3 Mins.; One. “All wrong.” Two men. One a vaudeville actor acting as relief for a lighthouse tender (just so they can get in about “light house keeping”). This must have gone big in one of the smaller burgs for the team has a back drop with a lighthouse painted on it. For this, they should be billed as a light comedy act. Very light. After the lighthouse keeper sings a song the comedian (German) arrives and three or four gags are exchanged (including lighthouse keeping) and then the straight sings, received lightly by the audience, followed by the comic putting over a parody on “The Curse of an Aching Heart,” which saw the light of day so long ago it’s time to set a tombstone for it. A double number got one bow at the finish.
11 Mins.; One. Neat act with a laugh in nearly every line. Powers comes on in Irish make-up, genteel and neat and keeps in the character all the way through, even in his dances. Miss Emerald, taller by almost half again as her partner, walks across stage leading bulldog. Powers, as Cassidy, is asked if he would like to see dog do tricks. He is eager. Then follows pantomime by is Emerald with an imaginary dog, good for numerous laughs. After some good brisk talk, Miss Emerald leaves stage while Powers sings and dances. He comes back with a small concertina and begins to make a speech to audience. Baby voice in the wings keeps interrupting and calling him. Miss Emerald finally emerges, and the contrast between her bulk and the baby voice is good for another big laugh. Act ends with a travesty on grand opera where the man chases the woman about the stage in an endeavour to keep up with her. The turn well very with the Academy audience; so well, it was changed from second to fourth place.
12 Mins.; One. Ball players of renown, Mike Donlin and Marty McHale, in their double turn for this season, are showing a very entertaining vaudeville act, considered aside from their reps on the diamond. Of the dialog, it mostly “puns” either Donlin of the Giants or McHale of the Yankees. In this way laughs are secured. McHale sings two solos, with the men opening with a well-written conversational number. The singer has a pleasing voice, a lyric tenor almost, and handles it very well. He got over an Irish number easily, and did unusually well with “It’s a Long, Long Way from Home,” following it. The principal line of this song was again used, when Mike in a recitation got his man around the third base, McHale breaking in there to again sing “It’s a long, long way from home.” Both players wear evening clothes. Mr. Donlin has greatly improved as a vaudevillian. He slips over dialog like a veteran. Mr. McHale needs to get a big more easy in bearing, but this will come with a few appearances. The two work well together. They now need an encore, when Mike should do (and kid himself about) his famous dancing. The act with the names is a good one for big time. They cover in their popularity all cities of the major leagues, and with “the act” to hold them up, make desirable booking.
15 Mins.; Two (Special Drops) “The Girl and the Bank.” A nice-appearing two-act for small time, that is capable of being developed into big time material. The setting is the paying teller’s window of a bank on a dull day. A girl calls to cash a check. The paying teller, who squares the bank by saying it is a “Reserve” one, kids with her. From the conversation, not bad at all and quite nicely handled by the couple, the teller, closing the bank for the day by pushing the clock to three, sings a song. “Why Must We Say Good-Bye?” the title blending in with the clock moving. The girl returns, notices the teller is absent and seeing no one else around warbles “The Garden of Roses.” This must have been a troublesome movement for the couple to overcome, how to get the girl back and have her sing with a “legitimate” reason. Anyway the teller had only left to put on his evening dress, so when he got back, they both sang “Honey Bee,” a rather good number as they do it, with an original bit of business involved that suggests the pair were at one time in musical comedy. Another bit of good business is the best bursting, and on the other hand, they are using the Melville Ellis-Ada Lewis “Should a fellow kiss a girl when taking her home in a taxi?” The trouble with the turn just now is that when they are talking, one thinks it would be well to use a song here and there, and when they sing, one prefers the talk, not because they don’t sing well, but through the selections, expecting “Honey Bee.” Their voices are not for rags, however, but there must be more melodious numbers around the publishers than those employed as solos. Neither voice is strong, and the girl is the better of the two. The young woman likewise has a better idea of getting points over through emphasis of action and expression. These appear to be the same people, or man at least, that Mark reviewed about a year and a half ago when they were working in full stage. He made suggestions then the couple seem to have followed, and they should keep on trying to improve. On the general run their appearance and work, the people in the act should make the big time, either with a better edition of this turn or some other.
Up to 9:40 the only real hit had been that scored by Walters and Walters, man and woman ventriloquists. They scored in a regular way, the house forcing them back after the lights had gone down and up again, with Mr. Walters having a sensible little speech to hand out.
The Walters have a pleasing novelty for an act of its class. It’s uncommon for a double turn in ventriloquism, and especially with one a woman, while there is a boy dummy that rides a bike and the woman leads a “walking” dummy (girl) by the hand. This makes the novelty. Neither of the couple snatches the head off of the respective dummies to allow the audience to see they had not deceived. That’s another ventriloquial novelty. The talk is brief, the singing is done in the childish was as befits kid dummies, and the man, of pleasing appearance, gets hearty laughs when smacking his dummy for breaking in on the other’s song.
Miss Walters is personable and of equal help to the turn. It’s a certain No. 2 for the biggest, and can take care of a better spot in the other houses.
Eddie Phillips, second, pleased with pop songs, filling in between the numbers with stories, the latter but fairly handled. Mr. Phillips would do well to drop the spotlight for his opening, a fast semi-comedy song. He did a brief bit of stepping at the conclusion that was liked.
Frank Hall and Billie O’Brien, with a sketch in title only. “Frozen Out,” a singing and talking turn with a piano employed by the woman at the outset in parlor set, both going to “one” at the finish. The talk is mediocre and not any too well delivered. They pass on their singing voices.
27 Mins.; One. Clara Palmer and Bobby Barry won their spurs in musical comedy. Their experience in the legitimate is now serving them well in the present turn. Barry in Romeo make up and Miss Palmer as Juliet are supposed to be at a ball. They sing, dance and talk, with stepladder comedy, a burlesque on the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet” being given. For the closing Miss Palmer is dressed in an Italian outfit while Barry is in evening clothes. The act runs too long, but they appeared to relish Barry’s fun making immensely. The act will do better when played more. It may depend too much, though, upon the former musical comedy work of both Miss Palmer and Barry.
Fred Lewis, a fast coming singer, is a chap that will bear watching, Lewis is doing a different act than when last seen around here dressing it in a comedy manner. He has some smart talk and gets laughs through his entire 14 minutes. Here’s another act that could get away on the two-a-day.
[New Act] Songs and talk. 15 mins; one. One or town laughs sprinkled throughout with the girls appearance the main asset. She makes two changes and does four songs, one ballad. With a recitation inserted, offered by her partner, that they liked up on the Roof.
A clean cut looking couple but a bit shy on material, in so far as their conversation goes, and at their best while singing, but who presented a most acceptable No. 2 act.
