Variety (Apr 1930)

BO VARIETY FOR LADIES ONLY Wednesday, April 2, 1930 RITZY Damrosch family has gone In for real estate transactions. Walter, the musician, has sold his home at 146 East 61st street, and bought two apartmients in the house under construction at. Lexington avenue and 80th street, the larger suite having 10 rooms, four baths and three terraces, cove'ring the entire 14th floor. Mrs. Damrosch was a daughter of the late James G. Blaine, Secretary of State under Garfield. ' Mrs. Robert LitteU sold her house at 236 East 81st street to Mrs. John J. A. Weaver last year. Mrs. Wo iver i3 Peggy Wood, the actress. LitteU ia the dramatic critic, and his wife, Anita Damrosch, has acted on Broadway. Last year Mrs. Pleasants Penning- ton (Alice Damrosch) sold her house at 244 East 61st street. She has parted from her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas K. Finletter (Gretchen Damrosch) live at 150 East 74th street. Last summer her comedy, "The Life Line," was an- nounced as a Broadway possibility. Her previous play, "The Runaway Road," was produced by Mrs. Sam- uel Insull In Chicago. Ward Morehouse, of "The Sun," has long made a habit of recording the celebs lunching at Sardl's or the Algonquin, but he neglected Trlnker's Tavern, in West 65th street, where almost every evening a bevy of beautiful show girls con- gregate for early dinner. Morehouse sailed Friday for three months abroad on a "Sun's" expense ac- count. Sweet Mystery of South Sea Heroine's Fineries The handsome little" Beacon, Is doing something for the good of the fans with its revivals of success- ful silents. This week it has tlie amusing "The Better 'Ole" with its fine characterization by Syd Chap- lin, wherein he is Sentenced to be shot as a spy without benefit of court martial. After sitting through Noah Beery (with earrings in his ears) bully, the customary Myrna Loy (wrapped In creation) vamp, the general evidences of excessive heat always emphasized in South Sea stories, the ever present drunks, revolving hips and grass skirts, "Isle of Es- cape," reminded some that there were other aisles of escape. And no boats necessary. If Monte Blue didn't finally dispose of Betty Compson's husband, Mr. Beery, of course, the picture has been gross- ly misjudged, but there is a limit to patience so the question is still open. Miss Compson wasn't too poor to provide herself with a very modern printed chiffen gown with flounces to the floor and wide separate scarf or a neat silk frock laced to the high heck on the bodice and from the waist half the skirt length. An- other Blllp frock was trimmed the whole length on one side with large pearl buttons. Bea Lillie's Home When Lady Robert Peel (Beatrice . Llllie) takes possession of her new *co-operative apartment on East 80th street between East End avenue and the River, she will have a mag- nificent residence in a fashionable neighborhood. Vastly different from her girlhood home in Toronto. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Lillle, and sister of Mrs. Arthur Weigall, she has a son, Robert Peel She first acted at the Alhambra, London, in "Not Likely," In 1914, and was featur^ when brought to New York with "Chariot's Revue," In 1924, making an instantaneous hit and remaining a favorite over here ever sine*. Sir Robert Peel was named for his distinguished ancestor, who or ganlzed the London police force, the coppers being nicknamed "bobbies' after Sir Robert, Arthur Weigall . . is a novelist and Egyptologist, Mark Hopkins' Estate After long years of litigation, the estate of Mark Hopkins, of ih Southern Pacific Railroad, was only recehtly settled. Originally esti mated at $25,000,000, it is now %i, 317,766. When Mrs. Mark Hopkins was 76, she married Edward F Searles, 48, interior decorator, Searles inherited the property and left most of it to his "secretary, Arthur T. Walker. Walker died, and left $200,000 to his "secretary," Elgin E. Rudd. Timothy Hopkins, disinherited by his mother, was given $10,000,000 by his stepfather, Searles, to. avoid litigation. Michael Angelo Ellison, Greek elevator-boy in a New York hotel, sued for a promised legacy of $1,000,000 as a "protege" of Searles, but the case was dismissed- CELEBS AND ERMINE FOR B'WAY'S 1ST NIGHTS Vf agic, Indeed, Well .Dressed Girls' Band When Paramount engages a ma- gician, he works for his wage. M. Duval, with the "Magic Melodies" unit, helps to drape the stage with a multitude of batlqu^d hankies and scarfs produced mysteriously. He also produces a girl orchestra out of large stage urns. As another feat for which the magician cannot be held accountable, the girls actu- ally play well and wear the best costumes yet devised for lady or- chestras. The dresses have the look of uni- forms, with fine gold braid sewn on the white satin vests of scarlet vel- vet bodies. Molded hip lines and gracefully flaring diagonal skirts