Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1935, Page 57

AMUSEMENTS,’ THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SEPTEMBER 8, 1935—PART FOUR. AMUSEMENTS, -7 ™ STAGE SHOWS BEATEN ELSEWHERE, CONTINUE HERE Washington Rated Unique For Vaudeville Audiences New York and Philadelphia Loew Offices Cut Down on Variety Programs. Acts Scarce. By Robert B. Phillips, Jr. VERY time the doctors at the bedside of vaudeville issued another bulletin during the past two years, they acknowledged with elongated faces and words that the patient was sinking down, down, down. Never once has a word of encouragement passed the lips of the medicos consulting on the plight of show business’ most variegated branch. Last week the object of their concern suffered agother desperate relapse, and most of them began thumbings the telephone book, looking up a good undertaker. ‘The mortal blow dealt variety en- tertainment fell with the announce- ment that the Loew circuit, formerly one of the two largest in America, had decided to drop stage shows in most of its houses. No change was indicated in the policy of the local outlet, Loew's Fox, but in New York only the Capitol is to continue pre- | senting dancers,” comics, musicians, | magicians, trained animals and | trapeze artists in the flesh. In Phila- | delphia the only presentation house is affected. Obviously there are other circuits | besides Loew's. but when this clever | group of showmen decide uude\me‘ pays only in certain special spots, the | chances are that they have figures to | prove it. Washington happens to be one of the towns exempt from their edict. It is probable the best acts| will continue to play the Fox and at | Warner Bros. Earle for many seasons to come, and ours will automatically become & unique show town for that reason. * ok ok x ‘When the legitimate theater's some- what presumptuous mourners began | wailing “Who killed Cock Robin?” a | few seasons past, a lusty chorus promptly chanted in reply, “The | movies. The Hollywood pirates.” On the contrary and to the surprise | of every one, the legit raised its feeble head, looked about and took on new life last season. A pot of Holly- wood gold was scattered about to en- courage the revival. If movie money backed not one opus that threatens to | join the American classical drama (whatever that means in this coun- | try), at least it helped revive a neces- | sary and pleasant form of eatertain- | ment. At present those who are indulging | in sweeping ante-mortems for vaude- ville are likewise saying bitter things sbout the movies. The Eleanor | Powells, Bill Robinsons, Ethel Mer- mans, Fred Stones, Will Rogers, W.| C. Fields and scores of others who could be depended upon to enliven anybody's stage were snatched up by the cinema. Many a skating act, acrobatic turn, comedy team and dance duo has been spoiled by brief, well-paid citema experience in major productions or short subjects, and thereafter preferred to wait for occa- sional celluloid assignments rather than troupe the four-a-day more often. Another prosperous pirate of vaude- ville's ranks has been the radio. If Ed Wynn, Eddie Cantor, Fred Allen, Jack Pearl, half & dozen noted croon- ers and assorted others could have been persuaded to forsake the ether & many months a vear to play vaudeville at plausible salaries. there | vear or so. Seldom a week passes out | is no denying the effect would have ! been electric. It so happens most of these persons had long been teatured in revues and musical comedies before they took to the alr, and seldom were they willing to look at a strenuous week in a movie palace for less than the price of a new Peggy Hopkins Joyce gas buggy. Oddly enough, in return for these favors the radio has supplied some of the few box office names the stage presentations have been sble to muster in those seasons when movie stars were not in migratory, or per- sonal appearance, moods. Many the names C. B. 8. and N. B. C. created have later paid off han somely when booked in stage shows. Their assistance, and all else, was insufficient in many spots, however. The