Variety (Mar 1930)

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Wednesday, March 12, 1930 VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS VARIETY 47 PALACE (St. Vaude) Ted Healy's walkout on his third and final week at the Palace Satur- day, due to billing, temporarily upset the layout. Healy got a glimpse of the advance billing Frldaly, and noti- fied the management that he was getting through that night. Henry Bergman -and band rushed in 'and did admirably. Healy had been presept at ?6,000, but balked upon finding Anna Seymour given top billing. Miss Seymour headlines the current show. After plenty of switching around at the Saturday morning rehearsal show ran smoothly at the matinee except that It was overtime. Little chance Of fixing this, since none of the acts stalled for encores. In fact, most passed' them up in order to have the show go along. Three Orontos, men, opened, doing acrobatics and perch stuff. Better than usual returns. Don Cummlngs, collegiate roper, followed and got over. Comedy gab and rope danc- ing, some unusually good stuff in the,latter division, made the score. •'Femme Follies," all girl unit of 25, won on class and speed. Miriam Hoffman and Melody Maids,, 11- piece orchestra, started with toi-rld tunes, after which Miss Hoffman did an m. c. for the specialties. Six Tlvoli girls planted a chair dance and gave way to the Vercell Sisters • lor a kicking precision double. Lu- cille Sisters for harmony singing, while the Hllllard Triplets spotted a novelty dance In galoshes. Drena Beach unleashed an acrobatic con- tortion that's a gem, and the Lu- cilles topped their previous effort - with a clever impresh of the Dun- cans. Band meanwhile was sand- wiching hot tunes. Harris and Radcllffe, colored, got the first whajk at 'em on comedy and made the grade.. For an encore Harris brought on his younger brother for an Imitation of Bill Rob- inson. Youngster sewed things up. "Chinese Whoopee Revue" provided plenty of diversity as closer of the first half. The revte projects a mixed cast of Chinese performers, 18' in all, and In spots is similar to "Chinese Show Boat." Layout com- prises specialties and dance .ensem- bles, all pegged In jazz tempo. "Florodora" sextet number gets top returns. Over on novelty and merit. Henry Bergman's "Black Sheep" were legitimate ^show stoppers, on after Intermission. One of the best acts Bergman has ever had. Boys are garbed as convicts In one, then into full, where the band is spotted in cells. Bergman being outside as leader. Winona, dancer, spots a corking acrobatic, and Virginia Moore, midget, gets a lot of fun out ^of a Helen Kane bit with Bergmap. For- a finish the latter fires across a ballad with a tear jerker recitation, dons hat and l coat and departs- through the. audience. When the ."warden inquires how late he expects _to be out, Bergman- Is indefinite about it until he tosses him a key to the prison gate. Laughs, and the ' band is there. Ann Seymour followed, and mopped with a song cycle, all spe- cials, and assisted by Harry Sey- mour and male pianist, Lou Cobey. Joe and Pete Mlchon fallowed and also rang the bell, as usual. . Carrie and Eddy, mixed dance team, assisted by Karl Peters and Rudy Kaye, tenor, closed with a neat dance act that got over. Acro- batic opener and triple adagio were standouts in the routine, with Kaye prefacing the dances with vocals. Good act-with plenty of cla.'ss. Edha. STATE (Vaudfilm) Well spotted bill with the feature, "Devil May Cai-e" (M-G-M),and show running . 146 mins. Feature took 95 mIns. .Biz only fair from a Saturday angle when caught at the supper show. Rain to blame. From a technical point the vaude was strictly nelghb. Acts arranged in such order that the program hea,ds for laughs and winds up with a gale of titters. . It's something ttf see and appre- ciate how the State does it. Take the last aet for Instance, whicli did most of the trick, Alexandria and Olsen. Stock gags and burlesque items unshaved 20 years ago tak- ing a closing spot to entwine as an afterpiece, flatters the audience with snatching appearances of the previous acts as feeders. Team carries a couple of stooges, red headed girl and a midget of its own so that with the other acts turning to this team blows it up in audi- ence reaction to big calibre mate- rial. Irving Grossman singles in what he calls recitation singing. He does three numbers. Voice is okay, al- though weak most of the time^ and the stuff he does suits, but his pres- entation lacks strength because he covers the stage without appurten- ances, singing in single