Variety (November 1963)

we. pan ere . eet ~ on : soa pasion 1s gaia ae asses Se naires ra .. rn 7 . 1A Capen yee en a ASD Ee weeA., 3 "a . ar) ” z eee : ot *.. . ‘ . oo wooee ty on + EET, 2, MNT, Pe Te CS oo _t ry ars wt : : er . 1 STO RIE eS. UR SR . ve . ny oe oe we oy oo 7 woe toe . . ‘FESTIVAL. LAT With Alex McEwen, Clancy. Bres. .. “fringe” se "Foden en electronics. and sound effects—the & Tommy. Makem,: Naddia Cat‘teuse; Gillian Lynne & ‘Co.,. Jean ‘Whispering’ Paul . Me} Hart, '.. Dewell, Peter. Mallan, others. * ‘Producer: Liam Hood — Director: David Bell © os * §$.Mins., Mon. 16:65 pm. Scottish Television, from. Glasgow. Although this show came some what late. after the. International} it proved aj useful. and always: interesting. col‘lection-of some of the better acts} Festival. ‘unofficial “Edinburgh Festival, from the. shows, those not ‘given ‘Official ‘Festival ‘status. It. had over: all entertainment value:: vo ‘ -Mainstay: of the ‘program, taped| in the’ STV ‘studios ..at-: Glasgow, was: the ‘polished. and. disarmingly natural. ‘emceeing. of folk-singer “Alex McEwen, who played . -his guitar between items: ‘He is one of the “two" U. K. world of foik-warblers,. ‘ Naddia Cattouse; © folk. singer, offered two attractive songs, and merits: a. nod “-Yendition * of : . sion cleverly... ‘Gillian “Lynné: and her. Modern. Dance’ Company ‘caine “up: with an. offbeat and slick dance . bit, to the music of. ‘the Anthony |" owles. Trio: From :the “Love: and _Liying” ‘company. ‘came. a ‘chirper with lotsa: potential, Jean Hart,|. “partnered by ‘Whispering’ Paul McDowell; late ‘of the: Temperance: Seven, singing. notably an indivi dual. interpretation . ‘of “Frankie &: Joknnie. mor More ‘clever . and‘satirical ‘bits came from: members of the Oxford. Theatre Group. Peter Mallan, local, 1 singer, ‘offered the ‘Robert. t. Burns | 4 i classic. “Ae Fond Kiss, ,’ and -re“cited. “To. ‘A. Mouse,” ~Seot bard: this. was’. an. excerpt . fromthe revue: “Loons,. Lochs. & “Leprechauns,” “presented by. ‘Mallan : at the fest. ‘Program was: vigorously’ ‘rounded oft by the Clancy Brothers :& Tommy Makem, singing; . ‘among other _dtems, a ‘specially : ‘attractive: song about a jug of punch. Act was well-. qhosen to. wind the. hour-long pro-. er script by Walter. Dickson: had the right degree of raciness: and didn’t} hesitate to comment. on the poor ‘quality’ of some’ of ’ the. ‘fringe’ -shows offered .atthe Festival; it was. ‘also informative. Ron’ Prari-f ° -eetti did the’ simple sets, A studio : audience, “to taped. bits, . beards’. and : Pamression: of ‘a typical Féstival’ . audience. Show, on the .whole,. was ‘One of the: best. efforts yet to.come ‘from-the: commercial “tv: station. in. Auld Lang: Syneland.' BOYD Q. C.. Wit ‘Michact ‘Denison; Lene, “Mark. -Dignam, Crawford, Joe Ritchie, others’ “Director: Richard Gilbert Writer: Jack Roffey* ° 20 mins.; Wed. 10:15 p.m. Gord. Guaties Aagectated-Realttaston, from. ‘Lon om “In for his Sixth season. as. Richard | Boyd, Queen’: 3 Counsellor,. ‘Michael : Denison | portrays. ‘the. Jocal-style -Jegal-eagle with wig andgown, and | TV.. -answer,: which “will be: underscored. ‘In tv history as. one of the. most: Significant .dramas ever. ‘to ‘be beamed over British. airwaves,. came }from «. the _ Corporation’s “new tv: returns. to the post-peak: viewing ‘hours ‘in.a show: which retains the ‘-chemistry that. holds over a healthy ‘alice’ of the: prime time ‘audience. “That. the: series has little that’s new in: ‘the way “pression is of xf iittleconsequence, ~ ~for the formula ‘hit ‘pay dirt five years. ago and... has ..