Variety (December 1954)

tt^ilnfxlayi December 1S» 1954 TV-FILMS Inside Stuff—Telepix » . * « % nf telepix for non commercial showings by private and civic Ls c fnr their various public service campaigns is illustrated by the gl0U Imre's screenings of a "Mr. District Attorney" film at three of iTwU Bases are running a safe-driving campaign, and the Air «■ “ reauested permission lrom Ziv to show the "D.A.” episode y 1 :., - N vith a hit-and-run case. Another example of non-commercial dea teienix was the recent request of municipal authorities for the USt , f several "Racket Squad" films from ABC Syndication to combat public apathy to confidence rackets in their locales. American Bakeries, which last week purchased "The Star and the QimV’ from Official Films for airing in Minneapolis via WCCO-TV, u trving an interesting experiment which other local sponsors or sta- tions could profitably imitate. Baking outfit has signed Cedric Adams, Minneapolis Star & Tribune columnist and radio-tv personality, to host jY 4,1m series. Adams will do his hosting series live, cutting in and , xv here the star of the film usually appears. It simply remains for otheu stations to sign top personalities in their cities for similar chores vith other shows. Interesting sidelight is the fact that American Bakeries previously bankrolled “Cowboy G-Men," a kidpix series. “Star" buy marks its first attempt to pitch to the adult market via a grownup series. Empire Sets Subsid To Film Commls Empire Broadcasting Co., the New York recording firm, has es- tablished a film subsidiary which will produce commercials and will film programs on a contract basis. Suhsid, Empire Productioris, is headed up by Bill Reilly, who re- cently moved over from Reilly- Schewan Co. to become general manager of Empire, and Larry Un- termeyer, who resigned his radio- tv directorship at the Huber Hoge & Sons agency to become account exec. Empire initially will house the film stages in its present Lexing- ton Ave. facilities, but may take on additional space. There’s one stage completed at present, with an additional one slated for con- version. Filming has already started on the completed stage, al- though it opens officially today (Wed.). Empire Productions has existed as an Empire Broadcasting subsid for some five years, but it's been a packaging subsidiary dur- ing that time. Henceforth, it will cease to package shows, but will lease facilities or do physical pro- duction of outside packages on a contract basis. AAP 58 FEATURES SOLD IN 9 MARKETS Associated Artists Productions has latched onto a good thing in selling its "new-to-tv" package of 5G feature films by "trailerizing" Hie General Teleradio “Million Dollar Movie" package. AAP first sold the group to WOR-TV, N.Y„ which then announced it would play them off immediately after completing the Teleradio Group. Now five other stations which have the Teleradio pix have bought the A AP package with the same sched- uling plans. AAP package is now set in a total of nine markets, with nego- tiations proceeding in an addi- tional 33. Stations already set with the AAP group are KEYD, Minne- apolis; KTLA, Los Angeles; WFBG, Greenville, S.C.; KONA Honolulu; CKLW, Detroit; KBTV, Denver; W'HBQ, Memphis; KTVT, Salt Lake City and WSAU, Wausau, «isc. Last five stations are using the pix to follow the Teleradio package. Time Slot Poser MAYOR OF THE TOWN With Thomas Mitchell. Kathleen Freeman, Jean Bryon, David Saber, others Producers-Directors: John Raw- lings, Marshall Grant Writer: TSrna Lazarus 39 half-hours Distrib: United Television Pro- grams Despite the thesping and name values of Thomas Mitchell, this Rawlings-Grant production in as- sociation with Gross-Krasne lacks the steam to build much of a track record and on its first go-around the vidpix circuit. Chief handicap lies in the scripting department, with yarns that challenge the pa- tience of the most gullible. Various plots of the series evolve around Mitchell as the kindly mayor of a small city and his household which consists of a small lad, played by David Saber, and a garrulous housekeeper, portrayed in broad stereotype by Kathleen Freeman. It's a formula peg with some potentialities for the family audience but its appeal is blunted by the things the cast has to do and say. Improbable tale on segment seen, tagged “The First Year," dealt with the mayor’s efforts to keep in town a young engineer brought in to work on a new water system. Engineer threatened to pull out after his new frau got all upset over the marital advice given her by the spinster housekeeper. Happy upshot had the bride landing a job on the local paper which solved all the difficulties. Dave. Continued from page 45 moving into the fringe hours and into late-night (NBC with "To- night'), aside from the fact that Ko many syndicated and spot shows have grabbed off prime slots for themselves. Situation has re- solved