impresarios involved scratched | their heads and tried once more to | guess what it was the public wanted. A very limited number of available acts always good for a round of pad- | dywhacking and cheers played the sume houses time and again. Still the booking offices pondered, still they ! searched for more and better talent | that would consider a variety career seriously. As a sort of despairing gesture they began sending out numerous radio “name bands,” bringing their own tnbemmers with them and playirg | tunes sweet, new and popular. An orchestra that could, with its inci- dental entertainers, occupy 30 to 40 minutes of & stage bill, at least solved the problem of finding something to | fill the required time. It turned out | that people enjoyed seeing in person | their favorite baton wielders and hot | trumpet tooters. For local managers, at least, that solution has been satisfactory for a that one or two big musical units | hit town. Some are splendid acts, some are merely good dance bands working on the stage, a few are not | even that and cause the managers | Re-enacting the Life of Stephen Foster themselves to wonder, when they hear | what they have bought, whatever in- spired any one to call Joe Smulch’s Racketeers a vaudeville act. | As long as the orchestras hold out | and a few eternally pleasing perform- ers like Paul Draper, Paul Gerrits, Park and Clifford, Moore and Revel, Block and Sully, Cardini, Herb Wil- liams, Al Trahan, Will Mahoney and others of their class can be persuaded to stick to the old game. or retirn to it regularly, local vaude fens are set. Nevertheless, the business as a whole is gently but firmly kicking the bucket, and whosoever has a remed, patent or otherw will be welcomed with loud clinking of knives and great | huzzahs when the final, 1nevitable operation is performed on the ailing one. | ! ellos, Next Week’s Films STEAMBOAT 'ROUND ‘THE BEND,” one of the two unre- Jeased Will Rogers films, follows “Anna Karenina” at the Palace. The picture is a yarn of river life in the Bouth, and, besides Rogers, has Irving Cobb, Ann Shirley. Eugene Pallette and a lot of other people who are good. “Redheads on Parade,” Jesse Lasky musical with John Boles, Dixie Lee, Jack Haley and 48—count 'em—48 | redheads moves into Loew's Fox next Friday. “Redheads” is a tale of back- stage life, delving into the trials which beset an independent movie producer attempting to do an extravaganza. The romance is between Mr. Boles and Miss Lee, with John singing to his love on proper occasions. The stage half of the bill features Trahan and has also the Three g Brothers and other acts. | | Girl Frieng” “Top Hat” stays at Keith's, of | eourse. When and if Fifteenth street gets its fill of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and the Berlin music, “Dia- mond Jim,” Universal photoplay starring Edward Arnold, moves in. Arthur Treacher, Henry O'Neill and Gordon Westcott. Busby Ber- keley directed. Three new songs are introduced in the movie, “She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter,” “You're an Eyeful of Heaven” and “Toddlin' Along With You.” The Salici Puppets, guided by a eroup of skilled puppeteers, will offer a new and different program of nov- elty entertainment on the stage Others on the bill will be Foy, Tucker snd Johnson in “Aristocrats of the Dance,” featuring Jinette Vallon and Jack Seymour: the Radio Aces, and Paul Sydell and Spotty. i “The Girl Friend,” with Ann Soth- | ern, Jack Haley and Roger Pryor in leading roles, comes to the Metro- politan next Friday. Three pmnllesa‘ Broadwayites who become involved in | rural theatricals by impersonating a | famous impresario and his assistants | provide the theme of the comedy. The supporting cast includes Thurston | Hall, Victor Killian, Ray Walker and others. Music and lyries for “The were written by Gus Kahn and Arthur Johnston. “Two | Together,” the number which recurs throughout the film, is expected to be a hit. “Keystone Hotel,” revival of an old-time comedy, which Warner Bros. ! have made with a number of stars of Contrasts nddmg