On a bit earlier (No. 3), Bond Barry and Co., with “Superstitions,” had the house rocking with glee. The turn in a burlesque in an undertaking parlor. There is plenty of “hoke” and plenty of matter not new. Yet the audience “ate” it all.
The show for the first half was appreciated thoroughly. It had a comedy punch that landed several wallops. Harry Hines, who is headlining in the Loew houses, occupied the same spot. They “caught” Hines on his first number and his chatter thereafter registered regularly. The routine appeared wholly intact, as when first opening for Loew, with song-plugging finish exactly the same. For the number, need for encoring, Hines allowed the warbles to work entirely alone, clowning a bit only at the finish. Hines went off a real hit.
17 Mins.; One. Another “audience” act. Two men; the straight coming on and apologizing for the absence of his partner. The comedian coming from the audience, asks for his money back because he got in on a pass which he could have sold had he not come to the show. The straight invites him to the stage and after a little talk the two got into numbers. They got quite a number of laughs from the Sunday crowd and seem to be a nice little comedy turn for small time.
Full Stage (17); One (4). “Pick” – Act. 21 Mins. Act will not do in present shape. Bradly put together and entirely too talky. Robinson Brooks does a female impersonation of a “wrench” and “bawls out” her “husband” throughout the turn. Four picks try for singing and dancing. They are very bad in the former department and do not pull anything unusual in the latter.
17 Mins.; Full Stage. A little dramatic offering that seemed to get past the audience despite the principal male character persisted in acting all over the stage. Two men and a woman in the sketch. One of the men is the district attorney, the other his secretary, and the woman is the former’s estranged wife. A man about-town has been murdered in his studio apartment by a woman and the police have a suspect in custody. The D.A. is confident she committed the crime. The wife enters and pleads for the woman, stating she is certain of her innocence and finally makes a confession that she is the one who killed the “rounder” After he lured her to his apartment and insulted her. The D.A. orders the police to free the woman they have been holding and he and the wife sit down for a long talk at the drop of the curtain. The act has possibilities but the present company does not make the most of them.
One man performs magic while the other as the assistant exposes the tricks. At the finish there are several that the legerdemain boy does which are not shown up by the helper. Good act for the pop houses.
11 Mins.; One (Special Drop; Exterior) Fairly good harmony. Opening character song well received. Act diversified with girl’s whistling the closing number giving additional strength. Couple should thrive in the pop circuits.
Gordon takes up most of the time with songs that were not any too well received Sunday. The act got the most attention on the dancing finish with the sisters, Gordon dancing first with one then the other. A dark stage did not help any at the juncture. As the act’s main asset is dancing it is up the trio to frame accordingly. The act may pass muster in the pop houses.
8 Mins.; One. One boy plays the piano. Both sing. Both appear in blackface. Their comedy and songs scored Sunday afternoon. The young men get fairly good harmony out of their “duos.” The piano man tickles the ivories for one number. The team can get over nicely in the pop houses.
“In yokel makeup Strickland looks nearly seven feet tall, is awkward and ungainly and ambles around like a country cousin some years behind in dress and mode of living.”
