Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1957)

IN REVIEW THERE SHALL BE NO NIGHT IN dramatic production, the sum total must somehow equal more than the total of its parts, and in this respect the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Robert Sherwood's "There Shall Be No Night" was not a success. It offered an excellent cast in a meaningful play, yet somehow it failed to generate any real sense of dramatic excitement. In its portrayal of what was happening to families all over Europe in 1939, "There Shall Be No Night" was a tragic symbol. For its recent production, the setting of the play was changed from Finland 1938-39 to Hungary 1956. There was no sense of unfittingness about this transition, for Mr. Sherwood's words could have been written last fall, and the transposition was deftly handled. In the story of a family of brilliance and charm, caught in recent events in Hungary, Charles Boyer made his first live tv appearance. It was an auspicious start. As Dr. Karoley Valkay, Nobel prize winner who learns that the scientific approach must be forsaken in times of stress, Mr. Boyer handled his part with ease and assurance, developing it as the play progressed. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Katharine Cornell, who just didn't seem to be trying. In general, however, all the parts were well done — special plaudits to Mr. Boyer and to Ray Walston as Dave Corween, an American broadcaster (who switched his allegiance from CBS in the original play to NBC in this production). Perhaps the production lacked tightness; perhaps its failure lay in the fact that the point of the play is too obvious for an audience that has lived through the last 20 years. For Hallmark Hall of Fame, A for effort, B for results. Production costs: Approximately $100,000. Sponsored by Hall Bros. Cards, Kansas City, through Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago, on NBC-TV March 17, 7:30-9 p.m. EST. "There Shall Be No Night," by Robert E. Sherwood. Adapted for tv by Morton Wishengrad. Executive producer: Mildred Freed Alberg; producer-director: George Schaefer; assoc. producer-director: Robert Hartung; scenery: Robert Wightman; costumes: Noel Taylor; unit manager: Tom Madigan; assoc. director: Eleanor Tarshis; program supervisor: Joseph Cunneff. TRUE STORY THE ACCOUNT of a man frantically seeking an alibi in a murder he obviously didn't commit — the plot of NBC-TV's first True Story dramatization this season — came off well, if only because it was off the muchbeaten True Story path. Kathi Norris, who introduces each chapter of the weekly series, set the story line, describing it as a "series of fascinating coincidences." It was that and a bit more — several cuts above what one might anticipate as soap opera and faintly suggestive, in its treatment, of such old worthies as Sure As Fate, Suspense and The Web — Broadcasting • Telecasting minus any violence. Frank Ellis is picked up by police for the murder of Ceil Bishop. He insists he left Alice Wood's home about 8:15 p.m., stopped at a bar and remained until 2 a.m. The camera traces Mr. Ellis' movements (even as he couldn't). The trick is to account for his presence during those vital hours. Mr. Ellis recalls the name of the bar, two strangers he engaged in casual conversation (a furrier named Wallace and a tv fight fan) and an engaging blond who met the furrier during the evening. Mr. Wallace won't admit that he was in the bar and, to complicate matters, the bartender passed away the night before. So Mr. Ellis ends up behind bars until at the end, police haul in Louie Stanton, a parolee also hard-pressed to establish his whereabouts. The climax: He was the other stranger in the bar, giving unimpeachable alibis for both. . . Production costs: $25,000. Half the program sponsored by Sterling Drugs Inc. (the other half sustaining) through Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample on NBC-TV, March 16, 12-12:30 p.m. EST 7 Producer: Wilbur Stark; director, Tom Reynolds; packager, Stark-Layton Inc.; various writers; story editor and narrator, Kathi Norris. Cast: Bert Freed, Phil Abbott, June Dayton, Jim Boles, Boris Aplon. SEEN & HEARD The Emmy acceptance speeches (NBC-TV March 16), with but few exceptions, followed the same old dull pattern: "I couldn't have done it without the help of hundreds of persons behind the camera." Notable departure: Loretta Young, winner of the Emmy for the best continuing performance by an actress in a dramatic series. Looking particularly beautiful and with her customary poise, she said simply, "That's the nice thing about television: you do something you love to do and you win prizes for it!" The most embarrassing moment was provided by Nanette Fabray, honored for the best continuing performance by a comedienne. Miss Fabray turned to her former tv "husband" Sid Caesar and said: "You've got one wife left, Sid, hold on to her!" The video camera then panned to a closeup of Mr. Caesar, looking understandably stunned. Taking advantage of the spark of life still left in two veterans of the tv circuit, NBCTV has unearthed Masquerade Party and The Vise (now Detective's Diary). Masquerade Party is a ripe old quiz show, having been around since 1952, and returning to NBC-TV after stints on both other networks. It all seemed a little familiar, but it's still a passably pleasant way to spend a half-hour — a good thing, as it's apt to be with us forever. Detective's Diary, on which the sponsor has enjoyed considerable mileage, follows Mark Saber through a quick crime and dispatch of same, but it proved to be vastly more satisfying than the present Mark Saber series. 2 big favorites in Youngsrown, Ohio SUSIE SIDESADDLE BOTH SEEN DAILY ON WFM J-T V CHANNEL 21 Here's what A.R.B. for Nov. '56 says SUSIE and POPEYE31.9 STATION "B" PROGRAMS 20.8 Mon.-Fri. — 5:30 to 6:30 PM In the big Youngstown, Ohio Market the Combination of Susie Sidesaddle and Popeye produce a rating of 31.9 including a big adult audience. There are a few one-minute live or film availabilities in this top rated time period. Call Headley-Reed or Mitch Stanley, station mgr. Sell the Youngstown, Ohio Market with Channel 21 NBC. it Your Good Neighbor Station WFMJ TV CH. 21 NBC YOUNCSTOWN. OHIO March 25, 1957 • Page 15