Variety (Apr 1930)

00 VARIETY VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, April 2, 1930 PALACE - (St. Vaude) Helen Morgan is the bid for busi- ness this week, after a stretch of bad bills and sparse attendance. As t)ne of the town's night club and musical celebs. Miss Morgan, to the Palace at least, should mean some- thing in a box-office way. Acts as high up In the money class as Miss Morgan are expected to hold more than merely stage merit; they also niust draw to account for their salaries. They are not booking the Palace any more. A name act or two, with a real one now and then, for founda- tion, and anything they can find to go with it. They seemingly buy the best they can for support, but they buy the acts individually, without thought for the show as a whole. If an act Is, in the booker's eyos, of Palace caliber, it's booked as quickly as they can get it in. There is no thought of blending, complete dis- regard of conflict and frequent ex- amples of bad spotting. , Boekers of small-time theatres with economical budgets to fight are often conspicuous for their ability to make a bad show play fairly or a fair show play like a good one. The Palace is up against no such propo- sition, AH acts at the Palace are usual dance flash by token of strik- ing scenery, closed and held them In better than most. "The Palace must have changed I management," remarked a little old | lady on her way out. "Bill Robin- son hasn't been here in weeks." liiffe. BERLIN STATE (Vaudfilm) Bill nicely laid out in accord with thfe Loew formula Whicli' dalls for solid comedy values as the founda- tion for the frameup. Laughs are supplied by Phil Baker next to closing and Joe Phillips and Co. Rest of the program groups around two items and doesn't, count for much except to create sur- rdundings for the two comics. Fea- ture Is "A Dangerous Paradise" (Par), with Nancy Carroll, sappy [ ^g^jj often compared south seas story, but nicely handled j^ggt t^e bill satisfactory and and o. k. for the State's transient jjjcludes: Monroe: Brothers, aero trade. Hearst-Metro newsreel bats; Trio Bell6 Air, trapeze per rounds out a program of two hours formers; Wilton Crawley, black and a quarter, with the specialty f^ce clarinet player and acrobat; stage show running a few minutes captain Winston's Sea Lions, and over the hour and a workable ar- | ^he Juggling Jewels; female jugglers Berlin, March 19. Scala Ernst Carow, knockabout come- dian, favorite from the north of Berlin, where he runs a cabaret, starred this month. Although not quite up to expectations, to judge by attendance, he seems to be a draw and a good experiment. Sup- ported by his wife he gives a sketch In which he returns home drunk and ruins the whole house including furniture, pretty primitive Stuff but pleased the audience. It is doubtful whether he could stand a return engagement, as he has not the personality of Grock with whom for ' the fast Saturday Wintergarten As headllner, Rabot, mechanical man. Invented by the Englishman, W. H. Richards, .biit dlssapolnted and won't be booked here again. Nothing mysterious, about this tin rangement turn-over. Manhattan Steppers ideal opener for this type of bill. Gets a brisk _ start with seven dancing youngsters good, or should be.' Yet It frequently I at work with unison tap routine _^ happens that potentially good bills worked around chairs at the rise ^Q^ster and what he actually does are, through thoughtless spotting, of the curtain. There are 12 dan- awakes little interest. UBfade to play and look bad. cers, six each of both sexes, all Favorites were "*rogo," dog and Palace audience Is concededly the youne and all lively. They don't roller skating dancing pair, Mary softest- and most gullible in the attempt anything but stepping and Und Erich. country. It is easy to impress, most work all kinds of variations, end- The witty Paul Nikolas as in. c likely because it is Influenced by M"^ up with an ensemble, tap lay- U^iggcracked an average bill which environment, and often makes an out on the usual staircase. Buck included Horace Goldin, magician: act look better than It really is and wing twosome by a pair of the KiewnIng Brothers, trapeze; H. With such help from the paying S'^ls and a striking bit of eccentric Qeltners, acrobats; Brick Korovin customers, the booker's burden so" shoe work by two boys the best and .Salem, leapers; Mackwey Co., seems light outside the ensembles. Great merit knockabout comics; Fransky, comic ■ 'is the speed and quick succession acrobat, and- Morgan and Stone, Around the headllner, Miss Mor- of numbers, with only one song banjo players. gan, this week i? a bill of eight acts, backed