Variety (October 1961)

VICTOR BORGE SPECIAL. .. With Hermione. Gingold, ‘Leonid '‘Hambro, others; Luther Hender-. _. gon, musical director. . Producer; George Schlatter. Pirector:-Mike Gargiulo _ Writers; Charles Isaacs, Walt CanBorge — 60 Mins., Wed.. 27), '9 p.m. PONTIAC: __.. CBS-TV, froin N.Y: | ” (MacManus, John & Adams) They practically threw away. the ‘ter, Mike Marmer, Jay. Burton, special on CBS-TV last Wed. (27). ‘with some innocuots byplay attend: ing .his 20th anni in this country, . it seld Page One. The result is an ab before the hour show finally ‘took on’ any semblance. of becoming an) Wednesday, October 4.1961 _ __ [FRANK McGEE’S HERE & {30 Mins.,. Fri, 10:3@ p.m. “TGULF 2. Now ‘Producer: Chet. Hagan Director: Bill Healion NBC:TV. (live &. film) Oe CY & RR) Having successfully parlayed ‘in-} {stant news into big, big business : | ($28,000,000 worth.of sponsorship), | “| NBC-TV has come up with an off-| -|beat approach tothe subject, with. ‘this new ‘Frank..McGee’s Here & | first 15 mniutes of the Victor Borge : Now.” As something: approximating. “instant futures” -as it probes. into the type of stories that seldom rate ROBERT TAYLOR’S DETEC‘SIVES _| With Adam West, Tige Andrews, | Mark Goddard, Peter Whitney,| Anita ‘Sands, Leonid , .. Marty Ingels, Jay Adler, William Windom, Robert Brubaker, Steward Bradley, others. — Director: Paul Wendkos Writer: Michael Morris 69 .Mins., Fri., 8:30 p.m. PARTICIPATING NBC-TV (film) -— Against the established action-| adventure plays. of “Route 66” on CBS-TV and the change of pace “The Flintstones” on ABC-TV, the .new 60-minute’ weekly version of :“Robert Taylor’s Detectives” is ‘going to have rough. going. " | PATHER OF THE BRIDE TELEVISION REVIEWS 4! | STEVE ALLEN SHOW With Leon. Ames, Ruth Warrick, |With Pete Fountain, Sandy Stew art, Bill Danza, Louis Nye, Joey Forman, Dayton Allen, Buck Henry, others Prodycer: Charles E. Andrew | Director: David Brown Writers: Leonard Stern, Bill Dana, Stan Burns, Bill Persky, Sam Dentoff, Buck Henry, Arne Sultan, Marvin Worth | Music: Les Brown CAMPBELL /60 Mins., Wed., 7:30 p.m. PARTICIPATING ABC-TV, from H’wood (BBD&O) , : Steve <Allen’s back in bigtime i that “Father of the to eon jAmes tv, now wearing ABC chevrons, and \ A with ; ee for all the lameness of the open‘immediately with every promise of ing program, it’s better for tv that Myrna Fahey, Burt Metcalfe, Rickie Sorenson, Ransom SherTah, Lurene Tuttle, Ruby Dand_ Yidge,. others. Exec Producer: Robert Maxwell | Producer: Rudy E. Abel Director: Fletcher Markle Writers: Dale & Katherine Eunson, _ Theodore & Mathilde Ferro 30 Mins., Fri., 9:30 p.m. GENERAL = MILLS, SOUP CBS-TV (film) -sorbing half-hour-of viewing span “entertainment. But even. when. it _phifted gears into a more’ profes of the unique..Borge talents, | Considering fhat the. Danish art-. ist-comedian is a rarity in tv (lim-,: itirig:nhis appearanees to-one a séa-:' son, helping Pontiac. to intreduce its new models! a Borge .special ° .ning .a.variety of topics, with the; First .episode of the NBC-TV! . re’ pr ‘premiere stanza devoted to “such | stanza, seen at 8:30 Friday (29) was [eyele. | The veteran character actor . gional approach. to. the work; at hand; it was:a showcase unworthy * ‘out shelters. — items as.,,Maris & Mantle, the re-. utterly: typical of the standard desurgence.of country music as. ex‘tective fare on video’ nowadays, emplified by the five-string banjo but if this particular batch of deand bluegrass virtuosity, and the ‘tectives even remotely resembled newest fashions in bomb and. fall-;the genuinearticle then the city ee they inhabit would be. in desperate “subiects: treated | danger. of. annihiliaiton by the subjects. tre ent ‘criminal element. Ledby an un ~ Any one. of. the on. the preem. ‘could have -1 is deftly comic, having the gift of timing and the ability to-get a lot of mileage from the facial expres sion of a dignified man who has just tasted something. sour. Most. of all, he makes believable the por-|8:30 Nielsen sweepstakes ; becoming one of the’ finer entries : na lin. thi g fami he's back. Any single hour of live in: this | season's ily comedy encroachment on a three-netwo:k 80% pledge of allegiance to celluloid has its heartening overtones, even though Allen has elected to come back the hard way—to fight it out in the Wednesday 7:30 to with trait of a fond father who is un-|“Wagon Train,” which could mitisettled. by, but reluctantly accepts, | Sate against maximum exposure, the marriageability of his daughter. | and with a weak opener. :. “remains ‘unchanged, .: Show. . has! “. lengthened from 30 mins.: to an certainly. warrants a. higher degree d artistry! ants: themselves to a‘fuller ayd.more of ‘skill, originality :and | Y | detailed exposition, but even withthan’ was evident. on: last week's ;jin the framework of these five to ‘display. Something more than. the 10-minute vignettes, McGee and _usual..nonsénsical’ bag..of Borge ; the staff-of roving editors came up. tricks are’ called’ for, no -matter ‘with always interesting and. curious what degree. of . perfection . he}facets. and fauna designed to whet achieves in the. clowning and gim; the ‘appetite. Co ‘ mickry. | “As-with (Maris & Mantle’s “play . .. ; There were some diverting: MO;now—pay ‘later’ concurrence with“ 'Ments when Borge brought on Leo; avent'. Frank’ Scott.. to ‘ go ‘for’ the nid: Hambro for a.two-piano (and ‘Jonsterm. haul rather shan the -subsequently one-plano) series of: quick. buck in‘topping the Ruth .serio-comie. interludes that started. record and ‘licking -the September out _as. Chopin, Liszt ‘and Tschal-|jiny. Oragain’ in. exploring the kowsky and seguedinto the ineviboom. ‘in, -bomb’ shelters, from. the table keyboard puzzles; another ‘skit. $900 makeshift job. to the fullyfound Borge and guest Hermione ‘ equipped-even-with-periscope variGingold in a piano-cello dueting of | ety that péddles for $5,000 in ‘Cali‘Kern and Saint-Saens that .was | fornia.. Or the. prairie. plaudits -ac‘more. slapstick. than, fun. There! corded Lester. Flatt, Earl. Scruggs was Borge’s customary on-the-level. and their’ Foggy-.Mountain Boys, -treatment of Liszt's “Concerti with an intricate segue from tape Etude”. which benefiited. vis from. some .fine camera play, plus} 4. 4 Friday n AFOMm, some . “ S|. AS 3 day night features-ona jaz ballet based on “Peter and:ithe-half-shell, a’show of this type ‘the Wolf’ ‘by. a. group of dancers i, 2~ s+. aagnite value: : . ‘and singers’ arranged. an Penn duet: jhas its definite value, particularly. ed by Luther Henderson -and cho-“teeth note: ‘ reographed by "Tom -Hansen which. Gee touch. ae had little' or. nothing to do-with! 083) 17 Prokofiiev or, for that matter, with ;\GUNSMOKE a a the ballet. © °° = ~——s «|| With Jamés Arness, Dennis Weav Woven together as: an: hour’ of i Rose... fier, -Amanda’ Bilake,: Milburn entertalnnient,.it was ‘a‘lack luster 1. ' Stone, Ed. Nelson, ‘Norma ‘variation:on a Borge-theme that |Ken Lynch,‘others. . = was mostly: uninspired... Rose; |Producer: Norman. MacDonnell: .._ oe _ | Director: Harry Harris. Jr.-. TALES OF WELLS FARGO. —_-| G0" ytinss Sut. 10 gua. ‘With Dale Robertson, . Howard! papricipATING |: |Keel, William Demarest; Suzanne: cRs-¢y (lm) es Lloyd, Jack Ging, Torin Thatch-t ee er, Virginia Christie, Mary Jane! “CBS-TV threw that old .business Saunders, Lory Patrick. §——_:|| bromide, “Never quarrel with sucFroducer: Harle Lyon" : -) cess," out the window this season -, Director: Jerry Hopper ~ and ‘expanded ‘one “of its bluechip Welter: Milton S,Geiman | oars, Gunsmoke" toa fll hour “PARTICIPATING: | ~ _ fon. Saturday nights. The. gamble ; ‘| will, unquestionably pay -off. Twice NBC-TYV .(color; : film) ¢ Tales of Wells Fargo,” starting as much “Gunsmoke” won't. neces| its sixth year, has switched its time {'.. 