Variety (October 1961)

Wednesday, October? 4 1961, _TELEVISION REVIEWS 39 [Bus STOP Ti be ‘Beetk, Don DeFere,| With Sire Corns Bote! y Blake, Bobby Buntrosk,/ _Anne Helm, Tesy Maddox, Mari of others: ee Producer: Harry Ackerman © . -| Race ‘Producer; William Belt rodueer: ‘James Fonda. Direeter: William Russell |'Preducer: Rebert Blees. Writers: William Cowley, Pesry. Director: Stuart Rosenberg ‘Chantler, ethers . Writer: Sally Benson $0. Mins., Thurs., 9:36 DBA, ‘| G@ Mins.; Sun., 9. pam. FORD PARTICIPATING ‘ABC-TV (film) — ‘NBC-TV. (film) Each. . ‘h bi | . Gk Walter: Thompson) ach week ‘a new: character wi « ” step ‘out of a.bus-in the “town of: Jt Hazel makes: it on: ‘NBC-TV Sunrise, _and thereby -hangs ‘the support for the theory ‘that “the: on ABC-TV. its “drama anthology” mass. television. audience has’ the{ continuity. New’ series. is out of the | mentality of a 12-year-old. The! 20th-Fox TV. shop, ‘and. beyond the coinedy in this Screen Gems opus’ “Bus Stop” title. any resemblance is so banal. and so: shamelessly con-' to the William Inge play (and film) trived that it can only be exas-:. is. purely coincidental. | perating to the adult mind, par-} Whatever ABC’s ambitions to ‘ticularly when. the Jaughtrack finds ; multiply -its, share-of-audience in. ‘hilarity’. in. everything from the, competition with NBC’s movement of an eye muscle to the: and CBS’ “GE. Theatre” an _-mérest complication of plot. { Benny, it’s going to take some“Hazel” is grossly unworthy ‘of: : thing. mote compelling: and more its star, Shirley Booth, who plays’ distinctive: ewe or they” 4 the title role, that of a flat-footed, ! ernoon of a Cow Segmen meddling. maid who.runs.the house-: hold in which. she works. It bases: -on the cartoon feature so titled in! the Saturday Evening Post. ‘From! . the looks of things, the series will: ‘have Miss Booth. hutting “inte: family and neighborhood . ‘affairs : each week, . driving. her. employer, (Don DeFore) to the point of dis-. traction, ‘and coming .up roses. every .time. The formula ‘seems: ‘desperately limited, and if the writers continve to. ienore. plausi-! bility the way they did in the open-; ing segment there’s Iittle chance’ for the show's survival. ~ . tentions may be. entirely in diversifying its program sched; ule,.an hour anthology. series must inevitably be evaluated on its Vability’ to. achieve -an extra talent and contrivances. abounded. For ‘in-, a" welcame” * ‘tag on a new stance, d ants on two unwitting, hour anthology series. ‘occasions antagonized a gentleman, story of the’ same man each. time, ‘who In relating the of an’ errant ‘turnéd out to be an important: client in DeFore’s legal. practice. _ On ‘two oeeasions afootball w turning home after many years aS | his’ eldest son accused of murder, a Kicked, not through a. “window, | there. was respectful, albeit trite, ; obeisarice. ‘ta: Hollywood-made :ty ’ which might have been half he-: lievable, but into a chimney, infact the same -chimney each time.:; The outing had: no more sublety! than, ‘the average daytime moppet: ‘show and justabout as. ‘much ‘humor.. . product, from, Steve. Cochran’s por‘trayal of the home-again parent, | fering ‘spouse and Dean Stockwell as.the accused ‘son. Stuart. Rosen| bere’s ‘direttion was in strict -com : The series shaves as a comedown | pliance with’ minimal prime time. for Miss Booth. Despite. her efforts, ‘the title character came off. Without any real charm. DeFore was quite TT ee Sotho mand 0 ome, o _ doesn’t. promise to be a very ‘chalzanorn: TF CORRUPTERS: ‘Jenging part. Bobby Buntrock| n seemed: sufficient as the son, but} -Whitney Blake, dressing like and| . Striking the poses of.a high fashion | / requirements... ‘Pedestrian is the word for “Bus Stor. . ‘Rose, model, simply didn’t convince as|_ ™ des a the sweet, understanding mother bib ptabiie John Burrows, Leonard and spouse she’s supposed to. be. | ters Dan ‘Meaford Ford has hit a bump with this one. es. '| 60 Mins, Fri, 10 pat.” = “| Participating | CALENDAR AEC-TV (Film) With Harry. Reasener, Mary Fickett ; Exee: Preducer: Thomas H. Welf Predweers: Mel Ferber, Bill Kebin Direetac: Martin Carr Writers: Andy Reeney, Maury. Reb 30 ain, Mea-Fri., ie am. PARTICIPATING ; CBS-TV, from N. Y. ao CBS-TV’s new ‘morning: strip. of, features, interviews and news, crime-and-violence' explosion ‘spectability designed to. ‘blur and string, but if there are a few house| iio wives | of hipper stripe around; it} en i wINDOW ON MAIN. STREET ‘ET SCOTT PAPER; 1. “Window. er Main ‘Street, " ‘the ‘mentality. , “Bonarza” | Garrett Brooks, a’ moderately sucad Jack. cessful author, who returns to his premiere. 