Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1937)

Tuesday, March 2, 1937 MOTION PICTURE DAILY RADIO " , 4 Radio Personals ► FRED SMITH, publicity director at Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn, ailing with the flu. . . . Frank Healy, assistant to Wayne Randall at NBC, back in harness after a 10-day trip to New Orleans i to cover the N.E.A. convention there. "» . . . Carey Grant in all likelihood will support Grace Moore in next Monday's Lux "Radio Theatre" offering. . . . Sheila Barrett set for the Nash-Lafayette program for next week. . . . From the coast Ben Ber, nie wires that he is parting from his band temporarily, not permanently. . . . Ford Frick, president of the National Baseball League, will be the "Showboat" guest April 1. . . + Rudy Vallee planes to Florida for a five-day vacation immediately after Thursday night's broadcast. . . . Warden Lawes was unable to appear on his "20 Thousand Years in Sing Sing" program last night due to illness. Richard Gordon substituted for j him. . . . The RCA "Magic Key" cast this Sunday will include Jean Sablon, Josephine Antoine, Eddie Albert and Frank Albertson and Richard Himber's orchestra. . . . Irene Delroy, who leaves for the coast shortly to begin picture work, will guest appear on Louis Katzman's program over WINS today. . . . + C. E. Midgeley, head of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn radio department, has returned to New York after conferring with officials at the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. in Louisville regarding the change in time for the company's Jack Pearl series. . . . Betty Olson joins the "Escorts" on the NBC "Breakfast Club" series and hereafter the act will be known as "The Escorts and Betty." ... A new symphony program, the "Chicago Symphonic" hour, will be inaugurated over the NBCBlue network at 11 P. M., E.S.T., beginning March 5. . . . WOR's gym classes with John B. Gambling celebrates its 14th year on the air the week of March 8. . . . + Joe Gentile and Bruce Hamilton, conductors of CKLWs "Early Morning Frolic" both back on the job after a siege of grip. . . . Joseph Schmidt, European tenor, makes his American concert debut on the General Motors concert this Sunday. . . . The first issue of Promotion, complimentary service organ, published by Adrian James Flanter and associates, specialists in radio exploitation, is now in the mail. . . . Grady Cole, Ford newscaster and StewartWarner commentator on WBT, ill with grippe. . . . Duane Thompson, telephone operator on "Hollywood Hotel," marries William Johnson, coast script writer, this Saturday. . . . Margaret Sullavan will offer a scene from her current stage play, "Stage Door," on Kate Smith's "Bandwagon" program, March 11. . . . Carole Lombard will appear on the CBS "Hit Parade," Saturday. W. L. Doudna Joins WHBL Sheboygan, Wis., March 1. — William L. Doudna, formerly radio and music editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, and news announcer over WIBA, has joined WHBL, the Sheboygan Press station as program director. "Butterfly" Over Lux Hollywood, March 1. — Lux Theatre of the Air will turn to "Madame Butterfly" for its March 8 broadcast. Grace Moore and the Puccini music will be featured. "Paramount Parade" Is Set for Mar. 28 Hollywood, March 1. — The initial broadcast of "Paramount on Parade" will be heard over the NBC-Red March 28th instead of March 14. The complete clearance of 73 stations necessitated the postponement. The full Paramount contract list of 80 stars and featured players including the musical comedy attractions will be called upon for the building of the Sunday program. Outstanding among the features planned is the bringing to the microphone of a "visitor of the day," the visitor being some prominent personality in southern California. New Women's Show Starts in Charlotte Charlotte, March 1. — The "Women's News Parade," a daily 15-minute program designed exclusively for women, makes its debut on WBT tomorrow. The program features women in the news, fashions, and film chatter. Sponsored by the O'Boy Bread Co., the show will be handled by Reginald Allen. The news will be furnished by the United Press. New Shows on the Air "Passing Parade" John Nesbitt's "Passing Parade," long a favorite with west coast listeners, hit the "big time" last night as a coast-to-coast feature on the NBCRed. With a few minor reservations, the program is definitely worth while dialing. Produced with a showmanly touch, Nesbitt exhibited a good sense of dramatic values and a fine, well-modulated voice. His mike style and choice of material, however, bordered uncomfortably close to that of Edwin C. Hill and his "Human Side of the News." In the comparison, Nesbitt suffered. The program consisted of a series of panels highlighting the news of yesterday. Last night Nesbitt marshalled tales of the explorer Fawcett, who perished in the Brazilian jungles ; the story of a miserly woman who lived in a hovel and slept on a pillow stuffed with $100 bills ; and a yarn about an old skipper who put out to sea with a bevy of monkeys as his traveling companions. All were uniformly good and sustained interest throughout. Nesbitt's "parade" is divided into two chapters presented on successive days. Last night's was the "Parade of Yesterday." This evening, and employing a similar schedule thereafter, Nesbitt will offer his "Parade of Today." "Passing Parade" is sponsored by the Duart Co., makers of cosmetics, Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:15 