costume and no piano or setting aide. McLallen and Sarah carry a wop comic who's biggest laugli is his ojange spats. Otherwise McLaJlen shoulders everything with Sarah playing a dumb straight. Had tough time" crashing due mainly to material which Is hardly new to a 13roadway audience, Windup is an instrumental number by the three, banjo, accordion and sax. Worth better returns than audience al- lowed. Six Davlllas standout Is leaping into high perched chairs from a springboard and a somersault by two men, one perched on the shoul- ders of the .other. Fast all the way and went over well. Light and Shadows spots some good dancing and plays In three and full with special drapes. Twelve people, 5 fh-ls and 7 men. Includes an adagio trio, ballet dancer, mixed singing quartet and two girl dan- cers. All good. The act gets its title from silhouette effects obtained in settings. Did well. STATE LAKE (Vaudfilm) Chicago, March 8. Bill hokums 'em to death. Four out of six!that kind. Ryan and Noblette, next to clos- ing, topped over the slapstick of Harry Holmes, principally on Miss Noblette's squeaky, quavering voice, rubbish costume,. and hoke on her pantaloons. Overran, however; no need to do 17 minutes. Merrill Brothers and Sister, acro- batic trio, opened with their group handstanding, but showed the same trouble as when atTTie Belmont re- cently, not snapping to a finish for their stunts and blocking the final stairs sock by the second man's ap- pearance on the set. In the deuce the man and girl quartet of Faber and Wales and Lehr and Belle, at the Palace re- cently, went as standard with their hoklsh camp skit, getting the usual laughs, but still showing a weak finish, due to dull continuity. Hany Holmes started strong In No. 3 with his shots, and skeleton running down the house, but couldn't keep consistent and his novelty finish of no finish at all didn't cllclc. Zastro and White Revue, of two boys and four girls, proved the or- dinary thing In hoofing specialties, but a girl warbling team had things their own way in three numbers^ Ballet specialty by one girl was fast and bright, but all edge off when she repeated with less spirit later in the act. George K. Arthur, the screen name, closed with his five-men hok- isli skit, "Present Arms," and went fair. British accent impeded his alleged monolog for a typical State-Lake audience, and material is all of drab. Although the first Saturday of Lent, first show had downstairs holdouts. Program completed with "Second Wife" (Radio) and Pathe Review. Berlin VandeviHe Berlin. Feb. 28. SCALA From the Continental standpoint a good bill in February with plenty of variety. Pllettb, who Imitates the Italian Rastelll, has practically reached that master juggler's stand- ard of eflflclency. If he adds a lit- tle novelty to his act Plletto can compete with the Italian as an at- traction. Con Colleano, Mexican wire walker, performs a back somersault which nobody has attempted to imi- tate. Rest of the bill Includes the Four Bronettes, musical clowns; Lind- quist Brothers, accordion players; Two Joannys, shadow plays; Three Wire Larsons, clog dancers; Chilton and Thomas, eccentric dancers; thi-ee trained elephants with Ade- lals; Alfred Paul trapeze per- fornier; Rolf Hansen, magician. Berle himself in effectiveness. He could climb a lot faster without the excess. Acrobatic "Added Attraction" opened the show. Two-inan equili- brist team In the slow, unruffled style. Finish stunt on a table and an encore trick on the apron done with a wire or the understnnder is a physical marvel. A row of the .Academy's mezza- nine is now equipped with plugs for the deaf; with earphones available free. De-/ice also has been installed in Fox's Aud.ubon and FOx Brook- lyn theatres. Bioe. FOX, BROOKLYN (Vaudfilm) Stage band and unit show Idea still obtains here with this week's layout captioned Fanchon & Mar- co's "Column," which again prompts the inquisitive to Inquire "What's in a. name ?" although a good show for most part, getting laughs here and there, but depending mainly upon the screen feature, "Happy Days," for the wallop. Rube Wolf and stage band still preside, with Wolf a corking baton wlelder but in need of a gag man. Without that adjunct he would do well to stick to routine announce- ments rather than go In for the weak stabs at comedy he's doing this week. Maybe okay for Osh- kosh, but they're smarter than .that in Brooklyn, and .even If they giggle now and then It's a toss whether they're laughing at or with. Wolf and the harmonists start the ball rolling with some rythmic jazz with a girl