A Review of the Uptown Theatre

From the archive...

House Reviews: Uptown

Source: Variety, 17 February 1926, pg. 43.

The grosses at this house have taken an upward trend in recent weeks. The matinees have become something of a minor social event with the housewives in the Uptown neighborhood. Balaban and Katz conceived pink teas with the mezzanine foyer converted into a drawing room for the afternoon. The hand-out has made a powerful appeal. This pink tea racket makes a good flash and probably doesn't cost as much as, for instance, the souvenirs given away in ballrooms. It looks like a great investment. Strictly a feminine draw with female attendants to pour the beverage. Lots of cookies will be needed to offset shows such as this week. This reviewer overheard two different comments from the ladies, which, boiled down, were to the effect that the program was "punk." First the picture, "We Moderns," extremely weak. The overture only pleasing, winding up with a cello solo by Ewald Graul. "Berceuse Du Jocilyn" flashily backgrounded with a rhinestone set-piece. The best thing on the bill was Jesse Crawford's comic didoes on the organ. Entitled "Ain't It a Grand and Glorious Feeling" with apologies to Briggs. To the accompaniment of screen drawings and captions, Crawford interprets the average man's feelings when his wife drags him to the concert, the lecture and the opera. Then into a pop number that doesn't strain the intellect. An elaborate presentation in four scenes, "The Honeymoon," meant little or nothing, although done on the gorgeous scale of scenic effects in which the B & K production department is so proficient. Reviewed in detail under Presentations.