Variety (Mar 1930)

Wednesday, March 5,. 1930 NEW ACTS VARIETY 47 FRANCES ARMS Songs 20 Mins.; One Palace (St. Vaude) Chicago One of the most alert and pleas- ant female entertainers in vaude- ville, with a new group of Imper- sonations that can stop the show- In any house. Frances Arms warms to lier audi- ence immediately. She does , not stretch the ordinary opening num- ber. She follows with four riotous impersonations of what happens along the average tenement.row in Xew York, dividing her choruses In dialect with fresh, clever dialog. To the tune of "You Get On My Nerves," her own specialty, she is two gossipy Jewish girls, a third gone classy; an Italian housewife somewhat child ridden and an Irish zany, flni.shing to score heavily with a good variation of her e.stabr llshcd souse imitation, and getting llie call for an encore here with "Swoet. Adeline," finish. Atlas Arms is in "one" with an unbilled pianist who Iceeps out of tho spot. She doesn't have to share the act to get over. Loop. ROY INGRAHAM'S Orch. (17) Band With Specialties 29 Mips.; Full (Special) Riverside (V-P) Apparently this band's first fiing at vaude. It has been at the Para- mount hotel for a j'ear, and is doubling from there. As a vaude act the boys'should please^ any- where. Instrumentation always good, and incidental novelty ^effects furnl.sh -support... .,.., _ r" ., .' ■ — Irigraham is a likeable personality. He takes the solo spot only once, to sing a pop announced as his own composition. ■ He sings into a mike attached to a horn in a I'adio cabi- net near the wings, for broadcast effect. Boys in the band are clean- cut youngsters. Two warble solos and several have dance bits. Their feature number uses luminous mat- ter on the hands and megaphones, while the stage goes dark, for novel effects. , Two girls are Included for special- tics. Ruth Mayer is on twice, first for an acrobatic number, and then in the closing darkstage number for a skeleton dance. Mae Joyce on once for a duet with Ingraham. LUBIN, LARRY and ANDRE (3) Comedy, Songs, Dances 11 Mins.; One 81st Street (V-P) Lou Lubin of this'comedy, sing- ing, dancing trio was formerly of . Lubin and Lowrie. Larry has rc- placed Ed Lowrie and Miss Andre has been added for dance numbers. 'Result is an act that reglstei's satis- factorily without knocking anjrone into the aisles.' Although let dowri tqj^jr returns here, when caught, it ought to.do all right In most me- dium-class neighborhoods. Turn gets off to a good start, with Lubin's stuttering blackface comedy work brought out in^thg argument with Larry over' where^Tiie former's uke came from. Scared stuttering business is carried out further, but in about the middle tlhe act begins to lag somewhat. Miss Andre's fast toe number and,Lubin's hard shoe . dance snap up the a.ct again. Looks as though three or four minutes of good, strong crossfire is needed to lift up the center. Trio works smootlily. Mi.ss AndVe Is a looker and a capable dancer. Char. HEIGHHO Boys (3) Songs and Piano 16 Mins.; One Franklin (V-P) A new trio of singers that should swim right along. Present routine might stand a better rearrangement, but as it was presented here gave corking entertainment. Good voices aided by man playing piano accom- paniment who has personality, .can , sing and sell a ballad with any of thein. The trio comprises Bill Sharkey, Bill Lorraine and Jack Neal. Each knows his vaude, and they diversify numbers, offering comedy numbers in wop, tad and straight style. Trio packs agreeable personality, and they put tlielr-songs over. Hit liore. Mark. MELINOFF Octette Adagio 5 Mins.; Full Academy (V-P) Okay anywhere, opening or clos- ing, because of novelty angle which should hold audience until fini.sli. Turn is a combo of two quarlots, each with one girl and three men. Teams do routines simultaneously and take length of stage to give the .turn a novelty angle. Uoutines proper are not new. Costumes are while .';lilr4s and lUirincls for the men and ))ink liKlits for tlio girls. BLUE tllDGE RAMBLERS (9) j Mountaineer Music; Comedy 16 Mins.; Full (Special) i Englewood (V-P), Chicago Small-time pattern of (lu- U'i iiv<t Th'othcrs. Home Folks thai misses. Has no comedy until I he finish, when one of the two girls in the a>-t brings srnno laughs in a sfpiare 'Uincc. Troupe lnoks and m-ls nulliinf; lik*» j)i«ninl,iineers, i-iirint; s'-xlr-l is iiicdioc'ie. Donald KERR and Co. (4) "So This Is Paris" (Comedy) 19 