violiniste, presumably from the billing Florence Stern, handling a couple of numbers to a nicety. When you're sitting on Flatbush avenue and the show Is spotted on Nevins street and they're talking all around, it's dlfl^cult to get the names now that the page boy enunclators have been dispensed with and no programs. That's why this sheet gets plenty of squawks on credits muffed by reviewers. Myles Marsh, fenime impersona- tor in gorgeous costumes, spotted a couple of vocal.g, one . in falsetto, going bass with remarks occasion- ally and later doing a travesty on Galli-Curci, with both hitting the mark. Dolly Harnett and Brothers fol- lowiid with a violin trio with boys doing acrobatics with fiddling and all getting over nicely. The F & M girl ensemble which had previously opened with a precir sion routine spotted another with solo dancer, unbilled but registering with an acrobatic fan dance that was there. The girls .-stayed on with a costume, twist outfitting tliom In male attire and witli same soloist, also in male togs, sending across another solo dance for top.<!. Rome and Gaut, male dancers, got the main laughs of the show upgn entrance becau.se of dlsrrepency in phy.sical appearancp, ]nioT with gab and comedy eccentric dancing and with the combo -working up for a big hand for the toam. The girls and evoryl)ody on for a snappy finals provided a sma.sh fin- ish and put the unit ovf-r for a satis- factory tot.il. "IT;ipnv Days" (Vos) followed as II ffatiiie. E'lha. WNITERGARTEN American eccentric comedy aero bats, Presto and Campo, stars, and audience gets every gag. Otherwise too many acrobats. Nine Allisons, floor workers; Two Elliotts, pole balancing; Wolf and Jerome, gym- nastic- isi Family, bareback rid ing; Young China, acrobats; Harry Holt Trio, bicycle, riders. Dancing end of the evening held up by Vivian and Darewsky, ball room dancers* MariUka Rnekk, toe dancer, and Derka, female Imitator JEFFERSON ALBEE, BROOKLYN (Vaudfilm) Brooklyn, March 8. In all RKO vaudfllms in Brooklyn this week "Hit the Deck" on the screen. That cuts the vaude to three acts. But not here. To coun teract the cuts elsewhere In the bor ough, as well as the opposition from Paramount, Fox and other big shot houses In the neighborhood, the Al bee lays it on heavy this week with eight acts on the stage. Running over the talker apparatus IS Bebe Daniels In "Love Comes Along" (R.idio), fairly good singing picture. Matinee, with house threatening standees, reflected draw, (Vaudfilm) The faithfuls that make this house their rendezvous on a Sat- urday accept what comes along In a vaude way as a matter of course and sel'dom display enthusiasm, but Tjnce in a while something tickles the house, but Its unusual from the regulars' standpoint. Biz shows a healthy tendency down here, "Hit the Deck" (Radio) on the screen proving a draw, over the vaude. The Jack Hoxie gob Impersonation, and the low line of slang he tossed through the sound reproducer was right in the neigh- borhood's mood. "They got It fend ac<;epted it as home, sweet home echoes. Perhaps the bookers show acu- men In sending down foreign acts. A cosmopolitan audience like the .Teff's can stand anything from a Chinese sword swallower to a Swis'^ yodeler. Several acts of a fqrelgnesque nanie had their ap- peal. The De Toregos dancers opened and held attention; Johnny Hyman was second and his work appeared to Interest the folks Immensely. Lewis Mack and Co. (New Acts), was third. Comedy - byplay was a welcome, relief. Bayes and Speck, a couple of boys exchanging: ancients with some moderns. Sample topical had one partner saying he was chasing the blues all week and the other reply- ing that was nothing, the eops were chasing the Reds all v^eek. Returns were never Jn doubt. Closing were the Liazeed-Dem- nati troupe of Arabs, pyramid builders and ground acrobats. An aggregation of eleven, two women and nine men, two of the latter, ap- parently In their teens, corking tumblers. Fast acrobatic routine of the Arab type that Is always elTectlve. A solid score here. Mark. ACADEMY (Va.udfilm) Borrah Minnevitch, Miltoh Berle Revue and a team of acrobats billed as "Added Attraction" are the stage end of this Fox bill. Fox's "Happy Days" is the feature, run- ning 82 minutes on standard sized screen. ■ On this three-act show Minne- vitch is both the deucer and next- to-cioser, making it open and shut for squawks, but no squawks froni Borrah about the 14th street audi- ence and none from the latter about Borrah. Minnevltch's crew of 10 harmonica-playing kids, with the leader . always on top, playing