Radio and television mirror (Jan-June 1950)

Candid Camera (Continued from page 49) not just masks perspiration odor * sormm and beautifies underarm skin Oh joy, oh bliss! YODORA is different . . . doubly divine, doubly effective, because it's made with a face cream base. Works two ways : 1 —really stops perspiration odor . . . 2 — keeps armpits fresh and lovely-looking as the skin of neck and shoulders. Safe for clotnes, too. Today, try YODORA, the wonderful deodorant that works two ways! Product of McKesson & Robbins, Bridgeport, Conn. Tubes or jars lOtf, 30«S, 60(jS 86 wanted to see again. So, he explained to the bewildered boy, he wanted cold coffee, sandwiches on stale bread, terrible pickles and squashed cake. The discussion about the spelling of "squashed" and Arthur's solution of writing "squeezed" helped increase the boy's confusion. What impressed me about the interviews was how Funt got his subjects to go along with the conversation, after they decided he was slightly balmy, and even after they were really annoyed. I concluded it's because he has a friendly approach, a guileless smile, a sense of timing, and a terrific line. My next call from Allen came late one morning. "Meet us at the Madison Square Pet Shop at one," he told me. "This time you can see the whole setup." When I got there the crew was tearing itself reluctantly from the monkeys and the puppies to begin their preparations. They were deciding on the best spot at the counter for Allen ' to pose as a salesman. A compromise had to be made on the camera's location. Customers came and went and nobody seemed to care. Allen told me later that most adults are either so unsuspecting, or so pre-occupied that they never ask questions. "Children are more apt to spot us," he said. "They see and hear everything." Lights were placed in strategic positions; the counter where Funt would tend store was blocked off with piles of merchandise, so his subjects would be kept close to the salt-and-pepper mike in a box of rubber toys. Now Funt was ready for business, dressed in a big apron like the other clerks. I was across the store, lost among the fish bowls. Funt waited on several customers but they were non-committal and didn't fall for his "reverse" technique (an example of which is the time he sent for an auto mechanic to dent his fenders). He seemed to sense the exact moment when a conversation would die out or would get amusing enough to record. Three boys came in. Allen began to draw out the twelve-year-old, but the others broke in and the mood was gone. It was just as well, because quite a while later the boy came back and whispered in his ear, "Aren't you the Candid Camera man?" Finally he struck pay dirt with his next two customers. The first was a man who came with a list of supplies for the boss's German Police dog. After considerable talk about the dog's size, color, diet, even his home address and telephone number, the fellow was so completely confused that he asked Funt to call his boss and get the order straight. Funt went to the back of the store, ostensibly to phone, and came back with the astounding news that instead of a German Police dog it was a tiny Chihuahua, and what the boss really wanted was bird seed. By this time the man decided he'd better telephone himself. The j oke had gone far enough. "We'll go by this order," Funt told him. "And know what, pal? You're on television." The news was received with an uncomprehending grin. Then he took a good look at the lights. "Sure," he said. Actually he wasn't on television — yet. He was on film but until he signed a release, and accepted the token fee, nothing could be done. Allen's next customer was a thirteenyear-old whose teacher had sent him to price guinea pigs for experiments in the science class. The conversation went about like this: Funt: Are you sure your teacher wanted you to come here and buy five guinea pigs? What kind of experiments? Boy: Well, we're going to feed one all protein, one all sweets, one starch. We're trying to find out what happens, like when they have too much starch. Funt: But if I sell you the guinea pigs will you be nice to them? Boy: On yes. We're supposed to take care of them. We're on the Committee. Funt: What Committee? Boy: Well, I'm on the Protein Committee. I'm chairman. There's four of us on each Committee. Anyhow, I just want to " know how much five guinea pigs cost. Funt: You're on television. Right now. Boy: Funt: Boy: No I ain't. Yes you are. With me. Prove it to me. The boy stuck his chin out. "Prove it to me," he repeated. So Funt let him listen to the playback. "Now do you believe you were on television?" Funt asked. "Well — " said the boy, reluctantly. "You know, I think I'm going to sell you those guinea pigs," Funt told him. "You'll make a good scientist. You don't believe anything until you see it." "How can I prove it to the teacher and the kids," the boy demanded. "I'll fix it so they see the show," Funt promised him. The boy started to leave the store, came hurrying back. "But what about the guinea pigs?" he wanted to know. "How much will they cost?" "That's it," Funt shook his head. "The best things happen when it's all over." Allen Funt himself is a good-looking fellow, big, pleasant-mannered, devoted to his wife Evelyn and his small son Peter. He studied to be a commercial artist, went into an advertising agency as paste-up boy, graduated to copy writing, worked on radio accounts, opened his own office — though not as quickly or as easily as it's written here. His Candid Microphone program was on radio for sixty-five weeks and Candid Camera evolved from it. It took several years to put them across. "First, I thought we'd be accused of eavesdropping, and nobody likes an eavesdropper. Then I discovered only one in a hundred got huffy and I could always make that one laugh it off. "Second, without provocation not enough happened. People had to be heckled. When I made some presentation records I was the heckler. I didn't plan to continue. I never had training as an actor and don't want any." At this point I brought out the big question. "What are you going to do when more and more people recognize you on sight? How, then, can you keep Candid Camera candid?" "Oh, we've got that all worked out." Allen answered. "We'll go into full scale make-up then." As we finished talking I saw that the recorders were still open. It looked pretty suspicious. Had I been a "subject" too? I don't know, but maybe we'll be meeting soon — on Candid Camera, of course!