Mins.; Full Stage (Special) Franklin (V-P) HJonald Kei-r has a new personnel of supijorting players, three femmes and one man, with only fair results. First part of act drags despite Kerr's best efforts to pep it up, and by the time he swung into his acro- batics the pardon came too late. A rearrangement may help^ but the laughs wore not as. fast and consist- ent as they should be, the material not that hefty, and what was used •fared badly when the girls failed to play up to tho glib, fast-working Kerr. Kerr was always two jumps ahead of them. There was an amusing episode' when Kerr engaged in crossfire with Gertrude liarr. The latter, with her slow, deliberate style, proved a capi- tal foil for Kerr, with his wise'crack- ing and ginger. What this duo did in their brief inning, with Miss Barr flashing some of the classy dancing she did when a member of the Barr Twins act, made the best of the tiirn. Miss Barr looks well, has grace and style. The act has Parisian atmosphere, with Kerr in Paris meeting three dames with the inference that he act as a corespondent so they can ob- tain their divorces. The other man in the turn does a waiter. Kerr clowns, dances, gags and does some of his familiur hokc bits with the waiter. His characteri.stic acro- batics a istandout. Kerr formerly worked with. Eflle Weston, the combo being standard; The pair split up when the "Night in Monte Carlo" act was ditched. The present Kerr turn brings Miss "BjHar.-piro)c:tjort^l!:d5^ir^^ specialty way. Formerly sfie wias only classified as a dancer when worki)ig with the sister act. .1/or/r. NINA OLIVETTE (11) Revue with Band 19 Mins.; Full (Special) Academy (V-P) Xina Olivette, from m\islcal com- edy, haii^ abandoned her single and surrounded herself with a band of 9 boys who sing, dance and assist with comedy, routines. They wear cadet uniforms. Act also carries two male steppers for a "shoeshine" dance. Good for anywhere. Miss Olivette, a looker, knows her comedy, singing and dancing. Among the number.; are a burlesque ballet by Miss Olivette, and a comic adagio specialty "with two men. Al- together six numbers, all good. SHARON De VRIES Revue (9) , Dancing and Singing 16 Mins.; Full (Special) Riverside (V-P) Substantial as an opener or closer. To hold a better spot it would have to acquire more speed. Eight girls and two boys In dances and songs. Miss De Vries takes the spot during and after some of the chorus rou- tines. ■ In'dian number, with backdrop of the wide open spaces, was the fast- est and best liked Item. Pony chorus does a bit of stepping, to Indian mu- sic, led by one of the boys in leg- mania and later Sharon >De Vries in a frenzied dance. »■ Number was cos- tumed brilliantly. Previously the girls appeared in a comedy number as Immigrant char- women, with each going Into a coip- edy dance typical of her nationality. Then Miss De Vries solos a Victor Herbert ballad, accompanying it with much Egyptian arm-weaving and floor-rolling, Drawn out too long. COHEN and KENNEDY Songs and Piano 17 Mins.; One Franklin (V-P) It's Jack Cohen, the radio i. ianlst, and William' A. Kennedy, Irish tenor, also known for his air work. Both are tied up on their Yorkville Radio weekly assignments, featured on the Fin ley-Strauss and Flnken- burg program.?. That prevents any out-of-town dates at this time. Aside from their local popularity,- the Cohen and Kennedy combo is oke for vaude. Cohen's ivory work has estab- lished him. as a piano playing hound. His "St. Louis Blues" explains what has made him a local air ace. Kennedy has a pleasing voice, makes lyrics easily understood and he picks numbers, with judgment. It was a pushover for "When Irish Eyes Were Smiling," and he fared well with a new one by Cohen, "Living Without You." Kennedy- sang several toplcals to big returns, Cohen and Kennedy, known to air pluggers as Jack and Bill, were surefire here. Not alone on ether popularity, hut on stage ability. 