by the dancing lines. I - - - piaza each batting high Individually and j^j^-^^ ^ waish pretty quiet No. 2 This popular priced house is de not functioning nearly so well as a ^j^^^ ^^^g^ j^jg straight con- liverlng good value for the admis unit. Three singing acts, including Kert singing turn. Selection of sion and the second show is always illss Morgan s, two of them severely numbers, top heavj^ with senti- sold out. On the midmonth bill are ^l^fiF^ J'A'l^■^ ballads and love songs, but Charley, seal trained by Captain Three t?ts from EnrfaSd-^Chr^^ saved at the finish with a spirited Huling; Piletto best German jug- Three acts from ■E"eiancl--Chris "Cryln* for the Caro- Bier; Two Pirottis, comic acrobats; Charlton, Naughton and Gold and ^^nanng oi ^.ryin lor me k.».io \^^^^^ Alderas, gymnasts; Guido B^ipa. All three did well, "^^j^s^ Phillips, No. 3, life saver for Glaldlnl,- whistler; Two Niagaras, A smarter stage money than "La kj^g show with a fast start In com- accordeon players; Savoy and Gil- Belle Pola" never opened a Palace j^^^j plenty of rough clo\<rnlng son, dancers; Delysla and Rabanott, bill. The monk, with some minutes his two girls one introduced toe dancers; Wally Winter, revue of lead-up with assistance from a as lately with "A Night In Venice" Performer; Rudolph Maelzer, ;couple of other monks and three.U^d disclosing an impressive so-1 humorist humans, does a Charleston and var- . ^no, and the other a snappy little Bity drag so smartly that any audi- 'gt(,pper, introduced as from the ■ence is bound to be amused. Here Clayton, Jackson and Durante act. -Is an exceptionally trained animal Kj A^. PALACE presence and smoothness set him apart from most contemporaries, and In that looker at the piano he (St. Vaude) has an added asset. Did 16 mln- I Chicago, March 29, uets, but never weakened, I Another' atrocious setup by the Comedy stalked on with Charles booklng-^fOce. Five out of the first and Madelln" Dunbar taking stage to rflve acts went heavy on the hoofing, mix clowning, hoke, imitations and and the Rooney family hadn't been gags. Here's an act of the old on yet. The Rooneys went big be- school and typically vaudeville of cause their act has a fresh appear- days past, but that's not exactly ance, and because they would still against It, at least in houses of this go big in this house If Pa Pat came caliber. Chicken flirtation, barn- out and just walked, across the yard Imitations and kid crossfire for finish eeil without coaxing. Another act typically vaude, Mur- ray and Allen, in next to closing. Comedy opening number and fol- stage. Opening, Harry and Marjorie Ris- tori, the novelty dancing team, stalled for time and didn't catch on until Harry's comic ballad, with lowing country lady-killer special an eccentric step or two. In the fail to take hold right, latter prob' deuce, Frank Mellno, with the usual ably because it Is too long. Into girl and another man, scored heavv straight double,, act starts to click on Mellno's, monkey bit. For this properly, with Egyptian mummies act to follow the Ristorla was a number taking team off In hit fash- crime, and with the similarity of ion. the two turns. In spite of the hoke Klkuta Japs, mixed troupe of 10 In the Mellno act, putting them' on and long around, closed in tumbling, the same bill was Inexcusably poor risley and Juggling routines,, all well | booking done. Did 11 minutes, which is a little long for a turn of this type. Over strong, however. Whole show two hours 49 min- utes this embracing besides vaude Kitty Doner's act Is too well known, here for a reappearance within four months, but managed to fill the No. 3 spot in fairish man- ner by dint of much clever extern- Revue" (M-G-M) Hearst-Metro- tone News trailers and orchestra overture, Irving Fiedler directing. Char. and feature a short "Songwriter's Pore and her prancing In and out of her shell dressing room on tlie stage as she readies for her half- half Lauder bit. The big laugh still, when she swift-kicks her colored maid. Why Eddie Pardo was put on this bill is ■ the third mystery. Because he is a good performer he slammed across with his old number, "That's All, There Ain't No More," etc., but that's hot entertainment and build- ing a house. After three hoofing BUSHWICK (Vaudfilm) (Last half, 26-28) Pleasing medley of turns with each going over. House plays six acts, one more than the majority of \ t,,^ "„^,^„„^ Zt^;, thfi R K- n csniit wpoir hniicipci do acts the audlence had no taste for tne K-K-O spilt weelC nouses do. U^.