spice to life, the Belasco follows its present attraction, the pleasant, amiable and tuneful “My Heart Is Calling,” with a sinister and thrilling melodrama, “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” Peter Lorre, who recently made his American film debut, has the central role, playing the ruthless, cold-blooded kidnaper and murderer with a natural ease which bespeaks either experience or a wealth of dramatic talent. Nova Pil- beam, young sensation of “Little Priend”; Edna Best and Leslie Banks have supporting roles. “Bright Lights,” musical comedy in which Joe E. Brown clowns, dances and sings, will be the screen attrac- tion at the Earle starting next Friday. ‘The man with the mouth has one of the best roles of his career in “Bright Lights,” the story of a burlesque comedian who becomes a Broadway sensation. Chief supporting roles are played by Ann Dvorak and Patricia | Ellis and the cast includes William Gargan, Joseph Cawthorn, the Max- OATTRIPS § LAST TRIPS of Season . L MARSHALL HALL PARK Sunday, September Sth Daily T A.p‘l‘—l PN 2. MT. VERNON 8. MOONLIGHTS ‘Wednesday, September 11th Leaves 8:30 P. M. Nightly Trip, 60c—Sanday, 75e B et Tabieers Oroh. | the old Mack Sennett Keystone com- edies, including Ben Turpin, Marie Prevost, Hank Mann and Ford Ster- ling, also will be on the Metropolitan's bill. Salmon Visit Many St-reams. All the streams on the North Pacific coast draining into the ocean are| p visited by salmon. DANCING. Enroll Now at BTt Ve Douglass Montgomery and Adrienne Ames are featured in “Harmony Lane,” based on the life of the great American composer, Stephen Foster, which reopens the Rialto Theater tomorrow. A special preview of the picture was held last night for an invited audience. Local plavera. " HE National Press Club auditorium will become a “Continental Music Hall” when the Willard Players open the fifth week of their hilarious “East . Lynne” lampoonings next Wednesday | evening. The innovation, brought about be- cause beer is & warm weather bev- erage and warm weather seems to have become something to remember, will bring a reduction in the price of table seats and will allow those in the audience to order whatever they desire. The new prices will be 85 cents for all seats, except those in the first row, which will be $1.10. A menu will program and patrons of the arts now may imbibe in a bit of ginger ale or a demi-tasse while enjoying the now famous tear-jerker and the equally famous olio arrangements. The cast of “East Lynne” includes Robert G. Pitkin, Catherine Dierkin, Richard Midgley, Lucille Bartram, Isham Keith, Harriet Borden, Forney Reese, Catherine McCord, beth Gatlin Pritchard directed and | Hugo Inden did the looney scenery. The Roadside Theater opens a one- week revival of “To Die at Dawn"” tomorrow night at 8:40. The rip- roaring melodrama of counterfeiting, unbelievable villainies, both perpe- trated and attempted, and the trials undergone by the “best gal in Ken- Harry | Schonrank and Etherl Hayden. Eliza- | tucky” was one of the outstanding | | successes of the present Roadside in the season when played earlier Summer. The cast will be much the same as when the melodrama was I’E\TON PENV S‘I‘IDIO 1315 F S§t. N.W, . Private lessons by appoiniment. ing & Smectatty; e PRIVATE INSTRUCTION tz, fox trot, tap, rhythm, ph Brandwine St. N.W. Clev. 906 he Edw. F. Miller Studio | 814 17th St Nat. 8093 We Teach It. N.W Tas and Thurs. bll lilnx the Piccoleno. 9. Practice and Teaching, es and private lessons National 3341. sin, Leroy H. Thayer’s Studios of Stage Dancing Classes Now Forming in ® TA P BALLET o ACROBATIC o CHARACTER o MUSICAL COMEDY ® LIMBERING AND STRETCHING Day and even\nx classes 1 i upils, pro: cnmml:’.r n:lexfuu:;ld ber 9. children. bemmlni untember lcth—aem- an tration dates, Septem cial cla: 1 el Enroliment Hmived ta you for your own o Sor professional open 10 A udios hpnum petropolitan Yial Leroy . Chayer 1226 CONNIC‘I’ICU‘I‘ AVENU done the first time at the barn thea- | ter, with Gail Dennis, Harold Stepler, Ralph Fowler, Bill Phillips and others seen in their original