Variety (Dec 1929)

40 VARlliJTY FILM HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, Pec^mber 25, 1929 MOULIN rou<;e (PARIS) Paris, Dec. $. . After numerous postponements, the ancient Paris music-hall opened tonight as a soundflim house with Western Electric equlpment^ having Its crew on the lot until zero hour. With doors scheduled to open' at 8:45, early '.^sltors a quarter p£ ian hour sooner saw the house staff still vacuuming the lobby. Pierre Foucret, In abandoning the ancient revue policy in favor of talkers, completely renovated tlie Moulin Rouge. Fox's "Movietone Follies," Inaugural talker, was a poor selection. It is but a fair flicker for native consumption and, as for the French, even worse con- sidering the. general strangeness of the backstage iriotif *and the liiter- . mingling of the revue and story continuity. A still bigger error was nojt to benefit froni - Metro's policy of truthful billing when -the Made- leine; Cinema, prominently' billed "Broadway' Melody" as being a talker "en Anglaise." Public here resents misinformation deeply. Even the French picture, "L^ Col- lier de la Relne" (Tlie Queen's Necklace), wItK Marcelle Jefferson- Cohn starred, when originally-.billed as "the first French talker," drew ' much adverse comment. Actually it's merely a synchronized fllclcer with sounds and effects and some vocal interludes, little .or no dialog —isoihe talk sequences were later added—and it's still being billed only as "aonor'e et chantant" '(sound and sinerlng) .instead of "chantant et parlant" (^ong and talk) as prig- Inally, What happened the next two nights after the premiere has been reportecl by cable in "Variety," Public resentment assumed Motouti . proportions necessitating official police interference both, times, with Foucret issuing, formal statements that the reason he> did not debut with a French talker was because .^"theire was none. This ifetched more psinninig with the. opinion he might have been more' discreet. and said *'none available- at the moment.' .^TSrEntlre projgram Very English Contrast alone of Mischa Lievitzkl doing'a piano solo, Liszt's ^'Rhap sodie No. 6,*' 'fic<iounted for this Fox talking short stealing the show. In truth that.'was the smartest booking, althoygh seemingly accl dental. The shorts opehed with Ran- dolph's Royal Hawailans and whild . they "got" the hula business along with the steel guitar work, for the rest It was applesauce, as wa^ X Harold Murray's. "Ranger Soog' from "Rio Rlta"| Gertrude Law rende's otherwise, delightful,' If not understandable, songalog; Con stance Meripg. and Muriel Pollock:s - two-piano specialty which, for the same reason as Levltzkl, was liked Ninan Tarasova and a Russian choir and Fox Movietone News. This latter Included .a shot of the French Journalists visiting Par amount sttidioS as Par's guests. This was. greeted with some jeering by . the sophistlaated . invitation audience which, seemingly was in fluenced by. Richard Pierre-Bodin's sarcastic comment^ in '"figaro." Being a polite and dressed-up audience, the feature was quietly if not favorably received, although in one sector of the house at least a "Variety" man (not the under- signed-) stated he heard some whistling. Feature was poorly edited, titled and projected. Amplification was too forte and one came away with a headache, this of course the booth's fault and readily correctlble. The editing and titling made one wonder how one expected a non- English understanding auditor to follow the story- with the meagre titles sandwiched in between the dialog. Unlike "Broadway Melody" and "Weary" River," the titles weren't duped onto the bottom of the film to coincide with the dialog. Some minutes of footage wour3 be projected before an explanatory title was flashed and even a meagre French student could see how un satisfactory that must have been for proper understanding. Fox defrayed the cost of a swanky souvenir program. House was manned (or womaned)- by femme ushers in bizarre costuities, seem- ingly mildly instructed In the Par amount manner against gratuities, but after a weak refusal they gave in and the same tipping for evsry- thing—general nuisance here, espe^^ ^.jcially with the blocking of aisles Ajiand rows before a man can unbut- 'ton a heavy ulster to reach his &ult —obtained. Following loiii-jht (Friday's) pre miere, the first regtil.