Variety (Apr 1949)

32 TELEVISION REVIEWS ^cdneiwlay, April 6, 1949 BECK CANDLELIGHT REVVE tVlih Monica ° Lewis, Rocer Dann, . Kirkwood & Goodman Writers:, Marit Lawrence, Diclt Director; Ricliard Goode Producer: Howard G. Barnes 20 Ming,; Tliurs., 10 p.m. A. S. BECK WNBT, N. Y.' iDorland) This offering is a modestly con- ceived intimate musical sliow whicli fills the bill adequately as late evening fare; Routining for the 20'minute : session is handled in smootl), informal style within a well-dressed set; Musical chores are executed in good style by Mon- ica Lewis and Roger Dann with a touch of comedy supplied by Kirk- wood & Goodman team. Addition of a hoofer would, help round this- scssion into a miniature revue. On the debut stanza (31), show epened brightly with each of the i<cts doing a musical intro . on an amusing horn-tooting note. Miss Lewis, who has an impontant video- genic appeal, delivered a' couple of pop tunes with verve^ while on the romantic side, Dann, a French chanter, softly crooned some French and American ballads that neatly blended with the atmos- pheric mood.; Kirkwood & Good- man's turn, however, was discord- ant and sagging. Their comedy efforts in a long musical number were completely hamstrung by lack of material, although both lads showed nice personalities. Opening session was also handi- capped by over-plugging for the ' shocTstore bankroUer. Besides sev- eral mentions by the live talent, filmed commercial had a forced comedy tone which detracted fyom its effectiveness. ■ / Herin. TV TEEN CLUB With Paul ' Whiteman, Margo ' Whitemanrothers Producer: Jack Steck Director; Herb Horton : Writer: Ben Martin . 60 Mins.; Sat., 9 p.m. Sustaining ABC-TV, from Philadelphia This show could probably best be described as a teenage vaudeo :presentation, but one with a new idea—the combating of juve de- •Jinquency. Program, conceived and developed by ABC music vee- pee Paul Whiteman, is an exten- sion of his Teen Age Clubs, fdunded in. over 200 U; S. cities as a means of keeping the teen- agers out of trouble spots. WFIL- TV, the web's Philadelphia outlet, merely took the club idea and built an hour-long show around it. Result is good entertainment plus a good public service gesture. Program has the Philly kids gathered for a Saturday night party at a local armory, where they dance to a large orch. Air- time keys-the. vaudeo presentation and the preem last Saturday night (2) spotted several : promising youngsters in various turns. White- man's teenage daughter, Margo, a pretty gal with an infectious per- sonality, handled most of the emcee work in professional style, with Whiteman himself at her side to toss in occasional nostalgic notes and to back her up on the rough spots. WFIL-jTV producer Jack Steck and director Herb Horton wisely put some production techniques into the show, abetting each act with good camera handling. Use of the "jury," which selects the acts to be aired each week, plus tiie Whiteman- directed • chorus, added to the program's overall im- pact. With the dearth of good Saturday night shows now on the air, this looks like a good bet for a sponsor 'interested in doing a public service turn as well as spotlighting his products. Stal. SUPER CIRCUS With Claude Kirchncr, Cliflf Sou- bier, Mary tfartUne, Jack Holtz and Myla, Wldeman Circus acts Producer: Jack Gibriey 30 MIns.; Sun., 4 p.m. CANADA DRY ABC-TV, from Chicago (J. M. Mathes) First half-hour of "Super Circus" preemed under sponsorship this week; and it might just as well have been called Super Fizz. Two variety acts were sandwiched be- tween an outstanding welter of ginger ale commercials. Claude Kirchner as ringmaster and Cliff Soubier as the clown managed somehow to get a pony- dog-monkey act and a horizontal bar performance into the circus atmosphere, but the program could be written off aii a free style ex- hibition of plugs for the sponsor's product. The animal act featured dogs jumping through hoops, riding on a pony, and dancing on hind legs., Monkeys rode on pony. Jack Holtz petitormed on horizontal bars with a whirlwind exhibition of dips, spins, kips and twirls. Along with circus acts, two kids Were given a blackboard and chalk contest, wherein they raced to jot down number of words gleaned from sponsor's name. Refreshing note was Mary Hart- line leading orchestra through bouncy" numbers. But despite her appearances and the hard work of Kirchner and Soubier, televiewers' interest was; inevitably centered on six different ways to present a commercial. Show plugged ginger ale ver- bally, with placards, and with prizes, until product was mighty near running out of viewers' ears. Camera , work was adequate until- kids contest was under way, and then even the lens got confused. Overall picture of commercial show still adds up to an attraction for youngsters, but it will help if they like ginger ale, lots of it. Mort. VICKI VOLA Starrlne as "MISS MILLER" on MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, eighth consecutive ypar, NBC. As "BETTY MOORE" on THE BETTY MOORE PROGRAM — jVIutual. Heard on the TTelen. Hayes' "ELECTRIC THEATRE" Telephone PL 7-0700 GOLDEN WEDDING With William Boehm, Maureen McNally, ; Fourflushers, Jack Elton, guests Producer^Director: John Price 30 Mins.; Sun., 7:30 p.m. WNBK-TV, Cleveland Mu.sic and nostalgia are woven ai'ound 30 minutes dedicated to a couple celebrating their- golden anniversaiy. On stanza cauglit, couple honored were Dr. and Mrs. M. F. Gannon who, through their response to questions of courtship days, did much to spark an other- wise slow stanza. . William Boehm does well on the singing, but lacks the script to carry the show.. Maureen McNally takes the musical honors. The Fourflushers, in a barbershop quar- tet background, are routinish in offerings. Jack Elton does nificly at piano, and videorwise. Price docs have nice change of • frames. Program caught, however, lacked balance in that virtually every song and most of the dialog dwelt on a St. Patrick's Day that had passed three days ago. Mark. JAMAICA RACES With Clem McCarthy, Bill Stem, Sammy Renickt announcers Producer: Bill Garden 60 Mins.; Sat. (2), 3:30 p.m. Sustainine NBC-TV. from N. Y. Technically, NBC-TVs first pick- up of the season from, the New York racetracks marked probably the neatest job done as far as fol- lowing the: horses was concerned. Productionwise, howeverj much remains to be done to iron out the rough spots in keeping viewers' in- terest from lagging during those half-hour waits between events. That should require only • some imaginative thinking, and the pick- ups, which NBC plans to carry throughout the season, should have little trouble in luring both racing fans and a suitable bankroUer. Use of the Zoomar lens on the races made it possible to follow the nags from the starting gate around the turns and down to the finish line, with little less in focus despite the. varying distances cov- ered. NBC cameramen attempted to use the Zoomar between races, too; and had viewers jumping all over .the track and the surround- ing terrain with no regard to orien- tation. Way the cameras jumped from time to time indicated the lensers' inexperience with both the Zoomar and their coverage job, but that should be ea.sily cor- rectable. Clem McCarthy did .his usual breathless but baffling de.scription of the races. He obviously knows his gee-gees, but viewers would be able to follow the horses better by listening to the trackside caller. Bill Stern, on hand to kick oft" the initial pickup, showed his TV in- experience by attempting to lead the cameras where lie Wanted them to gO; Too often he sounded like a tired father leading a re- calcitrant brat. Ex-jockey Sammy Benick. because, of hi.s background and knowledfee, should develop into a good trackside interviewer as .soon as he overcomes that "gee- whiz" attitude about TV. Sto/l. ■ THE HUGH MARTIN SHOW With Betty George, Jack Gray, Butterfly McQueen; Kayot Bal- lard, guest Producer: George Abbott Director: Vie McLeod- 30 Mins.; Sun., 7 p.m. (EST) Sustaining NBC-'fV. N. Y. George Abbott, legit producer and director, makes his video bow, producing in collaboration with NBC this new half-hour musical. It's slotted. in the Sunday night at 7 period, which NBC is now utiliz- ing: as a: tryout showcase. While billed as the "Hugh Martin Show/' the erstwhile com- poser of. Abbott Broadway musicals keyboards the program as only a supplementary adjunct to what, essentially, is a .30-minute series of musical vignettes done in the intimate style of the Abbott musicomedies. There's nothing pretentious about this show and perhaps that's in its favor. There is a line of boys who are woven into the continu- ity and who backgrounded a reprise of Martin's .'Buckle Down Win- socki" from Abbott's "Best Foot Forward," one of the show's stand^^ out bits. Also from "Best Foot" there was a sock duo treatment of Martin's .'/Three B's" boogie-woogie im- provisation featuring Betty George and Jack Gray. As a guest attrac- tion, Kaye Ballard, who brings to mind another Abbott graduate, be- ing a sort of Nancy Walker with refinements, gets a TV buildup with a Hollywood celeb .cari- caturing. It was all put together in a breezy; informal manner, without making any attempt at production furbelowSi Martin himself, in addi- tion to eniceeing at the ivories, does some effective vocalizing. The chief value of the show will lie in Abbott's ability to ferret out potential bigtime TV talent. If only that in Miss George, a looker as well as a talented singer, and in Miss Ballard, video has a couple of promising prospects, the Abbott tryout has paid off. Rose. Tele FoUow-ujp Coimneiit VIDEO VARIETIES With Ann: Ryan, Bob Shreve,. Doc . Wildeson Orch ■ ; Producer; Rikel Kent 20 MinS^, Mont., 7:30 p.m. Participating , WLWT, Cincinnati Styled for early-evening looking, this tangy