itself into a "grab the time- slot, then get the client" opera- tion, or into a "get the client with f liine slot and forget the new-to- tv advertiser" setup. Pressure is pointed up by the fact that al- lhough there are over 380 stations the air in 247 markets, some *0 c of total U. S. television homes j* le concentrated in about 32 mar- *ots. And although these 32 mar- kets have three or more stations, l, ieir population concentration n'Akes the crush of advertisers the heaviest. The remaining 83% of he nation’s markets are one or J' v o-station cities, and pressure is H'avy there too, simply by virtue i the fact that only one or two outlets exist. Jack Webb Continued from page 45 Warren Reins ‘Gunsmoke’ For Debut in Vidfilms Hollywood, Dec. 14. Veteran film producer-director- writer Charles Marquis Warren debuts in the vidfilm field as pro- ducer-director of CBS-TV’s "Gun- smoke" series. Warren will per- sonally script the first of the films based on the CBS radio series. Assignment postpones a pair of Warren theatrical film projects, “The Norman," to star Jack Palance, and “The Long Swords," until 1956. He recently completed direction on “God’s Angry Man,” starring Raymond Massey. tertainment, but there are those who also want to see adult fare. "I think there should be pro- grams for the young ones, and there are many of them now. But they keep telling us ‘tv comes into the home, so you have to be very careful about the kiddies.’ What do they mean by this? Do they mean we should bracket our shows so that some can fit the 12-year- olds, some the 14-year-olds, and so on? I don’t understand such gen- eralizations. "Producers are faced with one important problem—providing en- tertainment. The majority are dictated by good taste, and it’s not fair to judge all shows by a few which may offend. It’s also not fair to judge all shows by just what’s good for kids. Many shows filmed for adults also have appeal for the youngsters. "It’s unfair to talk about censor- ing tv because some shows may not be considered ideal for youngsters. We can’t shut the door to adult entertainment. How can we have a variety of programs if we are censored? Let the public be the final censor—a bad program won’t last. And no sponsor will bankroll a cheap, sensational show'. Kids have their own shows, and pro- gramming should avoid being standardized." Liebmann Brewery Drops Fonda Show Liebmann Breweries Is dropping its sponsorship of "Star and the Story,’" which it carries under the title "Henry Fonda Presents” (with Fonda as host), In its six California markets. It will retain the show in the east, where it ^irs for Rheingold Beer, but is dropping in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno, Santa Barbara. San Diego and Bakersfield, where the show is on for California Gold Label Beer, a Liebmann subsid. With Liebmann dropping, rights to those markets go over to Official Films, which has already sold the series in Los Angeles to KTTV, where it will start Jan. 15 under an unusual sponsorship deal. Se- ries will be bankrolled by the Los Angeles Times, a rare Instance of program sponsorship by a news- paper. Deal involves a switch in stations, with the show having aired for Liebmann on KNXT. Title on KTTV will be “Star and the Story," without Fonda as host. Reason Official takes over the rights to the series in those mar- kets lies in its original distribu- tion deal with Don Sharpe and Four Star Productions, which owns the show and made the original sale to Liebmann. Original deal called for Fonda to host the dra- matic anthology series in Lieb- mann markets only, with Official to distribute without the Fonda inserts in all non-Liebmann mar- kets as "Star and the Story.” With Liebmann dropping in California, Official takes over its six markets, and expects to have sales in the other five shortly. Meanwhile, se- ries is set in more than 90 mar- kets. Telepix Followup CAVALCADE OF AMERICA (Night Call) It was only a matter of time that Cavalcade would get around to documenting the doctor. Every- body else has—"Medic," “March of Medicine," the upcoming ABC’s “Horizons" and the reactivated “Dr. Christian." In its tradition of fidelity to the subject. Cavalcade makes such a good case for the man with the stethoscope that the American Medical Assn, showed the film at its annual convention. No better choice for the doc could have been made than Dean Jagger. whose tender ministrations and devotion to duty, whether it 5 a hypochondriac or the victim of a baffling disease, give "Night Call” its warmth and dramatic motiva- tion. When a soldier falls ill of a strange malady, Jaggcr attends him constantly and can’t get him out of his mind. But this does not cause any neglect of his other pa- tients. Viewing the vidpic is like trailing the medic on his daily rounds. For the afflicted it ends on a high note of hope. Jagger makes the part pulsate with strong conviction