Variety (Apr 1949)

Wi!dn<!Bdtty» April 6, 1949 RAmO-TBIJBVISlON 39 Television Reviews Continued from page, 32 \ 'a care of the vocal assignment?, ffl is suited for television m ap- Sfarance and know-how before a ffia Miss Ryan gives off fully Sn her charms of face and figure., nn stanza caught, the femme »a?bler sSld "A Uttle Bird Told MP" and Shreve Irish-tenored m».gt*rhings in Life are Free" &vAy. They dualed the "Al- nhabet" number pleasingly. rommercial injections were can- nedTpots for the "Set Up" film at an BKO theatre and on rugs at Sjrts & Doepke, department store. Thev came too abruptly. Some verbal tipoff by the live talent can easily smooth out this wrinkle. ■ 1 ■ -dKoll*' ■, quaint citizens with their legal rights and responsibilities. Format has attorney discussing civil ac- tions with clients against law office background. Preem involved use of air rifle by nine-year-old. son of client with resulting serious eye injury to neighbor. Stanley Gordon as at- torney explained that whilfe client is morally responsible to help neighbor with hospital bills, she is not legally bound to do so, because | son is under age of liability. Brina Magida as client showed proper anguish of troubled moth- er* Gordon's legal manner was i convincing to lay audience, with enough stage presence added to make the problem Coast Soup Firm Drops Xlown' for Video News , Hollywood, Anril 5. Sponsors of the KTTV's "Bozo the Clown," Rancho Soups, has dropped the show after eight weeks of telensing. Sponsor has decided that it is spending too much money on the local televi|ion scene. Rancho has. been picking up the tab on a newsreel telecast over KTLA plus the "Bozo" program. Firm has decided to drop "Bozo" and continue with the newsreel in cutting its video budget. D.C. Web Stations Continued from page 28 i RUMPUS BOOM With Johnriy OJsen, audience par- tioipaiits . Director: David Davis 30 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri„ 10 a.m. TELEDISCO WABD. N. y. (JSlHoft Nonas) Format on this one embraces the usual audience participation parlor came contests with the whole lay- out ringmastered by Johnny Ol- sen There's nothing particularly outstanding about the show. But on the other hand there's no need to worry about freshness or orig- inality since in theory "Rumpus Boom" already has a ready-made crop of femme viewers who have been avid followers of Olsen on the nets. For iseveral months a morning fixture on WABD, the program re- cently had its tab. picked up by DuMont's metropolitan New York distributor, Teledisco.. On show caught Thursday (31), Olsen smiled benignly at the beaming studio audience of grandmother^, moth- ers and assorted children in the course of putting. the guestees through their paces. Contests included a musical message game, a brief sequence where two elderly ladies imitated chickens and.a scene where a gal was asked to identify a musical note. Session obviously is well- devised for the femme stay-at- homes, for what woman isn't in- terested in seeing everything from washing machines to compacts dis- tributed to contestants for doing next to nothing? Olsen dexter- ously wove in several .plugs for DuMont's models and made copl ous references to a donor of some of the merchandise. Camerawork was capable. , sGilb sion « matter of general viewer in-' ^^^^^ constructing the auxiliary terest. Invisible announcer George ] engmeenng complications. Bauer came in at start and finish i Addition of FM to the 45% CBS- with just-jight explanation of pro-J owned WTOP is expected to stim Cleveland Snafu Continued from page 31 ; ing after a trying we^k of battle with the State Dept., union, hall officials, 'tc, this was almost the proverbial last straw for James Hanrahan, manager of WEWS. In a prepared announcement, which was given at the end of the tele- cast, WEWS said in part: "WEWS, of course, had nothing to do with the placing of the NBC mike, which prevented television' viewers in northeastern Ohio from getting a clear view of the Im- portant UNESCO speakers. This station regrets it was unable to present an unobstructed view of the historic meeting tonight.'' Over at WTAM, engineering staifmen, who put the mike up to record the