Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1937)

MOTION PICTURE 26 RADIO DAILY RADIO Tuesday, January 5, 1937 Londoners See First Theatre Television London, Jan. 4. — Londoners saw the first television program to be put on in a theatre tonight. It was warmly received. George Lansbury made an introductory speech from the screen, and Billy Bennett, comedian, and Hamer and Lee did a cross-talk act, one from the stage and the other from the screen. J. L. Baird also spoke from the screen. Future bills will include various celebrities. See New Air Setup Urged in FCC Study {Continued from page 1) engineering division will recommend that broadcasting stations be divided into six classes, consisting respectively of clear channel stations with a minimum of 50,000 watts power; joint-frequency stations, two or more of which would operate on the same channel with 50,000 watts power ; regional stations with power ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 watts; stations with power of 1,000 to 5,000 watts ; stations of 250 to 1,000 watts, and local stations of 100 to 250 watts. Officials of the N.A.B. do not believe that the report will recommend that power increases be made mandatory if the present 50,000-watt limitation is removed but rather that it will suggest allowing such changes to be brought about gradually. WOAI Sale to CBS Off San Antonio, Jan. 4. — The proposed sale of WOAI to CBS by the Southland Interests is "off," according to G. A. C. Halff, head of the latter company. Exceptions to an examiner's adverse report on the sale were filed to place in the record answers to the adverse report, Halff said. The proposed sale was said to involve $825,000. WOAI will continue to be operated by Southland Industries, it is reported. NBC programs are used. Robert Jennings Marries Cincinnati, Jan. 4. — Robert Jennings, assistant to Frank Smith, general sales manager WLW, will be married to Page Crosley the middle of January. Miss Crosley is the daughter of Powell Crosley, Jr., president of Crosley Radio Corp., operating WLW and WSAI here. Sol Fleischman Weds Tampa, Jan. 4. — Sol Fleischman, chief announcer of the Tampa Times station WDAE (CBS) was married to Paulyne Leibovitz, daughter of a Tampa merchant. Thornburgh, Keston Leave L. A. Hollywood, Jan. 4. — Donald W. Thornburgh and Paul Keston, officials of CBS, left today by plane for San Francisco on expansion business. Keston will return to New York Wednesday, completing two weeks of conferences here. Waring on Coast Hollywood, Jan. 4. — Fred Waring arrived here yesterday for conferences with two prospective sponsors. He will return to New York tomorrow. On the Weekend Air "Follow the Moon" Another set of long absent radio favorites, Nick Dawson and Elsie Hitz, returned to the airways yesterday afternoon in a new series entitled "Follow the Moon." Their debut was an auspicious and pleasing one. The opening chapter introduced Elsie as Jean Paige, a runaway bride who leaves the groom at the altar and flees to "Moonstone," her ranch in the Sierras. En route she is met by her colored maid, Calley Johnson, and by Sheriff McGill, who warn her that a notorious bandit, "The Parson," has been seen prowling about the ranch. However, Elsie and her maid continue on to the ranch where a voice from the dark gives hint that they have met "The Parson." Perhaps the plot thus far treads on familiar ground, but with neat direction coupled with good lines spoken well, it sounded believable. Nick Dawson wasn't formally introduced in the opening script but the voice in the dark, one suspects, is Nick's. "Follow the Moon" is a five-timea-week presentation over the NBCRed, from 4:30 to 5 P. M., E.S.T. Woodbury Soap sponsors. Myrt and Marge Return The Myrt and Marge premiere yesterday afternoon was almost utterly ruined by the sponsor's high-powered, lengthy, and scarey commercials. Immediately after the opening theme, announcer Jean Paul King delivered an almost two-minute blurb which left little doubt as to who was sponsoring and the benefits to be derived by using the product. Worse still was the inference that unless the housewife used Super Suds, the germs would get her. To this reviewer it seemed poor psychology to try to sell a product by frightening the listener. Getting into the program itself, Myrt and Marge offered little, if anything new, in the way of script. Instead of taking the audience behind the footlights as was done when broadcasting for Wrigleys, the program this time was set in a broadcasting studio. The story within a story opened in a radio playhouse as Myrt and Marge were rehearsing for Super Suds. The rehearsal was interrupted by a gabby woman reporter, Mrs. Twitty ; even the screen's silliest sob sisters are Dorothy Parkers compared with her. The interview was curtailed by a silly character named Tiffinghuffer — how or why he crashed the script is one of those mysteries — who convinced Mrs. Twitty that he was a better subject for an interview than Myrt and Marge. One of the better features of the program was Marge's song "Tripaway," and the manner in which it was worked into the script. Billy Artz's orchestral background was thin, but serviceable. To get back to the commercials — the closing announcement ran a little less than a minute and a half. The program is offered five times each week, Mondays through Fridays over the CBS network, from 2:45 to 3 P. M., E.S.T. Colgate-PalmolivePeet, for Super Suds, sponsors. Cook and Shell Chateau Somebody must have told the production man on the Shell Chateau program that there is strength in numbers, for in the opening session of the refurbished series (Saturday from 9 :30 to 10 :30 P.M., E.S.T., over the