^r perform- ance Saturday created a. disturb- ance, resulting In the undeti-capaclty audience of 1,600 ^capacity 2,200) =--^being^-cllspersed-followlng-demands for refunds, and no second nights performance. First regular matiiieo Sunday saw a hectic capacity inob; ditto at night, with even more vigorous remonstrances Sunday night. Fou cret endeavored an obvious strategy by playing on the French rah-rah complex by first posting ©xplana tory signs that the telking-slnging- dance picture was American, with only English dialog, plus French! Itles; that It has come to his at-, tention that rival foreign interests, piqued at being unable to purchase the theettre, were responsible for the disorders; and that as loyal [frenchmen they should not assist the foreigners in their ends. (In actuality, a rival native circuit is strongly alleged to have flgrured in these, demonstrations, if inspired they''were). Foucret further Stated that four of his booth projection men had Mi^lked out cold on. him, by innuendo possibly blaming them, stating he had anticipated this through ha,ving supplementary emergency booth-men iii reserve. . Antagonistic musicians, as in America, miflted at the inroads of the talkers on their profession, fig- ured also in the hubbub. Regardless, the Moulin Rouge wiU most likely revert to its original revue policy later this, season. One deal is pending. House otherwise quite attractive if overly gaudy. Seats exception- ally comfortable a.ccording to na- tive interior .standards. At least for opening night, the "strapped ons" (supplementary folding seats on the aisles) were. welcomely ab sentr House located in heart of Mont martre. <>n: the /Boulevard do Cllchy, great for revue, but doubtful fOr talkers, especially along the de luxe standards of the grand boulevard cinemas; Here a tougher bunch of natives congregates and they want Something they can comprehend; if not they'll evidence displeasure aplenty. It's the same mob that booed off Tiffany's "New Orleans" at the nearby. Cllchy Palace, pro- testing audibly "enough. of Eng llsh," In; th« same manner they made themselves felt at this house Abel. PARAMOUNT ORIENTAL ("White Qaps"—Unit) New York, Dec. 20. Paramount's holiday gift to its patrons is Paul Ash. Jazz maestro understood to be in for two weeks Only, awaiting Rudy Vallee's re turn; First time Ash, is-back in harness since dropping out from Publlx as *a stage factor several mbntha ago. Either he's still un der contract or bias an agreement of some sort, as Par has been using the titlan batonist for radio and picture, work. More important is Louis McDer mott's ■ debut as a stager in New York picture houses. McDermott with & K. in Chicago a number of years, hits off .big with his first production. "White Caps" is a sound,' safe and sane bit of enter- tainment that win sweeten the Publlx route if kept intact. With or without Ash this unit clicks. Carrying a book idea, unit shapes up to all measurements in typical musical comedy style, retaining continuity exceptionally well. Books In presentations have tiot proven successful in the past. This one is an exception. For variety talent there is Bobby Pincus, hot-footed hoofer and clown; Monroe and Grants'vaude risley team; Bill and Harrlett'e iHutchins, crack comedy song and dance pair; Varsity Four, harnionlsts; Pauline Gaskins, pulch- ritudinous specialty dancer, and the Fred Evans mixed chorus en< semble. Band in pit for opening, with Ash making entrance before back- ground-of peopled stage, inclusive of chorus In nautical attire and specialty performers. ' Notable that Ash is now working to the back, a feature unusilal for him. Also when on stage with an act he is quite retiring. The Hutchlns pair are left alone entirely for their spe- cialty and click handsomely. Girl is the mainstay and looks like a comer for big things. Her comedy antics, "drunk" bit particularly, have a refreshing twang. "Sailor's Hornpipe" reel dovetails neatly around the couple, with Miss Gas- kins, i» cameo type, joining in with good dancing, but should let vocal work alone. Her looks and legs are plenty. Ash and Pincus do the same bit the latter formerly used with. Ted Healy in a production. It's sure- fire for laughs; Pincus, a natural mug, working pratt-falls around the ''Nellie" song. No slouch with his rubbery limbs. Band returns to stage on battleship rigout, color- fully designed. Here Miss Mutchlns scores again leading a gob number. Ash goes into action for the first and only time, swinging'the band through a hot medley. Monroe and Grant pick up tempo, landing solid- ly with risley tumbling accentuated by comedy. All hands on deck for finale, with illuminated megaphones for wlnd- .iip around bizarre atmosphere. It's a finale with punch. :=.