make them feminine as well as m.odish. The leader, Helen Lewis, Is distinguished from the group In a white cire satin that, recogniz ing that the leader's back Is to the audience much of the time, adopts clever- treatment with rhinestone strands running from a Catharine Russia collar to low back decollet- age. Following the precedent estab lished by Nero, the orchestra fiddles furiously through the "1812' burning of Constantinople—or was it Moscow—which has saved many a picture house finale. Ina Williams, with Jere Deianey, furnishes droll and expert comedy that would be a high light on any bill, and Darlean Waters does acro- batic stunts with graceful ease. The opening of Al Jolson's picture was celebrated with great splendor within the Warner theatre, with the usual camera trucks and flashlights on a sidewalk made giddy with gap- ing crowds and a full minstrel band In black-face and gay regalia. To attend a New York picture opening, one should meet wiOx two Important requirements. Firstly, one should be a celebrity. It's noth- ing short of shoddy to draw up In a limousine or taxi and step, high- lighted by studio lamps, before the expectant crowds and disappoint them. Then, too, one should have an ermine wrap. There were 40 of them In the audience—New York's regulation uniform for opening nights. Ruby Keeler Jcept out of the lime- light in a seat removed from that of her husband, wearing a coat of beautifully striped sable. Ellin Mackay, In radiant white satin, shared a momentary spotlight with Irving Berlin. Mrs. Lasky chose black satin under ermine and Mrs. Zukor wore a tailored white caracul over a formal dinner dress of blackr satin, topped with a cunning din- ner hat of flat Jet beads closely woven to simulate waves. Bouncina FaAny Fannie Ward bounded up the steps to the Mezzanine in sable and black with matching head-gear. Mrs. A. J. Balaban wore a black satin Patou and ermine-trimmed wrap of black velvet. Feminine contributions to the pic- ture itself were not as spectacular. Louise Dresser appeared in two short but eloquent scenes as Mr. Jolson's Mammy. Lyrics may have led U3 to expect a white-haired Mammy waiting at a cabin door but Miss Dresser turned up at a rail- road station as a well-preserved and almost modish Mammy in middle-class attire. Lois Moran had little to do as the love Interest, but she photographed and cried prettily. The picture itself Is a bit of a hedge podge, but it has Jolson. A tank town minstrel performance given one day seemed hard to reconcile with an expert technicolor showing given the next day by the same company, but both were enter- taining, particularly the former. The first part of the picture has several light scenes which the star handles beautifully. Pure, but Hammy, Love Panicks Beacon Crowd "The Better 'Ole'" is reeling off Its hokum as part of the double- featui'e bill at the Beacon. It's a fast comedy, as good today as when It was new, with its pantomime, unaided by dialog, uproariously elo- quent. The mirth provoked by the antics of its prop horse indicates what a howl Pogo would be If his carcass could ever be persuaded to galumph through a fllm. A Sunday night audience, warmed by the chatty flavor of Ken Wide- nor's Organ Song Fest, received the fllm with howls, but no one was prepared for the comic features of the ensuing picture. No screen opus has gone more completely bam. From the moment that Monte Blue was thrown up by the sea on the "Isle of Escape," the wrong kind of audience laughter was Inevitable. The love story is so terribly pure and noble. It reached Its climax when the heroine explained she Is the wife of another but, beast though he Is, she Intends to be true to her marriage vows. All this has been apparent to the audience for some minutes, but dawn of the Idea crept across the hero's face like a rising sun. as he said slowly and with conviction, "I begin to under- stand." Just at this.point the audience, who had been torn between awe for the heavy atmosphere and be- wilderment at the action, also began to understand and let out uncon- trolled hah hah's. Don't miss the "Isle of Escape" when—or If—it comes to your neighborhood theatre. It's a lulu. Th« Le Barons The sons of John K. Le Baron, of Elgin, 111. have had romantic careers! William, the elder, married Mabel Holllns. His play "The Echo." In 1909, had the Dolly Sisters. With Cecil B. De Mllle, he wrote "The Antique Girl," in 1912. He still writes lyrics occasionally for Vin- cent Youmans' songs. After editing "Collier's Weekly," he became supervisor of the Para- mount Studio at Astoria, L. I., and now is in charge of the making of R-K-O pictures. In 1926 his younger brother, Har- old F. Le Baron,- 37, New York In- terior decorator, married Mrs. Maude Emery Smith, 58. Mrs. Smith was the widow of Alfred H. Smith, president of the N. Y. Cen- tral lines, killed in 1924 T)y a fall from a horse in