-been.. going: strong. ever since,: On ‘the current: showing, there: is no. reason: why, ‘it. _-should: stop: now. Story. uncorking the: new semester saw Denison ‘called: into in ‘vestigate a suspect insurance claim: against. the Sinking. of a ship. during a hurricane: | ‘From every aspect,. thesping,. di-| : rection, setting, etc., the yarn was “well. up to. the. standard: of -the _ gexies: which ' has never: aspired to. ane dramatic’ heights, but . has wilt a Joyal following. over: the. | stage: -to tv.’ Ino Watt. : ae PICARDY AFFAIR ° With * Robert ° ‘Hardy, ‘ Esmond Knight, ‘Michael. Culver °. ‘ Writer-Narrator: ‘Robert Hardy ~~ Producer: Peter. N ewington ' ae 50 mins.; Fri. 9:35 pan. _BBC-TV, from London. . ‘Shakespearean actor RobertHardy, who held a prime-role in .BBCTV's” “Age. of Kings” series, was here . given. a:chance to: recapture. via the expertise ‘0 ‘of modern day po : ‘conceived, McEwen. brothers wha|: have. ‘been making..a mark in the. “West “Indian| , for her. With © Harry . " Werth, Lemon” Tree's {the | director caught her’ facial ° expres ;Writers;: Vince. Powell, Frank e Bow ‘also. ‘by the}. gee applause “tothe: 2: a cicht™ SoaRt “of: beatnikism to: convey. Jing’ style. Adding Sriapode to-the ‘comedy was: John Ammonds. ae production | which.’ enhanced the |.‘ sethi-sociological © appeal .. the |. . PAGE. comedian, yet never: mmiseedan]: . ‘opportunity of ‘extracting the. fun: from what was: ostensibly: a “nor-|! maz”, Situation. . “Watt. |. Andrew |... . __. of dramatic ex‘drama: “Stephen: D,” ”: ‘whieh: he personally: ‘Portrait | Reviews battle of ‘Agincourt, fought between Britain’s King Henry. Vo ‘and the!” French, ings andactual-location | footage, '| the ‘actor and. producer Peter Néew| ington: brought: ina. reasonably ‘ate: ‘mospheric . “documentary”: on the]. famous 15th: century bloodbath, though: the: effect..was. marred. by. Hardy’s rapid-fire commentary. ~ Technique of the reconstruction, hy which ° cut from modern. times. to. 500-odd: years. ago at the blink -of ‘an eye,’ was well ‘enough done. “not; ‘to confuse. or distract ‘and the use of. such *atmospherics” | as the feas : turing ‘of. an’ archer with Henry’s| army. (Esmond ‘Knight) who. re‘counted some ofthe’ tale from: the: -personal, . humah . angle was well: -Overall,.’ though, the: piece was for the: buffs: Well done, and with a new angle:..But atrifle too esd. teric. for ‘thosenot well acquainted. with: English. history. . _ Watt. HERE'S HARRY Anthony. Sharpe, Frank Williams, . Reg-. inald Marsh, ‘Gordon. Rollins, aa ‘others. mo : Producer: Johi: Ammonds ‘cot! 2 25. mins.; eri. 1:45. pam: : BBC-TV, ‘from Lendon ey ‘Harry. Worth, a top: comedian. for” Many years who-~ has | ? been: through . the © show © business‘ mill ‘has now hit: top gear ‘on BBC-TV. This followup skein to -a. couple: of ‘others on the same web is ‘cast in the same.comie mold-and. duly: guaranteed to keep the following. built -up by. this bumbling. hero, a ‘‘do-gooder” for whom every good |. intention. goes “awry. Warth’s . characterization, as. a. loveable. innocent. Was a “yock-raising creation, based: Rertly in: reality and ‘partly. on the: oh It jelis: into’ a. ‘unique. mixture. which