Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

"Macbeth" Sets Video Record Top Nanicf of Slafic, Larhh Sccticry and Coflunicf Feature Hiflory- Making Tclcvhion Production by NBC. TIIK biKKi.'-'^t. most lavish and, if paid for and sponsored, the must expensive production on tele- vision was The Players' Club pres- entation of Shakespeare's "Mac- beth" on the NI5C" Television Net- work. Sunday. May 1. To pay the cast alone, toi) names of Hollywood and Broadway, would have cost around $25,000. The rehearsal, air and studio time, plus the cost of the sets and costumes, would have run the total cost well over $1,000,- 000. An analysis of the time and work expended on the three interior and three exterior sets in Studio 8G and the two sets made for the portions of the play produced on film shows that to run, setup and strike the sets required ten men working' a total of 107 hours. To build and paint the sets i-e- (|uired 20:\ hours, IG men and 20 V'allons of paint. Some of the paint- ing was done after the .sets were erected in the studio. Five property men were needed for the produc- tion. A hauling crew of three men was re(|uired to brinjr the props, sets and costumes into the studio and a secretary to keep track of the crew and their various pickup points. JoVlK RKOMA.S- AS "I.APV MACBKTH I .N NBC's KrcKMAI, TKI.KVISION r'ROItl'CTION OK TIIK SIIAKKSI'KARKAN TRACKDY. [28 RADIO AGE] The costumes — approximately three changes for each of the 85 members of the cast—were obtained from the twci lar>rest theatrical cos- tume houses in the city. Ten tailors, workinK eijrht hours a day for three days were used to net the clothes ready, and it rei|uired the services of six dressers at the dress re- hearsal and while the projrram was telecast to aid the actors and ac- tresses in their changes. Seven makeup experts were used to make up the cast and five prop- erty men were required to keep track of the various props used during' the show. There were four cameramen and five lijrht men used on the produc- tion. Adapted Drama for I clccaft Henry Fisk Carlton adapted the drama to fit the hour telecast. Since members of The Players' Club were doiuK the play as their annual observance of the Bard's birthday, two sets of producers and directors were used. Harold McGee and An- thony Brown were the producer and director respectively for The Play- ers and the late Owen Davis, Jr., and Garry Simpson held down the same spots for NBC. Walter \\'i\)i- ner of The Players was the only sta^'e manager. The top names of The Players' Clul> roster — who are also top names of the Broadway stage — played in the production. Walter Hampden, president of the club, played the role of Macbeth and the three highest-paid Witches ever to es.say the roles were Bobby Clark, David Wayne and P-dgar Stehli. Others in the star-studded cast were Joyce Redman as Lady Mac- beth, Walter Abel .us Macduff, Paul McGrath as Banquo, Leo G. Carroll as Duncan, Sidney Blackmer as Ross, Alexander Clark as Lennox, Phili)) Truex as Malcolm. John Drew Devereux as Donalbain, Ben Lackland as Seyton, Ralph Bi'llamy as Porter, John Carradine and Charles Brokaw as the first and second murderers, Frank Wilcox as Caithness, Krnest Rowan as Men- teith, Maurice Wells as Angus, Douglas A. Clark-Smith as the doc- tor and John Craven as the man- servant. Even the "spear-carriers." in the liroduction rated among the first names of the legitimate theatre Ladies-in-Waiting were \"iola Keats and Margaret Garland. Gentle- women were Klizabeth Dewing. \"\v- ginia Downing, Monica Lang. .Abby Lewis, Sonia Sorel and Margot Ste- venson. Soldiers were Jack Benwell, Richard Kllington, Carl Frank. Storrs Haynes. Don Moore and .Nelson Wav. WAI.TKR HAMPDEN, NOTED .STACK ACTOR. I'LAVKD TIIK TITl.K ROLE IN "MACBKTH". SUPPORTKD BY AN IMPRKSSIVK CA.ST OK BROADWAY AND llOI.I.VWOdli STARS.