and .getting laughs, remains the peer of Its type over all Inferior copy acts. It is a socking vaudeville act that can play all theatres. For Union Square or Times Square. Here Min- nevitch declined to take more than one encore and the mob. applauded and whistled into the following turn, Milton Berle's Revue. Berle acts ran 44 minutes, thereby automatically limiting Its own fleld. It Isn't built for the big time as it stands and run.s, and probably wouldn't be If cut In half. For Academy, however, okay, as long as the Academy want them 44 minutes long, with the ok.ay also going for Rorle's solo work. His "elevator dance" gag was u.scd by Ted Healy at the Palace, but maybe It wasn't Hfaly's.. eitl^er. Anyway, giving the gag representation on both clrcult.s, wliif:h Isn't bad for a bum gag. Since reviewed a couple of weeks ago as a New Act, the Berle reviie lis been cut from 60 minutes and, from description, changed around considerably, In people and material. |T','»rle Is carrying an awful load 'with 120 people or tliereabonts and few I .'iiiiuunting to much or equalling PALACE (St. Vaude) Chicago, March S. Lita Grey Chaplin and Phil Baker deliver the entertainment this week. Minority was led by Roslta Moreno. La Salle and Mack opened with their fast, roughhousc comedy turn, suitable for its tpot. Leslie Strange, lniper.sonator, has too quiet an act for the deuce, but got over on hia caricatures of English political fig- ures and his burlesque radio an- nounclnj?. Naro Lookford and com- pany presented some burlesq.ue tumbling, but the act was weakened by alniost repeating the opening turn. Outstanding was the four- man burlesque adagio. Josephine Harmon, missed with her songs and comedy bits. Strictly a hoke artist, her new ritzy attempt fails to click. Slie's at home pu.sh- ing a piano, but out of water wav- ing a fan. Rosjta Moreno closed intermission with her Porto Kican band of 10; Jose Moriche, singer, and Paco Moreno, her father. Miss Moreno Is charm- ing, but rolling her ej'es is not en- tertainment. She manages a couple of steps, and spends the best part of her' routine sitting on tlie stage stairs handing out fiowers. Phil Baker, on to clown witli Papa Mo- reno, did much to put the act across. After intermIs!sion Lita GrCy dem- Kecping the vaude show down to „ ^ „. , , 81 minutes meant that sonic of the ?"^'^'^'?.*^^'^c2' Personality and ability acts had to cut and most did. Here's the way it was divided up: Lane, Osborne and Chlcco, 7; Paul Sydell and Spotty,* 6; Four Camerons, 13; Joe Thomas Sax-o-tet, 6; Frank De Voe, 12; Al K. Hall, 14; Sylvia Clark, 16, and "Glad Rags," 7. That vaude is far more effective with running time down to the bone and acts hurried oh and off as In picture units, Is cleai-ly demon- strated. Experts agree that vaude acts often do too much and that automatically causes the shows to slow up. It was speed here through- out the 81 minutes, and one way to get that speed, if the acts are any good at all. Is to make them cut the superfl\ious stuff and quit bowing themselves and the audience to death. Achieved here this week and can be anywliere else. Not a single new act amOng the eight. Lane, Osborne and Chicco, about for some time, opened, doing only two dance - numbers, split by the harp double and effective all the way. On No. 2 Paul Sydell put his fox terrier, "Spotty," through the best tricks in the slick little routine. The dog's uncanny sense of balance, plus Sydell's showmanship, sells this one and more than the six minutes done is never needed. Next the Four Camerons, with the saucy-looking maid a fifth, clowned and danced their way through to a good finish. . With the talk, not strong any- >way, dropped entirely, Joe Thomas Sax-Q-tiet trumpeted and saxed It for appreciable returns, touch of comedy helping. Good little act and spotted right. Other turn In the center Is Frank De Voe, smooth entertainer with songs, served up differently. Why his pianist has the piano directly facing the audience can't be an- swered but it doesn'.t look so well. Class is lent De Vo'e's act by the lace design drop and the special runner carried. Al K. Hall did very nicely sixth, with one of the two girls (dumb •one) heljjing him plenty to land laughs. That Spanish dance hall with this tlred-Iooklng girl Is a wow and the jazz band satire for the fin- ish is.even- funnier. Sylvia Clark next to closing with customary surety. The comedienne's voice sometimes gets a little tire- some, but this Is probably because the "Chapter 1«" song nupiber with the Incidental talk, is stretched out. "Glad Rags," nine-people girl dancing flash, closed. Six form an ensemble, other three doing special- ties and all for finale an elabora- tion on Bill Robinson's step dance. Toe jazz specialty a little weak but rest of act punchy and classy. At- tractive set and costumes with the act. fla.ihirig it up nicely. Besides foature. screen mil-ror.