for: BBC. is-asurefire rating’ ‘winner,.and for. Worth’.a fine .trib ute to the-years’ he spent on the. boards’ perfecting: ‘&. style. ; ‘In this new skein ‘initialer where ‘with a party of friends he took a cross-channel weekend Hip to Paris and wound up involving the British Ambassador in ‘France with his pet ty troubles, Worth returned with: his own peculiar. subtle-—but hilari ‘ ous—impact.. : | Writers. Vince Powell and Frank set to be produce ow” offered. this Suni Roscoe,” key | figures: j in success: of -the’ show; turned in @ worthy. script, gags, but: not over-loaded’. with thoroughly suited to‘Worth’s bumb | "Festival * Big question around: British ty -since January has been this: “What will. Syanes Newman. do for BBC-. . The resounding. ‘in the -shape of}: produced.” Stature. ot fhe. vidrama. was 50. immense, the .entiré cast -so'-polished,‘ the direction so masterful. ‘that overnight the. new: Wednesday. “Festival” series,-inwhich it was the. fourth: production, : accelerated. in importance. to.a point where it now: must--rank as the™ ‘dramatic j achievement: of the. ‘season: _Itis: seldom that” a play. like Hugh LLeonard’s | adaptation «from two ‘novels... by James. ‘Joyce—"A| & Of “The... Artist’ . and. “Stephen. Hero”—so ‘easily ‘and SO perfectly. effected -the switch from. Co ‘this case, -the].¢ oan ‘electronic. agility’ of the. 'medium |. “| welded the ‘diffuse’ thoughts of the hero: ‘into..a cohesive; -digestable"whole, -arid this: was a ‘personal: tri-{umph. ‘for director ‘Anthony. Page: ‘Inevitably, it had ‘to be an:advance.~.| ment: on -the theatre production: in. view of. tv’s superiority in linking, ‘flashback, superimposition and’ 'so .on but, importantly, because New-| u P vs |.award, ‘did. a rubber-mugesd, ‘loose jointed mime ‘to: a-Connie Franels. man ‘secured ‘the entire Irish ‘cast from the original Dublin’ ieee) (Continued o on nh page 34) | Writer: Biff McGuire oe | Wade -Barnes «.. "Gilbert. &. Suilivan. good was."I Believe in, Something. ” On.-.oecasion the ‘lyrics may -have’ gone: above. the. heads..of the mop‘pets,but their restlessness. must have been -short-lived, for the ‘story tumbled” soon. to. the menace: ‘of the .giant:: : “|: Win’ Stracke. played the giant up-. + setting’ the ‘peace of. puppet‘ ‘land ‘in. broad,” gifted style:. t-roared, ” the very “houses quaked,’ ‘and-only the wisdom: of the. puppet ‘toy maker Quillow: Saved-everyone | from. -destruction.. Quillow said the. only way: to rid. the town of. the “menace was to. outsmart him,:.and .hiswit: conquered: the. dumb might | | involvement. in’ “the story. which | tupea ‘appeared. accidental.|and ‘perhaps been” artificial. That. was 4 minor “havior. ‘though, ‘NBC -Chieago. orch: played in rich style. Tdm Williams, singing” Quil-. -low’s..: “SODES, had. just ‘thé right “Producer director? David’ ‘Barnhizer maintained the pace and. the: :magie of. the piece, -adapfed cGuire’ } with style. The ‘settings : by Ernie iy ar 7 NRCS: ‘CHILDREN. ‘THEATRE + -Y |. (Quillow. and the Giant). 7 T° With George . Latshaw puppets; S$. . Win Stracke, ‘Joe Eich: Singers, | ¢: ‘Tom Williams, Joseph. Galliechie: bo & NBC Chicago Orch 7 | Bees. p Producer: George A: Beine-| se ‘Producer-Director: D a ¥ 1 a Barn|" hizer: “With skilful use ‘of. actors, draw| asic. « ‘Lyries: R ai PB h Blane, ‘Wade Barnes. . 