roles. There | will be two notabe additions, how- ever, in the presence of Eugene Kressin, who is one of the villains of the piece, but who reforms in the end. and Frances Brunt, the Roadside’s stellar heroine of last year, who returned to do the lead in “American Songbird,” which was can- celed. There will be two entr'acte per- formances, one the pantomime done by Bill Phillips, and the other a typical Roadside quartet number, be included with the | Astaire's Next. FRED ASTAIRE, the film's premiere dancing star, has left New York after a two-month vacation to begin work at the R-K-O Radio studios in Hollywood on his next film, “Follow the Fleet,” in which he will again be co-starred with the popular Ginger | Rogers. “Follow the Fleet” will have a com- plete musical score by Irving Berlin, | as has “Top Hat.” Studxous Nor-na. | JORMA SHEARER has studied more | than 400 volumes and 18 fnmou.s stage versions of “Romeo and Juliet” in preparation for her screen role o! Juliet in the Shakespearean classic, which Irving G. Thalberg is producing | at M-G-M. PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA Announces a series of FOUR EVENING CONCERTS Copatitution Hall. & Tiekets. S15. 510, 20: 750, 3, 81 T, Arthur Smith Bureau, in Homer L. Kiti N e CONCERTS D at Constitution Hall—15th and C Sts. EVENING SERIES. | B Lucrezia Bori, Ni 1st SUNDAY SERIES. 4 ) bett. Vienns Choir. Lily B Schnabel. Bauer & 24 SUNDAY SERIES. 4 3. Cossack | Moore has secured the ”ENCEI TR CLAIRE TREVOR-HENRY B.WALTHALL A Stage AND HI$ O cui TRA... with ll.l Friday W1 Hiition, .3.'7.':955"-‘3:-' Rialto Opens. ‘ Trm Rialto Theater opens tomorrow noon with a “world premiere” of “Harmony Lane,” screen version of the life of Stephen Foster, beloved composer of “Old Folks at Home,” “Old Kentucky Home,” “Old Black | Joe” and a host of other songs. Music, throughout the film, brings far-flung scenes of American life, from Negro minstrel to beer garden, from | drawing room to humble home, every- where where Foster's songs were loved | and sung. Much of the musical score is interpreted by the Shaw Choir. Douglas Montgomery plays Foster, with Evelyn Venable appearing op- posite him as Susan, his first love, and ! Adrienne Ames taking the role of his wife. His small daughter is played by Cora Sue Collins. William Frawley and Joseph Cawthorn are others in important roles. Carrying out his policy of co-ordi- nating his stage and screen attrac- | tions into a dramatic unity, Tom “Southern- ires,” famous harmony four from | radio, to agpear on the stage in con- junction with “Harmony Lane.” The “Southernaires” are making their first Washington stage appear- ance to sing the Foster songs and other Negro folk songs for which they are noted. OPP THE WHITE HOUSE Jan KIEPURA .. ‘MY HEART IS CALLING e best —oul ! picture ever -‘Jvnil DOORS aPeN N TOONY 150 Pk FRED GINGER ASTAIRE + ROGERS ~*TOP HAT? ¥ IRVING BERLIN. ey Coming.. EDWARD ARNOLD Already famous for his character- ization of “DIAMOND JIM" NOW PLAYING SYLVIA HERBERT ON STAGE | TED WEEMS siciéia. 1 BERT GRANOFF in FRED CLARK Overture | + Open 1:30 PAGE MISS GLORY ’ATW - DICHPOWELL . < Henry's Wives. TWO wives of the Merry Monarch in “The Private Life of Henry VIII" have been assigned roles opposite Rob- | ert Donat in the new Alexander Xorda production, “The Ghost Goes West,” now before the cameras at the studios of London Films. They are Elsa Lan- chester, who was seen as Anne of Cleves, and Everley Gregg, who played the role of Catherine Parr, . Lukas Cast. AUL LUKAS, instead of Warren} ‘William, will-play one of the two male leads opposite Kay Francis in “I Found Stella Parrish.” Ian Hunter will play the other. William, who had been announced previously for the part of Steven Norman, has been given & leave of absence, in order to take a much-needed vacation follow- ing several months of steady work at | the First National Studios. Other players assigned to the new film are Sybil Jason, Harry Beresford and Jessie Ralph. Mervyn Le Roy will direct the picture. MOORE’S Freedley Says Next Season Can’t Be Better—for Him Producer of “Anything Goes” Found Film Story Conferences Crazy as Rumor Reported Them. By Lucius Beebe. Suave, affable and cultivated, Vinton Preedley is at once an heir to the tradition of Winthrop Ames of “gentleman” producers and a Broadway croupier who contrives to rake in some very impressive winnings. The other morning, in his offices above the Alvin, he was asked if he looked for a better theater season this Fall and he shook his head sadly. It may be better for other producers, he felt, but it can't conce)vnbly be better for him—not unless the Fire Departments- allows him to put in another row or clusters and bunches of fruit. Report- RIALTO two of seats, and he has a hit bigger than “Anything Goes.” He has, he remarked, just about reached the superlative of seasons so far as Leing a producer is concerned, and holds out slim hope for anything more opulen*, “I don't think there is any moral to be drawn from the suocess of this show,” he said, “unless it lies in the curious circumstance that we havg had no trouble at all maintaining 2 four-dollar price scale long after the regular New York patrons have run out, and we are playing to visiting firemen and out-of-towners wh> usually won't stand for that much | money. There seems to be more money in circulation, or at least people are more willing than they have been during the last three or four years to spend it on theatergoing.” Mr. Freedley has just returned from the Coast, where he supervised preparation of the screen company of “Anything Goes,” and enjoyed the way producers in the opium dream atmosphere of Hollywood. “The story conferences I attended were just as dafly as they are re- | ported to be,” he says. “A group of experts, most of whom have not heard | the name of the story under discus- sion before they enter the room, as- | sembles solemnly about a table and gives themselves crick in the neck nodding and saying ‘yes' to each other |in a very respectful manner. They | listen courteously to each other's sug- ‘geslians at great length, and then | scrap them all. No suggestion ever ‘msdc in a story conference, | any effect whatsoever on the play un- { der discusison. They are nice confer- ences, however.” Mr. Freedley is impressed, though, | with the increasing trend to use the | legitimate stage in New York as a | try-out for screen material. He thinks it is a boon to the speaking theater and a great economy device for the | pictures. As he points out, by staging | & play in New York picture executives | | can try out a story on audiences and | critics at a moderate production cost, whereas it is not infrequent for them to spend $175.000 for script changes in a story before a foot of film has 'been ground. Economy, if nothing else, he feels, is bringing the legitimate stage and Hollywood closer all the time, Mr. Freedley is in no hurry to dash into the Broadway midst at the mo- ment. and is willing to let the prepa- | ration of his intended Cole Porter- | Howard Lindsay-Russell Crouse mu- sical wait on Mr. Porter’s direction of “Jubilee.” He would not divulge the precise nature of his new revue, but was willing to assert that it would be of a topical cast, generally speaking. W “I feel very definitely that the day of the simple romantic musical girl show is past.” he says. “As Thousands Cheer” frightened us all into the fleld of topical allusions, and the revue to- | day, to succeed, must have some slant | on the passing show of the world.” RE e Rehearsals of “Jubilee” current at the Music Box and the adjacent Im- perial, according to reports have reached the screaming stage and rep- resent a fine frenzy of temperament with its back hair down and ready for a good cry on the drop of a prompt-script. It is further reponed that, not content with costuming the youths of the ensemble in the most abbreviated swimming tights for the opening scene, the book directs that | the interlude, representing one of Elsa tMuxuells much-touted flag-raisings, | | discloses them garbed uniquely in 9th AT G OPENING 12 NOON, TOMORROW, SEPT. 9 PRICES MATS. 25¢-35¢ EVES_ ALL SEATS 55¢ He Wrote lm{ Sang l{:x