^, , , nttf.nints. Thn nann. Eddie's leg attempts'. The papa- mama* satire with pretty Dorothy i tha r,\Z Carrlgan was not bad. After that, however, came the long stretch of Manager hpre explained that the draw was built up primaril; through the vaudeville, as the pic tures do not receive as quick book- . - _ - ; ,.u .n. . « ing in this house as they do In the dialog with the prim-faced others. Features are usually played °" a difficult subject, here a week after the other houses. P.'''^^ and birth control, to be face- Biz reported to be holding up by V,^".^'^ handled, of course, but only the manager, but did not look so bludgeoned here, and the gag lines favorably Thursday night. House Is some terribly old wheezes. 2,300-seater. Entire vaude bill ran 1 Closing Intermission, Billy House to a little over 90 minutes, Frank La Dent and Co started and his company of six offered the first quantity of talent properly off with novelty juggling, here and P'aced for this show. House, an there stabbing for comedy. Deuce was ably filled for this Der Komiker Kurt Hobitscheck knows how. to appeal to the cream of Kurfursten- damm In his house which is pre- senting the nearest thing to the American idea of vaudeville to be found in Germany, Only one acrobatic turn. Miss I , , T.„,x. Nothing gets to this type of au- to an unusual exhibition, dience like the rough knockabout, Chris Charlton (New .Acts) paces There's a flavor of the burlesque Ws miaglc with some neatly worded comic about Phillips and his pugil- ,and delivered English chatter, hgtic threatg against the statuesque I hiuTd.eved'jrDanrse*' Liu"l^ ptayed too . long In the dauco (20 blonde are Wheel stuff, but ex- g^f^/'''^^^^^^^^ .,nn>s) the first show Saturday, .and. tremely funny as done by this ?=f *^er, Axner^^^^^ the slow moments following his "in-, ghrlmp clown. Eighteen minutes of ?ummer and Chr^ Richlrds En|- eihaustible kettle'.' stunt might have- solid laughs, with two songs by the fjT™ccent?ic dahcer from Amtrifa proved disastrous If It had not been L^arbllng blonde and some snappy "|fg *o'!^|?'^^^'e°au^^^^^ America for the startling mystic closer, A gtepping by the dancing girl and ^ s'^t^/oj t,in*,g ^ge^Bois, held over - w^J^I^rJirff« ® P®"^^®*^* ^^^^^ , -.^ . A from last month. She Is one of the a lot of difference. AH set for Phil Baker with last cleverest parodists In captivity and : Another New Act No.'3, Jimmy week's talk, routine sharpened up Kjow has a turn making fun of the Carr's band and five specialty peo- a bit for the Broadway mob which average vaudeville bill. It is a pie from the fioor of the Silver Slip- is a shade more alert than Brook- in-.ockout It is reported that she pen In spite of unfavorable pre- lyn.- New gag for the stock broker, h^s learned English and la' going to sentment, did well, thanks mostly to chatter leading up to the parody on K)erform In London next month. If May Questelle and Mills and Shea, "Lover Come Back to Me," is the this Is the case, she should be worth added for vaude, one about a merger of Warner Bros, | watching for America. Trask. Naughton and Gold, now stand- and National Biscuit so they can ards after a couple of years on this market a line of talking animal Bide, were strong fourth spot hold- crackers. Twenty-three minutes ers until duplicating Charlton's mis- for Baker and his audience plant take by. staying too long. Later on | with large results. Jules Bledsoe made the same error Skating turn of '\''an Horn and in Judgment, letting tempting ap- I Inez trim closer, doing only 6 min BEDFORD, B'KLYN (Vaudfilm) (Last half, 26-28) . „ .„ I i., Fair neighborhood vaude show plause get the best of him after utes. but packed with the fastest Und a fair picture "Not So Dumb stopping the show and coming back kind of specialty. Pair now are (MrG-M). with business consider on the down lope Instead of leaving working on a raised platform about ably off Thursday night. House wa: 'em' wanting more, Naughton and three feet above the fioor and in the ig£,g than half, filled. This attrlb- GJold got a lot of laughs for 12 mlh- big State stage looking like a din- utable, aside from partial weakness utes. Then they remained on to ing room table. Sensational spins of show as a whole, to Lent and make It 19. The act should finish are made td look even more so on other causes. Thursday Is declared at 12. The new show business calls | this inadequate field of operations, to bo a poor night at the house as Rush. 1 a rule, even Mondays being better, Bedford, taken over from Fox two ^j^y^j^jj Q J,J [years ago by Loew's, was formerly neighborhood gathering by Friend swipes and, backed up with Billy's and Wells (New Acts), crossfire co- mimicry and some good dancing and medians. Act is slow getting start- more Houslan comedy, was a house- ed and contains much