and is given good support by a cast of 17. fore- most of whom are Alyn Lockwood. Sheila Bromley, Nancy Hale. Don- ald Murphy, Jill St. John. Jackie Donner and Paul Burns. Direction of Robert Stevenson retained the force of simplicity that powered the Larry Marcus script. Helm. LADIES IN RETIREMENT (Lux Video Theatre) The dramatics that projected Columbia’s 1941 film version of the Reginald Denham-Edward Percy “Ladies In Retirement" into one of the most interesting lethal events of the season still held enough b.o. ingredients to form strong offering for "Lux Video Theatre." Vehicle furnished Claire Trevor with a compelling role for her live tv bow, and through ex- cellent adaptation to the more nar- row confines of video a particular- ly able cast limned the powerfully- plotted drama. Director Richard Goode handled his cast to advantage, concentrat- ing upon characterization from the odd set of figures who participate in this story of a young English housekeeper’s tragic concern for her two older mildly-deranged sis- ters. So they will not be sent to an institution she murders her em- ployer when latter turns them out of her home. Situation becomes intensified when her rascally nephew pieces out her crime and attempts blackmail. Miss Trevor endowed the tragic heroine with superb dramatic shadings, the effect accentuated by the truly fine performances with which she had to compete. Recre- ating their original screen roles, Elsa Lanehester and Edith Barrett lent conviction as the helpless sis- ters for whom she garrots Isobel Elsom, tope in the part she pre- viously played both on the stage and screen. Seaji McClory deliv- ered another of his offbeat inter- pretations as the nephew, and Lisa Daniels vitalized the maid-servant. Richard McDonagh’s teleplay re- ceived atmospheric art direction from William Craig Smith, and Rudolph Schrager’s musical direc- tion definitely w ; as on the plus side. Whit. Stone, Hyman Set Gabby (or Telepix Gabby Hayes will make his re- appearance on the television scene via a syndicated series to be filmed by Martin Stone and Eliot Hyman and to be distribbed by Motion Pictures for Television. There’s a twist to the show, in that Stone and Hyman will take 52 full-length MPTV westerns, whittle them down, and shoot fresh footage star- ring Hayes as an emcee to bridge the gaps and as a tail-tale teller. Series will be shot and edited in New’ York starting Jan. 10. with Joe Claire writing and producing. Claire is a staffer of Kagran Corp., the packaging outfit which Stone heads. However, Stone, who man- ages Hayes, Is doing the show as a partnership venture with Hyman, who as president of Associated Ar- tists Productions, distributes the Kagran-made "Johnny Jupiter" series. MPTV comes into the pic- ture with a deal to distribute the films by virtue of providing the old features which will form the basic content of the show. Plans call for 52 half-hour pix. Set Leopold Spitalny H. Leopold Spitalny, onetime NBC musical director, has been signed by North American Televi- sion Productions to arrange and conduct the upcoming Carl Brisson series, which goes before the cam- eras next month in New York. Spitalny will head an 18-piece orchestra and a mixed choir. Procter’s Coast Setup Prockter Television Enterprises, Bernard Prockter’s own packaging outfit as distinguished from his American National Studios inter- ests. is setting up a permanent Coast office on the American Na- tional lot, where two of the PTE shows, "T-Men in Action" and "Man Behind the Badge,” are be- ing filmed. New office will be headed by v.p. Jerome C. Robinson, who’s moving out from New York. Ope" your eyes and get an earful sounding off B about our new FILM COMPANY We set out to engineer a film studio that would have the flexibility and sound quality of live television. Believe us, it was no easy job. We turned our sound hounds loose on this project 5 years ago, and they’ve been in it up to their ears ever since. Finally, we’ve got what every agency film man has been dreaming about—live quality sound on film— and we’re proud of it! And we’re real proud of Bill Reilly, our studio manager. Bill was a sound engineer ten years ago before he jumped lens first into Television. Since then he has been inside of the camera as a technician, behind it as a cameraman, in front of it as a pro- ducer figuring out how to save a buck for the client. And this fellow Reilly has a solid background in agency- client relations. He has developed a sound film studio that can turn out anything you want produced faster and better than it has ever been done before. Hard to believe? Then come up and see it. We’ll bet -a film can against a shipping case we’re not fifteen minutes from your New York office. Call Empire Production Corporation for film spots and programs with the finest sound you’ve ever heard. EMPIRE PRODUCTION CORPORATION 480 Lexington Avonuo PL 9-4505