NBC-Red) he tossed in everything but trained seal in an effort to get the program launched auspiciously. In addition to Joe Cook and the inevitable supporting orchestra, this one piloted by Ernie Watson, the program featured "Bojangles" Bill Robinson. Admiral Richmond Pearson Hobson (he bottled up the Spanish fleet by sinking the Merrimac in the narrow channel of Santiago Harbor in the SpanishAmeriean War), the "Three Horsemen" of Notre Dame (the fourth was unable to appear), radio's Vass Family, the non-radio but numerically staggering families of Don Rose and Mac Parker (28 strong), and a special band composed of some of the most famous maestri in radio, comprising Rudy Vallee, Ozzie Nelson, B. A. Rolfe, Dave Rubinoff, Ray Noble, Harry Sosnick, Guy Lombardo, Eddie Duchin and Ferde Grofe. Just what the man who planned the program had in mind when he booked the "Horsemen" and the Parker and Rose families is not yet clear. Neither act had anything to offer. From the latter we learned that it was jolly to have a large family, but the jollity was somewhat dampened for us when it was revealed that it takes 700 pounds of butter, 98 pairs of shoes, a half-ton of bread, etc., etc., to feed and clothe 24 children each year. And considering that the "Horsemen" were graduated from Notre Dame 10 years ago, the warmed-over stories of their exploits were a bit aged. Dusky Bill Robinson stole the honors of the evening as easily and as effortlessly as he dances. "Bojangles" offered several tap routines that drummed out of the loudspeaker flawlessly, keeping up a running fire of chatter and song as he danced. The re-enactment of Admiral Hobson's heroic achievement was good melodrama, considerably heightened by the fact that the episode is based on history. Cook was an affable and pleasing "em cee," while Ernie Watson's band put to shame the aggregation of bandleaders. "1937 Radio Show" The first of the Mutual-Don Lee sponsored programs was offered over the nation's newest coast-to-coast network Sunday at 6 P.M., E.S.T. Formerly known as the "National Amateur Hour" and piloted by Benny Rubin, the series bowed in as the "1937 Radio Show" with a new cast headed by Ray Knight and his "Cuckoos." The results were a bit disappointing. Knight is a network veteran and when good he is very, very good. Sunday night he was far from his usual standard. Arnold Johnson's band, too, suffered a let-down from its usual efficient musical level. Probably the boys were trying too hard. An excellent Knight feature, however, was the "Firing Squad" idea, created to do away with national pests. The victim was the back-thumping Old College Pal. This feature is bound to prove popular. Two additional comedy dramatizations by Knight and his "Cuckoos" {Continued on parte 27) Initial Lee-Mutual Show Begins Sunday The first of the Don Lee offerings over a partial Mutual network begins Sunday from 10 to 11 A.M., E.S.T. The series is sponsored by the Gospel Broadcasting Ass'n. Originating in the studios of KHJ, Los Angeles, the program will be broadcast over the additional Don Lee stations and over Mutual stations WMT, Cedar Rapids; KSO, Des Moines; KOIL, Omaha; KVOD, Denver; and WIND, Chicago. Heatter in 2 Weeks Shot A short-short in radio contracts has just been secured by Gabriel Heatter, who will be on the air daily for two weeks for the Modern Industrial Bank of New York beginning tomorrow afternoon at 5:15 P.M., E.S.T. The program will be heard over WOR. Berle, Eton Boys, Et Al Short Shots : The entire cast of Milton Berle's "Community Sing" program goes to Hollywood late this month and the program will continue from the studios . . . The Eton Boys have been set as Ed Wynn's guests this Saturday . . . Jimmy Fidler tonight will introduce the two screen players who, in his estimation, will attain stardom in 1937 . . . Buck and Bubbles are the first guests set for Sunday's RCA "Magic Key" program . . . The "Hit Parade" has been renewed for an additional 13 weeks . . . Carmella Ponselle will open a dramatic school of her own next week . . . Walter Huston will appear on Kate Smith's "Bandwagon" program Jan. 14 . . . Walter Cassel flew to Hollywood yesterday to be color-tested by Warners . . . Johnny Davis, Fred Waring's "scat" singer, has quit the band and will join up with the "Three T's," who are heard twice weekly over WEAF . . . Ferde Grofe will guest appear or. the "Modern Romance" program Jan. 13 . . . Jackson Wheeler, announcer on Joe Penner's series, has been re-signed for an additional 13 weeks . . . Joe Cook will play host to the New York baseball writers at his "Sleepless Hollow" home next week . . . Kay Kyser's band, now touring the south, returns to Chicago Feb. 15, where he will have a Mutual wire. From San Francisco Short Shots — Darrell Donnell, Examiner radio editor, will be back broadcasting news flashes over KYA, local Hearst station, soon. Donnell's throat went back on him some weeks ago. . . . New Year's Day saw several well known NBC network offerings, heard locally on KPO, moved over to KGO, the Blue outlet, among them the "House of Melody," Lum and Abner, Ben Bernie, Bob Ripley and Easy Aces. . . . Gordon Brown, who made his local reputation as Night Owl for Ralph Brunton's KJBS transcription programs, in the future will change his sleeping hours to conduct KJBS "Alarm Klok Klub," which airs at 7 A. M., P.S.T., every day. . . Bill Pabst, at KFRC, has been pinch-hitting as station manager for the Don Lee outlet now that Tom Breneman has shifted to Columbia's new KSFO. The Don Lee offices have not appointed a new station manager yet. Owen Dresden, well known in California air circles, was offered the job, it is understood, but turned it down.