•^ Pathe Sound New.«!. Char. RIVERSIDE (Vaudfilm) For the first time In a long while this house got a break in business Saturday night. Not many seats empty. Maybe Jimmy Savo's name respon.slble. Feature flicker, "Last Dance". (Hollywood). Major portion of the bill ran smoothly and seemed fair enough entertainment for the neighborhood if lacking support for Savo. Legcrdfmain of Cardlnl Intrigued while Rudoll and punninger, mixed couple, crossfired without much punf'h. Girl is best when doing a stow, though this number is drawn out too' long. A quartet, Roxy Gang, big In the trey. Jeanne Mlgnolft, soprano, .showed a strong pair of pliK-s with a .solo. Mo.st 0/ the numbers are of the standard type. Jlminy .Savo a finch. Hesides his u.snal fufore nuiiTbf/r hf was forcet': t.o do a pop, "Arr-n't We All?" . I'aiitomlmo .-md mimicry a big laugli to sell. She has added new tunes, and was on later with Phil Baker, the holdover. Together they de- livered solid stuff. Fact of their working together caused a lot of buzz among the audience after'all the recent newspaper stories, and perhaps heightened the effect of their torch tunes. Baker used a stooge In the box, as'last week. Business very good Saturday mat. Loop. RKO (Vaudfilm) Los Angeles. Maroii 7. Nicely balanced vaude bill. Five acts—click, click, click—and no waits. Demonstrates the wisdom of the unit plan. This Is first a*vir;\^ bill to reach Los Angeles anff 'TL' gave the R-K-O its first relief from an apparently chronic stage in- efficiency. Opener and closer eyefuls. Three Alexander Sisters, nifty dancers, and Howard's Spectacle of trlclc pups and ponies. Between Is a skit and two teams, one strongest on song, the other on chatter. Layout being brisk It drew appreciation all the way. Alexander dancers started \vlth their Intimate flash. Qlrls, dress and settings are attractive and the trio's lively work should rate a featured position on a bill of this general merit. Blonde's slow tapping, s'olo, and the brunet team's apache, fast and handled for comedy, registered the strongest as caught. Ken Christy Co (3) slide through a breezy mix-up Involving a man's ex and cyr^ent wives. Healy and Cross, high hatted tenors; but not high brow, syncopated semi-chatter and tossed It Into- the crowd's lap. Well liked.. Jesse Block and Eve Solly have a talk, routine with lapses Into pong and action. Okay on the smart re- torts, the girl playing dumb. How- ard's animals closing, as usual but not exclu.slvely for kids, evidenced by the way the last show took it. Screen feature Is "Murder on the Roof" (Col). News, cartoon and trailers for both this house and the Orpheum had the bill's running time up to two and a half hours. HIPPODROME (Vaudfilm) Big .dimension bill, with Jim Cor- bett on stage and "Hl( the Deck" (Radio) on screen, makes the draw, but the stage end suffers from lack of big laughs. Individually each act rates a pat with the one possible exception of No. 4, Maria De Como. She got the returns on the strength of the last song In her four-character reper- toire, a wop housewife, and then lost the audience with a ballad er.core. Biz for the second show unusually good In the face of a drizzling rain and generally sloppy atmosphere Saturday. Unusually long show this week, running to 203 minutes. Which means some slicing. Aim and motto is "three-hour show," but overtime on this point can be laid to overdue organ solo and the Intro spaces be- tween acts and Alms. Feature took 100, Pathe sound reel, 12, and traiicit material, 3. Overture was "H. M. S. Pinafore," 4 mlns. Vaude, minus the .space bar, 68 min.s. In the order of presentation the bill ran: Maryland Colleglan.s, Kileen and Marjorie, Tommy M;:Aullffe (New Acts), Maria De Como, Cor- bett and O'Brien and the Mascagna Four. The hill swlncs along nicely. Op'-ns with the foJlpgians" band of nine pU-ces doing a slnglng-instru- m'-ntal combo in lively tempo with a bnrle.'jciuo fcmnie Impersonation to hf'lp out. All okay, but nothing wow. Tli"n Ellft-n and Marjorie, two >liort girl.s in a fast tumbliii;; ai-t, Hill I'.lllh-s, five bovs inrliidiii;i'^f'|',.lV;'''''^^?T"^,"l'Prf,'''J^ Art TTiill. ff-alui-fd, liil:.-wanji a.- a ^ J-ollowlii- fliis (lie bill be^Mn to do.ser. . J iCoiiiinued on page 40) .