60. Mins.; Sun. (3), 6. pm. NBC-TV. (eolor) A ‘fine. combination. of. talent made “Quillow and. the Giant” a delightful ‘and. charming ‘hour for children. — and: adults. . fetching ‘music’ aiid. lyrics; pup‘pets of extraordinary humdén traits, a real-life menacing: ‘giant, humor and. wisdom... & Who can’ ask ‘for anything’ more?. ga ‘Sponsors a parent did and, |. P y a of life. It was a’ ‘tragic. story and a! nonsense. -humanizing. should win :the network and: the ‘Producers: ‘deserved bouquets. ‘for. Inystifying | Teasons,. advertisers “stayed..:away from. participating. : {Quillow,” based on :a James: ‘Thurber ‘story, deserves repeat. en-gagements . and Teawakened Sponsor interest: ‘Some. of the tunes and Iyrics originated by: liad. . the: spark: ‘of ‘Especially ‘When. he of ‘the .giant:.. ‘The . George -Latshaw * puppets: |had a. ‘Tot. of. rangé in ‘human. be‘Joseph: -Gallicchio. &the pitch. for tv by: seripter.. Biff ; Sehffler. had that story-book: flavor. The hour in color 3 in Chicago, . underlit ig the point ag that. good network stiows need not. only originate: from ‘either N:Y. or Hollywood.. Two other ‘entries ‘of | “NBC's. Children’s’. Ftieatre”. are} slated .for._productign; inChicago, |: with. the’ remainder..of. the . four |: showcase an. auspi ous be ‘foe “ ‘Bouwtes) ‘There was: something downright Ag eerie. about ‘this. regiment. of. 50 miniature matrons, .with. their uni-|formly. teased, sprayed. and pulled’ hairdos;. their _ cosmetically perfected. beaming. faces..and those ‘With few. exceptions, they —collezge™ scholarship good ‘merchandising ridé. argunid |. the country. Another euler Nappropriately for. Texas), -was:Gov-. Ludden,. along ‘with Batty: ° tators through the. ‘ensemble num-: ‘bers ‘and ‘talent bits. by the'six semi-. finalists. -All six showed | something_in song.and dance and. there was. -an-organ : rendition. from. the: win a ‘Calitalent ner: -And--Karen: Valenting; fornia’ -teén’. who won: (Continued: on: Page 3 34). “Tehange, ”. marking the Negro. pro|. | test movement in this ‘eduntry,won Saturday's show, of course; wasa ‘dramatic outing on a network. the: ‘pre-taped. one in: which the a ‘The distinction. for. this courageous: ‘breakthrough was won. by Monday | (4) night's “East Side, West Side. mm Quillow” ; Kill, * -penned by Arnold Perl; was a moving “love. story. eet: in “ths ‘Harlem’ slums, a. story of Negroes caught-in the. cross currents bf to-. ‘Negro mother*werking in a bar-to| with Frank Fontaine. -help her -hushasd “through school, ‘Ralph Blane. and |. brought -warmfh;: @alety and, when}. until,. distraught wife, he. | people he. had rejected, people in grind, it was a refreshing change-. ‘sympathy with his | caught the. climate, the pace, and | *was.realistic and to the point. Each. Gaynes, John. ‘McCurry, ‘Turner and: Maxwell ‘vidtaped | tent their,. dalenty ‘to this extra -pedestrian’.-outings, remains’ ful: ‘of ‘surprises When & segment such 2? iring. m| the sake of United Artists, — Kramer . and. everbody. elsé .con-|. minutes worth of: material for a | Mad World” and Jet | | the: hour ial nae ood + the ‘speci ollyy preem, was . -.