Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

IN REVIEW THE GENE AUSTIN STORY NBC-TV resurrected a portion of the life of Gene Austin, who crooned his way to fame in the twenties, on the Goodyear Playhouse on Easter Sunday, but it would have been charitable if the network either had passed up this uninspired script or permitted Mr. Austin to rest in the obscurity he claims to prefer. The teleplay dealt with Mr. Austin's phenomenal rise to success and adhered to the formula of an endless cycle of Hollywood "show business movies" by tracing the pitfalls and temptations that beset many successful entertainers. There was no discernible trace of originality in the script. Though the story centered on Mr. Austin's climb to fame, ending on the eclipse of his career in the early 1930s, a publicity statement from NBC-TV noted that Mr. Austin has shunned show business since 1932 and has been traveling since that date, living on the royalties from his songs. It appears that his story may have been revived to bolster RCA's two new Austin albums, one of them including the old songs sung by "the 1957 Gene Austin." There were several bright spots in the dreary presentation. Nineteen songs popularized by Mr. Austin were heard by recordings, including such all-time favorites as My Blue Heaven, Yes, Sir, That's My Baby, Sleepy Time Gal, Ramona, Ain't She Sweet and Bye Bye Blackbird. They provided a pleasant interlude. George Grizzard was commendable in the role of crooner Austin and did well in pantomiming the Austin tapes. The play was helped by the presence of Edward Andrews (in the role of the music publisher), who turned in his customarily superb performance. Production costs: Approximately $55,000. Sponsored by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. through Young & Rubicam; colorcast on NBC-TV on April 21, 9-10 p.m. EST. Producer: Philip Barry Jr.; director: Herbert Hirshman; teleplay by Ernest Kinoy. Starring: George Grizzard and Edward Andrews; in cast: Phyllis Newman, Jerome Cowan, Scott McKay and Jack Costello. A MAN'S GAME NANETTE FABRAY in the role of Josephine Evans sparkled in what otherwise was a rather dull affair of a musical version of "A Man's Game" on the Kaiser Aluminum Hour on NBC-TV Tuesday night. Lou Daniels, manager of the New York Titans, visits the Evans farm to look over a new catcher prospect, Chuck Evans, and winds up by signing his sister, Josephine, who learned how to hurl an incurve and outcurve in the same pitch by "tossing stones at crows in the cornfield." Corn abounded in this telecast, with hardly an excuse to the viewers for pitching it in a prime hour spot. With a few songs and choruses, along with bubbling Miss Fabray, the hour somehow carried through despite the bumbling story line. Before the telecast was a few minutes old, the plot was obvious as to the windup and delivery: Josephine marries her farmhand sweetheart before she shows up for spring training in Florida, then the irritation of her mate at being a "player husband" and finally, the obvious conclusion— pitcher Josephine is going to be a mother. Approximate production costs: $50,000. Sponsored by Kaiser Aluminum, through Young & Rubicam, telecast on NBC-TV April 23, 9:30-10:30 p.m., EST. Written by David Shaw; original music and lyrics by Jack and Madeline Segal; produced by David Suskind and Al Levey; directed by Paul Lammers. SEEN & HEARD THE LATE Robert E. Sherwood never was too happy about his exclusive NBC contract during the last year of his life and it seems slightly ironic that he should be resurrected as a tv playwright at Eastertime and come off so well, too. Last Monday, the network staged his heretofore unseen "The Trial of Pontius Pilate" on Robert Montgomery Presents ("The Mennen Hour"). In perspective (with the overwhelming mass of Easter shows, religious or otherwise) it was one of the better programs offered. BOOKS THE TELEVISION COMMERCIAL, 2nd edition, by Harry Wayne McMahan, Hastings House, 41 E. 50th St., New York. 223 pp. $6.50. THE AUTHOR employs a lively style in this revised and enlarged edition devoted exclusively to techniques of creating and producing tv commercials. Using more than 100 news stills from top tv spots and inserting three new chapters, Mr. McMahan has analyzed live and film production, cartoon, stop motion, photo animation and other techniques. The book deals mainly with the advertising strategy and production techniques in the tv commercial. TELEVISION ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, by S. W. Amos and D. C. Birkinshaw. Iliffe & Sons Ltd., London, and Philosophical Library, New York. 226 pp. $15. THE THIRD volume of a textbook on television engineering by members of the BBC Engineering Division, the work provides a comprehensive survey of modern television principles and problems. Mainly, the text deals with the fundamentals of the circuits commonly used to generate such signals as sinusoidal, rectangular, sawtooth and parabolic waves. The treatment is largely descriptive in nature. ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM by J. Newton. Philosophical Library, New York, 613 pp. $10. THIS educational book avoids placing undue emphasis on electrostatics and magnetism by treating them in the first two chapters and deferring a detailed account until later. The fundamental concepts met within a study of electricity and basic to radio-tv are fully explained. Outrates all syndicated shows! San Francisco — highest rated syndicated program (22.7, Pulse, 2/57) outrating George Gobel, Gunsmoke, Zane Grey Theatre, Jackie Gleason, Lux Video Theatre, etc. Twin Cities— highest rated syndicated program in MinneapolisSt. Paul (16.0, Pulse, 11/56) outrating Warner Brothers, Father Knows Best, West Point, etc. Outrates all competition in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Portland, Oregon, etc. Stage 7's a dramatic anthology which can do a fine-rating, fineselling job in your market, as it is already doing in more than a hundred others. Better check Stage 7 for your market today. Write, wire or phone collect for availabilities. Broadcasting Telecasting Television Programs of America, Inc. 488 Madison Ave., N. Y. 22 • PLaza 5-2l0€ April 29, 1957 • Page 17