Variety (December 1954)

Wednesday, December 1, 1954 VKri&Ty CELEBRITY PARADE With Pat O'Brien, Constance Ben- nett, Helen O'Connell, Johnny Desmond, Sam Cowling, Fred Kelly, Steve Kovacs, Don Mayer, Maureen Cannon, others Producer: Jim Hibbins Director: Lloyd Balcom 16 Hrs.: Sat. (27), 9 p.m. MINNESOTA UNITED CERE- BRAL PALSY WMIN-TV and WTCN-TV, Min- neapolis 'The second annual telethon here again proved, successful in raising a substantial sum for Cerebral { >alsy .victims.. Like the ‘initial such Ocal: program over WCCO-TV last year, it brought via-Channel 11 on l this occasion an array of tOpdrawer 4 talent whose pitches for the : wor- thy cause and. performances merited kudOes and‘the purstrings loosen ings which they elicited; Staged at the WTCN-TV hotel studio here and the St. Paul Para* mount theatre, the show found Pat O’Brien, Constance Bennett, Helen O'Cpnnell and the other stars who. trekked frdm Hollywood, New York, Chicago apd, other centers going: all but. Their efforts were supplemented by those of lumi- naries like Maureen Cannon and other from Twin Cities’ night clubs and local .performers, O’Brien and Miss w , Bennett shared the emcee chores in the ex- pected skillful fashion. The for- mer hit the bull’s eye, too, with his songs, dramatic recitations and his Knute Rockne portrayal: Miss Bennett also was on the ball with bits of drama and. Miss O’Connell’s songs, as usual, were boff as were those Of Johnny Desmond. The “Space Patrol," “Wrangler Steve,” “Captain 11" and “Casey Jones" gangs had a sock session for the youngsters. There were heart tugs :as the small fry .disease jsufferers appeared before the camera, to em- phasize. the need for vie we™’ generosity. All in. all, a commendable job that was very well done. Rees. UNCLE JOHNNY COONS. With Bruce Roberts, announcer Director: Jim Green Writer; Ray Chan ■ 30 Mins.; Sat. 1:30 p.m. LEVER BROS. ^ KJBS-TV, from Chicago ( McCann-Ericks.oji) The strength of a kiddie stint is the ability of the emcee' to project himself along with the strength of the comics. In the half-hour Sat- urday stanza that Johnny Coons puts out from Chicago, he projects warm personality with enough bounce and effervescence to not only keep the kiddies watching, but to keep them geared to his line of, chatter/ The films shown. (27) included an old Mack Sennett Soujth Sea Island whimsie, and, for the occasion', Coons was able to utilize a harpoon tie-in to sell an extra Commercial touch. In fact, his handling of commercials, Pep- sodent, Lifebuoy and Good Luck Margarine, was pleasant and not too taxing on the youngsters. Com: mercial spiels come at the opening, two between film clips, and at the close. Neatly lettered cards help carry the message to the kiddies. Trading-card giveaway announce- ments are made early enough in the stanza* to permit kiddies , to have paper and pencil ready. Also on the asset side are organ : music background and sound ef-: fects. Strongest point, though, is- Coons* pleasant personality and happy disposition. Should ; the em- cee—even more than he. did—use opportunities to spell 0Ut*fc6nstruc- tive suggestive bints, siftih as good eating habits "(the spaghetti eating sequence in first comic strip of- fered an opportunity) he’ll endear himself, too, to the parents. Mark . TONIGHT IN PHILADELPHIA With Mike Ellis Producer: Ellis. Director: Dennis Kane 10 Mins.; Mon;, 11:50 p.m. Tues- Fri., 11:20 p.m. Participating WPTZ, Philadelphia . Mike Ellis, Broadway and straw- hat impresario (Bucks County Playhouse) currently at liberty is filling in‘ the off-seas6n with his own show biz session, featuring re- views and interviews; Ellis provides a socko 10 minutes raising the WPTZ interview and guest show rating several notches. ; Show is a curtain raiser to Steve -Allen’s “Tonight," and Ellis has geared his offering so tjiat the transition from the local program to the import is not too marked. Being an actOr, Ellis easily adapts himself to the casual style of Steve Allen and he shows none of the , stress that might be expected of a man. who has just rushed to the studio from a premiere. His the- atrical savvy, both as a producer and a performer, gives him expert qualifications for the subject matter. Comments are show-wise and delivered for the playgoing public rather than the