speech for a later playback, both in . its entirety and as part of the West Coast Alka- Seltzer program, said their opera- tion was a normal, routine one; that other stations had call letters on podium mikes, too. To put on the UNESCO telecast as a public service program, WEWS cancelled out several com- , merciaisi including . the Texaco show, which WNBK fed. gram. Except for pronounced camera lags, this is a dandy little package all around. ADVENTURES OF HOMER HERK With Shelley Herman, Doras Smith, Everett Clarke, Dick Bull Writer-Producers: . Patrick . Sam- mon, Gordon Pace Director: Bruno VeSota 30 Mins., Thurs., 7:30 Pirn. Sustaining ulate sale of FM sets in this area, where inability to tune in on the web's programs has been regarded in radio circles as a deterrent to receiver sales. It has also been reported that lack of an FM af- filiate has been hurting WTOP and helping other stations. Recent es- timates have put the number of sets having FM reception facilities in the Washington area at 75,000. 1A survey last month by NBC WGN-TV, Chicago i showed that 11% of the me'tro'poli- , This is premiere of adventure | tan population has access to FM | series, involving scholarly little' receivers but that only 5% Were i daydreamer whose pipe, dreams regular FM listeners. transport him to distant times and lands, involving famous historical personalities. Format employs dreqm fadeout of Shelley Berman as Homer Herk, with subsequent camera .cuing into prepared historical crisis, in this case Queen Cleopatra awaiting the first visit of Marc" Antonyi Plot involves Homer Herk being mistaken for Antony, until real Antony appears. After ludicrous Operation of WTOP-FM leaves approval of the WINX sale as the last remaining step in the many- sided- transaction by which the, Post took over majority control in WTOP from CBS and the web ac- quired complete ownership of, KQW, San Francisco. Transfer of I WINX requires compliance with | AVCO procedure but unless com- petitive bidders appear soon, ap- sword scene. Homer,,disposes ofl proval to Banks is likely.' Under ; DRAWING ROOM With Bill MnlTejr. Jane Campbell, Guests pirectoK Paul Krauss i& mm., Fri., 6:15 p.in. Sustaining: WRGB-TV, Schenectady Mildly entertaining parlor game, A vanotion of charades in which guest contestants draw out titles of songs, plays, books, objects, etc., and teammates guess identification from the elementary sketches, is telecast here. Program uses two emcees: Bill Mulvey, who has held executive positions with WGY, and «ane Campbell, who apparently is a GE office employee. Mulvey in- terviews, directs and coaches the women contestants; Miss Campbell does the sameiwith the men. Drawing Room" sometimes drags and lags, but the last tele- cast viewed had tempo and zip, thanks to an exceptionally good squad of femmes. Gals, GE work- ers (several of whom had appeared T, ?2' proved sharp. Addition- h t'**^ televised rather well. ^ Mulvey possesses an engaging television personality. Miss Camp- Peii, \vhile friendly; over-presses on occasions; becoming coy and Joco. the. conditions by which the FCC permitted; the Post to take over operation ot WTOP sale of WINX must be completed by Aug. 18, otherwise its license Will be sur- rendered. White Continued from page 1!7 Antony by means of jiu jitsu toss, Cleo figures Homer is real McCoy and'stages a violent seduction and proposal scene. Marriage is called off when Homer criticizes her clothes, and is tossed to crocodiles. Camera- then restores grateful viewer to awakened Homer. "Adventures" is apparently beamed at family circle, but misses by a mile. Script and situations are childish for adults, and too oversexed for children. Original songs "Whatever I Do," "There's Nothing I Like So Much," and "I'm Too Young to Get Mar- ried," are fairly delivered by vari- ous principals of cast. Musical background is capably handled by Robert Trendler orch. Settings ?o"r^'o'tX'S?i'wo^ fs"?o|' « It seems a shame to waste pro duction money on such trivia. Matt. versation since White's name was first projected publicly last week. For one thing, White himself, on the basis of his past 15 years of organizational activity as a CBS exec (since 1937), and before