta' Im walk on first and at the Albee the result of that gallantry on the part of the star, the reception for Ted was almost as good as that for Soph herself. And for an unbilUd pianist, playing the piano for a single woman, he:a . much' betteir, known than both senators from' Idaho. It's Soph's fault not tiis. ^Besides the plug for Ted, Soph la doing everytjiihg but peddle copies' pf his 'If I Had You," singing It . $0 they won't forget it nor tlfalf her piano player wro'tA it And her ' plug^ for Yelleh-Ager's '"Glad Rag Doll" and her singing of it may do' that ballad .'Os much' good as the picture production someone named for it. Ballads aren't always Sophle'a favs, but she's a real pal. ^hen Soph sings a ballad, it's for friend- ship. And staged! .A young lady In the act for the one bit, as ap extra on the lot a '|40-a-week. extra wearing a $2,000 fur coat giving ber the "Glad Rag Doll" classification and Sophie's cue for the plug; Soph's opening number Is a darb.. Her openers always are darbs. This. one about ;]lollywood, and wh4t Soph did : to that village—"There's nothing done' in Hollywood that Sophie can't do Just as good," sh» . sings. ■— "Too Much Love" is more to bae- style than -^PoU" or Shapiro's comi"^ position. . ,. - As for Shapiro, In addition to what has been said, there is no pianist anywhere who could worJt with Sophie Tucker like he does,, gagging, wise-cracking and re-, spending, and play the piano aa well as he does besides. Miss Tucker, tastefully gowned ait usual, looks splendid. Almost aa good as Riiby Norton when Ruby is ' imitating Sophie Tucker. The Nor- ton act, written by Neville Fleeson, gives Sophie Tucker two acta .in big time vaude today, her own and Ruby.Norton's, but Soph isn't in on the imitash, only in it -Jifl. The only blot on Soph's New Act Tecord in Variety Is when she was billed Some time ago as The Madam' at the Palace, a $2 house. . Bige, y ■ FIVE NELSONS Hoop Juggling 8 Mins.; Full ^ 86th St (V-P) No doubt the same Juggling Nel- ffornrnrotmd "in-the-past;-;with -a- woman added. Doing similarly fast routine of hoop and dlablo Juggling. Dressing, mounting and pace, helpi It to be an opener for any blU. 'Also would be best to. hold It dQ-wn tQ' the opening spot. Placing It to close the show might waste an excellent effort Five Nelsons are a speedy elgixV' mirtuted of hoopee. " Siyft"^