Broadcasting Telecasting (July - Sept 1951)

Program: Premiere commercial color telecast; CBS-TV stations in New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore; 4:30-5:30 p.m., June 25. Sponsors: General Mills, LincolnMercury. Longines-Wittnauer, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, William Wrigley Jr. Co., Revlon, Thomas J. Lipton Inc., National Biscuit Co., Toni Home Permanent, Monarch Finer Foods, Procter & Gamble, Standard Brands, Quaker Oats, Best Foods, Pepsi-Cola, Liggett & Myers (Chesterfields). Cast: Arthur Godfrey, Faye Emerson, Sam Levenson. Garry Moore, Patty Painter, Robert Alda, Isabel Bigley, New York City Ballet, Bil Baird Marionettes. Music: JerryBresler's orchestra. Directors: Frances Buss, Fred Rickey. SEVERAL bottles of Revlon nail polish stole the show from Faye Emerson, Arthur Godfrey and other resident divinities of CBS on the premiere commercial broadcast of color television. This is not to underrate Miss Emerson, whose radiance has now been liberated from the cruel limitations of black-and-white, or Mr. Godfrey, whose ukelele, familiar as a gray instrument, turned out to have a splendid field sequential patina. But the nail polish was the subject that proved how great is the advantage of color over monochrome. This reviewer reached a procolor opinion — mind you, not profield sequential or pro-dot sequential; just pro-color — despite rather mysterious afflictions that beset the receiving apparatus on which he watched the premiere in Washington. The set under observation was a "slave" unit attached to a (let us whisper the name) RCA blackand-white receiver that included an adapter. During the first few minutes of the program the slave seemed to be struggling to be free. Its overseer, a Legree from the CBS engineering department, finally subdued the gyrating picture, which was turning Patty Painter's face into an interesting montage of pastels, and kept it under reasonable control for the rest of the show. [Broadcasting • Telecasting editors who saw the program on receivers in the CBS New York studios reported no such difficulties with reception.] Easily the high point of the entertainment on the program was a presentation of "La Valse" by members of the New York City Ballet Company. The chorus wore flamecolored underskirts that made exquisite patterns swirling against the background of a black-andwhite checked floor in overhead camera shots,. The rapid movement of the ballet did not disturb the color registration. The flesh tones of the dancers were transmitted more faithfully than those of some others who appeared on the show, perhaps because the dance was the last performance and by that time technicians had tuned up the system that had faltered at the start. Among those appearing earlier on the program were William S. Paley, CBS chairman of the board; Frank Stanton, CBS president, and Wayne Coy, FCC chairman, none of whom was treated particularly kindly by the invention they have all so earnestly espoused. The Revlon commercial presented a brunette model who was, to display the least possible enthusiasm, a wow. She wore a red dress that tamed the receiving slave unit completely. Occasionally she raised a languid hand to show an impeccable manicure that must have sent the women who saw the program rushing to the corner drug store for a supply of Revlon. The small battles of polish on a table at her side were, even to a male's uninterested eye, beautiful. Another product that showed off to remai-kable advantage — although all looked fine — was Pabst beer. The color of the beer as it was poured, foaming, into a glass, seemed exact. There can't be any doubt that for advertisers color TV will do as much as the best color reproductions in slick magazines, and far more than color in newspapers. Assuming technical difficulties do not restrain it, color television seems destined to become the major TV service. DOWN YOU GO is another parlor game transplanted to a television studio and re-delivered to the parlor, a process that relieves the company in the parlor of the need to do anything more taxing than just watch. Such programs are no better than their participants. This one suffers from an unequal distribution of wit. Too often most members of the panel find themselves hopelessly stranded Program: Down You Go, 99:30 p.m.. Wednesday, DuMont TV Network. Producer: Gail Compton; assistant, Jay Sheridan. Director: Barry McKinley. Cast: Dr. Bergen Evans, moderator; Fran Coughlin, Toni Gilman, Robert Breen, Carmelita Pope. Q o, s to be rescued, if that is not too strong a word, by Fran