Variety (Jun 1934)

VARIETY A D I © REP ORIS Tuesday, June 19, 1934 CARNERA-8AER Fight With Graham McNamea 55 Mins. COMMERCIAL NBC .Network It's nice to catch a hefltyweight championship fight by radio. And easy and inexpensive, too. Only ex- penditure . of "energy reriulred is in the twisting of a dial. While the cost of a few squirts of electric-cur- rent isn't so great; For these rea- sons, perhaps, it might Appear quite thoughtless for those who do their fight fanni.rig; : hv remote control to squawk, considering those less for- tunate who have to brittle their way over to Long Island City in the sub- way and then bay $25 or more to get in. Yet those thoughtless; lazy, miser- ly stayers-at-home beef, regardless. Getting something for practically nothing, but still they squawk.- And •what 1 do they squawk about? .Al- ways the same thing. Always squawk about Graham MacN'nm'e'e's announcing. . And why do they squawk about Graham MaeNnmee's announcing? Have they got a per- sonal grudge against Graham? Or is it just that they don't like his Announcing? In the first round of the Baer- Carnera fight Graham announced very excitedly that. 'Qh, Camera landed three left jabs in Carnera r s face!' WeUr the newspapers had predicted that in the Ba'er-Carnera fight, anything might happen, so Camera jabbins himself in the face CASTORIA'S MUSICAL FESTIVAL With. Albert Spalding, Conrad Thibault; Don Voorhees, con* ducting Violin, Songs, Orchestra 30 Mins. COMMERCIAL WABC, New, York Fletcher's ^aatoria has moved this weekly affair up to a later Wednesday evening hour, but left the cast stand intact. For the mood that this frame originally set but to. project any revisions Jn the lat- ter regard. would . have done any- thing but good.. In the .production, that has been woven around Albert Spalding, Conrad, Thibault. and the Don Voorhees symphonic ensemble the laxative' has a smoothly con- trived sample of entertainment for its type, while the merchandising interpolations continue to stack up as slick contributions. Task that the product had *aid put for. the program was to take the advertising off the barn and bring it into -the drawing room, and the vjob done in this direction has been highly, creditable. With 'the. mothers of babes and youngsters in their minor teens the. focus of appeal, the program fa3h>- ions a musical fare that blends the homey and the sentimental with the more popular excerpts from the classics. For his solos Spalding confines -himself to the latter phase of the program's repertoire, while to Thibault falls the. assignment, of giving vobal interpretation to the American- tandards. with Ethelbert J^S. n ° ^ f ^!?i^^i 110 Nevins^ 'Little Boy" Blue' making anapt case in point. Frequently weaving in as a background to Thi- j uut nwm. L '"_f*"-"'"I bault's baritone is a neatly balanced Now that sounded | male quartet. Plug mixes straight announce- ments with occasional bits of novel- ty, Some of the dialog conceits models of their Qdec. mpment,. sounded fairly plausible. Later on Graham screamed, .'Baer landed a terrific left hook to Baer's mid-section!' possible also, although it did cause some doubt; ' In fact if caused enough - doubt to. prompt many peo- ple to look at the newspapers *nd|heVe "nVake nifty run downtown to see the fight pie- ltmd tures next morning just to. see if' Baer really did left-hook , himself into his yery own, mid-section. Of "course, it wasn't -mentioned, in the newspapers nor showfi in the fight pictures. So they ."squawked about 'Graham's announcing. •That's, the height of Ingratitude. Here is a fight announcer with a, vivid imagination/who goes beyond • merely tellng what happened, to HENRY resell what didn't happen, to make it ^mo're exciting for. the non-cash cus- tomers. It requires, a delicate sense of fiction, that sort of announcing LUCIENNE BOYER and HALL ORCHESTRA International Broadcast' 15 M>ns. . Sustaining WJZ, New York There is considerable interest in Lucienne Boyer at the moment, since she's coming' to America in the Fall. For several years rated France's most-colorful warbler; she recently won world, attention by a Imagine Max Baer and Prlmo Car- Phonograph record of 'Parlez Moi nera standing alone in. opposite cor- <* Amour. She s currently appear- ners trying to knock themselves out J"g at the Monseigneur Restaurant With left hooks to the mid-section I m London, and left jabs to the kisser, respec- tively. That