Immortal Songs to the NA'IIW! DOUGlAS S MONTGOMERY BASED ON THE LIFE OF STE N COLLINS FOSTER JOSERH CAWTHORN GILOERT EMERY LLOYD MUGHES RADIO STARS The SOUTHERNAIRES Also Kathleen Lawloe and Crinoline Girls SAMBO—NATURAL COLOR CARTOON COMEDY customary weird experience of Broad-| there in a sort of advisory capacity | in the | | history of the film industry, has had | ing on the progress of “Jubilee” re- hearsals is a difficult task because the management shrouds its every move in profound secrecy, and fearsome rumor has it that the premises of the Music Box are patrolled by armed guards and auxiliary bloodhounds. Because of the almost fevered interest of the public in what is reputed to be the revue of the generation, Forty-fifth street fairly seethes with drama re- porters, but most of them prudently remain in the safety of Sardi's bar, snatching at waifs and strays of boot- legged information. A tip on Mary Boland's protest against the way Mer- cedes D'Acosta’s name is proneunced was stop-press news one day last week, and the whole vicinity has the tense atmosphere of big doings in ges- tation. An impassioned protest has reached this- department over its remarks a week or so since on the comparative merits of the performances last Winter of the American School of the Ballet and the Monte Carlo troupe of danc- Ien An indignant Miss Neff had about our ears with suggestions of mendacity, possible crapulousness and almost certain subornation by the | afluent Messrs. Kirstein and War- burg in the interest of the native dance. From the salon of the pala- tial yacht we purchased with part of our dishonest pelf, we reply airly that, anyway, the Americag ballet didn't have patches in the seats of their smalls, which is more than may be said for the distinguished artists from abroad. . Regan in "Stars." HIL REGAN has been added to the cast of “Stars Over Broadway" | and will begin work in that produc- tion as soon as he completes his present assignment in “Broadway Hostess” at the Warner Bros. Studios. He will be featured in “Stars Over | Broadway” in one of the two produc- tion numbers to be directed by Busby | Berkeley. Hom:Made. JFRED ASTAIRE created all of the dances which he does in “Top Hat.” now play.og R-K-O Keith's He designed them to fit the tunes of Irving Berlin, who wrote the complete musical score for the gay and romantic screen story. ACADEMY ©f Perfect Sound Photepiay E. Lawrence Phi Ips Pneatrs Bésuuitul Matinee. 2:00 P.M WILL ROG! BTING THOMAS " IA SHEA. ERS. “DOU! Also BIDNEY BLACKMER GLOR ITO! cun:\non. VA, ASHTON Monday — SHIRLEY TEM- ”_Gang_Comed: uble *_and_ “AIR HAWKS DUMBARTON 1313 Wisconsin in Ave. | " grame pobp " VB DES. New: and Gomeds (3 FMRMWN < ANACOSTIA, D. 4 LAIRE DODD ET_ON_ BLONDES. Double Fei NEIL HAMILTON and BEITY FURNESS KEEPER OF THE BEES WARNER BAXTER and KETTI GALLIAN INDER_THI MPAS MOON." ntinuous From ::00 P.M. WARNER BAXTER. 108 RErrT GALLIAY “Under the Pampas Moon.” Comedy.Metro News STANTON Pt e Sound ~ Equipment Matinee, 2:00 WARNER OLAND and PAT PATERSON GHARLIE CHAN IN EGYPT - o | BERT WHEE] L%E '15'1 ROBT. Wi ‘STATE 6970 Wis. Ave » Bethesda, Onean‘Z(S P.M —Show at 3:(04) NET GAYNOR in “Farmer Takes a Wife.” With SLIM SUMMERVILLE and HENRY _FONDA. 2 Butiernui §e: king Troubles E R! “LovE ME FOREVER.” |ALL "OF OUR THEATERS EQUIPPED WITH NATURAL AIR- mOLING symus HIPPODROME £, Jane Withers, MT, RAINIER, MD, Todey-Tomorrow WARNER OLAND in “Charlie Chan in Egypt.” ARCADE ™YATTSVILE. Mp~ Luise Rainer, William Powell in “Escapade.” es.-Wee Pat O'Brien and James Cagney in “Irish in Us AMB ADOR llll: .Cs SYLVIA LVIA SIDNEY HER Ave. & lel!nl" AVALON “amAr= & WIL.UAM POW!LL. LUlSE R.AINLN AVENUE GRAND Y I .‘.a 8. Matinee. 3:00 PM SHIRLEY TEMPLE. 425 9th Phone M JAMES CAGN! 4 “IRISH IN & coLONY 23 %o e | Vi APADE ~_Bopeye. \LNER & E om = = 5 THEATERS HOME Lin W._C. Pl in FLYING, phony. SAVO G —|JESSE THEATER "35.47% “GINGER,” JANE WITHERS, JACKIE baARL. Comedy.'_Cartoon. 1 R L Avw NW “THE GLASS KEY,” GEORGE RAFT. EDWARD ARNOLD x.-urel and Hardy Comed l PALM THEATER PE =3 o NEPBURN BERNHEIMER’S Tomorrow — —