Radio and television mirror (July-Dec 1950)

West played Eve. Charlie McCarthy was Adam. The script was brilliantly funny. Everyone loved it. In rehearsals, Eve emerged as a very human wife a little fed up with sitting around the house. "I want something to happen, a little excitement, a little adventure. A couple of months of peace and security an a woman's bored ... if 'trouble' means something that makes you catch your breath . . ." To this point all was well. Eve sounded just like a thousand other housewives. However, as do so many seasoned stars, Miss West did not give her all until actual performance. Once on the air, she marshalled her forces and in Diamond Lil's most significant drawl finished with, "If trouble is something that makes your blood race through your veins . . . mmmmmmmmm, Adum, muh man, give-uh-me-uh-trouble!" Adam didn't, but radio did in spite of the fact that there was nothing wrong with the words and the idea was meant to be funny. Behind all the laughter this year there was the distant mutter of news from Europe. An indication of how conscious all listeners were of impending war came on October 30 when another innocently broadcast drama sent the entire eastern slope into panic. It was Orson Welles "War of the Worlds" on CBS's Mercury Theatre. It made Welles famous overnight but it almost wrecked his radio career. He was a hard-working young man of twentythree, already known as the "boy wonder" of Broadway. He had done eighteen dramas on The Mercury Theatre of the Air. His voice was widely familiar as was his "This is your obedient servant— Orson Welles," so it is very hard to know just why "The War of the Worlds" was taken as a factual broadcast, especially as it was listed by title in all radio columns. In addition, clear announcements were made at the beginning and during the show that it was the account of an attack from Mars by a survivor in the year 2,000. To give the feeble yarn a little novelty, Welles had modernized it with the use of radio bulletin technics like "Flash! A space ship has just landed near Princeton," and further announcements that martial law had been declared in New Jersey. Anyone who listened for more than a few sentences could not fail to recognize the show as a fantasy, but the panic among those who tuned in late, heard only "Flash! They're bombing! The monsters from Mars are landing by thousands!" Evidently a great many people did not wait for more. Women fled to neighbors' homes crying havoc. People began to stream out of cities by car, jamming the highways, before the fearful Martians could get them. Two extremely important facts were brought into sharp focus by this furor. One was that we were thoroughly conditioned to implicit belief in our news broadcasts, and subconsciously we knew the threat of invasion hanging over Europe could happen here. The other fact confirmed the sponsors' gnawing suspicion that the listening audience was developing deafness to commercials. They found the answer the next year. It was the lusty revival of the singing commercial. NEXT MONTH Give-aways hit the big time. Radio's big role in the shattering events of 1939-41. ASCAP vs. the broadcasters. jie/iu a dup, (Heat foojj£ur oecnetl Whoever said "Beauty is skin deep," probably had Woodbury Cold Cream in mind. For the secret of a beautiful skin is deep, deep cleansing. Woodbury Cold Cream cleanses deeper because it contains Penaten— the amazing new penetrating agent that actually goes deeper into the pore openings. That means Woodbury's wonderful cleansing oils go deeper to loosen every trace of grime and make-up. And because of Penaten, Woodbury Cold Cream smooths more effectively, too. Brings rich softening oils to soothe your skin when it's dry and rough. Recapture that little-girl freshness again with Woodbury Cold Cream! 20^ to $1.39 plus tax. GMCnAomj jtMBMHaMP 'Mil 'WWW Woodbury CQ OS penetrates deeper because it contains PENATEN