would be exciting. Graham gives theni a, rare oppor- tunity to imagine it, and still they squawk! What they squawk about mostly. Is that Graham's errors are of cimls- Harold Franklin and Arch Sel- wyn, who are bringing Miss Boyer over; are reported not knowing what to do with her when they get her here. This broadcast should have provided with an answer. She has an attractive radio voice that WALTER HUSTON With Robert Middlemass, Ruth Easton, Reginald Carrington 'The Valiant' COMMERCIAL WEAF; New York This is a repeat on the Flelsoh- marin program for Walter Huston. For his second guesting Huston chose 'The Valiant,' a sketch by Robert Middlemass. that has been frayed from frequent usage on. stage, screen and air. Remarkable how long the playlet has endured and that Huston should select it at this late date. Still it served well enough to give Huston and the others a chance for some stock com- pany theatrics. Huston's voice, of course, is splendid. Others assist competent-i ly. Chances are. the : sketch pleased the general public. Land. HEADLINE HIGHLIGHTS With Irma Lehmke, Gene O' 15 Mina. Sustaining WGY, Schenectady Streamer-line news stories of the week are dramatized, in 'March of Time' style* on this program, which snaps over WGY's wavelength at seven p. m.. on Thursday. Feature has been on .the station's log for about six weeks, filling a spbt for- |>. merly occupied by a commercial. 'Headline Highlights' is shrewdly timed to catch the dialing attention of enthusiasts of the 'March of. Time' shot, which ceased firing over CBS, and WGY's Albany rival. WOKO, with the advent of warm weather. Basic idea of local feature' the same as that of the net- worker; the narrator talks in- the staccato fashion familiar to 'March' listeners, and the type of numbers used in the musical continuity is similar. Highlights' differs from the better-known program in that local (Capital District) news events are included. Naturally, too,' It is less pretentious.. Despite the fact this feature fol- lows rather than blazes radio trails, is an Interesting .one, well pro- duced and well acted, Irma Lehmke, who has enjoyed some stage expe- rience, directs acts in the program. Her co-worker is Gene O'Hare. also the possessor of footlight train-* ing. The pair, who ;until recently did 'Mr. & Mrs.' sketch on a com- mercial, turn in a fine job here.' Other members of WGY's staff col laborate in making this a taut, fast moving broadcast.. Newsboys' cries of 'Extra, Extra', Heard in the background, emphasize the fact that 'Headline Highlights' would be a 'natural' for a tie-up with a Schenectady or an Albany daily. Jqco sion, not commission. ' He misses is outside the regular pale and ought half the fight, they complain. Dur- ing the . 10th and 11th rounds at Long Island. City Thursday night. ' they had to guess what was going on, for Graham was hardly informa s tlye.' He was excited but reticent. Yet even that shouldn't be so im- portant,, considering'the word pic- ture Graham gave 'em earlier in the to command real patronage. It's .a throaty sort of voice, with a sob quality that is not duplicated by any Of the American warblers, nearest to it being Fannie Brice at her throat ieBt. Henry Hall's orchestra, which backed Miss Boyer. played four, numbers. Was difficult to tell much fight of Baer and Camera giving .[about the lads' musical calibre, what themselves a licking. with either interference and other Goodrich tire company paid . $25.- handicaps of short wave broadcast- 00Q for the privilege of having Us j ing. Of the four numbers 'Wagon name connected. With -the fight wheels'was handled with the most broadcast, which went out over both | interesting arrangement, and there NBC New York stations (WEAF- | was a new item, 'At the Level WJZ> and practically the entire net- work all over the land. Goodrich paid $25,000 and the ether listeners paid nothing, yet all the squawking emanates from the latter. As far as coverage and the deft insertion of commercial mention are concerned; Goodrich probably got its money's 30 Mins, worth. As did- the listeners, who Sustaining Crossing,' which may be interesting for bandsmen in the U. S. because of its novelty quality. Kauf. NORSE BAND Music- paid nothing and then squawked But they always squawk after a Graham MacNamee sports broad cast, including MacNaniee's per- formance two days later on that varsity boat race,. When he aft