Central Park. She Inherited $3,000,000 and an estate at Chappaqua valued at $500,000. The De Milles Agnes de Mllle has gained recog- nition as a dancer. Her recent re- cital In New York called forth con- siderable praise. She and her sister, Margaret, are daughters of William C, de Mllle by his first wife, Anna George, who secured a divorce. Thus they are granddaughters of Henry George^ the noted reformer, and of the late Henry C. de'Mllle. playwright, early collaborator with David Belasco. William C. de Mille later married Mrs. Clara Beranger, scenario writer, mother of Frances Beranger, who graduated from the Sargent Dra- matic School. William C. de Mille wrote many successful stage-plays, including "Strongheart," and "The Warrens of Virginia." William's brother, Cecil B., adopted a capital D for his name. He was on the stage for many years, first acting in New York In "Hearts and Trumps." In 1900, later supporting E. H. Sothern, Kyrle Bellew, Virginia Harned and Amelia Bingham. Tlirough pictures he has accumulated a large fortune. Evelyn Brent's Costume For a Sinister Lady "Frarhed"--^and double framed-^ by and with Evelyn Brent, the girl with the coal black eyes that shoot sparks. And when she makes threat, a machine gun in action is as sinister as the slow motion of a snail race by comparison. As in the past all costumes either black or white or both and perfectly fitted White for an evening ensemble whose gown was pearled at the neck and corners of the overlapping wide panels of the long skirt, neghgee used lace for lower sleeve and all the skirt. Black velvet with a diamond out- line In rhinestones on the trailing skirt, negligee considered the snug fit enough adornment and It was For her club appearance. Miss Brent wore black lace over white satin for the bodice, square neckline In front and back to the waist, skirt of black tipped white ostrich, also trailing, Beau Barry's Surprise Party; Idol Goes Clown "The Man Prom Blankley's" Is John Barrymore's surprise ijarty. Mr. Barrymore in other films' has seemed to be enjoying a sly joke on the public, and the Blankley opus is the one for which the public was least prepared. The owner of the world's most famous profile was expected, in a comedy devoid of period trappings, to be swift, deft and sophisticated. Instead he has served up an old-fashioned dish with slap-stick fiavorlngs, which must certainly have been taken from a play or novel of'Ihe 'Nine- ties, in which he enacts the silly ass type of Englishman so dear to the drama of that period. It is a broad bit of farce, and very very funny with Its characters look- ing as though they had just stepped around from Madame Tussaud's and its star having a swell time with smart-Alec but expert comedy. Since its script couldn't possibly have been' birought up to date it seems a shame that it was not pic tured In the period it suggests. To be true to himself this Blankley could have appeared only in out dated topper, tight trousers and light tan cravlnette overcoat. Aside from Loretta Young, who screens very prettily, all the women are character types, and make up a priceless collection of passemen- taried Chromes. Decide that the picture is obvious, silly and farcical —and then try not to laugh at it. It can't be don^. Lords artd Actresses Old Lord Esher died recently In England, and now his son, formerly Oliver Brett, Is Lord Esher, and his wife is Lady Eslier. She was An- tolnnette Ileckscher, of New York, daughter of August. Heckscher, venerable millionaire, who was sued by Frieda Hempel, and sister of G, Maurice Heckscher, divorced by Louise Vanderhoef and married to Luella Gear, actress, who previously divorced Byron Chandler. The new Lord Esher is a brother of Maurice Brett, who married Zena Dare, English actress. i Giveaways Draw Girls and Brides To 'Home Centre Club women of America are busi- ness women. Out of their thir.st for cultural and economic activi- ties, they have created, under tha auspices of the New York Federa- tion of Women's Clubs, a "Home- Making Centre," not alone educa- tional, but a gigantic advertising scheme. More than 200 nationally known advertisers consider the medium so valuable they are willing to pay thousands of dollars yearly for th» rental of booths at the Home-Mak- ing Centre, which occupies a floor of the Grand Central Palace. The entire floor, with its many exliibits, is a theatrical production, designed to entertain the visiting housewife. Nothing is sold on the premises, ad- mission la free and there is no charge for Instruction, but by dra- matic presentations the various commodities are displayed. The club or other woman, delighted at get- ting something for nothing, rushes off to buy them. One of the most elaborate dis- plays la that of the Consolidated Gas Company, a kitchen fully equipped with every kind of gas labor-saving device. The menace of the cold delicatessen