Coughlin, continuity director of WGN Chicago, who seems adept at this sort of thing. The object of the game is to guess the slogan, book title, proper name or familiar phrase suggested by a clue. Sample clue on the program under inspection: "Very famous people who were deeply attached to each other." The answer, in case you're still struggling, was Eng & Chan, the Siamese twins. As the series continues it seems likely that the panel will overcome the stage fright that has been evident so far. Parlor games, including those played in a parlor, usually don't warm up for a while. THE RAMPARTS WE WATCH was a one-shot fired from a shotgun instead of a rifle, splattering several targets instead of drilling one. Described as a "documentary study of the defenses of Western Europe," the show began as a dramatic presentation of the strug Program: The Ramparts We Watch, June 25, 9-10 p.m., on ABC. Producer: Robert Saudek, ABC vice president. Writer: Joel Sayre. Director: Martin Andrews. Music: David Broekman, composer and conductor. Cast: Luis Van Rooten. Doris Rich, Joe Julian, Ronald Liss. gle between a woman Communist and a free trade union leader for control of the miners working a Lorraine coal mine, but it degenerated into a series of speeches that undid everything done at the start. About half the time was consumed by a dramatization of a mine explosion (caused by German bombs left over from the war) in which 20-odd miners, not to mention the script, perished. Doris Rich, as the villiage Red, was eminently treasonable, and other principals did as much as could be done with their lecture assignments. The script, by Joel Sayre, was not as good as his best nor up to the high standards set by the eight major ABC documentaries that preceded this one. Officers Hear Saudek ROBERT SAUDEK, ABC vice president for public relations, addressed 51 officers of the armed forces in New York Wednesday on "The Scope and Importance of Radio." The officers, studying modern techniques of public relations and psychological warfare, also heard John Madigan, the network's director of news, who discussed "How a Network covers the News," and ABC Correspondent Gordon Fraser, who described the position of war correspondents. WISCONSIN LAW Legalizes Giveaway Show BROADCAST and telecast of giv( away programs will become leg; in Wisconsin this week, making tin state the first in the country t enact such legislation. The bil after being signed by the governc late last Wednesday, is now in tr process of publication in the Wii consin State Journal. The day aft? I publication, the bill (Chapter 46 ( for 1951) will become law. The new bill, introduced as A: I sembly Bill 315 A, redefines coi [ sideration, one of three elemenl J with prize and chance in the state | stringent anti-lottery laws. As r< defined, giveaways — both local an network — can be aired. Previously ; the state attorney general rule.l that such shows were illegal be 1 cause of the consideration, define [ as listening to or watching pre , grams. The final bill was approved b 1 the Assembly, Senate and Governo after inclusion of an amendmen ) eliminating the qualification thai such broadcasts could be aired onl J if legal in the state of origin. The legislation was introduce I under prompting of the Wisconsi j Broadcasters Assn. after an un favorable opinion by Wisconsin' Attorney General Thomas Fairchil was circulated through the stat last fall. He said giveaways vio lated lottery laws because of th lottery element, and would be lega only if this was removed and th shows became "pure entertain ment." Several stations complie with the opinion, pending a legis lative test. There is a possibility that consti tutionality of the new law will b challenged in the courts, one attor ney said. The FCC's ruling agains giveaways is still being contested i.: at least two federal district courts: one in Chicago and the other ii, •. New York. Stopette Success Story EARLE LUDGIN, president of th. Chicago agency of the same name [ will outline the success of Jule Montenier's Stopette spray deodor[ ^ ant today (Monday) at the lunch eon meeting of the newly-formei Advertising Club of Chicago. Mem bers will meet in the Pearson Hote at 12:15. Stopette, a Chicago prod uct, sponsors What's My Line? oi CBS-TV. Colodzin to C&P ROBERT (Bob) COLODZIN, co author of Our Career in Television joins the executive staff of Cecil & Presbrey, New York. He will b< the agency TV production super visor for Bymart Inc., to work or Somerset Maugham Theatre, San Levenson show and Cavalcade o) Stars. Page 28 July 2, 1951 BROADCASTING Telecasting