nounced Navy as winner, only to be KALE, Portland Norse band is a. recent feature | added to KALE and is bringing fine response from listeners throughout j the Pacific .Northwest. The band, | a group" ^t^\mg^WTA¥-iSlfSC'K&a6, Washington, about 60 miles from officially straightened out that Navy Portland, drive to the studio each came in third Just don't .'pay any attention to those free listeners, the ingrates! Bi Monday evening to broadcast for a half hour period Type of musio is of the Old World and- early . America, such as the schpttisches, waltzes, polkas and ■hamboes and quite an audience has THE TATTLER been created. This Norse Band is And His Four Little Gossips truly something different in radio With George Bowles, Paul Henning I entertainment and has an appeal and Those McCarty Girls, Franki.e, j for all, but more especially the Nor Jewel and Pot. . wegians, Swedish and Danish peo 15 Mi. . pie, who form a large part of the Sustaining | Pacific Northwest population KM BC, Kansas. City A novelty on a local program is this quarter hour of interesting in formation and advance news about well khbwn names: both local and national, which has not reached the papers; and some of it never will; The. Tattler uses full ten minutes of the time, divided into two parts and tells his stuff in a rapid flow of words, with hardly a pause be- ^twMh^.3ub3ecta ^_.He._has.,the__lowjr. CHICAGO PANORAMA Dramatic Sustai ing 30 Mins. WIND, GARY . Written and produced by Hank Richards and Dave Nowinson, strikes at a metropolitan sweep and flavor. General idea is a group of fastrmovlng sketches depicting intl rmate^glimpses-of-city=: lif e-as^cu rreht- events. A small but competent cast works with this now sus talner, and only needs more rehear sal to capture that certain smooth dpwn oh news from, the picture studios but peps the talk up with many references to those purely local not hesitating to take sly digs at the police and city officials or to | ness. make pleas for auto drivers, .to Routine opened with a commence watch out for the safety of the ment address of the regulation high children. The authenticity of his school order, and then followed with patter is convincing. bits of humor, burlesque, semi Gossip Is interspersed with clever tragedy and satire. 'Headlines' re Vocalizing by a soft-voiced tenor vealed the high spots of the front and a hMrmoniv.ing girls trio, who page, with the oast getting its big also til the opening and closing 'test workout in this .sequences Ap numbers. ' -'peal directed to Chicago area., NON-3PI DRAMAS With Edmund Lowe, Helen Mack, jimmy Fiddler 30 Mins. COMMERCIAL WJZ, New York Coincidental with the present at- tention focused on the United States Navy, the Non-Spi program Wednesday (13) offered a playlet by Mildred Cram entitled 'Navy Born.' It fitted the medium of radio very nicely and had the additional show- manly advantage of being topical. Beyond that, .the production both as. to scenario and tempo in direction was jfirst rate. Edmund Lowe and Helen Mack are legit-trained, so they know their emotional tricks. A lot of.the spirit of the service was captured and both sides of the personal equation nicely stated. As a theme, it was unusual for radio and most Americans would stay tuned in out of curiosity. Which is by way of stating the thing has sus- pense, Non-Spi is quite, discreet and deli- cate in the wording of .the com- mercial ; plugs for the deodorant. While, the nature of the product isn't precisely table talk, the ad- vertiser uses some common sense and avoids the glaring bad taste so bfteh heard on patent medicine pro- grams. Jimmy Fiddler, Hollywood chat- ter writer, carries out' the film col- ony idea, That the stars use Non- Spi is the thought the sponsor wants to engrave upon the. con- sciousness of the ladies. There is a booklet that's free for' the asking when the request is written upon a carton- top. 