livingroom trade His summary of “House of Flow- ers" (program caught) seemed over-enthusiastic, but guest Betty Furness appeared to concur. Due to the rush on theatrical nights, he works off the cuff with only an occasional glance at annotations on program. With four legit openings last week in Philly, Ellis got ih a lot Of reviewing. Remaining night he of- fered filmed interview of Judy Holliday, in town for film personal. Program will no doubt furnish an other happy outlet for the nitery press agents, during the weeks when the legit wanes. Gagh . SANTA'S MERRYMAKERS With Boyd Bennett's Southlanders, Little Teri, Foster .Brooks, an nouncer Producer-director; Bob Frank. 30 Mins:, 5 p.m." BILL'S AUTO STORES WAVE-TV, Louisville Christmas program, presented in a Santa Claus toyshop set depends upon Bbyd Bennett and His Southlanders, local Dixieland combo which plays local high spots and occasional tv stints, for musical novelties and vocals, to give the kids, a preview package of Yuletide fun, which is father ambitious for local .origination. While the half-hour has no story line, combo of vocalist, trumpet, guitar, steel guitar and bass gives out with the. usual standards* “Winter . Wonderland,” “White Christmas," “Rudolph, Red-Nosed Reindeer," as well as “Big Brown Bear," “Bimbo,” and “If I Ever Needed You," standbys from the Southlanders repertoire. Guys are costumed as Santa Claus, clown, monkey, elk, and other animals, but show evidently doesn’t depend EXPLORING MINDS Producer; Pierre Normanidin.. 30 Mins., Sun., 6 p.m. Sustaining;. CBC-TV, from Ottawa This stanza .on psychological testing for vocational counselling, one of a network series from,vari- ous cities, started out unpromis- ingly. but improved a lot. Dr. Maurice Chagnon, asst, director of the U. of Ottawa’s Institute of Psychology and the show’s expert, was nervous and somewhat atonal though not speaking in French, his natural tongue. Dr. Emmett O’Grady, who ques- tioned him, vyas just the right type—a burly, matter-of-fact Irish- man who’s an English prof at the same university. He kept bringing the psychologist, who tended to talk in abstract terms,; down to earth—until it turned out that the latter had . some downrto-earth ideas himself, like suddenly pro,- during a large kitchen thermometer and explaining a point in' terms familiar to housewives. From then on he was. much more at ease. One weakness in presentation was that both men remained chair- bound in the same positions throughout; and- there were too few closeups to establish them as personalities. A strength was the frequent use of c.u.’s of exotic symbols, charts astrological and phrenological (in the “predictions." buildup) and a good piece of film showing a youngster unconscious- ly displaying aptitudes through his play with blocks and puzzles. Also two later stretches in the. psycholo- gy dept, lab, where several. men were taking tests like drawing while looking in a mirror, picking up tiny nails and tweezers and placing them, etc. These were . clearly delated to aptitudes for certain jobs, and flashing back and forth from liv- ing room to lab was handled so as to avoid monotony rather than cause confusion—for which, in general, Dr.' Chagnon candidly admitted that psychologists are to quite an extent responsible. “How- ever," he added, “there’s a lot of competition in that field today!” Technical effects were good on the whole, and the program rep- resented a pretty fair achievement for producer Pierre Normandin in a city where very few tv shows originate. Card. LONGINGS - WITTNAUER THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL With Symphonette and Choraliers; Corps de . Ballet; Walter Hamp- den, guest; Frank Knight, an- nouncer Producer-Director: Alan R. Car- toun Co-Director: Ted Estabrook Writers: Harrison J. Cowan, James H. Frankenberry 60 Mins.; Thurs. (25) . 