3). ee: gc gna, a rane ee ‘Pec Wee goo) sarily: mean twice as good a. show, slot , this season . from Monday: but “all. other things: being equal: oFugiNS fo Saturday and will hence” it's going to add another tall-rated. “forth be filmed in color, but the | aie hour to the network's tally. — -esserttial ingredients: of this. series! “ Gare pas been taken to preserve. hous, but it's still a straight west-i top. or close to the top, of the 10 " erner, depending on-elementary ac-| ¢ront-running tv shows in. the nation plots and: cowboy. star Dale ‘tion. Even with. the extra 30 min‘Robertson ‘to. give, it impact. In| utes” to. carry, ““Gunsmoke” ‘ rethis new. time’ period, juve audi-:jaing a. brisk, diverting and ‘relaences should be'a potent factor “in| tively..mature ‘western populated this show's ‘competitive race with (hy extremely likeable; low-presCBS-TV’s’ “Perry. Mason,” which' sure ‘characters.. The new. format, ‘has a more adult slant... =” _ {if anything; should be a dramatic The. opening. “Wells Fargo” | impfovement,: particularly in the stanza last Saturday (30). opened’. area: of character. devélopment, as with an elaborate southern-style so-|-the.season’s opener.(30) illustrated. ciety dance that gave ‘it the aspect} A.’ very interesting character of. a color: spectacular. ~ However,| entered ‘marshal.“ Matt Dillion's: the show quickly. returned to’.allife; 4 “former. .outlaw who: more familiar groove in a far-outseryed..a year for. a stagecoach yarn about the scheme of a couple}job and had .notions~ of” going _Of post-Civil’ War southern rebels! straight:: As portrayed by Ed Nel‘to bankrupt the Union by pounsen: | son, hé was: an enigmatic and -sym“The characterizations “were as_ . feiting .U. S: Government bonds, || pathetic .guy: but’ not very savvy a. racte Ww , with. the. women. ‘Dillon’s good in‘standard as the plot.. As the show's| fluence. on him was countered by Permanent star, Robertson is hand-} Norma Crane,:a looker who dealt some, laconic and dauntless ‘in the; him the fast-buck. motive, and traditional style of frontier heroes. | throughout:thé hour it was a ques-. His’ ‘permanent ‘sidekicks in the tion of whether -he was going to ‘ series are Jack Ging, whom wrong his. friend.:the: marshal or ‘Robertson converted on. the’ first; wise“up to. the: girl:. As it. turned show from foe fo friend; and Wil-| out, he. did both, and ‘died for it. liam Demarest,’.as the crusty old|The script .would’ prébably have ..., pal.. In’ addition, Virginia Chris-; been workable in , thé. half ‘hour. “tine, Mary Jane Saunders and: form too, but Nelson wouldn’t have been. ‘as convincing. ...He. did” an _Lory: Patrick. will be around. regu-: nN. 1g... excellent job. of holding the focus. larly as assorted’ women folk,:. but romance on this series is strictly marginal, Varo, +” “Lable as: the weltschmerzy marshal . Supporting cast on.the opener in-; whe . wearily sérves justice, and_ eluded some strong ‘talent in How-; Dennis Weaver continues. to make * “ard Keel, who scored’-as a.very. a cameo:out of the part of Chester. ‘menacing ‘heavy; and,:Torin-Thatch-, Amanda. Blake,, Miss .Crane and _ er, a mysterious U. S.-Government ‘Milburn Stone gave attractive, and ~' ‘Treasury agent. .Herm, -tcompetent, -support.. ~~. Les. in getting the. adroit. and.sure Mc- Crane, ! ; all the virtues of the six year old “Jim. Arness: ‘is still plenty dur ,duly patient and stony faced capitain of ‘detectives (Robert . Taylor) ‘is a crew of the youngest police “sergeants ‘and ‘police. tieutengnts on record .anyWhere, and, furthermore, they areas emotional. as they are immature, flaring up. fre| quently atthe straw men and false ‘melodramatic situations that were jset in their path the first night of t | Adam: West is the latest addition ito the cast, playing a sergeant who serves ‘on Taylor’ssquad ‘as’ an “acting lieutenant.” Holdovers are another baby .face, Mark Goddard, | anda slightly older, but. most emotional. of all, officer played strid ently by Tige Andrews. | ithe thesping -assistance of some better actors—Peter Whitney. as a folk-singing . coffee house owner, ually 'to:a live pickup in South Carolina. |Leonid Kinsky and Marty Ingels { 'as beatnik painters (latter an especially effective actor} and Jay Adlier, William‘ Windom and. Robert jBrubaker as.assorted familiar criminal. types. TO: _ ‘There ‘was. enough action to al | most justify making “Detectives” an hour long,.at least the first time, ; but: it was hoKe just the same, due ,to Michael: Morris’. unimaginative and: confused. script:.. Art. TOP CAT | With Arnold Stang, Allen: Jenkins, _ Maurice Gosfield, Marvin Kap-. lan, Leo. DeL¥on, John Stephen Prods.