^;jes3e-Grawford's=organ-conGertJs. a Yuletlde message contrasting with religious and pop refrains. Craw- ford's poetic expression on the con- ,sole is nifty. More Xmas stuff on screen. Greetings from over the world 'Hashes stock shots of foreign coun- tries with accompanying sound. Par sound newsreel Civtries five shots of average interest, with "The Kibitzer" (Par) the feature. Span. (Pretentation) Chicago, Deo. 20. Very much class In the stage show as the first move to pull this house out of a mysterious slump. The entire B. & K. executive staff sat in at the first show , to observe reactions. There was no great 7aat, no crossfire and none . of the usual Oriental stage hilarity. !But when a show can carry with eclat and dignity with, the standout La Belle PoUa, the musical and terpslcho-^ rean .monkey, there is tone to it, : Staging of this "Xand of Make Believe," a local production by Will J. Harris, centers on. the expected Christmas motif, done against Igloos a,nd northern lights. Tiresome / regularity of the 12 Boiit-mah girls in (heir one-twp kick and reverse wiJ.s relieved by a clever reindeer costume openlpg. Every- thing Is white and silver through- out. . Diminutive Bert Faye ^lth-his huge shoes toppled them- and,,en- cored with a snowshoe glide. After which Lou Kosloft and his bands- men essayed a ti-avesty on wooden soldiers and landed with a sweet number as a finish, eight doubling on guitars. Then a swift bit of comedy by four of the eight members of t^e Lomas troupe, carried by a prop two-man horsOr and breaking with out being oVerfed into a crafty stage number by the ballet, six girls as Eskimos and six as polar bears. "Winter motif was broken for La Belle PoUa, but unnoticed in the great returns for this monkey.- Eight Lomas troupers Injected Mardi Gri^s spirit with their cos tumed stilt work, the ballet then closing with a bell dance. Show ran 40 minutes, Kosloft's work as m. c. at the first show was hardly up to stand- ard. Two choice bits by Lorraine Tumier, prima donna, open and Close the presentation. Preston Sellers, organist, remains the, big favorite at this house. He had the entire house warmly sing Ing a progriam of Yuletlde songs. "Footlights and Fools" (FN); an Xmas short (Par), series . of stills with sound, accompaniment; Fox Movietone, and a Techni shor t, "Dance of the Paper Dolls" (WB), on the screen. Business just fair. Loop. mob with their whistling In bird I CAPITOL suits, and later In the finale with _ .... the acrobatics while fiddling. They . . (Presentation) stood out promlnently.^ New York, Dec. 20. Patricia Bo^Tnan, the Roxy's For Christmas tlie Capitol's 6tag« stock danseuse, plenty premiere, show features Lou Holtz, which may with the feathery puppies and be listed in the file compartment graceful gestures, and Leonide Mas ' "ThantHom T.i/»o>n«<.- STANLEY sine, her classical terp partner, fronted in another -stage gem, Wedding of the Painted Dolls," a repeat. Programnied as by request, Leonlde still getting away with those silk skin-tight' panties be- sau^e he's, such a hoofer. . Brief pit overture by the sym- phony, playing an arrangement by Maurice Bairon of Yuletlde tunes, slid the bill onto the stage. Viola Phllo, Harold Van Duzee and Wll marked "Theatrical License.' Mr. Holtz, as most.people know' by now, speaks with Hebe dialect and stretches a short gag Into sey. eral minutes.of quite funny elucida- tion. He also rhymes to the tune of "Sole Mlo,".plunklng.dlscordantiy at a'guitar the .-while. People giving Imitations of Holtz usually drag out a guitar and yell, *'0 So La Mi!" and everybody guesses right away. At the Capitol tor the first time. Holtz was doing very well Friday. The better h'e does, the longer his. lie Rbbyn, all members of the club 3^^?,^°«^become ThIV were that'wav soloed, dueted and trioed in front wf« Of the Roxy singing chorus, Back |e''e—His J^^^^ drop used for the En^»8h,; carol [in^fPO^^^^^^^^^ warbling was transparent, a lighted rear disclosing a pose of the Na- tivity. Show running longer than ordi- narily this ; week. ."Babes in the i appears first in aniient costumed Wood" alone accoimted for 39 min-[ inducing ^ jar^e cylindrical head- by Arthur Knorr under supervision of Louis K. Sidney,, is the presentation. Scenlcally and in theme it makes- nice holiday .festivity. Ballet of 24 utes. Nothing in the length or contents to drive anyone out, "Christina" Is playing here with a 17'minute dialog finish after an all- dumb run (12) a:t the (Jaiety about seven months ago- Roxy's Xmas show Is worth any- body's buck. Bige. EMBASSY (Newsreel) New York, Dec. 23. Only five of the approximate 27 clips in the -Embassy's program this week can , be legitimately classified as news; at that, none too hot and mostly routine. Highlight is; coupling Daddy and Peaches Bfownlng for laughs. Wet night may have been re- sponsible, but house for first Mon- day in weeks had no rows standees. Of the clips 15 were counted for Hearst and 11 for Fox. Shooting a.lot of footage on one subject and .releasing it In weekly sequences as. new stuff is evi dencing Itself in programs of the dress. After a song , about time changing things, girls wstrip to blacl( and white shorts and tear into a-' jazz routine. Headdress turns out' to be a megfiphone for yodeling a pop as they sti-ut. Pearl TWins, -mild dance team \ with song introduction, followed in one" and nia^e suitable specialty filler. Appearance fine,* but ability ' needs developing. Douglas Stan- bury next in "three" with a dra-' matio ballad, tlnd sept it over. Used - back drop of street scene, with ladies of the,'night parading past, him.' '. Holtz was in "one" for his Inter- ' val. He brought out a large-heisided stoo£:e for comic delivery of "Sing- ing in the Rain.", Went big, as did the entire Holtz routine. SceniO: flash followed, with full- stage ddvoted to filmy draplngs and, huge standup ctOilies of lace. Beau- of I tifully lighted, including a show il- lusion.' After >a i3low but pleasin^f' ballet routine" by the chorus. Do-' lores, Eddy and Douglas, adagio;' trio, socked home the presentation's' biggest punch: These trios become ; more numerous dally, but the lead-. Ing exponents are creating plenty of thrills with exceptionally daring feats: This act starts with a swan' past month. Liquor distilleries, desert bathing I dive from a high platform by th(»' pools, horse racing, Hawaiian golf | girl into the arms of one of the men, • and shots backstage are getting a routine sameness in the Embassy, They're all in the clips again this week. Daddy Browning as Santa. and increases the pace from there: Girl is tossed all over the stage arid * bent into loops for swing-arounds and rope-tossing effect. Rough han- (Presentation) PittsbXirgn, Dec. 20. Publlx units, coming in January 3, will help this house immeasureably although Al Kaye has been making a creditable showing under dif- ficulties. Presientations are usually set well and show more than a little thought, but it has become increas ingly difficult to find the right kind of acts not alrea4y tied up by circuit able to offer more than just a few weeks. This week they've labled' Dick Powell's show "Season's Greetings,' and a group of kids walk away with the show. As an afterthought Mamie Barth, . local dance in structor, brought in about 10 young sters ranging In ages from 6 to 10 for "Xmas Kiddies Follies." Tots clean up like no pro in this house In months. Mites do everything- ballet, toe, tap, acrobatic, and merit everything they get. Up until the time the youngsters go on things are not so forte, but they alibi everything. Darling Twins open after chorus routine with singing and dancing too ste- reotyped for anything but ordinary returns. Novelty act next, -with a coUple of Nelson's cats boxing in ring and probably oke for kids who'll be show-shopping during vacation. Dick Powell, m.c, for- tunately goes back to his meg and mops up with his pash crooning, working into three or four encores. Elmer Cleve- next, garbed in- Scot outfit, gags and hoke playing of xylophone get., across. This fellow has improved immeasurably, since caught, a couple of years ago. Kids followed him with the wow finish. Picture "Pointed Heels" (Par.), Dave Broudy's overture and Ber*^ nie Armstrong's organologue round out program. Biz first show Friday afternoon trlfie short of capacity downstairs. Coliffil. Glauso wasn't half as hilarious as dUng and unusual distance in th»^ the u n 1 n t e n 11 o n a 11 y clever tosses make this trio prominent. Peaches." Maybe she. didn't know Finole had the entire company In that her talk on long skirts was to build-up display.