5 p.m. LONGINES-WITTNAUER CBS-TV, from N.Y. (Victor A. Bennett) Apparently the specs hold no terror for. the Longines-Wittnauef production boys, for their 60-min- Ute hpliday festivities on CBS-TV on Thanksgiving Day was tasteful and rewarding; an ambitious enter- prise that settled for some imagi- native, touches instead of excessive trappings. It was a skillful blend- ing of voices, ballet and .Sym- phonette, all keyed to the broadest possible appeal; It made for a pleasurable holiday hour of after- noon viewing. The final half-hour was devoted to a presentation of “Sleeping Beauty," with Walter Hapnpden- as the narrator. While geared; prin- cipally for kid appeal; it was .endowed with some fine adult in- yehtiye . touches^. notably in - the designing of ,the : presentation, with the. lighting and the finely-etched backgrounds and castle props be- ing singularly effective, The one jarring note in the .fantasy and escape (into. the Never-Never-Land was the departure from the Tchai- kowgky score and the substitution of such items (as the Prince dis- covers the sleeping. castle) as Vic- tor Herbert’s “Sweet Mystery vof Life." It was an unfortunate in- trusion upon an otherwise faithful capturing Of the classic. " The first half featured a succes- sion Of, delightful vignettes in which the Symphopette,.Choraliers and Ballet de Corps shared equal honors^ An: Erie Canal Thanksgiv-; ing dance episode ' (circa 1825); “Dances Aroiirid the World" (spdt- lighting U.S. -Europe - Israel-Wdst Indies choreography), a Mississippi River showboat minstFel frolic and a fantasy built around caged “femme birds ■ (the latter unusual in its execution) all contributed i toward making this sixth annual L-W Thanksgiving Festival its best one yet. Rose upon a script. And tooters carry on their limited dialog with well- worn chestnuts.. Cute touch is a femme moppet* 'Little Teri, who is already a tv vet, and who demon- strates some of the riding toys with corhplete naturalness. Commercials are lengthy and frequent, coming between practi- cally every number; Kid watchers might get a mild kickffrom seeing the toy display, but the South- landers fail to register with their animal. costumes and routine of musical numbers. Big Mo, hefty trumpet player, wears the Santa costume, but confines Wis appear- ances to trumpet) licks with the combo. Show is on once a week, and may get into the* Xmas spirit as the group settles into & kid pleasing format. Wied. Winnie’s ‘Finest Hour’ Cut to 30 Mins, on TV, Blit Radio Shoots Works Yesterday (Tues.) was Winston Churchill’s 80th, birthday, so on Sunday and Monday (28-29) Amer- ican broadcasters paid up . part of the world debt to the British Prime Minister with “their fines't hours.” But as far as tv was concerned, it was merely a “finest half-hour” with only NBC providing the vis : ual aspect in the Sunday-at-2 “Churchill At 80," to usher in the salutes. The Ted Mills production was a cracker jack work of film editing, despite occasional jumpi- ness in , celluloid continuity, and Ed Newman, NBC correspondent in London, was a matter-of-fact, down-the-middle reporter-ringmas- ter. (also co-writer) brought into N. Y. for his chore. A couple of the montages seemed a bit strained, but the yidbiog recap was general- ly good. ’ A few global personalities gave the stanza a lift, notably the Amer- ican-born Lady Astor, with an ex- terior this time not as crusty as she is painted, even when she was quoting Sir Winston on why he resented dames in the House of Commons .(“he felt as if a woman had entered his bathroom"); also, “he enjoyed the war—that’s why he did it so well." And Emanuel Shinwell, the PM’s politictil oppo- nent, who could not contain his ad: miration for the man amid his dis agreements with the politician statesman. And, of course, Sir Anthony Eden, the Foreign Sec- retary, whose kudos for the man of whose office he is the heir-in- waiting were urbane, kindly, and a bit wonderful to hear. Lotsa ex derpts from Churchill speeches with those w.k. phrases. oozing •their classic, pungent and meaning- ful structure, and finally, the PM’s train receding slowly from the sta lion in Ottawa with the band strik ing up Beethoven^ Fifth. It’s only by reflection the tv gala to “the most popular ‘American’ in the World" seemed like a standard Opening act as set against the -sec- ond paean, NBC Radio’s stirring full hour that evening (starting at 7), doubly tagged “The Tumult and the Shouting" and “His Finest (Continued oh page-38) TELEVISION REVIEWS 35 t " . WHAT'S GOING ON? With, Lee Bowman, emcee; Kitty Carlisle, Hy Gardner, Jayne Meadows, Cliff Norton, Susan Oakland, Gene Raymond; Jimmy Blaine, announcer Producer;. Allan; Sherman Director: Jerome Schnqr 30 Mins.; Sun., 9:30 p.m. REVLON ABC-TV, from New York, . (SSC&B, Weintraub) Goodson &' Todman have come up with a new bag of electronic tricks in their latest tv parlor game entry, .