4 het -" to tuim the trick. While aanshcable youth and convince him that youth i tising above the ‘conventional for-|for..a series mula. stuff: at which Hollywood is gnettes, capturing wholesome fun! so uniquely and peculiarly gifted. | or. ‘warm. humor, it would require : (Unfortunately there was nothing | at the. least a few real human bein this preem ‘stanza to suggest ; ings, not eardboard caricatures. As AS “that “Bus Stop’is endowed. with |it was no one particularly . cared even 2 suggestion of these dimen| whether the smiling. writer mouth! sions: Neither: the.’ writing ‘tele-|ing some meaningless ‘-play. was by Sally Benson), nor the either recaptured his youth or | direction nor the production itself |made a future. for ‘himself. Cer-pererated . anything remotely -re‘tainly the childhood sweetheart ‘ In. the opener, coincidences sembling that needed spark to help episode was. nothing . short . of. | father, a bronco riding rover re-. absence in the hopes: of..defending: characters to life. to Bethel Leslie as his long-suf MeNally,. Rebert REYNOLDS METAL. AMERICAN | NBC-TV (Glm) {Star, company which made this new hourlong anthology ‘series for NBCTY, has’ a commercial entry .that }manages.to be commercial as well As if television needed another|target without pretentiousness or |: at reughkouse. this eritical and controversial juncture of its stormy ¢areer, along}Dick Powell Show,” which preemed | comes “Target: The Corruptors”|Tuesday (26), to add. fuel to the fire. There’s a lot j of: fancy’ talk in. this: series about | standard video variety by Frank!. exposing . the “Ei pete of Gilroy. But it was put together | sential “maneuver, a bid for re-|: As aes “Dante,” Powell essayed With Rebert: Young; Ford Rainey, Constance Moeere, others — man, Jeanne Bates, Barton. HeyWriter: Keswell Regers | Ciarke, ‘Rafael Lopez, Maurice 30 Mins.; Mon. 8:38 p.m. ‘FONE © E. Me , | Directer: "Fielder Cook Writer: Moser. 6@ Minz., Mon., 16 p.m. PARTICIPATING _ ABC-TV (film) “Ben Casey” opened on Monday (2) to the unduly melodramatic strains of James Moser's script, o satisfy.. It embarked on a ten-|Dut this ‘second medico series o tative—-very tentative—path on its |the season (along with “Dr. Kilinitial installment whieh encom-|dare” on NBC-TV) was a welcome passed Httle or no comedy, ‘but ‘relief from the seemingly endless much maudlin, ‘unmoving sentibelt of action-adventure programs that gird television this séason. Moser, creator of the’ former “Medic” stanza, unravelled a new format that smacks faintly of its of : competitor “Kildare.” There is at ithe young. dector, Casey, enacted by Vincent. Edwards, and his protector, the wise old man of medi;cine not Dr. Gillespte but one Dr. | Zorba. whom Sam Jaffe plays, and then there is the hospital. Preachy andoverdone, the first -CBS-TV -(film) \ (J. Walter Thompson; North Adv.) new Robert Young “situation com edy’”’ series which premiered Mon‘ iday night (2) on CBS-TV, had better decide pretty soon just where it ‘wants to go—and who. it wanty This is the story. of Cameron childhood home with the idea writing about Main. St.and wha he sees from his window.. His life-! long buddy tries to dissuade him: from taking the trip back to his can’t be. recaptured, od at this : point a saccharine ep e eeps :,, am tallm Ben . Casey”. did, ‘however, smack him ‘on—to the next, ins ent. lot authenticity—at . . times—which Ifthe intent was to set the stage ; suggests: that once the bugs are out of small town Vi-'o¢ the way, it'll settle down into a :more -Satisfyingly realistic groove. ‘Moser ‘apparently did not want to | chance having his preem hour lag. : having Casey, a promising, rock‘hard resident neurosurgeon, save ithe life of a nine-year old boy by [a series of intricate brain operaitions, which should’ have provided: enough anxiety for any atdience. } ‘the writer. had his hero face off! ridiculous. against an archaic hospital admin-! “Under such circumstances it. istration. It was a windmill tilt may" ‘be. asking too much of Robert that was too muddled to be meanYoung; or for that matter. any ‘of . the others involved, to.hold the in-' ‘terest of the viewer or bring the. It was an impossible assignment for ‘all ‘conj ‘cerned. ‘Rose. homilies : .contract rabies. This latter plece of .dramaturey was: totally out of “place. Moser. abused 2 dramatic convention bv having the doe fight to: save the bov’s life while simultaneorsly fighting to save his own. This all was too much. | Edwards. ‘a fine actor who has 'learned the film trade by apvearjing mainIiv as offbeat criminal types in