silly patter, stopper In the sTclt, "Resolutions." Nicely recel-ved. After the cest period and news BilU Tlchenor and Co, in their shots of some battleships Joining miniature musical version of a mod- the fieet. Chief CaupoUcan resumed ern Cinderella, treyed. Miss Tlch- the show and was a surprise sock enor's personable manner of selling all the way through. Leaning to- her material, song and dance, soon ward operatic selections, the. Indian recognized. Her stuff isn't so diffl- I baritone had that upper register cult, but the manner In which she open full blast and took an encore does it makes one overlook that, justly deserved. Emily Verdi and Majorlc Johnson The Rooney family's "Modernistic weave In and out of the turn as a Revue," next to closing, was as ex- sister teani. Girls support oke with pected Pat III was a heavy favorite a bit of legmania and quite some all the way with his speedy foot- warbllng. Bob and Sol Freed are work. Big ■ Pat and Marlon Bent two boys who proved an asset. Both scored for sentimental reasons. Col- are capable dancers and display lette, their pip danseuse, was big neat acrobatic routines in their with her fast toe turn. Nine In the stepology. Gayle Mays Is at the act in all. ivories and otherwise helps with a m. Alphbnse Berg, the fashion pleasing tenor, playing the Prince nikker tvhile you wait, closed, but to Miss Tlchehor's Cinderella; ^as not caught. Loop. Ben Sminr~dld a single for the major portion of his time, enter- taining with chatter and song. Toward the finish a femme audi ence plant supported with songs, delivered while downstairs, tor speed Miss Morgan, looking good, sang five numbers, Intludlng one encore, to ■ 'close the first part. . Sizeable :i^ands at both ends, although no sign' of a stopped show here. Just satisfactory entertainment from a 'nta.i torch singer. Jiiles Bledsoe did 15 minutes of "El Toreador," "Eli, Ell" and "Ol* Mah River," to reap the afternoon's ' biggest hand. When Bledsoe went Into a speech, he called attention to the fact that the piano had been rolled off. He fell for the applause, however, and sang again, with the piano ordered returned to position. Encore number, "Laddy Boy" (Irish), not so good in contrast to "Or Man River," which few singers could follow as it Is sung by Bledsoe. Bledsoe himself can't follow it. Naughton • of the previous comedy ayt» walked on ahead of Bledsoe to explain that the singer's ba;rgage had not arrived from Cleveland, and would they please overlook his street clothes. Bledsoe's brightly striped ' .street suit would attract plenty attention without an over- coat for concealment, A whiteanan pianist accompanies. Bob Ripa (New Acts), imported bo/ Juggler, followed Bledsoe's hit with another although lesser hit of his own. Does the standard ball and stick tricks, with his youth and nice looks greatly magnifying the Impression. By this time the show seemed over. Evans and Mayer, next to closing, were In at the finish after a slow, start. On this bill a spot In Part One would liave suited them Ijg'tter. "Flowers of Seville," un- Keeney's. It is an oldtlmer as (Vaudfilm) I vaudfilm and is located In a sec Quite a good bill this first half for drawing a family trade and a indie hou J. Turns are spotted well, variety of nationalities, with result with the two best Crockett Moun- Loew's ordlnarily^^ t^^^^^ talneers and McCoy and Walton, new acts here. On this last half, Nos. 3 and 4. respectively. Closing however, there wasn't a single new act. Dean Sisters Revue, most ex- . . „ . , . , . pen.sive on the bill, but withal the I . ^- ^S^^Zn^ M^^^VZr,^ weakest. Returns for this one very the State on Broadway, is thfe man poor in proportion to what their Pger. He claims business has picked predecessors received. Too wishy- "P nicely recently, with no notice- washv ■ able pinch from nearby opposition Five Alexanders commenced the which includes Fox's Savoy (vaud works with acrobatics. Not much Aim). Loew s own Brevoort, fou floor work in this, mainly pyramid blocks away, plays stralgljt p,c building from throws and teeter- K"*"es, occasionally getting them board leans day«and-date with the Bedford. Ac Two boys'in Eton jackets, Murray cording to Mr. Schenck his house and Irwin, had for their mainstay is favored by the Loew booking of whistling. Both sing a bit while one Ace as a showing stand for new ma strums a uke and also gag a bit. tcrlal because the audience ev-1 Crockett's Mountaineers surprised dences a keen appreciation of vaud bv turning out to be the best liked values, _ , turn on the bill. .Stopped the show. I ^2,000-seater operates at a scale < and the dad (turn is suposed to'be 25c-mats, and 60c