ia combated and every one, including Con. Gas, will be happy. Cosmeticians find It remunerative to rent booths and foster daily demonstrations on the care of the skin. Silk houses exhibit; color readings. Lectures on interior deco- rations; in every case the particular pi^oduct is hooked up with some en- tertainment or education feature. Brides "Course for Brides," in which 7S prospectives, enrolled Immediately, is the latest in the limitless cur-' rlculum. From 10 until 10 the Centre is a free-for-all for club women, serv- ing a mammoth sugar-coated dose of advertising combined with bene- ficial instruction. Mrs, Charles E, Gregory of the New RochfeUe Fed. eratlon is credited with the scheme. Only a woman could have thought of it. Early one afternoon the Centre was humming with the excitement of club women rushing to the ex-» hibits or strolling through the com- mercial museum. So great is the fascination of displayed wares, even a .gray, suited, letter carrier, lieaded toward the elevator after delivering mail at the administration ofilce, loitered in front of the kitchen dis- play and surveyed it as interestedly as any housewife. Something for nothing, that great- est of fetishes to' attract the f em me, is here 40 ways, even of it does bump the family bankroll later on. Ominous Uplift Billing. Henry Bergman and his Black Sheep divide comedy and melody equally well at the Academy though that outside bllliij^, "Making the world a better place to live In," might discourage customers. Sounds too much like enforced uplift. Dancer in green metalic brocade coat with white fur c. and c. Faye and Bannister Revue are not helped much by their company, petite member of the team being a clever dancer as well as attrac- tively costumed.. Especially charm- ing was a blue frock of tiny silk' ruffles lined with pink roses, skirt to the floor making her even more tiny. Spanish dartce in white..whose ruffles grew In size, lining of red. Beige crepe also pretty with orange and green velvet entwined to mark the high waist, transparent hat also trailing these velvets. Fan dance ever so graceful and possibly twice as difficult as the ordinary since this girl used two fans, yellow and orange plumes as was the skirt. Pleated satin of the finale least helpful In splt« of it3 lace bolero. Brokenshire in Person Loses by Actuality Norman Brokenshire, well known radio announcer, at the 86th St first half, does his best via radio set and In person to interpret Willard Robinson ajid his Deep River Orchestra to the audience. Mr, Brokenshire may have been some- thing of an attraction himself, so many people being curios, but he probably won't be any more. He should have been content to be ; voice. There is something fascinat ing and different about this orches- tral music. Costumes of Ray Dan- iels, dajjcer with the band, have out of the ordinary touches;' flame color with 4)leated skirt carried a red dotted white frill over the shoulders marking a square almost to the waist back and front on the bodice Another*might have been three sep arate pieces, each tying at the side, that of the waist running out of material too soon, colors pale green, yellow and orange. Last one most conventional, fiesh color beaded crepe bodice with darker petals for the finishing skirt-frill. Marion Harris, the whispering so- prano, wore a lovely taffeta gown of Iris blue, princess bodice and un- even circular skirt headed by a heavy luchlng of the material, tiny net hem, front waist buckle and another on the matching slippers. Vaudeville la richer for th* return ot Misa Harris. - Big Time at State state audience is reveling in big time vaudeville this week. Phil Baker and his overhead create something, of a panic there. Ruth Johnson, with the handsome John R. Walsh, wore a quaint black silk gown with plain net making the very full lower skirt as well as the puff sleeves. Gardenias in too great quantity for such a tiny girl, cross- ing the shoulder. Propaganda Bores According to its screen announce- ment, "The Strange Case of District Attorney M.," was designed to teach the Russian populace the evils of the imperial regime. If It teaches anybody anything it will be a mir- acle. It Is Just an average foreign film, abruptly cut and tolerably well acted. Its whoop^ee scenes Introduce sad attempts at gaiety and a style that runs to short rhlneatoned dresses and scraggly ostrich plumage stuck apparently at random on the gowns. If foreign films run true to life, no European party is complete without its quota of. paper streame'l's ana fancy hats. MARRIAGES Ruth Mann, dancer, to Fred Frad- kin, vaude violinist, March i:3 in HoUywood. Gertrude Rosenberg, profes.sional dancer, New York, and Humbert Albrlzlo, sculptor. New York, have filed marriage Intentions at Green- wich, Conn, Frederick Nixon, father of ^ra^ion Nixon, to Mrs. Mae Hatfield, non- pro, March a8 Li Hollywood.