'Land. AVIONETTES Ensemble 15 Mins. Sustaining WGAL, Lancaster, Virginia Davis, out in. vaude a few years back with RKO doing an accordion single, is the pressure back of the Avionettes, new 15- minute sustaining feature of WGAL, Lancaster Group, composed of three girls, playing accordion, piano and xylo phone, are doing a very nice piece of work, and the unusual selection of instruments adds a tone of color to their musical interpretations which smacks of the Unique. They offer everything from opera to the latest populars in a fast, light, rippling manner. This un usual local program was born of someone else's adversity. The someone was playing host to a lot of radio people and the music failed to show up. . The three lassies, Davis, Opal Petters and Mary Elizabeth Evans rallied around and saved the day. Their impromptu program went over so well, they decided to try it out on the air. It stayed.. Barnie Miller announces the pro- gram. GAL TINNEY'S SHINDY With Tex FJetcher, Roger. Bower Comedy, Songs 15 Mins. Sustaining WOR, Newark Cal Tinney and Will Rogers still have one thing in common. They both originated in Oklahoma. Tin- ney continues to work hard at mak- ing himself a carbon copy of the jaw-wagging wit, but so far Tin- ney's efforts on the air have shown anything but promise. That is, even promise of making himself a passable carbon copy. Tinney had his big chance the past season on an extensive CBS hookup backed by Underwood. He lasted several weeks. .Oh W-OR- :Mo nda y _and,:iFrida:y . night's he's doing his routine . of comment on the day's hews, with Roger Bower helping out now and then on the feeding. Between Tin ney's tries at wit, Tex Fletcher lifts his prairie larynx in ditties o£ 'Just a Lonely Cowboy' and 'Around the Mountain' genre. TInney's main topic of joshing here is his 'Matrimonial Club on the Air,' Out in the oil and cow country it might have tickled them. In th metropolitan area the most it will likely do is raise a yawn. Odeo. CRAZY WATER CRYSTALLIZERS With Jack . Long Orchestra, Stiles Family, Marshal Poke, Hal Col- lins nstru mental and Vocal 15 Mins. COMMERCIAL WGY, Schenectady Crazy Water Company has added another to its long list of spon- sored programs with this flve- afternoon-weekly shot. It is bul- lpted over NBS's network from the lobby of corporation's hotel in Mln eral Wells, Texas, as a triple plug for hotel and town, Crazy Water and Crazy Water • Crystals. Program has some of the small- town atmospheric appeal which Is characteristic of Crazy W'&ter broadcasts, but it also aims to mag net the attention of big-town lis' teners through the medium of pop vocals and current dance tunes/ Jack M. Long's orchestra mixes an occasional old-time number with the modern stuff; producing a rather smooth blend. Stiles Family of four have an in ning at both types of music (in eluding hill-billy). The boys team In harmony duets, warbled In youthful Voices, and join with the parents for instrumental bits. A femme singer of pops and an en- semble! also sing. The various groups handle their assignments rather capably. Numbers are shor£, the sponsor aiming to cover a lot of territory, musically and otherwise, in a 16 minute pei'iod. Marshal Poke, who Speaks with a Southern drawl and a folksy manner, announces the program, Interviews patients brought befcre the mike to give testimonials, and handles the ad- vertising. Hal E Collins, president of the company, delivers a spiel, too. Plenty of plugging—this some- times includes the listing of guests names and home towns. Station announcer cuts in near the end of program to call off district stores. Java. SAVE A LIFE CLUB Bob and Dolly, Cecil Teague 15 Mh . Sustaining KOIN, Portland KOlN Save a Life Club Is rapidly, becoming one of the leading juve- nile broadcasts on the Pacific Coast. Headed by Bob and Dolly, favorites in the Northwest, the membership Of young listeners has "eached 6,000. Station has made a tie-up with the Portland Police department and the Parent-Teachers Associations. . Rules and regulations have been Included in the charter and each member receives an attractive mem bership certificate and bronze but ton. The Save a Life Club stages a theatre party regularly at which only club members are allowed to attend. Safety rules are stressed by the officers In the club. YOUR MOTHER and MINE Joseph Sampietro Orchestra 30 M i .' Sustaining < KOIN, Portland ..Title iYou r-Mo ther- a rid Mine'- was selected for a series of programs to be released through KOIN to the Columbia Don Lee Network, begin- ning June 3. Choral work unusually good, with instrumental backing okay. Orchestral spots appropriate. . Very brief address by Father A. M. Mayer, reetor of the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, to the point and effective. Broadcast was presented from the Orottd of the Sanctu.'iry of Our-Soi'mwrul Mother, ;t perfect out broadcasting studio. SEELEY and FIELDS Song " Stories