-Dire.:Bill Hanna, Joe Bar _bera’ . Write : Harvey Bullock © 30.7 Ss; Wed., 8:30 pm.BRISTOL-MYERS; KELLOGG ABC-TV (film) (Youna. & Rubicam: Leo Burnett). _ -Is ABC-TV pushing a good thing ‘too far? .On the strength of its click with “The Flintstones’: last season, the web is. now riding with another “adult” animation. series ‘out: of: the Hanna-Barbera studios with the “Huckleberry Hound” and “Quick Draw McGraw” kiddie‘Slanted: cartoons. But where the moppets ‘are. fixated by virtually anything on the tv screen,. adult audiences. are at least one notch more diseriminating and -a-followup.to “The Flintstones’’ would have’ ‘to’ be doubly sharp in. order to justify another cartoon show.. “Top Cat,” on the -basis of. its: introduction. last Wednesday (27), did not measure up to the demands of:a. prime nighttime. entry. Based. on:the. antics of a hip-talking flock of easy-living felines, “Top Cat” registered as a simple comic strip with no-point of view fo give it a Special. cutting ‘edge.. However, there’s always the calculation that the. millions of grown-ups who turn to the comic strips before the eT ed intellectual stimulation in “Top Cat.” : strikes # jivey,. wise-alecky note in-.a_ diluted . neo-Runyonesque sional flashes of wit, but the patter was generally a routine brand of hip jargon. The characterizations of the: various. cats were .amusing. in an elementary sort: of way and the story of their attempt to enter a horse in the big race was hardly an. example of originality. Sincé “The Flintstones”. has already exploited the novelty appeal {of the ‘cartoon genre, “Top Cat” :. Will have to came up in subsequent . weeks‘ with a fresh angle fo rate -in the bigtime competition. | , ae ' Herm, ‘the new series. — , * For the initial program, they had: Ames and his brood are well|Deportables” It isn’t as though he were born a| What he does against “Wagon good-natured boob, like the con-| Train” will depend on how aggresventional family head in many an|sively and creatively Allen restores other teleseries.. ee himself to the tv spectrum. On his . Others who figure notably in the initial installment last week (27), 'series’ good prospects are Fletcher |Alien personally had all the old Markle, who directs with a mature |self-assurance and confidence of -touch and who admirably resists jthe pro showman that he is, nati trying to lather up every scene with |ural and relaxed, triggering the icomedy; and Ruth Warrick, who/tone and the style of the show. properly underplays her role as}But the show’s seven—count ’em— the family’s stablizing influence 'seyen writers let him down with ‘and yet conveys a strong sense of a thud, giving the teeoff program {sober presence. In general there{an uneven quality. The spoof on iseems to bea resistance to the ithe FCC inquiry into tv programawful cliches of family comedy,|ming, with Dayton Allen’s “Capiand at Jeast there is no pretense {tain Animal,” Buck Henry portraythat this is supposed to be an aver-|ing a verbase “David Unkind” and age or typical American family. }Louis Nye as the producer of “The was. trite formula ‘heeled folks, and they behave like stuff, as obvious as it was unorigi: the moneyed middle-class. nal or lacking in sharpness or e _. The premiere stanza had an in-|pbrittleness. Allen as the “Musical . troductory storyline—Ames receiv-| Question Man” and the Allen-Nye ing the news that his daughter has | opera house sortie (caught unprebeen proposed to—and then went |nared after a strike threat) were into previews of upcoming install-|;agged around the edges. ments, which. proved an _ intelli. ane ae Partially compensating for these gently way to open a néw series. lapses were a few assorted pleas The “flash aheads” covered Ames’ ; : ; wath ft ath . antries—an Ernie Pintoff animated first private talk with his future cartoon interview with a musician 1 son-in-law, the first meeting with |°*"""iG liv ; in a ‘jazz cellar {which rates a per'his famliy, the wedding, and finally manent berth on the weekly dis , the