musical snorter is per-. formed by Grosley staffers who are i set with pop fans. Routine is ad | lib, with the seasoned skipper, | Rikel Kent, keeping a watchful' eye and car. I Doc Wildeson, trusty trumpeter, heads a hangup instrumental crew, including Sid Carey, bass; Tom Hichley, drums and vibs; Chick Gatwood. guitar; Buddy Ross, ac- cordion, and Bert Little, piano. Ann Ryari^^nd Bob Shreve take (Continue^ on page 39) HENRY MORGAN SHOW With Patsy Kelly, Dave ApoUon Writers; Morgan, Arnold HorWitt, Aaron Ruben Director: Roger Muir 15 Mins.; Mon.. Wed., Fri., 7:30 pm. Sustaining ' NBC, from N. Y. Henry Morgan is a controversial comic in any medium with a ■ style that can draw as many raves as razzes, depending upon taste. So it is with his TV show. If this thrice weekly session can't hope for a huge mass audience, it can at least be sure of- a steady a^d devoted following among more. sophisticat- ed viewers, For video, Morgan, is dispensing the same casually dry compound of satire and imagina- tive drollery which earned'him his original radio rep. On last Monday's show (4), Mor- gan, decked out in a turban, open- ed with an amusing lecture on the natural history of the camel neatly illustrated; by seiTj^animated car- toons. It wa,s a solid flve-minute stmt, after which Morgan virtually retired to the backgiound for a couple of musical numbers. Dave ApoUon delivered a fancy guitar number topped off by Morgan slic- mg an egg through one of the background harps. Show closed with Morgan doing a brief impres- sion of Arthur Godfrey introducing one of his talent scouts as prelude to another novelty instrumental number. Herm. ♦•-♦.4- ► Jaek Dempsey, brought in as a last-minute replacement foi? come- dian Jackie Miles on the "Texaco Star Theatre" last Tuesday night (29) via NBC-TV, helped maintain the hot pace engendered by the Milton Berle opus in recent weeks. (Miles was unable to arrange a de- lay ini his dinner show at the Copa- cabana, N. Y., where he's now ap- pearing.) With Dempsey playing it deadpan, he and' Berle socked across a fight routine, climaxed by a slow-motion knockout, which lent^ added zip to the ex-cfaaihpfs surprise appearance. Despite Berle's backing himself with one of the,most talent-heavy bills he's had, it was still his show all the way, from his opening monolog as an organ-grinder with a live monkey : on his shoulder. Beatrice Kraft and her dance troupe terped .one of their Indian satires straight and then Berle came in to clown it up for the necessary laughs. June Havoc started slowly with a number out of her reach; gained speed with a nostalgic and funny vaudster:. im- personation but. hit real pay dirt teaming, with Berle for a "When Francis Dances With Me" song- and-dance routine. Desi Arnaz soloed neatly on a medley of Latin tunes and drew top results with some hot bongo- drumming, highlighted by novel camera superimpositions. Berle and the entire layout, as usual, finaled with ajproduction number, this time based on a Latin motif, to round out a tightly-paced show Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" presented an okay vaudeo layout via CBS-TV Sunday night (3) but had little to lift it above average. Brightest spots were the fine acro-terping of the Coistello Twins, the vocalizing of Kitty Kallen and the ad lib clowning of film actor Kirk Douglas, brought to the stage by SuUivan from the 1 studio audience. Otherwise, the show lacked necessary verve. Clown Emmett Kelly did an okay job of plugging the Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Circus which opens tonight (Wed.).at Mad- ison Sqare Garden, N. y , and al.so demonstrated his cartoon tech- niques. Piero Bros, impressed with some fast juggling routines and Honny Graham pleased with his comedy. John Carradine, in fuU costume, thesped an acceptable ex- cerpt from Shakespeare's "Rich- HAPPY PAPPY With Ray Grant, Four Vagabonds. Modern Modes (4), guests Producer-Director: Jack Gibney Wnter: Fred Montiegel 40 Mins., Fri., 9:05 p m. Sustaining WENR-TV, Chicago This aU-Negro program is a ba.sically sound idea lor showcas- ing Negro talent, but in the initial telecast the contrast between pro- fessionals and amateurs was too great, making for uneven pacing. Istill, Its commercial possibilities are greater than some already sponsored video. Backbone of the program is Ray Orant, as Happy Pappy, who either through feigned dignity or nerves, was stiff during opening moments, but later became completely re- laxed to handle emcee duties capably. However, , Grant will have to be careful about his sug- gestive glances and chatter—-Hiatus not tor video. Vocal group, Four Vagabonds, pertorms well, and really rocked the closing number, "Yes indeed." Modern Modes, instrumental quar- tet, ^exhibits good change oC pace in their various numbers. ' Sandwiched in between these t^vo groups were the amateurs. One, a postal employee. Cliff An- derson, came through with