Variety (Jun 1930)

64 VARIETY VAUDE HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, June 18, 1930 PALACE (6t Vaude) Names on the Palace bllliner this week tell of a light playing variety show with comedy. That's the way it turned out Saturday matinee, In flne weather, to a 90% house< Women and men on the stage were about equally divided, thougli with two male singles against one woman single. And the opening act was not a skater nor were there two small time hoofers No. 2. And the No. 3 turn held comedy, and next to Intermission held comedy; opening after Intermission held comedy; and next to closing was comedy. Perhaps the closing act held comedy.' No sketch on the program, nobody from the Metro- politan opera house, no danseuse, no concert singer or piano player and no drapes. All of the pitfalls of vaude book- Inks had been avoided, excepting a too-short bill for the Palace. It opened at 2:25 and was over about 4:50. Eight acts here made a bet- ter layout probably than nine or 10 would have done. The show read as though it cost around ^11,- 000. If the hi hat Palace is not too hi hatted, all it had to do to fill in more time would have been to use the flght flim. Even women In a $2 house don't mind seeing the fighters in shadows. This Is "a good show," jstlll the greatest headliner ever known In vaudeville, but not a good show every two months. Several hits, with th.e smash go- ing to Will Mahoney's new xylo- phone dance. It wad a real surprise to the Palace regulars, though Ma- honey first put It In the "Sketch Book" production to protect the dance. Mahoney, next to closing, bad done his usual with that danc- ing of his. For an encore he walked on the stage, sat down to attach the wooden sticks, the cur- tains opened and behind was the xylophone stand. Wonderment seemed the first ^ thought of the house, but as the stick-dancer continued, playing sev- eral tunes on the wooden musical slats, the house let go; with the applause even heavier than w^Ith the ahow, which Is going some, for Mahoney stopped the "Sketch Book" every night after H with the dance during the few weeks he did it thei'e. Coming back to headline the Pal- ace after the production, Mahoney merely made it 100% that he's 200% for vaude any time. His dance alone will hold him over here or It should, although Mahoney could make a stay at the Palace any ttaae with anything. On the stage he repeated that he's "on a vacation this week." The next biggest hits were even between Jack Ostetman and Puck and White, on opposite sides of In- termission (both under New Acts). Osterman followed a lively first half. . He set his hit before half through the new turn Jack is doing. Eva Puck and Sam White cinched theirs with two of their numbers from musicals. Somewhat unfair to Esther Ral aton, understood to be a booking holdover, was this return engage ment at the Palace after seven months and with the same act she did there before. The girl has looks plenty and some ability besides evi' dent ambition, but v her screen pop ularlty was the cause of her In Itial booking and did not justify a repeat in the ace house. It's Miss Ralston's pleasantness of manner that gets her more than anything else. That with her looks •explains the Ralston success In the silent fihns. She had a little new lyric to open, telling about coming ■ back to the Palace, and for an en core told In an engaging manner how she had heard of the Palace ever since leaving It, "When I first appeared here," said Miss'Ralston, "I was In my third vaudeville week. The Palace didn't mean any more to me then than any other theatre. But after I left here and started on my long tour of the R-K-O houses, I heard all about It. 'Walt till you get to the Palace, ooh, ooh!' they said. "I heard that everywhere, 'the Palace, ooh, ooh!' until l returned here this week more frightened than upon my first visit." Ward and Van, the latter the missing violin player, did very well No. 8. The two men got their laughs early and finished with a straight ^. number. It got plenty of applause ■ but some might think a comedy act would do better if ending with a laugh Lee Twins with a company of six did quite nicely No. 2 with the Lees' own dancing principally, and some rlasslc postures by the divided com- pany, the first In silhouette doing The most It's a good fast turn, It°has sight and. the girls' dancing, The Twins look and dress well. The three midgets In the Fred- eric Sylvester turn as handled by him sent the act over In the opening . ^pot. No special , play is made for . any laughs, except in execution of tricks. It's iail right for the ppot, ' but A couple of those mldgdts should ■■ - ItaVd some