COMMERCIAL WEAF, New York In October, 1931, VARiHrr* predicted big radio things for Blossom Seeley and Benny Fields. Variety's bat- ting average as a prophet was not precisely improved by subsequent developments. Team has hafl spotty and intermittent success on the air, . but has not attracted regular spon- sorship on a network basis. But what was written three years ago about these vaudeville and mu- sical comedy graduates and what they offer radio still holds. They still merit and deserve the kind of attention the sponsors haven't given them. They still have something which is pretty, unique and Individ, ualistic. : Arid if radlb doesn't heed new ideas and new types, of pro- grams then the radio public is im- mune from the ravages of monotony. Blossom Seely and Benny Fields have a combination singing-croon- ing-talking style. They, enact little dramas in music, weave strains of different songs into a continuity, create suspense,, achieve -climaxes, all in lyrics punctured and modu- lated by crooning, humming and harmonics. It's something. And that, it is something was strongly confirmed anew oh the pair's latest (7) guest appearance with the Rudy Vallee hour. Bond.- DOT and JERRY" Stephanie Diamond and Tom Wilmot 15 Mins. COMMERCIAL WCAE. Pittsburgh Two-people sketch, sponsored by. Hallcr Baking Co., that has definite possibilities. Human, .down-to- earth and altogether natural, -it's an everyday strip that features a boy who's a clerk in a brokerage office and a gal with stage ambi- tions who slings sodas at a drug- store counter,,. There's no effort to inject comedy for comedy's sake but: laughs are little laughs that flow naturally from type of conversation expected of two such individuals. First in- stallment merely introduced char- acters in offhand way, ending on a note of suspense and .indicating nature of weekly serialization. Principals, Stephanie Diamond and Tom Wilmot, of station's regu- lar dramatic staff, fit into the script like a glove; perfectly natural as couple of New York kids trans? planted from the sticks.-r-'Gal Is a pretty, likable youngster with a ready tongue and flip repartee, and boy shy, retiring and ambitious. Nothing strained about either voice and wh6ie thing is a relaxing, pleasant and homey quarter hour. In addition, Wilmot is the author of the script and it represents a thorough, workmanlike job. Program goes on every Wednes- day morning at 10:30 and should eventually graduate beyond weekly stage. Cohen. HENRI GORDON'S ORCHESTRA Dance Musio Sustaining WGY, Schenectady Unit, playing on the Paradise Ship at Troy, pours into the mike a sweet brand of music. It has been dishing up this standard menu on several 30-minute, late-evening programs and on one' 15-minute, supper-hoiir broadcast, for several weeks. Gordon's music is easy, on the ear, and it probably Is itching to the feet of terpslchbreans aboard the floating night boat. The strings, especially a violin, sound sweet, and the piano sparkles; In fact, all the instrumentalists do well. The cpm- blnatlon may not boast quite as large and as versatile a personnel as one or two others which recently have broadcast from the Paradise Ship, but it turns out a good bra.nd -of-muslc^ nonetheless. Dorothy Fox, a rather pleasing- voiced soprano, and a tenor, pre- sumably drawn from, the orchestra's ranks, handle the vocals. Jaco. DID YOU KNOW THAT ... Danny.Dee Talk 15 Mins. Sustaining WOR, Newark Aware of the fact that the warm spell is no time to belabor the listeners with things of a heavy or erudite nature, WOR has slipped into the schedule twice weekly Danny Dee, an obvious nome do mike, to help give it that light touch. And this fellow makes it plenty light. His routine floats around in so many directions that it's no easy matter to bring the act under classification. The 'little known fact* retailing is a minor part of the turn. This consists of a miscellany of mofttly useles s amy_u,n 1 nt I 'lgu 1 n g. info.;,. Deb also recites poetry of tear-jerk ing conspiracy and for the piece de resistance of his turn he resorts to the old dodge of disillusioning the customers of the tricks of. I ho studio. With the aid'of'a techni- cian Dee runs through the most frequently used sound effects and tips off the listeners on what the contraptions ased really arc and how they're worked. It's got so that the fans no longer have to come lo the stiulio to have the me- XContinued on Page 72)