'J ark. EDDIE CARD'S Southerners (11) Band with Specialties ' 19 Mins; Full (Special) Jefferson (V-P) Just another band act, with musid of mediocre quality. Most of time consumed by specialties from mem- bers of the band and two girls. Oard is an energetic leader doing several solos and joining the boys in bits. Displays an oke tenor in impressions of various celebrities selling, a numbe.r. Thi-ec boys take up lots of time in a mi.sdirected at- tempt to get laughs with gagging and comedy instrumentation. Two girls help. Zelma Bu.sh de- livers a neat buck and wing on her toes and Kay Jloevc-l lias a fair acrob.'itie (ai) routine. Joe and Ethel FANTON Comedy Gymnastics 10 Mins.; One Englewood (V-P), Chicago Stajidard team now worUliiK in blackface, wltli .loo a lazy hushand ;nid ]-;tl)('I his laundess. ('online tli'-ir sin-e-(ire coniedy to r'lumsy missed tricks on the horizontal bars. Oj-ir-ninp: ean he speeded, however. AVllh Miss Fanton's skirts above hef head iiuieh of tlie time, liei while pantaloons arn ei))bamissing to the aiiilif-nee. Ill,i.'l)ly eolored iiair would lie funuiei- .'ind Kill ihe Mu-^lie.s. RICH and CHERIE and LARRY RICH and Friends (12) Band, Songs. Dancing. 51 Mins. Full (Special). Audubon (V-P). New material in this offering, billed as two acts, increases its value to the point where It's sale- able vaude. Some dragginess through padding is the only draw- back. Rich has done away with the sister team and brought in new people. Two young chaps in addi- tion to Cherie now assist Rich and his band of nine One of the boys, playing dumb and acting as a perfect foil for some of Rich's good-natured com- edy, is brought on as a xylophonist, but does little at the instrument, this being the "blind," Tho other lad, a young kid looking little over IC, carries off dancing honors. He's as neat and sprightly an eccentric specialty hoofer as found- around and stand.s as one of tl^ie strongest assets of the act. ^ / -More -a nd- -more-TIiicli-jsl.the coms:± dian rather than the bandmaster, altnough he's a good leader and in his nine-piece outfit has a gang that plays well. Through the 51 minutes, there Is so little legitimate music from the orchestra that it doesn't matt-jr. Everything Is comedy and clowning. And for good' measure. Rich himself emu- lates his juve hoofer for a laugh. Though only ."slow in a couple spots where t4ie clowning is carried out a little too far, the Rich offering could stand a few minutes cutting for added strer.gti). Char. SANTRY-NORTON and Melody May Bandettes (9) Dances and Music 15 Mins.; Full Stage (Special) Franklin (V-P) Santry and Norton have been vaude stepping for a long time, but this time back up their dancing with a girl band which proves a stage asset. The Bandettes introduce .songs, two of the femmes going in for solo work that was applauded. The act was well received. Band leader toward the close does a vocal solo. She also plays an in-, strument, but mainly does the lead- ing. The girls play smoothly and get more , impressive volume than some of the other femme outfits. Santry and Norton open with a tango, switch to their tough boy and girl number, and wind up with a whirlwind acrobatic routine. It's the usual type of dancing the duo is known for in their long association with v.aude. The band girls dress convention- ally, stick to their musical knitting and round out pleasing music. Mark. GUSHING and HUTTON Songs, Dialog 13 Mins.; One Englewood (V-P), Chicago Girl and man in a fair turn. Songs for the first seven minutes and a much better though not new last half, where they satire married life in 2030. Hu.sband is the brow-beaten, loyal "wife." Should be trimmed and song routine i-earranged. M.an plays piano and has a'good baritone voice. Girl has great ap- pearance. PARKER and DAVIS Comedy Dialog; Dancing 15 Mins.; Two Englewood (V-P), Chicago Boy and girl carrying along de- spite aged gags. Youthful appear- ance oC both, and especially the girl's appeal. Is major asset. Suitable fill-ins at present. Could be made worth while with fresh material. Girl's tap dancing fair, and a toe-tap finish carries a soek. HERBERT and ROBEY Comedy, Talk, Songs 12 Mins.; One Jefferson (V-P) Male duo of pop rating. Draws laughs mainly from comic's robust ilgurc and continuous howling. .'Straight squeaks when singing. In one spot the (jomic doe.s a i'oni>lo of dance steps and carl- wlif'Cls foi' nice returns. Gags have I lieen heard befoi-e, and a blue on'! ' slioiild hi' oniil ii--d. . BERNARD and SQUIRES . Talk, Songs i 13 Mins.; One : Academy (V-P) I lJutch cornii; and f;lrl slralglit i with culled g;tgs and facetious hu- I nior. Girl formerly appeared with I I>)t Gordon, .^ct ttikes pop rajilntj. I Ai-t opens ^vitll talk and goes Into I ;i sonit whieh doesn't rate. Winds • >i|i will-: !i take-off on .\d;im and \',\ I' in co.