| purely~ coincidental. Giyen a mil‘Isic hall stage for far donger than. | lion-dollar_ talent parlay to play] | around: with, it’ tener gt ‘how! much translate the “pure Lancastershire” | puttirig a guestar. at complete ease | ‘Roo ney, th ‘frocks ‘with the bow at. the throat t thing di among -others, hed som looked as though they had the | Bever got ‘the chance. ‘same mama. and were. trying | entulate’ her—Mrs; Rheingold may. me: with. ‘the. big-sister “Miss: America. ‘Pageant, there was the overtly. self-conscious -. attempt * to. give the proceedings lofty: purpose. top prize, singing, dancing, persofiality points: rand what not. But last year’s: teen ‘queen. tok a bows and. in ‘a-gush-. ‘ing: espe o anks menut. for him. it. m h ‘tioned her grand . national tour: ride. But t must. have during the last year..And 4 ‘product promoters ‘will no . give the new: champ, Tuds Doll, a} to} some rewards. A. Dick Shawn rou-. delightful -moments’. of the mara-| ed oust parade of the stars. Ethel Kennedy, who told about her work. ‘pre-taped: sketch was engaging. ca’s} » doubt | x a which he: p whether for:real ‘ér_ in. fun—it still ‘pyramid interest. Wepes agers eae eee ‘TELEVISION REVIEWS | : Bast. Bide, West Side ” daye—Al Kelly—was also on deck .. For the first time “the winds o2| 0 double-talk his way through the ‘current weather phenomenon with mirthfut results. ‘brick wall came tumbling down on ‘Gleason as he rode a cycle through. it-(and on to the front pages of. | America) in a takeoff of the John | Cameron Swayze commercial on The: outing, titled “Who Do: You | Wrist watch. torture: The dailies reported Gleason as a casualty, but in :the: tradition of the trouper he showed no evidence of it on screen.. As a quickie it was. hardly’ worth ‘the: risk-—certainly not on ‘a par, | for example, with the Reggie Van .| Gleason flea training act. The latter was a Sever, anne bit of ver e Gleason an hour’ that) showcase toted-up to good solid entertainment, from the. American1 Scene Magazine vignettes to the Sinds; | .as. -the. young| inevitable: Joe the Bartender skit Rose, ‘wegment of CBS-TY's : one, . Diana . Chronicle ealled: for, a feeling of: terrible | Last Wednesday's “Chronicle”. tragedy to her Tole.,The tragedy |on..CBS-TV was a sort of anthro ‘was. that. her young baby died of a} pological: documentary on the millYat: bite, intheir slum dwelling. | workers in the north of England -As' the husband, Ja essayed the . ‘role.’ in need | of. es farl Jones|.and their annual, ritualistic hegira of. bitterness | to'.a resort area on the Irish Sea help. “for his | called Blackpool: Devoid of a news iad to turn to. slant, and with no explicit axe to ; ituation< The | of-pace from network. television’s' depth of Jones’ tragedy made him.) usual informational programs ‘turn.to: other. dimensions of. the.|which tend always to be bound up ‘human ‘spirit, to tenderness: and} With current events. As an insight contact with ‘his neighbors. |into a.slice of dreary British life’ in the unglamorous provinces, it ‘was both interésting. and illuminating and ‘not without some practical . value | to the US. viewer. For in’ -Perl,. who also. is. xec producer | of: ‘the: ‘series, penned a .script| which. auickly etched in the setting flaw, jeered by: his happier fate. Withjall the bleakness of the mill Bp ievoripen ‘nitiew:: and the loud désperate fun ‘at: the Yesort, the film was more’ -eseapist © “than © it was. depressing. The British pubs, streets, trains, music halls ‘and: speech patterns ‘still -have: a cértain charm. here in George ‘the. States: and.the yourig couple ‘on whorie-the filni. focussed was atGlanville == tractive and anything but downtrodiien;.Their eagerness to make © ordinary. .dutin | the most of life: despite the limitaTelevision. despite “its fears: ‘aa tions-of their environment.was the = | inspirational theme of the pro Sram. . . He -al |? On the. negative side, there was t oo; fa, Ereat oe of gepetition | in arles 0 ’s narration . Jerry) Lewis Shew one and‘ in-what the’ girl, who was the ‘It’s ta be fervently hoped,’ for-| central figure, had to say. It | seemed as though thére were 40 ‘ina. moving,. outing. T-om .Gries’ ‘the ‘characters. The j.camera’ work { of. the supporting . players—including’. Godfrey Cambridge, as “Who Pe (You. Kill” ¥ any ‘resemblance: be-| 60. minute . program, with the. res "Mad Mad . Mad Mmajning time padded. ‘out by workLewis’ ABCing.over the same ground and ’20n. the night of training the cameras on a cheap ‘Was necessary. " Also the-use of ‘English titles to {of its was” .| For a 7 much: of its seemed contrived. Per {speech seemed an affectation rather ‘live. spontaneous. ‘show too than an aid and. was usually an haps basically the fault is Lewis’, noying: That dialect, as it proved, | for the: framework and format id| W254 lot more comprehensible than the London tongue, which has. far more | circulation here. ‘or “letting go” with a genuine| Les.. flair. If a. Carl Reiner, a Mickey |. ‘Mike Wall a Peter Falk, i* Phil) Mike Wallace's CBS-TV halfdistinctive to contribute, they to be aot "lean show appears recap of the day's headiines, plus a couple of features of special in tine was so hilarious as to almost | terest to women. justify hariging around for it. For| On outing caught, Wednesday out of Shawn. came. the few truly.| (30), we interest was engender-the mother of President which he. operates. mitigates against. “Not that. the show was “without: Merman grabbed. herself .some |.00: behalf of retarded children. shine rouge ane | Me ee Hemme Sua Jey of her faves and a Sid Caesar y a -|retarded child, a daughter. She Kramer, too, came. along for the | Went into the. life she and her husband mai for ‘their large been an embarrassing: ‘experience. | family, . and. the Toles of their older Rose. | children, . “The Charles Collingwood inter-.. _ Jackie Gleason Show | view with’ Mrs. Rose Kennedy was _ Jackie Gleason on: Saturday’ 1 continued. the following day, as reached out. into the dim past of | Part of the Wallace show. Features ; }an-éarier vaide day.to extra¢t one |Such asthis, which lend them= ¥ | of the more genuine panto acts-in | Selves fo a chapter each day, also ; ..| Show business—Gene.Shekion..And |:lend themselves to continued view4 for’ all the: thousands*of-times that. &, Fhe # « ‘were fairly level-headed commen-} je ’s performed .thebit, runing | tier interest, cueing. folowing day ne-ins. less than. five miriutées, it-remains. _ Another segment on affluent de today, as over the Jong past, one of | linquents, -rieh youngsters... who the: real. comedy. ‘delights. ‘The | Kicked up..a ruckus at a Lung Is: business: wit the fingers and the. ‘land coming out party, wasn’t prelegs; the ‘grimfacing, the finesse with |Sented in sharp focus. The interlrks at: the: guitar, viewing and the’ ‘harration | didn’t comes off today, with the same-high | . There was ample use. of CBS degree: of* " professionalism: and ‘correspondents. .in Washington. sock’ entertainment, ° {Film clips were used to illustrate Still: another vet of the old vaudel: (Continued. on page 40) “ _ Ciao ee