Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

I REVIEW A DRUM IS A WOMAN l "WO current arguments — (1) that only pay ■ v can offer the most unusual forms of eniurtainment in the home and (2) that the tv ! industry is anti-Negro (see RCA stock ! olders meeting story, this issue) — received dequate rebuttal last Wednesday night from ;BS-TV and the U. S. Steel Corp. For view ■ rs of the U. S. Steel Hour, Duke Ellington's A Drum Is a Woman" was that tv rarity — n all-sepia musical fantasy performed with kill, wit and good taste. Edward Kennedy Ellington has been round a long time and thus it would hardly eem fair to liken this score to such earlier illingtonia as "Black and Tan Fantasy" or Liberian Suite," nor would it be right to ay "Drum" was dramatically correct. But his is not the point. What is correct is that At. Ellington, his tremendous talent, his ;ood-natured, almost-pixyish humor, his iropensity to talk, act and think in the jazz diom, is greatness personified, and it's hard 0 improve upon greatness. In this corner we paid little attention to he structural makeup of the play, for we vere just too fascinated and enthralled by he very idea that tv had embraced the Duke and his crowd. The story was complicated and at times belabored: a Caribbean native is in love with lis drum; the drum turns out to be a woman, 1 Madame Zajj ("jazz" spelled, or rather, pronounced backwards.) Personifying the >pirit of jazz, she attempts, for nearly 50 ninutes, to seduce the native lad and finally vins him for her very own, traveling meanwhile from the jungles to Barbados, to New Orleans, Chicago, Harlem and back to the ungle. Confused allegory, perhaps, but none;heless it made its point: namely, that jazz is more than just brassy music. The boys in the CBS-TV technical department must have had themselves a time. There were trick shots of Madame Zajj flying— and driving — through space; banks of artificial fog rolled over the soundstage, and voice dubbing triumphed by allowing the happy marriage of song (by Joya Sherrill) and dance (by Carmen De Lavallade). As to Miss De Lavallade, whose husband, Geofrey Holder, appeared on the Steel's equallydaring "The Bottle Imp" just a month or so ago, she was beguiling and enchanting in every way. And so were some of arranger Bill Strayhorn's numbers, particularly "You'd Better Know It." So far as U. S. Steel goes, it ought to be commended for having brought a ray of tropical sunshine into an otherwise drab season. For as long as we can get this range of entertainment simply by buying steel appliances, we wouldn't think of fishing into our pockets for a quarter to drop into the metered set. Production costs: Approximately $80,000. Sponsored by U. S. Steel Corp. through BBDO, on CBS-TV (in color) May 8, 1011 p.m. EDT. Written for tv by Will Loren, based upon the Columbia "LP" record album by Edward K. (Duke) Ellington and Billy Stray horn. Produced for The Theatre Guild by Marshall lamison. Director: Norman Felton; Assoc. Producer: John Haggott; Broadcasting • Telecasting scenery: Willard Levitas; story editor: Dorothy Hechtlinger; technical director: Bob Dailey; choreographer: Paul Godkin. Cast: Duke Ellington (narrator), Carmen De Lavallade, Talley Beatty, Joya Sherrill, Margaret Tynes, Ozzie Bailey, Duke Ellington orchestra and dancers. SUSAN'S SHOW THE small fry as well as the young in heart are literally transported by magic stool from the reality of "mommy's kitchen" to the fantasy of "Wonderville" on Susan's Show, which premiered on CBS-TV after considerable local exposure on its o&o WBBMTV Chicago. It's all faintly reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, with engaging, 12-year-old Susan Heinkel taking viewers along for the ride. Her helpmates: Mayor Pegasus, the talking table; Caesar P. Penguin (obviously named after WBBM-TV Musical Director Caesar Petrillo), leader of the Woodland Symphony, and such musicians as Wolfgang, the violin-fiddling bear; Gregory, flute-playing rabbit, and Bruce, a gopher who has a way with a drum. During her travels Susan learns to operate a "magic box" for dispensing children's delights and a cartoon-machine and gets to lead the symphony. What makes this series promising, however, is the poised, polished, professional way in which Miss Heinkel acquits herself. She's been at it — acting, singing and dancing on radio-tv-stage — for nine years and it's quite obvious the tv camera holds no qualms for her. Miss Susan got her start portraying Shirley Temple in a St. Louis hotel Christmas show in 1947 and many viewers may well feel distinct disenchantment when she finally reaches that point of no return — the awkward age. Production costs: $5,800. Telecast by CBS-TV sustaining Sat., May 4, 10-10:30 a.m. CDT. Producer: Frank Atlass. Director: Barry McKinley. Designer: Jerry Pinsler. Star: Susan Heinkel, with John Coughlin as voice of Mr. Pegasus. SPOT PREVIEWS THE movie-going public of Southern California, accustomed to registering its opinions of new movies sneakpreviewed at local theatres, last fortnight had a chance to say what it thought of three 60-second commercials for New Blue Dutch Cleanser. The spots, prepared by UPA for Purex Corp., were shown to audiences at the Palms Theatre in Culver City and the Panorama Theatre in Van Nuys, who were asked to fill out audience reaction cards in regular film preview style. When audited by Price Waterhouse, votes of the movie audiences will determine which of the three commercials will be used to open the New Blue Dutch summer campaign on NBC-TV's Arthur Murray Party series (Tues., 8-8:30 p.m. EST). / There's Only One! Of course, we know there is more than one radio station in the West... but the truth is, there's only ONE that covers the West... best! And you need only one to reach — and sell — the entire Western Market! COVERAGE — Only one, KOA-Radio, covers the big Western Market like the big Western sky ... reaching 3>2 million Westerners in 302 counties of 12 states! POWER — Only one. KOA-Radio, has the big, 50,000-watt "voice of the West" that Westerners have relied on for over 32 years! ACCEPTANCE Only one. KOARadio, by "personalizing" its programming to suit Western tastes ... along with a fine lineup of NBC programs, has established and maintained audience leadership throughout the West. VALUE — Only one, KOA-Radio, is the buy that best delivers more for each advertising dollar spent, day and night, seven days a week. BONUS — Only one, KOA-Radio, reaches and delivers the huge summer audience of 12' 2 million tourists who vacation an average of 8.8 days in the Rocky Mountain Empire and spend more than 650 million dollars ! Wherever tourists go in the West, they drive all day with KOA! PLUS — Only one, KOA-Radio, has the magnetism that results in measurable sales! Thousands of satisfied customers agree that if it's told on KOA... it's sold by KOA ! Call KOA Radio Sales or NBC SPOT SALES One of America's great radio stations May 13, 1957 • Page 15