night the baby is born. Each play): a crazy astronaut routine be of the scenes had humor, and toav wa f tween Bill Dana and Allen: Sandy gether they should have nelped to Stewart's vocalizing and, for real | | editorial: pageg:in their daily news-. papers will find entertainment and The ‘scripting for’ this series style. The operiing show had occa-: clinch. a -continuing audience for jthe series: | {| Myrna’ Fahey, ! Lurene Tuttle and Ruby Daridridge class and artistry, Pete Fountain, Burt Metcalfe, |the jazz clarinetist, both soloing | Rickie Sorenson, Ransom Sherman, |@nd with his quartet. TV production in general and !eomprise the. running supporting |music-comedy formats being what cast. which gave evidence in the/they are, the virtues and tie initialer of being highly competent, |minuses go hand in hand, week to The series is based on a novel by | week, some sessions emerging as .|Edward Streeter, which had been|big plusses in contrast to unin‘}made into an MGM feature. Thejspired ones. Over the long haul, story premise -will be the show’s|Allen and his troupe have found weakest’ element: Les. _MAGIC. RANCH | With Don Alan, Shirley Ann Clem_ ents, Jimmy Renaux Producer: Geo. B: Anderson |Director: Ted Schulte which previously made its mark | Writers: Myron’ Golden Anderson | With 30 Mins., Sat.; 11:30 a.m. {ADAMS CORP., CLARK CANDY, a M..J. HOLLOWAY CO. . { ABC-TV, (Zed R.. *, Wasey, from Chicago (film) Ruthrauff & Ryan) im _{are back. a distinctive niche in the medium. It’s an encouraging sign that they Rose. THE RIFLEMAX (The Vaqueros) huck €onnors, Johnny Crawford, Martin Landau, Ziva Rodann, ‘than Wyenn, Pcpe Hern, Roker? Contreras, Vladimir Sokolo@, Arveli Rey Daniels; Maxon; Erwin | Producers: Arthur Gardner, Jules Levy, Arnold Laven . Filmed at Telecine Studios, Park | Director: Joseph Lewis Ridge, Ill, “Magic Ranch” is a| Writer: Arthur Browne Jr. odest half-hour of prestidigita-|30 Mins., Mon., 330 pos |tion witha dude ranch setting.| PROCTER & GAMBLE With three magicos including Don audience. . ... .But in its present state it’s difficult to see how the program can lure a sizable number of juvenile viewers. For the magieianry appeared more mechanieal than aweinspiring and the physical background hardly provided a “ranch” atmosphere. It looked more like the corner of a suburbanite’s basement recreation .room. Shirley Ann Clements, a teenage ‘magico, did proficient sleight-ofhand work, with handkerchiefs, umbrellas, bags, ete: However, ‘there were few camera closeups and. it was. tedious going. to watch during stint of Jimmy Renaux who pulled birds out of hats ad infinium. : _ Alan, ‘aside from contributing some hocus-pocus of his own, interviewed the guests and handled some of the plugs for the trio of Saturday's (30) .preem came up |ABC-TV (film) Alan who emcees the proceedings. | The show is aimed at the moppet | who might have been upset by (Benton & Bowles, Those who dig tv violence and Procter & Gamble’s policy of good taste turned over to FCC program investigators at New York hearings last week, can relax. P&G’s “Rifleman” preemed for the new season Monday with several bangs. Star Chuck Connors was belted in the chops with the butt end of a rifle, hamstrung in the Mexican desert for a couple of days and got even by knocking off three or four Mexican bandits in his familiar hammer-fanning manner. In between,. there’s the manhandling and kidnapping of Connor’s son, Johnny Crawford and a boozing celebration by the bandits, featurirs a suggestive dance hy Ziva Rodann. P&G’s west is indeed a hatd place for a+ widower to bring up a boy. It also is a very hard place to believe in, or imagine, for. that matter. And, going into its fourth sea candy company sponsors. An or-|S°H, it’s hard to imagine what will gan was the show’s only musica) |happen when anti-violence etc. hits accompaniment. What entry -needs is a gimmick to achieve bete ‘ter rapport with viewers. The initialer was too stiff and unimaginative. , Gild. the production front. Performances and production values are golid throughout, however, with thetexception of a con-fanily jarring? score. li.