Coniddy . jinjected. into t)l6m' in ironAe way and let the act The opening in "one" is of no par- ticular value, though the turn does but seven minutes. MarlnofTs Dogs programmed to close. Sime. STATE I (Vaudfilm) Very excellent vaudfilm enter- tainment, the sort of show that should benefit from being talked about At the 50c levy here even- ings, it's a program worth all of that and ntore. Near capacity business Monday night for last show* To make up for the cut of the usual vaude bill by one act, bring- ing It down to five, the Loew book" Ing office has sent In something for the money. It's the best stage program house In this policy caught, with so little weakness ap- parent anywhere, It is remai'kable. It's beautiful, also, the way this show plays and a case where on paper the prospects didn't look half as good as they turned out to be. Together with the punchy material from the stage, the State serves "Paramount on Parade" (Par) from the screen and a class over- ture of a familiar operatic selec- tion, admirably played by the State Senators under Ruby Zwerllng's di- rection. Opening act on the bill Phylls Rae and Ambassador Octet (New Acts). Dance fiash which, despite nothing special from Miss Rae,, is a highly effective and entertaining turn. Big punch is the dancing by the eight males. Sent In for the No. 2 spot Barr and Davis, twain colored femmes, do a sparkling collection of song singles and doubles, nicely laid out and sold right. The harmony work of this pair Is equaled only by the showmanship that goes into their performance, that if nothing else assuring them they will land any- where. The general snap and speed of the show Monday night, with none of the acts confused through neces- sity of cutting, as on Saturdays and Sundays, when four performances are given, contrasted noticeably with shows seen over the week- end. Smith and Hart were in the mid- dle of the bill In their familiar, con- ventionally-routined comedy skit carrying special drops. The mixed team .of juves, with the girl should- ering' most of. the comedy worlc> went over big, although endanger- ing posBlbilities through a' long selves, with some smart crossfire final number in "one." That num- topped by song for getaway... Lingo Iter starts out as a song and stops between refined and wise gals crack^'innumerable times to allow the girl 86TH STREET (Vaudfilm) Better sight than sound bill for first half here with the cooling plant undisputed headliner on sultry Mon- day night and with the screen fea- ture, "The Vagabond King," doing its stuff for the box office. Best biz for Monday night house has had in some time. Credit "Rin-Tin- Tln," canine screen favorite, for the Juvenile draw. Plenty kiddles In. Vercelle Sisters and Co., dancing team with six boys, did likable dances in opener. Got over on ability and class. The sisters han- dle three precision doubles Including waltz and strut on toes, with the boys spacing the girls' contributions with song and dance ensembles, with Nice and Floria stepping out of line and planting a corking acro- batic drunk dance which had its value. Vercelle girls are lookers, graceful dancers and make three attractive changes, going abrev cos- tumes for .the fast dance ^''finish. Neat act and they liked it Hollywood's favorite canine per- former followed in a series of sup- posedly before the camera studies with Lee Duncan, owner and trainer, putting RInty. through the routine differentiated from usual canine acts in that It Is more men- tal than stunty. Rlnty spots a noiseless bark and other stuff with understanding. Act Interesting and particular mop up with the kids. Carl Francis and Co., two men and 'three girls, in a mildly enter- taining comedy, singlni; and danc- ing skit Francis handles whatever there Id of the comedy in the thin story, managing some laughs but no riot. The spacing songs and dances by Francis and his support give the turn a fair zip which can be improved by considerable tight- ening up all around. Francis is okay and wqrthy of something bet- ter than this one. Maddox and Clark, two .femmes with one doing comedy, had the laugh division practically to them wide open for laughs with Inside stuff on their boy friends, and the comedienne's delivery getting them for-roars. Gjood comedy act and these girls sure sell it. Over big. Edla. ACADEMY (Vaudfilm) Vaude bill below average but likely to draw through Connie's Inn Revue, with Ada Ward (New Acts), booked In here to fill the gap caused by shift in Fanchon & Marco Ideas, giving Crotona (Bronx) the unit instead of Academy. While the revue from Harlem may have drawing possibilities, it falls a, ways short of being strong enteralnment Feature Is "So This Is London" (Fox). Starring Will Rogers and a good talker that's talked about house has a chance to making up through screen for weakness on vaude end. Stage has six attractions Instead of former seven and out of that the first half has two flashes, "Revue D'Art . (New Acts), and the Inn turn. 