nights during composed of flve brothers and their week; 30c and 50c Saturdays and dad) had to come out and Introduce 50c all day Sunday, the bovs individually. Hlll-bllly Five acts^ on vaude show. Run turn and: not much different from nlng time, 68 minutes, the usual run, Revel Bros, and Red, mixed tno Two mixed knockabout funsters, of tap dancers and far better than McCov and Walton, were a constant most turns of its kind In pop vaud laugh" to this audience. Deliver films, opened to nice returns, girl snappv crossfire, with the husky In the act actually helping it a lot male 'spasmodically slapping his Plenty of novelty stuff. Including femme partner on the back and drunk specialties, tap routines while shoulder during the patter. Some seated, etc. comedy singing and dancing pro- | Tom Fulmer, suave and youthful other favorite with Palace audiences, gets" across a few fresh and local LINCOLN SQ. (Vaudfilm) Bill suffers from lack of laughs. T ,fM , i, J 1 J I Feature, "A Lady to Love" (Metro), not so' Strong dialog with Ruth Marvin, golden haired femme who supports strong- ly, fllled the flfth spot for big re turns. j for this spot. Biz at supper show Saturday, change day, off, despite good weather. House less than half ^?rL'S^tt^r filled. Nothing outstanding xmless dancing, especially with acrobatics Crossfire with Miss Marvin brought "'s jl^^urely mann^^^^^^ plenty of laffs. Latter is a looker I the pit band offsets inspiration with with pep and personality. Rooney Sisters, nieces to the w' k indifferent playing. Of the flve acts three had good moted. Fox's "Cameo Klrby" Fox iNIovletone News. Irish tenor, spotted second. Like featured. | the opener, he scored from the start. Pulmer's n'ftat- Sippearancfe,' stage Pat 2d, closed. Girls In abbreviated material, but lacked show garb, dishing tap dancing, inter- manship. Other two lacked mate- spersed with eccentric hoofing. Both " „ _ , , _ ' ,.1. girls are pleasing to the eye and House repped as please-easy, but did nicely. Two youths, apropos as "ot enougli customers in to prove it. supports in looks to the glrlS, Or else-maybe ideas are changing, showed up well with comedy song T«nies, tastes and" conditions evolve and dance and straight stepping. hr*"d here fof the worst so far as Radio's "Love Comes Along" on the neighborhood Is concerned, screen. | Putting four No. 1 acts on a five- turn program is hardly reasonable. grj«^»j<£i Ih"^ that's e'xactly the situation /w_,,jj=il,s Only act that rates better spot- (.vauanim; ting was Herbert Faye and his two , . ^" „i^^°'. l^^arch 29. girls and one man in the skit about After working 90 minutes in the'losing a necklace, etc. Got nearly all feature flicker, 'They Learned the laughs. Ferguson and Del Val About Women" (M-G), Van and have a new turn called-"Smart Set Schonck appeared In the flesh and Revue," and Miss Ferguson and Del delivered a 20-minute solid smash. Val with their turn on the closing Got a great reception, three encores spot dance okay, as does Mary and a speech. They delivered prac- Brian, girl assistant, but the band tically every kind of dialect song, is out. It's' four pieces and they Irish, Hebe, Italian, Dutch, Negro, even try to sing. (New Acts), besides a couple straight tunes. AH Opener was Jack and Billy Cava- cUcked. naugh, white costumed cowboy and Opening the flve-act bill were the woman in short dress. Setting is Dance Mannequins, eight person all off and no manner of showing flash. Featured dancer was Frances that the pair know their stage stuff Harth, who was over .personally Is given except that they've got with her toe and tap daiiidlng. sfx- clean cut specialty. Cavanaugh girl chorus managed some neat lariats around and jumps and one routines, doing best with their rope time even swings eight ropes with skipping number. Male hoofer was the help of contraptions attached oke with his straight tap stuff, to the waist, on which are five ml.ssing on his comedy specialty. ropes, also one in each hand; one in Ray IluUng and seal followed and his mouth and one attached to his over big. Seal seems to get better hat. A couple of dogs also are used all the time. Chamberlain and for laughs. Woman is mostly at- rilmes got oxocllent returns with mosphere, but lashes one of t\u<f<' their bowery songs and dance Australian whips at outset. Pai>' routine. .should try to use some kind of Van and Schenck followed. Bee- lighting ideas. No spots at all used heo and Rubyctte Co. closed with on white costumes. ■ their excellent tumbling and pyra- Clark and O'Neil had to start all "hiding. . over again with their singing act - ■ irusln-^RS-exceilcnti Loop.- I but it didn'tmatter. They'd have to