^ . ^ r be hooked into Daddy's doll passing Yasha Bunchtik directed , the pit _ act among much younger girlles^^ o^hestra in ^SpW But her cracks about freedom of "ending of "Wedding of th^ Dolls" with Christmas hymns. Not At all out of taste as handled. Besides the feature, "The Myste*' .'rious Island'- (MrG), was a Metro- tone newsreel mostly. of magazine movement, dignity of Aqierlcan womanhood, etc., in long skirts, plus, ^ hitherto unexhlbited .attempt at rltzlness, got the big blon'de a scorching razzberry. News shots, excepting. English shipwreck, all formal and colorless Japanese statesmen received in Washington; Senate argument on World Court; two sets of carol singers and some more Claus among the kiddies at Knicker bocker hospital; Grundy taking Vare's seat in Senate, S^vimmlng eats in Australia, clips. Feature la8teTr~95 minutes, and full show ran almost three hours. House comfortably occupied Fn*. day afternoon. Pffnfl'. FOX ROXY (Presentation) New York, Dec. 20. Roxy's holiday production out- distances anything yet tried in the picture houses in the way Of Xmas bills. The cathedral this week Is the grand opera house of presenta tions. Sad dramatics and lollipop love stuff in "Christina" (Fox), feature, are out of line with the stage sec tion, but the net results are all to the good, tlianks to the latter. - —In^ "Babes=^in "the^^Wootl;"^Main presentation, there is 100 per cent value for both kids and adults Fairy (the pure kind) business, witches and gingerbread houses are mixed with talent. It's in seven scenes and spins a story outlined In a program note. Beauty in set- tings, dressing and staging is mixed with the usual RoXy brand of voice and leg work. A "one" Interlude features the Novello Bros., vaude standards, mopping before a picture (Presentation) ., Brooklyn, Dec. 21. mnnVovn In +1,^ c«« A I Good layout for current week «r.*!i!n!.^''i.^«»'!!'*°r,Jl°°' I with Rube Wolf getting over nicely c. Will Osborne, radio Chinese newspaper In San Fran- cisco and Health Commissioner | talking on coughs were among the library offerings. Waly. NEW SAVOY New York, Dec. 23. One of the few straight film houses that does a better matinee business than after twilight. Mati nees here take In the moring also, as' the doors are opened dally at 8:30 a. m., with a continuous gMnd until midnight. th«»tK"*ii«V*®, r^^n^ji^er time alone, | eroortodTnto' a. mike and" amplified though, that gives the house a bet- for the auditors. He has been a thpt^'f.^o'^w^fJ^^'lV- ^*^°»/f big favorite over here and still is. ?mf«r^ h^ll^f^' Herald judging from reception and returns Square, in the heart of the shop- | Saturday afternoon as m. - - crooner, clicking for his third and getaway week. . Wolf is making initial eastern ap-> pearance and his debut impressed. Both names are fianked by a nifty Fanchon and Marco idea, "Jazz Buccaneers," projecting a chorus of 24 dancing lookers. Wolf makes himself right at home at the go-off and keeps them tickled throughout doubling afl wisecrack enunciator and baton wielder. Osborne spotted his rep of croon songs early. All numbers are ping district. A great draw during business hours. What, with the thousands of shoppers passing Its portals daily and the inviting sign of 26 cents until six o'dlock, it's a sure magnet. House is not forced to and does not rely on the features as the means of attraction. Fea tures here are of the fourth and fifth-run category, and change daily. The spot is simply the haven of many tired shoppers. Purely Jazz Buccaneers" spots next with mob aboard a picturesque pirate ship, girls being brought on for pirate dance. Wolf goes in for more clowning and . introduced Charles Brezac, comedy musiciam who spotted a nifty specialty. ^ The girls are brqught back for dagger and sword routine toppeo with an acrobatic dance by unbluea blond stepper. . , „ robust smglng ^ come followed and planted a once, and barely ever seen again. For that reason there: is no neces- sity of building up a neighborhood draw, although there may be some repeaters. Only families located near this site are those west of Eighth avenue, and they are not numerous enough to rely upon. One of Walter Reade's houses. Small, neat, homey and, once in- side,-=in-vitlnxr^^Pi^gr«mi cSilsisff of a feature, a few shorts and Ji sound newsreel. Everything is in sound and, since the house is compact, the acoustics are good. Night this house -was caught the feature was "Unholy Night" (M-G), short of George Dewey Washington, and "Forget-Me-Not," a Pox" Christmas short released last year, an& re issued at this time because it apropos. Pathe - Sound rounded out. couple of vocals for top returns. Irving and Romalne followed witn an adagio with chorus built up ana on later for a colorful and effective finale. .^„' Good entertainment all the way through and plenty of color as has been synonymous of the Fanchon and Marco productions. < _J!A..^ng^_ot.J£entucky_:' (1^^^ screen feature. £jaoa. LOEWS STATE ("Desert" Idea) Los Angeles, Dec. 20- Loew's State is celebrating Christmas with a strong show, 5- , Pathe's "This Thing Called Loye is I and a stage show running 44 n^'"' News 1 utes. Fanchon and Marco Idea w (Continued on page 41)