'With two comedy acts, it strikes fair balance and diversity, but looking much better on paper than from the stage, France and LaPell, perch with some pretensions to novelty and sensationalism, opened. Mixed team, with the girl trying daring stuff in the air. Mildly received Revue D'Art placed second through presence of two flashes and apparently necesity of routining show In that manner. Irving O'Dunne, with unbilled young femme, there on looks, came near dying at the first Saturday show, few of his gags clicking de spite the high-powered showihan- shlp behind. O'Dunne has an un usually pleasing manner and ability to sell but needs stronger material. Better gags in cheap joke books Next Freddy Craig, Jr. (New Acts). Young chap who's a wiz on memory tests and tricks of the mind. Nice hit here. Back to vaude after appearing in musicals. Three Sailors did well nearly threatening themselves with an encore. Act did not play as smoothly at the Saturday mat as It should but packed the necessary punch. _ The burlesqued adagio and acrobatic stuff Is done In a far dif ferent and amusing manner than by most. The revue taken down here from Connie's Inn in front of a 12-piece band will probably be better rou tlned than it was Saturday, when too much was given the band and too little to the others. The middle of the bill, with O'Dunne second, Connie's Inn third and Revue D'Art closing might have worked out. better. The Academy will continue to play F. & M. Ideas,' resuming next week. Business at the first matinee con slderably off, with sudden hot weather outside apparently not to clown and ad-Ilb. If not ad Ifbblng, that clowning and those wisecracks are cleverly camouflaged. Only trouble with this.team is that they laugh, too much at their own gags, some terribly unfunny. Audi- ence here liked it all, however,, so who can tell? It was a mop-up for Shaw and Lee, next to closing. Harry Oirard, vocal impresario in the pit co'nducting his 14'singers In a^class production that's different closed. One of the biggest hits on the show, and desiervedly. Two singers, colorst'ura and lyric soprano, are flanked and backed in tastefully and Ingeniously routined numbers by a chorus of 12. These girls are lookers and have voices as well • as build, but that Isn't alL They also wear tights and combine ' dancing with their vocal efforts, producing very effec- tive results. Voices ring even throughout a large house like this one. Act consumes 19 minutes, with nary a minute that tires. How fast the current bill plays may be partly vlsioned from the running time, only 77 minutes. Char. (driving "em in for cooler territory. Fox-Movietone' News and. usual trailers balance on screen. Ohai\- HIPPODROME (Vaudfilm) All around freak show at the Hip this week. It has a new picture in pre-release and because of unusual circumstances can't make use of it It's "Bough Romance" (Fox), first designed for the Roxy and then switched because at the last minute it was deemed undesirable, having no feminine interest. Picture is weak in box-offlce anyway, and naturally the Hipp doesn't bill it as Fox prod- uct Puzzled amusement shoppers examined the billing and finding it without brand many passed it up, "Variety's" reviewer saw this hap- pen three times in the lobby in five minutes. Business for the early Saturday afternoon show was off, a condition that prevailed generally on the day in question. Specialty show was rather wild in spotting and unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. To begin with, its.best entertainment was in No. 1, a smash dance and acrobatic num ber, and in No. 2, light, polite parlor singing act, but clean cut snecialty. After that the show sagged with weak spots where they shouldn't be and some startling examples of really bad entertainment. All around unsatisfactory program and the au dience reacted to it just that way. In No. 3 Harry Holmes offered loose and 111 considered "nut" com edy piano specialty that died before a mystified audience. No. 4, Carrie and Eddie Co., did a beautiful adagio dance specialty all cluttered up with scenery and effects that cost it heavily In distracting attention from the finished acrobatic work. Next to closing came Joyner and Foster^ two colored comedians .in blackface with weak opening and Indifferent stepping, ^hen .a good comedy Incldient In business