The Washington times., 1929-12-05
GLEAN1NGS
AND .
SCREENINGS
BY ANDREW r. KELLEY

readers who know the facts dis
cusS whether Amos n Andy en-
Joy q greater popularity than
the veteran blackface team Of
Mcintyre and Heath in the
heyday Of a long career.
I'll start the argument off
by saying that the 1929 Amos
n Andy team wins by a good
margin. Not only because they
reach a tremendous audience
over the air nightly-not pos
sible in the Mcintyre and
Heath sunshine era-but be-
cause their material presents a
brand new daily routine. Name
another comedy act capable Of
writing and delivering new
stuff every night? And most
OF it good. Teams like Correll
and Gosden are as rare as
snowballs on Pennsylvania Az
enue in mid-July.
Mcintyre and Heath were
truly great as blackface team.
1t was the first act able to eX-
act $4,000 a week-then a stu
pendouS Salary-from vaude-
vile. But I heard jokes and
saw business in their act as 1t
last appeared at Loew's Palace
Theater which was present in
their routine Is years ago. They
stuck to the same ham tree and
pork chop material for years.
Veteran theater men will tell
you that the original Georgia
Ministries had a more loyal and
devoted following for their
burnt cork tom foolery than
even the Eddie Cantor of today
can muster. Certainly Moran
and Mack with their phono-
graph records, radio appear
ances and movie opportunities
have not surpassed, nor do I
think equalled, the Mcintyre
and Heath vogue. Moran and
Mack also suffer from a lack
Of fresh material.
Mcintyre and Heath amassed
millions in so years of partner
ship. amos n Andy" may sur
pass them in wealth for their
radio salary is now 100000 a
year and they are appearing
for the Publix circuit of motion
picture theaters besides at $4,000
q week.
Although we are living in the
age Of VolStead it seems to me
that stage directors ought to
pay more attention to the man.
ner in which actors imbibe
their liquor. I mean, of course,
the vast quantities of cold tea
or pale dry ginger ale or plain
water which passes muster as
Intoxicating on the footlight
sideboards.
In 1.-THE Infinite Shoeblack,"
the English officers hardly wet
their lips with the bogus cock
tails. Last week in 1.-THE
Amorous Antic" the Bohemian
set was presumed to consume
vast quantities of gin. 1t was
easy to observe that the actors
had not use whatever for the
make believe Gordon bootleg.
A fortnight ago in Death
Takes a Holiday" the actors
were supposed to be frightened
to death frequently and a NUM-
Der of decanters and glasses
were shown through which
method they we're expected to
steady their nerves. The fake
liquor was poured out but not
an actor drank it as though it
were three-star HennesSy.
Naturally the audience as
sumeS no real booze is present.
But for the sake of realism
or art, if you Wilt strikes
me the actor ought to pretend
he is getting shot of the real
stuff.
Which reminds me that when
Arthur Hopkins produced Bur
lesque" with Hal Sicily he
thought it would add realism
and perhaps stimulate the &C
tors by having real gin in the
TASKS for the party in the
hotel scene. It worked for a
few nights. Then somebody
took to filling the TASKS and
the bottles with water and the
gin mysteriously disappeared be-
fore it could serve it's profeS-
Sional purpose. So the cast
went back to lemon pop and
stayed on it until the play
closed.
New York critics gave "The
Amorous Antic," the Ernest
Pascal play which debuted at
the Belasco last week terrific
roasting. It seems almost i'm
possible for the Sam Harris
production to survive long the
printed lambasting. The Broad
way premiere was Monday
night.
In Philadelphia where Walter
Ferriss' adaptation of Death
Takes Holiday" is sojourning,
the critics hailed it with open
arms delight. 1t will play a
subscription season of four
weeks in the Sleepy City, then
head for Chicago and even
tually New York.
When Billy Gaxton was play
ing Connecticut Yankee" some
seven months ago he dropped
into the office and expressed a
keen, yen to have fling at the
talking pictures. He never got
over the disappointment of hav-
ing to refuse the Charlie King
role in broadway Melody" due