a Como- like 'Because." The rest were reminiscent of nabe house ama- teur nights. Don McNeill Enter- prises, packager of the show, should be able to find better Negro amateur talent than appeared here. Each of the guest ams was given a sweater, coat, pots and pans, etc. Awards weren't big enough to cause oh-ing and ali-ing in all- Negro studio audience, add noth- ing to the show and this payoff' should be eliminated, at least in front 01 cameras. Set, well-done modified night club scene, allowed good contrast, with a few exceptions. However there ai-e production difficulties which may be hard to overcome. Show can be tightened consider- ably by eUmination of awards, more careful screening and re- hearsal of guesting ainateur.s. Makeup should help take care of color contrasts. Don. ard HI," but spotting the act be. tween two vaude numbers tnade it slightly incongruous. "Colgate Theatre" presented "Sugar and Spice," innocuous two- act comedy about tennage foibles Monday (4) eve. The slight storv concerned 15-year-old Jane Jones and her guest, Susanne, a just re- turned from Pares who considers herself a ."femme du monde" Keeping up with Susanne shakes the Jones household, but doesn't call forth much laughter. And strictly according to formula. Mom' tells Janie to "catch flies with honey" and daughter wins back the boy next door for the happy end- ing. "Sugar" was competently staged - and played, with Jane (iompton turning in a neat thcsping job as the under-age Gallic siren. Produc- tion had a few good moments but the total eflfect Was lightweight. *'Admiral Broadway Rcvuc;" cut off at the halfway mark la.st week by a power snafu, picked up the lost pieces by including some of them in the show Friday night d) over the DuMont-NBT webs. Mary McCarty's satire on a,hypochon- driac femme,. which was snipped in the middle last week, benefited bv the extra rehearsal time but other- wise Friday night's offering was a sporadic affair. Opening production niimbfr played weU but the foUowing Sid Caesar-Imogene Coca skit on a near - sighted bookdeater lacked punch. Both Caesar and Miss Coca recouped their losses later, he with a solo' routine on mating through the ages and she with a funny bit on an opera diva. Latin number with the three leads also was lacklustre but Marge and Gower Champion pleased with a soft-shoe terpsiohored to ''Give Me an Old-Fashioned Song." Camera played too close to the SaUci Pup- pets for top results, dispelling ' most of the illusion this act usually generates on a large theatre stage. High spot of the hour was the amusing tramp ballet for the wind- up, sparked by the Champions' an- tics, Slow pace, of the middle commercial, incidentally, indicated that even Roy Atwell, who carries the plug, is getting tired of its sameness week after week. "And Never Been Kissed;" dramatization of Sylvia Dee's new novel, which . Philco Television Playhouse offered on NBC Sunday (3), was a disappointment Story of teenagers in the flapper age a • generation ago had its amusing moments, and some very funny gags, but on the whole was below- par entertainment. In writing, situation, easting and direction, the offering suffered. There were many corny moments and some old gags, A pie in the face is funny the first time, but not the third. Direction and performance were plodding. Furthermore, technical flaws spoiled the program, such as bad lighting which gave the actors' makeup some grotesque effects. Bert Lytell, genial emcee,was missing from the program because the Actors Equity tieup had run out. There was no courtesy an- nouncement to this effect which may have left loyal Philco fans wondering. Muriel Kirkland did a fine job as the mother, as did Syl- via Lane as a brat. Lenka Peterson was also fine as the girl-friend. Pa- tricia Kirkland and Billie Redfield were okay in the leads. New series under the o^'erall heading of "London After D;irk" teed off with a bang on BUG. Lon- don, with the production of "Inside Scotland Yard." Produced on straight documentary lines, this small, feature was designed to emr phasize that crime doesn't pay, _ Emphasis is centered on the importance of public coopcr.ition with the police department, and a picture is presented which proves conclusively that the - criminal .stands little chance of getting through the Scotland Yard net- work. This is good popular dra- matic fare. Production of BBC's "Counsel's Opinion" showed up weakness of farce as a medium for video. There was a topline cast, headed by Austin Melford and Irene Worth and producer Eric Fawcett put all he knew into the production, but nonetheless it proved to be an un- satisfying entertainment. On the other hand, the BBC excelled itselt with its production of Patrick Hamilton's "The Governess," with Betty Ann Davies and Milton Ros- mer starred. This was a sdong. mteaty subject and proved one of the soundest offerings aired from the London studios in recent weeks.