Swing (Jan-Dec 1953)

THE CREAM OF CROSBY 19 riving on the stand early and looking even grimmer than he did twenty years ago when he rode down Pennsylvania Avenue with President Roosevelt. There was President Truman who seemed far more triumphant on the moment of his departture than at the moment of his arrival, listening with intense concentration to the speech of his successor and applauding faintly from time to time. There was Nixon shifting uneasily from side to side, seemingly uncertain which side he was to be sworn in from. Television scored best on the little pictures of people ranging from the new President to a little Negro boy perched in a tree on the parade route which, while intimate, still carried the terrible authority of bistory. Not that the big picture was neglected. NBC, for example, with fifteen cameras, fifteen commentators and a total crew of 250, gave a performance which was an absolute marvel of coordination, jumping all over Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues with hardly a flicker of uncertainty. The public is likely to take television technical virtuosity for granted but this one, which took months of preparation, was remarkable even by television's high standards. General Motors has paid $6,000,000 to NBC-TV for a series of public affairs (the inaugural, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth and some football games) which NBC would happily have carried for nothing. Apparently quite alive to the possibility of public censure, the commercialization of the show (suspended entirely during the actual ceremony) was almost eliminated beyond an occasional mention and the rather startling legend flashed on the screen once or twice that this was "A GM-TV Key Event." G.M.'s best advertisement was the unbroken succession of Cadillacs, bearing the President and party to the White House. It must have been particularly galling to the Packard people who were sponsoring the show on CBS-TV and could hardly avoid telecasting Cadillacs to millions of viewers. G.M.'s only questionable activity was a half hour review on film of prior inaugurals in which the commentator pointed out how well the development of Cadillac had kept abreast and, in fact, well ahead of our expanding national history. It wasn't offensive. It was just funny. As to the parade, I have a private theory that television and parades are mutually incompatible. A parade, as I see it, should have a beginning and a middle and an end and the spectator, establishing himself at one fixed point, sees it in that order. But television, that electronic wonder, can keep right up with the denouement (in this case, President Eisenhower) so that instead of seeing him wave at you once which is what you're waiting for, you see it again and again. You're in the parade, not witnessing it. Actually, what we saw the most of were the Secret Service men, mostly the backs of their heads, an inspired sight. However, once President Eisenhower took the reviewing stand, the TV cameras resumed the role of spectator rather than participant. Did a perfectly wonderful job, too, on the marching troops and cadets, the bands, the floats, the tanks, and even the elephant. Welcome Home »nPWO For The Money" is a show over J which Fred Allen was to have presided. Then illness intervened and the doctors ruled Mr. Allen off the field for the time being. So NBC rushed in Herb Shriner from the bullpen. Naturally this changed the nature of the show. Mr. Allen takes a dim view of most everything mortal. Mr. Shriner is a quite different dish of tea. He is introduced on this show as "the down-to-earth humanitarian and humorist" and that is a very apt description. He is certainly the most human humorist in the league just now. This is one of those quiz shows where the emcee tries to give away as much money as possible while making as many wisecracks as the Communications Act allows. Shriner, in short, is being asked to be an Indiana Groucho Marx. He does very well at it, too. The difference is that, while Groucho has to strain at being reasonably polite to the contestants (who, you feel, he'd like to strangle), Shriner acts as if politeness came to him naturally. It's nice to have Shriner back. His first show he opened with some remarks on