B features. eat eronald. Fatically during e first half hour fan, Mickey Rosner Kay Thou of “Casey.” but his laconic be* the , havior. hecame steadier and more meaningful . as the program progressed. Jaffe, an owlish man, was caddled with some antic dialog and jbis performance was ‘impressively out of place. Harry Landers as another resident doctor was excellent. ‘and there is something to be. saitt tfor the vale beauty ard. high cheekhones of the romantic interest in the person of Bettye Ackerman. Rest: of the cast was a mixture of omvetence and the runaway style of stydent actors, which merely THE DICK POWELL SHOW (Whe. Kilied Julie Greer?) __. With guests Nick Adams, Ralph ! Bellamy, Edsar Bergen, Lloyd Bridges, Jack. Carsen, Carelyn TOBACCO ‘(Lennen: & Newell, SSC&B):” “Diek Powell, | ‘the ‘head of Four as tasteful and artful. He hit: the | with some thespianic erraticsm. Show chances are, at least, middling good to erab a durable notch ‘First 60-minute ‘story on “Phe for itself ia nighttime tv. Art. was “Who Killed. (J Nhodunit of the (DENNIS THE MENACE JuHe Greer?”, sen,, Gloria Henry, Joseph Sylvia _ Field, Billy a detective Pteciive The gimmick id certainly gather them violent brew of killings and maimpendent milli who ‘covered CBS-TV (filme " sh Mon ay? jure Ings, the sort of provocative fare|the caper in 2 chauffeur-driven | (Leo Burnett; Guild, Bascom one ow Monday: ri ‘that. attracts an:‘instant audience limousine. In the course of search& Bonfigli) news ‘correspondent | Hatry throtigh sheer noise and fury. i ‘Dennis. lives in a world where Reasoner and legit . actress Mary Fickett in. quickie interviews with | Sal Durante, who caught Roger Maris’ Gist: homer: Mrs. Randolph | ‘Guggenheimer, : child health and ‘-care expert;.. and Eric Sevareid,: -CBS. newsinan back’ from Europe. All were brief and pointed: with . the Sevareid seg probably coming. off ag most interesting, particular‘Ty his -bold opinion. that. the great -:English beauties always were more beautiful than the. American ‘coun| terpart. For the Guggenheimer bit, there was special film on -DenMark's. advanced. public program ‘of. child day care, ‘Miss Fickett: ‘and: Reagoner team “well in relaxed, breezy but. intelli-. gent conversing, with ‘her. thesp’s elocution. nicely pontrasted: to -his midwestern nazal twanging. -Reasoner begged a minute to {ot philosophize at the windup, saying there -would be no downgrading te. meet the ‘competitian—"We will retain as-we are.” Then he. said ‘to ‘Miss Fickett,,. “Good night, David,” ‘and she. replied, “Good. night; Chet.” Bill. . -was.by absurd bits of business such ‘as a mobster. czar forcing. his Virginia ham the. ‘could .experierice the sensation: ‘of ‘corruption-hunting . newsman ea sayed saved with a. distracting other regular aboard, is capable. ‘Peter Falk, an accomplished vilfain, played it to the hilt here. Less entational. hoods were essayed with Lert: ‘Middleton. Vigorous’ support came from: Arline Sax and Arthur Batanides., _, Tube, ‘had elapsed. a “trash collector bad}as a judge with an extra-curricular been peppered with © bultetholes and buried under a vanload of -garbage. Segment,. directed by Don Medford, was’ too theatrical in style to.deliver the desirable air. of authenticity, characterized as it as la movie cowboy, Mickey Rooney, henchman. to place his. hand on a They were all fine in brief. was about to. devour, so-that the aide greed. Hero of the series was. a sneer | star. hames slowed down the action by vet heavy Stephen. McNally, in in|a hit, but their presence-more. than fa change of character: Jack Flood, ‘pull. strut for the preem stanza. a: tor, Robert E. Miller, was excelent style by Walter Matthau. and Robin meeting the modest demands of erence for watching future hours. |competent and production values than. the grownups. This wupsidedown twist, salted ‘with mischief, ‘something simple to relax with for viewing family. Opener for the new season, titled “Trouble from Mars," had an easy gait, punctuated by chuckles. Jay love life, Edgar. Bergen, as x. mild veterinarian, Lloyd Bridges, as a giottal-stop pug, Jack Carson, as a beatnick bartender, Renald Reagan, as a laundryman, and Kay Thompson, as-a blind woman. Dean Jones, a handsome young man, played the guy who did it ‘(he was a cop, too). man to Joseph Kearns’ (Mr. Wilson) wild predicaments. Before the half-hour was out, Kearns, wearing a-.space helmet, and pantless, was being brought down a ladder by baffled firemen. ' Plot, scripted by Budd Grossman, took every advantage of the situations and the whole outing was keyed to worried adults responding