-,inrne, I'ei.ter, PARAMOUNT (Continued from page :5) mention in their notices that ■'Slightly Scarlei" 16 also pla.xing the Pa ramo u n t, Brook 1 n, A special short ballyhooinp, llu- binoff, due next week, in which the patrons hear as well as see him. A mysterious sclf-playing niusical instrument in the ICllzabcthan lounge, where something- now is on view every week. A troupe of Kussiai^ vauaovillc entertainers,-the first bookini; of its kind ever to i)lay over a pictvn'e cir- cuit. "Chauve-Soiu'is"- it's called, and whilo familiar in tho bigger cities as a Morris Gest circus, ilie Russian Idea will be a taste of bizarre cui- sine foi- the average lllmgocr. It doesn't matter particularly that Ni- klta Balieff, the Impresario, is total- ly unintelligible in his announce- ments, even with the abetment of the addressograph. His broken Eng- lish needs a more intimate parlor for Its humorous touches to be available to the general public. Six numbers are used, oi>ening with the familiar Volga boatman tableau, then a tidbit about a vam- pire and the Russian army, a porce- lain ballet, a burlesque on La Scala opera, iiilan. another ballet and finally tho Wooden Soldiers classic, No Individual credits or standouts in this troupe, but the average ar- tistically Is very high and the prob- able interest should be strong. Un- derstood Publix has a special pub- licist in advance to stir up curiosity. Wooden soldiers and tho opera burlesque are the wallops. Publix production department has probably -fMyjIftpftd-tJj^i-ftjiiiRinns wltli n Tvhn)fi new "set' of wardrobe, ^It's-i-ieh- -and- colorful. Jesse Crawford, with co-operation from the missus, explores the lyrical history of the Carollnas and brings forward Interesting data In connec- tion therewith. Going back to 1908, when Von Tllzer and Jack Norworth were among the first tp discover the rhyming and sentimental value of the word Carolina, he Wurlltters a chronological series, of songs which brings sharply to mind just how nu- merous have been these roundelays and how many hits have been among them. He brings It all up to date. This is an exceptionally In- teresting-song reminisce, and one of Crawford's best recent efforts. l^sual Saturday standees. Land. STANLEY ("Tip Toppers"—Unit) Pittsburgh, Feb. 28. First shows here on Friday after- noon getting worse every week. With Publix units closing at the Mastbaum, Philadelphia, Thursday night and opening here the follow- ing day, the stage crew goes nerts trying to get set In time. Curtain usually rings up after & flock of shorts have been thrown in to fill the breach, and stage looks like something the cat brought In. Acts have to get along as best they can with scenic as well as musical dlfil- cultles. • ' ' Trial for everybody concerned. In- cluding the audience. Today a per- fect example. After feature had faded from view, house threw In two-reel talking qomcdy, then fol- lowed up with Grantland Rice sport- light. Overture next, folhjwed by almost half hour of newsreel, three or four clips being the usual allot- ment here. Then Nick Lucas out In one to do his specialty, and you could hear the boys backstage ham- mering. Next. 10 minutes of trail- er.?, and when screen finally an- nounced stage show, organist was forced to plug tunes for 12 minutes before curtain finally was flown. Under these circumstances the unit fell flat. To be expected. ' Lucas was the b. o. magnet, with lobby lines shortly after noon. Worked Independent of regular unit, refusing to appear In front of stage band, and whamme^ with his croon- ing. Forced to cut down running time because of Lucas' appearance, Harry and Dorothy Dixon, of the unit, were sent out to the Enright, leaving this, show with no comedy sock. Norton and Haley need new niatorlal. Stan- ley Twins suffered through audi- ence's frame of mind ))ut went bravely ahead despite no rehearsal with music. Revealed some nice imlson acrobatic dancing. Powell and band had fast specialty, boys rapidly developing into real fav.s. Dave Broudy's overture, Victor Herbert "Memoi'ies,". and ran 12 minutes, longer than any overture ever attempted here. Picture, "SlriMiy .Modern" (KX). IJiz capac- ity, ('ohfu. BRANFORD ("Aces High"—Unit) Newark, Man h 1. TwoHi(!\v iiersoiialilies make, theli- delnit this week. A new ni. c. is I'cv.'ilerl in .Milton DniiiiJ.'is, here fo)' at least a month. Judged b.y this jn'i'foriiianer', he in no w;iy jiie.-is- ures up lo the slaildiirds sel by the best of precedln:< m. c.'s. 1 luwe,v(-i', he may ajtpeal to (he. (l,'i)is, and that's all Hint's required. .Material is old and dance.s br.iter iban Sing.