“What’s Going On?" And although this'panel segment repre- sents the fanciest G-T entry yet, from point of view of conception and budget, it turns out to be one Of their least inspired efforts. All of which proves that money is no suWftitute- for ..imagination. . “What’s Going On?" employs remotes as the basis of its guessing game. Six-smah panel is divided in half* with three ’members outside the studio, each performing some activity at w.k. place. Remote crew pipes in their picture on a large screen in back of the three in-studio panelists, who without seeing the picture have to guess where each is and what he’s dpihg by asking him questions. One of the three remotes, incidentally, is via film, with the participant on. hand to answer questions in per- son. All of which presents a challenge in ingenuity, to producer Allan Sherman, which he didn’t quite meet on the preem. He had. Cliff Norton taking iceskating lessons from Dick Button in the Rockefel- ler Plaza rink in .N.Y'.,' Gene Ray- mond playing Santa Claus at Maey’s to a group of N.Y. Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fuqd children, and Susan Oakland (on film) kissing a West Point cadet under the “kissing rock" at the Academy. Of the three, Norton’s, harried pratfalls provided the only real entertainment. As it now stands, the program is neither amusing (except in situa- tions Where Norton’s comic talents can be exploited), educational (un- less you can call M;iss Oakland’s West Point experience educational) nor particularly interesting. The remote cameras proved a living- room backdoor to nothing—mean- ing that a Macy’s pickup Or any other should have something to recommend it besides the fact that it’s from Macy’s. And the panelists —Kitty Carlisle, Hy Gardner and Jayne Meadows (subbing on the preem for sister Audrey)—showed little in. the way of wit or charm. Gardner seemed the most relaxed and spontaneous. v Of the outsiders, Norton was best. Miss Oakland merely . pretty and Raymond rather stifled by his Santa outfit. Lee Bowman is new to the impromptu requirements of moderating a panel show, but ought to be able, to handle the chore nicely after a few shakedown weeks. . One other feature of the preem was. an exhibition by Button, in which the ABC camerawork, was far superior to that displayed on “Omnibus” in the sjame thing - a few weeks. ago, Revlon’s commercials were intrusive and poorly spaced. Chan. THAT WONDERFUL AGE With Howard Miller, Hollis Burke, Morrison Sisters, Joseph Gallic- chio Orch Producer: George Heinemann Director: Phil Bodwell Writer: Marvin David 30 Mins.; Mop.-thru-Fri.; 1:30 p.m. Sustaining WNBQ, Chicago In one of its few daytime periods left open for local fill, NBC-TV’s WNBQ has berthed this early afternoon half-hour strip catering to the oldsters in the tele audi- ence. It’s, hardly up to Channel 5’s usual standards with practically every audience participation fish- hook, extant tossed in in an obvious attempt to make the project “com- mercial.” It’s too bad too, because there may well be a market for a show designed specifically for the elder set without the condescend- ing overtones. , Part of the fault lies with its host, deejay Howard Miller, whose non sequitur abilities aren’t: top well suited for this Sort of thing. He’s obviously much more at home pitching the latest, disk click to the teenagers. Apparently it’s ail supposed to add up to a salute to the bifocal clientele with Miller chinning with the grandmas and grandpops in the studio audience. There’s a “This Is Your Life” in- terview bit for those who happened to be the age featured on a give day. It was obvious on the session watched (23) that the interviewees hadn’t been very well screened in advance for interest content. MACBETH (Hallmark Hall of Fame) With Maurice Evans, Judith An* derson, House Jameson, Staats Cotsworth, Jane Rose, Frieda Altman, Maud Scheerer, Richard Waring, Robert Hamilton, Peter Fernandes, Ford Rainey, Michael Kane* Edward Jerome, Pat O'Malley, John Reese, Guy Sorel, William Woodson, George Ebel- ing, Robert Carricut, others; Lehman. Engel, musical director Director: George