that with Newsweek and the Literary Guild, would undoubtedly be eager Pioneer oin Patterns As a negotiatoc, both in firianciiil i matters and particularly on labor [ | problems; White probably hM M peer iii' the indilsti^;; But, perhaps i of even greater importance ,ih! terms of Mutual and its future. White's ability over the yearis to j introduce different patterns rather \ out that the Canadian government | than follow in the same paths of has, for some time, been consider-1 stiffer competition (CBS vs. NBC Gan^ B'casters = Continued from page 3a b Brlna George ATTORNEY AT LAW "'2J»_. Stanley Gordon, Mieida, Ann Blager; Writer-Producer: William Wines SI'Mtor: Bruno VeSota Lute,"*""' '=« WGN-TV, Chicago this series is designed to s Radio and TV Executive iSl'i ''""wn Drortuoflr, director, and Ji'^'ntttor o« many lartlo & tPlevlKion wL,^'41'°'" riTmnnent positlnn With ShZ. "Senfy • to haiulle all l>na«es of thle woi-k. Box V 1818, 221 W. 41«( Office Space for Rent RADIO CITY VICINITY J^slraWe 1- and 2-room ofdoeo with ,, . tw.ephone Hwltchbourrt Bervice, on 4th floor Ik. ... ABBEY HOTKI, "1 W. SlKt St. iNew York City Phone: Circle C-MOO ing how TV broadcasting could be developed in this country in a way that would best serve the national interest. The early stages in the growth of TV in other countries have been carefully studied and it was realized that TV here would go through a difficult and costly period of experiment, _ In the meantime, however, with an initial grant of $4,000,000 from the federal governmentj the devel- opment of a Canadian TV system will be undertaken on an "interim basis," with CBC stations to be established in Toronto and Mont- real. ,, , ,'■ ,,' ^ ■ ... , The federal government, there- fore, proposes to adopt the follow- ing interim plan: The general di- rection of TV broadcasting in Can- ada will be entrusted to the CBC; national TV production centres will be established in Toronto and Montreal; in any city or area in Canada, including Montreal and Toronto, a license to establish one private station .will "be granted to a private organization giving ade- quate assurances of financial means and of service; in view of the high cost of television operations, it is felt that individuals or groups in- terested in establishing a private station in any city may wish to form an association for the pur- pose of applying for a license." This plan by no means provides lor the exclusion of non-Canadian material from i Canada's TV chan- nels, said Dunton. The public will wish Canadian TV stations, both public and private, to carry good programs from other countries. Newsweek vs. Time, Literary Guild | | vs. Book of the Month) would, it's | felt, be the clincher in resolving; Mutual's new modus operandi. Kobak, meanwhile, is silent on \ I his future plans. Many in the j I trade feel that the outgoing Mutual! I prexy is in the enviable position,: I because of his own personal ties, I administrative know-how and sales ; technique, of taking considerable i business with him. On that basis, || it's considered likely that NBC or 11 ABC might put in a bid for his i services on an upper echelon level. Cantor Continued'from page 27 < for allowing an outsider to dom- inate their business." Cantor revealed that his first NBC tele show would be kine^ scoped from the Coast Oct. 4, using i | a different cast than one he has i been trouping with, except pos-1| sibly for Mitzi Green. Show may screen twice monthly, although Cantor is holding out for one show a month. Program's format will split be- tween rehashes of Cantor-owned ; Zelgfeld material, and comedy twists of current news events. Comedian admitted that "he was in radio to stay" despite new tele ,show. ,,, Cantor troupe is skedded for ] personal appearances in Pitts- burgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo in near future, An ] Oakland show is lined for May 24. My Thanks tor RAYMOND KATZ For Introducing Me On WMGM's ''Accent On Music Program" And^ fo you BEE WALKER For Your Wonderful Coaching and Great Arrangements TAD BRUCE CAN BE HEARD 7:30 NIGHTLY VrMGM's "Accent on Mus'k" Thru Saturday, April 9th ★ Personal Management HENRY WILLIAM WIESE U74 Broadwoy. New York City