«. Alipears colnljeli m ;i band lejidcr. T{e[ii,i iii, ).:i\e ovi-r lij-r I''riil;iy. it w.n- tlilT' r- i:i ^alui-da.v. flalirjet I liiii - i,<;i\il\ )■ ' in i il ,,• on-liestia le:iil<r, cliil.'d );eaily. With a vibr.int personality he leads with enthusiasm aiid verve and gets line results. Spots and colors used 10 pick out instruments. Biggest recoptlmi of the show, however, to Harold Ricder at the organ. Now talking throughout from the con- sole. Indepciidont of the unit Andre KiiznctzolT, llussian bariioiu', sings three songs and registers with "Old .Man River." As given here the unit, "Aces .High," is cntcrtaimng for fully 15 minutes of its 4f>. For the rest it is slow and rather dull. High point an adagio by three men vv-ildly gyrating an apparently in- destructible girl. Crowd liked a bright little • boopa-dooper*. with a voice not quite bl.g enough for the house. Introduced as liou.ulas' sister, she and the m. c. wasted loo much time .between songs. Two steppers flashed, but Jed Dooley, capable comic, found, the house cold. From the splash angle unit no standout save for the finale. Feature, "Dangerous Paradise." news silent with orchestra accom- paniment. Austin. Talking Shorts (Continued from page -1) time ago. No similarity, however. As run here the recording was un- mistakably poor, with only a sec- tion or two at all successful. Miss Hurst is the , apartment seeker and Fisher the renting agent. Glib exchange with several laugh registers. Miss Hurst sang "You VvantJLoi'in' and 1. Want Love." At" times her .voice sounded very well, and then It would go blotto. Blame It on the studio or theatre. Just a short. Mark. "IRISH FANTASY" Sketch Novelty 10 Mins. Loew's New York United Artists Handsomely produced short In which an old Irishman goes ojjjar memories of younger days with a grandchild, the camera picturing what he tells by flashbacks. Meri- torious product, recommended for the best programs. • Production value aplenty has gone Into this one. Cost probably ran much higher ' than for most shorts on the market, even a lot of extras having been used In the war .scenes. Hugo RIesenfeld and Wil- liam Cameron Menzles are credited as the producers. Scenes reflecting the memories of the old man when a youth, through his courting, wedding, war and other days, with singing and dancing worked In appropriate spots cover most of the footage. Throughout finely directed and photographed, with the recording also good. Those who appear .are not billed. • Char. "AMATEUR NIGHT IN LONDON" Comedy Sketch 30 Mins. Nfw Gallery, London Pathe Another by Gordon Bostock for P. D. C, with United Kingdom dis- tribution. American distribution by Pathe, Directed by Monty Banks. It's a comedy on the lines of "A Night In a British Music Hall," but switched onto the amateur contest angle. Good comedy short. Cast mostly old-time vaude troup- ers und masters of this type . of broad burlesque. Includes Billy Caryll, Duncan and Godfi"y, the Regos, Archie McCalg, Don and Luis and Harry Rogers. Slig^it thread of story around a sailor taking his girl to vaude thea- tre to see carnival. Interruptions from man In box and from peanut stand cut between good series of burlesque old-.tlme .acts, of which two best are cod tumbling, act, Don and Luis, and pathetic fisherman ballad by.BHlle Rego. Plenty of laughs for average au- diences, and good second feature in this market especially, as It helps out quota. Should make a two reel- er with a laugh kick when cut for the American mai-kct by Pathe. Frat. PATHE AUDIO REVIEW, N6. 4 Travelog in Color 9 Mins. Loew's New York Pathe Good filler for any program. This short is Interesting and a. good ex-, ample of the entertalnment-cducrtt- lional combo. Titles also help, being written In snappy and eynlcally humorous manner. Short is in three clips, the first of which is silent. Remaining two present iiovelt.v in travelog iilc-turcs because of addition of entortalnmoiit fea- tures esi)ecially selpetcd'to enhance I lie scenic spots. Itocording good '.•uid ))hotography okay.- Pi.eond clip is of a cifhedral in ("liafre.s-, li'rance, Kxtcrlor -'i Uruc- (iire is shown while thu .Jugoslav .Vational Chorus, about TO nilxed voices, chant hymns. This is pre- eeded by ,1 splice on monkeys In r.oriioo and shows how tho chimps u\i- trajiped. Third ejip |.s of Yourlo Voi)'-IIn and hi.s Hoyal Russian l!.il.r::iiK'i oicheslra playing native