Schaefer NBC-TV Producer-Director: Hud- son Faussett TV Adaptation: Maurice Evans Set Designs: Otis Riggs Costumes: Noel Taylor 120 Mins., Sun. (28), A p.m. HALLMARK NBC-TV, from New York (color) (Foote, Cone & Belding) The “Macbeth" which “Hallmark Hall of Fame!’ presented on NBC- TV on Sunday and which reunited Maurice Evans and Judith' Ander- son in their former Broadway roles was One of the major tv triumphs of the year. It was not only a worthy companion piece to Hall- mark’s two previous, excursions into Shakespeare (“Hamlet” and “Richard II," . both ^f which also starred Evans) but if*hnything, was even a greater artistic triumph. It isn't often that tv can woo the muses and emerge with such stun- ning success. The American public owes the Hallmark sponsors its gratitude for underwriting such ambitious programming, for in its wh ole collective approach toward the medium, which not only en- compasses the annual Bard fest but also brings “Amahl arid the Night Visitors" to fresh reality at least once a year. Hallmark has been set- ting a standard that brings distinc- tion to tv. Television, by now long wise in the ways of executing difficult, and ambitious . dramatic productions, outdid itself in thi§ “Macbeth” pres- entation. The story of the crudest of the. Scot monarehs has had re- peated performances Oyer the past, decade, in radio, tv, film and legit, (and eyen recordings), and it’s to the credit of tv and all concerned in Sunday's two-hour spectacle that this production can take its place with the best of them. Here, indeed, was one produc- tion that received such added val- ues in color that it must, perforce, •be reviewed as such, regardless of its merit as a black-and-white pres- entation. It wasn't only the splen- dor and the costuming that natur- ally. Embellished the play, Jaut through the. two acts and 21 scenes, the addition of the coloridimension, extended the scope and the mood of the tragedy. The moors and the woods were more ominous; Duns- inane Castle was more palatial; the corridors and banquet room more regal as the marble. and* the drap- eries, the trees and the shrubbery gained immeasurably by the color and tonal. qualities. (The only dis- sent can be found in the too-real- i'stic blood-letting). After. ‘‘Mac- beth" one can only hope for a swift color upsurge and an early delivery of sets to the general pub- lic. One of the minor tragedies of this "Macbeth” was that so few saw it tinted up. Under the directorial helm of George Schaeffer, whose associa- tion with Evans dates back to his “GI Hamlet” wartime days in Ha- waii (and who was subsequently identified with Evans on Broadway and in tv), the production achieved a fluidity seldom found. Use of the cameras, with their imagina- tive focus and dramatic closeups, was creative and always forceful. The Evans; interpretation of “Macbeth," with its stylized, melli- fluous rendition, has long had its pro; and con' debaters. Since the past decade has shown that Shakes- peare needn’t necessarily be de- livered ih the classical tradition as a- poetic recitative* but that the language lends itself to everyday vocalization and that the beautiful verbiage can be spoken and not de- claimed, it can -be argued that the Evans performance tended to play for the “privileged few” and as such hindered recent progress to- ward Achieving simpler interpreta- = tiort of the. Bard for the many, '.. As the stage’s First Lady of Tragedy, Miss Anderson has the grandiloquence and majesty that may overpower some’ roles, but most of the time seemed right for Lady Macbeth. She reached her height in the sleepwalking scene which was a gem of dramatic pro- jection. House Jameson as Dun- can, Staats Cotsworth as Banquo, Richard Waring as Macduff (nota- bly in the duel scene) and Jane Rose, Frieda Altman and Maud Sheerer as the witches stood out in fine performances, with, real under- standing of their characters. Whereas the entire balance of the supporting cast was adequate, it was not . necessarily distinguished. Also worthy of special com- mendation is Otis Riggs for his realistic and. artistic set designs. Rose. Present britfly are Hollis Burke who hands out the boodle, the Morrison Sisters, vocal trio still learning its trade, and the Chi NBC staff orch batoned by Joseph Gallicchio. Dave . 1