crazily to the innocent space game of kids. Herbert Anderson as the father and Gloria Henry as the mother proved pleasant fixtures for the world of Dennis. A nice assist also was offered by Sylvia Field as Mrs. Wilson. Supporting players were ‘parts, and it was fun to watch the offbeat easting develop as the cameo parts unfolded. ‘Actually the unraveling: of these. compensated and served as a name_ The work. done by Powell, ‘proSpelling, and direc the format, -and was ample ref-. Art, i good. Horo. , Anmgeta {So instead of relying merely on} ‘ingful, and then go and accidentally ; tooned off the excesses of scrinting. -Ithe kids. at times are more adult makes for a ‘humorous half-hour, North as Dennis was the straight| DR. KILDARE ‘Edwards, Harry Lan-| With Richard Chamberiain, Ray: ‘ders, Sem Jaffe, Bettye Acker-| mond Massey, Bererly Garland, Jack Weston, Carel Rossen, William Swan, Jud Taylor, others Producer: Herbert Hirschman 1 Director: Boris Sagal Writer: E. Jack Neuman 6@ Mins., Thurs., §:26 p.m, PARTICIPATING NBC-TV (film) The medic boys are riding into the new ftv season with NBC-TV's “Dr. Kildare” as the forerunner. The ty reincarnation is out of the same Metro kit that did such yeoman service as a theatrical cycle in a past generation when Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore were carrying the “men in white” torch. Like its theatrical predecessor, the new hour television series, bringing newcomer Richard Chamberlain to. stardom as the young and aspiring Kildare interne and Raymond Massey taking over where Barrymore left off as Dr. Gillespis, is a slick, sugarcoated, soap opera conyerted-for-primetime production, with all the attendant gloss that could spell out big Thursday night audiences for the network, It'll do nothing to advance the cause of tv drama, per se, but on the premise that today’s viewer wants eseape, even if it means returning to the unrealities of another day in show biz, “Kildare* ‘may be their dish of pablum. Apparently nothing has changed in the intervening years. “Kildare” continues to glorify -the medical profession, its protagonists stariry-eyed and bursting with ideals. It’s saccharine, sometimes hard to ;5wallow, but in the best Hollywood j studio ‘tradition it’s done to a i crisp, almost enough to convince | the viewer that what he’s seeing is a plausible chunk of modern day life as it is lived among internes, doctors, nurses and patients in a big modernhospital. Metro-TV has decked it all out in most con¥Yincing physical accoutrements, including a story line for the initial entry as persuasive as any Top 10daytime soaper. Chamberlain as Kildare has all the requisites for stardom—handsome, tall, alert, understanding and get-up-and-do, the very model of a white uniformed interne with voice to match. Massey fs just as effective as Dr. Big. The hospital supports a large cast, for that mate ter, and everyone achieves a proper stance. Rose. ICHABOD AND ME Robert Sterling, George Chandler, Christine White, Martin Perkins Preducers-Writers: Jee Connell Beb Mesher ld (J. Walter Thompson) Any hopes that “Ichabod and Me” would turn out to be a sleeper in this prime time slot were thoroughly drenched by the kickoff It registered as just | another run-of-the-milk situation comedy, typically “innocuous in content and wholly bland in its approach. From start to finish, it pursued a familar formula down a predetermined course. As £ re sult, there were no surprises and few laughs on the first outing. The script was as mechanical ag the background laughter. Although the locale for this series is 2 small New Engdand town, the dialog waa -|studded with lines that could have come out of old Charlie Chan features. One character said: “Information is like a man’s wife—he ‘doesn’t want to share it with another man.” Another said: “Fish out of water must either learn to walk or get back to the water.” Such aphorisms were the chief stabs at humor and they didn’t come off. Story line of the opening show didn’t venture very far either. It invoived: the purchase of a defective sail boat by Robert Sterling, playing the local: newspaper editor, from the town sharpster (Martin Perkins) and the efforts of George Chandler, as the main title character, Ichabod, to get Sterling a refund. The ruse by which Chandler won his point was an old chestnut served up in plain New Engiand boiled style. Performances were competently handled although the script did not permit any sharply etched characterizations. Sterling has an appealing personality, while Chandler is a veteran performer with ore savvy to carry any comedy urden Herm,