Selected Vaudeville Criticism

• FRED ALLEN

Allen is a nut comedian who has been out for several seasons. In the smaller houses he worked in the use of a phoney ventriloquist bit with the aid of a stage hand, employed various gimcracks including wooden hands and mixed in juggling bits. All of the “junk” and borrowed stuff has gone with the exception of a wabbly umbrella.

With whitened face Allen is now more “legitimately” a comic of the nut school, minus the trunkful of props. He could not resist the use of a card placed before his entrance reading “Mr. Allen is deaf. If you care to laugh or applaud, please do so loudly.” With hand placed in back of his ear he carried out the sign idea in part.

Allen is not a monologist. His chatter is unrelated and aimed for laughs, which he secured. Working up “illustrations” of a nut number, “The Electric Chair,” he worked in assorted nutty things that sent him to the entrance in favor.

Reappearing with a guitar, he said that he was a Hawaiian. Once he was very dark, but someone left a pair of dice in the house and he faded, faded, faded. Allen’s number with the guitar, entirely a comedy idea, was successful throughout and it brought him out for more. He mentioned once that he might not be quality but he sure gave quantity. His turn is overtime, but Allen’s present act is big time and it looks all his own.

--“Ibee” [Jack Pulaski] in Variety, June 10, 1921, page 17.

• FRED AND ADELE ASTAIRE

The Astaire children are a nice looking pair of youngsters, prettily dressed, and they work in an easy style, without the predominating “freshness” which usually stands out above everything else with “prodigies.” Dancing is the feature. It ranges from toe to the more popular (in vaudeville) hard-shoe. The singing falls almost entirely to the boy, who has a surprisingly powerful voice for a lad of his years. The girl’s voice is light. The boy sings an Italian song as a solo, doing rather well with it, although at times the value of the song-story is lost through an effort to squeeze in a bright line the lyric writer had evidently overlooked until too late. The toe-dance following the song could be replaced to advantage. It has a tendency to make the boy appear girlish, something to be guarded against. His actions throughout are a trifle too polite, which is probably no fault of his own, as he appears to be a manly little chap with the making of a good performer. The girl, the larger of the two, does very well with the dancing. Her execution evidences careful training.