of 'tw<( colored citizens who acted terribly belligerent but still didn't-want to flght. Old business nicely handled. When finishing they had, a new member in a dancing oolored boy (he Jollied only a few weeks ago), who stole the act with a Temarkc^ble bit of pantomimic slow motion danc-. ing. Having created a hit he killed It off by staying too long. Medium grade blackface team depending upon talk for punch seemed a weird feature for next to closing a six-act bill .right around the corner from Broadway. Crandall's Circus closed. Hoke circus turn with .boy and girl doing principal riding in an indifferent way, and the finish the handling of four or five plants Invited up from the audience to try to ride the'gee- gees with the aid of a circus appren- tice's "mechanic." Act which has remained unaltered in essentials for five or six years, seems to have gone stale. The comedy by the plants was blah and the general working of the turn listless. Passing from the late numbers, which were flat to the sprightly openings acts, the dancing acrobats mentioned are Falls, Reading and Boyce, three young people, two boys and a girl, In tjlie sweetest, clean cut specialty of the kind around in a long time. For effortless acrobatic style these youngsters' are marvels. They have one trick that got them the best hand of the wholi after- noon. All in a,bout 10 minutes. Rog- ers and Donnelly (New Acts). Rush. 58TH STREET (Vaudfilm) A show good in all departments. Box office is benefited this half by "The Vagabond King" (Par), sure to draw better than average and a good six-act bill of vaude, entertain- ing throughout. Margaret Schilling, through considerable broadcasting, stands as the draw card of the stage showT Singer is second, about the only place for her here. Very attractive young prima, she has personality and voice, latter showing to unusual advantage in an aria from a Vetdl opera. That closes Miss Schilling strongly after a couple of pops. Ap- parently, through her broadcasting and the vaude dates played lately, the fair soprano has learned a thing or two about selling numbers,' whether pops or ops. For this half the 58th Street has inherited an m. c, Bill Roblson, Vvhose regular act fills the next-to- closing groove. He opens the show doing three minutes as a vaude salesman, here to spiel for R-K-O and the acts' on the current bill. Ap- pearing between -each act and in every Instance marketing a ga£ or two, Roblson announces the various tut-ns with a hint of what they will do. A good idea, this. Any other next to closers who could double for m. c'lng wouldn't hurt vaude and shows a particle. In his regular turn Roblson (not Robinson) works with Gladys Lait and "Daddy" Cunningham. Former is a cute little singlnGr-dandng trick and a good performer, who feeds, when occasion arises for Roblson's gags. Cunningham, announced as an old stage doorman, formerly in circus and vaude, adds considerable punch and novelty in an acrobatic dance... Pleasing act well routined and ably sold. Roblson works after the manner of Dr. Rockwell, and his mateHal, aside from a few old gags, is sureflre. Hal Skelly's sisters, Monica and Ann, around vaude several years, were in No. 3 for their musical com- edy type of skit, in which they are competently supported by Pat Whalen and Webster Taylor. The quartet possesses musical comedy voices, and in numbers gets over nicely. In supplying comedy, the Skelly girls flgure prominently. Ann particularly Impressing as a come- dienne. Through the knockabout stuff the act often - approaches a howl. A scene aboard a. train gives the Pennsy R. R. a great break, with th;..t carrier getting an ad it should be paying for if it isn't. Grace and Coly Worth, comedy dancing team formerly in vaude but away from it during run of "Sketch Book," recently closed, followed the Skellys. Grace opens the act with a wicked sort of dance, going farther than most but with the stigma taken off through Coly's Interrup- tion and exception to that kind of thing. Outside of that little move- ment, routine is the same as before, including several comedy bits' and hoofing specialties. Scored easily here. Bobbins Trio, crack roller-skating turn, started the show. Fast little act, Including some pirouetting bits that approach the sensational. Trio scored heavily for an opening act. A novelty built around a contor- tion troupe headed by Frank DeRue and given billing as "Jung'.eland" through woods atmosphere and cos- tumes, closed. Principal characters are frog, gorilla and wild savages, each appearing in various excellent contortion bits. Outstanding is the dance by one of the men with an- other colled backward around his .torso. That alone stirred applause at the second Saturday n^atinee. Skipping rope with one leg around the neck another clever bit meriting a hand.' Business at the second show bet- ter than usual at this house, despite this is June. Char.' PALACE (Vaudfilm) Chicago, June 14. They're trying to instill a carnival spirit into 'the stage show at this house. Everybody has been ap- pointed a "get hot" shouter, bubbling over with high spirits, and selling the house as a spot for "bang-up shows, and Very reasonable, too." With all the performers sporting hot personalities, everybody is so deter, mined to be happy, it looks like a dental convention. All of which leads to the Berkoffs who opened this good five-act bin with a 10 person Russian dancing turn. Chorus, of six stands out with the sincere work, while Ger- trude Berkoff is the Individual bit with her toe dancing. The little Berkoff girl contributes a modern stepping bit the boy Berkoff man- ages the regulation twirls and kas- Otske, while the senior Berkoff waves the baton and sings. Naugbton and Gold are a three- act which made the grade In the deuce with a lot of loud roughhouse hoke. Starts out as a hoke magic turn, with two comedy stooges,' and closes with three encores—fake hoofing bit, slow motion dancing, and. burlesque bit called "Two Union Workmen." Gloria Foy needed Sam Crltcher- son and Alan Davis as assistants, one^ to play the piano, the other to sing. Miss Foy dances, besides giv- ing poor travesties on Greta Garbo, LIU Damlta and Clara Bow. The trouble :wlth the whole act is this insistence on film personalities, with the men subbing as Chevalier, Lowe, MacLaglen -and Oakle. Act Is Jumbled, with the obvious talents of Miss Foy .and the men burled under dull material, and needs plenty of pruning. Wearing a straw hat is not an impression of Chevalier, and wearing a sailor sport suit is not necessarily Clara Bow. Lou Holtz stopped the show. He sings a comedy song on drug stores, tells one long Joke, uses an assist- ant, Ben Baker, for a couple of laughs, and closes with a couple of "O Sole Aflb" stanzas and a speech. "The six Lucky Boys, rlsley work- ers, closed, and were over big. Have one big stunt for an encore bit;' a rlsley catch from a" high lezp, Plenty of comedy in the act to keep the audience from merely waiting for the picture, which was "Women Everywhere" (Fox). Business was good flrst show Saturday. Loop. RKO (Vaudfilm) Los Angeles, June 12. Smooth entertainment in these four acts, but nothing oustandlng for the box-offlce. That appears to be the most difficult item to sur« mount, tdklng into account that the RKO road bills need ginger at the gate. With one or two excerrtions there hasn't been a vaude name at this house in months which could draw its salary. If RKO's proposed 84 weeks de- velope next year there'll be many former standard names flocking back to the fold and the Coast along with other weakened vaude spots, may show some life again. Meanwhile, it's catch as catch can. Current lineup includes Conlin and Glass, topUnlng; Bu'ster Shaver and the Tiny Town Revue; Boyd Senter and Enos Frazere. An economically put together show. Conlin and Glass are around with a new turn. At least its new for this part of the country. Jimmy remains a funny gag, while Miss Glass is taking the biz easy. An addition is the ConUn boy, who tries to whistle while his dad insists on breaking him up with his clown- ing. Thl^ is the team that got a tough break by being Australia bound when their Warner short was released to cause a lot of talk. Buster Shaver and midgets make polite entertainment for kids and adults. Thi's'act has gone over so well the past season that Jimmy O'Neill, the producer, is now in Seattle looking for more midgets. Boyd Senter, originally from Chi- cago picture houses, is a solid No. 2, with the exception of the solo violinist Senter Is a crack sax tooter, but^not so hot with some of the other instruments he plays. A pleasing personality counts for him. Opener Is Enos Frazere, evidently a foreigner. This chap performs on the trapeze with showmanship and a line of chatter which Isn't bad. He has one or two punch tricks and a irtfty heel slide for a finish. The curtain speech almost spoils every- thing. Newcomer to the house is Danny Russo from the Palace, Chicago, where he was the orchestra leader for years. Russo's advent to the Coast is primarily for his health, but at the same time a break for actors who squawk about music when they hit the wide open spaces. Russo's baton in the RKO's pit should do much to eliminate the squawkers. "Strictly Modern" (FN) the screen featufe, and trade goorl opening day (Thursday). Span.