P. M.. E.S.T. on the NBC-Red. "Ma and Pa" Apparently "Ma and Pa," the Atlantic Refining Co.'s rural script drama, has caught on with the listeners, for, beginning with last night's broadcast from 7:15 to 7:30 P. M., E.S.T., the series was boosted from a three to a five-time per week schedule. "Ma and Pa," of course, is founded on the proverbial set of rural characters, headed by the Baxters — "Ma and Pa" of the script. Having listened, we hardly know what to say about this one. Perhaps it would be most charitable to say it's no better or worse than most of the rural script dramas heard on the air. Last night's episode concerned "Pa Baxter's" sub rosa efforts at building an automobile trailer for himself and "Ma." Characteristically, however, "Pa" plans to build his trailer with a chicken roost and a cow stall in it, so that he and "Ma" can have fresh eggs and milk when they go touring. "Ma" gets wind of the trailer, however, and puts the "kibosh" on "Pa's" plans. The episode also dealt with something about an iron cat. Apparently the iron feline plays an important part in the plot, but being only a casual listener, the significance of this was lost to us. The NBC Sustaining Dramas NBC is in the non-strategic position of not being able to blow its own horn by calling attention to the excellent sustaining dramas it is now offering each Sunday from 8 to 9 P.M., E.S.T. on the Blue network, for fear of drawing fire from Chase and Sanborn, sponsors of the competitive "Do You Want to Be an Actor?" series, heard at the same hour as the sustaining dramas on the Red. It seems to be up to others, therefore, to do something about the matter. Two Sundays ago, in an effort to build up the 8 to 9 P.M. period, NBC presented Philip Merivale in "Thorns in Omar's Garden." Last Sunday the period was delightfully occupied by Eva Le Galliene, who presented Tom Broadhurst's adaptation of Longfellaw's poem, "Evangeline." We have seldom, if ever, heard anything as fine on the air. It's comparatively easy for one to be aroused emotionally by a fine play or motion picture, but never have we witnessed such a radio phenomenon as occurred in our home as we listened to Miss Le Galliene's amazing voice portrayal of "Evangeline." We had a party of friends at the house : when we tuned in the party was at its gayest. Minutes after the program had started a voice wasn't to be heard, save those that came from the loudspeaker. At the conclusion of the program there was hardly a dry eye in the room. When a mere radio program can grip a roomful of listeners with such intensity, it may be said that true dramatic art in radio has been reached. "The ABC of NBC" "The ABC of NBC," a new series of institutional programs designed to afford dialers a non-technical insight to how radio works, bowed in over the Red network last Saturday from 7:45 to 8 P.M., E.S.T. The initial "lesson" dealt with the duties of the control room engineer and studio director ; a demonstration of the work accomplished by the control room "mixing panel," an explanation for the importance of "timing" in radio ; and a glossary of the signals used in putting and keeping a program on the air. For a program without entertainers, the broadcast held up surprisingly well. Utilizing the catch phrase, "Use Your Radio Dial As a Latch Key to NBC," the show featured announcer George Hicks as narrator, and assistants Tom Hutchinson, director ; Ted Hahn, engineer ; and an unnamed woman who assumed the role of a visitor to Radio City separated from her regular guide party. Each week a different department will be visited and its operations explained. Listeners with a desire to learn what makes the wheels of the broadcasting world go 'round will like this informative little series. "Singing Waiters of Paris Inn Cafe" "The Singing Waiters of the Paris Inn Cafe," heard Saturdays at 5:45 P.M., E.S.T. on CBS, is a fluent little musical program which recently attained coast-to-coast status after a long period of west coast airing over KNX, Los Angeles. The program is definitely of a much higher calibre than the usual sustaining programs and should be wellreceived ;t>y the CBS audience. "Class" music predominates, with occasionally a number of the popular variety. Highlights of Saturday evening's broadcast were renditions of "The Mountaineers" by the entire "Paris Inn" ensemble, and "The March of the Musketeers" by Roger Kilburn. Banner "Keep Laughing" Philadelphia, March 1. — Having developed more than a dozen musical variety shows, most of them fed to the NBC Red, KYWs production department is now turning its attention to the comic element, figuring that Jack Benny can't go on forever. LeRoy Miller and Morton Lawrence, as Berton and Dutton, with announcer Jim Harvey feeding straight lines, makes for a laughing combination that promises to be as zany as the Colonel and Budd. Without a visual audience to milk the laughs, the boys will have to juggle their material until they hit the proper vein. As heard on the initial broadcast, the mimed characterizations listened best, the "highlights of last week's news" coming over tops. The black-outs, however, fell flat. Jan Savitt's studio band of 16 keep the pace at a fast tempo. "Get Happy" is the signature with stock laughs to convey the idea to those who don't recognize the song. "Keep Laughing" is offered as a sustaining show on KYW, Fridays at 1:15-1:30 P.M., E.S.T. The program has commercial potentialities, providing the comics don't get stale and fall back on Joe Miller.